Doctor Who: BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures [005] - War of the Daleks by John Peel

Author:John Peel
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science-Fiction - Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780563405733
Publisher: BBC Books
Published: 1998-04-05T22:00:00+00:00

INTERLUDE

DRACONIAN SPACE

The Draconian captain sat immobile in the command chair. It was not proper to show emotion, even at a time like this. His eyes flickered as he scanned the image cast into the picture pit of his bridge.

Eight Dalek killcruisers…

And he had only five destroyers, along with his beloved ship Hunter… It would be no fight, merely a massacre. But fleeing the enemy was literally unthinkable. If he was to die, he was to die.

Finally, he motioned to the communications officer. ‘Send a message to the Home World,’ he ordered. ‘We have sighted Dalek intruders and are preparing to attack.’

‘Understood, Captain.’

The captain studied the picture pit again. The Daleks had clearly detected him, and were intent on intercepting his small fleet. He had expected nothing less. Honour was unknown to them, and they thought nothing of attacking a weaker foe. Well, perhaps he could at least take some of them with him.

‘Tactical?’ he called.

He still could not get used to having females aboard his ship, but he knew that this was prejudice, and he supposed he was still behind the times. Well, that would likely cease being a problem very shortly. His tactical officer moved to his side, her skin flushed with anticipation of the inevitable battle.

‘They outclass us,’ she said simply.

‘I can see that,’ the captain growled. ‘What are our options? Aside from dying?’

‘We are smaller, but more manœuvrable,’ she pointed out. Touching her hand control, she raised a schematic of the planetary system they were in. Four worlds and an asteroid field sprang up. ‘We can reach the asteroid field before they can,’ she pointed out. ‘We can go where they cannot.’

There was a sour taste in his mouth. ‘You suggest that we hide?’ he asked her incredulously, all of his prejudices coming to the fore.

‘No!’ She glared at him, genuinely angry that he thought so little of her. ‘I suggest that we prepare teams to seed the asteroids with proximity mines. The Dalek shields are good, but are they good enough to withstand numerous impacts?’

The Captain felt ashamed of his suspicions. ‘A good plan,’ he conceded, bowing slightly to show respect. The officer flushed with pleasure. ‘Organise it.’ He turned to the navigation officer. ‘Alter course for the asteroid field, maximum drive. I want to know how long we’ll have there before the Daleks arrive. We must make every moment count.’

There was hurried but quiet activity in response to his orders. His small fleet moved as fast as they could towards the asteroid belt, and his crews began to prepare for their mission. They would not have long, but he had every confidence in his crew. If only he had more time!

The tactical officer moved to join him again. ‘All is ready,’ she reported. ‘The EVA teams will be standing by. As soon as we enter the field, they will begin to exit and work.’

‘Excellent.’ He scratched the ridges of his forehead, something he did subconsciously when agitated. ‘Do you think the Daleks will be expecting a trap?’

‘Perhaps,’ she acknowledged.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.