The Dalek Project (comic story): Difference between revisions

Back in France, 1917, the Doctor happened upon Hellcombe Hall, the residence of Lord and Lady Hellcombe. There, he encountered a lone servant, [[Mary Carter]], and - unusually enough - a British soldier, [[Ted Anderson]], who just a few moments before had been fighting in the trenches in North-Eastern France. The Doctor learns from Mary that there have been strange goings-on in Hellcombe Hall of late: Many of the locked rooms have had unusual noises coming from behind their doors: Gunfire, screaming, machinery, and even what sounds like a giant heartbeat. Investigating further, the Doctor finds several things: A room full of gigantic crates, and a nervous, balding man behind a desk who tells him to "tell them the funding's in hand" for "the project." He further tells the Doctor that he is grateful that they sent a human this time rather than "one of those things." Thoroughly mystified, the Doctor is about to ask the man to clarify, but is cut off by a gunshot from a nearby room. Rushing in, he discovers that Corporal Anderson had found and shot a rat. The Doctor, however, discovers that the rat is more than it seems: Its eyes are outfitted with high-tech cameras. Opening one final door, the Doctor and Ted are shocked to find themselves in Lord Hellcombe's weapons factory. Inside the factory, the two discover a gathering of British military leaders, as well as Lord Hellcombe himself and his son, Ralph. Lord Hellcombe announces to his guests that he is about to reveal a machine that will bring an end to the endless bloodshed the Great War has wrought, and - much to the Doctor's surprise - unveils what appears to be a Dalek made with turn-of-the-century technology. The [[Proto-Dalek]] notices and identifies the Doctor, and attempts to gun him down with its machine gun. The Doctor and Ted barely escape, only to discover that the gigantic crates the Doctor had found earlier contained several real Daleks. Ted is paralyzed and captured by one of the Daleks. Meanwhile, Lord Hellcombe, who up till this point had been told that the one Dalek he had worked with was the last of its race, is angered to find that it had lied to him. The Daleks capture him as well.  

When the Doctor finally finds Ted and Hellcombe held captive in the Dalek ship, he learns the reason why Lord Hellcombe had collaborated with the Daleks: The Dalek he believed to be the last of its race had recovered Hellcombe's son, Ralph, after he was shot down, and used the last of its failing technology to save him. The Doctor, however, realises the truth: The Daleks shot Ralph down, and had reconstructed him in a robotic body to manipulate Hellcombe. The Doctor discovers a Dalek doing the same thing to a German scientist whose son was killed in Russia, so he wants revenge. The Doctor thinks the Daleks crashed in a time-storm. The Daleks reveal they have been travelling through history to gain knowledge of human strategy. They landed there in 1908 and plan to finally say how humans will react toward certain death. The British Daleks and German Daleks are sent toward each other but turn on the humans. The Daleks are ordered to exterminate all the soldiers to eradicate all evidence of Dalek activity. The soldiers order a shell bombardment. The Doctor changes the robot Daleks so they recognise Daleks as enemies. Lord Hellcombe dies fighting the Daleks. Ralph crashes a plane into the Dalek saucer, bringing it down. The bombardment destroys the Daleks but the Doctor and Anderson escape through one of the Dalek portals, closing it before the Daleks pursuing them can get through. The Doctor leaves.