V
The Dalek battleship engaged its primary laser cannon, and fired a volley almost instantly. The Enterprises defence field shuddered but held, and it returned fire, firing its proton cannon at the Dalek ship, and causing the secondary hull to buckle. But the Daleks manoeuvred themselves around and fired a deadly volley that blasted the defence screen away, and then the Daleks flew. Two hundred Daleks flew straight from the ship to the main airlock.
"You may as well surrender," the Doctor said. "You'll only give them a reason to kill you."
"They'll kill us, reason or no, might as well try," Kirk replied shortly. The Doctor nodded.
"Fair enough," he said. "you're right there, they will kill you. You could try to leave…"
"And leave that madman access to that weapon?" Kirk demanded. "you're the one who said it was dangerous!"
"It is," the Doctor replied, a sad smile on his face. "To Davros."
"Sir," McCoy reported. "They're breaking through the defence…!"
A loud explosion ripped through the bridge. Daniel pulled Carrie down just as the ceiling caved in, and then he looked up, to see a crewman impaled on a pylon.
"Get off," Carrie said from below him. He looked down, to see himself in a… compromising position, and her looking faintly peeved.
"Don't look at where you were," he suggested.
She frowned and sat up, before getting an eyeful of the dead crewman.
"Oh," she whispered.
"I told you not to look," Daniel said.
"They'll board in a minute," the Doctor said. "You'd best try evacuating, Kirk," he added, talking to the Captain with a stern tone.
"Too late already," the Captain replied. "We can't get everyone off in time. I'm going to activate the self destruct."
"What good will that do, man?!" the Doctor asked him. "Pointless death never solved anything."
"Killing Daleks always does!" Captain Kirk said.
"Captain," McCoy said, "they'll be on the bridge in minutes!"
"All decks report contacts!" another crewman reported, a woman, frantic voiced.
"What's your name, crewman?" Daniel asked, walking up to her.
"Sarah Lancaster," she replied. "I don't want to die!" she cried, suddenly, upset obviously by the prospect. She was no more than twenty, and she didn't seem much like a marine. More like a scared child.
"Well, Sarah Lancaster," Daniel said, "I promise nothing will happen to you."
He took out his standard issue pistol, and turned to face the entrance to the bridge.
"Daniel," the Doctor said, in a warning tone, "no one need die here, not even you."
"We cannot allow the Daleks access to this 'Nightmare Child' sir," the UNIT trooper replied. "You've made it clear that it's a dangerous weapon."
"Actually," the Doctor said, looking at the Child through the viewport, "that's exactly what we're going to do."
"What?" Daniel said.
"Beg pardon?" Kirk added. "What the hell do you mean?!"
"Davros himself will want to gloat at me, so he'll be here in person," the Doctor said. "When he arrives, no shooting, we'll all surrender. And then; leave everything to me."
"What everything?!" Kirk asked. "What are you talking about?!"
"Tell me Captain," the Doctor said, suddenly getting in close to him. "Miss Lancaster's reaction. Was that normal for a trained MSC trooper?"
"No…" Kirk said slowly. "But these are not normal circumstances."
"You're trained to accept death in the field," the Doctor said. "Yet she panics and cries."
"So?" Daniel asked, feeling some sympathy for the poor girl.
"So, why do you think the Nightmare Child is called 'the Nightmare Child'?" the Doctor asked. "Common sense would say it has something to do with Nightmares!"
"Nightmares?" McCoy asked. "Yeah… we've been having some odd dreams recently!"
"You will have done," the Doctor said. "That's what it is. It's a gateway, a seepage, a Nightmare Machine designed to terrify, to subvert, to corrupt, to turn brave marines," he finished with a gesture at Lancaster, "into frightened children. It's the worst weapon imaginable, because it's even worse than that. Davros will destroy himself upon it. We have to let him."
"I understand," Kirk said, and there was undeniable relish in his voice. "Hang him with his own rope."
"A crude way of putting it, but essentially, yes," the Doctor said. "I had intended to do this to him before, when I was… younger, harder. More used to this sort of manipulation. But I never had the chance. Now, I have to finish my last plan."
At which point McCoy put in with "Daleks inbound for the bridge!"
The Doctor smiled at his companions. Carrie didn't really understand all this, but she smiled back. Daniel, on the other hand, nodded at him; it was a sound military principle. He briefly wondered what war the Doctor was fighting.
Then the Doctor turned to look at the door where, sure enough, Davros, flanked by two guards, appeared.
"Hello, Davros," the Doctor smiled.
"Hello, Doctor," the evil genius replied. "All of you, humans, are now prisoners of the Daleks, and you, Doctor, are my personal captive."
"I had no idea you felt that way Davros," the Doctor said. The evil genius narrowed his eyes.
"Rest assured Doctor," the crippled Kaled said. "You will know many agonies before you reveal the truth of the anomaly to me. Take them!"
The Daleks moved forwards…