The Dalek Occupation of Winter (audio story)

The TARDIS lands in the capital city of a planet deep in the midst of an endless winter. The population are celebrating a new crop of candidates winning roles at the scientific research centre. Those who go there dedicate their lives to continued service and are rarely, if ever, seen again. Not everyone is happy to see them leave.

As the Doctor, Steven and Vicki watch, the city leader – Majorian – invites onto the stage in front of the happy crowd their 'friend who made all this possible'... and a Dalek appears.

The people of this planet seem to be living in perfect harmony with the Doctor's old enemies. But the TARDIS crew know this cannot be true. So what's really going on?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Chosen Few (1)[[edit] | [edit source]]

In the city of Winter on an unnamed planet, Amala Vost says goodbye to her brother, Kenrik, before he leaves to attend graduation and work for the rest of his life at the scientific research centre. The chief of security, Jacklyn Karna, arrives to collect him.

The TARDIS arrives in Winter and the crew explore the festivities. The Doctor and Vicki are separated from Steven as they explore. The Doctor becomes concerned about the plentiful quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables on sale, given that the TARDIS indicated the planet's winters last 500 years.

The Grand Marshall of Winter, Gaius Majorian, gives a public speech addressed to the graduates. A Dalek, known as the Ambassador, appears by his side and pays tribute to the friendship that exists between the Daleks and the people of Winter. The Doctor and Vicki are horrified.

Steven, meanwhile, meets Amala, who is grieving for her brother as she knows she will never see him again. She shows Steven around and helps him sign up for work. He is assigned to become a factory worker like her. The two watch the speech on a view screen. Steven stares at the Dalek aghast, to Amala's confusion. She tells them they make Daleks in the factories which drives the economy. On average, they build ten thousand every week.

Keep Your Enemies Close (2)[[edit] | [edit source]]

As Majorian names each of the graduates, Kenrik faints before he can step forward. The Doctor arrives on the stage to help him, where Majorian and Karna privately note that he is scared of the Dalek. Majorian invites the Doctor and Vicki into the palace once the graduates depart.

Amala shows Steven around the factory where they build Dalek casings. Steven tries again and again to warn her about the Daleks but she doesn't believe him. Steven tries to antagonise one of the Dalek guards patrolling the factory in order to get it to show its true colours but it manages to hold back. Amala berates him for almost getting her fired and they get back to work.

In the palace, the Ambassador demands of Majorian that the workers' increase their rate of production but Majorian urges it to be patient. He meets with the Doctor and Vicki and invites them to the reception. At the reception, the Doctor is taken by Karna for interrogation but he hypnotises her with his signet ring and begins asking her the questions instead.

Meanwhile, Vicki speaks with Majorian about the Daleks and the Grand Marshall reveals that he knows about their true nature. While it seems at first that he may be willing to cooperate in order to root them out, he instead brings Vicki to the research centre. He leaves her in the custody of the Daleks who don't have to bother about the benevolent pretence required of them in public. The Daleks may do with her as they wish.

The Blood of the Young (3)[[edit] | [edit source]]

Vicki is set to work transferring young Dalek mutants into finished casings. There she meets Kenrik, who has been broken by the work.

Karna regains consciousness once she is found by one of the guards. Realising the Doctor has escaped, Karna intends to recapture him and claims he was responsible for the death of a junior guard. The guard is unfamiliar with any death having occurred, only for Karna to murder her so she can frame the Doctor later.

The Doctor finds Steven again after his shift with Amala ends and they tell each other what they have learned. Amala realises Steven is completely sincere when he talks about how dangerous the Daleks are and begins to believe him. They resolve to find Kenrik inside the research centre.

The Doctor is found by Karna and taken away for interrogation once more. Majorian arrives and puts an end to her more extreme methods so he can speak with the Doctor himself.

In the research centre, Vicki and Kenrik place a Dalek mutant into a casing. The mutant attacks them and claws onto Kenrik's arm. Vicki watches almost helplessly as the mutant tries to kill him.

A Spark to Light a Flame (4)[[edit] | [edit source]]

Steven and Amala arrive as Vicki tried to fight off the Dalek mutant. They save Kenrick just as another Dalek begins to wake up, They push it into the nutrients pool where it is swarmed by other mutants. The group then tries to make their escape with an injured Kenrik, who has become infected by the mutant attack.

Back at the palace, Majorian tells the Doctor about Winter's history. His ancestors tried to colonise the planet but found that it did not hold the resources they believed it did, but they did find the Daleks who began torturing the leadership. One survivor, to whom Majorian is a direct descendant, offered to help the Daleks in return for homes, jobs and food. All the Daleks had to do was pretend to be friendly and keep the people content enough for them to continue work. Personally, Majorian is quite content with this state of affairs.

Steven, Vicki, Amala and Kenrik escape the research centre as Kenrik's condition gets worse. Other workers see him and realise the Daleks are not a force for good after all. Kenrik becomes unstable and begins calling himself a Dalek. The Daleks who arrive on the scene kill him, claiming he was an "abomination". The sight of the killing spurs the workers into revolt, leading the Daleks to fire on them and they die and scatter.

With the spark of an uprising, the Doctor convinces Majorian to give them the access codes needed to reach the Dalek weapons. With the Daleks now suffering casualties, the uprising spreads from the factories and into the rest of the city. The Daleks are cleared out and pushed back to the research centre but thousands of people are killed in the fighting.

Preparing to lead his people in the revolution, Majorian demands that the Doctor leave Winter so they don't reveal the truth about him. The travellers depart and the TARDIS takes them towards their next destination: T19.

In his office, Majorian is confronted by the Ambassador for his betrayal. Majorian dismisses the affair as a necessity but then Karna appears, demanding his job. The Ambassador kills Majorian and appointed Karna as his successor. She is tasked with ending the uprising and sending the people of Winter back to work.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Steven/The Doctor/Narrator - Peter Purves
Vicki/Narrator - Maureen O'Brien
Amala Vost - Shvorne Marks
Gaius Majorian - Robert Daws
Jacklyn Karna - Sara Powell
Kenrik Vost - Matthew Jacobs-Morgan
The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Steven lost friends in the Dalek Wars.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story was recorded on 18 and 19 January 2018 at the Moat Studios.
This release is the first in The Early Adventures to utilise the 2018 branding of Doctor Who.
After a cameo in The Sontarans, this is the first story in The Early Adventures range to feature the Daleks as the primary foe. It would be followed by Daughter of the Gods, which was also written by David K Barnes.
Barnes was initially daunted by the prospect of writing a Dalek story because his writing style naturally leaned more towards comedy. His approach was to write a Dalek story along the lines of those he enjoyed the most, which usually portray the Daleks as a lurking and manipulative threat which brings out the worst in other people. (VOR 116)
For the Doctor, the end of the story leads into An Ideal World, as part of the plan to structure Series 5 of The Early Adventures as a chronologically consecutive season of stories just like in the 60s.^[1]
This story was originally released on CD and download.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Vicki solemnly recalls her father. (TV: The Rescue)
The Ambassador announces that the Daleks offer friendship (and progress) in the same way they offered life. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
The Daleks grow vegetables for the people of Winter with artificial sunlight. (TV: The Daleks, COMIC: Duel of the Daleks, PROSE: The Dalek Generation)
The Daleks pretend to be benevolent in order to advance their own aims. (TV: The Daleks, The Power of the Daleks, Victory of the Daleks, COMIC: The Dalek Project)
Vicki tells Majorian about her first encounter with the Daleks on Aridius while Steven tells Amala about their time machine. (TV: The Chase) Steven also talks about how he has witnessed their brutality. (AUDIO: Across the Darkened City)
Karna utilises a Dalek pyro-flame. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)
The Daleks use Winter to mass produce themselves, with large casing production lines and incubation pools for the young mutants. (TV: The Power of the Daleks)
A Dalek mutant attacks Kenrik and infects him. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks) He becomes conditioned to believe he is a Dalek. (TV: The Evil of the Daleks)