5. The Eternal Dalek.

The Eternal Dalek, Perpetual, faces them; one of several Daleks assigned the task centuries ago.
"Why have you recalled me? The Dalek colony I was seeding will be ruined!"
"We have two fresh tasks for you to complete!" Dalek Excel says.
"Why can't you perform them?" Dalek Perpetual demands to know. Perpetual is furious about being recalled.
"We must determine if any of us have polluted DNA," Dalek Excel proffers his first use of the Eternal Dalek's time.
"I am pure!" Dalek Perpetual is certain of that! "I have met with no-one during my Eternal mission, planting Dalek colonies! No-one can possibly have polluted me!"
"We must all be checked," Dalek Diesel prompts. "I will go first." Setting the precedent of testing by example seems the best way to ensure it happens.
Dalek Diesel rolls forwards to a large machine occupying half of the room. A sensor protrudes and touches the Dalek's metal cap. Then Dalek Diesel rolls away before the result is given.
"Your turn, Eternal!" Dalek Diesel prompts.
Dalek Perpetual rolls forward for a similar sampling by the sensor, then Dalek Excel rolls forward immediately and is sampled.

A red light starts to flash on the top of the sampling machine.
Dalek Excel leaps to a conclusion. "Red means corruption! One of us is corrupt!"
"It isn't me!" Dalek Perpetual almost roars. "How dare anyone say that!"
"Nor me! It must be you!" Dalek Diesel is quick to assert.

Dalek Axial rolls in "No disputes, now! You accept the result as given ... Oh, the red light means it's overloaded! You must sample slower!" .

Results Moment.

"You are all pure Daleks," Dalek Axial confirms. "None of you have been corrupted!" Dalek Axial rolls away again with plenty of other things to do.

"What is the other urgent task you require of me?" Dalek Perpetual asks impatiently. "It had better be important!" .
"The Doctor has a powerful ally you haven't heard of while you've been away," Dalek Excel says. "They must both be defeated simultaneously! You have been selected to have the honour of performing both these exterminations!" .
"True, it is an honour to be selected to exterminate the Doctor," Dalek Perpetual says, "but who has selected me?"
"Yes, that's right!" Dalek Excel says. .
"What?" Dalek Perpetual questions. "What do you mean? Who has selected me?"
"You are right again!" Dalek Excel says. .
Dalek Perpetual rolls to face Dalek Excel. "You talk in riddles! You are faulty! I will exterminate you!"
"I am not faulty," Dalek Excel asserts. "I merely acknowledge your correct knowledge of your selecting agent." .
"You still speak in riddles!" Dalek Perpetual rants. "You will tell me now the name of my selector!"
"Who." .
"My selector! What is the name of my selector?"
"No! Who is the name of your selector," Dalek Excel says. .
"Your rambling makes no sense!" Dalek Perpetual says. "My fuse is currently very short! You will tell me!"
Dalek Diesel groans. "I knew that name wasn't a good idea for a Dalek!" .
"What name?" Dalek Perpetual asks sharply.
"Who," Dalek Diesel replies. .
"I repeat - what name!" Dalek Perpetual almost growls, if growling is possible for a Dalek.
"I repeat - Who!" . Dalek Diesel can feel the escalation in stress levels but is unsure how to defuse it, or even whether it needs defusing. If Dalek Perpetual had no directly pointing armaments, Diesel would have been quite unconcerned.
Dalek Excel must intervene. "Who is the name of your selector!"
Dalek Perpetual looks at Dalek Excel. "You're both faulty!" .

Dalek Who enters. "Greetings Dalek Perpetual. I selected you for an honoured task from all of the Eternal Daleks!"
"What is your name?" Dalek Perpetual asks. Maybe progress can be made.
"Who," Dalek Who replies. .
"You! What is your name?" Dalek Perpetual suddenly rants.
"No! 'What' isn't my name! My name is 'Who'." .

It takes a moment for the meaning to sink in. All Daleks are facing Dalek Perpetual. Dalek Perpetual is facing Dalek Who.
"So! Your name is ... Who!" . Dalek Perpetual says slowly, trying to establish the fact.
"I did tell you!" Dalek Diesel says, then turns ready to roll off in annoyance.
"I won't stay either," Dalek Excel says. "Dalek Perpetual, you are extremely objectionable!"
"So are you!" Dalek Perpetual retorts as the two Daleks roll away.

"I dislike when my name is taken in vain!" Dalek Who rolls off with Dalek Excel, leaving Dalek Perpetual on its own.
Dalek Perpetual looks around. "This task doesn't seem adequately auspicious to merit any further detail! I'm going!"

Dalek Axial rolls in, just in time. "I am here. I will detail your task."

A Little Later.

"I will have no difficulty exterminating the Doctor," Dalek Perpetual states, "even if all other Daleks have failed."
"What makes you so certain?" Dalek Diesel asks, knowing that Dalek Perpetual has been far-removed from all recent action.
"All of you seem so incompetent!" Dalek Perpetual says. . "It cannot be difficult to defeat just one being in the whole Universe!"
"You have been away on your Eternal task for a long time," Dalek Diesel says. "You don't know of our difficulties!"
"Even finding him is difficult," Dalek Excel says .
"That's your task!" Dalek Perpetual retorts. "Mine is his extermination!" .
"There is another to exterminate," Dalek Diesel reminds them. "His companion, Chloe."
Dalek Excel reminds them of an earlier success. "We believe she was exterminated in the theatre below the stage. She was seen to die. She's human. She's dead."

Encore.

The Daleks entrap the Doctor's Tardis. Some kit stolen from the Master at some previous point suffices.

Dalek Perpetual rolls out of a corridor in their Spaceship towards where the entrapped Tardis has landed.
Chloe emerges carrying a baseball bat. She has a feeling it's her day! . She's not going to meet her maker today!
Dalek Perpetual fires, but the Tardis shielding protects her.
Chloe views Dalek Perpetual. Surely, this Dalek is way behind the times. Surely, it seems to know nothing of her capabilities. She's spent months re-building her wristwatch transport. She uses it now to relocate herself to behind Dalek Perpetual.
She doesn't want to waste any time. She steps to the side and delivers a powerful strike on the Dalek's weapon rendering it useless. It's long eye stalk receives her next blow before it starts trying to locate her with its sucker.
Chloe decides to avoid the sucker by merely returning to the Tardis. The Dalek finds a wall and starts trying to apply painful morphing logic to the wall. .

Chloe leaves the Daleks behind as she closes the Tardis door.

Dalek Perpetual won't be defeating the Doctor today!

"We can all meet up for Alyssa's birthday now," Chloe says cheerfully.

THE END

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This currently needs renewing every six months.

The previous episode in this series is called "Destiny with Robots" (ref. 54).

The next episode in this series is called "House of Portals."

I hope to add further episodes soon.

Sparse References.

Reference 38 Episode Time Distortion in this series,
where the Daleks tried to end the Universe but failed utterly.

Reference 43 Episode The Daleks Triumph in this series,
where the Daleks tried again to end the Universe, but the Doctor ensured they couldn't try that again,
where Alyssa was a part of a group who tried to defeat the Daleks by touching their caps.

Reference 52 Episode Empress of the Universe in this series,
where Chloe defeated an entire Cyber army apparently singlehandedly,
where Chloe proclaimed herself Empress of the Universe until she missed the Doctor. He wasn't pleased!

Reference 54 Episode Destiny with Robots in this series,
the previous episode in this series where robots overthrew their Human makers.

At points in the story where there is humour, an additional full stop is added. .

ANOTHER END