Doctor Who: The Dalek Planet - Episode Four

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. 

To catch up, click here for Episode One and click here for Episode Two and click here for Episode Three.    


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The Dalek Planet

by David Long 

Episode Four

SCENE OPENS
A darkened corridor, in the style of the chamber we were just in.  We see the Doctor and Bill carefully making their way. The Doctor's sonic sun glassesbeeps. Our view shifts to the readout that indicates a point of focus on the wall. Our view shifts back to the Doctor and Bill.   

The Doctor: Found it! 

Bill; Found what? 

The Doctor: A way in.  

The Doctor's sun glasses make a trilling noise as a hatch opens. Light streams through the opening along with a nauseating mist. 

Bill: Oh my God! That smell! I... I can't breathe....

The Doctor: Stay back, Bill! 

Bill: What are you doing?

The Doctor: I need to go in. I need to see! 

The Doctor ducks down and enters through the opening.  

SCENE CHANGE
The Doctor enters through the wall unto a gangway.  He looks down. 

The Doctor: Oh my giddy aunt.   

Our view pans down from the Doctor's perch as we see a very expansive view, like being a mile in the sky over a city. Bit instead of a city, the entire view below is filled with a writhing, pulsating creature with tentacles.  The air is filled with the dull roar of groaning. Then the creature speaks.

Creature: HEL. LO. DOC. TOR.  

And we cut back to the Doctor, looking horrified.


The Doctor taps furiously on the side of his sonic sunglasses.

The Doctor: C’mon! C’mon! Talk to me!

Cut to the Doctor’s perspective as images and data scroll past his field of vision.

The Doctor: Who are you? What are you?

Planet creature: I. AM. DA. LEK. 

The Doctor pulls out his sonic screwdriver and scans the planet sized organism below.

The Doctor: You might think so. Davros might think so.

Bill enters, coughing and gagging.

Bill: It stinks so bad but I had to see what….OH MY GOD!!!!!

The Doctor: Steady on, Bill! Steady!

Bill: What…. What…. What is that thing?

The Doctor: It is the living core of the Dalek Planet. Whatever else it is…

Planet creature: I. AM. DA. LEK. 

The Doctor: It is not Dalek.

The Doctor begins working with a roll of chain on a cinch, securing one end around his waist.

Bill (coughing): Doctor? What… are you doing?

The Doctor: I need a closer look.

Bill: Why?

Planet creature: I. AM. DA. LEK. 

The Doctor: It’s not Dalek.

Bill: This seems dangerous.

The Doctor: Don’t be daft, Bill. It doesn’t seem dangerous at all.

The Doctor lifts himself to the top of the guardrail on the gangway.

The Doctor: It IS dangerous. Watch the chain cinch, eh, Bill? That’s my girl. 

Bill: But why?

The Doctor: Because I need to know. 

The Doctor looks down at the creature below as he taps the side of his sonic sunglasses.

The Doctor: I have to know. Well, best be off.

The Doctor clutches the chain as he steps off the guardrail and begins to descend towards the creature.

Bill (to herself): Be careful, you daft old man. 

The Doctor holds on to the chain as he draws lower to the creature with a wet, grey semi-translucent skin that throbs and pulses with a strange pinkish glow. 

The Doctor: Who are you? 

Planet creature: I. AM. DA. LEK. 

The Doctor (sighs): Let’s try a different tact. Who WERE you? 

Planet creature: I. HURT.

The Doctor: You… hurt.

Planet creature: WORLD. ON. MY. BACK. PAIN. IN. MY. SKIN.

The Doctor: You were a… space whale, transporting a world.   

Planet creature: WORLD. ON. MY. BACK. PAIN. IN. MY. SKIN.

The Doctor: I’ve encountered something like this before. The people of this world were not kind. They hurt you?  

Planet creature: CAST. WORLD. OFF. 

The Doctor:  You destroyed the world on your back.    

Planet creature: CAST. WORLD. OFF.  NO. MORE. PAIN. IN. SKIN.

The Doctor: And now?

Planet creature: I. AM. DA. LEK.

The Doctor: How?

Planet creature: MIND. MET. MIND.

The Doctor: You made mental contact. With Davros?

Planet creature: BUILD. NEW. WORLD.

The Doctor: He built a Dalek battle tank for a planet sized being. Hmmm. I have to admit I am impressed. So there’s a new world on your back.

Planet creature: NEW. WORLD. TO. SERVE. THIS. ONE. 

The Doctor: A new world not for you to carry but to serve you.  How?

Planet creature: STOP. ALL. WHO. CAUSE. PAIN.

The Doctor: And those would be?

Planet creature: ALL.

The Doctor: Everyone? 

Planet creature: ALL.

The Doctor: No exceptions.

Planet creature: ALL.

The Doctor: There are those who do not cause pain. There are those who are… kind.  

Planet creature: THIS. IS. NOT. KNOWN. ALL. KNOWN. BY. THIS. ONE. CAUSE. PAIN.

The Doctor: I’m sorry that the people on that world hurt you but….

Planet creature: ALL. CAUSE. PAIN. ALL. MUST. BE. STOPPED.

The Doctor: I cannot allow that. 

Planet creature: I. AM. DA. LEK.

The Doctor: No, you’re….

Suddenly sparks of electricity began arcing over the surface of the creature’s wet, grey semi-translucent skin. These sparks catch the Doctor, framing his black clad form in a blue white glow of electrical fire. The Doctor spasms on the end of the chain as he screams in pain.

The Doctor: ARRRRGHHH!!!!

From way up high on the gangway, Bill’s eyes grow wide with horror.

Bill: DOCTOR!!!!!

Bill spins around and begins to furiously turn the cinch to pull the Doctor up from the electrical storm at the surface of the creature’s skin. 

Bill: Hold on, Doctor!  HOLD ON! 

The Doctor is pulled up from the creature. 

Planet creature: I. AM. DA. LEK. ALL. WHO. CAUSE. PAIN. WILL. DIE. ALL. WHO. LIVE. WILL. DIE.

Bill strains to work the cinch but she successfully pulls the Doctor up to the gangway as he shakily tumbles over the guardrail into Bill’s arms. 

Bill: Doctor!

The Doctor (gasping): I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m…

The Doctor slumps against Bill.

The Doctor: OK, not fine. Just need a moment. Maybe a spot of tea would be nice? 

Bill: Sorry, no tea. What do we need to do?

The Doctor: I’m thinking….

The Doctor looks down at the planet creature where the electrical activity is growing brighter and more intense. 

Bill: We get the hell out of here?

The Doctor: I like that plan. Let’s go with that one.

The Doctor and Bill scramble through the hatch back out to the hallway. 

Bill: Whew! You know, you said that thing wasn’t really a Dalek….

The Doctor: No but…. It’s learning. 

Suddenly the hallway shakes violently with an epic booming sound. We hear the planet creature bellowing as Bill and the Doctor cover their ears.

Planet creature: EX!

Sound EFX: BOOM!

Hallway shakes. 

Planet creature: TER!

Sound EFX: BOOM!

Hallway shakes. 

Planet creature: MI!

Sound EFX: BOOM!

Hallway shakes. 

Planet creature: NATE!

Sound EFX: BOOM!

Bill: Doctor! We need to get out of here NOW!

The Doctor: Couldn’t agree more!

The Doctor retrieve his sonic screwdriver, holding up as signals.

The Doctor: C’mon, Nardole!

As the artificial world continues to boom and shake, over the cacophony, we hear a familiar wheezing sound.

VWORP!

VWORP!

VWORP!

The TARDIS appears.

Nardole opens the doors.

Bill: Oh thank God! It’s Nardole!

Nardole: Hey, you two! Stop lollygagging about!

The Doctor: You took your bloody time to get here!

Scene change: TARDIS interior

The Doctor: Where is she?

Nardole: Back in the vault, where she belongs.

The Doctor: The vault? The one Davros destroyed? That vault?

Nardole: I took her back to before the vault was destroyed.

The Doctor: You what? She’s in the vault with herself?

Nardole: Don’t be silly. I put her in the vault before we put her in the vault.

The Doctor: The vault was operational for about 30 minutes before we put her in the vault.

Nardole: So when this gets sorted out, we’ll fix the vault. Then, before those 30 minutes are up, we’ll take her out of the vault before we put her in the vault, then we put her back in after we fix it.

The Doctor: I should fire you!

Nardole: You’d have to pay me first in order to fire me. 

Bill: I want to interject, if I may, that I have no idea what either of you are talking about.

The Doctor: Good! Because the vault and the person in it are off limits. 

Bill: So what about the Dalek Planet?

The Doctor: Good point. Nardole?

Nardole: I stopped Davros from harvesting our guest’s regeneration energy.

The Doctor: Well, there’s that then.

Bill: Doctor, that creature seems pretty powerful already. Why does Davros need all this extra energy?

The Doctor: Having a world ride on your back is one thing. To control that world and use its power as an weapon of destruction requires a level of energy beyond that of even a space whale.

Bill: You said that before… a space whale?

The Doctor: Yes.

Bill: It’s a whale.

The Doctor: Yes.

Bill: But in space.

The Doctor: Yes. Well, it’s a bit of a euphemism, applied to any large scale organic that can traverse the voids of space.

Nardole: I saw a space whale once. It was… very nice.

The Doctor: I’ve encountered a couple myself. Very powerful creatures but usually docile, even benevolent.  This one, sadly, had any docility or benevolence tortured out of it. 

Nardole: So how did it get inside of a planet sized Dalek battle tank?

The Doctor: It’s mind made contact with Davros somehow. I’m sure Davros saw an opportunity to create a maximum expression of a Dalek.

Bill: The other Daleks didn’t seem to care for it. 

Nardole: So what are we going to do now?

The Doctor: The worst thing I can think of.

The Doctor pulls down the control lever as the central column whirls to life.

The Doctor: I’m going to give Davros exactly what he wants.

-----To Be Continued-------

The Dalek Planet.... UNLEASHED!

A million, billion Daleks... UNLEASHED!

And the Doctor... is not worried? 

To be concluded in Episode Five of...

The Dalek Planet!