Once on a Blue Moon
Two-One-One is Dalek Sec as a regular Dalek Drone. It is before he became the Commander of the Seventh Incursion Squad and Leader of the Cult of Skaro.
The Doctor is in his tenth incarnation. This is set after Journey's End and in the pre-Time War era like Big Finish's Dalek Universe Series.
"So, do you have a name Dalek?" The Doctor asked the damaged Dalek.
It seemed to pause before it swung its sparking, damaged eyestalk to look at him, its repulsors shuddering and screeching as it tried to swing around to face him. It stopped halfway, realising it was a lost cause, and instead, it was content with narrowing its lens at him.
"Daleks do not have names," it intoned blankly. "I am Two-One-One. Second in command of the Seventh Incursion Squad."
The Doctor snorted and gestured back to the entrance of the temple, the hellfire beyond still raging. "Your commander probably didn't survive the electromagnetic surge. I guess that makes you the commander now doesn't it?"
"You are correct," the Dalek spoke after musing on his words. The Doctor swore that there was a hint of dry humour in the Daleks' tone, "I am Two-One-One. Commander of the Seventh Incursion squad."
Taking on the idea of Dalek Sec becoming a companion of the Doctor, but with a twist.
The Dalek scouts had not indicated that this moon had any detrimental phenomenon. Therefore it had been chosen as a primary strategic base for an incursion into the La'arysis System. The capture of this system would be an incredibly advantageous strike against the Draconian Empire.
The Commander of the Dalek's Seventh Incursion Squad would have scoffed if they could have.
Such an example of inferior creatures and their lack of intelligence. The Commander ordered the immediate capture of the moon and within several galactic standard days, a command post had been constructed with the aid of Ogrons. The Incursion Squad now readying their forces for a quick capture of this system and to summon the Dalek Gold fleet that awaited on the edge of the system.
It was highly unusual but the second in command of the Seventh Incursion Squad, Dalek Two-One-One, had been doubtful about this strategy.
For such an important advantage point in the La'arysis System, it had been unprotected. The Dalek had to question, why. Why had the Draconians left it unprotected when it was an obvious weak point if left unprotected?
The Draconians were not unintelligent. They were an exceedingly powerful enemy of the Daleks and their military was certainly aware of the Dalek threat on the edge of their Empire. They rose to meet the Dalek attack front on all occasions, so why were they not now?
It did not make sense to Dalek Two-One-One.
Yet, the Dalek could not question his Commander. Some primal, instinctive feeling deep within his withered tendrils made him anxious and told him that something was very wrong with this strategy. That they were falling for some ambush or an enemy trick.
A strange sensation became apparent to the Dalek and he knew it was not normal. Like the atmosphere itself was electrified, molecules and atoms vibrating in an odd and strange way that made the Dalek feel peculiar.
A quick scan of the pathweb indicated that no other Incursion Squad Units were sensing the strange occurance.
Was it just him?
Still, Two-One-One feared that something terrible was going to happen here. They needed to retreat and investigate further. The Commander had been too hasty. They had not considered all the variables in the situation.
Ancient remains of a civilisation had been dotted along strategic points in a nearby mountain range. They were unassuming but Two-One-One's mind couldn't help but consider the possibility they had missed something. Something rather dangerous.
What if ancient bunkers lay deep beneath the surface of the moon? There could be an army lying in wait beneath the surface of the satellite. What if it was some form of an arcane defence system that could wipe out the entire Dalek Force stationed here?
The Seventh Incursion Squad was only a small detachment of Gold Fleet. Only a few hundred Daleks that was to be sent in to survey, scout and then decisively attack and conquer before the rest of the fleet, opening paths to attack.
But it was all the Dalek knew. He felt a strange sense of what an inferior being might call a 'community', he supposed.
The thought of losing his squad deeply unsettled Two-One-One.
Deep within his casing, Two-One-One's limbs twitched in anxiety.
Impossible!
Daleks could not be anxious! Daleks did not know fear!
Still, this uncomfortable feeling permeated his organic body, causing it to tremble with some unknown affliction.
This feeling he felt towards other Daleks, he knew it wasn't normal. It was a deformity. But it was a deformity of the mind and so, he could keep it secret. He need not be exterminated for being different.
His thoughts were not wrong however. There was something very wrong with this strategy. The Commander was being too reckless.
Yet speaking out against his Commander's orders would mean certain doom.
Perhaps the Dalek was doomed either way.
"Alert the fleet!" the Dalek Commander suddenly turned to Two-One-One. "The Command Post has been established. The Invasion of the La'arysis System will now commence!"
"I obey!" Dalek Two-One-One acknowledged, turning from the Commander's side and reaching for his station, directly to his left..
As Two-One-One reached his manipulator arm to activate the communications relay, electricity arched from the control panel to his arm. His casing absorbed the static and grounded it before it could reach his frail mutant form.
Two-One-One stared at the path the arc had travelled for half a rel.
Curious.
The Dalek ignored the strange occurrence and proceeded to contact the Dalek fleet as his Commander had ordered.
"Seventh Incursion Command to Dalek Fleet!" Two-One-One declared to the awaiting flagship.
"Report!" Came the deep booming voice of the Dalek Gold Fleet Commander.
"Command Post has been established! All structures are ready for invasion force!" Two-One-One relayed.
"Excellent!" the Gold Fleet Commander boomed. "Prepare for Fleet Arrival! Seventh Incursion Squad shall begin the attack into this system!"
"We obey!" Dalek Two-One-One proclaimed before turning his dome to gaze at his commander, who sat upon his pedestal. "Commander?"
"Prepare the landing sector! The Draconian Empire will fall to the might of the Dalek Race!" The Commander proclaimed, sending out the war cry to all units of the Squad. "Daleks conquer and destroy! Daleks conquer and destroy!"
"Daleks Conquer and Destroy! Daleks Conquer and Destroy!" Came the resounding chorus in return.
The call to arms briefly arrested Dalek Two-One-One's anxiety, the Pathweb suddenly a flame with the will of the Daleks and a feverish enthusiasm to once again experience the thrill of battle.
The anxiety returned when the Dalek saw electricity arcing incessantly over the control panels and the walls.
Something was very wrong here.
Yet it could not question. It could not raise its concerns in fear of its life. The hypocrisy of it was beyond Two-One-One at this moment. Their squad was at risk of succumbing to an unknown, a threat they'd over looked. Or rather, their Commander had over looked.
But he could not question or object. He would be immediately killed and it would be a pointless endevour.
Two-One-One had to do something. If only to arrest the unsettling feeling that was making its limbs tremble.
Two-One-One thought to himself, it could perhaps investigate the cause. Be certain of any threats that may be present.
Was it instinct? Perhaps.
All that Two-One-One knew was that deep within itself it felt an overpowering feeling of doom, of an unknown threat steadily advancing towards them. A shadow that was slowly being cast over them. What it was, the Dalek could not fathom.
Two-One-One began filtering through reports from the scouting parties, from field reports searching for anomalies. Anything that could constitute a threat, an oddity, anything that the Commander had missed.
It paused as it found a brief footnote made in one of the Scout Party's reports.
Fluctuating magnetic anomalies, and strange deformities to the surface of the moon, that were attributed to the planet the moon orbited. Nothing too unusual.
However, the sensors placed around the bases as security measures against inferior creatures or infiltrations were receiving an alarming degree of electromagnetic interference. Interference that did not conform to known patterns of Planetary and Satelite behaviours.
Such anomalies could be alien in origin and interfere with the communications array, causing the loss of vital relays with the saucer and Gold Fleet.
"Alert! Unknown interference with terrain sensors! Multiple electromagnetic anomalies detected!" Two-One-One quickly inferred to its commander.
The Commander, One-Seven-Five, turned it's headpiece to gaze upon him and an echo of derision came from its Pathweb signature.
For a moment, time itself appeared to falter and Two-One-One felt panic arise in his tendrils.
Had he been found out? Had his mental deformaties been discovered?
"Investigate!" The Commander barked at him after what seemed like an eternity and Two-One-One moved back from his station, tentacles trembling in relief.
"I obey!"
The Doctor cursed his luck. Out of all the satellites to refuel the TARDIS, of course, he had to pick the one where the Daleks had decided to set up an invasion force.
In his defence, he thought to himself, his TARDIS had been sent careening into the planet after a rather violent expulsion from the Time Vortex. He sensed that something else (Or perhaps someone) was at play, deeply troubling him. Even more so when the TARDIS refused to leave.
The old girl had groaned and creaked at him as he tried to get her to take off again but the old girl refused to budge.
"What are you trying to tell me, old girl?" He had asked confused but he was denied an answer.
And so, The Doctor had found himself hiking along a strange, track within a forest, immediately regretting wearing his coat as the hot humid moon had suddenly drenched him in sweat and rain, forcing him to carry it with him, no time to admire the strange beauty of the rainforest or the magnificent purplish-blue gas giant that dominated the sky above him.
The planet cast a blue glow over the moon, an eerie and morose setting as despite the hot and quite uncomfortably humid weather. He supposed the blue tint made the moon appear solemn and depressed, almost lonely as it hung in orbit around the stunning sapphire of a gas giant.
He was so entranced by the lush vegetation and strange blue soils and stones that he scarcely paid attention to the ship hovering over the moon in the far distance.
If he had, he probably would have noticed that it was a Dalek Command Saucer hanging ominously in the sky, a dark shadow against to brillant glow of the gas giant's clouds.
The rain was getting to him now, having drenched his coat and so he was grateful when he had spotted the ruins of some ancient civilisation and gave a sigh of relief.
The strange ruins caught his attention not only as a shelter but as a curiosity. The walls were thicker than they needed to be and the floors of the vast temple-like building were layered and compacted dirt.
He had never seen anything quite like it. It certainly wasn't Draconian, he knew that at the very least.
With a bounce in his step, he eagerly made his way along one of the walls until he came upon a grand opening, shaped like an arch that spanned several metres across and several hundred high.
It was like a crack in the wall, only it had been purposefully built.
What a strange design for an entrance.
He entered quickly and was immediately taken by the strange carving on the walls. The language wasn't translating in his head. The design was arcanic and this entire structure made him feel uneasy.
There was something deeply wrong with this place, he could feel it in his gut.
Before he had the opportunity to investigate the strange carvings upon the walls, he was rather rudely interrupted.
By three bronze Daleks.
"Identify!" The leading Dalek suddenly shrieked as it entered the strange temple, its gun immediately honed in on the Doctor.
"Ah," the Doctor instinctively put his hands up as the leading Dalek approached him. The other two remained outside, blocking his escape. "I'm simply a man."
"You will identify yourself!" The Dalek screamed again, advancing on him and backing him into a corner. "Identify or you will be exterminated!"
"Well now, screaming at me isn't exactly a friendly greeting, you know," The Doctor guffawed in the Daleks eyestalk as it paused before him, gunstick twitching. "Maybe you should start with a friendly hello! Or maybe a please!"
The Dalek had had enough and raised its manipulator arm to the Doctor's chest and it began whirring, side to side.
"Now that's just rude, you should ask before you scan someone!" the Doctor shoved the arm away from him but it was too late, the Dalek had got enough information from its body scan.
Odd, they usually just screamed at him rather than take the initiative.
He wasn't supposed to be in this era. The Daleks weren't supposed to know this particular face, he couldn't give them any hints about their future.
"Timelord! You are a Timelord!" It screeched. "Explain your presence here! Explain! Explain!"
"Thought I'd admire the ancient Draconian architecture," the Doctor waved off the Dalek's demand and turned towards the strange-looking mural scrawled across the ancient black marble. "You never know what you can learn from history you know!"
"These structures are not of Draconian origin! You lie!" The Dalek accused and the Doctor was surprised. "You will explain your presence! Explain! Explain!"
A Dalek being aware of the architecture of the planet it was invading? And it wasn't to do with a weapon of mass destruction? At least, he hoped it wasn't.
"Look at you, being an aficionado of architecture!" The Doctor leaned into the Dalek's eyestalk.
The Dalek stared at him, its cold unflinching eye staring back at him.
A deep thrum sounded in his chest and a tingle reverberated in his soul as the Dalek edged closer to him, holding his gaze, almost challenging him to do something.
The Doctor frowned as he held the Daleks gaze.
He had met this Dalek before, somehow, the temporal energy within him writhed and twisted like a bout of nausea settling in his stomach.
They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Maybe the Dalek felt it too, he wasn't sure, he could never be sure. He was more than aware of individuals such as the Time Controller, the Time Strategist and Dalek Caan but this Dalek didn't seem time-sensitive.
It was just a normal drone. Nothing remarkable about it whatsoever. Yet it held his gaze, observing him, he could feel the edges of its mind curiously touching his own, probing, fascinated.
This Dalek was… curious?
A curious Dalek, how odd.
There was the shriek of a Dalek but it hadn't come from the one he was currently having a staring contest.
Eye contact was broken as the Dalek who had antagonised him suddenly turned its eyestalk towards the entrance, towards the two Daleks that had shadowed it.
The Doctor followed its gaze and found the entrance engulfed in light and the smell of ozone in the air was overpowering.
Dread filled his hearts as the smell of ozone was soon joined by the horrifically familiar smell of death.
Two-One-One had seen Daleks die before.
But not like this.
"What is happening?" Two-One-One demanded of its two companions. "Report!"
"Elec- Electrical interfere-argh!" Three-Seven-Nine started but was cut off as a cry of pain erupted from its energy dispensers as the mutant within suddenly shrieked.
"Electromagnetic surge destroying internal- internal circuitry!" Four-Two-Zero tried to report as Three-Seven-Nine began to jerk erratically, its repulsors shuddering and shrieking as something internal malfunctioned.
Two-One-One's mind was filled with screaming, the pathweb was screaming, and thousands and thousands of Daleks were crying out in pain. Whatever was happening, it wasn't just happening to these two Daleks. It was happening all over the moon.
The screams and cries of others in the Seventh Incursion Squad suddenly flooded his mind, assaulting his mind with agonising pain.
Two-One-One's alarm was increasing by the second. Something was killing them, frying their circuits, eroding their internal systems, heating the dalekanium to melting point as the living mutants inside screamed, their flesh sizzling and boiling.
"What is happening?" Two-One-One demanded, approaching his two companions and driving himself over the threshold of the ancient structure.
"No wait- don't!" Came the shout of the Timelord behind him but it was too late.
Two-One-One was suddenly disoriented as blinding light filled his eyestalk and pain exploded in his small frail body.
"Arughhhh!" Two-One-One howled in agony, as tendrils of heat and jolts of electricity paralysed him, his mind overwhelmed with the screams of agony from the Daleks in his squad.
The dying screams.
Backwards. Move backwards. MOVE BACKWARDS!
Two-One-One latched onto the one thought that appeared in his mind. He had been safe in the ancient structure. He needed to get back under cover, to safety.
Backwards!
His tentacles fought for control of his systems, fighting against the unbearable searing pain as his casing screamed alerts at him.
It felt like his very mind was going to break. The noise of his systems, his own screaming, his casing warping and cracking and the screams of his fellow Daleks were filling his mind with terror, a deep primal fear consuming him, making him feel insignificant.
No, no he was not insignificant!
Whatever this was, it would not reduce him to a mewling helpless hatching.
He reached out with his tentacles and gripped a single thought tightly.
Backwards.
Move Backwards!
Somehow, what remained of his repulsors obeyed him. They groaned and grinded, impaired and cracked but somehow, they managed to get him back over the threshold and back into safety.
Back to sanity. To quiet.
It was too quiet.
Two-One-One's limbs trembled with… something. He struggled to process what had occurred.
Adrenaline, most probably, the Dalek reasoned to itself. Daleks did not feel fear after all. Those small thoughts that occasionally spoke out when he was unsure of a plan, a strategy or their enemy was doing something unexpected said otherwise but it was ignored.
But such an experience. Even an experienced Dalek such as he, it had deeply rattled him both physically and metaphorically.
His mind was still ringing with an insufferable noise and his mutant body quivered pain lancing through it as it felt like over a thousand needles stabbing into his flesh all at once.
"There you are, you alright in there my squishy friend?" His audio receptors picked up on something and he twitched, trying to turn his dome towards the noise. The servers in his dome crunched and ground, impaired by the damage from whatever had occurred.
Two-One-One's lens flickered and shorted out at random intervals making it incredibly difficult to focus on the Timelord approaching him.
"Ke- Keep ba-ba-back!" Two-One-One cried out in panic, trying to reverse, however, his repulsors made a horrendous clanking noise and pain exploded in his body, eliciting a cry of pain. "Stay away from me!"
"Take it easy," the Timelord made a gesture to him that he didn't quite understand. Was it supposed to be a threat?
"Alert! Casing impaired! Casing impaired! Assist me! Assist me!" Two-One-One shouted furiously, calling to his two subordinates.
Perhaps it was the panic, but everything refocused for Two-One-One. His mind sharpened and focused on the threat at hand.
The Timelord that was now looming over him ominously.
The reaction was immediate and natural. He didn't even have to think of how to respond to this, this… inferior creature.
Two-One-One aimed his gun at the imposing threat and fired.
The Doctor saw the Daleks' gunstick swing towards him and he barely had time to flinch before it attempted to fire. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the inevitable embrace of death.
It never came.
The Gunstick clicked harmlessly, the Dalek looked at it, back at him then tried to fire again.
"Emergency! Emergency! Weapons failure!" The Dalek screamed, panicked and in a complete frenzy. "Weapons failure! Assist me! Assist me!"
The Doctor glanced back at the entrance to the strange temple. It had gone eerily silent outside, the screams of Daleks no longer permeating the air.
The Doctor glanced back at the Dalek that was screaming desperately for its comrades to help it. He felt a pang of regret and sadness for the pathetic thing. Whatever energy field or phenomena it had encountered outside had damaged the Dalek's casing.
Its gunstick and manipulator arm were trembling violently. Deep socrates and scorch marks covered its casing and its voice was strained and rasping, even for a Dalek. The Eye-stalk that held him in its gaze was fidgeting, the blue glow was flickering and weak.
The Doctor felt a momentary flicker of sorrow for the poor pathetic creature, but it faded.
There was no point in expending empathy for a Dalek of all things. Not when he had lost so much to them.
The Timelord turned away from the shrieking frenzied Dalek and looked out at the world outside the strange, ancient temple.
The sight that greeted him burnt his eyes in more ways than one. The heat from what could only be described as hellfire was unbearable and the Doctor was surprised that his clothes hadn't caught on fire. Every single organic lifeform was engulfed in flames, leaving the landscape a lifeless and smouldering wasteland.
"You'd get one hell of a suntan from that," The Doctor muttered as his eyes caught sight of the two Daleks that had arrived with their companion.
They were barely recognisable, the Dalekanium had melted and they had warped to the point that they looked like a twisted and broken plastic toy that had been placed on a fire.. It shocked even the Doctor with just how intense the electromagnetic surge had been.
"Respond! Commander! Respond!" Came the desperate plea of a croaky voice from behind him. "Any Dalek Unit on the Second Satilite of La'arysis 08 will respond!"
The Doctor turned back to find the Dalek twitching and juddering but he suspected that it was not from pain this time. It seemed to be from anxiety, from fear itself.
"I don't think you're going to get an answer," The Doctor lamely offered the Dalek. "Or maybe you should ask nicely! A please goes a long way you know-"
"Silence!" The Dalek screamed at him. "You will cease being facetious!"
"Or what? You'll exterminate me?" The Doctor sneered at the Dalek as its eye stalk homed in on his face. "Look at your buddies, whatever happened to them must have happened to your chums on this moon!"
The Dalek stared at him then glanced at the remains of its two companions.
Though it was barely noticeable, the Doctor swore that the Dalek flinched slightly when its gaze rested upon the warped and grisly remains of the other two drones. Indeed, the Dalek began to quake, its entire casing shuddering erratically.
"Seventh Incursion Ground Force to saucer!" The Dalek suddenly demanded. "Respond!"
There was a moment of silence.
"Respond!"
More silence.
"You will answer me!"
"They're not going to answer you!" The Doctor suddenly shouted at the Dalek, marching over to it and leering into its eyestalk. "Electromagnetic disturbances interfere with communication arrays, you pepperpot!"
The Dalek stopped shouting and narrowed its lens to focus on him.
"I must find a way to contact the fleet and warn them of the threat!" The Dalek snapped back at him. It then paused and seemed to consider. "You will assist me!"
"I will not," The Doctor guffawed at the Dalek and followed him with his eyestalk as he cavorted away with a laugh and began to circle the damaged Dalek. "Find your own way to talk to your mates."
"This satellite has unknown threats," The Dalek pointed out. "Separating is inadvisable."
The Doctor stopped circling the Dalek and frowned.
"And here was me thinking you were going to threaten to exterminate me if I did not obey you," he raised an eyebrow and the Dalek wiggled its gun which clicked harmlessly.
"I am in no position to do so," the Dalek admitted, somewhat ruefully. "I require assistance. My casing is damaged and this moon was untouched by the Draconians. There must be a reason for this!"
Now that answer wasn't what the Doctor was expecting.
"Since when does a Dalek consider what other species think about?"
"It is only logical," the Dalek clarified. "This moon is a major strategic vantage point for the Draconian Empire yet it remains untouched. Why?"
"And you didn't think to mention this to your superiors before they decided to set up camp here hmm?" The Doctor disputed. This was odd. This Dalek was very odd.
For a mindless drone, this Dalek was incredibly perceptive. The Doctor wasn't sure whether to be impressed or terrified of it.
He decided on both.
The damaged Dalek stared at him, contemplating his words.
"I- I- Daleks cannot question orders!" The Dalek stated loudly but there was a conflict in the Dalek's voice which suggested that it had wanted to question. That it had wanted to prevent this.
"Well if you had, maybe all your Dalek chums would still be alive!"
"Daleks cannot question orders!" The Dalek repeated, sounding as if it was on the verge of a systems error.
"Well, maybe you should!" The Doctor provoked and the Dalek began shaking its dome from side to side. "You could have prevented all this death!"
"Silence!" The Dalek exclaimed, wresting control over its casing and forcing it to remain still. It looked the Doctor up and down then took another glance at the burning world beyond the entrance to the temple. "I must find a way to contact the fleet. You will assist me."
"And why would I do that?" The Doctor folded his arms across his chest and his expression hardened. "Why would I ever want to help a Dalek?"
"Because you are trapped within this structure with me," The Dalek pointed out. "Otherwise you would have returned to your TARDIS and fled while I was incapacitated. Therefore, you are separated from your TARDIS."
He had to admit, he was impressed by this Dalek. Its ability to think and understand went well beyond the normal Dalek Drone. It was being pragmatic and doing so without him provoking it.
But the Dalek did have a point. His TARDIS was outside of the temple and considering the ancient temple's ability to repel and protect against electromagnetic phenomena, he doubted that the TARDIS would even be able to materialise within its walls.
"You got me there, clever pepperpot aren't you?"
"I am not a 'Pepperpot'. I am a Dalek."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. Still took things rather too literally though, such a pain. Oh well. No matter.
"So, do you have a name Dalek?" The Doctor asked the damaged Dalek.
It seemed to pause before it swung its sparking, damaged eyestalk to look at him, its repulsors shuddering and screeching as it tried to swing around to face him. It stopped halfway, realising it was a lost cause, and instead, it was content with narrowing its lens at him.
"Daleks do not have names," it intoned blankly. "I am Two-One-One. Second in command of the Seventh Incursion Squad."
The Doctor snorted and gestured back to the temple entrance, the hellfire beyond still raging. "Your commander probably didn't survive the electromagnetic surge. I guess that makes you the commander now doesn't it?"
"You are correct," the Dalek spoke after musing on his words. The Doctor swore that there was a hint of dry humour in the Daleks' tone, "I am Two-One-One. Commander of the Seventh Incursion squad."
"Charmed, I'm sure," The Doctor turned toward the inner chambers of the temple, ready to explore and find a way out of this mess.
Seventh Incursion Squad? It was important somehow, the Doctor had heard of the squad before but the reason why escaped him.
"Halt!" The Dalek suddenly croaked, turning to examine him with a critical gaze. "What is your designation, Timelord?"
"Ah."
Now that could be a problem.
The Dalek Sec's original number comes from the episode he first appeared in: Series 2, Episode 11 (211). It ironically matches the number of Genetic Dalek Variant Two-One-Zero (210), who would eventually become the Emperor/Dalek Prime. Perhaps there's a connection there?
This fic was mainly inspired by Big Finish's "Across the Darkened City". In which a Dalek (210 or Dalek Prime) is forced to team up with the First Doctor's companion, Steven Taylor, in order to survive.
It was also inspired by the amazing Unicorn Series on Archive of Our Own by mechanicalspirit who writes the Cult of Skaro so well, but especially Sec's inner thoughts and musings on various things.