PRISONERS OF THE DALEKS
The gun metal grey walls seemed to close in on her like a vice, squeezing the hope from her bones. Kate had never felt so miserable or exposed in the bleak cargo hold of the transporter. For the dozenth time she asked herself why she was doing this? Had it ever seemed like a good idea? On paper it had seemed simple enough. An undercover assignment. New identity. Blend in. Get picked up and ferried to a penal colony. Spend time seeing and hearing everything then be picked up and taken to safety. Submit copy. Await praise and media awards.
Only at that moment, she wasn't so sure things were going to be as rosy as her editor had made out.
She was cold, hungry, thirsty and very scared.
Her bold promises back at the newsroom now rang very hollow.
She'd been so sure she could do this. That she was a natural. That this was her big career break.
At that moment it felt more like the final paragraph.
The other prisoners, who lay under grey sacking, were mostly still. A few coughed, some wept. One was shaking violently, face bathed in sweat as a fever took hold.
Creeping over, she found it was an old woman. The bones jutting through her paper thin flesh. Skin wrinkled like old leather. She might have been human had it not been for the three pale nodules jutting from her forehead and the webbed fingers. Fingers as brittle as twigs.
Taking her blanket, Kate draped it over the woman to keep her warm. She had no real medical training. A bit of first aid, the usual childhood illnesses but she was no nurse. Not like her clever sister.
Lying next to the woman, she wrapped an arm around her frail body. Body heat was best. It was freezing in the cargo hold. Central heating was presumably for the crew. The prisoners had no rights, they were just cattle to be transported to their final destination.
Zathax was an asteroid, not a planet. A bleak, remote penal institution for the lost and forgotten. The unimportant and the nameless.
Kate wondered who the old woman was and what she'd done to end up on Zathax. Nobody ever left, according to the literature. Once there, you stayed until you died.
Kate had never thought about death, until now.
Would this be how she died?
Pale green eyes flicked open and focused on her. The shaking had subsided to a degree but the old woman's breathing was still laboured. She had fluid on her lungs.
"Thank you." The words were barely above a whisper, a croak.
Summoning a smile, Kate hugged a bit tighter.
"You're not like the others." Stronger now, the old voice was reed thin. The other prisoners kept to themselves, did not speak, did not share their meagre rations and offered no friendship.
They'd given up, Kate realised.
"Kate," she gave her name. Everyone here was a number. Names were not encouraged. To have a name was the past.
"I am," a cough escaped the old woman. Was that blood on her lips?
Producing a tissue, Kate wiped it away.
"Not long now," said the reporter. The thrusters had been powering down for some time. Planet-fall was imminent.
No, get it right girl, Zathax is an asteroid.
"You are kind." The gaunt face seemed bloodless, colourless.
Not really, Kate was thinking, I'm a liar, an imposter. Unlike you, I have a future, I'm going to be rescued. Hopefully.
Curious, Kate couldn't resist probing. "Why are you here? I mean, what did you do?"
Try as she might, she couldn't see this wizened old lady breaking any law or committing a crime.
The pale lips twitched into the semblance of a smile. "Wrong place, wrong time."
That was probably true for all these poor souls. Men and women of various ages, from a variety of planets. Most of which Kate had never heard of.
"What about you my dear?" The rheumy eyes regarded her and Kate thought that this woman was somebody's grand mother. Maybe great grand mother.
"This, believe it or not, is my job."
Little point lying to the old stick, who might be dead soon. They might all be dead soon. According to legend, 89% of new arrivals expired within the first month.
The wrinkled face acquired a new wrinkle, a frown of disbelief.
"Your job?"
"I'm a reporter."
The frown deepened. "You mean you chose to be here?"
Kate could hear herself now in the editorial office, pitching for the assignment. Telling the boss why she was not only the best choice, but the only choice. That this was the gig she'd been born to do. She could handle it. She was smart and tough enough to survive Zathax.
How empty those words seemed now.
"You must think I'm mad," she told the crone. Maybe I am, she mused.
"We're all going to die." The admission was followed by another cough. A deep hacking one this time. More blood appeared on the lips. When Kate tried to wipe it away this time, the head turned away.
"Why die for nothing?" A sob escaping her emaciated body, the old lady shuddered. "I'm old. My time is over. You're young. So much to look forward to."
Not any more, Kate reflected as her stomach flipped. The ship was losing altitude, cutting speed. It was going into a parking orbit. It wouldn't land. These things weren't designed for that. Once in orbit it would dock with a small service module. From there, the prisoners would be beamed down to the surface in batches.
Wriggling closer, Kate lowered her lips to an ear.
"Who runs Zathax? Do you know?"
It wasn't owned by earth or any of the big federations. She had checked.
Returning to her, the pained, ancient gaze narrowed.
"Them." Said the tired voice, now ringing with fear. "Them."
Not very helpful. It could mean anything. They were out on the rim. In a kind of no man's land between one species and another. The term 'them' might apply to any number of hostile races.
"Yes, but who are they? Do they have a name?"
A bony claw closed around Kate's wrist and gave a weak squeeze. "Oh yes child, they have a name. One I had hoped I'd never hear again."
Before any more words could be spoken, the boxy speakers in the hold crackled to life, barking instructions. Those numbered 1 to 15 were to make their way to the left side of the hold and await teleportation to first the module then the surface in a kind of relay, a double shunt.
Kate was 16. She'd be in the second batch. The old woman, however, was 11. She had to move now.
"Help me up child."
Could this woman stand? Could she walk? It didn't seem likely.
But to Kate's surprise, two younger female prisoners ambled over. Helped her to lift the crone, then between them half dragged her away. One looked back, pale and undernourished, gaunt and tired.
"I'll tell you who they are," she croaked. But before she could, a fierce green light penetrated the dreary grey hold snatching her and the other selected lost souls away with an electric crackle.
Ten miles below the surface of Zathax, the caverns were disgusting and sinister. The Doctor was glad he'd work thigh high boots and thick gloves. Instead of a long, stylish coat he had opted for a thick, more industrial jacket. Just as well too, as he was going to get filthy tramped around in this smelly soup. He'd drawn the line at a breathing mask, even though the air was rank.
Everywhere he could see was muck, filth, slime, sludge and swamp. What a place for the tardis to land. There was a large habitat close by and he had tried to pilot the old girl there, but she'd baulked. For some reason, choosing to avoid the structure.
Did she know something he didn't?
Over the centuries he'd come to trust her instincts in these matters.
Hence his trek on foot through all this gloop.
Close by, an underground river slurped and bubbled. It wasn't water so much as a kind of dark oil. He got the impression something large, alive and unfriendly was swimming through it. Occasionally a fin broke the surface, or a spine. He didn't like the look of either. The sonic told him it was 25 feet long, amphibious and had 300 teeth. Whatever the creature was, it seemed best to avoid it.
So he skirted the banks and ledges, climbed over boulders and generally tried to keep dry.
Zathax. Never been before and not keen to see it again.
But there was something here. Something had drawn the tardis off course. The more he moved closer to the habitat, the more he felt it...that nag, that impulse of danger, great danger.
There was something familiar about it too.
On a dry patch of stone, he entered a wide alcove. In the centre of this was a muddy pool. Approaching this curiously, he froze the backed away, seeking the cover of an overhang to watch while being unobserved.
On the surface of the pool a large bubble formed, growing in height and width, becoming a vast dome. Higher and higher this rose as something emerged vertically. A dome with two small protrusions on the top, and longer outgrowth jutting forwards.
Up and up it came, revealing a circular torso, then a belt with two other outgrowths, then a widening skirt with bulbs rising up every facet.
Soon the mud caked, dripping apparition was fully visible.
It looked like….but it couldn't be.
Then the mud was gone in a burst of electric current revealing a silver shell with a blue top, an eye stalk, a sensor probe and a gun.
There could be no doubt now what he was seeing and terror squeezed his hearts.
Hovering before him, just inches above the pool, the dalek glided towards dry land. It did not land, but continued to float forwards very slowly. Had it seen him? Could it sense him? The eye stalk swung left and right, ever vigilant, missing nothing.
The Doctor waited, mouth going dry. If it fired now he might find that his cover wasn't so all encompassing.
But finally the dalek swung left and glided off towards a cave mouth. A tunnel loomed beyond this, too smooth to be normal. Waiting only seconds, he hurried off after the hovering shape. Careful to make as little sound as possible.
Shortly, the dalek entered a large cave in which stood 3 other daleks in a row. Coming to rest to one side of them, the blue dalek turned and waited.
Presently a column of scruffy people in grey blankets shuffled into the cave from another tunnel. They limped, stumbled and staggered. All were elderly, some geriatric, many seemed ill or feverish.
One was the old Crone had spoken to and she was in a bad way, supported by two others.
The Doctor counted a dozen old people, all of who formed a loose group in front of the daleks.
What was happening here?
Who were these poor old souls?
The blue dalek eyed the humans then barked a single command.
NO. The Doctor wanted to shout but there was nothing he could do.
Blazing light shot from the dalek gun sticks to cocoon the posse of pensioners. Consumed, their ancient bodies twisted, arched and juddered. Screams were torn from old throats, limbs were flung out and heads jerked backwards under the barrage.
It was soon over. The smoking bodies lay still, eyes sightless and mouths open in now silent screams.
Closing his own eyes, the Doctor lowered his head.
The massacre sickened him, even though he'd seen other such atrocities.
The blue dalek eyed the corpses only briefly, then gave another order. The bodies were to be disposed of in the usual way. Whatever that was.
Why? Because they were old and sick, no longer fit to work?
The Doctor could only guess but it was typical dalek efficiency. The blue dalek left the scene, moving towards another cave mouth. Beyond this the walls were metal, smooth and silvery. It was heading into the habitat and that was where the time lord needed to be.
He could do nothing for the dead, but perhaps he could still help the living.
Not looking back, the blue dalek paused before a circular door. When this opened, it flowed through. Waiting only briefly, the Doctor dashed to the doorway and squeezed between the closing gap.
So far he had been undetected, but from now on he'd have to be extra careful. The prison block was blocky and functional with tall support pillars and pipes transecting the walls. Quickly, he divested himself of his boots. They'd be a handicap here. Under them he wore flat heeled shoes better suited to traversing metal floors.
Hiding his bigger boots behind a thick floor level pipe, he studied the place. Zathax was a penal colony, he knew that much. So the murdered people had to be prisoners. The unwanted and sickly. Only the young and healthy would be kept alive, but to do what?
Why were the daleks here in this muddy hole? What could they be looking for?
The blue dalek had disappeared up a corridor. Deciding not to follow it any more, he headed down an adjacent corridor looking for clues. This wasn't a big place, he'd have to be careful and not run into guards. A glance at the walls and ceiling revealed no spy cams, which was odd. Dalek bases were usually replete with two things. Cams and alarms. So far, he hadn't seen either.
Sonic out, he did a quick recce. Life signs, human life, this was more like it.
Very soon Kate realised that the prisoners fell into two camps. The young and the old, with the old being rapidly led away by humaniod guards in black uniforms and matching helmets. Men who only ever spoke to bark orders.
Left with the young, she was herded into a cubicle and felt power sensor beams play over every inch of her skin. What could they be looking for, disease, hidden equipment? Kate had neither. She had insisted that no bugs be used, they'd give her away.
So who ran this place, the men in black? Somehow, she doubted it. They seemed more like functionaries, shock troops. The floors were all smooth and metallic, no steps or ramps, like they were designed to glide along not walk. Thick cables ran everywhere, humming with power. But no corporate logo, no warning signs. Funny, no cams either. Kate came from a society rich with surveillance, but here there was a marked lack of such devices.
Released by the cubicle, she was next led to a changing room and issue with a prison uniform. This was a skin tight, tan coloured one piece outfit. Quite flattering as it hugged her curves in all the right places.
All the other prisoners wore the same thing, both men and women. There seemed to be an equal mix of genders here, but nobody over forty as far as she could see.
The black guards were all men, or man shaped. As they never lifted their visors, she couldn't be sure what species they were.
"You're with my detail."
The voice startled her, female, almost friendly and young sounding. She turned to face a petite blond aged about thirty with full lips and a pert nose. The green eyes were intelligent but wary.
"Your detail?" So far Kate hadn't been given any specifics instructions about where to go or what to do.
Just what kind of work was done here?
"Yes," said the blond. "Here, we have teams of ten people each."
Teams. Odd term. Surely they were inmates.
"I'm Kate." She refused to give her number. Numbers were so dehumanising.
"Zara," the blond fired back.
"Zara, what goes on here? What are supposed to do? I had thought I'd be locked into a cell."
Upon hearing this, Zara broke into a wide, toothy grin. She had good teeth and a clear complexion, prison life seemed to agree with her.
"There are no cells here Kate. They aren't needed. No one can escape Zathax. Once here, you're here for life. We're ten miles underground. The only access is via teleport, as you've seen. That system is totally controlled by…."
Here she broke off. Controlled by whom, Kate wanted to ask? The black guards?
"How long have you been here," she enquired? Hoping to be friends with this woman. She could use a friend about then.
"Come with me," Zara said archly. But before they could move, one of the black guards barred their way. Just standing there, stiff and tall. Immovable.
Was the guard a living being or something mechanical, because it didn't seem to be breathing. Kate felt a chill run through her, she backed away. Standing firm, Zara said.
"This woman has been selected for my work detail."
It was news to Kate. When Zara held up a piece of laminated plastic, the guard scanned it, paused, then edged aside.
Come on quickly. Zara's glance was unambiguous.
Glad to leave the chilling sentry behind, Kate hurried after the woman. Amazed at how quickly those short legs could move.
"What kind of work goes on here," she asked?
Turning a corner, the other woman came to a dead stop and regarded her coolly. "Who are you?"
"Kate. Kate Ash."
"That tells me nothing. What are you doing here?"
So fierce was the gaze that Kate felt sure she'd given herself away.
"I'm a prisoner, like you."
Zara didn't seem impressed. "Try again," she said.
Kate did, "I was picked up on Cal 5 by a routine sweep. My work permit was out of date."
"That's a cover story. Believe me, I've heard better."
Just who was this woman? Was she part of security here?
"I don't know what to tell you," said Kate, maintaining her composure with an effort.
As two guards strode by, Zara grabbed her by the wrist and all but dragged her out of sight.
"Listen Kate Ash. I'm planning an escape from here, and I need to know if I can trust you."
The lighting had changed. The deeper in he went, the greener it became and colder, much colder, positively chilly.
Eventually a large chamber presented itself overlooked by a wide oval window that looked down upon an amazing scene.
A large, scaly creature was pinned to a table. Breathing rapidly, it parted its huge jaws to reveal a plethora of evil looking hooked teeth. The sonic told him it was the same type of amphibian he'd detected before, one with 300 teeth.
Possessing both legs and fins, the monster was repulsively ugly with a host of sharp spines along its sides. He saw no restraints so the table must use magnetism. Around it glided 3 grey daleks, work drones, they moved from one terminal to another checking screens and meters.
Supervising was a blue dalek floating several feet in the air on a hover disk, its lens playing over the captive monster, which glared back with bulging green eyes full of fear and hatred.
A massive tongue suddenly lashed out, missing the blue dalek by inches. It reared back on the disk, but did not fire. The captive was wanted alive for some reason.
An order was barked.
From the wall something long and metallic extruded on a three section arm. The end of it was a vast hypodermic needle. This sank down over the beast, hovering near to a sac under its jawline.
Suddenly the needle pierced the sac making the monster utter a piteous cry.
A black ichor oozed into the belly of the needle until this was full, then the hypo withdrew.
Something had been extracted, but what and why?
The Doctor craned his neck and noticed that to one side sat the bottom half of a dalek shell. Within this pulsated an organic dalek. Only there was something wrong with it.
The skin was too pale, almost anaemic. The single all seeing eye had a cataract and the tendrils twitched feebly. All over it the creature had these weeping sores and ulcers.
The dalek was dying, infected.
At once the Doctor thought of the recent war between the daleks and the Modi, in which the Modi had deployed a biogenic weapon of devastating power. He was now seeing its effects close up. Millions of daleks had perished, this bunch here had to be one of the few surviving pockets.
The great needle swung from the captive creature to the dalek, hovered for a moment then injected the oozing blob in the belly, pumping all the black ichor into it.
At first, nothing happened and the Doctor frowned in confusion.
Then a startling change came over the naked dalek. Colour suffused its pale skin, the skin seemed to fill out. The tendrils gained more vigour, the eye blinked itself clear of cataract and the weeping sores began to heal at an accelerated rate.
A grey dalek floated over, its sensor probe playing over the patient. Readings were spoken, all vital signs were up.
A cure, the time lord realised, he was seeing the restoration of his old enemies in this bleak outpost.
Soon an upper casing came down to attach itself to the skirt, covering the patient completely and once whole again, the dalek began to speak. Haltingly at first, then with more clarity. All motive function restored. As if to prove this, it glided forwards past its colleague to the prisoner. Eyeing it coldly. The returning glare was no less hostile.
Fascinated by this little scene and a wiser man, the Doctor edged away with much to think about. If the daleks had found a cure for the Modi virus, it was seriously bad news for this sector of space.
Escaping the green zone, some kind of medical isolation area, he continued on towards the human prisoners. The daleks were harvesting the mire beasts, taking what they needed heedless of how it harmed the animals.
Repulsive though he found this, he could do nothing to stop it at that moment. In any case, he had another priority. One of the human life signs had made the sonic ping with recognition. There was somebody here who had travelled with him in the tardis at some point. The chronon signature was unmistakable.
At first, Kate wasn't sure if she'd heard Zara properly. Was the woman mad or was it a trick?
"Nobody escapes from Zathax." She said.
This didn't impress the blond. "I'm going to. Me and others. Maybe you too."
Of course there had been escape attempts in the past. None had succeeded. Those who tried invariably ended up dead.
"It can't be done."
Waving this aside, Zara led her to a long room in which various men and women were knitting, stitching and washing prison uniforms. None looked up. All had a sort of cowed, resigned quality Kate had seen on the shuttle. They stank of defeat.
"Zara, you asked me who I am. So who are you? You're no ordinary prisoner either."
Considering this, the blond gave a tight, ironic smile as she led Kate over to a work table on which were some soiled garments. A thin, round shouldered man was sorting through them, dividing them by size and gender. Those too dirty were tossed into the mouth of a garbage disposal Shute. The rest were stacked in a basket that bore the word PENDING.
"Rex is deaf," said Zara. "We can speak freely."
Ignoring them totally, Rex continued with his mundane labours. Should I tell her the truth, Kate wondered?
"What are you a cop, an agent," Zara pressed?
"Is this a test," Kate enquired?
"Yes it is."
"What if I fail?"
Picking up a sharp implement, Zara weighed it in her hand as if contemplating using it. Kate wondered if her skills were up to disarming this woman?
Finally she sighed. "Okay. I'm a reporter with GALNET."
A frown met this, and Kate went on. "You know, the galactic internet. We're on a thousand planets."
Actually subscriptions had been falling away, hence her undercover assignment. A desperate attempt to land a scoop.
GALNET was falling behind its rivals. If it didn't increase sales soon, jobs would go, maybe hers.
"Reporter." Repeating the word with some distaste, Zara put the weapon aside. "You could be lying."
Kate was offended. "I'm based on earth central, my boss is…."
But she was waved quiet. A black guard was approaching with long, wooden strides. Yes, definitely robotic and Kate tensed.
But he walked right passed them, uninterested in their chat. Not even pausing to look around.
"Are those things in control here," Kate asked?
"Of course not. They're just drones."
"So, who is running this place?" Knowing she was being nosy, Kate watched the guard disappear.
"There's a food break in an hour. Best if you stayed here until then."
Zara made to move away, but catching an arm, Kate held on.
"We haven't finished talking."
"We have," Zara pulled free. "For now."
"But what about your escape?"
Waving her quiet, the blond fixed her with a look."I need to be sure about you first."
"How can I convince you?" Kate had no ID on her for obvious reasons. Even her implants had been removed like her work permit chip and GALNET staff chip.
"I'll think of something." The reply was chilling.
The black clad guard walked stiffly by, he did not turn to look left or right. If he had he might have seen the intruder stood totally still observing him. Waiting until he was alone, the Doctor put his sonic away. It had told him all he needed to know. Time to find the humans. One human in particular.
After a few steps he heard the sound of hard labour – banging, scraping, water slopping – but no conversation. Reaching a window, he peered into a long room where people in uniforms were cleaning things, stitching, repairing and carrying back and forth. Men and women with the same defeated expressions. All young, he noted and undernourished.
As they moved back and forth, he couldn't find the person he wanted. Yet if he entered the room, he'd stand out.
Then there were the black guards. Not many of them but armed and positioned at strategic points to see everything..
Maybe it was time to shake things up a bit and break the dreary routine. The idea appealed to his rebellious streak.
Finding a small grey box on the wall that was clearly some kind of alarm, he adjusted his sonic and gave it a quick burst.
Nothing.
With a frown he tried again.
Still nothing.
Damnation. What was wrong?
A third try was equally fruitless.
So stepping to one side, he lifted an elbow and…..
With a shrill shriek, the alarm tore through the entire complex. They could probably hear it in the next galaxy.
All work ceased. People looked around, shocked.
The guards came to investigate, guns drawn.
Watching them pass by, the Doctor crept into the work room.
Amazingly, the prisoners ignored him despite his strange clothes. He did a quick sonic.
Turned and dashed to the left.
A guard appeared, but he had his back to the intruder. When he turned, the Doctor was behind some baskets.
"What are you doing?"
The female voice made the time lord jump with fright.
Turning, he plastered a smile on his face and prepared to make a facetious remark.
It never left his lips.
There she was.
"Kate?"
Kate blinked back in surprise. "Who are you?"
Was she serious? "It's me."
"Who's me exactly?"
"The Doctor."
Features blank, she regarded him like some kind of lunatic. Frowning, he looked her up and down.
"Come on Kate, I haven't changed that much."
"How do you know my name?"
It wasn't play acting. She genuinely didn't seem to know him. He waved his sonic over her. Startled, she reared back like she'd never seen it before.
She didn't know the sonic and she didn't know him.
"Amnesia," he speculated?
"My memory is fine."
But it wasn't. It couldn't be. Not after all they'd been through.
"Doctor, time travel, tardis."
She frowned, "Are you some kind of escaped lunatic?"
No time for more chat, the guard was approaching. Picking up a basket, he began piling sheets into it like a good little slave. The guard paused, glanced over, then kept going.
"How did you get on Zathax?" Kate was also busy.
"I take you're undercover. Still working for GALNET?"
That brought her up short. "Are you a reporter too?"
"Not exactly." He tossed the basket aside. "Your memory of me has been erased, that's interesting. But how and by whom?"
"There's nothing wrong with my mind."
The guard returned, looked at them and raised his gun. The Doctor offered a smile. It cut no ice. The gun powered up.
Quickly he tossed an empty basket over the guard's head, whipped up his sonic and….
This time it worked.
The guard did a weird staggering dance, gripped his helmet and collapsed. As he did, his visor snapped open revealing not a face but a mass of circuits.
Kate's jaw went slack, but she still joined the Doctor haunched over the android.
"Pretty advanced," he was saying. "The daleks have used them before."
Reacting to his word, her features pale, she repeated the word. "Daleks? On Zathax?"
Studying her, he nodded. "It's why I'm here. To find out what they're doing on this miserable rock."
"You came here by choice? How did you breach the security? And what is that annoying toy in your hand?"
Pocketing the toy, he stood up. "I'm not insane Kate, nor am I lying. I can prove everything I've told you."
Clearly confused and scared, she backed away from him. The alarm went off. Footsteps told him the other guards were returning. Prisoners resumed their labours like automatons.
"I need you to trust me," he said, seeing that she didn't. "You're Kate Ash, aged 28, born 23rd of Omega. You have two brothers, both are pilots. You have a small scar here."
He touched his left upper arm. Instinctively, she did the same.
He went on, "We first met on Neo Bedlam. You were undercover there too. Remember? The sane going mad and the mad…."
She finished for him, "becoming sane."
Seconds left. He couldn't be found here. He had too much to do. Exit. He needed an exit. Seeing a large vent grill, he dashed over.
"Help me with this."
But she was just stood there, frowning, bewildered; lost in the past.
His sonic loosened the screws and soon the grill was coming away in his hands.
He was getting a bit old for this. Vents were such a cliché, but what choice did he have?
"Are you coming," he called over his shoulder?
Kate didn't move. He took that as a no. "I'll be back."
No way could he just leave her on Zathax, not given who was in charge of this madhouse.
Kate blinked as a posse of guards arrived, circling the fallen android on the floor. They did not speak, or touch the body. One touched a bracelet on his left wrist. A corona of light consumed the body, which in seconds had dematerialised. Teleported away.
Another guard approached the opening where the vent grill had been. Squatting down, he peered into the vent itself. His helmet lamp flashing on. This panned left to right, then up and down in a searching pattern. Kate wondered if he'd seen anything, seen that odd man who seemed to know her.
Wordlessly, the guard rose and patted his breast plate. An odd electronic burbling sound filled the air. Some kind of signal, she assumed. He was making a report to his masters. Would she be in it, would she be punished? She waited, but the guards ignored her, eventually filing away, returning to their duties.
The ramp led downwards at a mild gradient. It didn't seem to be designed for human feet and the Doctor had to grip the wall to keep his balance. Cautiously he followed the ramp all the way down until it levelled off.
Ahead he heard splashing sounds, fierce growls and electronic hums.
Creeping to a window, he gazed down upon a vast dock. To one end was an opening that led out into a swamp. Being dragged slowly through this was a massive shape. The mire beast was resisting with all its strength, but the blue tractor beams that held it refused to yield. These came from projectors on the ceiling and walls of the dock, drawing the vast creature into a watery bay in the centre.
Around this daleks scooted around, moving from one terminal to another. Overhead, two daleks flew above the bay as if supervising.
Clearly a new arrival, the mire beast roared and hissed in fury, in its eyes the Doctor could see fear and rage as it was dragged from its natural habitat.
Yet another prisoner, he thought. Would it suffer the same fate as the other one he'd seen? Being drained of some vital fluid?
Suddenly, the monstrous tail shot upwards catching one of the aerial daleks full on. Shattering into two chunks, the machine spun around and sank into the swamp without trace. The second flyer veered off, trying to escape. But swinging back, the tail caught it a glancing blow. Sent careering sideways, the dalek hit a metal wall and exploded into a ball of orange flames.
The daleks on the ground buzzed about in a panic, touching controls in a frenzy. More tractor beams shot down to hold the mire beast in place. It kept struggling and snarling, but the deadly tail did not come into play again. Eventually, the daleks seemed to calm down but it had been a close run thing. The Doctor had to admit, he found their distress deeply satisfying. They weren't having it all their own way.
Then he became aware he wasn't alone. Turning slowly, he saw the knife first. It was held in a small hand, a human hand.
"Not a word," said a female voice. She gestured with the knife and cautiously, the time lord moved away from the window. He was facing a petite blond woman in a prison uniform, but she wasn't like the other prisoners here.
"I'm the Doctor."
"Are you." Not sounding impressed, Zara looked him up and down. "You look like my second imposter of the day."
He frowned, but only briefly. "Oh yes, I've met Kate too."
"Doesn't surprise me that you two know each other. You media as well?"
Before he could answer, she pushed him into an alcove and joined him there, knife to his neck, a finger to her own lips.
A blue dalek floated by, silent and poised, eye stick moving from side to side. It was looking for something, or someone. Pausing, it half turned towards them and for a heart melting moment he thought they'd been detected. But gradually the dalek swung away and moved to the window, studying this intently.
Its lens swung down and to the left, where he'd crouched then finally satisfied the dalek moved away.
"They know," Zara hissed. "That there's an intruder."
"Would you mind taking that knife from my throat before there's a nasty accident."
Reluctantly it seemed, the woman complied. "You've met daleks before," she said.
"You too," he reposted.
"I've been here a long time."
"Oh I think you encountered them before being sentenced."
"What makes you say that?"
"Your reactions. The way you looked at that dalek. First timers have a look in their eye, believe me I know."
Moving out of the alcove, Zara checked the coast was clear. "I think it's gone, for now."
"It'll be back," said the tall man.
"How can you be sure?"
"Let's talk about your escape plan." Grim faced now the time lord gazed right into the woman's eyes.
"How do you…?" She broke off. "Kate."
"No, she didn't tell me. You're just a bit too confident, too sure of yourself. I know a rebel when I see one."
"Takes one to know one, eh Doctor?"
He didn't deny it.
"By my reckoning you're going to try and hijack the teleport system."
Zara just stared back at him with a perfect poker face, giving nothing away. Not letting this put him off, the Doctor grinned.
"It won't work," he concluded. "Too many fail safes, plus you'd only get as far as the orbiter and that has an inbuilt self-destruct."
Still saying nothing, Zara remained stock still.
The Doctor continued. "You could try the caverns and risk the mire beasts, but where would that take you? Any rescue ship that attempts and unauthorised landing would be shot down. So you can't get out that way."
The blond sighed, "So how are you intending to get away with Kate?"
"Ah, I have something they didn't anticipate."
"Which is," Zara quizzed?
"A time ship."
She didn't laugh. He thought she would. Or at least smile, at least ridicule the very idea. But no. No sarcasm, no scorn, no cynical put down.
"You believe me," he muttered. "Why do you believe me?"
Not answering, she eyed her wrist. "Time for lunch. I can't be late."
As she turned to leave, he ran over. "Just a second, lunch? I've just told you I have a time ship and you're more interested in watery rice and stale crackers?"
"So, you've a time ship. Big deal."
Yes it was a big deal. The biggest deal of them all. He had expected astonishment, disbelief, outrage, questions. Lots of questions. This woman was indifferent and nobody was, not when it came to the tardis.
"Have you ever seen a time ship?" He demanded, quite put out now, even narked.
"As a matter of fact," a buzzing whine filled the air.
It came from him. From his sonic. He took it out. The side bar was flashing red, Kate's name was on it. She was in danger.
"Lunch," he said. "Good idea."
The canteen was so vast that 72 long tables could fit into it. Kate took her tray to one near the wall, hoping to chat to some of the other prisoners. Dismayed when they ignored her questions, ignored her and just sat down munching mindlessly.
She wanted to know who they were, where they came from and how long they'd been on Zathax. Nobody was talking. People ate and drank, they did not speak. The atmosphere was funereal.
Then a powerful potential made her teeth itch and hair stand on end. A light flashed near her table, teleport energy made plates rattle and tea boil in cups.
Something appeared.
It wasn't a black guard.
It was a….
Gliding towards her, lens focused and sucker arm extended the dalek halted just shy of where she sat.
Kate gazed at it wide eyed. Nobody else did. They just ignored the metal shell with its dodgem car sent, its grating traction and obvious gun.
She was told to stand up. Told to walk into the aisle, asked her name.
Kate complied. What else could she do? This was a dalek. There was nothing deadlier in the galaxy.
Except maybe the Modi.
Hadn't they wiped these bossy pepper pots out with a virus?
The Doctor had mentioned the daleks. Seems he was right.
She was told to accompany the dalek. It turned and began to float away. Did she make a run for it? Where could she go? Any how, there was no way to outrun that lethal blast.
Zara appeared across the canteen. The Doctor was behind her. Both stared in horror.
Pale cheeked, Zara seemed stricken. The Doctor kept calmer, whispering in her ear. She looked at him and shook her head. He repeated himself.
No, her body language was clear. Ignoring it, the time lord strode forwards to a fire extinguisher. A bulky cylinder with a nozzle.
"Can you smell fire," he said? "I can. It's definitely getting warmer in here and I can guess why." He was looking right at Kate now, the message clear.
Get ready to run.
The dalek swung towards him, sensing the threat.
He was ordered to remain still and drop the extinguisher. If he complied, he was dead. Kate knew it. He knew it.
He smiled, shrugged and sprayed the dalek, eye first, then gun.
Move.
Kate ran, towards him, past him, away from the drenched foamy dalek.
The Doctor kept spraying until the nozzle coughed empty, then he threw the cylinder at the dalek. It bounced off with a loud clang and then he too was running.
The dalek flashed electric blue as it raised its shell temperature to rapid dry. Seconds later it could both see and move and fire.
It fired.
Kate stopped to allow the odd man to catch up. Once he had, she grabbed him by the sleeve of his thick jacket. He'd just taken one hell of a risk to save her life. She wanted to know why.
"Who are you?"
"The Doctor."
It meant nothing. And yet somewhere, in the deep recesses of her mind, it did.
"Time," she gasped. "Lord."
He nodded. "You travelled with me in the tardis."
Another odd term that echoed back at her. "Bigger on the inside….."
He beamed, "Than the outside."
"I know about it, yet I don't. How can that be?"
He touched her shoulder. This could wait. They had to hide.
A small room presented itself. Bundling her inside, he closed the door to a tiny crack. Through this she saw the dalek glide by in full hunter-killer mode. Once it had gone he muttered.
"They're on Zathax to immunise themselves."
This confused her. "Excuse me?"
"They're extracting venom from the mire beasts and using it as a vaccine."
"How the hell could the mire beasts provide a vaccine?" It didn't make any sense to her.
"Long ago, the Modi lived on this rock. They evolved from the mire beasts. They must share DNA."
"The Modi?"
"They beat the daleks," he responded. "There was a huge war and the Modi deployed a biogenic weapon."
She remembered that. "One they were immune to but the daleks weren't."
With a sigh, he checked that the coast was clear. It wasn't. The dalek
was coming back with a posse of the black guards. This hide hole wouldn't be safe for much longer. Striding across the small room to some crates, he eased these aside to expose another vent grill.
The sonic began to loosen bolts and screws.
"The daleks are survivors," he muttered. "Whatever happens to them, they always come back. They intend to use Zathax to reboot their entire species."
"But why a penal colony?"
"I'm not sure, yet."
"There aren't many of them," she said.
"There will be if the vaccine works long-term."
If nothing else, this was an even bigger story than the one she'd been about to write. It might make ratings history. It would certainly give GALNET a much needed kick of credibility. Kate could see herself presenting the story. Senior reporter. No, senior correspondent.
"You're here to stop them, aren't you Doctor?"
Vent grill off, he waved her inside. "They can't be allowed to gain immunity." Joining her in the vent, he nodded for her to take the lead. "If they do, they'll wipe out the Modi and the rest of this sector will be rich pickings."
Knees sore, Kate scrambled through the dark, smelly tunnel wondering where they were going?
"The Modi are petty horrible," she said.
"Liberal wet noses compared to the daleks."
"Okay, so where exactly are we going?"
"You know that thing that's bigger on the inside….?"
She felt a kick of excitement. "We're going to the tardis?"
"I think it's time you two were reacquainted. Plus, there's something I need in there."
The vent opened out into the area he'd first arrived in. Once they'd scrambled out, he pointed, "That leads to the caverns. I have to warn you they're pretty mucky and messy. Your uniform is going to be ruined."
Not caring about that, Kate just shrugged. She could rough it when she had to. Her job had seen her trek through the odd swamp, jungle and filthy cave.
Voices reached them. He pulled her back into an alcove just in time as a dalek appeared with a human female, a prisoner. Kate was appalled to see it was Zara. Talking to the dalek like an equal.
"Is the escape attempt to go ahead as planned," she asked? So, the daleks knew all about it.
The dalek said yes, the teleport would be unguarded, its inbuilt defences switched off.
This made no sense to Kate. Why allow the escape?
Zara said, "Kate Ash has disappeared with the Doctor."
Suddenly the dalek froze in its tracks, its eye swivelling to Zara in some agitation. It repeated the word, Doctor, and there was no disguising the echo of fear and loathing.
"Yes, that's what he called himself." Zara confirmed. "The Doctor."
Silent for a few moments, the dalek ordered Zara to return to the holding area. It had something to do. Without any further words, it shot away.
Kate did think to step out and confront Zara but a hand caught her arm and the tall man shook his head. He didn't speak until Zara had gone, and then it was to say.
"Time to go."
"But she's in league with them. She's leading people into a trap."
"Nothing we can do about it here," he said. "But in the tardis I might be able to help."
Running after him, unable to match those long strides, she found herself in a cave system. Yes, it was filthy, grunge and mud everywhere. The sound of running water was quite loud. No, not water, some sort of slime or oil. She saw a vast shape move below the surface and reared back.
A mire beast. Was this their natural habitat?
She didn't fancy meeting one face to face. "How far is it?"
"Well I couldn't land too close. About ten minutes."
Could she put up with it that long? She'd have to. Swiftly they made their way through the caverns, careful to avoid sucking mud, boiling pools and going to near to the water.
They were fairly high up on a narrow ledge she wasn't enjoying too much when something rose out of the water below them. A huge head that was all mouth, a mouth festooned with teeth. Uttering a piercing shriek, the beast blinked its many small eyes. She wasn't sure if it had much in the way of vision, but those big nostrils would certainly detect their scent.
The Doctor froze, his look told her not to move or speak. Head swinging from side to side, the monster slapped the cave wall with first a fin then a leg.
Oh no, was it going to climb up to get at them?
Mouth wide open, the monster suddenly shot out an impossibly long tongue. Squeezing her eyes shut, Kate prepared to be grabbed and swept down into those teeth.
When she wasn't, she risked a look. The beast had some kind of huge bug in its mouth, an outsized beetle about 4 meters in length which it crunched and chewed into pulp. Oh boy, how many types of monsters were there down here?
Apparently satisfied, the beast began to swim away. That is until it heard a low buzzing whine. Having heard it to, Kate squinted into the gloom and her heart sank. Hovering in mid air, two flying daleks were approaching at speed. They were either hunting the beast or…
They couldn't fail to see the two humans and if they opened fire now….There was nowhere to hide on the ledge.
"Doctor."
Nodding, he took out his sonic, adjusting its rapidly. Aiming at the water, he switched on. Kate heard nothing at all, but the beast did. The low frequency note causing it to spin around, rear up and utter a savage roar.
The tail lashed out in a wide arc, hitting both daleks a broadside. They had no chance, being smashed into a rock wall and exploding into fragments.
"Most satisfying." Said the time lord with a malicious grin.
"You enjoyed that." Kate accused.
"Yes, I did."
Diving out of sight, the beast swam away at speed.
"Me to," the reporter confirmed. "They deserved it."
Zara studied her chosen few. The people she had picked to escape with her, or so they thought. All were young, fit and reasonably smart. Just the kind of people the daleks wanted. For what, she had no idea. She'd been given her orders and would obey them. What a shame Kate Ash wasn't here. She'd be perfect. Oh well, maybe another time. That or she and the Doctor would be exterminated.
Zara didn't care. She was a survivor and sometimes to survive you had to sacrifice others.
Waving at the teleport platform, she urged her party to hurry.
"Why isn't it guarded?" One of them asked, his name was Vernon and he wasn't as browbeaten as most.
"It was," Zara lied. "I created a diversion."
"What kind of diversion?" Mona had been a teacher, once and was nosey?
The alarm siren answered her question. Going off at just the right time.
With a triumphant smile, Zara herded everyone into place and went to a terminal.
"Are you not coming with us?" Vernon was twitchy, starting to doubt.
"Later." She hit transmit and a field of green light enveloped the platform, consuming all those stood there. Very soon, they had faded away.
Except for Vernon. He'd stepped off and was now facing her accusingly.
Damn, a complication.
"What are you playing at Zara," he demanded?
It was then that the dalek appeared, bearing down on the thin man menacingly and his question was answered.
Kate's eyes bugged. She could not be seeing what she was seeing. This was impossible. An illusion, a trick. Or she was going mad. Yes that was it, she'd cracked up. After all, she'd stepped into a narrow wooden box and was now standing in….
It was vast. So bright, so modern. Architecture beyond imagination.
"This is not happening to me."
First daleks, now this. After the muddy, slimy caverns it was such a contrast. A futuristic cathedral of glass and metal. Great stanchions, raised balconies and spiralling staircases. It seemed to go on forever.
Quite nonplussed, the Doctor hurried over to a central terminal.
"Damn," he finally said.
"What is it?"
"Just too late. Zara's used the teleporter."
"Can you bring them back?"
He was clearly trying and clearly not succeeding. "I know where they've gone."
"Maybe we should go there."
He thought about it, shook his head, tutted, rubbed his palms then met her gaze.
"Yes, all right."
Buttons were hit, a lever pulled. Nearby a strange glass sculpture rose and fell.
"Won't take long," he said.
"To go where?"
The ship pinged and the man in charge of it frowned. "Geo-stationary orbit. Thirty five miles above the atmosphere."
Joining him, she looked into an oval television screen showing space, Zathax and something else. Metallic, rounded, alien.
"That isn't the orbiter I was beamed down from."
"No it isn't," he agreed.
It looked more like a kind of ship but of a design she wasn't familiar with.
"Daleks," she said bitterly.
He glanced down and grunted assent. "We could go aboard, but it's risky."
"Riskier for those poor people Zara betrayed."
Giving this some thought, he came to a decision. "I need you to stay here Kate. No, please don't argue. What I'm doing is dangerous enough."
With that, he pulled a lever and stepped down a long slanting walkway to the main door. She watched him go for a second, then ran after him.
Bleak and functional, grey and spartan, the ship interior had subdued lighting. Dull reds and greens. Metal floor, support struts and rather stale air. Blinking her vision into focus, Kate looked beyond the Doctor to a group of people huddled in a circle.
A dalek was guarding them, barking orders, its gun poised ready to fire.
Just one dalek.
Okay, it was deadly but she felt they had a chance.
When the Doctor did nothing, she scooted around and away from him. He didn't call out. He couldn't. She felt him rush after her, but younger and faster she reached the teleport bay first.
The dalek had its back to her. But the scared people were looking over, their eyes a plea. Help us. For god sake, do something.
One made a run for it. A super luminous death ray fried him on the spot.
A woman fainted. She was regarded without emotion.
Looking around, Kate was desperate to find some sort of weapon. Her gaze alighted upon a metal cube. It looked heavy enough.
She lunged for it.
Faster, the Doctor grabbed and threw the cube.
Not at the dalek like she would have done, but at some apparatus hanging from the ceiling.
A platform on which were other cubes and spheres, some glowing, some buzzing.
The moment the tossed cube struck the other cubes, there was a violent reaction of blinding ferocity. Vivid red and blue zagged arcs shot out and down, along with seething fists of same coloured plasma.
The dalek reared back and looked up, but it was just too slow. Struck by the arcs, it began to short circuit. Its shell glowed and glistened, smoke billowed from the dome and skirt, sparks jumped from all 3 limbs. Screaming agony, the dalek spun around faster and faster, crackling and buckling in agony.
It exploded within, then flames jumped from its sides and top. Coming to a halt, it hung there, limbs down, eye stalk dead.
"Oh well done," Kate cried.
"Come with me," the Doctor told the prisoners. "I have a way out."
Stunned, unable to believe their eyes, they followed him to a tall blue police box. Opening this up, he issued them inside.
As he did this, Kate was drawn to a room just off the teleport bay. It was even gloomier with its dull green ambience and low bubbling noises.
It was a long lab of some kind filled with huge glass tanks. Within them all was this sickly looking amniotic fluid and floating in this were people. Well, some were people, they looked human. Others were semi-human, lacking an arm or a leg, sometimes facial features. The worst were hideous, tentacled blobs with a single eye.
Organic daleks.
A voice made her jump. "Raw material," said the Doctor. "This is the fate of the healthy prisoners."
"To become what," she cried. "Turned into daleks?"
Nodding, he drifted from tank to tank, his features grim and eyes hot with anger.
"The daleks need to repopulate, to reproduce. They were almost wiped out by the Modi virus. So, they need to treat the troops who are still alive and add new genetic stuck." He waved around the lab, "Hence, all of this."
Kate felt sick. "Its obscene."
No argument was offered. Then he paused at a glass cylinder full of mire beast venom, a thick black inky slime.
"The mire beasts are providing them with a vaccine, a way to survive the virus."
Thoughtfully, he used his sonic to unlock the clamps holding the cylinder in place. It fell into his arms. "It's given me an idea."
Kate wanted to hear it. But she wanted to be out of this place even more. She helped him carry the cylinder to the tardis. As they reached it, two daleks appeared. They fired, but the police box doors had closed.
More daleks appeared, they opened fire.
But the blue box groaned, crackled and faded away.
On a viewer inside the tardis, the Doctor and his new guests watched the daleks blazing away. The hated voices screeching with insanely. Watching them, his face taut with defiance, the time lord slowly shook his head. Turning to his guests he said.
"There is a transporter heading for earth. It's fifty light years away but I can get you on it easily."
"What about you and this girl," asked a plump man?
"We have work to do."
"You don't mean that you're going back to Zathax." Said a middle-aged woman?
"To destroy the daleks for good," the Doctor confirmed.
"How?" Asked a thin man.
"That's our problem." Patting the cylinder of venom, the Doctor's mind already seemed to be elsewhere. After setting coordinates for the transporter, he and Kate carried the venom from the main room to a small lab that was bright and full of equipment she'd never seen before.
Carefully, they placed the cylinder onto a raised plinth and he applied a magnetic force to hold it in place. Once that was done, his fingers sped across keys and pads.
"I need to analyse this stuff first," he said. "Then work out how to change it."
Kate was intrigued, "Into what?"
His cadaverous face twisted into a humourless grin. "Something toxic," he said, "to daleks."
Since coming aboard the tardis, Kate had begun to remember things. Not clearly and not fully, but sounds and images were coming back to her. Places visited, people, conflicts and monsters. Lots of monsters. She had no idea why she'd forgotten so much. Or why she'd left the tardis.
"You really hate them, don't you?"
Pausing for a moment, lost in thought, he seemed haunted.
"Totally," he spat.
"Why?"
"Long story. Or should I say, stories. The daleks and myself have a long history."
Long and bitter, based on the look in his eyes, the tone of his voice. Kate shuddered. The daleks were scary, but sometimes this man was scarier.
Entering the inner sanctum, the dalek held a memory sphere which is presented to Sigma.
He gave a single telepathic command and the sphere was released into the air. It did not fall, it expanded. Swelling to 4 times its previous size. Within it images formed, that of two people, a grey haired thin man and a young woman with a fringe.
They stood in some kind of futuristic laboratory. To one side, on a plinth was the cylinder of black venom.
"Long story," he was saying. "Or should I say, stories. The daleks and myself have a long history."
Dispassionately, Sigma watched the scene. So, the great enemy was here and he had taken their bait.
The trap was set and it was time to spring it.
"Activate," Sigma commanded.
Going to a panel, the dalek touched a round control nodule and the entire terminal began to hum and glow with energy.
In the air, the girl was speaking. "Where did you first meet them?"
To which the Doctor answered, "Their home world."
Looking thoughtful she answered, "I've read about that. Wasn't it destroyed?"
"Yes, eventually. I used a stellar manipulator."
Sigma felt rage grow inside him. Too many times this man had frustrated dalek progress, but no more.
Should it be doing that? Kate wondered, as the inert dark fluid began to bubble softly. Then with more vigour.
"Err, Doctor."
Preoccupied, he was a few feet away thumbing switches and muttering to himself.
In a louder, more strident voice she said, "look at this."
He did not look, but he did respond. "Something's exciting the molecules."
It sure was, Kate thought, the dark slime was coming to the boil and quickly. Backing away from it, she threw a glance at the exit. Was now a good time to leave?
"Will that cylinder hold?"
"Shouldn't think so." Infuriatingly calm, he kept tinkering.
"What if it bursts?"
"It's supposed to."
He ought to be more concerned, surely. "You knew this would happen?"
"Been expecting something like it."
So why the hell bring the cylinder in here to start with? The first crack was small, barely noticeable. But the second was half the length of the container. The third was the full length.
Black ichor began to ooze and drip onto the floor, pooling and smoking and….yes, it was moving, like it was alive.
"It's out."
"Go to the console room Kate and lock yourself in."
She wanted to, but could she just leave him? He had his back to the expanding pool. More cracks had appeared. The Ichor was now flowing freely, splashing onto the floor to pulse and bubble. It seemed to be thickening, gaining substance. Going from liquid to semi-solid.
"It's alive," she gasped seeing something begin to take shape, to expand.
"Daleks usually are."
This was a dalek? The amorphous blob. She couldn't think what else to call it, was almost his height but broader.
Finally, he turned to face it, features set and voice defiant.
"Kate, you're in royal company. This is the new emperor of the daleks. Or rather he's projecting his consciousness into this new body."
Tentacles jumped from the pulsing black flesh. Two or three at first, then lots more, growing longer and thicker. She saw a single eye flick open near the top, yellow with a jagged pupil.
Bowing, the Doctor approached the hideous thing. "You know who I am." He said, "May I know your name?"
There was something in his hands. He held them just out of sight. Kate was sure it was a glass beaker in which was a clear watery fluid.
"Neat trap by the way," the time lord was smiling without much mirth. "Getting me to carry you into my ship. Doubtless you wanted to kill me personally. Most emperors just give the order, but you're the hands on sort."
The tentacles were regarded. "To coin a phrase."
Suddenly, the largest tentacle shot forward to wrap itself around the tall man's neck. Another grabbed his right arm, a third secured a leg. He was drawn ever closer. A fourth reached inside his jacket, found the sonic and pulled it out.
Transfixed, Kate watched powerlessly as the Doctor was yanked ever closer to his enemy. He seemed to be doing nothing to fight back. Like he was resigned to his fate. Like he was already beaten.
Just inches away now, his head was pulled level to that huge eye.
A voice squelched from the blob, liquid and oily.
I am Sigma, it declared.
"How nice to meet you." The Doctor winked in response. "Eye to eye."
The grip on his neck tightened.
Do something. Kate told herself. You can't just leave him to his fate.
He's saved you in the past.
She remembered now.
Being in danger and him saving her.
It was coming back.
She ran over, grabbed the glass beaker from his fingers and held it up.
Choking he said one word.
Sigma made to grab Kate, but she was too past.
She threw the clear liquid into the cylinder.
There was a flash, smoke, a putrid smell. From the blob came a shriek of pain. Then the tentacles melted, releasing the tall man, who fell back gasping for air.
Sigma heaved and pulsed, then very slowly, like jelly in hot water, he began to melt.
To lose form and run onto the floor, puddling at their feet.
Dodging the mess, she ran to the Doctor who nodded a thanks.
"Why didn't you do that?" She was angry with him. Why hadn't he tried harder?
Then she got it. He'd been testing her. Seeing if she would save him. If she cared enough.
"Is he dead?"
"No, just that projection."
Eyeing the muck on the floor, which was now inert she wrinkled her nose.
"Can we still use that on the daleks?"
"No, I never intended to. Double bluff."
"Then how do we beat them?"
Back to his old self, he loosened his collar. "We get some help."
This time the tardis had materialised inside the prison. Inside a part of it Kate had never seen. A dull blue glow permeated the air. There was a light chilly mist on the ground and the metal walls were different. They more resembled the shell of a dalek.
Having dropped his passengers off on the transporter heading to earth, the time lord busied himself studying everything. For ages, he'd been at the central console transmitting something.
He hadn't told her what or why, only that it was key to his plan.
A plan he'd yet to reveal or even hint at.
After several turnings and junctions, they came to the lab in which venom was extracted. A mire beast lay on the magnetic table, clearly awake and clearly aware of them.
No daleks around.
That was one good thing.
Less reassuring was the way the Doctor approached the giant creature. Its beady eyes on him all the way, those teeth on display, each as big as his arm.
Don't get too close, she wanted to scream. She herself kept well back. What if the table's magnetism failed or was on low power?
Having no such reservations, he right up to the head of the brute. Close enough to touch and then, to her horror, he did just that. Resting both hand son the scaly flesh, he closed his eyes.
"Err, what are you doing?"
No way was she touching this thing. It seemed like a cross between a pocket dinosaur and a killer shark. Plus, she'd seen it in action.
"Telepathy," he whispered.
"But it's an animal."
"What makes you think that?"
She waved. Duh, wasn't it obvious?
"These creatures evolved into the Modi, a race clever enough to beat the daleks."
Maybe, but in her view they were just aquatic predators, carnivorous and vicious.
Strangely, the beast seemed to calm down. The low growling from its throat had softened to something akin to a purr.
It was no pussy cat, but Kate got the impression it was enjoying the Doctor's touch.
"Can it understand you," she asked?
He nodded. "These creatures are in mental contact with each other. That means, in theory, they can communicate with the Modi."
"But there are no Modi on Zathax."
Eyes open, he threw her a knowing smile.
The only warning of danger was a shrill electronic voice, then there they were, three daleks in a loose semi-circle, guns covering the intruders.
"You took your time." The Doctor sounded more impatient than afraid. "Well come on," he told the trio. "Take me to your emperor. I've met several and am difficult to impress."
Wasn't it more likely that the daleks would just kill them?
To her surprise, they slid back to create a pathway.
"Come and meet Sigma," the time lord told her. Like they were here to dine with an old friend.
Recalling the slime creature of before, she shuddered. Did she want to meet Sigma?
Yet there seemed little choice. They had an escort and there was nowhere else to go. As they left, the beast stopped purring and its low growl returned.
In a chamber just off the lab. One bathe din red light, a large central area was raised and open this heaved and pulsated a ghastly vision.
It was like an unshelled dalek, only bigger. Much bigger. It was festooned with tubes that fed it various liquids and nutrients from transparent jars placed around the room. There was a curious head piece, not unlike a crown, but more likely some sort of cybernetic implant.
Was this the emperor, the leader of the daleks?
"Your royal highness." Flippant to the point of casual, the Doctor offered a mock bow to the ugly, fleshy mass. Another blob, she realised. The real thing this time. King blob.
"Kate, this is Sigma."
Charmed, she was sure. A dreadful smell emanated from the blob. The word foremost in her mind was decay.
Then she noticed the leaking sores and ulcers, the dark patches of necrosis, the withered tentacles alongside healthy ones.
"He's diseased Doctor."
"After effects of the biogenic weapon. Only massive doses of antibiotic are keeping him alive."
How come Sigma wasn't talking the vaccine? Maybe it didn't work on him.
The time lord approached the raised plinth. "You're probably wondering why I've come back to see you instead of departing from this delightful little hideaway. Unfinished business. I can't have you breeding more psychotic little pepper pots."
Finally the blob responded. Could it speak? Kate could see no mouth as such. Maybe it used the crown to amplify its thoughts.
"You are here, Doctor, to try and destroy me."
Yes, definitely amplified. Kate could feel the words echo across her brain.
"That's right," the tall man agreed.
"With no weapons," said the voice mockingly. "Surrounded by armed daleks."
The trio of before had followed them in to join two blue daleks. Personal bodyguards with more advanced looking guns and eye sticks.
"That's right," the Doctor agreed like he hadn't a care in the world. You had to admire his brio, facing down creatures like this with nothing more than his personality.
"I found it ironic that you should hide away on the world where your greatest enemies originated. Then I asked myself, why would you do that? Why harvest the DNA of their ancestors? What could it possibly give you? The answer is obvious really, immunity. That's why you're here, isn't it Sigma? If you make yourself immune, then the biogenic virus will never affect you. The whole outcome of the war will be irrevocably changed."
Astounded by the magnitude of the plan, Kate just soon there in silent awe. It was an incredible plan. Brilliant and insane, and it might just work.
The Doctor went on, "There's just one flaw in your scheme."
"Which is?" Sigma asked, echoing her own thoughts.
"What if the Modi find you here before you perfect immunity? What if someone, who can also travel in time, tips them the wink?"
A long, heavy silence followed this question.
Eventually it was broken by the emperor. "Like you Doctor?"
"Like me." The tall man beamed, giving a theatrical bow.
"But you cannot."
"Can't I?"
"If you had done so, the Modi would be attacking."
Yes, Kate agreed, they would and they obviously weren't.
The Doctor carried on as though he hadn't even heard. "The mire beasts are telepathic. Did you know that? Oh yes, they are. So are the Modi. Same basic DNA. What you tell one, they all know. All the mire beasts and….."
The scream of a distant alarm cut into his words, lights began to flash, other alarms began to peel. The blue daleks became agitated.
Intruders detected.
Unauthorised teleportation.
Alien DNA.
"Ah, just in time." The Doctor waved. "This should be a Modi strike force beaming in from high orbit. So tell me Sigma, are you fully immune?"
The single glaring eye narrowed. Distant gun fire could be heard. Energy weapons. Then explosions. Dalek voices shrieked in anger and panic.
Return fire, more explosions.
Hurrying over to Kate, the time lord lost his smile. Now deadly serious, he guided her away from the quivering form of the emperor.
"Exit one penal colony," he whispered.
"Is that the Modi?"
Nodding, he led her to behind some cover.
"We need to evacuate the rest of the prisoners."
She was appalled. "But there are dozens of them."
"If I could link the prison teleport to the tardis," he began.
"How far is it?"
Let's find out, said his narrow features.
The sound of fighting and dying grew louder the further they went into the prison. Daleks barked orders, they tried to rally the troops. Daleks and black guards sped back and forth, taking up defensive positions in doorways and junctions. All were far too busy to notice two civilians sneaking by in the shadows.
Kate didn't know where she was, but the Doctor had an uncanny sense of direction and very soon they were somewhere familiar.
He drew her back quickly. Two daleks and a posse of guards hurried by to join the fight. All distracted.
She shuddered, hearing more gunfire and blasts.
"It's getting closer."
He nodded. "The Modi will sterilize this entire facility."
"What about the prisoners?"
Them too, said the set of his lips.
Then, they reached the work room. People were milling about lost and frightened, jabbering to each other.
The Doctor's voice cut across all conversation. He spoke quickly and concisely, taking complete charge in a way that impressed her enormously.
Everyone to the teleport room. It was the only hope. The daleks were too busy to bother about them.
"What about us," Kate asked?
It was a different voice who answered saying. "Yes, what about you?"
And there was Zara, her weapon aimed at them. The dalek agent glared with a cold expression, she had one of the guard's blasters and it suited her.
"Oh look, a fake prisoner." The Doctor was scathing.
"You need to leave too." Kate didn't like this woman, but she wouldn't just leave her behind to be killed.
"I will fight alongside my masters." Zara had the brittle tone of a true fanatic.
The Doctor sighed. "Your masters are finished. The Modi will wipe them out."
"You too," Kate added. Couldn't Zara see it was too late for loyalty?
"Not before I perform one last, vital service." Zara took careful aim. She was going to kill them, Kate realised.
Then a dalek appeared. Smoke billowing from its top and sides, its shell blackened in places, leaking nutrients in others. Looking confused and in obvious pain, it swung this way and that.
"Over here," Zara cried.
The dalek swung around, gun levelling.
Kate found herself shoved out of the way just in time.
The white hot blast seemed to scorch the very air. Caught in it, Zara twisted, screamed and pitched sideways.
Moments later, the dalek itself exploded. Bursting apart at the seams, its organic core spilling out to twitch and melt on the floor.
"The teleport room." Galvanised, the Doctor waved at everyone to follow him.
Amidst the chaos of smoke, fire and the scream of dying daleks they reached the room to find it intact. Without pause, the time lord dashed to the control terminal and began inputting data.
"Someone keep a look out," he called.
Two men volunteered.
Edging over, Kate studied the teleport plinth. There wasn't enough room on it to beam out everyone in a single burst.
"We'll have to do it in relays," she said.
"I'm trying to boost the power and bandwidth," he told her.
Smoke began to drift in from outside and people began to cough.
"Is there air conditioning," Kate asked?
The Doctor pointed to another terminal. Hurrying this to study the controls, she began to tinker.
They had to freshen the air before they all choked to death.
The ventilation system coughed and began to rattle. She saw the smoke being drawn away into the grills. It became easier to breathe.
There, that was better.
"How's it going Doctor?"
Too busy, he merely shrugged. Was that a yes-shrug or a no-shrug?
She said, "Can I help?"
Turning, the tall man studied the group. "Any engineers," he asked?
A white bearded man stepped forwards. "I trained in space engineering. Jelda Marx."
A long finger pointed to the plinth, "Open that panel near the base and reverse the polarity of the EM conduits."
"How will that help," asked Marx?
"Quickly please." There was no time for lengthy explanations.
"Trust us," Kate urged. "We're going to beam you to the Doctor's ship."
As Marx got busy, she crossed her fingers, praying that this worked.
A woman came to her, "What kind of ship is it," she asked?
"Amazing." Kate's reply drew some smiles.
Outside there was more gunfire, black guards twisted and fell then a shape closed in on the room. It wasn't a dalek. Too slender, too fluid. The body coiling and writhing. Kate saw a high neck and widely spaced eyes.
Eyes that reminded her of something.
The creature was tall and almost delicate. The claws and spines much smaller and less developed. The mouth had teeth and they looked needle sharp, but not anywhere near as fierce as the things in the mire.
She realised that it was a Modi. She'd never seen one before. Humanoid and supple, it gazed back at her. A blaster held in its left claw.
It did not aim this at her but frowned as if puzzled.
Suddenly, a dalek appeared. It fired.
Dodging out of the way with incredible speed and flexibility, the Modi made the ray miss and fired back.
Pulses of red plasma impacted with the grey shell and the dalek exploded spectacularly.
Kate was very impressed. Meeting her eyes once more, the Modi blinked. Was it smiling at her?
She didn't know.
Then, it was gone.
"Now." This voice came from the Doctor as a bellow. "Get on the plinth. The rest of you form a ring around it. I'm going to teleport you all at once. Kate, I want you to join them."
She looked over at the plinth then back at him. "What about you?"
"I have to man these controls," he held up two wires. "And improvise a bit."
"Let me help you." She wasn't just going to leave him.
"Safer if you don't."
Not liking the sound of that, she faced him with a stubborn expression.
Just go. Said his raised eyebrows.
Not with you. Said her exaggerated shrug.
"Kate, please."
Taking the wires from him, yellow and green, she held them up. "I just touch these together, right?"
With a theatrical sigh, he nodded.
His hands moved. Dial, button, lever, another dial.
Light enveloped the prisoners, swelling out from the core of the plinth to engulf them all.
Please work, Kate prayed as gunfire drew closer, along with dalek voices.
Resist.
Retaliate.
Exterminate.
Oh no, the daleks were fighting back.
She turned and looked. One by one, the prisoners winked out of existence. Soon they were down to three, then two and then…..
A dalek burst in, wheeled around and fired.
Kate ducked, the doctor threw himself aside.
The terminal exploded and the teleport light winked off.
The prisoners were gone.
Only two people remained. Oh, and a dalek.
Its lens swung from her to him, the gun twitched. It didn't seem to know which of them to kill first.
Dazed, the time lord was on all fours, blinking and coughing. His sonic lay a yard away, closer to her.
Squirming over the floor, she grabbed it.
The dalek fired.
Kate raised the sonic.
The deadly ray hit the slim device, not her. Its lethal power sucked into the silver tube, which vibrated and squeaked and….
Discharged the ray back at its source.
Exploded into a fall of sparks, flames and ash the dalek vanished.
I did it. Kate thought. I destroyed a dalek.
She was still shaking when the device was eased from her grip with a 'well done' smile from its owner.
"We have to get out of here," he said with a forlorn look at the wrecked plinth.
"To the tardis, you mean?"
That would mean navigating the small war going on around them. Not a thrilling prospect.
"We'll never make it."
Her gung ho bravado of before had evaporated.
We have to, said the look in his eyes. Eyes that fixed on the vent grill, still sucking smoke out of the room.
Cottoning on, she ran over. "It feels loose, maybe we can pry it loose the old fashioned way."
It amazed her the way he could navigate the ducting. It all looked the same to her, bland and uniform but the Doctor told her which way to go and by the time they emerged they were in the right place.
Ahead of them, maybe 10 yards away, was the tardis. Around it smoked and burned the gutted shells of dead daleks, all blown apart by Modi weapons. In the distance, she could still hear gunfire and explosions as the battle raged on.
Nothing moved, it seemed safe but like her his steps were cautious. He scanned the terrain ahead. No point being careless now. Several smoking shells coughed and bubbled, but their occupants looked dead enough, several were cooked.
"What about Sigma," she asked?
"I think we can leave the Modi to deal with him."
"Unless he has his own teleporter."
Frowning at this, the tall man upped his pace. Keen to be out of this place. She was herself. She had a story to write, an exclusive. Running his sonic over the door of the police box, he made it click and swing ajar a few inches.
"Quickly," he said, waving her inside.
"What are you going to do?"
Not answering, he backed away a couple of steps. He seemed to be looking for something, or someone. She almost joined him but another burst of gunfire (nearer) changed her mind.
Moving to the now smoking, blackened entrance, he peered out at a river of bubbling ooze.
From this a huge shape suddenly reared up. The mire beast was the biggest he'd seen so far, 35 to 40 feet in length with more eyes, more teeth and a somewhat enlarged cranium.
It stared down at him as he looked up at it. They regarded each other in silence for several seconds. Finally, the Doctor severe features softened into a smile.
"You're welcome he said, before turning and walking back to the tardis.
Waiting in the console room, along with a group of ex prisoners, Kate frowned.
"Problem," she asked, wondering what he'd been doing?
"No, just paying my respects to an old friend." He replied, easing over to some controls. "I need to get you all home," he told the assembly. "And as for you Kate Ash," his eyes twinkled.