Chapter 17
The Thal's camp was engulfed in flames. Its many tents had crumpled to the ground as the red and orange flames consumed them in its endless pursuit to end its never-ending hunger. The metal trees that shielded the camp from the harshness of Skaro groaned as they started to melt.
Inside the safety of his casing, Ian's single eye widened at the devastation that the Daleks had created. His tentacles withered as anger towards the Daleks bubbled inside of him. He observed that the camp that only moments ago had been filled with life was now filled with death. Thals who had been unlucky lay lifeless on the ground.
"Surrender to the Daleks!" boomed a Dalek's booming voice.
Ian's eye stock focused in on the centre of the camp. Hovering just above the ground was a Dalek. Its casing was like the other Dalek's was green with dark green spheres. Its domed head was black. Its eye stock swirled around as its green glare studied the surviving Thals that were being herded before it.
"Surrender to the Dalek! Or be exterminated!" the Dalek Commander Scout demanded of the Thals before it. Its green glare daring the Thals to defy it. Its gun stick twitching with anticipation someone defying it.
Under the Dalek Commander Scout's green gaze its Scouts rounded the Thals before it. Thals stumbled into each other as they were herded into a small area before the Dalek Scout Commander.
"Any resistance will be dealt with swift extermination!" the Dalek Scout Commander boomed out to the Thals gathered in front of it. Its green glare was bright as it watched the rest of its Daleks bringing more of Thals out from their hidden spots. The Thals thought they could hide from them.
The Dalek Scout Commander's eye stock swirled away from the gathered Thals. It focused in on a Dalek behind it. "Locate the Abomination and the aliens associated with it. And bring them all to me." he ordered the Dalek Scout.
"I obey!" the Dalek barked back to it.
The Dalek Scout Commander swirled its eye stock away from the Dalek Scout as it left its side. It did not need to oversee its underling obeying its orders. It knew that the Daleks under his command would follow his orders. The Thals, was another problem. They were not under his command and so they would not follow his orders.
Its green glare fixed on the group of gathered Thals before it. Children clung to their parents. Fearful tears streamed down their face as they looked upon a monster. The elderly Thals glared at the Daleks with fear and acceptance. While young adults glared at it with hatred.
"All Thal leaders will step forward! Failure to do so will see the Extermination of all children!" the Dalek Scout Commander barked to the gathered Thals.
The Dalek's command caused children to wail out. They clung to their parents as more tears streamed down their faces. Parents shielded their crying children as they glared at the Daleks that seemed to loom over them.
Outside the gathering of Thals in the camp's heart was the Doctor and his companions. The Doctor and Barbara were ahead of the group. Walking with determination was the Doctor. His eyes hardened as he watched the Thals being gathered by the Daleks. Never had he seen so much destruction in his life. Growing up in the comfortable safety of The Citadel, he had never been afraid for his safety. He had wanted to see all of time and space, that was the reason why he stole an Tardis and left Gallifrey with Susan.
"Come along." the Doctor urged Barbara as they kept moving towards the gathering.
"Are we sure that this is the best thing to do?" Barbara asked him. Keeping pace with the Time Lord. She looked between him and the gathered Thals before her. Smoke from all the fires caught in the back of her throat. The intense heat from the flames made her eyes so dry that they had started to tear up.
She looked behind her. Following right behind them was Ian and Susan. Ian's eye stock kept swirling in all direction as he looked out for Daleks. Or even Thals who would attack him out of fear. His gun stick was twitching like Dalek's gun stick, but she did not feel frightened by him. She knew he looked like a Dalek, but Barbara knew he was not a Dalek.
Barbara looked back to the Doctor. He was focused on the site before him. There was a hint of worry on his face as he looked to the gathering.
"Shouldn't we be avoiding the Daleks?" Barbara asked him.
"No, my dear." the Doctor said. "For our plan to work we need to be captured by the Daleks. Without any resistance."
Barbara bit her lip as once again she looked over her shoulder to Ian behind her. "I am just worried." she admitted.
"Nonsense, my dear. This plan will work."
Ian and Susan kept up with the Doctor and Barbara in front of them.
Susan was looking all over the place. Her hands covered her at the destruction that the Daleks had brought. In the corner of her eyes tears were forming as she felt nothing but sadness for the Thals. Their camp was nothing like the cities back on Gallery or Earth's cities. Despite its look, it was still the Thal's home.
Emotions that she was unfamiliar with bubbled up inside of Susan's heart. Fear. Hatred. Anger. Sadness. Not knowing how to express her emotions she teared up as she observed the destruction created by the Daleks.
Flames consumed everything that they touched. The tents, the metal trees and blurry shapes that she did not want to look further into.
Ian kept beside Susan. He was focused on the Dalek Scout Commander. It kept shouting out orders for all the Thal's leadership to step forward. Ian's anger boiled inside him as he listened to the Dalek's threats of killing the children.
His Dalek side was urging him to destroy everything in sight. No matter if it was Dalek, Thal or his friends. It wanted to kill everything. Pushing the Daleks instinct to the back of his head, Ian focused on what was happening.
Ian shifted his attention away from the Dalek Scout Commander. Swirling his eye stock to Susan beside him. He saw the tornada of emotions that was swirling up inside of her. She was too young, in his opinion to be seeing the carnage that the Daleks had caused to the Thals.
"Susan." Ian said to her. He waited until she tore her eyes away from the destruction to him. She looked right into his blue lens. Tears still streaming down her face as she covered her mouth. Her vain attempt at covering how scared she was feeling at that moment.
"What every happens stay close to me." he gently told her, as much as his Dalek voice permitted.
Susan simple nodded her head in response. She was too scared at what she was seeing to speak. Quickly she looked away from Ian. Beside her she heard the whirling of his eye stock twitching. She could feel his intense blue glare focused on her.
She heard the mechanical whirling from his casing. Turning her attention back to him she saw that he was once again looked straight ahead. She followed where he was looking. The Dalek Scout Commander.
Its green glare was fixed onto them.
Susan looked back to Ian. Intense blue and green glares were fixed onto each other.
Hesitantly she lifted her trembling hand. Slowly she reached towards his domed head. Gentle she placed on it. The static electricity from his shield zapped at her hand. It was a weird feeling but she was getting used to the feeling.
"This is so horrible." Susan cried as she once again looked around them. She kept her hand on the smooth metal of Ian's domed head. "I never thought I would see anything so evil."
"There's evil everywhere Susan." Ian gentle responded back to her.
"Halt!" a Dalek Scout screeched as it emerged from the shadows of a tent. The Scouts eye stock twitched between Susan and Ian. Its never blinking blue glowing lens glared at them with hatred. Finally its blue glare fixed on Ian. "You are the Abomination!" the Dalek Scout screeched at Ian.
Susan yelped at the Dalek Scout's voice. It did not help that its gun stick was quivering. The Dalek's entire casing was trembling as it waited for both of them ton make a move that it did not like. Without taken her hand off of Ian's domed head she took small steps to hide further behind him.
"You are to report to the Dalek Scout Commander." the Scout Dalek continued. Its blue unblinking gaze was fixed on Susan. Anger ebbed out from its glare as it fixed on her hand on Ian's head. "Or the female will be Exterminated." it said when it focused back on Ian.
Ian kept looking at the twitching Dalek Scout as he gentle said, "We have no choice, Susan. Stay close to me."
He did not get anything else from Susan. The sensors in his casing detected her tapping his domed head. He didn't blame her for being scared he was also scared of the other Dalek. It looked ready to fire at them without hesitation.
No words were said as Ian started moving towards the Dalek Scout. Its gun stick was quivering had speed up as he approached. "Take us to your leader." he said to the Dalek Scout.
The Dalek Scout said nothing back to it. It just simple glared at him with contempt. Nothing was said as its casing turned around and started moving to the large gathering of Thals in front of the Dalek Scout Commander.
The Dalek Scout Commander eye stock kept swirling. Keeping as many Thals under its green gaze as possible. The Thals were huddled together. Their leadership had stepped forward and were being guarded by his Dalek Scouts. Pride flooded it at how quickly his Scout Daleks had rounded up the Thals. The Dalek Supreme would be proud with the catch he was bringing back to the City.
Movement from out with the Thal's gather caught the Dalek Scout Commander's attention. Its eye stock twitched and it watched in silence as a Scout escorted Ian and Susan to it. Its green glare fixed onto Ian who was observing the destruction that had befallen the Thal's Camp.
Ian's eye stock fixed onto the Dalek Scout Commander. His lens narrowed as did his organic eye. His blood boiled as once again anger he had never felt surged as he looked at the Dalek Scout Commander. "These Daleks were simple Scouts. I'd fear to see what the Daleks main army could do." he muttered to himself.
"They are so horrible." Susan cried as she kept a hand on his domed head. "Why would they do something like this?" she asked.
The Dalek Scouts made a path through the gathered Thals. Many eyes were on them as they approached the Scout Commander. Many of the Thals were angry and scared. Others had no emotions as they waited for what was going to happen to happen.
"The Abomination!" the Dalek Scout Commander shouted as Ian and Susan were brought before it. "You should be exterminated!" it screeched when Ian stopped in front of it.
"Then why have you not done that?" Ian couldn't help himself ask it.
The Dalek Scout Commander stared at Ian with hatred. Hatred for not falling in line and being a Dalek. The Dalek Head Scientist had promised that his latest creation was going to be the first of its kind. A Dalek that did not have the same weaknesses as a normal Dalek. Daleks had no weakness and yet the Head Scientist kept arguing that they did have weakness. Weakness that they had not seen in themselves but they will see it in later generations.
"Because the Dalek Supreme has ordered for your recapture!" it growled back at Ian.
Its green glare focused on the hand that was on Ian's domed head. A low growl escaped from deep within its organic flesh. "You disgust me. You allow inferior lifeforms to be near you and touch your casings." it sneered to Ian.
"There is no such thing as inferior or superior races!" Ian shouted back. He could feel Susan trembling beside him. She was tapping his domed head nervously as she looked at the Scout Commander.
The Dalek Scout Commander let out a low menacing mechanical growl. Its gun stick twitched with annoyance towards Ian.
"My dear boy," the Doctor started making two sets of eye stocks swirl towards him, "do not antagonise the Daleks."
The Doctor stood tall as he was put under the intense green glare of the Dalek Scout Commander. Holding onto his jacket's hems he looked right into the green lens.
The Dalek Scout's eye stock turned away from the Doctor and looked back to Ian. "Yes Abomination listen to your elder." it snarled to him.
"Elder?" the Doctor couldn't help scoff.
Once again the Doctor and Barbara were under the Scout Commanders green glare. "I would rather have you all destroyed here and now. But the Dalek Supreme has ordered for all of your captures. The prisoners that escaped. The Thals and especially their leadership." it growled out as its eye stock swept over the large gathering.
"What will happen to all of us when we get back to the Dalek City?" the Doctor asked the Dalek Scout Commander.
The Dalek Scout Commander's green glare fixed back onto the Doctor. Its gun stick kept twitching as it growled out, "The Dalek Supreme will decide your fates!"
The Dalek Scout Commander's eye stock swirled away from the Doctor to the large group of terrified Thals. Every Thal stared back at him. Standing in front of the Thals was five Thals. They stood with defiance as they looked at it. "Are you the Thals leadership?" it asked them.
"We are the High Thal Councilmembers." Alydon declared to the Dalek Scout Commander.
The Dalek Scout Commander's green gaze studied the Thals leader. They were an odd bunch. An old woman who needed a walking stick assistance. A child who had large bright eyes. A young woman who looked at him with a slight sliver if hope. And two men who stood tall and proud.
Alydon came under the intense green glare of the Scout Commander's eye stock. "You will order your people to follow us back to the Dalek City. Order them to show the Daleks no resistance." the Dalek Scour Commander ordered Alydon.
Alydon turned his back on the Dalek Scout Commander. He was aware of its gun stick pointing as his back. He looked to the many Thals who were looking at their leaders. Their people was waiting for direction. And they had a direction. They needed to get to the Dalek City and this was the best way to do that.
"My people," Alydon shouted raising his hands into the air to gain everyone's attention, "I know that you are scared! I know that you are angry! But we must prove to the Daleks that we are not scared of them. We will follow their instructions and go back to the Dalek City."
"Are you crazy?" a male Thal shouted out from the back of the crowd. "Going into the Dalek City is a death sentence!"
Alydon bowed his head as every Thal started shouting at him. "Everyone please!" he pleaded out to every Thal.
"Yes it would seem like that." Alydon continued when the group started to get quitter. "But be assured that as your leaders," he continued as he gestured to the other members of the Thal Council, "we have all agreed that this is the best chance for our survival."
Alydon turned his back on his people as he looked back to the Dalek Scout Commander. He ignored the shouts coming from behind him. His attention was focused on the Scout Commander. He was frozen under the Scout Commander's green glare.
"We will follow you back to Dalek City." Alydon said to the Scout Commander. He bowed his head in a sign of defeat to the Daleks. "You have defeated us Daleks. You have shown us that you are superior to us." he continued to say to the Dalek Scout Commander.
Pride welled up deep inside the Dalek Scout Commander. They had defeated the Thals with no loses of their own. Its eye stock flicked away from the Thal's leadership to look at all the gathered Thals before it. "You are all now prisoners of the Daleks. You will follow all instructions given to you! Failure to comply will result in exterminations!" itshouted at all the Thals.
The Dalek Scout Commander's eye stock flicked away from the Thals to its Dalek Scouts. "Round them up every Thal. The young. The old. The males and females. Leave no one behind." it ordered them.
Its eye stock flicked away from those Scouts to another group of Dalek Scouts. They had reminded behind the Thals. Their gun sticks twitching with anticipation of killing their mortal enemies.
"Destroy this camp! Leave no evidence of the Thals!" the Dalek Scout Commander them with its booming voice.
The Thals screamed and cried in despair as they watched the Dalek Scouts destroying their homes. Flamethrowers shot out of the gun sticks. The Thals could only watch in horror as flames consumed their homes like hungry animals. There was nothing they could do against the Daleks.
The Dalek Scouts shouts thundered through the burning camp as they herded the large crowd of scared Thals. Children cried as they clung to their parents as they marched under the Daleks commands. Couples both young and old held onto each other. In front of the group was Alydon and the other council members.
"The plan is working." Dyoni whispered to Alydon as she walked beside him.
"Yes. But we should be careful. We cannot let the Daleks figure what is happening." Alydon whispered back to her.
Dyoni nodded her head as she took his hand in her hand. All around them were the Dalek Scouts as they led through the petrified forest back to the Dalek City. She looked to the silver and blue Dalek in front of them. "Lets just hope that Ian can keep with his side of the plan." she said as she looked at him.
Alydon squeezed her hand gentle as he said, "He will."