Chapter Five
In Ratcliffe's office, a second high-tech wall panel is revealed. It shows a map of the local streets with various alien symbols on it.
"The enemy is about to start moving," says the computer.
"Do you think that Group Captain Gilmore suspects us?" asks Ratcliffe.
"Not the paltry military forces of your world. The real enemy. The Imperial Dalek faction, may their shells be blighted. Soon it will be war. Are you ready for war, Mister Ratcliffe?"
"Yes. This country fought for the wrong cause in the last war. When I spoke out, they had me imprisoned."
"You will be on the right side in this war."
The Doctor, Mike and the women enter the control room.
"Group Captain, the evacuation?" asks the Doctor.
"I've been in direct contact with High Command and they've agreed to stage a quiet withdrawal under the peace time nuclear accident provisions," Gilmore replies. "They felt that given the sensitive stage of the current government…"
"Just for a change," Allison cuts in sarcastically.
"They felt, Miss Williams," Gilmore continues, giving Allison a dirty look. "that the initial stages could be carried out under the aegis of the Counter-Intrusion Measures, United Kingdom. The D-notice office has of course been informed and a cover story prepared."
"What is it?" asks Rachel.
"I have no idea. Not my department," replies Gilmore. "Now, Doctor, since you hold my career in your hands, I trust you can justify my faith."
"With respect, Group Captain, your career's magnificently irrelevant. Now, let's see. Any more transmission sites?"
"No, just at the school," Rachel replies.
"Good. I want a direct line to Jodrell Bank. Let's see. 1963. The Fylingdale installations and the Royal Observatory. Order them to search these localities for any signs of high orbital activity."
Mike gives the Doctor a pencil to write them down. The Doctor hands the note to him and keeps the pencil, then switches on the light above a pool table covered in maps.
"Now, I want the detector vans moved so they can cover this area here and here," says the Doctor, pointing to locations on the map. "Order all air and ground forces to avoid engaging the enemy at all costs. We must act with extreme caution."
"And if we don't?" asks Allison.
"Goodbye civilisation as you know it."
In the boarding house front room, Mrs Smith is doing some ironing while Ace plaits her hair. Nita is completely bored now and decides to turn on the small TV set in the corner. It eventually warms up and shows the Test Card while playing music. Mrs Smith leaves the room. Ace finds the notice in the window that says - No Coloureds. She takes it down, and holds it up to show Nita, who frowns and shakes her head.
"I'm sick of the Doctor treating us like airheads!" Nita complains. "I want to do something useful."
"I left my blaster at the school," says Ace. She calls through the doorway: "Mrs Smith?"
"Yes?" Mrs Smith calls from the other room.
"We're just going out for a breath of fresh air."
"All right, dear."
The television has warmed up, and the announcer says: "This is BBC television. The time is a quarter past five and Saturday viewing continues with an adventure in the new science fiction series, Doc…"
But the girls have already left the room.
In the control room, the teleprinter is chattering away. The Doctor tears off the paper to read it.
"Twenty six by zero zero one. A big mothership of some kind, with maybe as many as four hundred Daleks on board. Well, at least we know where it is."
"Much good that does us," says Rachel.
"It would be foolish of me, I suppose, to hope that this mothership was not nuclear capable?" says Gilmore.
"That ship has weapons capable of cracking open this planet like an egg."
"We've got the parts you wanted, Doctor," says Allison, coming into the room with Mike. "Where do you want them?"
"Good. Over here."
The Doctor clears the maps from the pool table, and Allison and Mike deposit their armfuls of bits and pieces.
"Allison, we've located the mothership," Rachel informs the newcomers. "It's in a powered geostationary orbit "
"Where?" asks Mike.
"Guess," says Rachel.
Mike looks up at the ceiling.
"Right."
"Is that their main base, Doctor?" asks Gilmore.
"For one group, at least. I believe we're dealing with two antagonistic Dalek factions."
"Two?" asks Rachel.
"And do they both come from outer space?" asks Rachel.
"From another planet in a distant future. We must try and contain them, let them destroy each other."
"Shouldn't we send for reinforcements? Armoured units?" asks Gilmore.
"Have you been listening to me, Group Captain? That spaceship up there has surveillance equipment capable of spotting a sparrow fall at fifteen thousand kilometres. Any sign of a military build-up and they may simply decide to sterilise the area."
"And we have no defence," says Gilmore.
"Frightening, isn't it, to find there are others better versed in death than human beings."
Ace and Nita have returned to the school. They are walking down a corridor.
"Hello?" calls Nita.
"Anyone at home?" calls Ace.
They give the fallen Dalek a look over then go up the stairs.
Down in the cellar, a fourth Dalek is transmatting in.
The girls enter the science lab. Ace turns on her ghetto blaster, but it's not the station she expects to receive. "Attack squad in position."
"Lower area clear," says a second Dalek.
"Proceed. Exterminate any aliens."
"We obey."
Ace takes her baseball bat from her rucksack and turns her player from radio to tape. She and Nita go out to the stairwell to see a cream and gold Dalek on its way up. They run and it fires.
At the control room, the Doctor has built a gizmo with what looks like an infrared light on the end.
"What does it do?" asks Rachel.
"Well, at best it will interfere with the Dalek's control systems. I rigged something like it on Spiridon," replies the Doctor, remembering the planet he visited when he was in his third body. The planet was used for a base by the Daleks in the early 26th century in their plan to destabilise the galactic balance of power before an invasion in force. The Doctor and the Thals used explosives to trigger an icecano eruption, burying the army of ten thousand Daleks in molten ice and (they believed) permanent deep freeze. The Dalek Supreme was stranded on Spiridon after the base was destroyed and its ship stolen by the departing Thals.
"And the worst?" asks Rachel, bringing him back to the present.
"It'll do absolutely nothing."
"Doctor? Red Nine reports an increase in modulated signaling," says Allison.
"Where?"
"Just a minute."
"Mike, phone up Ace and Nita and tell them someone will come and collect them," the Doctor requests.
"Right," replies Mike.
"The signal emanates from Coal Hill School. Multiple sources in close proximity," says Allison.
"Multiple? They've got the transmat working again."
"Transmat? What does that mean?" asks Rachel.
"More Daleks."
Gilmore bursts in. "Doctor, there's no reply from my men at the school."
"Get a vehicle ready. Load it up with plastic explosives and integral detonators."
"Right." Gilmore leaves.
"Why explosives?" asks Rachel.
"Well, that thing merely disorients and weakens them. What do you expect me to do then, talk to them sternly?"
"Doctor, Mum says that Ace and Nita left ages ago," says Mike.
In the school science lab, the Dalek has glided slowly to the top of the stairs. Ace and Nita hide behind the doors as it enters and blasts Ace's noisy tape player to pieces and reports in.
"Two small human females sighted on level three."
"Who are you calling small?" cries Ace, jumping up from her hiding place. She starts hitting it with her souped up baseball bat.
"Under attack. Under attack."
She knocks off its eyepiece then dives under the benches.
"Vision impaired."
It starts firing wildly.
"Reinforcements requested!"
Ace and Nita leap through a window into the corridor. A second Dalek has come up the stairs. It fires and misses so Ace gives it a clout before running down the stairs with Nita. They run down the corridor. By the entrance is a dead soldier. Nita takes his rifle and she and Ace run out the door.
"Human female is now leaving building," says the Dalek.
Outside, Ace and Nita are trapped between two Daleks in a large empty area opening onto the playground.
"Stay where you are. Do not move," says one of the Daleks.
"Exterminate. Exterminate!" shouts the other Dalek.
A third Dalek appears. "Exterminate!" it shouts.
Ace and Nita get down on their knees as the Daleks close in on them. Ace takes the anti-tank rocket and launcher out of her rucksack and prepares to fire.
"Exterminate. Exterminate. Exterminate."