The transport ship carried the radiation-mutated forms of humans. They quivered in the shadow of white steal machines, eyestalk surveying the human prisoners with detached interest. In the distance their destination loomed, a dark cavern in the ground. Large chimneys spewing black, red and green smoke to the already tainted sky. The ground chewed up, looking like wide wounds in the earth as if some great beast had tried to claw it's way into the ground.
The transport, a hover truck with a steel cage upon its backfilled with people. The humans were inside while the invaders, their one-man tanks hovering alongside. The white with gold nodules along the base, at the midsection two poles stuck out, one was, they knew a weapon. The gun realising rays of death laced with radiation that at second of impact the skeleton inside clear to see as death claimed them. The other looked like an old earth plunger but was far more deadly.
The hover car went into the bowls of the earth. The stone giving way to steal, even as they looked, some one-man tanks had different attachments. These ones had welding arms, connecting the sheets of steal. Deeper the hover car went. No way to tell direction in the hallways, as they were all identical to the rest, no signs or markings.
Finally they came to a huge room, on either side were cylindrical tanks, blue fluid bubbling inside. More one man tanks were inside, their suits as always protecting the humans inside. The smell was clinical, disinfectants and other chemicals. The hover truck stopped in the center of all this.
"DIS-EM-BARK" The voice graveled, passing through some kind of vox caster. The voice being garbled coming out more robotic than human.
They got out of the cage, herded into the center of the room, flanked on all sides by the scientific looking one-man tanks. Their guns and suckers replaced with claws and circular saws. The sick humans quivered, surely they would be shown mercy, as prisoners of war. But they could not know that death was closer. They could not know this was no longer a war, had never been a war. It had been an invasion; they had been conquered the moment these one-man tanks had set their eyestalks on this planet.
It was ironic, that true the ones in this room shared their heritage, but for a different reason than you would expect. Inside was not human, not anymore. The genes mutated for a purpose. That inside the casing was merely blobs of flesh that drove the tanks.
But they would realise soon, for a second that their humanity remained before it was over written by alien ideals.
The screams of pain and terror made no impact on the creatures. As they cut up the parts of the human anatomy they wished to retain. Mainly the brain, this was cultivated, controlled. Every perceivable outcome planned for. The human soul was ripped asunder, and from its ashes rose something so evil that it made the darkness quiver.
The cylindrical gestation tanks now not only holding the blue liquid, but holding the genetically changed human flesh pulsating as the wires connected to the neurons replaced all notions of compassion and memory. All to serve their leader, their emperor.
Their leader entered the room, his tank pure silver shining almost blindingly in the light; it was almost like a holy icon, some mockery of holy ideals. He came forward, if indeed he was a he. All traces of gender were lost eons ago. Their voice exact replicas of each other, no individuality. He looked over his creations, the eyestalk moving up with ease. The eye aperture at the end, like that of a camera lenses, shined red.
He was the only one that had individuality, true the others looked different with their attachments, but that was necessity not individuality. They needed scientist, builders, and solders. All were trained in the art of war, to spread their ideals. Their very presence across the universe, to wipe out all that were different than themselves. This was racial cleansing at its purist form.
"RE-PORT!" the emperor exclaimed, his orders never disobeyed….well not by these solders. Once long ago perhaps.
"EXPER-RI-MENTS –ARE-PROGRESSINNNG. PRO-JECTED-GESTA-TION-IMMINENT. DALEK-CASING-IMPER-RATIVE" The lead scientist reported. The emperor Dalek turned to the builders.
"RE-PORT-ON-ADVANCEMENT-OF-DALEK-EXOSKELTON!"
"PRODUC-TION-IS-BELOW-PROJECTED-OUT-PUT." The builder Dalek replied. The emperor turned finally to his soldier Daleks.
"WE-MUST-IN-CREASE OUTPUT. SLAVE-LABOUR-NEEDED! CAPTURE-ALL-HU-MANS-IN-THE-LOCAL-VILL-AGE!"
"WE-OBEY" The soldiers turned, heading back to the surface.
88888888888888888888
The snow had stopped once again. Inside the temple the air was thick with the sweet smell of sickness and death. To a few who still had the sense of smell, it was akin to rotting fruit. The room was filled with the dying, from either starvation or the radiation. Some would die of one, some the others. But quite a few would take the matters into their own hands.
Some already had, ropes attached to rafters of holy places, standing on the precipice, replaying all that had happened, searching for a reason to live….and finding none. The last step taken before the final jerk of release, as darkness claimed them. They would be free of the horror that those left behind had to face.
Outside those that could stand the cold, or found it's numbing embrace comforting, a distraction from the never-ending devastation before them. They huddled around the barrel as before. Eyes never leaving the dancing flames as their minds wandered to better times.
Few of them were to hear the approach of the metal monster until they were almost on top of them. Few still knew what a threat they posed, as not many could remember the last report from the TV the day the bombs fell. One of them ran into the temple, shouting that the army had come, that they were to be saved. The meager survivors rushed out to meet their saviors.
The saviors in their white and gold one-man tanks stopped before the humans. Never disturbing the snow below them. Some of the survivors, those too sick to move, to call out. Recognized the Danger, tried to warn, but misunderstood in excitement at being saved. As if they were saying, "look, look they have come. We're saved" instead of the "Look out, Run!" they tried to convey.
"YOU-WILL-COME-WITH-US" the one-man tank at the front declared. They all looked like pepper pots.
"Where are you taking us?" one woman asked, her form slim and malnourished now.
"YOU-WILL-OBEY-WITHOUT-QUESTION!" the pepper pot replied
"Hang on" and man from behind pushed forward, to stand before it, eyes level with the eyestalk, the red glow illuminating the mans face. "You can't tell us what to do and not tell us where we are going!"
"YOU-WILL-OBEY!" It repeated with more volume.
"We will not"
"THEN-YOU-WILL-BE-EXTERMINATED!" The leaders gun fired, the impact showing every bone in the mans body, his scream high pitched and full of pain. His body fell to the floor, insides scrambled beyond recognition. The others looked on in shock, before trying to flee in panic. But the Daleks were not stupid, the others let their guns sing, but these would merely stun not kill.
They fell, while the Daleks pursued. One, one tried to escape by giving information.
"Please, wait. You don't want me…I'm sick. But I know where there are healthy people. No radiation sickness." He babbled quickly.
"YOU-WILL-GIVE-US-THE-LOCATION-OF-THESE-HUMANS!" The lead Dalek commanded.
"They are at the base of Bad Wolf hills. Over there," he pointed to the hills in the distance. "There's a farm, they are all hiding there"
"THEN-THEY-WILL-BE-SEZIED-TO-SERVE-THE-DALEK-ORDER" it ranted, lights atop the dome flashing as it spoke.
"You'll let me go then?" the man smiled, thinking he had made a deal…but he would find out he had made a deal with Hades.
"YOU-WILL-FOLLOW. YOU-WILL-SERVE-THE-DALEKS. YOU-WILL-BE-HARVESTED." With that the Dalek that had come up beside the leader, shot the man and he was dragged away.
They were piled into the hover truck with no care. Bodies atop one another, moaning in pain from the gun. Others coward in the corner, looking eyes wide with fear as the Daleks moved back and forth. The leader went to the front of the van, looking at the hills shrouded now in snow. The Daleks scanner could detect the heat from the fire, but nothing more at this distance.
"WHAT-ARE-YOUR-ORDERS?" one of the Daleks asked.
"WE-WILL-SEIZE-THE-HU-MANS-IN-THAT-BUILDING!" he replied, already heading for the farm.
"WE-OBEY"
As one the Daleks moved towards the hills in the distance, their outlines lost in the blizzard that now claimed the sky. At their base the farm sat safe in the hills shadow. The hill, a constant protector had saved them from the bombs, from the blizzard. But it could not save them from the advancing army. Two inside knowing the enemy but thinking them wiped from existence. But like cockroaches, Daleks are hard to kill, leave one alive, one to rebuild. And they will rise across the universe.
What would those two think when they beheld these forms? Would they cry, rage; try to stop them yet again? Or would they give up, see the inevitability of trying to stop and unstoppable force? No those two would do what they could, protecting one another, Times guardian and Champion.
Time was as always ever flowing, it had no choice but to flow forwards, that was its being. Yes you could make it run backwards, but that was defiling it. Time was like a wild animal; to make it do your whim was cruel. Travel the Vortex with Times permission, to see all that had been, all that would be. But never make it flow, as you desire.
Time Lords knew this, the would protect Time; fix all paradox's that should occur. But one was Time favorite, one she would always show her heart. The Doctor was her champion; he helped her far more times, interfered at the right times and saving countless planets. Yes, he had made mistakes but those mistakes were pre-ordained. To fix the problem on satellite 5 the first time. The Doctor could never have known the Daleks were behind the Jagrafess. To the second time, for him to see the ruin of earth. All slaves to the TV shows of death. He would loose that regeneration, but gladly lost to save the life of Rose.
Time had touched Rose, and found her a kindred spirit. So time had lent this human child her power. Together they had been the Bad Wolf, and the Daleks had fallen before their golden gaze. They had howled the universe. 'Here we are, we are strong together, we will protect him always. So those who wish to do him harm beware.'
So as death approached the farm, two would face it's red gaze. Together always to face the darkness, Times guardian and champion.
TBC…..
KITG: there we go, another chapter for you.