3. A London Theatre.
The Doctor's Tardis grinds.
"Where are we?" Chloe asks. She can't understand the plethora of warnings and information on the Console screen.
"We're on one of the lower floors of a London theatre - below the stage," the Doctor says. "I must discover what play they're producing."
"A play called, Doctor Who against the Daleks," Chloe says. . "The Tardis just showed it on the Console screen." She'd been watching a lower corner of the screen, possibly one of her favourite screen corners. . She often finds more information titbits in that corner. .
"We're not that interesting!" the Doctor says in annoyance. "Why did the Tardis bring us here?"
Another Request For Help arrives immediately. "What?" the Doctor feigns to object. He knows any objection will mean nothing. .
"Let's send it to Simeon and Alyssa," Chloe suggests. Her intuition for the day must have been right! Maybe a second Tardis standing by is exactly what they need.
When they emerge, they discover that the Tardis is parked in a recess in a corridor below the theatre stage. They walk towards the next corridor junction.
Just then, three men run along that corridor passing the end of the corridor.
The Doctor pauses. "People don't run that fast usually," he says to Chloe. "They seemed desperate to get away from something."
A Dalek voice sounds from the direction where the men had run away from. "They should stay away now!"
The Daleks carry on rolling towards where the Doctor and Chloe are waiting around a corner in the corridor. The corridor floor creaks as they progress.
There's nowhere for the Doctor or Chloe to hide, they're too near to the corridor junction. Chloe reaches for the Doctor's hand in a gesture indicating her keenness to whisk them both away, but the Doctor waves her offer away, indicating his keenness to stay. He must discover what's happening.
The three Daleks arrive at the corridor junction. There isn't much space! .
One of the Daleks accosts him. "Doctor! You will accompany me to the stage! Obey!"
"I don't believe I'm due on stage," the Doctor claims. .
"You will be!"
A second Dalek joins in the demanding. "You are the Doctor! You will go now!"
Their Dalek weapons quiver in anticipation, leaving no doubt as to the Dalek intent. .
The three Daleks each turn to face the next Dalek in a small circle to gain coverage of Chloe's actions in case she tries anything.
Chloe views the situation with disbelief. The Daleks have covered every place she might have gone to! .
The Doctor must walk away up the corridor they came from.
"As you see, Empress Chloe, we've learnt! You are now powerless to overcome us!" the Daleks mock (ref. 52).
Chloe thinks for a moment and knows that isn't true. She can easily go somewhere else and re-join the Daleks when they aren't expecting it; maybe from above? .
One of the Daleks is keeping an eye (they only have one .) on the Doctor looking past the other two, the other two appear to be purely providing each other cover against Chloe.
Suddenly one of the Daleks turns towards her and fires before she's had time to notice.
Chloe falls to the floor, wounded. She knows she will regenerate and recover, but there's a burning sensation at her wrist. As she falls she sees that her wristwatch transport has been fried!
Disaster!
The Doctor finds other Daleks along his route to the stage.
An audience is waiting to be entertained.
One mock-up Dalek, doubtless manned by an actor, is facing the audience claiming that he is the Dalek who will finally exterminate the Doctor.
The Doctor enters the stage followed by real Dalek Bigedd. . The difference between the mock-up Dalek and the real Dalek is stark - it's easy to tell the difference! .
Nobody in the audience is concerned. It all seems like entertainment so far. .
Dalek Bigedd interrupts. "I think you'll find that I will be the Dalek to exterminate the Doctor!"
The Doctor thinks fast. The audience is in deep trouble with a real Dalek on-stage!
Below stage, Chloe regenerates and finds herself alone. The Daleks must think that if she's human then she can't regenerate. She makes her way back to the Doctor's Tardis and goes in. There she has a better look at her frazzled wristwatch. It will never work again, but what must she do? She knows nothing of what's being enacted on the stage above her.
Chloe considers going straight home and spending months re-making another wristwatch to be identical to the one she's just lost, but she has concerns for the Doctor. What's he doing?
She presses the Voice Control button. "Please could you show me what the Doctor's doing?"
On the Console screen she sees the Doctor...
"Come now," the Doctor says. "You can see that I'm unarmed. You wouldn't fire on anyone who's unarmed?"
He's playing for time while showing up the Dalek nature. He knows they have no care for these things - they're heartless.
"I will exterminate you, armed or not! I'm Dalek Bigedd. I am assigned the honour of exterminating you!" The audience laughs contentedly. .
"Other Daleks have been given that task and have failed!" The Doctor plays for time.
Chloe's seen plenty. She presses the Voice Control button.
"Tardis, can you encapsulate that Dalek and deposit it immediately – a long way away, please? Then return here."
The Tardis grinds and briefly a Dalek form is partially visible in the Tardis Control room before it disappears.
The Doctor's still on-stage.
"Aha!" he says. "One Dalek down. I think I counted four others on my way up here!"
Chloe's back watching the Tardis screen and knows he's telling her that information.
"Tardis, can you show where the other Daleks are, please?" Chloe asks.
Two appear to be in a corridor that's too narrow for the Tardis to land in to encapsulate them; maybe on sentry duty containing the actors who ran earlier, the other two are making their way towards the stage.
Chloe knows she must act fast.
"Tardis, can you encapsulate the second of the Daleks going towards the stage and dispose of it like the earlier Dalek, please? Then return here."
Grabbing the first Dalek would mean the second Dalek seeing what's happening, and the element of surprise is something she values keeping!
Just as the second Dalek passes through a larger space, the Tardis whisks it away, returning to show the one Dalek approaching the stage.
The Doctor can see it coming and takes steps to hide!
"I'm Dalek WishyWashy," the Dalek says on entering the stage. The audience laughs at the name – it's like Aladdin! .
The audience is delighted when the incoming replacement Dalek can't see the Doctor.
"He's behind you!" someone calls out. . It's like a pantomime! The Doctor leaps away before the Dalek turns to see where he is.
But then the Dalek turns to face the audience. "Who said that? You were incorrect! You lied!"
The audience laughs! This is just what they have come to expect a Dalek to say. .
Below stage, Chloe says, "Tardis, can you encapsulate the Dalek that's on-stage and dispose of it similarly, then return here, please?"
She knows that all the Daleks must be removed, before the theatre can be safe...
The Doctor's so relieved that yet another menace to life has been removed. Surely only two remain, now.
The mock-up Dalek has no idea what's happening. The man inside can't see very well through the Dalek casing and doesn't know the nature of the off-script threat. .
The mock-up Dalek turns towards the Doctor and says, "And now, it is my turn to exterminate you!"
The Doctor can't resist a laugh. "What, you?" But then he sees the weapon the Dalek is sporting. It looks real - too real!
"Oh, no! No!"
A grinding noise comes from below the stage level as Chloe finally decides that she must encapsulate the remaining two real Daleks and dispose of them. Two large chunks of corridor wall come away with the two Daleks, but that can't be helped! .
As the mock-up Dalek turns further towards where the Doctor is standing, the Doctor leaps away again towards the back of the stage, well away from the audience to draw the fire! The Dalek weapon fires, leaving a smoking trail of destruction past the Doctor. The power of the weapon is all too apparent. It must be separated from the mock-up Dalek and the controlling man inside. He must have no idea that there's anything wrong!
Chloe's back and watching on the Tardis monitor screen. She's appalled. One of the real Daleks must have swapped the weapon onto the mock-up Dalek. But she can't simply dispose of that Dalek the same way as the other Daleks! There's a real man inside it and he must be rescued!
Chloe recalls stories the Doctor told her about his earlier companion Ace!
"Tardis, could you provide me with a baseball bat, please?"
A small light flashes on the Console and Chloe reaches for the compartment handle revealing a baseball bat. She lifts it out and admires it. A beautiful new wooden baseball bat!
She heads for the Tardis door and rapidly runs up to the stage.
On the stage it seems obvious to the audience that Chloe is the Doctor's companion. They see the baseball bat and fully expect her to be as good as Ace! .
But Chloe knows the situation is very serious. She needs to keep everyone safe!
She can tell that the mock-up Dalek hasn't noticed her ... yet! She walks to go behind the Dalek.
Someone in the audience shouts, "She's behind you!" .
The mock-up Dalek turns towards her, but she's just too far away to swing the baseball bat.
The Dalek weapon fires and strikes her down. She throws the baseball bat to the Doctor as she falls. She knows that she will have to regenerate yet again! .
The Doctor grabs the baseball bat, strides quickly, and strikes down heavily on the Dalek weapon. It hangs uselessly.
The man inside the mock-up Dalek has had enough of this off-script production and lifts the top off his Dalek. .
The audience applauds and the Doctor encourages the Dalek operator man to take the bow as yellow mists encircle Chloe.
It is a different-looking Chloe who stands to take the bow. The audience are ecstatic. They can hardly believe the change of actress. How had they done that? Chloe had been visible for the whole time on the stage! .
There was another Request For Help delivered soon after the first. What happened to that?