Susan Mendes
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Susan Mendes, also known as Suz, was a geologist sent to Vega VI to study a blue rock known as Veganite. In the course of her original investigation, she met Alby Brook. When the Daleks invaded Vega VI and enslaved the population, Susan's defiance made her a target of Dalek investigation. This behaviour also served in the Daleks' interest. They used Susan to help implement a shift system for their slave workforce so that productivity would be more efficient and the slaves would live longer. Through her captivity and service to the Daleks, Susan and her ally Kalendorf plotted to bring about the downfall of their masters and free the galaxy from Dalek rule.
Biography
Dalek invasion
Susan Mendes was a geologist working for the Rhinesberg Corporation. Taking a break from her work one day, Susan had a short picnic lunch with Alby Brook. As they chatted about their jobs over some homemade pickled onions, they saw a burning starship streak through the atmosphere on a collision course for Vega City. As they rushed back to the city, they found that they could only pick up local broadcasts — the satellites had been destroyed. A furious battle with the Dalek invasion force was taking place. The broadcast was interrupted by the Daleks announcing their victory and subjugation of the Vega system.
Susan only knew of the Daleks from obscure history lessons and was confused and even appalled by Alby's seemingly cold behaviour toward the situation. Refusing to follow him, Susan remained on Vega VI, wanting to find her parents before it was too late. The Daleks stormed the planet, laying waste to cities and enslaving the population. The weak and injured were exterminated as they would only serve to slow down the efficiency of the workforce. Other captives were surgically-altered into Robomen. As the population was being corralled, Susan assisted a man named Kalendorf and in turn stopped him from being exterminated by the Daleks. Susan's obstinate attitude toward the Dalek patrol confused and intrigued them, and Susan was kept under close scrutiny.
The machine drilling was stopped and the enslaved population of Vega VI was put to work, digging and chipping away at veins of Veganite in poorly-ventilated shafts with little more than their own bare hands. The Robomen assisted the Dalek patrols, ordering the slaves to work without rest and food. Growing exhausted from being overworked, Susan once again lashed out at her Dalek masters, demanding rest and food. Her outburst was recorded and transmitted to the Dalek Supreme in the Seriphia Galaxy, who demanded to speak with Susan. Taken to a communications chamber, Susan was left alone, facing a screen and the Dalek Supreme, who told her that it was transmitting from the Seriphia Galaxy, which the Daleks had created themselves using the Apocalypse Element. Having asserted that the Daleks will not be defeated, the Dalek Supreme demanded to know why Susan continued to be defiant.
Susan was too exhausted to think clearly, trying to explain that the slaves needed rest. However, if the slaves rested, the work would stop and that was not acceptable to the Daleks. Frustrated and spent, Susan told the Dalek Supreme to kill her. Instead, it informed her that the slaves would be allowed to rest and that they would speak again. In time, a shift system was implemented for the slaves, allowing work to continue and the slaves to survive. (AUDIO: Invasion of the Daleks)
The Dalek Empire
Susan Mendes and Kalendorf worked together, implementing the shift policy throughout the Dalek Empire. Productivity was increased, countless of people lived, and Susan became known as "the Angel of Mercy". Despite her newfound popularity, leadership, and power, Susan hated herself for giving in to the Daleks' demands. Over time, however, Susan began to change. She began to actually feel proud at what she had accomplished, and one day on Garazone Kalendorf called her on it. The words hurt her and Susan stormed off.
Not soon after, Susan was sent to the Garazone moon, K5000, to put an end to a slave rebellion. A slave named Morebi and his followers had overpowered the Robomen supervisors and were torturing a lone Dalek controller within a burning warehouse. Kalendorf was also present, trying to subdue the rebellion before it had gotten out of hand. Susan tried to desperately convince the Daleks that Kalendorf was on the moon to try and persuade the rebels to surrender. The Daleks reluctantly allowed Susan to do the same. Susan's pleas were fruitless to Morebi as he no longer cared for his life. Defeated, Susan returned to the Daleks, telling them that another man, Wernay, had incited the rebellion, and watched helplessly as the rebel slaves were slaughtered. Kalendorf was appalled by Susan's actions. Susan insisted that what she had done was for the greater good; to protect them and their rebellion. If Morebi and the rebels had surrendered, they would have been interrogated and the full-scale rebellion discovered.
Six months passed, and Susan was sent to the ocean world of Guria. However, the saucer transporting her and Kalendorf never made planet-fall as a battle had broken out. Susan wondered why, if the situation had soured and the Daleks were having difficulties maintaining their control over that planet. Kalendorf found that notion to be interesting; Susan was beginning to act like her Dalek masters. As the Daleks prepared for battle, Susan and Kalendorf were ordered to the command deck to witness the events unfold. As the Earth Alliance fleet descended upon the Dalek forces, decimating them, Susan wondered why the Dalek Supreme wished for her to watch what appeared to be a very sound defeat.
The Dalek Supreme's ulterior motive came to the fore as, for a split second, Susan saw the face of Alby Brook on the screen. The transmission was cut and Susan was hustled off for a communique with the Dalek Supreme. There, Susan's very humanity was dissected as the Dalek Supreme probed away to find out what Alby Brook meant to her and why. The event was forever burned into Susan's mind. (AUDIO: The Human Factor)
Sowing the seeds of destruction
The years passed and Susan continued her duties, avoiding suspicion. Work efficiency was at its peak and the slaves showed no signs of rebellion. The Daleks continued their invasion of the galaxy, the Earth Alliance suffered massive damage and defeat with billions perishing. The situation came to a boiling point when, on the planet Selatron, Susan actually kicked a Dalek from her office, scolding it for daring to talk back to her. She refused to have even a single word with that sector's Supreme Controller, saying that she would only speak with the Dalek Supreme. Despite Kalendorf's warnings, Susan continued to be obstinate toward the Daleks, believing she had power over them. Only when the door was blasted down and Kalendorf's life was threatened did Susan agree to speak with the Supreme Controller, and she realised that the only people she had any semblance of power over were the slaves.
Despite Susan and Kalendorf's best efforts to be discreet with their plans of rebellion, the Supreme Controller had noticed that something was amiss; Kalendorf had been interacting closely with the slaves, though no words were exchanged. Those actions were deemed suspicious and the Supreme Controller demanded an answer. Susan's reply that the slaves "were praying" failed to impress. As a punishment for her obstructive behaviour and for coercing a group of Selatron slaves into removing surveillance devices from her office, Susan was forced to watch the cold-blooded extermination of the workers. The surveillance devices were replaced, and Susan was permitted to speak with the Dalek Supreme as she had so adamantly requested.
Susan, still with a notion that she held some level of power, complained to the Dalek Supreme about how she was treated. The Supreme Dalek listened for a while before harshly reminding her that she answered only to the Daleks and that all Daleks answer to it. Though, to her and especially Kalendorf's surprise, the Dalek Supreme recognised that Susan needed emotional support and demanded to know if Kalendorf's friendship was ineffective. If Kalendorf was causing unneeded stress for Susan, then he would be exterminated. Alby Brook was mentioned again, and the Dalek Supreme suggested that replacing Kalendorf with Alby would make Susan more efficient. Conflicted, Susan declined, finally realising what little power she had. She also knew of the Daleks' suspicions.
Susan was taken to Yaldos where she was to make a great speech. Before that, though, she was to have her last audience with the Dalek Supreme. She reflected on Alby, confessing to herself that she loved him and had always felt his presence with her. Her quiet musing was shattered as she was told by the Dalek Supreme that Earth, the last remaining stronghold of the Earth Alliance, had fallen. The Daleks were victorious. And Susan was permitted at last to speak with the Dalek Emperor, who informed her that her long and arduous journey had finally come to an end. (AUDIO: "Death to the Daleks!")
Susan Mendes' (first) apparent death
Susan was ordered to give a speech that was to be broadcast to the conquered races of the galaxy, telling them that their work efficiency had expedited the Dalek conquest. However, Susan and Kalendorf had ulterior motives for this speech, as they decided that it was time for the revolt that would bring about an end to Dalek rule. On Yaldos, an argument erupted between Susan and Kalendorf on who was to deliver the message, as they knew that such a treacherous act against their Dalek masters would cause them to be exterminated. Kalendorf begged Susan to allow him to deliver the message from a secure location. Susan agreed, and then requested to be alone. Unbeknownst to Kalendorf, Susan requested the help of the Seer of Yaldos where she had her mind psychically linked to the sorceress. (AUDIO: "Death to the Daleks!")
Susan made her speech, telling the slaves what the Daleks wished for her to say. Toward the closing of her speech, Susan announced the one thing that would launch into a galaxy-wide rebellion; "Death to the Daleks!" The crowd repeated those four words like a mantra and Susan's two Dalek guards closed in on her. One was taken down by the rioting slaves, though the second one opened fire, striking Susan down. (AUDIO: Project Infinity)
Susan's body, however, was never found. The Dalek guard had instead stunned Susan and instantly transmatted her body to a ship in orbit. There, Susan was put in cryo-stasis so she could later be mutated and housed within a Dalek casing.
Almost six years since the start of the rebellion and Susan's hibernation, her cryo-pod was salvaged and opened. Susan awoke screaming into a galaxy that was virtually unknown to her. Traumatised and understandably hostile, Susan found herself onboard an Earth Alliance ship being looked after by Mirana, who explained the situation. Susan responded to Mirana's mention of Alby with more reflection on her feelings for him. (AUDIO: Dalek War: Chapter One)
Susan Mendes and the Dalek Emperor
Susan struggled to accept the war she had awoken to, and how she had even woken up at all, as she remembered being shot at point-blank by her Dalek guard. Mirana explained to Susan that the blast was a paralysis beam, and elaborated on how she was also instantly transmatted to an awaiting ship and put in cryo-stasis. Susan was told that although the rebellion was partially successful, it was all merely a distraction, for the Dalek Emperor's real goal was to take control of Project Infinity and summon a superior Dalek force from another universe. Mirana explained that her, Alby, and Kalendorf were captured during the battle for Project Infinity, how they too were put into cryo-stasis to be later transformed into Daleks, and their sudden, unexpected awakening by other strange Daleks.
Susan listened as Mirana continued to explain how these other Daleks from an alternate universe had declared war on the "Enemy Daleks", how their retreat to the Seriphia galaxy was cut off, and how the Dalek Emperor was captured alive— only to enter a catatonic state before it could be interrogated. Mirana explained that during the initial examination, the implants within her brain enabled her to pick up a sort of residual image of the Dalek Emperor's final orders. Before its capture, the Dalek Emperor was to transmit its own consciousness outside of its body, and into Susan's mind.
The Mentor, creator and leader of the strange alternative-universe Daleks, had suspected something was amiss with Susan and had ordered her destruction, along with other humanoids who had been held captive by the Enemy Daleks for a specific length of time. However, as Susan was told, Mirana and Alby had recaptured Susan's cryo-pod, awakening her, and thus bringing her up to date. Susan remained suspicious of Mirana's motives, and even Kalendorf's, for if she did indeed have the Dalek Emperor's consciousness hidden deep within her brain, she was sure that Kalendorf had a plan to take advantage of that. (AUDIO: Dalek War: Chapter One)
The merging of the minds
When alerted to a scout ship on a course to a rendezvous point, Susan suspected the pilot to be Alby and requested to accompany Mirana and a security squad to meet him. When the airlock opened, Alby was there, accompanied by a young woman named Morli, and a squad of Enemy Daleks who demanded that Susan be turned over to them immediately. Taking Mirana's gun, Susan stepped forward, identifying herself despite Alby's pleas, and as the Daleks started exterminating members of the security squad, Susan pointed the gun to her head, ordering a cease-fire. The Daleks wanted to reclaim their Emperor who was locked away in Susan's mind, and thus they needed her alive. They were unsure if Susan would go through with her threat and kill herself, but they were not willing to take such a risk and they backed down. An agreement was reached — if Susan did not kill herself, the crew and her friends on the ship would live. (AUDIO: Dalek War: Chapter One, Dalek War: Chapter Two)
The captured crew was hustled into a landing bay and left with a few Dalek guards. Susan and Alby were reunited, though under stressful circumstances. Susan's spirit had been beaten down by the Daleks, manipulated by hope. She began to wonder if it would be best for her to die, especially since she would take the mind of the Dalek Emperor with her. After a while, the guards began to withdraw and almost immediately, suspicions were raised. Alby took Susan's gun and fired upon the retreating guards, damaging one of the Dalek's motive power and weaponry, the Dalek grinding to a halt in the doorway, preventing the landing bay from being sealed off. The hostages scrambled to escape as Daleks elsewhere in the ship released a drammankin gas into the landing bay, causing 57 people to fall unconscious. Amid the chaos, Susan was able to escape, along with Alby, Mirana, Morli, and another man, Marber, keeping just out of firing range of the pursuing Daleks. Cornered by an escape hatch, Susan attempted to hold off the attack by threatening once again to end her life, allowing Mirana and Marber to flee in an escape pod. Alby, however, refused to leave without Susan, while Morli lagged behind. The Daleks were ordered to fire a paralysis beam at Alby and Morli, and then threaten to kill them unless Susan surrendered her weapon. Reluctantly, Susan threw down her arms, cursing the Daleks.
Restrained, Susan was subjected to a brain analysis disc to scan her mind for any trace of the Dalek Emperor. An extremely painful process, Susan attempted to resist, only to be once again threatened with the possible deaths of Alby and Morli. The disc was activated, and the commanding Dalek demanded to know where the Emperor was. The intensity of the pain was increased as the scan progressed. Susan tried to resist, though was overwhelmed, hearing the Dalek's frantic screeching fill her mind. Soon, it faded off, replaced by another recognisable voice. A thunderous roar emerged from deep within her consciousness, taking complete control over her mind. As a horrified Alby looked on, Susan opened her eyes, announcing to her captors, "I am the Emperor of the Daleks!" (AUDIO: Dalek War: Chapter Two)
After a time, the Dalek Emperor's mind became dormant once more, allowing for Susan's personality to reemerge. The brief awakening was to ensure that the Daleks' mission was not wasted. Susan and Alby were reunited and embraced each other, though it was short-lived, Alby expressing his concerns to Susan. Was there an ulterior motive to the Dalek Emperor putting its mind within Susan? Did it know that since Susan and Alby were in love, and Susan's status as the legendary Angel of Mercy gave her a higher probability of being rescued? Susan soon began to share the same concerns, wondering what good her love was if it only gave the Daleks yet another weapon to use against them. (AUDIO: Dalek War: Chapter Three)
Susan as the Supreme Dalek
Only one Dalek outpost was left, but the few remaining Daleks, desperate to survive, conditioned a single Dalek subject to absorb the full force of the destructive pulse and then isolated it from the rest of the command net so that it would be unable to transmit the pulse any further. However, the mind of the Dalek subject absorbed the entire pulse, including the mind of Susan Mendes, and the two minds merged into one entity that possessed the command codes for the entire Dalek network. Thus, with the death of the Emperor, the Daleks gained a new leader: the Dalek Supreme. (AUDIO: The Demons)
