Doctor Who: The Dalek Planet - Part Two

DISCLAIMER: I'm doing this for fun, not profit. This is not officially sanctioned by the BBC and the producers of Doctor Who. 
In case you're wondering, this storyline takes place between Episode 4 ("Knock Knock") and Episode 5 ("Oxygen") of Series 10. 



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The Dalek Planetby David Long Episode Two

Scene opens: the surface of a dimly lit and desolate planet, a place caught in perpetual twilight. Dark craggy rocks and mountains line the horizon. In a flat clearing stands the TARDIS. Standing just outside the TARDIS is the Doctor along with Bill and Nardole behind him. Surrounding them is a big bunch of Daleks. One Dalek is projecting a holographic image of outer space showing a Dalek the size of a planet. 

Dalek 2: The Doctor is required.

Dalek 3: To eliminate the Dalek Planet.

The Doctor stares at the Daleks.

The Doctor: Hmph! The answer is still no! As far as I’m concerned, this “Dalek Planet” <the Doctor does air quotes> is your problem, not mine. Bill, Nardole, we are leaving.

 As the Doctor turns back towards the TARDIS, the Daleks swivel their eyestalks at each other.

Dalek 1: Doctor!

The Doctor (exasperated): Oh what now?

Dalek 1: We are… prepared…

 

The Doctor shrugs.

 

The Doctor: Prepared? Prepared to do…. What?

 

Dalek 1: We are… prepared… to negotiate. 

 

The Doctor: What?! 

 

Dalek 2: Negotiate!

 

Dalek 3: Negotiate!

 

Daleks (collectively): Negotiate! Negotiate! Negotiate!

 

Bill: Negotiate?

 

Nardole: OK, I did not see that coming.

 

The Doctor: Neither did I, Nardole. Neither did I.

 

The Daleks fall silent. 

 

The Doctor: Negotiate? Really?

 

The Daleks remain still and silent.   

 

The Doctor: Do you even comprehend what that means?  

 

The Daleks turn and waggle their eye stalks a bit at each other.

The Doctor: I didn't think so.  

 

Dalek 1: The Doctor is required to destroy the Dalek Planet.

 

Bill: Why?

 

Dalek 2: The Doctor is required to destroy the Dalek Planet.

 

Bill: But… why?

 

The Doctor: Because they can’t do it themselves. Davros protects himself from his own creations. Programmed into their screaming organic remains or hardwire into their rolling metal coffins, they can’t take action against Davros.

 

Bill: No, not “Why you”. But “Why do it at all?”

 

Nardole: Oy, that is a good question, innit? 

 

The Doctor: The only way the answer to that would be more obvious is if they were wearing red caps with “Make Daleks Great Again” embroidered on the front. They’re scared.

 

Dalek 3: Daleks do not know fear.

 

The Doctor: About this, yes you do, my little rust bucket. The Dalek Planet represents a literally bigger Dalek, a stronger, more powerful, more invincible Dalek. A Dalek superior to… you. 

 

Bill: You told me about the Daleks. They’re whole deal is they think they’re superior to everything, right?

 

The Doctor: You’ve got that right, Bill. 

 

Bill: So this “Dalek Planet”, compared to that, they would be….

 

Nardole: Inferior.

 

The Doctor (smiling): Yes. Inferior. 

 

Dalek 4: The Doctor is required to destroy the Dalek Planet.

 

The Doctor: That’s your problem. Not mine. Bill, Nardole, back in the TARDIS.  

 

Bill and Nardole enter the TARDIS. 

 

Dalek 1: The Doctor is required to-

 

The Doctor: NO! I’m going to leave you here, quivering inside your cold metal prisons, alone and afraid, exisiting with the new and brutal knowledge of your inferiority. Look around you. This planet… is now your hell. And I leave you to it. 

 

The Doctor disappears inside the TARDIS as the doors slam shut. Then the TARDIS comes to life, glowing and fading.

 

VWORP!

VWORP!

VWORP!

 

And the TARDIS fades from view. Left along on this desolate planet, the Daleks turn as they’re eyestalks look to each other in silence.

 

And we fade to black. 

 

SCENE OPENS: interior of the TARDIS, the console room. The Doctor is pacing about the console, grumpily flipping switches.  Over to the side, Bill and Nardole watch cautiously.

Bill: Nardole, I know there's still a lot of stuff I'm still learning but these... Daleks.

Nardole: They're a nasty business, Miss Potts.

Bill: Yeah, I get that. And I get why the Doctor would not want to help them...

Nardole: Yeah, they've hurt him a lot. Especially the Time War...

Bill: But a Dalek the size of a world? Helping the Daleks or not, seems that would still be something that needs to be stopped.

The Doctor: You know,  I can hear you, right? But it is a good question, Bill. I'm not sure it needs to be stopped because.... well, if such a thing exists, it would be impossible to start.

Nardole: Impossible?

The Doctor: Well, in an infinite universe of infinite possibilities, maybe not "impossible" but not bloody likely. 

Bill: Why?

The Doctor: A Dalek is more than those metal shells you see. Inside each one of those... tanks is an organic core. A living being, if you can call it living. A Dalek organic core capable of propelling a metal shell the size of a world would be....

Bill: Impossible?

The Doctor: Impractical. The energy need to power the Dalek shell and sustain the life of the organic component would be off the scale... on the level of... of....

The Doctor drifts off as he looks at this hands.

The Doctor: Oh my.

Bill: Doctor? What is it? 

The Doctor: I know.... what Davros was trying to do on Londontowne.

Nardole: He set the planet up for catastrophic system failure.  And you.... You were going to... 

The Doctor: I know. But I didn't. 

Bill: Know what? Didn't do what? Mind looping me in.

The Doctor withdraws the sonic screwdriver from this pocket. 

The Doctor: The anti-entropy algorithm that kept Londontowne in working order had been corrupted and entropy was escalating so much, I hoped I could repair the algorithm but the planet only had a minute left to live. I needed 24 hours to fix the algorithm. So I was going to... trigger my regeneration, use that energy to save Londontowne. 

Bill: Trigger your what now?

 

Nardole: He was going to sacrifice his life.

Bill: You were going to die?

The Doctor: Yes. Well, no. Regeneration... a Time Lord trick for cheating death. It produces a lot of energy.

Bill: But you didn't have to do that. 

The Doctor: No, somehow, instead of 24 hours, the complete corrected algorithm was in my sonic screwdriver in less than 20 seconds. There is no way that should've happened.

Nardole: So how did it?

The Doctor: I don't... I mean, I think I might....

The Doctor shakes his head.

The Doctor: Anyway, I uploaded the repair program and Londontowne was saved. 

Nardole: But if that had not worked and you had to regenerate....

The Doctor: THAT would've given Davros sufficient power to tap into and power up a Dalek Planet.

Bill: But if that didn't work...

The Doctor: I suppose he could try again, to somehow get my regeneration energy.

Nardole: So you should best stay out of this way.

Bill: Could he get this.... regeneration energy, you called it. Could he get from... another Time Lord?

The Doctor: Good point but no. Gallifrey is locked away outside the bounds of the known universe and at the end of time. The Time Lords there are safe. Davros can't get to them. 

Bill: But you left Gallifrey. Are you the only one?

The Doctors: No. Others have left Gallifrey but they're... all dead now.

Nardole: No, Doctor. Not all of them. 

The Doctor: Blast it, Nardole. I hate it when you're right. 

The Doctor throws down the lever.

Bill: What is it? Where are we going?

The Doctor: Back home, Bill.

Nardole: Back to the vault!

SCENE CHANGE: the underground chamber at the university, the location of the mysterious vault. The TARDIS materializes into view.

VWORP!

VWORP!

VWORP!

The doors open, Nardole leading the way exits the box. 

Nardole: Uh oh.

The Doctor and Bill follow.

Bill: Ugh! What hit this place?   

The room is littered with smoldering debris and the entry way to the vault has been destroyed. 

The Doctor: This is definitely not good. The vault...

Nardole: ...is destroyed and...

Nardole steps through the shattered entrance, followed by the Doctor and Bill. Inside is a drawing room with a piano, all battered and destroyed.

Nardole: ...it's empty.  Doctor, she's escaped.

The Doctor: Don't be daft, Nardole. She didn't escape. She was taken. 

Bill: She? Who?

The Doctor: A Time Lord, Bill. Like me. And now, Davros has her.  Which means Davros as the power to launch his Dalek Planet. 

----------------------To be continued----------------------

Next week, the Dalek Planet Lives Again...For the First Time?

Episode three posts next Sunday.