Tegan's eyes quickly adjusted to the brightness of the room. It was a
large room, open and sparsely filled with one large table, several large
computers and a few chairs. Her eyes passed over them quickly. The people
commanded her attention rather than the furniture. The Brigadier and
Turlough raised their eyes to the two friends as they entered the room.
"Miss Jovanka!"
"Tegan!"
She rounded the Doctor. The Doctor, for his part, guessed that he was her touchstone at that moment and didn't pull away. He walked with her to the two men. Turlough pressed away from the table and reached out to embrace Tegan, as strange as it was for him to show that emotion. Tegan returned the embrace gently. "Turlough. Brigadier. It is good to see you."
Turlough smiled. "And you, Tegan, believe it or not."
"Nothing changes, does it?" Tegan asked, quietly leaning away from her old companion.
The Doctor had passed the pair of friends and approached the table. He leaned into it, spreading his hands wide. "You have been busy, Brigadier."
The Brigadier glanced at his old friend. "As have you."
"Yes…well…I have been told I am the life of the party. We are here unhurt, however," he answered. "Now…what is this? The attacks?" He patted his coat down and pulled out his glasses. He glanced down his nose at the map.
Turlough sided up and insinuated himself between the Doctor and the Brigadier. "The pattern is…"
"Temporal," the Doctor stated. "Yes. I can see that…in a round about way. Los Angeles was the last attack? What of Honolulu or Tokyo?"
The Brigadier shook his head. "Our intelligence network has no information on movement in either place."
The Doctor leaned back and pressed his finger to his lips in thought. "I would hazard a guess that either Beijing or Toyko is next. Although I would not worry too much about the attacks, Brigadier; I would rather concentrate on what they are not doing in broad daylight. The attacks are a decoy."
"A decoy by duplicates?" Tegan asked. Turlough turned and smiled at his friend. It was obvious her humor had not changed.
"Exactly," the Doctor answered, seriously. "They are creating a pattern out of a deliberate design to put your attention elsewhere. " He tapped his lips. "In fact I would reckon that where they are basing their work will be where their absence is conspicuous. Their assassinations and bombings have been in large cities. I would hazard a guess that they are in the Southern hemisphere…for the most part…they have avoided it. And what is in the Southern Hemisphere?"
"Australia," Tegan offered.
"South America and Africa." Turlough stated, looking smugly at the Brigadier.
"Correct." The Doctor sighed. "Quite a lot of land mass to cover. Brigadier…UNIT has laboratories in South America and Australia, yes?"
The Brigadier shook his head with a wry grin. "Of course they do, Doctor. They have expanded on them since you visited them ten years ago."
"And they have requested stores? The extraterrestrial stores…from UNIT…has either one asked for samples? Genetic, viral?"
"Er…." The Brigadier snapped his fingers and an aide approached the table. "Wilson? Find out if any laboratory in Australia or South America has requested material from the stores."
"But…" Turlough said, holding out his hand. "Doctor…what about the assassination attempts? They are causing instability in the governments."
"True. But we would expend too much energy trying to find who they are and where they are going next to be able to stop them. It would be much more…concise to find their center of operation. We would " The Doctor swallowed. "And I would guess that the laboratory work is occurring at the same place as the center. Keep all the birds where they can see it and what have you."
The aide entered back into the room. The Briadier snatched the paper and glanced over it. "Yes, Doctor, both laboratories requested the stores: the one outside of Sydney and the one in Brazil."
He nodded. "Then it does appear as though we will have to split our resources."
Tegan inhaled and sighed; she knew what was coming next. The Doctor did not disappoint her. "Turlough…you and the Brigadier will have to go to Brazil. Tegan…you and I…and some help, Brigadier…I will need two men at least…will have to go to Sydney."
The Brigadier nodded and turned to the aide, asking for a phone. Tegan leaned into the table, crossing her arms over her chest. Turlough followed the Doctor as he walked across the room to look at detailed maps of both continents. As the elder man tapped his glasses against his chin and stared at the maps, his friend asked the question that had been burning in his mind: " But Doctor…the patterns…isn't there some reasoning behind them?"
"Course there is," the Doctor answered. "There is always a reason; it's only unknown simply because we don't recognize it. They were moving in a westerly and temporal pattern. I saw your notes there on the side. Well done, by the way. But I think you will see that the more complex the puzzle, the more likely it is that the players were not even playing with the pieces. No, Turlough, the pattern is too contrived, too in depth to be a real sequence. It is a decoy."
Turlough glanced back at Tegan. The woman was looking at the two of them. "And splitting us up? I don't know a lot about microbiology, Doctor."
"You know a sight more about it than the Brigadier. And no arguments, Turlough, about traveling with the Brigadier. I promised Tegan her safety personally. I will travel with her."
"Can we take the TARDIS this time?"
"Unfortunately, no. To move the TARDIS would be to alert them as to where we are."
"Great."
"Cheer up, Turlough. At least you will have quality time with the Brigadier."
"I hate Time Lord humor," Turlough muttered as the Doctor walked back to the table.
**
Penny stretched her neck and rolled her shoulders. She often felt at home by the microscope, but the long hours of work in the last week had taken its toll. Al had gone to make another pot of coffee and she was sketching the last of the infected paramecium.
"I'm actually very happy about that," she muttered aloud. "Thank God for small favors."
As she finished, she rose and walked around the table to get the kinks out. When Al returned, they would compare the drawn pictures and the electron microscope scans of the best specimens. In the morning, they would begin to discuss, with the rest of the team, what possible recourse they had for an agent to fight the virus.
"Such a strange thing," she sighed. She saw Al's notes and leaned into the table, moving aside his glasses and a coffee cup with a substantial amount of growth.
"Your curiosity will get you in trouble someday, Pen," Al called from the door. He walked forward with his hand outstretched. Her mug was handed to her quickly.
"But not today," she answered, removing her own glasses. "You are planning on infecting other microbes?"
"Of course," he answered. "I have a feeling that this virus will cause disease in more than one genus and species. Tomorrow will tell soon enough."
She nodded. "Tomorrow, then. Do you need me for anything else tonight?"
"Unless you want to join my wife and I for dinner…"
"Thanks, no." Penny shrugged out of her coat and laid it over the chair. As she walked to the door, she called out. "Oh…and I took a message, Al…about some bigwig in UNIT…they are coming in…tomorrow."
"Wonderful." He laughed. "Get home with you and I'll see you later."
**
12986097423.986234-0.8972
All Glory to the Supreme Dalek
The plan is to continue. Genetic experimentation must be completed with all haste. Disruption of Earth Government must continue. All man power to be concentrated on the testing. Centralization and consolidation is of the upmost importance.
Nothing will interfere with the grand plan of the Daleks. The Earth will be destroyed. Its place as a temporal nexus will be eliminated. Invasion will continue as planned. Failure will be rewarded with death.
**
1298659817.9871357-09987
Message received and understood. Mission acknowledged. Virus investigation continuing. It will be completed on schedule. Disposable help has been acquired. Assininations planned in Toyko, and the uprisings in Bejing will continue as planned.
All praise to the supreme Dalek.
**
Reynolds grimaced as he stepped off the plane into the dead heat of LA in June. Smith, as he exited behind him, grunted. The briefcases and notebooks that the younger man carried seemed to bog him down, but he kept pace with his superior. As he rolled his eyes, Reynolds stared back at his assistant.
"Well come on, Smith…we have a plane to catch…" Reynolds nodded to his American liason and grinned at the army plane that had been designated for his use while within the United States. A man similar to Smith was waiting for them at the ramp. The man, named Oliver, if he recalled correctly, was an aide to the Undersecretary of the Interior. Pleasant chap, Reynolds thought, as he impersonally glanced over the man: tall, young and blond. Just out of college, he concluded. Oliver was so by the book, even down to his polished shoes and slicked hair that Reyholds fought the urge to salute.
"Sir…" John Oliver nodded to the approaching British government official.
"Mr. Oliver, correct?" Reynolds stopped to glance at the airplane behind his American counterpart.
"That is correct, sir…the transport that you requested is ready and at your disposal, sir. I am under orders to do as you require as part of the Allied act of 1981."
Reynolds squinted up into the harsh sunlight of the Californian noon and at the large plane behind Oliver. "And you are to accompany me?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then we had better be on our way," Reynolds stated, quietly and walked past the man. Oliver turned and watched him walk up the stairway to the plane.
"And where am I to give orders to travel to, sir?" Oliver said, running up the stairs in tandem with Smith.
"Brazil."
Oliver stopped dead on the stairs and stared as Reynolds entered the plane. Smith pressed past the man. As he prepared to enter the plane as well, he turned to address John. "Coming?"
**
Dalek technology, driven by an eon of single-minded militaristic conquest, was an awesome sight to virtually every race in the galaxy. And those races included Time Lords, if the truth be told. The race of the Kaleds in their mutated form encased in their transport casings had become an evolutionary technological history lesson of success, as well as an unbeatable foe. For although they were so beautifully advanced, they were, for lack of a better word, evil.
It seemed to most races that for emotionless creatures, the Daleks had become decidedly egotistic. This egotistical attitude had become as legendary as their lust for extermination and supremacy. Therefore, in response to the infiltration and profound impact of the Movelian virus to the Dalek war machine and its ability to render Daleks dead, equally legendary tales had arisen in the galaxy about their downfall.
But like a phoenix, the Daleks had arisen from the ashes of their ruin to return.
In their first attempt, they had tried to invade Earth, a temporal nexus primary point. Unfortunately for them, the Doctor had been there as had his companions. The release of the Movelian virus on both the ship where experiments had been ongoing to find a cure and on Earth had foiled their first attempt.
In this, the second attempt to invade or destroy Earth, the Daleks had a new plan: they were trying to find a cure where the virus was instead of bringing the plague unto themselves. At the same time, they weakened their enemies, actively trying to undermine their governments…and at a time when humans had yet to learn to work together against a common enemy. Therefore, they could invade without fear of the disease to an already weakened Earth and confused populace.
They would not fail.
The Dalek ship sat in deep space, off of Sector 17, seated at the far center on a tridimensional axis from the center of the Milky Way. It was huge, vast…a city without a populace. Ultimate silence reigned. Only the tuts and clicks of the mechanics that powered the beings could be heard. Voice was unnecessary. In some ways, these evil harbingers acted as a large insect colony with the Supreme Dalek seated at the center like a queen ant. The ship itself was a marvel, almost beautiful in an Ares-lover sort of way.
The bridge was the only section of the ship where voice was used. The Supreme Dalek, its black and silver casing scored from battles, sat at the very center.
"Current status of the Time Corridor," It ordered.
"Stable, but weak…order of magnitude 2 of a maximum 6." Came the answer, a human voice amidst the electronically generated voices of the Daleks.
"Maintenance of the corridor is primary to the success of our mission. Diversion of necessary Daleks to energy systems will commence."
"It has been done. Power is redirected to the strengthening and maintenance of the corridor. Energy drain on the secondary systems will decrease life support below optimum in 50% of the ship."
"Duplicates are disposable."
"Duplicates are necessary to the completion of the objective. Davros is necessary."
"Relocate Davros and duplicates to the primary section of the ship."
The human sighed and nodded. "The Supreme Dalek is to be obeyed."
"Daleks outfitted with the improved movement systems are to be made ready for the invasion force."
"As ordered."
"The Earth will be exterminated."
"Miss Jovanka!"
"Tegan!"
She rounded the Doctor. The Doctor, for his part, guessed that he was her touchstone at that moment and didn't pull away. He walked with her to the two men. Turlough pressed away from the table and reached out to embrace Tegan, as strange as it was for him to show that emotion. Tegan returned the embrace gently. "Turlough. Brigadier. It is good to see you."
Turlough smiled. "And you, Tegan, believe it or not."
"Nothing changes, does it?" Tegan asked, quietly leaning away from her old companion.
The Doctor had passed the pair of friends and approached the table. He leaned into it, spreading his hands wide. "You have been busy, Brigadier."
The Brigadier glanced at his old friend. "As have you."
"Yes…well…I have been told I am the life of the party. We are here unhurt, however," he answered. "Now…what is this? The attacks?" He patted his coat down and pulled out his glasses. He glanced down his nose at the map.
Turlough sided up and insinuated himself between the Doctor and the Brigadier. "The pattern is…"
"Temporal," the Doctor stated. "Yes. I can see that…in a round about way. Los Angeles was the last attack? What of Honolulu or Tokyo?"
The Brigadier shook his head. "Our intelligence network has no information on movement in either place."
The Doctor leaned back and pressed his finger to his lips in thought. "I would hazard a guess that either Beijing or Toyko is next. Although I would not worry too much about the attacks, Brigadier; I would rather concentrate on what they are not doing in broad daylight. The attacks are a decoy."
"A decoy by duplicates?" Tegan asked. Turlough turned and smiled at his friend. It was obvious her humor had not changed.
"Exactly," the Doctor answered, seriously. "They are creating a pattern out of a deliberate design to put your attention elsewhere. " He tapped his lips. "In fact I would reckon that where they are basing their work will be where their absence is conspicuous. Their assassinations and bombings have been in large cities. I would hazard a guess that they are in the Southern hemisphere…for the most part…they have avoided it. And what is in the Southern Hemisphere?"
"Australia," Tegan offered.
"South America and Africa." Turlough stated, looking smugly at the Brigadier.
"Correct." The Doctor sighed. "Quite a lot of land mass to cover. Brigadier…UNIT has laboratories in South America and Australia, yes?"
The Brigadier shook his head with a wry grin. "Of course they do, Doctor. They have expanded on them since you visited them ten years ago."
"And they have requested stores? The extraterrestrial stores…from UNIT…has either one asked for samples? Genetic, viral?"
"Er…." The Brigadier snapped his fingers and an aide approached the table. "Wilson? Find out if any laboratory in Australia or South America has requested material from the stores."
"But…" Turlough said, holding out his hand. "Doctor…what about the assassination attempts? They are causing instability in the governments."
"True. But we would expend too much energy trying to find who they are and where they are going next to be able to stop them. It would be much more…concise to find their center of operation. We would " The Doctor swallowed. "And I would guess that the laboratory work is occurring at the same place as the center. Keep all the birds where they can see it and what have you."
The aide entered back into the room. The Briadier snatched the paper and glanced over it. "Yes, Doctor, both laboratories requested the stores: the one outside of Sydney and the one in Brazil."
He nodded. "Then it does appear as though we will have to split our resources."
Tegan inhaled and sighed; she knew what was coming next. The Doctor did not disappoint her. "Turlough…you and the Brigadier will have to go to Brazil. Tegan…you and I…and some help, Brigadier…I will need two men at least…will have to go to Sydney."
The Brigadier nodded and turned to the aide, asking for a phone. Tegan leaned into the table, crossing her arms over her chest. Turlough followed the Doctor as he walked across the room to look at detailed maps of both continents. As the elder man tapped his glasses against his chin and stared at the maps, his friend asked the question that had been burning in his mind: " But Doctor…the patterns…isn't there some reasoning behind them?"
"Course there is," the Doctor answered. "There is always a reason; it's only unknown simply because we don't recognize it. They were moving in a westerly and temporal pattern. I saw your notes there on the side. Well done, by the way. But I think you will see that the more complex the puzzle, the more likely it is that the players were not even playing with the pieces. No, Turlough, the pattern is too contrived, too in depth to be a real sequence. It is a decoy."
Turlough glanced back at Tegan. The woman was looking at the two of them. "And splitting us up? I don't know a lot about microbiology, Doctor."
"You know a sight more about it than the Brigadier. And no arguments, Turlough, about traveling with the Brigadier. I promised Tegan her safety personally. I will travel with her."
"Can we take the TARDIS this time?"
"Unfortunately, no. To move the TARDIS would be to alert them as to where we are."
"Great."
"Cheer up, Turlough. At least you will have quality time with the Brigadier."
"I hate Time Lord humor," Turlough muttered as the Doctor walked back to the table.
**
Penny stretched her neck and rolled her shoulders. She often felt at home by the microscope, but the long hours of work in the last week had taken its toll. Al had gone to make another pot of coffee and she was sketching the last of the infected paramecium.
"I'm actually very happy about that," she muttered aloud. "Thank God for small favors."
As she finished, she rose and walked around the table to get the kinks out. When Al returned, they would compare the drawn pictures and the electron microscope scans of the best specimens. In the morning, they would begin to discuss, with the rest of the team, what possible recourse they had for an agent to fight the virus.
"Such a strange thing," she sighed. She saw Al's notes and leaned into the table, moving aside his glasses and a coffee cup with a substantial amount of growth.
"Your curiosity will get you in trouble someday, Pen," Al called from the door. He walked forward with his hand outstretched. Her mug was handed to her quickly.
"But not today," she answered, removing her own glasses. "You are planning on infecting other microbes?"
"Of course," he answered. "I have a feeling that this virus will cause disease in more than one genus and species. Tomorrow will tell soon enough."
She nodded. "Tomorrow, then. Do you need me for anything else tonight?"
"Unless you want to join my wife and I for dinner…"
"Thanks, no." Penny shrugged out of her coat and laid it over the chair. As she walked to the door, she called out. "Oh…and I took a message, Al…about some bigwig in UNIT…they are coming in…tomorrow."
"Wonderful." He laughed. "Get home with you and I'll see you later."
**
12986097423.986234-0.8972
All Glory to the Supreme Dalek
The plan is to continue. Genetic experimentation must be completed with all haste. Disruption of Earth Government must continue. All man power to be concentrated on the testing. Centralization and consolidation is of the upmost importance.
Nothing will interfere with the grand plan of the Daleks. The Earth will be destroyed. Its place as a temporal nexus will be eliminated. Invasion will continue as planned. Failure will be rewarded with death.
**
1298659817.9871357-09987
Message received and understood. Mission acknowledged. Virus investigation continuing. It will be completed on schedule. Disposable help has been acquired. Assininations planned in Toyko, and the uprisings in Bejing will continue as planned.
All praise to the supreme Dalek.
**
Reynolds grimaced as he stepped off the plane into the dead heat of LA in June. Smith, as he exited behind him, grunted. The briefcases and notebooks that the younger man carried seemed to bog him down, but he kept pace with his superior. As he rolled his eyes, Reynolds stared back at his assistant.
"Well come on, Smith…we have a plane to catch…" Reynolds nodded to his American liason and grinned at the army plane that had been designated for his use while within the United States. A man similar to Smith was waiting for them at the ramp. The man, named Oliver, if he recalled correctly, was an aide to the Undersecretary of the Interior. Pleasant chap, Reynolds thought, as he impersonally glanced over the man: tall, young and blond. Just out of college, he concluded. Oliver was so by the book, even down to his polished shoes and slicked hair that Reyholds fought the urge to salute.
"Sir…" John Oliver nodded to the approaching British government official.
"Mr. Oliver, correct?" Reynolds stopped to glance at the airplane behind his American counterpart.
"That is correct, sir…the transport that you requested is ready and at your disposal, sir. I am under orders to do as you require as part of the Allied act of 1981."
Reynolds squinted up into the harsh sunlight of the Californian noon and at the large plane behind Oliver. "And you are to accompany me?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then we had better be on our way," Reynolds stated, quietly and walked past the man. Oliver turned and watched him walk up the stairway to the plane.
"And where am I to give orders to travel to, sir?" Oliver said, running up the stairs in tandem with Smith.
"Brazil."
Oliver stopped dead on the stairs and stared as Reynolds entered the plane. Smith pressed past the man. As he prepared to enter the plane as well, he turned to address John. "Coming?"
**
Dalek technology, driven by an eon of single-minded militaristic conquest, was an awesome sight to virtually every race in the galaxy. And those races included Time Lords, if the truth be told. The race of the Kaleds in their mutated form encased in their transport casings had become an evolutionary technological history lesson of success, as well as an unbeatable foe. For although they were so beautifully advanced, they were, for lack of a better word, evil.
It seemed to most races that for emotionless creatures, the Daleks had become decidedly egotistic. This egotistical attitude had become as legendary as their lust for extermination and supremacy. Therefore, in response to the infiltration and profound impact of the Movelian virus to the Dalek war machine and its ability to render Daleks dead, equally legendary tales had arisen in the galaxy about their downfall.
But like a phoenix, the Daleks had arisen from the ashes of their ruin to return.
In their first attempt, they had tried to invade Earth, a temporal nexus primary point. Unfortunately for them, the Doctor had been there as had his companions. The release of the Movelian virus on both the ship where experiments had been ongoing to find a cure and on Earth had foiled their first attempt.
In this, the second attempt to invade or destroy Earth, the Daleks had a new plan: they were trying to find a cure where the virus was instead of bringing the plague unto themselves. At the same time, they weakened their enemies, actively trying to undermine their governments…and at a time when humans had yet to learn to work together against a common enemy. Therefore, they could invade without fear of the disease to an already weakened Earth and confused populace.
They would not fail.
The Dalek ship sat in deep space, off of Sector 17, seated at the far center on a tridimensional axis from the center of the Milky Way. It was huge, vast…a city without a populace. Ultimate silence reigned. Only the tuts and clicks of the mechanics that powered the beings could be heard. Voice was unnecessary. In some ways, these evil harbingers acted as a large insect colony with the Supreme Dalek seated at the center like a queen ant. The ship itself was a marvel, almost beautiful in an Ares-lover sort of way.
The bridge was the only section of the ship where voice was used. The Supreme Dalek, its black and silver casing scored from battles, sat at the very center.
"Current status of the Time Corridor," It ordered.
"Stable, but weak…order of magnitude 2 of a maximum 6." Came the answer, a human voice amidst the electronically generated voices of the Daleks.
"Maintenance of the corridor is primary to the success of our mission. Diversion of necessary Daleks to energy systems will commence."
"It has been done. Power is redirected to the strengthening and maintenance of the corridor. Energy drain on the secondary systems will decrease life support below optimum in 50% of the ship."
"Duplicates are disposable."
"Duplicates are necessary to the completion of the objective. Davros is necessary."
"Relocate Davros and duplicates to the primary section of the ship."
The human sighed and nodded. "The Supreme Dalek is to be obeyed."
"Daleks outfitted with the improved movement systems are to be made ready for the invasion force."
"As ordered."
"The Earth will be exterminated."