Prologue
Upon a world both bleak and bare,
Where life and hope scarce linger there,
The Doctor lands, with heart most light,
And finds a dreadful, grim delight.
The planet Skaro, desolate and dead,
Where ancient horrors lie unread,
The Daleks dig with furious might,
To wake Davros from endless night.
They seek to break the Movellan chain,
And gain the power to fight and slay,
While Doctor’s wits are stretched most thin
Against the forces of the sin.
Chapter 1
The Dead City
Through mystic vortex, where time doth flow,
And space becomes one region low,
A police box speeds through realms unseen,
A ship that bears no earthly sheen.
The TARDIS, by her proper name,
Doth carry forth her noble aim,
With Doctor wise within her breast,
Who mends K9 with restless quest.
“I wonder how a robot’s throat
Can catch the palsy of a note,”
The Doctor muttered, as he wrought,
“The folly of such mechanical thought!”
He called aloud with thundering voice,
“Romana! Come, for my employ!”
A lady entered, tall and fair,
With mirror large beyond compare.
The Doctor blinked with wonderment,
“For this is not my truelement!
Thou art the Princess Astra fair,
Left on Atrios with care.”
“Nay, I am Romana’s soul,
Though in another’s body whole,
Regenerated, as befits our kin,
As Time Lord’s custom doth begin.”
The Doctor shook his head with grief,
“Nay, copy another’s form is brief,
Go try anew, my dear companion,
Lest some ill fortune cause confusion.”
With haughty step she went away,
To try another shape and sway,
A little maid returned anon,
“Not fit, methinks, I am too small.”
“Nay, stretch thy limbs!” the Doctor called,
She vanished then, and he resumed.
A giantess did stride amain,
“Too great!” cried he in discontent.
An exotic form appeared anon,
“Ughh! Take it hence!” the Doctor groan.
A maid appeared in coat and scarf,
With floppy hat and boots at harf.
“Now this doth please mine aged eye!”
The Doctor called with cheer and glee.
He lifted up the brim to see,
And found the same familiar face.
“Oh no!” he sighed with heavy heart,
“Full circle turned, to start anew.
Thy wit doth outdo my old wits,
Go have thy will, I yield thereto.”
“I thank thee, Doctor,” sweetly said she,
“Though what thou say, I heed not me.
‘Tis what within doth count, not what
The outer guise may seem and flaunt.’”
She turned to go, but paused to ask,
“What world awaits our coming task?”
“The randomiser doth decide,
I know no more than thou art guide.”
Chapter 2
Underground Evil
Upon a barren world they landed,
Where rocks and stones were scattered,
The ground did shake, the thunder rumbled,
As nature’s wrath was fully humbled.
The TARDIS stepped from mist and cloud,
Beneath the cliff’s protecting shroud,
Where Doctor stood and instruments did view,
To scan the world both grim and drear.
“The air, I deem, may breathe and live,
But ground doth quake with tremors riven,
And radiance falls on all that move,
So take these pills for thy preserve.”
He gave her pills and bleeper small,
“And when it sounds, take dose again,
Lest fatal poison overcome all,
And death arrive before the rain.”
Romana swallowed, took the pill,
And they stepped forth with wary skill.
A desert lay before their eyes,
No life, no hope, no comfort nigh.
“Nay, this no pleasant place, I fear,
For us to linger long or near,”
Romana said with doubtful heart.
“Yet destiny doth draw us hence,
Some hidden purpose, I discern,
Doth lead us on with stern intent.”
They walked across the stone and sand,
Until the TARDIS vanished from their hand.
The thunder rumbled, dark and dire,
As night descended on the pyre.
The Doctor stopped, and pebbles took,
To study with his learned look.
“Strange stones, indeed,” he murmured then,
“These bear the marks of mortal men.”
He cleared away the lichen grey,
And found a block of cement made,
With gravel mixed and lime and clay,
Of human hand the work was laid.
“Thou seest, Romana, this is stone,
That men did make, not nature own.
A city once did stand here fair,
Now reduced to dust and bare.”
“Who wrought such ruin?” Romana cried,
“Afraid to look, afraid to bide.”
The thunder answered, loud and dire,
“Perhaps some fell and fatal fire.”
Chapter 3
The Daleks
They walked through darkness, cold and grim,
Until they reached a burial hymn.
Six figures white, with torches bright,
Did carry forth a corpse of might.
No word was spoke, no tear did fall,
They laid the body in the pall,
With stones and dirt they covered o’er
The silent man upon the floor.
A marker scratched with Kantrian pen,
Did tell the tale of Dal Garrant,
A space pilot of Third Fleet’s might,
Whose death came on that barren night.
“He died,” the Doctor murmured low,
“Of hunger, cold, and weary woe,
Not from the radiation’s bite,
But from the slow and certain strife.”
Romana shivered at the sight,
“They moved like ghosts in dead of night,
With silent step and face of stone,
Like walking death, with spirit gone.”
“Perhaps zombies rule this cursed place,
With death’s own law and grim embrace.”
Suddenly came a whirring sound,
The earth did shake with mighty bound,
A drilling deep beneath the ground,
That made both Doctor tremble round.
“The Daleks dig!” the Doctor cried,
“From underground they work and bide!”
The screaming rose to deafening height,
Then suddenly was lost in night.
Romana clutched the Doctor’s hand,
“My nerves are gone, I cannot stand!”
“Come, let us hie before they wake,
Lest we be lost in ruin’s lake.”
They hurried on through darkness drear,
And came to concrete blocks most near.
The Doctor beckoned with silent sign,
“And look! The Daleks march in line!”
Six figures white, with torches held,
Did carry forth another dead.
They laid him down, with solemn air,
And covered o’er with stones and care.
“Strange custom, to let dead lie bare,
Not buried in the ground with care.”
“The ground too hard for spade to bite,
So surface must receive the rite.”
Chapter 4
The Movellans
A light flashed through the midnight sky,
A space ship sailed on high, high!
It came to land with thunderous sound,
And sank to rest beneath the ground.
“A Movellan craft!” the Doctor cried,
“From distant star, from foreign tide!”
Romana nodded, pale and chill,
“I know that craft, that ship of will!”
The Doctor approached with cautious pace,
“And hail our friends from foreign place!
Perhaps they’ll tell us of this land,
What doom and ruin here doth stand.”
Within the ship they entered fair,
And saw the Movellans everywhere,
Tall and handsome, well in prime,
Of peak condition and supreme.
“Commander Sharrel is my name,
I greet you both with friendly aim.
Lan here and Agella did you save,
From ruin’s hand, from death’s own grave.”
“Thank you, good sir,” the Doctor said,
“We owe you much for succour bred.”
“Thy name, good sir, I pray thee tell,
That we may know our friendly well.”
“The Doctor, sir, my humble name,
A humble man of modest fame.”
“This planet, sir, D Five Gamma Z Alpha,
As listed in our starry map.
Our mission here, a secret kept,
Against the Daleks, we are swept.”
“The Daleks!” cried the Doctor loud,
“Then my dread fear doth bear me good!
I know those monsters, vile and mean,
Worse foes than ever mortal seen!”
The Commander gazed with wonderment,
“Thou knowest them, this learned gent?”
“Oh yes,” said he with troubled face,
“Better than thou canst comprehend, I pray.
I’ve fought those demons, fought and fled,
And found them worse each time I’m led.”
Chapter 5
Slaves of the Daleks
Romana was led to cavern vast,
Where prisoners toiled without rest,
With baskets full of rubble stone,
They worked through day and weary night.
Dalek guards with weapon bright
Did drive them on with stern command.
“No speech!” their grating voices said,
“Work on, ye slaves, without a word!”
Romana worked with weary hand,
And edged to those near by her stand.
“My name is Romana, fair I pray,
What names be yours, I pray you say?”
“Veldan and Jall,” the others said,
“We toiled beneath the Dalek’s dread.”
“How long have you been held in thrall,
And forced to do this bitter task?”
“It seems like ages,” Veldan sighed,
“Since first they came and us besieg’d.”
“From Sirrian colony they took us,
Fifty strong, with force they shook us.”
“I was on shuttle, passenger,” Jall said,
“They swept us all, both dead and led.”
“Why not escape?” Romana asked,
“Some way must exist, some hope unmasked.”
“Nowhere to go, no place to hide,
The planet dead, no hope inside.
Without their pills, we die in days,
And if one flees, another slays.”
Romana listened, heart most sad,
“We must find means to get away,
Or die as slaves in this grim place,
Without a chance for liberty.”
Chapter 6
Escape
Tyssan escaped from prison cell,
With hungered heart and body fell.
He found the Doctor and the maid,
But dared not speak for fear and dread.
He followed on with cautious tread,
Until the girl in shaft did fall.
He came to help, but came too late,
The Daleks had her, none too late.
Now in the Movellan ship he stood,
With Sharrel and the Doctor good.
“I am Tyssan, space engineer,
Two years in Dalek prison here.
Starved, beaten, worked until I fell,
Now come to you for mercy’s spell.”
The Doctor caught him as he fell,
And gave him water, food and rest.
“He tells the truth,” the Doctor said,
“This man hath known the Dalek’s dread.”
“We must go in, we must rescue the maid,
Before she dies in Dalek’s shade.”
“I’ll show the way,” Tyssan said,
“Though danger great, we must proceed.”
Commander Sharrel gave the word,
“Take arms, ye men, for battle stirred.”
Agella went with weapon bright,
To meet the foe in deadly fight.
Chapter 7
The Secret of the Daleks
Down shaft they climbed with Tyssan’s rope,
Into the dark and narrow slope.
The Doctor led with torch in hand,
Through corridors that led amain.
“We seek the Dalek’s buried store,
The secret deep beneath the floor.”
A chamber vast they found anon,
With instruments of ancient stone.
The Doctor tore the cobweb through,
And found a chair of metal blue.
Within it lay a withered thing,
Davros, the mad and cruel king,
Who first the Daleks did create,
And gave them power to rule the state.
“He lives!” the Doctor whispered low,
“From centuries of silent snow,
They’ve wakened him from dead repose,
To lead them to their victory.”
Davros opened eyes most fierce,
And spoke with voice both dry and hoarse:
“Gods do not die! Mark this day,
Davros returns to rule the prey!”
The Doctor turned to Tyssan then,
“This madman first the Daleks penned.
I might have stopped him centuries past,
But now it is too late, too fast.”
Chapter 8
The Prisoner
From ceiling came a thunder crash,
Rocks rained down in deadly flash.
Agella vanished in the stone,
Beneath the rubble left alone.
“The Daleks break!” Tyssan cried loud,
“Through ceiling comes their armed crowd!”
The Doctor grabbed the withered man,
And pushed his chair with might and main.
“Romana, Tyssan, let us fly,
Before the Daleks sweep us by!”
They hurried on through corridors dim,
Seeking the way to world and rim.
Davros shrieked with rage and pain,
“Release me to my Dalek train!”
“Be still,” the Doctor sternly said,
“Or I’ll switch off thy lifeless thread.”
The shaft they found, and climbed amain,
With torch held high through mist and rain.
At last they reached the surface plain,
And stood beneath the open sky.
But burial mounds stood near at hand,
Two mounds of stone without a brand.
The Doctor ran with frantic pace,
To dig away the cold embrace.
He pulled the stones, and found inside,
A hollow space, no corpse abed.
“Romana!” he called with trembling voice,
“Art thou alive, my dear choice?”
From shadows came the trembling maid,
” I feigned death, as you had said.
The Daleks thought I dead was dead,
And buried me, but I lived.”
Chapter 9
The Hostages
Back in the ruined city hall,
The Doctor stood with Davros tall.
He wedged a bomb behind the man,
And held a switch in trembling hand.
“Come forth,” the Dalek leader cried,
“Or we will kill at thy command.
One, two, three… ” he counted low,
“Four…”
“I hold a bomb,” the Doctor said,
“Wedged deep behind this madman’s head.
One move, and all will burst in flame,
Thy leader dead, thyself same.”
“Thy logic fails,” the Dalek said,
“Thou too wilt die in fire’s bed.”
“I know,” said he, “yet dare I do,
To save my friends from death’s undo.”
The prisoners trembled, white and pale,
As guards advanced with murderous sail.
“Agree!” Davros screamed in fright,
“Or I shall perish, lost in night!”
The Daleks gave at last consent,
The prisoners fled in every vent.
The Doctor climbed to window high,
And gazed on world with troubled eye.
He pressed the switch, the bomb did burst,
Two Daleks burned in fiery hearse.
Davros shrieked and pulled in vain,
The bomb was gone, lost in the flame.
Chapter 10
The Bait
In Movellan ship, Commander stood,
And gazed on Doctor with dark mood.
“Agella, Lan, ye robots both,
Hear now my stern and deadly oath.
Davros will never serve our cause,
So must he die by violent laws.
But more important, take the Doctor,
Lest he prove ruin for us, brother.
His knowledge vast may tip the scale,
And turn our fortune, break our hail.
Take him alive, or dead, I care,
But keep him from the Dalek snare.”
Outside, the Doctor hid in crevice deep,
While Daleks patrolled their watchful keep.
A green blob crept along his arm,
He held him still, no word to charm.
Tyssan appeared behind him nigh,
“Thou liveth yet, my Doctor, I!
I led the Daleks from the maid,
And now I come to thy good aid.”
“Come, let us seek the freed prisoners,
With weapons in their desperate measures.
We may yet stand against the foe,
And save our friends from death’s undo.”
But Daleks came with weapon bright,
“Stay still!” their grating voices cried.
The Doctor took the Movellan’s gun,
And pressed the switch, the battle done.
Chapter 11
Stalemate
The Nova Device stood in its sheath,
With Romana caught in plastic wreath.
The timer ticked, the seconds flew,
No time to spare, no moment true.
The Doctor pulled the shield in vain,
It held her tight, his strength was pain.
A blow struck down, he fell in sleep,
Commander stood, his purpose deep.
“Awake, good Doctor,” Sharrel said,
“Thy time is come, thy end is sped.
Thou shalt reprogram our battle mind,
And give us victory, leave behind
The stalemate that doth hold us fast,
And make us lords of every mast.”
The Doctor laughed with bitter scorn,
“Nay, I will serve no tyrant’s horn.
I’ll help no race that kills the weak,
Nor aids the strong to do their wreak.”
“Then die,” Sharrel said with cold command,
“And leave thy friends to death’s grim hand.”
Agella brought the Nova Device,
“To trap the Doctor, we devise.
If he refuse, we’ll blast the world,
And leave no hope, no hope unfurled.”
Chapter 12
Suicide Squad
Davros sat with computersphere,
And learned the tale of wars most dire.
“The Movellans! A robot race,
As worthy foes as ever placed!”
“Seven Daleks only left,
To guard thee till rescue fleet is reft.
Six hours to wait, an age of dread,
Lest Movellans strike with sudden head.”
“Prepare the bombs!” Davros did cry,
“Six Daleks loaded, forth must hie.
They’ll press against the Movellan hull,
And burst the ship with deadly pull.”
The six Daleks took their loads of fire,
Ready to die for victory’s hire.
“The sacrifice of few doth save
The many lives, the cause we crave.”
In Movellan ship, the Doctor lay,
Beside Romana, dead and grey.
He woke him up with sudden start,
“Romana! Wake! This is our part!”
“A storm,” he whispered, low and small,
“Will shake the ship, will break them all.
When I do leap, thou also rise,
And catch the moment of surprise.”
Chapter 13
Blow-up
The Doctor leaped with sudden might,
“Romana! Now! ‘Tis time and right!”
He threw himself and pulled the maid,
Through storm of fire and blaster blade.
Lan and Agella came through door,
With blasters ready for the war.
Tyssan led the prisoners wild,
To fight and die, or win their shield.
The Doctor pressed the sonic key,
And all the robots fell amain.
The prisoners took the fallen guns,
And fought with desperate, deadly runs.
Commander Sharrel fled away,
But Tyssan caught him, foul and grey.
The Nova Device was snatched amain,
And cast from him, beyond his gain.
Romana fought with strength most rare,
And kicked the tube from Sharrel’s chair.
He fell, the fight was won at last,
The Movellans down, the prisoners fast.
Chapter 14
Departure
The ship was ready, engines loud,
To blast away from Skaro’s cloud.
The Doctor and Romana stood,
And watched the prisoners make it good.
“Where is thy heart, my Doctor dear?”
Romana whispered, drawing near.
“Nay, I will stay, and watch this ship,
Lest danger come for friend or friend.”
Tyssan came to them with news,
“The Dalek cruiser comes with speed.
They seek to take Davros away,
Before we can the ship convey.”
“Then I must go,” the Doctor said,
“Alone, to stop their deadly deed.”
“Nay,” Tyssan cried, “at least let me
Accompany my Doctor free.”
“Nay, I am dangerous to be near,
When I know not the course I steer.”
They parted then, with tearful eye,
And watched the Doctor march amain.
To meet the Daleks, brave and bold,
With courage fierce and heart most cold.
Davros sat in frozen cube,
Within the cryo-cage he stood.
The Doctor touched the switch anon,
And sealed the madman’s doom.
“Good-bye, old friend,” the Doctor said,
“Thy winter comes, thy end is sped.”
The ship took flight, and rose amain,
With prisoners safe within the lane.
Romana watched with tearful eye,
The Doctor’s courage, bold and high.
“The Doctor comes,” she whispered low,
“With courage that will ever glow.”
The TARDIS waited in the gloom,
For Doctor’s return from deadly doom.
Romana dug with patient hand,
To free the ship from stone and sand.
At last the door was clear of stone,
And Doctor came, no longer lone.
“Thou livest yet!” Romana cried,
“Thou hast the battle, fate defied!”
The Doctor smiled with weary face,
“But victory comes at heavy grace.
Yet we have saved the innocent soul,
And made Davros a frozen whole.”
They entered in the TARDIS fair,
And left the dead and desolate land.
Through vortex deep they flew amain,
To seek new worlds, new joys, new pain.
“Tell me, Doctor,” Romana asked,
“How might one break the stalemate’s task?”
“Switch off thy computer’s cold command,
And act with heart, not brain’s command.
Make mistakes, and throw away the rule,
That logic gives for every fool.”
“Then I understand,” the lady said,
“That’s why we always win,” the Doctor said,
“For I do err, and err with heart,
And leave the cold and dead apart.”
The TARDIS flew through time and space,
To seek new lands with speed and pace,
The Doctor and his lady dear,
To fight and win, and overcome fear.
FINIS