‘They’re also stuck down a sodding pit!’ Donna yelled ‘Go after them if you must, but I’m going to destroy those weapons first. If you won’t come with me, then fine. I’ll do it alone.’ She started to brush past him, but he grabbed her arm.
‘You’ll never manage it alone,’ the Doctor said gently. ‘So I suppose I’ll have to come with you.’ He shook his head. ‘What we need is a plan.’
‘Doctor, Donna,’ David said urgently. ‘What about Susan? You said she was down DA‐17.’
The Doctor nodded. ‘She is. But there’s nothing we can do to help her for the moment. Courage. David. Perhaps Donna’s right, and those guns are the most important thing.’
Donna saw David agonising over the decision. ‘You’re a Peace Officer,’ she said softly. ‘I know you’re scared about your wife. But wouldn’t she want you to save as many lives as possible, and not just one?’
‘That’s easy for you to say,’ David complained.
‘No,’ she answered. ‘It isn’t. I know you must be hurting. But, please…’
Swallowing, David nodded at last.
‘A plan…’ the Doctor mused. ‘The Master said he’d just handed over the latest consignment. Haldoran will have those guns wherever he is; he won’t trust anyone else with them yet.’
‘His war room,’ Donna said firmly. ‘He’s been planning this takeover for a long time. That’s where he and they will be.’
‘Marvellous,’ David said. ‘Right in the heart of his castle. And how are we supposed to get there? Everybody here seems to know what you look like.’
Donna’s stomach churned again. ‘Then let’s make the most use of it,’ she suggested, hating herself as she said it. ‘You two can be guards bringing me back for Haldoran to play with.’ She was deathly pale as she said this. It would be the hardest thing she could ever do in her life.
The Doctor gave her a sharp stare.’ Are you sure you can do this?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ she insisted. ‘And I won’t have to fake the fear, either. That should greatly amuse him. But how do we destroy the Dalek guns when we’re there?’
‘Leave that to me,’ the Doctor answered.
‘And what about getting out again afterwards?’ David asked, checking the rifle he’d taken from the fallen guard.
‘Let’s improvise,’ the Doctor suggested. ‘Overplanning never works. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that.’
‘And does improvising work?’ David insisted.
‘Mostly,’ the Doctor assured him. ‘Come on, let’s get moving before we come to our senses.’
Susan stood shivering in the centre of the Dalek control room. It was some twenty feet long and ten high and wide. Computer banks and monitors lined both walls. There were doors in both end walls, both with Daleks on guard. In the room, most of the Daleks were operating the control systems. Only two were paying attention to her. The deep, metallic throbbing in the complex sounded like a vast electronic heartbeat, the pulse of the Daleks.
‘What is happening?’ she asked the Black Dalek that surveyed her. ‘How is it possible that you’re still alive?’
‘You do not need to know,’ the Dalek replied. ‘You are here to answer questions.’
‘It would help if I understood what was happening!’ Susan insisted. ‘My information would be useless to you if I’m ignorant.’
The Dalek considered the point. ‘You do not know why the humans are here?’
‘No,’ Susan admitted. ‘I was not one of them. I came here to try to stop them.’
‘If she does not know,’ the second Dalek stated, ‘then she is of no value to us and should be exterminated.’
‘No!’ Susan said, hastily. ‘I am of a faction opposing them! We are trying to stop them, so we know many of their plans.’
The Black Dalek regarded her. ‘Do not attempt to deceive us,’ it warned her.
‘Of course I won’t,’ Susan promised. ‘I want to live.’
The second Dalek turned slightly away. ‘Humans are weak creatures,’ it decided.
Keep on thinking that, Susan said to herself She had to discover what was happening, in order to halt it before any greater damage was done.
The Black Dalek finally spoke. ‘Very well,’ it agreed. ‘Then you will tell us what you know.’
‘Of course,’ Susan lied. ‘Now… how is it that you are alive? All of the Daleks were destroyed thirty‐odd years ago.’
‘That eventuality was prepared for,’ the Black Dalek answered. ‘There was always a small chance that the humans would defeat us temporarily. This unit was created as a secondary measure.’
‘A backup plan,’ Susan realised. ‘In case the primary one was defeated.’
‘Yes,’ the Dalek confirmed. ‘Information was placed in data banks that this was a research facility, and that a powerful weapon had been tested here.’
Starting to comprehend, Susan nodded. ‘So that some humans would find the information, come looking for the device and be forced to introduce power to your systems to access the device. Your computers then siphoned off the power to other uses.’
‘Correct,’ the Black Dalek said. ‘The device was a trap. This unit is a factory.’
‘Factory…’ Susan realised what it meant. ‘Where fresh Daleks would be created for a second attempt to conquer Earth.’
‘Embryos were frozen, awaiting revival,’ the Dalek informed her. ‘The assembly line was prepared. All that was required was power.’
Susan was cold with terror. ‘And the device? Is it real?’
The Dalek regarded her. ‘The device is real, but untested. That is all the knowledge you require.’ It turned to face the closest control panel. ‘Report.’
The Dalek at the panel swivelled at what should have been its waist. ‘The device is powered up,’ it reported. ‘Testing can begin within five time units.’
‘The target will be the city the humans call London,’ the Black Dalek announced. ‘Set the device accordingly.’ It turned back to Susan. ‘Now – you will tell us what we need to know.’
Susan nodded bitterly, trying to get her thoughts in order. She had to lie successfully about plans she couldn’t know to stay alive. And then she had to escape and somehow stop the Daleks before they wiped out London – and everyone that she knew and loved.
Tomlin powered down the runabout, and parked it inside Castle Haldoran. The gate guards had seemed surprised to see him back, but not suspicious. Naturally, they wouldn’t have a clue about Haldoran’s plans. They had allowed him through, and Tomlin had smiled and moved on. Now he exited the vehicle, tapping his revolver, absolutely certain that what he was doing was the right thing.
It was time to set things straight…
As the runabout came to a halt, Barlow hopped out, eager for what was to come. More Dalek guns… With them, his troops would be invincible. And, naturally, loyal to him rather than to Haldoran. With Craddock at his side, Barlow could take London and then between them they could decide what was to be done with the rest of the country. Haldoran had proven himself unfit to rule, and had to be eliminated.
And that thought stopped him dead in his tracks. Barlow had been certain that he was the one pulling the strings here, that everything was proceeding according to his plans. But what if Haldoran suspected? He already had attempted to split Craddock from him; was that simply suspicion, or more? Was this recall really to hand over more Dalek guns… or was it to get Barlow alone, and then kill him?
That was the trouble, of course, with plotting: you never knew how much your enemy knew, or simply suspected. Was it a wise move, going alone into the castle now? But what excuse did he have to take a bodyguard with him? Barlow hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. Was this what it appeared to be – or was it a trap?