Chapter LXXI
Mira's POV
Silence lingered in the room for a long, a very long moment, giving her time to think. She had expected a lot, but not that. So the Daleks were desperate with only four of them left, and now they were mixing themselves with humans. Oh, she wished she would have been able to destroy Skaro. It would have been on her consciousness then, not on his, and well, who cared about her peace of mind?
She certainly didn't – at least not any more. She had done other things, things probably just as worse as that, and she was living with it somehow – for centuries now. Of course, she hadn't meant to do it. No one had. She hadn't foreseen it, and not only she. They had all been blind. They hadn't meant to, but it had happened. She didn't even know how many deaths she had caused, how many planets had been destroyed.
It was the centre of a galaxy. Most suns there don't even have planets, and if so they are hardly ever inhabited. They are just too dense, too much radiation, heat and light.
That was what everyone had said after it, just to break the silence that had fallen over the command room after they had barely escaped, to shake off the feeling of absolute horror. Said time and time again in the months and years after it, all well meant, but never able to console her in the slightest.
Would one planet more or less really matter now? And, above all, the Daleks had never meant to exist like that in the first place. They were created, but not by coincidence, God, or however one would call it, no, by men. By a living, mortal being. Wasn't it her – and anyone else's – moral and ethical duty to put an end to it? It was either that it or being directly responsible for every death they would cause in the future.
Just as you thought you would save countless lives in your own galaxy? Did it justify what you've done?
She knew that mean, little voice in her head. It had been her constant companion for ages, almost coming up in the most inappropriate moments. But it had been different back then, hadn't it?
"I am not a traitor," the human Dalek finally broke the silence.
"No?" she replied coldly, trying to shake off the memories and pictures of the flaming inferno her thoughts had conjured up just a moment ago. "Selling your own people to some aliens for their experiments? Sounds pretty much like a traitor to me. Just tell me one thing: How much is left of the old Diagoras? Or, more likely, how much isn't? How much of you died?"
She turned around and looked at the other Daleks that had surrounded her as she waited for an answer. So far so good, their whole attention was laying on her. She only hoped the Doctor would come up with some sort of plan if she could buy him enough time.
"I didn't know Diagoras very well, but trust me, I'm pretty good in getting a grasp of people," she continued as the creature remained silent. "He wouldn't have wanted that. Being merged with a Dalek, a genetically manipulated creature, unable to survive on its own without its metal shell. I tell you what he was. He was frightened, scared to death and yet thrilled by all the power suddenly within his reach Did your former self really believe they would treat you with respect? Once a traitor, always a traitor. It's an age-old story. But instead of simply killing you after serving your purpose you they turned you into that."
"You will be next!" one of the Daleks yelled at her, coming a bit closer, eyeing her.
"Yeah, fine. But I'm not deaf yet, so stop yelling," she replied, trying to sound annoyed, even though she was everything but certain that the Daleks would even notice it.
They were running out of patience. If there was any other emotion in them apart from hate, then it was a feeling of growing impatience.
"These humans will become like me," the creature said, the conversation obviously over. "Prepare them for hybridisation."
And, as if they had only been waiting for that, the pigmen leaped forward and took the others. They didn't grab her, but she was still surrounded by three Daleks, so no chance of escape.
Suddenly, music started playing. It sounded thin, as if coming from some small radio.
"What is that sound?" the human Dalek asked irritated.
"Ah, well, now, that would be me," she heard a well known voice and felt her heart jump with sudden relief.
She turned her head and saw the Doctor approaching them, putting the radio down next to a Bunsen burner after switching it off.
" Hello. Surprise. Boo. Et etcetera," he added, walking casually through the room, his hands in the pockets of his trousers.
"Doctor," the creature said, absolutely surprised.
"The enemy of the Daleks!" one of the Daleks yelled.
"Exterminate!"
"Wait!" the creature commanded.
"Well, then," the Doctor said and stepped closer to the human Dalek. "A new form of Dalek. Fascinating and very clever."
"The Cult of Skaro escaped your slaughter," he replied.
His slaughter?
It was them attacking Gallifrey and the Time Lords, wasn't it? So if they hadn't been in for getting slaughtered, then they should have tried it with not attacking in the first place. They did attack first, didn't they? He had told the truth, or not? Anyway, no matter what had really happened, she knew better than to hold him responsible for the actions of his people. Even if they really had attacked first.
"How did you end up in 1930?" the Doctor asked with an alarmingly calm tone in his voice, ignoring the accusation.
"Emergency temporal shift."
"Oh, that must have roasted up your power cells, huh?" he laughed and then continued, almost casually with a hint of despise in his voice, "Time was, four Daleks could have conquered the world, but instead you're skulking away, hidden in the dark, experimenting. All of which results in you."
"I am Dalek in human form," the creature replied.
"What does it feel like?" the Doctor asked. "You can talk to me, Dalek Sec. It is Dalek Sec, isn't it? That's your name? You've got a name and a mind of your own. Tell me what you're thinking right now."
"I feel humanity," Dalek Sec replied after a moment, almost hesitant.
"Good. That's good," the Doctor said.
"I feel everything we wanted from mankind," Dalek Sec continued, clenching ins fists, "Which is ambition, hatred, aggression and war. Such a genius for war."
"No, that's not what humanity means," the Doctor said and shook his head.
"Oh well," she said now, stepping forward again, looking at Dalek Sec. "I think that's exactly what it means. Even though it's only half of it. But humanity didn't get that from the beginning either. We had to learn it over time, had to learn the hard way that there's more to it then aggression and war."
"I think it does. She's right," Dalek Sec confirmed, interrupting her. "At heart, this species is so very Dalek."
"And I think you should let me finish," she continued. "Maybe you're right. Without at least some aggression, ambition and even hatred we would still sit on trees or in caves, being completely and utterly satisfied with life as it is. We wouldn't be where we are now. But as said, it's only one half of it. You will see over time what I mean. If you – and the small rest of your species – will make it that long. Humanity has been on the brink of self-destruction a few times, and so for a reason."
She took a long look at Dalek Sec, stared into his eye until he broke the contact and looked away. Maybe he was already feeling it. But by now his emotions were overwhelmed by a deep insecurity and confusion, making it hard for her to be certain. No wonder, she could hardly imagine how hard it must be to adjust to such a sudden change in perception, thinking and feeling. Being merged with a species like the human race, a species who, unlike the Daleks, wasn't bred for one and only one single purpose.
A species that had had to face all their destructive potential, all the good and bad in them for the mere purpose of self-preservation, to survive crisis after crisis. One couldn't do that with nothing but aggression and hatred, being unable to learn from past experiences.
No one, neither single individual or whole species, could do so without compassion – and forgiveness - for themselves and others, without creativity and the will to be creative instead of destructive.
At this moment she didn't care that humanity in this universe was fairly young and hadn't been out into space yet – but they would learn, just like humanity had in her universe.
"Don't waste your energy on them," the Doctor eventually broke the silence. "It's pointless. They will never learn. Not even with this final experiment of yours. All you have achieved is – Nothing! I can show you what you're missing with this thing. A simple little radio."
"What is the purpose of that device?" one of the Daleks yelled.
"Well, exactly," he replied as if he had expected nothing else. "It plays music. What's the point of that? Oh, with music, you can dance to it, sing with it, fall in love to it." He turned his head, looked at her and said with a lob sided grin, "Oh, and Mira, I didn't forget you wanted to see Pink Floyd." Then he turned his attention to the Daleks again. "Unless you're a Dalek of course. Then it's all just noise." That said, he pointed the Sonic Screwdriver at the radio. Immediately it emitted a shrill sound, causing the pigmen as well as Dalek Sec to bend in pain. The other Daleks got disoriented as well, and the next moment the Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her away with him.
"Run!" he yelled, and all the others, including Martha, started to run as well.
"Protect the hybrid!" she could hear the Daleks scream behind her. "Protect. Protect. Protect."
Doctor's POV
And again. He was running through the sewers, away from the Daleks, a group of humans at his heels. He would definitely prefer to see Pink Floyd now with Mira, the sixties and seventies of the 20th century were are rather nice time in the western world. All new ideas, new ways of life, a whole generation trying to find a new way for themselves - the shadow of war and nuclear deterrence ever present, hanging over their heads like dark clouds, shaking them, waking them up, making them question basically everything.
But all that didn't matter right now, he told himself. Maybe there was time for it later. A moment later he saw Tallulah standing in one of the corridors, quite lost. Didn't he tell her to leave? Humans, he thought and shook his head. Why could they never listen to him? Not once?
"Tallulah! Run!" he yelled at her, slowing down and taking a step to the side so that Mira wouldn't bump into him. She seemed to have a habit of almost bumping into him.
"What's happened to Laszlo?" Tallulah cried at him.
"Not now!" he yelled and ran past her as he saw that Martha was already dragging her along.
Behind him he could already hear the Daleks and the pigmen, searching for them. Finally they reached the ladder out of the sewers and a moment later they all were up again and he slammed the lid shut.
...
Not much later they were back in Hooverville. It had been easy to convince Solomon to put guards around the camp, even though he himself didn't approve that they were armed. But he couldn't help that now.
"These Daleks, they sound like the stuff of nightmares. And they want to breed?" Solomon asked.
"They're splicing themselves onto human bodies, and if I'm right, they've got a farm of breeding stock right here in Hooverville," he replied. "You've got to get everyone out." He looked around for Mira, but she had armed herself as well and was looking out for the pigmen and Daleks which were sure to show up rather sooner than later.
"Hooverville's the lowest place a man can fall. There's nowhere else to go," Solomon replied.
Oh humans. He hadn't seen the Daleks so far, that was why he didn't fully comprehend just how serious the situation was.
"I'm sorry, Solomon. You've got to scatter," he tried to convince him. "Go anywhere. Down to the railroads, travel across state. Just get out of New York."
"There's got to be a way to reason with these things," Solomon replied.
He opened his mouth but before he could say something, he heard Mira's voice behind him.
"There is no reasoning I'm afraid," she said, and then to him, "They're coming."
Mira's POV
Chaos broke loose just as she had made it back to the camp to warn Solomon and the Doctor. She had armed herself with a hunting rifle, despite the look the Doctor had given her. Was he really thinking she was eager to shoot and kill the pigmen? They were victims as well, and it certainly hadn't been their choice to be transformed like that, nor to attack their fellow humans. But what choice did they have? Maybe they would run off when they got the first bullets in front of their feed, but she somehow doubted that.
"So it's started," the Doctor's only answer as he turned around and gave her a stern look.
She could hear the other guards shooting at the pigmen and everyone else were gathering now around them, including Martha and Tallulah.
There were more weapons left, but Solomon had refused to hand them out. Yet.
"We're under attack! Everyone to arms!" he yelled now, and the people hurried to do as he said.
She could feel how fear and even panic was spreading among them, but quite a few remained rather calm at the same time. Maybe it was because they had nothing left to lose, maybe because some of them had fought in a war before; she couldn't tell.
"I'm ready, boss, but all of you, find a weapon!", Frank said, armed with a shotgun now. "Use anything!"
Some people started running, but Solomon yelled, "Come back! We've got to stick together! It's not safe out there! Come back!"
It was too late for running anyway, the first pigmen had reached the camp now and started to grab the people. She tried to aim at them, but there was too much chaos and too many people running around she was afraid to hit.
"We need to get out of the park!" Martha yelled.
"We can't," the Doctor replied, "They're on all sides. They're driving everyone back towards us."
"Then we stand together," Solomon said determined. "Gather round. Everybody come to me. You there, Jethro, Harry, Seamus, stay together!"
She found herself next to the Doctor, between the other armed men which formed a circle around the women.
"They can't take all of us," Solomon, who was standing on her other side, said, almost as if talking to himself, to reassure him that they would have a chance if they all stood together.
"If we can just hold them off till daylight," Martha yelled.
"I'm afraid we don't have to," she said and followed the Doctor's look as he turned his head. "The pigmen are only here to round us up."
"Oh, my God," Martha whispered in utter terror as she spotted the flying Dalek herself.
"What in this world is this?" Solomon asked.
"It's the devil," one of the men said. "A devil in the sky. God save us all. It's damnation."
"Oh yeah?" Frank said. "We'll see about that!" The next moment, before either she or the Doctor could stop him, he fired at the Dalek with his shotgun.
"That's not going to work!" the Doctor yelled at him.
He could have thrown a stone instead achieving the same effect, she thought grimly to herself. But thankfully, the Dalek didn't exterminate him instantly.
"There's more than one of them!" Martha yelled, and indeed, another Dalek came flying.
Suddenly, without further warning, both of them started to fire at the tents and everyone standing in their way. They were surrounded by flames, dead and dying people instantly. The air was filled with smoke, cries of pain and the smell of burning flesh. People started to shoot at Daleks, but to no avail. She had put her weapon down by now because it was so absolutely useless.
Her eyes caught hold of the Doctor's face, and for a second she thought she had seen an expression of speechless terror, but then one of the Daleks, Dalek three according to a patch, screamed at them, "The humans will surrender!"
Her head flung around to the Dalek, and before she had the chance to even think about a response, the Doctor stepped forward.
"Leave them alone. They've done nothing to you!" he yelled at them.
There was no immediate response, and then Solomon stepped forward as well.
She grabbed his sleeve and said, "No, they'll just kill you!", but he shook her hand off and addressed the Dalek.
"I'm told that I'm addressing the Daleks. Is that right?" he said.
No reply. She couldn't help herself but got the feeling that the Dalek was communicating with the others via radio. Waiting for instructions.
"From what I hear, you're outcasts too," Solomon continued eventually, now standing next to the Doctor, but a few steps away.
"Solomon, don't!" the Doctor warned him.
"Doctor, this is my township," Solomon replied, and then spoke to the Dalek again. "You will respect my authority."
"Solomon, leave it!" she tried it again desperately, but she also didn't dare to step forward and pull him back. He was way stronger than her, and who knew how the Dalek would react if she just tried to overpower Solomon, which would more be a matter of the right technique than mere strength.
"Just let me try," Solomon said. "Daleks, ain't we all the same? Underneath, ain't we all kin?" He put down his rifle. "Right. See, I've just discovered this past day, God's universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was. And that scares me. Oh yeah, terrifies me right down to the bone. But surely it's got to give me hope. Hope that maybe together we can make a better tomorrow. So, I beg you now, if you have any compassion in your hearts, then you'll meet with us and stop this fight. Well? What do you say?"
Compassion? There was no compassion in a Dalek's heart. She of all people knew that, and still she hadn't expected what happened after Solomon was done with his moving, honest speech.
"Exterminate!"
The Dalek shot and Solomon died with a scream in a burst of blinding, green energy. The group around them screamed in terror and Frank ran over to Solomon's dead body.
"No! Solomon!" he yelled.
"They killed him. They just shot him on the spot," Martha said, absolutely stunned and and with a hint of beginning panic in her voice. She just hoped Martha wouldn't lose it now and start to run or something else irrational.
"Daleks," the Doctor said, and her head flung around to him. He was still standing in front of the group, nastily out in the open and exposed, the Dalek hovering in front of him. "All right, so it's my turn!"
She could hear the rage in his voice as he shouted. He didn't even try to conceal it. Then, with his next words, she just hoped she had gotten them wrong.
"Then kill me! Kill me if it'll stop you attacking these people!" he shouted.
"No!" she yelled, but he didn't even turn his head. Maybe he hadn't heard her, standing there, his arms spread, his face a mask of anger. Why was he doing that? She was absolutely certain that he meant it. At this very moment, he meant it. She had no idea why, maybe because of the sight of the burning tents and dying people, shot by the Daleks had woken something, brought something to the surface again. Or was he really that tired? Tired of being confronted by them time and time again? Tired of all the victims? She couldn't say why, but she was almost certain it went beyond simply protecting innocent people this time.
"I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemy!" the Dalek shouted.
"Then do it! Do it! Just do it! Do it!" The Doctor yelled.
She was frozen to the spot as she watched the scene. She didn't dare to move, to not provoke the Dalek any further. She had to do something. But what? There was no pushing him out of the way. The Dalek wouldn't miss, it was open field, and they were fast. And she knew just how strong he was. She couldn't just push him if he didn't want to. And right now he seemed to be more than determined to stand his ground.
"Exterminate!"
djmegamouth, bored411, Julia N SnowMiko, oneWhoReadsTooMuch, heroherondaletotherescue, yellowroseofthenw, NeoMulder, Stellahxhluvr, Type40TARDIS, AkatsukiShizu3: Thanks for leaving a review :-)
Notsignedin: I'm not the most patient person myself ;-)
