Skaro (Doctor Who)

Skaro is the eleventh episode of the first series of Doctor Who produced by The 56Studios. It is also the penultimate episode of the season and features the return of the Rani, the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Replicators, Kate Stewart, Petronella Osgood, and U.N.I.T. Its story concludes in Out of the Dark.

Story
Sparks flew into the air. The Doctor and Clara stumbled around the console as the TARDIS flew through the vortex. Behind it, the Dalek saucer fires energy missiles through the swirling tunnel, repeatedly striking the blue box.

“How are they doing this?” Clara yelled over the noise of the explosions, desperately trying to hold onto the console..

“I don’t know!” he replied, frantically pressing buttons and pulling levers.

Another spray of sparks erupted from the console. They ducked as it fell over them.

“What are the Daleks doing in the vortex?” Clara asked.

“Trying to kill us, obviously!”

They lost their grip on the console as another blast hit the TARDIS. The ship hurtled through the vortex. It skimmed the edges of the swirling corridor, energy streaking behind it. The Doctor, pulling a lever and re-stabilize their course, but was immediately hit by another projectile.

The console exploded in a shower of sparks as the room shook violently. Clara lost her footing, sending her crashing to the deck. The Doctor struggled to keep his balance. He held on for a moment before also being knocked to the ground by another tremor. Trying to get back up, he grabbed onto the console before another explosion shot from it.

In the Dalek ship, the commander rolled forward towards the console in front of it. Its blue eye narrowed.

“FIRE THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WEAPON.”

“I OBEY,” was the resounding response from the Daleks.

One of them pressed its manipulator arm to an orb on its console. It flared into life, a number of symbols appearing on the monitor.

As the saucer continued through the vortex, a panel slid open and the barrel of a weapon emerged. It aimed itself at the spiraling blue box. It stood dormant for a moment before a blast of blue energy erupted from it. The ball of light flew through the purple vortex and struck the TARDIS. It exploded on impact, covering it in blue light.

Inside the Time Lord vessel, the Doctor was just pulling himself up on the console when it went dark. Desperately, he pulled on levers, but to no avail.

“Electromagnetic pulse!” he yelled. “We’re flying dea-.”

A massive explosion erupted from the console. Being hit by the shockwave, he was thrown onto his back, the impact knocking him unconscious. Clara tried to crawl towards him when the console room lurched again, sending her rolling across the deck. The lights in the room went out as the engines stalled.

Outside, the TARDIS flew wildly through the vortex, striking the sides. Energy streaked behind it as it began to cut through the tunnel. Suddenly it broke through the wall in a spray of sparks, coming out into open space, energy trailing from it. It appeared above a bright red planet.

It floated aimlessly through the void for a moment before being caught in the planet’s gravity. It began to fall, burning as it entered the atmosphere, hurtling towards the surface below.

Clara’s head spun as she came to. Around her, the console room was dark. Sparks occasionally shot from the console and from the panels above them.

Slowly, she pushed herself off the floor. Holding her head, she looked around and was underneath the main deck. Books and other objects lay scattered on the floor around her. Stumbling forward, she made her way towards the staircase.

“Doctor?” she called out.

There was a groaning from the top deck.

“Clara?” he responded.

“What happened?” she began ascending the stairs.

“We were hit with an electromagnetic pulse,” he replied, pulling a lever on the console, which clunked dully. “It killed the ship.”

She was shocked by this. “Does that mean the TARDIS is… permanently dead?”

The Doctor shook his head. “No. But it’ll need a few hours before it can reboot.”

Clara ran a hand through her hair. “So. What do we do now?”

He put his finger on his chin in thought. “We could stay here. We have absolutely no idea what’s outside those doors. There could be a trap out there, waiting for us to spring it.”

He cast a sideways glance at Clara, a thin smile on his lips.

“Is the sonic screwdriver charged?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She smiled broadly. “Then let’s go.”

A smile broke across his face.

Stepping out of the TARDIS, they found themselves in a small room. Debris littered the ground. Looking up, they saw a square hole in the ceiling where the box had come crashing through. The sky beyond it was a brilliant shade of orange. A light rain trickled from it, steam rising from everything it hit.

“Is the rain cold?” Clara reached out her hand towards it when the Doctor swatted it away.

“That’s not rain. Not as you know it,” he said. “That’s acid.”

“Acid rain?” she said, holding her hand close to her chest.

He looked up through the hole at the orange sky. “There’s only one planet I know of that has acid rain. But this couldn’t possibly be it…”

“What planet?” Clara asked.

He didn’t respond, instead moving towards the door. There was a strange pad on the side of it. He looked at it with concern before pulling out the sonic screwdriver and aiming it at the controls. Activating it, the door slid open. Together, they stepped out.

The hallway they were in was heavily damaged, scrapes of equipment and puddles of acid scattered across the floor. It appeared that wherever this was had been abandoned for years. Maybe decades.

Slowly, they made their way through the debris.

“This place is a mess,” the woman said. “What is this?”

“I don’t know,” he answered.

“Just a minute ago you implied that you had an idea,” she replied.

“I need more evidence before I make an assumption.”

They continued walking. Turning a corner, they took a few steps before coming to a halt.

“Oh,” the Doctor stopped.

“There’s the evidence you mentioned,” Clara said.

Half a dozen dead Daleks stood in the corridor. Their casings were damaged and corroded, like the rest of the area. A charred, blackened substance oozed from the vents in their armor.

“What happened to them?” she asked, taking a hesitant step towards the husks.

“Same thing that happened to this planet,” the Doctor said.

She looked back at him. “And what was that?”

“Me.”

“What is this planet, Doctor?”

He looked at her darkly. “Skaro. The planet of the Daleks.”

“Why are we here? Why did the Daleks bring us here?”

“Perhaps they want retribution. For me destroying their world,” he replied. “But, if they purposely brought us here, then they’ll be looking for us.”

“If they’re looking for us,” she stepped towards him. “We should get back to the TARDIS.”

“You want to run?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Clara said.

“The Daleks were able to chase us through the vortex and disable my ship,” the Doctor stepped towards her. “That should not have been possible. I need to know how – and why – they did that.”

“Does it matter?”

“If there are Daleks with these abilities; they need to be stopped,” he returned. “They could do serious damage if they are allowed to keep them.”

She thought about it for a moment. “Okay. What do we do?”

“First, we have to find the Daleks.”

Clara watched him for a moment before she noticed something move over his shoulder. Looking, her eyes widened.

“I don’t think you’ll have to look very far.”

He looked at her with a confused expression before following her gaze. Down the hallway that they had come from, staring directly at them, were two Daleks. They were different than ones they had seen before, though. Their cases were sleeker, and were blue in color. Their eyes narrowed.

“THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN LOCATED!” one of them yelled, their voice echoing down the corridor.

“EXTERMINATE!” the other screamed.

Rolling forward, the Daleks aimed their gunsticks at the two and opened fire. Bolts of blue energy shot through the air. The Doctor and Clara ducked as they flew overhead.

“Run!” the Doctor turned to her.

Grabbing her hand, he dragged her after him as they bolted in the opposite direction from the Daleks. Sparks rained on them as the Daleks’ energy rays hit the walls. The Daleks rolled forward after them.

“HALT! YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!” they screamed, continuing their attacks.

More streaks of light shot past them. Turning a corner, they continued their escape. The Daleks were seconds behind them. More casings and broken equipment littered the ground. They avoided the puddles of acid that had pooled on the floor.

“Where are we going?” Clara asked, panting slightly.

“Anywhere that they’re not!” the Doctor replied.

They continued running. Clara jumped over a puddle of acid, nearly falling short and splashing through it. Behind them, the Daleks rounded the corner and fired their weapons at them. Explosions erupted around them as the bolts struck dead casings and equipment barrels. Blazing debris fell through the air.

Skidding around another corner, the Doctor and Clara ran forward when a doorway appeared on the right.

“There!” he said, producing the sonic screwdriver. Rushing over to it, he activated the door mechanism. The circular door split down the middle before sliding open.

Quickly, they made their way inside. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the Doctor reactivated the screwdriver and the door slid closed. Inside, they stood still for several minutes, listening. Outside, they heard the Daleks roll past.

“THEY TURNED TO THE LEFT CORRIDOR,” one yelled.

“FOLLOW THEM,” the other replied.

They rolled past the door and further down the hallway. Their yells echoed for a while before also dying away. Taking a deep breath, they stood up.

“That. Was close,” Clara finally said.

“Too close,” he agreed.

“Did they just bring us here to kill us?” she asked, running a hand through her hair.

“It seems that way,” he replied. “But that doesn’t explain why they brought us to Skaro. They could’ve just killed us back on Earth.”

“Maybe they wanted to kill you on Skaro as some sort of weird revenge strategy.”

“Maybe.”

Turning, Clara looked around the room.

“What is this place?”

Seeing it, the Doctor’s face lit up. “The Archives!” he yelled.

“Shhhhh!” Clara hissed. He quieted.

“Oops.”

In front of them were rows of data banks, stretching for miles. A handful of them flickered with life, while even more were black and inactive.

“These are the Archives of the Daleks. Everything about the Daleks is stored here,” the Doctor stepped towards one of the banks. “Everything.”

“What does that mean? We could find out why we’re here?”

“Potentially.”

Pulling out the sonic screwdriver, he crossed to the control console. Aiming the screwdriver at it, he activated the console. A display appeared on the screen, showing dozens of Dalek symbols.

“That’s going to be hard to sift through,” Clara leaned on the console. “What are you even looking for?”

“When the city experienced new activity,” he said, leveling the screwdriver at it. As it buzzed, the random Dalek symbols were replaced by new ones. The Doctor leaned in closer to read.

He ran his hand through his gray hair. “Interesting.”

“What?”

“The city was reactivated only a few days ago, when…” he trailed off. “The rest of the data is corrupted.”

“If I were to take a guess,” Clara said. “I would guess that it became active when the Daleks arrived.”

“That would be a fair assumption to make.”

The screen suddenly glitched, before displaying a new set of symbols. They both leaned in to look at it.

“That’s strange,” he said.

She asked, unable to decipher the code. “What is it?”

“There’s a different kind of software in the systems. Similar to what’s supposed to be there,” he added, “but still different.”

“Is that bad?”

“No,” the Doctor shook his head. “It just means that the Daleks have tried to update these systems with new code. I’ve never known the Daleks to update their code this way, but there’s a first time for everything.”

Using the sonic screwdriver again, he began searching through the database before coming upon a map of what looked like a city. Clara assumed that it was the city that they were in now. There was a green indicator in a big area, which looked to show where they currently were. Dispersed around the city were dozens of red indicators, all moving in various directions.

“Are those the Daleks?” she asked.

“About eight dozen of them, I would say.”

“They’re definitely trying to restore the city,” she observed. “They’re everywhere.”

“Just when I thought that Skaro would never rise again…” the Doctor said, his voice shaking slightly.

She stood quiet for a moment. “Let’s make sure it never does, then.”

He looked at her. “What?”

“Let’s make sure that Skaro never rises again,” she stepped towards him. “Let’s make sure that it never returns to being the planet of the Daleks.”

“This doesn’t sound like you, Clara,” he said.

“I’ve seen what the Daleks have done. I’ve seen what they’re capable of,” Clara replied. “We need to stop them.”

For a moment, he said nothing. Then he nodded. “You’re right.”

“How do we do that, then?” she crossed her arms.

“We probably would have to get to the core of the city…” he said before trailing off, looking at a flashing indicator on the console.

“There are Daleks coming this way!” the Doctor pointed the screwdriver at the screen, the screen going dark as he activated the tool.

“What do we do?” Clara asked.

“Hide!” he said, grabbing her hand and taking her down one of the rows of shelves. They took refuge behind a shelf as a hissing noise filled the room.

Peeking out, they saw the two Daleks from before entering the room, their shining blue eyes scanning the area.

“THE TERMINAL WAS ACCESSED HERE,” one yelled. “THE DOCTOR AND THE FEMALE ARE HERE.”

“FIND THEM!” the other screamed, rolling forward, followed by the other.

They began moving through the room, each taking a row. Both the Doctor and Clara stood incredibly still as they moved a few rows over from where they were. Their breathing was quiet, and sweat glistened on the brows. The only thing they heard was the humming their casings as they rolled onward.

On her right, the Doctor pointed from them to the door and indicated running towards them. She looked at him with her large round eyes, unsure of what to do. She didn’t really want to run out of the room and risk getting shot in the back by a Dalek They seemed to be safe here, but for how long? It was a gamble.

After a long moment, she tightened her lips and nodded.

He held up a hand with three fingers raised. He then lowered one, and the last.

Together, the two of the sprinted from their hiding place. Unavoidably, their footsteps pounded against the metal floor. Behind them, the Daleks turned.

“THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN LOCATED!” one yelled, raising its gunstick.

“EXTERMINATE!” the other replied.

Clara let out a yell of surprise as a beam of blue light shot past her, even though she had been expecting it. The beam hit a terminal to her left, causing it to go up in flames. Another flew overheard, hitting above the doorway ahead of them.

With the sonic screwdriver at the ready, the Doctor aimed it on the control pad on the side of the door. Activating the screwdriver, it buzzed for a second before the door split open. More bolts of energy shot past as they hurtled towards the entrance.

Blasting through the doorway, the Doctor and Clara turned right down the corridor and continued running. The Doctor pointed the screwdriver behind him and caused the pad to explode in a shower of sparks. This was followed by the doors sliding closed, the Daleks trapped inside.

“That’ll buy us a few seconds!” he said as they continued running.

They continued running, making their way through hallways not dissimilar to the ones that they had seen previously. Occasionally, they would see a Dalek going the opposite way down a corridor, but they were too fast for it to notice them.

After a while, they reached a dead end, with a large circular door standing before them. Leveling the sonic screwdriver at it, the tip of the tool glowed, accompanied by a soft humming. A second later the pad beside the door turned green and the doors split open to admit them. They quickly ran through and closed the door again.

They were in a long corridor, with the walls being made of glass. Walking into the hallway, they were bathed in a deep orange glow. Coming up to one of the glass walls, they looked out. They were overlooking a city in ruins. Acidic, green rain poured down around them. Buildings deteriorated before their very eyes.

“You did this?” Clara asked, in awe.

“Yes,” the Doctor answered.

“Wow.”

“I had no choice,” he said, which seemed to be directed more at himself than at her.

“Why would they want to come here?” she placed her hand on the glass, which was several feet thick. “This place is a wasteland.”

He stood looking at it before turning away and crossing to the other side.

“Oh no,” he said.

She turned towards him.

“What is it?” she questioned, confused.

“That,” he didn’t turn back towards her.

Walking forward, she joined him at the glass and followed his gaze. She stopped also.

“That doesn’t look good,” Clara remarked.

“It’s not.”

A massive saucer was landed before them. It appeared to be slightly damaged from a battle, but otherwise in good condition. Better than anything else in the city, at least.

“That class of ship is incredibly dangerous,” the Doctor said. “One could destroy an entire planet on its own. It shouldn’t even be here.”

“How so?”

“These ships were commonplace during the Last Great Time War,” he explained. “They should’ve been all destroyed after the last day.”

“Maybe one got away?”

“Unlikely,” he shook his head. “But possible, I suppose.”

They stood looking at it for a moment before the Doctor’s eyes narrowed.

“Hang on…” he squinted. “That’s not right…”

At that moment, both doors on either side of the corridor slid open and half-a-dozen Daleks emerged from them. They were the same as the others, their blue casing glinting in the light. The twelve of them moved to surround them as the Doctor and Clara stood back to back. The glowing blue eyes of the Daleks fell on them. Their gunsticks were aimed.

“DOCTOR,” one rolled forward. “YOU WILL COME WITH US.”

The Doctor raised his eyebrow, obviously not having expected this. “Excuse me?”

“YOU WILL COME WITH US,” it repeated.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But earlier you lot tried to kill me.”

“YOU RAN,” the Dalek replied.

“Fair point,” the Doctor admitted.

“YOU WILL COME WITH US,” the Dalek said again.

“Where to?”

The Dalek stared at him for a moment. “THE SUPREME DALEK.”

The Supreme Council Chamber was in a similar state as the rest of the city. The massive casing of the old Dalek Emperor stood elevated in the center of the room. The remains of the Emperor lay charred inside the tank.

Now, the room was filled with the new Daleks, and the Supreme Dalek, adorned in black armor with silver plating, stood in front of the dead Emperor. He appeared to be a more robust version of the blue Daleks.

The Doctor and Clara were ushered before the Supreme Dalek.

“DOCTOR,” the Supreme Dalek boomed, greeting him. “WELCOME TO THE CITY OF THE DALEKS.”

“It’s a pleasure to be here,” he said sarcastically.

“THIS CITY ONCE LAY IN RUIN, BUT IT WILL BE RESTORED TO ITS FORMER GLORY,” the Dalek continued to speak, his voice reverberating loudly around the room. “THE MIGHT OF THE DALEKS WILL ONCE AGAIN BE KNOWN ACROSS THE UNIVERSE.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” the Doctor stepped forward.

“YOU HAVE NO POWER HERE,” the Supreme Dalek said, his tone one of mockery.

The Doctor let out a quiet chuckle. “You have no idea how many time I’ve heard that.”

The Dalek simply stared at him. The Doctor frowned.

“So,” he said. “What’s going on? Why are we here?”

“BECAUSE I NEEDED YOU HERE.”

“But why?” he pressed. “And why are these Daleks so different to ones that I’ve encountered before? Why does that warship outside have an insignia of the Dalek Empire? There is no Dalek Empire.”

A female voice filled the air. “Because, where they come from, there is a Dalek Empire.”

The Rani appeared on the far side of the room, flanked by four Replicators. She smiled at the Doctor for a moment before walking over to join them. He watched her in shock.

“They came from a parallel universe, where they reign supreme. Their version of you sabotaged one of their command ships with a black hole device. The black hole device activated and caught the rest of the fleet in the vortex. This singular ship of Daleks managed to slip through a rift in time and space and arrived here.”

“What are you doing here?” he said, ignoring her story.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she smiled. “I’m here for you.”

“Ah yes,” the Doctor put his hands behind his back. “Your crusade to find me for some reason that you refuse to elaborate on.”

“Then you know that I won’t take no for an answer,” the woman replied, her expression darkening.

“I’m sorry to disappoint,” he replied.

“No you’re not,” she said.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Why are we here?” Clara asked. “Why are you working with these Daleks for another universe, or whatever?”

The Rani turned towards her. “Don’t you know? I suppose that you’re only human.”

Clara scowled.

“I’m here to take the Doctor,” the Rani said. “And as to your other question, I offered my services to these Daleks to help them get back to their own universe in exchange to helping me capture you.”

“And they agreed to that without killing you?” the Doctor seemed genuinely surprised.

“Not everyone hates me, Doctor,” she replied. “Especially when there are people that hate you far more,” she snapped her fingers.

On cue, a ball of white light appeared several paces away before it exploded in a blinding glare. The glare fading, the Doctor and Clara looked to see four Cybermen, led by a Cyber-Lord, standing next to the Daleks.

The Doctor’s face contorted with shock. “What is this?”

“An alliance,” the Cyber-Lord responded, stepping forward.

“Against who?”

“Against you.”

The Rani’s teeth glinted in the light. The Doctor turned to her.

“What do you want?” he moved towards her. “What specifically do you want from me?”

“I need something from you,” she said.

“Why? What exactly?”

“There’s someone who needs something from you, and you’re the only one who can provide for their needs,” the Rani answered.

He stared at her for a moment before stepping away, running a hand through his gray hair. He then turned back to her.

“And what happens if I don’t comply? What happens if I don’t give myself up? Are you going to exterminate me? Exterminate Clara?”

“No,” she said. “I’m going to destroy the Earth.”

His expression dropped. “What?”

“That seems to have caught your attention,” she smiled again.

“Repeat what you just said,” he said, his voice cracking with anger. “Repeat it.”

“If you don’t give yourself over to me,” the Rani said slowly. “I will destroy the Earth.”

“Are you insane?” he yelled, his rage boiling over. “Are you insane?”

“You’ve left me no other options, Doctor,” she looked affronted.

“There are always other options!” the Time Lord stepped towards her. “The only option is never to kill people, let alone an entire planet! This is insane!”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, Doctor,” the Rani replied.

“How are these desperate times?” he asked. “What’s so desperate that you’re willing to destroy an entire civilization to get what you want? Who needs me?”

She didn’t answer.

“Answer the damn question!” he spat.

“No, I won’t,” she replied defiantly.

“Then how can you expect me to comply with your demands?”

“Because if you don’t, the Earth will be destroyed,” she reiterated.

He ran a hand over his face. Clara watched the two Time Lords from a few feet away.

“Rani,” he finally said, his voice quietening. “This is not the way. Please, let me help you.”

“I’ve told you before,” she replied. “You’ll be helping me by handing yourself over.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” the Doctor pleaded. “You don’t have to do this. She step away from it. Let it go. Please.”

She stood and watched him. The Time Lady shook ever-so slightly.

Behind her, the Cyber-Lord stepped forward.

“Enough with this!” the metal giant pronounced.

“INDEED,” the Supreme Dalek agreed. “THIS IS IRRELEVANT!”

“You promised us the Earth!” the Cyber-Lord said to the Rani.

“TAKE THE DOCTOR NOW AND LET US DECIMATE HUMANITY!” the Dalek boomed.

“No!” the Rani replied. “This is not how I planned this!”

“We helped you capture the Doctor in exchange for the Earth,” the Cyber-Lord took a step forward. “''The Doctor is here! Give us the Earth!''”

“That is not the deal I made-.”

“THAT IS THE DEAL WE ARE FOLLOWING,” the Supreme Dalek rolled towards her. “IT IS TIME FOR THIS ARRANGEMENT TO BECOME RECIPROCAL.”

“I am the only reason any of you are here and have this opportunity!” the Rani snapped. “If you plan on betraying me, then you’d better think very carefully about how you proceed!”

“YOU WILL NOT ADDRESS THE SUPREME DALEK THIS WAY!” one the Daleks threatened her, raising its gunstick. She eyed it.

“You don’t want to do that,” she warned, her hand in her pocket. Clara knew that she was tracing her weapon with her fingers.

“We came to an agreement,” the Cyber-Lord said. “We are not your slaves.”

“Yes, but I paid for your services, and I will use them to their fullest extend before I give up,” she spat.

A few feet away, the Doctor and Clara stood together and watched the three bickering. Hesitantly, the Doctor reached into his jacket and felt for the sonic screwdriver. He stopped as he hit its tip. Slowly, he grabbed it with his fingers and pulled it out. He held it at his side. Glancing at Clara, he activated it. The soft buzzing filled the air.

The Rani, hearing it, turned around in confusion. She was followed by the Supreme Dalek and the Cybermen. The woman’s eyes widened at the sight of the sonic screwdriver.

“You should’ve learned from Missy,” the Doctor said, his face breaking into a smile.

The buzzing was soon drowned out by a wheezing that steadily grew louder and louder. A breeze rushed from the two, hitting their captors. There was a glowing as a box began to fade into view.

“KILL THEM!” the Rani yelled, pulling out her weapon and aiming it at the materializing TARDIS.

As one, the Daleks, Cybermen, and Replicators opened fire. Their deadly blasts of energy flew through the air directly at the Doctor and Clara. They hit the surface of the box and shattered, as the ship was now mostly solid.

A second later, there was a thud as the TARDIS materialized in the center of the Supreme Council Chamber. The forces continued to fire upon it, but their blasts merely bounced off of it.

Inside, the Doctor deactivated the screwdriver and returned it to his pocket. He quickly swung around to the other side of the console and began pressing buttons and flipping switches. Finally, he put his hand on one of the levers and pulled down. The room shook as the panels above the console began to rotate and the engines began to groan.

“That was awesome!” Clara laughed, hanging onto the console as they faded into the time vortex.

“Luckily, I had enough charge in the screwdriver, the TARDIS had rebooted, and she allowed me to summon her,” he said.

The room shook again.

“Where are we going now?”

“Earth,” the Doctor replied, traveling to another part of the console. “We have to warn them. We have to tell them that they’re coming.”

The blue box hurtled through the vortex.

The Rani watched the spot where the TARDIS had been just moments prior, her eyes widen and bloodshot. She stood completely still, her only movement being that of her enraged breathing.

Behind her, the Supreme Dalek and the Cyber-Lord watched.

“The Doctor has escaped,” the Cyberman said.

“HE IS GOING TO EARTH TO WARN THEM!” the Supreme Dalek added.

Slowly, and shaking with rage, the Rani turned towards them.

“Then you know what that means,” she said, her eyes blazing. “You get to destroy the Earth after all. Just like you want.”

The Supreme Dalek and the Cyber-Lord stared at her.

“CORRECT.”

“Affirmative.”

“Then let’s get to work,” she said, turning and beginning to walk out of the chamber. “We don’t have any time to lose.”

Inside the dim TARDIS, the Rani walked between the arches to the console. Resting her hand on it, it blazed into life. An orange glow radiated from it before dozens of metal rings shot from the center of it and hung in midair, beginning to coil into a ball.

The Time Lady began to move around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers. The room began to hum as the ship woke up.

Activating the monitor on the wall, the Rani looked to see the Dalek crusier, the Cyberman ship, and the Replicator ship in near proximity to her in orbit above the desolate planet of Skaro.

Laying both hands on the console, she leaned forward to speak into a microphone when a searing pain shot through her arm. She lose her balance and fell on her knees. She gasped in pain. Looking down, she saw that her right arm was flickering in and out of view.

Grabbing it, she tried to calm herself, holding it close by. For several moments she sat there, her hand progressively disappearing into a blur.

“WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU, RANI,” the Supreme Dalek’s voice came from her console. “WE WILL NOT DELAY ON YOUR ACCOUNT.”

Her arm was still disappearing when suddenly it stopped. She watched as it came back into view again. She watched it for a moment before breathing a sigh of relief.

Using the console to pull herself off the floor, she took a deep breath and leaned towards the console again.

“Advance,” she said simply.

Outside, the three massive ships began to move forward from the red planet behind them. Their ships flickered before shooting off into space as blurs of light.

Inside her TARDIS, the Rani, hesitantly, placed her hand on a lever. It didn’t shimmer. Wrapping her fingers around the handle, she pulled the lever down. An orange light appeared from inside the coils as the TARDIS began to wheeze and groan as she entered the time vortex.

Their footsteps echoed down the long circular hallway as they walked.

“How’re the Americans holding up?” Kate asked, taking another bite from her doughnut.

“The Americans, ma’am?” Osgood inquired, trying to keep up while scribbling notes.

“The U.N.I.T. over there,” she said, her mouth slightly full. “The ones across the pond. Are they holding up? I know they’ve had to preform some budget cuts.”

“Oh,” she pushed up her glasses. “As far as I know, they’re fine.”

“I want a full report on them,” she finished her doughnut. “I need to know if we to help them out or not, because we’re also suffering a bit in the budget department.”

“Yes ma’am,” Osgood replied, making a note.

They passed by several other officers and soldiers as they made their way through the tunnel.

“What else is there on the list?” Kate asked as they turned the corner.

“Uh…” she read her sloppily-written list. “The pigeons need their batteries changed.”

“Again?” she replied. “That’s twice in the last year. We’re going to have to look into getting them replaced or something.”

Osgood made another note.

Turning another corner, they entered the command center of the base. Osgood rushed to take a seat at one the desks, which was covered with all sorts of apparently homemade objects, a lot of them seemed to resemble the TARDIS. The other desks were manned by other U.N.I.T. officers, all typing on keyboards and looking the array of computer screens.

Kate stopped behind the technicians, watching the monitors.

“Anything to report?” she asked.

“Nothing today, ma’am,” one answered, turning in his chair to look back at her.

“Well,” another said. “There was a blip of strange energy a couple times earlier, but it may just be a bug in the system.”

“What kind of energy?” Kate inquired, taking a step closer.

“Temporal distortion. It happened a few times today,” he explained. “But again, it may just be a glitch in the system.”

“Check it out,” she took a step towards the monitor. “Something might going on.”

He nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

The sound of typing filled the air again. She watched as they worked, her arms crossed.

She didn’t let anything like that pass as merely a computer glitch. She didn’t want to be complacent only for something to slip by and endanger the Earth. It was her job to defend the planet, and she didn’t want to be the one responsible if the Earth was destroyed.

Kate watched the monitors for several minutes before she noticed a growing pain in her legs. Sighing, she turned to grab a chair that was sitting at a vacant desk when there was a sharp beeping that filled the air.

“What’s going on?” she yelled over the loud noise.

“Another temporal disturbance!” Osgood replied.

“Where is it?” she asked, stepping closer to the monitors, which were flashing with various warnings.

Osgood leaned closer to read her screen. “Here,” she said.

At that moment, a low groaning noise filled the air. They all turned around as the TARDIS materialized in the center of the room. Kate watched it as her hair blew in the breeze. Osgood stood up, a wide smile on her face. She adjusted her bowtie and question-mark sweater.

There was a thump as the blue box fully materialized. A second later the door opened and the Doctor and Clara burst from it. They ran across the room, skidding to a stop in front of Kate.

“Kate!” the Doctor gasped.

“Doctor?” she crossed her arms. “What’s going on?”

“Earth is in danger,” he said. “Immediate.”

“What are you talking about?” Kate was bewildered. “Slow down. Explain what’s happening.”

“There’s no time. The attack is imminent,” he replied, moving past her towards the monitors. “They’re coming.”

Osgood stepped towards him. “Who’s coming?”

“The Daleks. The Cybermen. The Replicators,” Clara said as the Doctor began typing.

“We have to be ready,” he said. “We have to be ready now.”

“What are you doing?” Kate looked at him.

“Hacking into your servers. I need to get the alert out.”

“How are the Daleks and Cybermen coming together?” Osgood asked. “Aren’t they swore enemies? They tore each other apart at the Battle of Canary Wolf.”

“I’ll explain if we survive this,” the Doctor said as a dialog box appeared. He began typing the words ‘ATTACK IMMINENT. GET READY. - THE DOCTOR.’ Hitting enter, he stood up and watched the monitors.

“Who did you send that to?” Clara inquired.

“The world leaders. All of them. We’re going to need everyone on this.”

“So the entire world is in danger?” Kate asked, stepping towards him.

“Completely,” he replied.

Her hands trembling slightly, she reached into her pocket and produced her phone. “I need to inform Colonel James. He’ll mobilize the ground forces for a defense.”

Suddenly the loud beeping returned, but this time it was accompanied by the blue color of the greens and blue hue of the lights turning red and beginning to flash. The officers pulled their chairs into their desks and began typing furiously. The Doctor, Clara, and Kate gathered around.

“What’s happening?” Kate asked.

“Something massive has just entered Earth’s orbit!” Osgood said.

“What? Identify it!” she demanded, but the Doctor took a step away, looking down.

“We’re too late,” he was muttered. Clara looked to him.

Kate looked in confusion. “You know what it is?”

Clara looked at her with a solemn expression.

“They’re here.”

High above the glowing blue ball that was the planet Earth, three massive ships came into orbit. They were led by a rotating metal cylinder, which appeared microscopic in comparison to them.

Inside, the Rani watched the planet on the monitor. She watched the expansive deep blue oceans that covered surface, threatening to overtake the land. The rich green continents that divided the waters. She smiled at the white clouds that streaked across both bodies like paint from a brush.

It would almost be a shame to destroy this world.

Almost.

There was a buzz from the console.

“WHAT IS OUR DIRECTIVE, TIME LORD?” the Supreme Dalek asked.

She turned towards the console. A moment later she turned back towards the screen and watched the Earth dance in the sunlight.

“Begin.”

Cast

 * Twelfth Doctor
 * Clara Oswald
 * The Rani
 * The Daleks
 * The Cybermen
 * Replicators
 * Kate Stewart
 * Petronella Osgood
 * U.N.I.T.

Trivia

 * This story features the second appearance of the Daleks in the first season.
 * The concept for this story has existed since 2012.