Doctor Who_ War Of The Daleks Part 17

'You will fight against me,' Davros informed it. 'You must convince the Dalek Prime that you are on his side. And, should his forces prevail, then you will be present at my execution...'

Ayaka had her ear to the door, listening for any signs of motion. Chayn sat hunched against the wall beside the door, looking casual and inconspicuous. The Daleks were quite likely to be monitoring the room, though they seemed to have missed the retrieval of the toolkits. Perhaps they simply believed her to be engaging in some sort of humanoid ritual. In her fist she held an activated microprobe.

'They're coming,' Ayaka murmured, and moved away from the door to join Cathbad and a small group of other Thals, all carefully chatting about nothing. A moment later, the door slid open. A Dalek entered, pus.h.i.+ng a cart laden with cubic metallic bottles and trays of reconst.i.tuted food. As it did so, Chayn slipped the probe into the gap and released it. It immediately wormed its way out of sight in the door's mechanism. Then she scuttled away from the door before regaining her feet.

'Food and drink,' the Dalek informed them, releasing the cart. 'You will make it last until the morning.' It backed out of the room, and the door closed behind it.

Ayaka moved to the cart, where Chayn and Cathbad joined her. 'Make sure that everyone gets something to eat and drink,' Ayaka ordered Cathbad. 'If we are to make an escape attempt, it may be quite some while before we'll eat again.'

'I'd feel better about that if the Daleks had provided us with a bathroom,' Chayn grumbled. 'I can see that they've not much use for one themselves, but we do.'

'They're not particularly bothered about humanoid comfort,' Ayaka replied. 'The probe is on its way?'

'Yes.' Chayn grinned. 'It's nosing about right now, looking for the circuits we need. I reckon it won't take me long to get the door working when we want it to. Then I'll have to tap into their monitoring system to check that the corridor outside is clear.'

'Good.' Ayaka looked pleased. 'I am sure we shall succeed.'

'I admire your optimism,' Chayn answered. She picked up a tub of the 'food'. 'Yuck. What is this?'

'It's... nutrition,' Ayaka answered. 'The Daleks '

' aren't particularly bothered about humanoid taste buds,' Chayn finished. 'I know, I know.' She grimaced, and considered going hungry.

Davros was prepared when the door to his cell opened again. One of the Black Daleks entered. Not the one on his side, he knew Davros had ordered his partisans to generate a low-tone pulse for his detectors, so that he could tell who they were. Once the fighting began, his troops would then be able to recognise one another.

'You will accompany me,' the Black Dalek commanded. Davros could detect four more Daleks waiting outside his escort.

'This farcical trial is about to begin?' he asked, obeying the order and moving forward.

'The trial is prepared,' the Black Dalek confirmed. 'You are ordered to attend.'

'I see no need for a trial,' Davros complained, though he was glad for the delay it would offer his partisans in getting ready, and for a public forum to express his views. 'Since the verdict has already been reached, this is a waste of time.'

The Black Dalek regarded him impa.s.sively. 'The trial is necessary,' it informed him. 'You must condemn yourself as we know you shall.'

Arrogance! Well, that was hardly its fault, since he had programmed it into their matrix. And, in this case, that arrogance would work against them. As they moved through the corridors, Davros said to the Black Dalek, 'I should not be placed on trial. I am your creator. Without me, you would be nothing. You should be praising me and following me.'

'You are an irrational, inferior humanoid-derivative,' the Black Dalek replied. 'You are to be exterminated, not followed.'

'I created you,' Davros told it.

'Incorrect,' the Dalek stated. 'I was created by the neutron war. You merely accelerated the process. The Daleks would have arisen anyway in the fullness of time. The universe was ready for the rise of the Daleks. It was inevitable.'

'Is that what the Dalek Prime tells you?' Davros sneered. 'Such arrogance! Without me to guide your creation, the Daleks would have been as weak and pitiful as the humanoid race from which they sprang. It was my genius that created the travel machines you utilise. My genius that made you what you are. Without me, you would all be mewling b.a.l.l.s of slime, without technology or a future. The Thals would have destroyed you had I not made you strong. You owe me everything.'

'You will have the opportunity to speak at your trial,' the Black Dalek informed him.

Davros chuckled to himself the Black Dalek was, of course, unable to refute logic it refused to accept. Perhaps this trial might have its amusing aspects, after all...

Sam had tired of staring out of the window, and returned to the doorway to think. Despite the fact that the Dalek Prime had promised to set them free, she couldn't help feeling that the danger wasn't over yet. There was something about the Daleks that she simply didn't trust. 'Do you really think they're going to let us go?' she asked the Doctor.

'Hmm?' He blinked and focused on her. 'Oh, yes, I'm sure of it. The Dalek Prime is crossing his I's and dotting his T's.'

'Shouldn't that be the other way around?' she asked him, with a mischievous grin.

'The Daleks have their own logic about everything.' He stood up abruptly. 'But we've certainly not been told the whole truth. There's a lot that's still hidden from me.' He gestured at an instrument panel beside the door. 'How about a little eavesdropping?' he suggested. 'Perhaps we'll get to overhear something we're not supposed to.' He moved to the panel and started to fiddle with it.

Sam stood on tiptoe and examined it over his shoulder. There seemed to be a monitor screen and several controls. 'What is that thing? In-home phone?'

'No, the Daleks communicate with one another using radio waves over a distance. This is a security monitor. The Daleks keep slaves in the city, and they like to be able to watch them.' He gave her a quick smile. 'They're understandably worried about revolts and attempted escapes. But if I can figure out the codes for this thing, we can use it to watch the Daleks instead.' The screen came on and he frowned. 'That's interesting.'

'What is?' she asked. 'Found the cable channels?'

'No. I didn't turn it on, so the Daleks must have done.' He tapped his lips with his right index finger. 'This must be something they want us to see.'

'Probably a party political broadcast, then.'

The Doctor grinned. 'I think you've got it,' he told her. 'Look.'

The screen showed an immense room. It had to be six hundred feet long, and at least three hundred wide and tall. There were layers of glideways about the walls, all of them filled with Daleks. Sam gasped, as she realised that there were several thousand of them within that one room. They were all a.s.sembled, staring at the centre of the room.

Here was a built-up section, with the Dalek Prime on an elevated platform. Behind him were ranked a dozen Gold Daleks. Around them, a score of Black Daleks. Red and Blue Daleks were ranged behind them, reaching back to the walls.

Facing the Dalek Prime was another raised platform, and several smaller ones. On the raised platform sat Davros, immobile, watching and waiting. Several Daleks were grouped about him, obviously guarding him.

'Which one's Rumpole?' Sam asked.

'It's the trial all right,' the Doctor confirmed. 'And the Dalek Prime wants us to see at least a part of it.' He shook his head. 'Davros thinks he's the one on trial, the poor fool. He doesn't realise that it's the Dalek race being purged here.'

'Do you really think he stands a chance of winning the case?' Sam asked. 'Are there really that many Daleks who support him?'

'It's hard to say,' the Doctor answered. 'But if the Dalek Prime is worried, then I'd say the battle's likely to be close to fifty-fifty. Whatever the outcome, there's both a good and bad aspect to it. Good, in that it'll take whoever wins quite some time to build their strength back up. That will give the rest of the galaxy a breather. Bad, because once the winner is is built up, the Daleks will have a single focus, and that will be conquest.' built up, the Daleks will have a single focus, and that will be conquest.'

'Unless they kill each other off,' Sam suggested.

The Doctor sighed. 'I'm afraid not. It's a curse sometimes, having seen the future.'

Sam glared at him. 'If you've seen the future, then you know who's won!' she exclaimed. 'Why are you acting so coy?'

'Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam...! Because I only know that the Daleks will survive,' he replied. 'I don't know who they will be following.' He held up a hand. 'Hush. I think it's starting.'

Davros surveyed the room with contempt. The proceedings were certainly being relayed all across the city and, no doubt, the planet and the Empire itself. This was a public spectacle, obviously designed by the Dalek Prime as a method of showing the Daleks just who was in charge. Well, time would soon show the answer to that! This trial wouldn't be as cut and dried as the Dalek Prime seemed to imagine. Davros was clearly supposed to be intimidated by all of this instead he simply wondered how many here were secretly on his side.

The Dalek Prime was suddenly picked out by a spotlight, one that made him look even larger than he really was. Again, Davros sneered to himself even his casing was a simple redesign of Davros's own carriage. He'd also seen Special Weapons Daleks about, another of his own innovations. Clearly, the Dalek Prime was unoriginal, s.n.a.t.c.hing what he could of Davros's and laying claim to it. Little wonder, then, that he was insisting that they were on the original Skaro. He didn't dare admit that Davros had done something he couldn't undo.

'Daleks,' the Dalek Prime grated, his amplified voice echoing about the room. 'We are a.s.sembled to accuse Davros of betraying our race. He has attempted to steal our heritage, destroy our ancestral home, and usurp the power of the Daleks for his own purposes. He has not learnt from his follies. He must be annihilated to prevent further contamination of our species.' Its eye stalk spun about to face Davros, and a second spotlight picked out the accused. 'What do you have to say to the charges?'

'First, that you have no right to charge me with anything,' Davros replied. 'I created you all. Without me, there would be no Daleks, no destiny for our race and no asinine trial being held. Without me, you would not be here to accuse me so foolishly.' He stared about the room, but it was impossible to a.s.sess the impact he was having.

'Secondly,' he continued, 'as your creator, I should logically be the one to lead you. I alone know what is best for the Daleks. I alone know how to shape and manipulate our joint destinies. You have claimed authority to speak for the Daleks. But on what grounds do you base this claim? I will not acknowledge the authority of anyone without good reason. You are a Dalek, like all of the other Daleks here, and should have no power over the rest. You, like them, should logically recognise your one, true leader myself.'

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. 'I think he's getting a trifle too messianic here,' he murmured. 'It's not going to go down too well.'

'Plus,' Sam added, 'he's basically telling them all that they're a lot of skivvies who should be grateful to slave for him. Not a smart tactic.'

'Davros has always favoured arrogance over intelligence.' The Doctor gestured to the screen. 'Reb.u.t.tal time, I think.'

The Dalek Prime spoke again. 'Your statements are irrelevant,' he announced. 'You did not create the Daleks our creation was a fortuitous consequence of war. We were destined to become the race we are today. Instead of allowing destiny to run its course, you interfered. That was the first time that you attempted to usurp the power of the Daleks. It was not the last. These travel machines we use were created by the scientists of the Kaled race. You took credit for their work to lend support to your claim of supremacy.

'The first Daleks understood your futile madness when they elected to destroy you. I am the last survivor of those first Daleks, which is why I am the Dalek Prime. This is why I speak for the Daleks, and hold authority. I am the ancestor of the billions of Daleks alive today. I have guided the race throughout our history, and brought us to the position of strength we hold today. This entire galaxy is poised to collapse before us. This is my achievement and my claim to rule.

'Your madness has brought us time and again to the brink of destruction. Yet you still claim that we should follow you. Following you would lead to the destruction of the Dalek species.'

Davros moved slightly, and sighed. 'So, you claim to be the one to rule the Daleks solely because of your longevity?' he demanded. 'And that gives you supreme power? A foolish notion, indeed!'

The Dalek Prime repeated, 'You are accused of attempts to steal power over the Daleks, and of attempting to destroy Skaro. Respond to these charges only.'

Davros realised that he already had the Dalek Prime on the defensive, refusing to discuss his authority. 'The charges are ridiculous,' he replied. 'I am only seeking what should be mine by right of being your creator. And the destruction of Skaro was accomplished by the creature known as the Doctor whom you are protecting. Do you deny that he is here, in this city, at this very moment?'

'Irrelevant,' the Dalek Prime responded. 'The Doctor is not on trial here.'

'And why not?' Davros cried. 'From the very start of the Dalek race, the Doctor has attempted time and time again to destroy you all! He is the one who destroyed Skaro, not I. He is the one who should be here on trial before the Daleks, to pay for his crimes. Why is he not?'

'The Doctor's time will come,' the Dalek Prime answered. 'Now it is your time.'

'That's his defence?' Sam asked. 'That everything he's accused of is your fault?'

'I don't think he's making a defence,' the Doctor replied. 'Davros is completely out of touch with reality. It's never, ever occurred to him that anything he's ever done is wrong. Not creating the Daleks to be merciless killers, not betraying his own race, not attempted genocide. Davros has no morals at all. The only thing that matters to him is achieving his goal.' He gave Sam a sober look. 'He's worse than the Daleks; at least they were created the way they are. Davros has no such excuse. Many of the Kaleds were n.o.ble, if misguided people. Davros was always a monster, long before he became one in appearance. Still, I wonder why the Dalek Prime didn't want me down there to add testimony to the trial.'

Sam gave him an incredulous glance. 'Come off it! If you testified against Davros, the Daleks would probably not only free him, but give him a medal. And think how many itchy trigger fingers are down there. If they caught sight of you...'

The Doctor nodded. 'Practical as always. Thank you, Sam.'

The Dalek Prime turned from Davros to the Gold Dalek beside him. 'Prepare the evidence,' he commanded.

'I obey.' The Gold Dalek's arm moved, interfacing with a computer panel before it. There was a short pause, and then the central portion of the room above the trial area lit up with a holographic display showing Earth from s.p.a.ce. 'During the course of our invasion of the planet its humanoid occupants term "Earth", a search of all captured doc.u.mentation was implemented. A recording was discovered that demonstrated Dalek presence on the same planet some two hundred years earlier. The relevant portion of this recording follows.' It evidently gave the computer a command, because the picture switched to show the face of an attractive woman in her mid-thirties.

'This is Professor Rachel Jensen, recording for Military Intelligence. Subject: the Coal Hill incident. Summary: an alien invader, Davros, and his force of Daleks, led a force into London with the purpose of retrieving and utilising an alien artefact known as the Hand of Omega. When deployed, the artefact destroyed Davros's home world of Skaro. Detailed report as follows...' The recording ended.

The Gold Dalek continued. 'Earth records indicated that the Hand of Omega was a device manufactured by the Time Lords of Gallifrey. It was placed on Earth for unknown reasons. Davros believed that it would give him the power to conquer time, and took a killcruiser back in time to retrieve the Hand of Omega. He obtained the device and triggered it. He did so despite warnings that the Hand would not perform the actions he believed that it would. He ran no tests on the device, but fired it directly at the heart of what he believed was Skaro's sun. This caused a supernova effect, destroying the star and its planetary system.'

The Dalek Prime was spotlighted once again. 'The only reason Skaro still exists is because of my planning. Discovering Davros's aims and the end result of his insanity, the Daleks constructed a decoy world that Davros believed to be Skaro. It was this world that he destroyed.'

'Constructed?' echoed Sam. 'I thought he said it was Antalin?'

'Just what is is going on who's fooling who?' mused the Doctor. 'The Daleks are always devious, but this... is the Prime claiming all this to strengthen his defence against Davros?' going on who's fooling who?' mused the Doctor. 'The Daleks are always devious, but this... is the Prime claiming all this to strengthen his defence against Davros?'

'But what about Antalin's sun?' wailed Sam, her head hurting.

'Surely they can't move whole stars...' the Doctor shook his head. 'I just don't know.'

'Nor, I bet, do the Daleks,' said Sam. 'You said the Daleks get most of their information from their inbuilt computers. And I'll bet that the Dalek Prime decides what goes into them he's not likely to include their greatest disasters, is he?'

The Dalek Prime was continuing his attack. 'If the Daleks had followed Davros as he claims they should, then the Dalek race would now be utterly annihilated. His own deviant force of renegade Daleks were so destroyed, leaving him defenceless. If Davros were to lead the Daleks, his egotism and insanity would result in our total destruction.' He stared at Davros. 'Do you deny causing the destruction of the world you believed to be Skaro?'

'It was was Skaro,' Davros insisted. 'I know this. But its destruction was caused by the Doctor, and not by me. He reprogrammed the Hand of Omega and tricked me into using it.' Skaro,' Davros insisted. 'I know this. But its destruction was caused by the Doctor, and not by me. He reprogrammed the Hand of Omega and tricked me into using it.'

'Tricked you,' the Dalek Prime repeated. 'You admit that the Doctor out-thought you and manipulated you. He defeated you. He has not defeated me. He, too, believed Skaro to have been destroyed. You have condemned yourself by your own testimony. You have failed in your quest for power, and you have almost destroyed the Daleks in your insane desires.'

'Perhaps,' Davros answered, 'that is because I am willing to take risks. You sit here, safe and secure, on this planet of yours whatever you believe it to be and send out your forces to do your will. I, on the other hand, take personal charge of everything I do. I do not command others to take those risks for me. True, the Hand of Omega turned out to be a trap. But if it had not, then imagine what power would have been ours! The Daleks would have been the lords of all of time and s.p.a.ce! We could have achieved our aims in years, instead of millennia! We could be masters of the galaxy of the universe!'