DOCTOR WHO - DEATH TO THE DALEKS

by Terrance Dicks

  'Work will re-commence at dawn. Move!'

  There was no response.

  'Move!' repeated the Dalek angrily. It extended its sucker-arm and twitched the blanket away—to reveal a pile of sand shaped roughly into human form. 'The human female has escaped. I have failed, I have failed. She must be located.' The Dalek began a frantic search of the area, but Jill Tarrant was gone.

  Bellal looked uneasily at the figures behind the screens. They were almost complete now, giant lumpy versions of the basic humanoid form with massive limbs and blurred, shapeless features. They looked like huge clay men brought to hideous life. They stirred... Bellal called, 'Doctor, I think we should go now!'

  The Doctor looked up from a maze of dismantled and reassembled circuitry. 'All right, Bellal, nearly finished.'

  Bellal went over to watch him. 'What are you trying to do?'

  'There's no time to find and isolate the beacon circuits as I'd hoped. So I'm using a kind of psychological warfare. I'm trying to confuse the City's brain, engineer what humans would call a nervous breakdown.'

  'Will that have the same effect?'

  The Doctor cross-connected another circuit. 'I hope so. A computer is a thing of logic. It can't cope with paradox.'

  Bellal stood watching the Doctor at work. He didn't notice that the huge forms behind the screens had come fully alive, and that the screens were sliding silently back.

  The two Daleks had endured a battery of mind-bending lights and sounds with stolid indifference. Daleks have so little imagination that it is almost impossible to hypnotise them. Eventually the effects had died away, and a door had slid open before them. The Daleks glided swiftly through.

  Just as the Doctor finished his task, an enormous, shapeless hand fell on Bellal's shoulder, gripping it with crushing force. One of the giant zombies had him in its grip. He screamed and the Doctor grabbed Beilal's other arm and pulled him free. They began backing away, as the creature lurched slowly towards them. More of the giant zombies came forward, forming a menacing semi-circle in front of the Doctor and Bellal.

  They retreated further and further across the control room, dodging between the banks of instruments. The leading zombie found its way blocked by a computer terminal, and smashed it aside with a single sweep of its club-like arm. Other zombie creatures rampaged through the control room, destroying everything that stood in their path.

  Lights began flashing on and off erratically and there was a whine of tortured machinery. The Doctor wondered if it was a result of his own efforts or the damage caused by the antibodies themselves. Not that it mattered very much. By now they were trapped against a blank wall with zombies lurching closer and closer, huge hands outstretched. There was no escape.

  Once again the Doctor was saved by his enemies. The door opened and two Daleks glided into the room. At the sight of the Doctor they gave a triumphant cry of 'Exterminate!' and opened fire.

  The Doctor and Bellal threw themselves down. Dalek machine-gun bullets ripped across the room, thudding into the massive bodies of the zombies. The creatures turned and began lumbering towards their new enemies.

  The Daleks fired a series of frantic bursts, but their bullets had little effect. The zombies hesitated for a moment, as the bullets struck them, and then lurched forward to the attack.

  'Quick, Bellal,' shouted the Doctor. 'Now's our chance.' They began moving around the edge of the battle. 'Halt! Do not move!' screamed one of the Daleks. It swung round to fire at the Doctor, but suddenly the leading zombie was upon it. It seized the Dalek's gun-stick in one colossal hand and slowly bent it up into the shape of a letter U. The Doctor and Bellal dashed through the still-open door.

  They hurtled down the corridor at frantic speed, until they reached one of the sliding doors that had barred their way in. It was opening and shutting erratically. 'The City controls are breaking down,' said the Doctor exultantly. 'It's working, Bellal! With any luck the other traps won't be operating either! Come on!' They hared on down the corridor.

  In the computer control room, the Daleks were falling back before the zombie attack. Their cries of 'Exterminate!' gave way to frantic screams of 'Retreat! Retreat!' Spinning round, they shot through the open door in pursuit of the Doctor and Bellal. Remorselessly, the zombie antibodies lumbered after them.

  Unharmed and unhindered, Doctor and Bellal passed the nightmare room, the electrified pavement, and the room full of skeletons and arrived at last in the alcove through which they'd entered the City. Bellal collapsed gasping against the wall. 'I never believed we would escape, Doctor.'

  'Never say die, Bellal,' said the Doctor. 'Mind you the battle's not over yet. The Daleks will do everything in their power to stop the Earth mission from getting off the planet. Come on, we'd better see what we can do to help.' Apparently unaffected by their ordeals, the Doctor set off briskly across the rocks. With a groan Bellal heaved himself upright and staggered after him.

  Their Dalek guard close behind them, Fnmilton and Galloway trudged towards the mining area. Galloway was still hugging the bomb beneath his coat. He had been silent and morose on the long journey back, and Hamilton wondered again what he was planning. He took a quick glance at his wrist-chronometer, wondering how long before the bombs they'd set on the beacon were due to detonate.

  The Dalek leader came forward to meet their guard. 'Report.'

  'Explosive devices now in position. Detonation will occur shortly, and power will be restored.'

  'Prepare for immediate take-off,' ordered the leader.

  Peter Hamilton looked round. The Exxilon slaves were still filling the last few bags, but there was no sign of Jill. 'Where's the girl you were holding?'

  There was a brief silence. 'Come on,' demanded Hamilton. 'Tell me where she is.'

  'She escaped during darkness. Now that our work is almost completed she is of no importance. You will load the Parrinium bags on to our ship. Move!'

  The Doctor and Bellal arrived at the edge of the dunes just in time to see Hamilton and Galloway carrying the last of the Parrinium bags towards the Dalek ship.

  'The Daleks seem to be getting ready to leave,' said the Doctor thoughtfully. 'So they must be pretty confident they'll be able to blast off. I wonder what they've been up to?'

  Bellal turned and looked behind them. The white towers of the City gleamed behind them, and the great beacon was still flashing. 'I think we have failed, Doctor. The City is unharmed. Soon it will repair the little damage we have done. Now the Daleks are leaving with the medicine the humans need, and we are powerless to stop them.'

  'You're not being logical, Bellal,' said the Doctor severely. 'If the City is undamaged, the Daleks can't leave. No, I think they must have—' He broke off suddenly. 'Get down!'

  'What is it, Doctor?'

  'Someone's coming up the other side of the dune...'

  14

  The Last Victory

  Bellal crouched down. The Doctor peered over the top of the dunes—and jumped to his feet with a cry of delight. 'Sarah! Thank goodness you're safe.'

  'Doctor!' Sarah came running up the dune, Jill Tarrant close behind her. There was a confused babble of greetings. 'Did you succeed, Doctor?' asked Sarah. 'Will we get the power back?'

  The Doctor said ruefully, 'I'm not sure. It'll take time for the effects to show. What about you?'

  Sarah said triumphantly, 'We've just got back from the Earth mission ship.'

  'Everything's set for blast-off the minute we get full power,' said Jill. 'But we've still got to rescue Dan and Peter. I can't handle the ship on my own.'

  The Doctor said, 'I'm afraid that's not going to be easy. They're heading for the Dalek ship!'

  Hamilton and Galloway staggered up the ramp and dumped the last of the Parrinium sacks in the hold just inside the doorway. It had taken a number of trips to get all the bags on board. The Dalek leader was already at the control panel. Hamilton dumped his bags down any old how, but Galloway began stacking the bags neatly in the hold. What was he up to now,
currying favour with the Daleks, thought Hamilton irritably. 'Come on, Dan,' he said. Galloway waved him away, and suddenly Hamilton realised what Galloway was doing. He still had the bomb—and if he could plant it somewhere on the Dalek ship...

  The Dalek sentry was waiting at the bottom of the ramp. 'Where is your companion?'

  'Your leader told him to stack the bags. He'll be out in a moment.'

  The Dalek turned indifferently away. It was scanning the surrounding area, looking for the two Daleks who had gone to the City.

  Hamilton sneaked another look at his wrist chronometer. Surely there couldn't be long to go...

  Shading his eyes he looked at the still-flashing beacon—and it disappeared in a brilliant white flash. The thunder of the distant explosion rolled across the dunes to the Dalek ship.

  The Dalek leader saw the lights flash up on its control panel, checked that power was back and glided to the top of the ramp.

  'Full power is now restored. You will board the ship.'

  The sentry Dalek moved up the ramp and followed its leader into the control room. The Dalek leader made a rapid check of the control panel.

  'We shall now commence the power build-up for blast-off.'

  'The Dalek patrol has not yet reported back from the City.'

  'Send urgent re-call signal.'

  'No one is guarding the human captives. Shall I exterminate them?'

  'Not necessary. They will perish like all other life on this planet.'

  The Doctor and his companions were staring towards the City from their vantage point high in the dunes. The top of the tower was no more than a jagged stump. 'They've destroyed the beacon,' whispered Jill. 'Will that restore the power?'

  'I think so, Jill. I'm afraid it looks as if the Daleks are going to get away with your Parrinium after all...'

  'Doctor, there's something we haven't told you,' began Sarah.

  A metallic voice came from behind them. 'Do not move or you will be exterminated.' They turned—

  The two Daleks from the City had caught up with them. The Doctor noticed with wry amusement that the second Dalek's gun-stick was bent into an upward-pointing U, giving the Dalek a curiously drunken air. But the other Dalek's machine-gun was in full working order, and it was covering the little group at point-blank range. 'We shall go to the ship,' ordered the Dalek. 'Move!'

  When they reached the ship they found Peter Hamilton waiting. The Dalek leader came out of the ship, and the two Daleks from the City went on board. The Doctor stared boldly at the Dalek leader, now left alone with the little group of captives. 'Well, don't prolong the agony. I presume you mean to kill us?'

  'Such a death would be too easy, Doctor. You will stay on the planet and die in agony.'

  'What makes you so sure?'

  'As soon as we take off we shall bombard this area with space-plague missiles. You will be infected before you can reach the safety of your ships. You will all perish as a warning to those who oppose the plans of the Daleks.'

  'What is your plan exactly?' asked the Doctor curiously. 'I take it your story of a plague on Dalek planets was pure invention?'

  'Correct. Daleks are immune to the disease.'

  'Then what do you want the Parrinium for?'

  'When we hold all available supplies of Parrinium, all Earth colonies will surrender to the Daleks or perish from the space plague.'

  'Don't you think Earth will send other missions?' asked Peter Hamilton defiantly. 'Now the power blockage is over we can have more ships here in no time.'

  'I imagine the Daleks have taken that possibility into account, Peter,' said the Doctor. 'You're forgetting those space plague missiles.'

  'Correct, Doctor. Before any Earth ship can arrive, the plague will have spread to contaminate the entire planet. Further landings will be impossible.'

  The Dalek leader backed up the ramp, the doors closed behind it, and the ramp retracted. A low rumble of power came from the ship.

  Peter Hamilton was staring up at the Dalek ship. 'What the blazes is Galloway up to? He should have planted that bomb and got off by now.'

  Jill stared at him. 'You mean Galloway's still on there?'

  'He was the last time I saw him. Unless he's managed to sneak off by some other way—and in that case, where is he?'

  The rumble from the Dalek ship increased. 'No time to look for him now,' said the Doctor. 'We'll be caught in the rocket exhaust if we don't get away from here.'

  Followed by Bellal, the Doctor and Sarah ran for the dunes. Hamilton grabbed Jill's hand and pulled her after them. They climbed to the top of the nearest sand dune and watched the Dalek ship rise into the sky on a column of fire.

  'Now, listen,' said the Doctor urgently. 'We must all get to our own ships and take off. There's just a chance we can get away before those missiles land.'

  'But the Daleks have taken all the Parrinium,' shouted Peter. 'We must gather more.'

  The Doctor shook his head. 'There's no time, young man—'

  'It's all right,' said Sarah. 'The Daleks haven't got the Parrinium, you have! Jill and I loaded it on to your ship.'

  Peter stared at her. 'But the bags we loaded on to the Dalek ship?'

  'Sand,' said Sarah triumphantly. 'It took us all last night to fill them up.'

  'Splendid,' said the Doctor. 'Very well done. Now, may I remind you we're still in danger of a very nasty death if we don't take off before they fire those missiles ? Run for your ship, you two—now!'

  As they began to run, Hamilton shouted to Jill, 'I should never have trusted Galloway. I should have set that bomb myself. He must have lost his nerve, surrendered to the Daleks...'

  In the Dalek control room, the leader announced, 'Prepare to launch plague missiles.'

  'I obey.' The Dalek glided to another part of the control room.

  Hidden behind the stack of bags in the hold, Dan Galloway took the bomb from beneath his tunic, and set the timer to 'Instant'. He remembered the words of the dying Commander Stewart. A glory hunter, was he? Galloway drew a deep shuddering breath, and pressed home the plunger.

  Haring across the dunes, the Doctor glanced up at the ascending Dalek ship—and saw it explode into a fireball in the sky. He stopped running. 'It's all right, everybody, no need to run. There's plenty of time now.'

  A little later Hamilton came up to him. 'That was Dan Galloway,' he said softly.

  The Doctor nodded. 'He could have set the bomb to delayed action, but the Daleks might have found it. I imagine he wanted to make sure.'

  They climbed slowly to the top of the dune, and stood silent for a moment. The Doctor turned to Jill Tarrant and Peter Hamilton. 'Well, now it's up to you two to get the Parrinium to where it's needed.'

  There was a sudden shout from Sarah who had turned to look at the City. 'Look, everyone!'

  They all looked. Perhaps because of the Doctor's work on the computer, perhaps because of the Dalek assault on the beacon, perhaps even because of its own rampaging antibodies, the City was dying. Its clean-cut geometrical shapes were dissolving into shapeless blobs, melting and running away over the rocks. Sarah thought that it looked like some elaborate ice-cream sculpture, left exposed to the blazing heat of the sun.

  'We succeeded after all,' whispered Bellal. 'The City is dead.'

  'Rather a pity, in a way,' said the Doctor. 'Now there are only six hundred and ninety-nine wonders in the Universe!'

  The Doctor and Sarah said their goodbyes, and headed for the TARDIS.

  The Doctor rubbed his hands. 'Now for Florana, Sarah,' he said happily. 'I expect you feel like a little holiday after all this!'

  'You can forget about Florana, Doctor,' said Sarah firmly. 'Just you concentrate on getting me home!'

 

 

 
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