Chapter 9
"Move! Move!" the Dalek ordered the Doctor. Its gun stick twitched as it loomed behind him, Susan and Barbra. Its eye stock twitching between all three of them. Then in silence it swirled to look at the two Thals walking behind it. The unblinking blue light of its eye stock narrowed as it silently glared at its ancient enemy.
The Doctor turned around to look at the Dalek. "There is no need to rush us." he snapped at the Dalek making the Dalek's attention return to him. He snorted when the Dalek's gun stick jerked towards him. "We came back with good intentions. And we are not a threat to you or the other Daleks in the City." he calmly stated to the Dalek.
He was hoping that logic would make the Dalek understand that they were not a threat to it.
His hope was crushed when the Dalek screeched "You are prisoners of the Daleks. The Dalek Supreme will decide your fate!"
Sighing the Doctor kept walking down the blank corridor of Dalek City. On either side of him was Barbara and Susan.
His granddaughter held her hands close to her chest as she nervously looked behind her to the Dalek that was escorting them to the Dalek Supreme. Its gun stick kept twitching between all of them. Its unblinking blue lens glared at them with no spark of life in them. She hoped that Ian was not going to become like every other Dalek on Skaro.
Barbara on the other hand, walked with her back straight. Her face was pale as she stared right ahead. Her eyes were blank with tears forming in the corners of them. The heels of her shoe clicked against the metal floor with every step she took. She did not say a word as the Dalek kept leading them through the corridors. She played with the a lose thread of her shirt as she followed the Daleks instructions.
Behind their escort was Alydon and Damadus. The two Thals had come to Dalek City with different roles to play. Alydon had been their protector through the petrified forest that separated the Thals Camp from Dalek City. While Damadus had come to Dalek City to form peace with the Dalek Supreme.
"Grandfather," Susan whispered to him as she leaned in closer to him, "do you really think the Daleks will listen to us?"
The Doctor wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to him. They kept following the Daleks directions. He saw how worried she was as she kept looking over at the Dalek behind them. She also kept a wearily eye on the two Daleks in front of them.
"I am sure that they will listen, my dear. After all, both the Daleks and Thals both call Skaro their home. So they have something common that can unite them." he reassured her in a gentle voice.
"And what about Ian?" Susan asked him as she looked up to him. Small tears streamed down her face as she feared what was happening to him. Do you think that they will release him when we ask?"
"I am positive that they will return him to us. After all what is the point in keeping a prisoner that has no value to them?" the Doctor gentle reassured Susan.
"And do you think they can reverse what has started to happen to him?" Barbara suddenly asked from his other side.
The Doctor looked away from Susan to look to Barbara. She had not said a word since they had left the Thal Camp. She had been determined to get back to the Dalek City. The Doctor may not really care for his human companions, but he had to admit they were stubborn when they had something on their mind. And he respected Barbara for that. That respect was also shared to Ian, who had stayed behind to protect them.
He looked closely to Barbara. She was focused on the corridor ahead of them. She had plastered on a brave face but underneath it, he could see the fear creeping in. Another thing he had started to admire from his human companions. Though the few adventures he had been with them he had seen them facing their fears.
He had first thought of his human companions as being lesser than him. He was a Time Lord. But there was a voice, a voice that sounded very much like Susan that was the reason why he had left Gallifrey. He had wanted to see the universe. And he was seeing it through the fresh eyes of Barbara and Ian.
"I do not know, my dear. Ian had stated that the casing's systems was starting to connect with him. I do not know Dalek technology." he responded to Barbara.
He kept watching her. He could see more cracks appearing in her brave façade. She was worried about her friend. He had not expected what had happened to happen.
"I can see with the peace treaty between the Daleks and Thals they may share technology. If that does not work we have the Tardis." he gentle reassured her. He watched her closely as some of the tension she was carrying lifted from her shoulders. It was still there, but he could see that determination returning to her.
The Doctor looked away from Barbara. The situation that they were in was a scary one, but he had always known that there was going to be risks. The risks had only doubled with his uninvited companions. Uninvited companions, who he was slowly starting to enjoy their company.
The party fell into silence as they kept walking along the corridors of Dalek City. Every corridor in their City looked exactly alike. The Daleks may have been geniuses on science, but they were not artists. There was no pieces of artwork in any of the corridors of the City.
Every part of Dalek City had been build for functioning as both a military and scientific base. Every door and corridor was designed for Daleks.
The group approached a door that on their approach opened with a mechanical whirl. They stepped into the very beating heart of the Dalek City, its Control Room.
Barbara felt her heart freezing as she saw how many Daleks there was in the Control Room. Her anxiety was not helped when every eye stock silently swirled around from their computer terminals to look to them. She was pinned under their blue lifeless lens as they stared at them as they moved further into the Control Room.
The Control Room feel into a silence. There was a faint heartbeat and Barbara wondered if it was her heart or the City's heart. Her heels clicked loudly as she approached the Dalek perched on a podium at the very centre of the round room. She wanted to look away from it but she was entrapped in its red glare.
Barbara couldn't help but wonder if Ian had looked into that red glare. The red glare that made her skin crawl and heart tremble inside of her chest. She wanted to look away from the Dalek but she couldn't. It demanded all her attention as it glared at her, at them all.
A shiver ran down her spine. That was enough to break the supernatural hold that the Dalek seemed to have over her. Managing to look away from it she watched their Dalek escort approaching the other Dalek.
"I have brought the Thals and escaped prisoners." the Dalek screeched to the Dalek Supreme.
The Dalek Supreme's red glare focused onto the Dalek. Barbara could see that even the other Dalek was pinned under its glare. "Excellent. Return to your post." he ordered the Dalek.
"I obey." came its screeching response to the Dalek Supreme.
Barbara watched the drone as it left the Control Room. It glared at her and the others with its unblinking gaze before it left.
Damadus suddenly walked past her. A warm smile on his face as he looked to her. He looked forward to the Dalek that was watching them with its red glare. The red glare that she hoped was not going to be the last thing that they were all going to see.
The leader of the Thals approached the leader of the Daleks with his back straight and hands behind his back. The two leaders of Skaro regarded each other with no emotions being shared between the two of them
Barbara looked away from Damadus. Once again she was ensnared by the Daleks red lens. It was so different to the other the Daleks. She got the sense from it standing on a podium and being flanked by two Dalek guards that he was of importance.
She managed to look away from the Dalek and Damadus as they stared at each other. Years of hatred and war was not easy to walk away. Not even when peace and a better future was at risk for both the Thals and Daleks. Even being on an alien planet, Barbara could not help but think back to Earth and how many countries felt towards each other. Even after the second world war.
Barbara looked to the Doctor. He was watching the staring contest between Damadus and the Dalek Supreme with interest. "Doctor is this going to work?" she asked him.
"My dear," the Doctor hummed as he looked to her "we must trust Damadus. Just remember that there is a lot at stake. And I am sure that Damadus is feeling it. He is going to try and make peace between his people and It is not just the future peace between the Thals and the Daleks. But there is also us getting Chatterton back."
Barbara leaned in closer to him as she, "I just do not trust the Daleks."
"Neither do I my dear." he whispered back to her. "Neither do I."
He looked back to the Dalek Supreme. The Dalek Supreme's red glare was bright and was focused on all of them, not just Damadus. The Doctor looked back to Barbara and saw that she was looking at all the Daleks. He knew that she was looking for Ian in the see of silver and blue.
He was sure that Ian was not in the Control Room. He could be anywhere in the City. He could be back in the cell where they had first been put into. There was also a small chance that Ian was no longer in Dalek City or even Skaro altogether. That was something that he did not want to voice to Barbara and Susan. Especially Barbara.
The Doctor looked back to the Dalek Supreme. The leader of Dalek City was regarding them all. He hummed as he looked directly at him.
He leaned in closer to Barbara. Not once did he look away from Dalek Supreme. "But for the moment we should trust the Daleks. It is the only way that I can see us be reunited with Chatterton." he whispered to her.
Barbara managed to look away from the red glare of the Supreme to look back to the Doctor. "But trust goes both ways, Doctor. History on Earth has shown us what happens when two parties do not trust each other." she responded back to him.
The Doctor calmly said back to her, "I am sure that we can all find common grounds. Especially between the Daleks and Thals."
He looked back to the Dalek Supreme. The Dalek Supreme's eye stock was fixed on him and Barbara. His gun stick had a subtle twitch to it. The Dalek was obviously restraining itself on wanting to shot them all.
Still looking to at the Dalek Supreme he continued to speak to Barbara, "But I think we should put this conversation on hold for the time being. Right now we must see what happens here."
Barbara nodded her head in agreement. She wanted to say that she agreed with him, but she knew that her words would fail her. Her stomach felt heavy as she thought about Ian. Before they had left him he had looked so ill. She was not just worried about him she was worried about them.
If the Thals and the Daleks did not come to an agreement there was the risk of many things happening to them. The two main outcomes that she could think of happening was them being recaptured by the Daleks. The other bad outcome to come if these peace talks failed was them being caught in the middle of a brutal war. She had seen the aftermath of the Dalek-Thal war on Skaro and both the Thals and Daleks. What she was seeing was something she did not want to witness first hand.
She may have been fascinated in history, and being able to travel in time was a dream come true. So far she had seen cavemen. She had been mistaken as an Aztec goddess. She had learned, thanks to the Doctor that she could not change history. Being a time traveller was an honour and a privilege.
But there was some things that Barbara did not want to see. Wars was something that may have been interesting to teach, but she could briefly remember the Second World War. Living in fear of planes was not a good thing for a young girl growing in the outskirts of London.
And here she was on an alien world. An alien world that had been destroyed by a nuclear war. She had thought the devastation that had happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was bad, but Skaro war much worse. She had heard that the Thal-Dalek war had lasted for a thousand years. Plenty of time for more devastation to be brought to Skaro.
Once again there was a threat for the war on Skaro starting up again. And she and the others were going to be witnesses to it.
"Greetings Thals." the Dalek Supreme boomed to them. Its deep baritone mechanical booming throughout the Control Room was enough to bring Barbara to the current moment.
Once again she was looking into its red lens. She nervously played with a loose thread of her shirt as she watched the Dalek Supreme gliding towards them. Its casing made a slight mechanical whirling as it moved off of its platform in the middle of the Control Room. Her worry doubled when she saw that the Dalek Supreme was flanked by two Daleks.
These Daleks had the same casing colouration that the Dalek drones had. The only difference there was between these Daleks and the casing Ian had stolen was the dome. The domed head was black.
Damadus took a step closer to the Dalek Supreme. He ignored the Supreme's guards pointing their gun sticks at him as he stopped before their leader. He held his head high as he looked right into the red lens of the Dalek Supreme. "I take it you are the Dalek Supreme?" he asked the Dalek Supreme.
"Correct" came the Dalek Supreme's booming response. "I oversee the operations and functions of Dalek City on Skaro in the absence of the Dalek Emperor."
Damadus titled his head to the side. His cat-like eyes blinked as he asked, "So you are not the true leader of the Daleks? So am I wasting my time speaking to you when I should be speaking with your emperor?"
The Dalek Supreme let out a low mechanical growl. Inside his casing, his tentacles squirmed around each other. His organic eye narrowed at the image of Damadus bathed in red. How dare this Thal come into his City and question his rule. His entire casing trembled in tune with his anger towards the Thal.
He quickly regained his composure. His plan needed him to bring the Thals close. And he was not going to fail. Not with the Emperor and now this Thal questioning him.
"I am the Supreme Commander of all Daleks in this city. You will address me as such when you are in My City!" the Dalek Supreme boomed out to Damadus.
Damadus bowed his head to the Dalek Supreme. "Then accept my apology for questioning your leadership." he gentle said to the Dalek Supreme.
The Dalek Supreme pinned Damadus under his red glare. A thick silence grew between as the Dalek considered accepting Damadus's apology.
For a brief second Damadus along with the Doctor and Barbara feared that their plans for peace had been ruined. Their worry was not needed as the Supreme responded, "Accepted."
Damadus released the breathe he had not known he had been holding. "As long as we can communicate like the intelligent beings that we both are." he said to the Dalek Supreme.
"Why have you come to Dalek City, Thal?" the Dalek Supreme asked Damadus with a tone of distain in his voice.
Damadus cleared his throat as he straightened his back. "I and my son," he started as he waved his hand to Alydon standing behind him, "have come to your fine City to propose peace to both Thals and Daleks. Our two races have been at war with each other for far too long. And I believe that it is time that we stopped fighting with each other. Instead, we should work together." he explained as he fully focused on the Dalek Supreme.
The Dalek Supreme's red glare focused on Damadus. "Daleks and Thals? Together" he asked the leader of the Thals. His eye stock twitched as he considered what Damadus had said to him. "Why?"
Damadus sadly said, "I remember when I was a little boy that I thought the Thals were superior to the Daleks. But I saw the ships and cities that the Daleks had created I learned that the Daleks were not inferior to the Thals."
The Dalek Supreme's red lens narrowed as he studied Damadus closely. The Thal leader was not finished as he continued to speak, "But even without the fancy technology that Daleks have we Thals have managed to survive. Through the generations we have learned how to live from Skaro itself."
Damadus looked right into the glowing red lens. "But consider what we can do together. The Daleks knowledge on technology and science. And our knowledge of the very planet that we both call home." he continued to speak to the Dalek Supreme.
"This peace treaty between our race sounds to be of your benefit. And your benefit alone." the Dalek Supreme boomed to Damadus. He studied the Thal leader as he stepped backwards. A look of pain on his face as he took in the words that the Dalek Supreme had just told him. "You have stated yourself that we have built this city. Our warships are powerful to bring other worlds into our Empire. But what can the Thals provide for us in this alliance?"
Damadus swallowed the nervous lump in his throat as he looked directly into the red lens that glowed in his face. "We Thals have learned how to life off Skaro. We have also started to help Skaro heal." he stated back to Dalek Supreme once he got his composure again.
"We have Dalek Scientists who have found ways to grow natural sources of food. We are perfectly safe within the City. Daleks have no need to leave the City. So why should we form an alliance with you Thals?" Dalek Supreme snarled back to Damadus.
"A shared heritage." the Doctor spoke up gaining both Damadus's and the Dalek Supreme's attention.
"Explain!"
"It is simple really. The Daleks on one hand have focused on being scientifically advanced. While the Thals have developed a very different culture. But at the core is Skaro." the Doctor explained to the Dalek Supreme. "For the sake of Skaro's further development it would make sense to unit your planet together."
The Dalek Supreme's glare was fixed on the Doctor. "Tell me aliens why have you come back to the City?" he asked all three of them. His eye stock jerked away from the Doctor to look to Barbara. He watched as she stepped backwards as his red glare fixed on her. Then he looked to Susan.
He watched in silence as she stepped forward and stood beside. The Thal leader stepped slightly to the side to allow her room beside him.
"We have come back to help you and the Thals can form peace with each other." Susan told the Dalek Supreme. She looked over her shoulder to look to Barbara. The history teacher from Coal Hill was staring at the Dalek Supreme's red glowing lens. Looking back to the Dalek Supreme she saw that the red lens was fixed on her. "And we were also hoping that you would release our friend, Ian Chesterton." she gentle said to the Dalek Supreme with a small smile.
The Dalek Supreme was silent as he stared at Susan. He watched as Susan's small smile slowly fell. Keeping silent he turned his domed head around so that his eye stock focused on one of his guards be side him. "Retrieve the prisoner from the laboratory. Bring him here." he ordered.
"I obey!" came the Dalek barking response. Its eye stock was fixed on the five aliens as it silently gliding out of the Control Room. Its casing's mechanical whirling was heard until the massive metal doors slammed shut behind it.
Damadus unphased by the silent glares he was getting from the Dalek Guard looked back to the Dalek Supreme. "The girl is correct Dalek Supreme." he told the Dalek Supreme. He kept his back straight as the Dalek Supreme looked back to him. Under the piercing red glare he continued, "Skaro can be rescued from the death grip that is holding it. But only if we work together. Daleks understand science while we Thals have a great understanding of Skaro itself"
The Dalek Supreme eye stock jumped away from Damadus to look at the large doors of the Control Room as they opened. The Dalek Guard he had send to the laboratory had returned with another Dalek. The Dalek's eye stock swirled around until he found the Doctor and the others.
His eye stock focused on Susan as he screeched, "Barbara!"
"Ian. You're okay." Barbara cried happily as she stepped closer to the Dalek as it glided towards them.
"Halt!" the Dalek Guard behind Ian shouted making Barbara stop but Ian kept moving to them.
Barabara looked away from the Dalek to look back to Ian. He stopped beside her and Barbara couldn't help the tears that slowly streamed down her face. She was just so happy to see her friend again. He was alright. Well it was hard to tell with him being inside of the casing.
She gentle placed her hand on the Dalek's domed head. She felt the smooth metal on her palm as the static of the shielding danced over the back of her hand. A small frown spread as she felt his casing twitching away from her. The twitch was so small that she almost missed it.
"Ian are you okay?" she asked him as she removed her hand from his casing's domed head. Her hand fell to the side as she watched Ian's eye stock look up to her. Looking into the cold blue glow she asked him, "Are you in any pain?"
"No." came his quick response back to her. He watched Barbara closely as she watched him. The two stared at each other. "Just getting used to the casing." he finally finished saying to her.
Barbara studied Ian closely as he moved slightly away from her. There was something not right about him, but Barbara couldn't see what was wrong with him. He looked like any other Dalek but he spoke like Ian. She bit her lip as she thought that maybe he was in pain and was not telling her that.
"Enough of this!" the Dalek Supreme suddenly boomed out. His mechanical emotionless voice made Barbara jump. She looked away from Ian as he turned his casing around to look at the Dalek Supreme. Once again she was looking at the Dalek Supreme.
The Dalek Supreme's eye stock swirled away from her and Ian. His red gaze fixed on to Damadus, who once he came under the red glare stood straighter. "I will consider this alliance you propose between Daleks and Thals." he boomed to Damadus.
Alydon and Damadus both exchanged glances with each other. The two Thals looked back to the Dalek Supreme. Damadus with a gentle voice he spoke to the Dalek Supreme, "Daleks and Thals have been at war for far too long. All I can ask of you, Dalek Supreme is to consider that it is time that we stop this bloodshed and unite for the sake of Skaro."