Doctor Who_ War Of The Daleks Part 19

The Doctor shrugged. 'The s.p.a.ceport is bound to be one of them,' he confessed.

'Terrific.' Sam glanced around. 'I just wish we had something to defend ourselves with. Something to hold the Daleks off.'

'We have our brains,' the Doctor comforted her as they hurried along.

'Great. I'm defenceless.' But she managed a weak smile.

'Hurry,' the Red Dalek instructed them. 'We must reach the s.p.a.ceport before the rebels attack it in force.'

The Doctor glanced at the corridor they were in and then said, 'Sorry. I've a prior engagement.' He whipped his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and held it against the Dalek's dome as he triggered it.

The Red Dalek let out an electronic scream, and spun about on the spot several times before coming to a rest, its eye stalk pointing straight up.

'Is it dead?' Sam asked.

'Yes.' The Doctor sounded almost regretful. 'Ultrasound. It destroyed its brain almost instantly.'

'So we can can defend ourselves!' Sam exclaimed. defend ourselves!' Sam exclaimed.

'Very short-range,' the Doctor informed her. 'I have to hold it against the casing for it to work.'

'Oh.' Sam glanced around. 'So why are we here?'

'It's where Ayaka and the Thals were imprisoned,' the Doctor answered. 'We have to get them free.'

A door opened further down the corridor, and Sam looked around for somewhere to hide. It had to be Daleks, and they were now unprotected...

Instead, she saw a familiar dark-haired head. 'Chayn!' Sam exclaimed.

'Doctor! Sam! Over here!' Chayn called urgently.

Sam needed no further urging. She even beat the Doctor to the safety of the room, where she collapsed in relief. She noted that the Thals were all together, and clearly ready for action.

The Doctor smiled. 'Somehow, I didn't think you were waiting around to be rescued,' he commented.

'Not us,' Chayn agreed, grinning. 'Ayaka thinks we can make it back to the ship and get out of here.'

'It's quite possible,' the Doctor agreed. 'But there's a civil war going on.' He brought them up to date quickly. 'While the two factions will be fighting one another, we're fair game for either side.'

'Then we need our weapons first,' Ayaka said firmly. 'Chayn, how's that microprobe of yours doing?'

Chayn checked her instruments. 'It's located the storage room, and it's working on the lock,' she answered. 'By the time we get there, it'll be ready.'

'Good.' Ayaka looked grim. 'We don't have time for armour,' she decided, clearly not too happy about that. She addressed her troops. 'Just grab whatever you can. We have to fight our way to the ship before the s.p.a.ceport is sealed off. It's bound to be a target for both sides.'

Sam frowned at Chayn. 'Ayaka's been forgiven?' she asked.

'Necessity,' the engineer answered. 'Cathbad's not cut out for this, and she is. They're all forgetting she's supposed to be a prisoner for the time being.'

'Terrific. Well, I suppose they can court-martial her afterwards. If there is an afterwards.'

Chayn glanced down at her hand control again. 'Right, the door mechanism's been triggered. Let's move.'

Ayaka led the charge down the corridor. As they headed for the opening door, three Daleks glided from a side corridor, heading across. Their eye stalks swivelled to take in the escaping prisoners, and their bodies swung about to target them. Ayaka threw herself under the door as it was partially open, and two others made it. The next three were all hit by the Dalek discharge, glowing and screaming as they died. The Doctor pushed Sam to the floor, covering her with his own body.

Sam was touched by his concern and scared by his stupidity. He was so much more important alive than she was! She struggled to get out from under him, and managed to see the Daleks fire again. She tensed herself for death, but the atomic flames enveloped charging Thals instead. Charred bodies fell to the floor as the Daleks spun to fire again.

There was a flash of light from the side chamber, and the lead Dalek exploded. The other two started to turn, but never completed the move. The second one had its dome blasted apart, and the third became a pillar of fire. Ayaka dashed from the room, ready for further battle, her companions behind her. All were armed with their rifles.

'Move!' Ayaka barked. The living Thals piled into the storage room, grabbing whatever weapons they could and rushing out to back Ayaka up. Sam would have followed, but the Doctor held her back.

'You don't know how to use them,' he said gently. 'Leave it to the experts.'

'I feel so useless,' Sam complained.

'Blowing your own feet off wouldn't help the war effort,' he told her. 'The Thals know what they're doing. They've been doing this sort of thing for generations.'

What am I even thinking of? thought Sam, dazedly. I'm not a killer. I don't want want to kill. Jesus, I just want to stay alive. She sat next to Chayn, who, she saw, was also unarmed but at least contributing her engineering expertise. She gave Sam a grin. to kill. Jesus, I just want to stay alive. She sat next to Chayn, who, she saw, was also unarmed but at least contributing her engineering expertise. She gave Sam a grin.

'My probe's in the control mechanisms,' she said. 'I've ordered it to half-close any doors between here and the s.p.a.ceport. We can duck under them. Daleks can't.'

'Good thinking,' the Doctor commented, as he fell in with the forward rush.

Cathbad joined them, a rifle in his hand, and two bandoliers of grenades over his shoulders. 'I'll watch out for you,' he promised. Sam wasn't sure whether he was referring to them all, or just to Chayn.

Ayaka led the way ahead, ducking under the paralysed doors. Any Dalek trapped between the malfunctioning doors was shot instantly. They left a trail of wreckage behind them.

'How much further?' Cathbad asked Chayn.

She examined her readouts. 'Four more doors, and we're at the s.p.a.ceport. I haven't been able to affect their systems at all.'

'And the fighting's bound to be more intense there,' the Doctor added. Cathbad just nodded.

The four doors were pa.s.sed swiftly, and then Ayaka rolled through the last one into the port area. Almost immediately, explosions lit the room. The Thals dived through the gap, their guns firing continuously. Sam struggled through in the midst of an incredible din. Explosions threatened to knock her from her feet and blind her. The Doctor jerked her under cover of a ma.s.s of boxes.

She caught only brief glimpses of what was happening. They were in the large room before the boarding corridors began for the various docked ships. Two factions of Daleks were clearly battling it out for command of the area. One bunch seemed to be beside the various tunnels, the other was ahead of the Thals, aiming outwards. Sam saw Daleks. .h.i.t and exploding, spinning and firing, burning... Several had their sh.e.l.ls holed, oozing green slime down their metallic coats and onto the floor.

It was an inferno, and the Thals only added to it. They targeted both the Daleks in front of them and the ones guarding the boarding ramps, firing frantically and accurately. In response, both groups of Daleks detailed individuals to fire back. But they didn't pause in their own fighting. Everything degenerated into a three-way fire fight of screaming intensity.

Sam kept her own head down, wishing she could keep out some of the tremendous noise. A Thal close by rose to fire her rifle. Instead, she was caught in Dalek crossfire. Her body glowed, and she screamed as her cells exploded. Her hair sizzling, she fell back, virtually at Sam's feet. Sam stared at the corpse, knowing she didn't have the luxury either to panic or to feel sorry for the destroyed beauty. Instead, ignoring the Doctor's advice, she pulled the woman's rifle from the smoking body and clutched it to herself.

Cathbad leapt up and fired three times, before ducking back. The air above his head crackled, and he grinned. 'Missed me,' he mocked.

'Which loading ramp is ours?' Ayaka called from her own defensive position to Chayn. The engineer checked her comp.

'That one!' she yelled back above the blasts, pointing to the second on the left.

Ayaka nodded, and called orders to the Thals that Sam couldn't hear. Her ears and head were ringing from the continual gunfire. Being in this inferno was horrendous, but she knew that it was undoubtedly worse elsewhere in the city.

The Dalek Prime surveyed his instruments. As expected, Davros's forces had gone for the s.p.a.ceport first. Typical he was preparing for his own escape. That had been antic.i.p.ated. The Dalek Prime turned to the Gold Dalek closest. 'Order all ships to be locked to their cradles,' he instructed. 'Davros is attempting to secure a line of retreat that must not be given. He must die here.'

'I obey.' The Gold Dalek turned and went to the relevant control panel.

The Dalek Prime stared out across the control room. The map of the city now showed that fighting had broken out in eighteen locations. Davros's forces were pressing inwards. There would certainly be an attack on the control complex. But the Dalek Prime had foreseen such a move...

Forces loyal to Davros pressed on through the city, towards the command complex. If this could be taken, then the city could be locked down, and the other side isolated and wiped out in stages. Eight lift shafts led up to the tower where the command centre stood. Daleks loyal to the Dalek Prime guarded the approaches, but Davros's troops contained several Special Weapons Daleks. These led the way, firing their hideously destructive explosive bolts as they moved.

Tangled remains were all that were left of the Dalek Prime's troops as the lifts were reached. The Black Dalek in charge of this a.s.sault ordered, 'Special Weapons Daleks into each lift. Be prepared for resistance.'

They moved into the lifts, their guns pointing towards the door, ready to open fire when they reached the required level. The Black Dalek watched as the indicators showed the lifts rising...

Above, the Dalek Prime watched the lift indicators showing their ascent. 'Stand by,' he ordered, as his own forces moved towards the lift shafts. Several adapted Daleks were among their number. As the lifts rose higher, the Dalek Prime finally ordered, 'Terminate.'

The special Daleks moved forward. Instead of pads, their arms possessed only computer interfaces. They joined with the control computers and released the safeties on all of the shafts.

The rising lifts lost power and dropped like rocks.

The Black Dalek below felt the ground vibrate. It had seen the indicators showing a loss of power, and realised that all of the shafts had been terminated. The Special Weapons Daleks had most probably been destroyed in the sixty-floor drop.

'Phase two,' it ordered.

The hoverbouts crashed through the huge gla.s.s windows in the observation deck, skidding to a halt on the metallic floor. Immediately depowered, they were abandoned as the three Daleks in each disembarked, and moved across the room. One triggered the door to the corridor beyond, and instantly exploded in the gunfire. Its companions fired through the flames and smoke of its immolation.

The battle for the control room had begun.

Sam could hardly follow the course of the battle. For one thing, she spent most of it with her head down, her eyes averted and her ears covered. She wasn't a soldier, she'd always despised war and knew she wouldn't stand a chance even if she tried to fight. But she was comforted by the fact that Chayn and the Doctor were with her, and neither of them were fighting either.

The Thals, on the other hand, were on the attack. Sam could see warriors running, firing, diving and, from time to time, dying. The room was a bedlam of insane commotion, filled with noise, smoke, fire, and confusion. Despite the Thal force, the two opposing Dalek factions were still fighting among themselves, struggling to claim the s.p.a.ceport. Daleks were exploding all over the place, but it seemed that there were always more to shove aside the blazing wreckages and continue the battle.

One section of the wall exploded under the impact of fire from a Special Weapons Dalek. Sam had no idea which side it was on, of course, but she saw it being buried under a barrage of Spider Daleks. These used their pointed legs as weapons, piercing the Special Weapons Daleks' casings and causing shorts and systems failures. The whole bunch of them went up in a fiery blast.

The Doctor grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. 'Come on!' he yelled.

The Thals had managed to cut a swathe through the fighting, a pathway they were holding against incredible odds. The Doctor, Sam and Chayn fled down the line of fighters as the Daleks blasted away. There was a scream from behind them, but Sam knew better than to turn to look. She kept low, clutching the rifle she'd taken as though it were a magic talisman, as if it would somehow protect her even though she didn't fire it.

Then they were up the ramp, and heading for the airlock above them. The problem was that the ramp was even more exposed than the floor, and Dalek sniping shots increased. The air sizzled around them from the discharges, and more Thals fell.

Sam threw herself through the airlock door, going down in a tangle with two Thal warriors. Several more came through behind them, and then Cathbad slammed his hand on the control panel. The door slid shut behind them, and the cacophony from the battle died down considerably. Sam's ears rang from the noise, and her head ached. She was emotionally and physically drained, and just wanted to lie where she had fallen. Her friends' hands wouldn't allow that, however, and insisted on her rising.

'Come on,' the Doctor encouraged her. 'We don't want you in the way.'

She followed him on automatic pilot, as he and Chayn threaded through the ship. The Thals were carefully leading the way, checking side doors and corridors for any Daleks sealed in with them. From time to time she heard the sound of gunfire, and twice thin, echoing cries. They reached the control room, where Ayaka had shoved two smouldering Dalek casings aside to start powering up the drive.

'Can we lift off?' the Doctor asked her.

Ayaka flashed a look at Argini, one of the engineering crew.

'It looks like it,' he replied, studying the boards. 'We've still got power, and the docking clamps are pretty loose. Of course, once we're in the air, all guarantees are void.'

'That's all I'm asking right now,' Ayaka replied. Several other Thals had begun to settle into the other controls. Sam hung back with the Doctor and Chayn. Cathbad hurried in and settled into the navigator's seat. 'Bring us up to power,' Ayaka ordered. 'Release the clamps as soon as you can.'

Chayn was fiddling with the viewscreens, and managed to get a shot of the entrance ramp. 'Uh-oh,' she muttered. 'Better hurry up. I don't like the look of this.'

Sam studied the screen, and saw that several Daleks were moving up the ramp. Two of them had what looked like laser cutters instead of blasters. They were obviously going to try to cut through the airlock door to attack the escapees.

Chayn looked at Sam, her face mirroring the worry on Sam's. 'If they make a hole in the airlock door, we won't be able to enter s.p.a.ce,' Chayn confirmed. 'We've got to lift off before they can break in.'

Sam could do nothing but pray they would have enough time.

The Black Dalek turned to Davros as they hurried together away from the trial room. 'The battle for the s.p.a.ceport continues,' it reported. 'However, the Dalek Prime has ordered the lock-down of all Dalek killcruisers. Even if we control the s.p.a.ceport, the ships are useless to us.'

'You are wrong,' argued Davros. 'We can turn their weapons on the city even if they are securely docked. But we need a line of retreat...' He thought quickly. 'The Thal cruiser that brought me here would not be sealed down.'

'No,' agreed the Black Dalek. 'But the Thals have escaped and are now occupying it. They are preparing to take off.'

'Stop them!' Davros ordered. 'I need that ship!'

'The Dalek Prime's forces are attempting to breach the hull,' the Black Dalek reported. 'I have given the order for an attack by our Daleks.'

'Good.' Davros would feel safer once the ship was captured. It was vital that he have an escape route, in case his plans didn't work out.

Two Daleks came around the corner, and raised their guns. Davros's forces annihilated them before they could fire.

Davros asked impatiently, 'And the battle for the control room?'