“SHE IS AN ENEMY OF THE DALEKS!” reminded another Dalek aboard the Saucer.
“SHE MUST BE EXTERMINATED!” urged the Saucer Commander.
“NO!” argued the Dalek Supreme.
“…No?!” asked the Saucer Commander. “She is our greatest enemy! She must be exterminated before she sabotages the operation!”
“The Doctor cannot interfere in the destruction of Irk!” replied the Dalek Supreme. “The Laws of Time she upholds forbid her from interfering in fixed points in time! History indicates that only Tallest Zim survives! All other Irkens are exterminated! Her presence does not change things!”
“But the Doctor will urge the Martians to take Zim away!”
“Then so be it! This will be a victory over the Doctor! Alert Dalek Spearhead! The Doctor is not to be exterminated! Obey! OBEY!!”
“I…obey!” replied the Saucer Commander.
The transport continued on its way rapidly through the capital city of Irk. “Of all the things to spawn from there, why did Skaro have to produce the Daleks?”
“Skaro? Is that their home planet?” asked Sty.
“That’s correct,” replied the Doctor. “The same ancestral home world as Tysar’s people, the Thals.”
“The Daleks are our ancient enemies,” explained Tysar. “We’ve opposed even their humanoid ancestors, the Kaleds.”
“The Thals’ war against the Kaleds went nuclear,” continued the Doctor, “then a lunatic Kaled scientist called Davros mutated his people into the Daleks.”
“Y-You mean there’s…something alive in those things?!” shuddered Ariel.
“Imagine those polyps of Ursula’s had become so warped by hate and that she slapped them into a tank that’s powered by psychokinetic energy from the polyp,” said the Doctor.
“They’re the scourge of the universe,” said Sty, “and we have to resist them!” The Doctor placed her hand on her face in thought.
“…We have to get Zim off this planet,” she said.
“Yes. The Tallest must survive…even though Tallest Tak proved to be better at…sorry. Bit sore about Tak’s loss in the Irken Civil War.”
“What happened to her after the war?” asked the Doctor.
“She was subjected to an Existence Evaluation,” replied Sty. “She failed it somehow and she was killed while her PAK’s data was erased.”
“But the Control Brains weren’t operating at full capacity during the Civil War,” recalled the Doctor.
“That’s why I say the judgement was flawed. But anyone that looks too deeply is reassigned to degrading positions.” The transport then arrived. “Come on!” Everyone left the transport.
“Naturally, we wouldn’t dream of encroaching on Irken Territory,” Tyr’ahnee said to Zim, “but we WOULD prefer to know when you intend to conquer a planet.”
“Of course, the same will apply to you,” said Zim. “That just leaves settling disputes on if we intend to conquer the same planet.”
“…Perhaps a joint conquest and the conquered chooses who will be their tyrant?” suggested Tyr’ahnee.
“That actually sounds fun!” purred Zim. “But how to-?” The Doctor and her group then burst into the room. “What the-?! SECURITY!” shouted Zim. “DO WE NO LONGER HAVE IT?!”
“My Tallest-!” urged Sty.
“SILENCE!” shouted Zim.
“With respect, I need to-!”
“You DARE disobey your Almighty Tallest?! You know, Invader Sty, perhaps I should reassign you to-!”
“THE DALEKS ARE ON IRK!” Sty finally said. Everyone turned to Sty. “…Sizz-Lorr was nothing but a Dalek Duplicate that set up a transmat so its masters could just stroll onto Irk and begin their campaign! It’s likely THEY are the ones behind the destruction of the Empire!”
“LIES!” shouted Zim.
“Truth, I can assure you, Zim,” said the Doctor. “You and the Martians need to evacuate Irk!”
“Doctor, why should I believe an enemy?! You have thwarted me twice over and will NOT get the opportunity to thwart me a-!”
“My Tallest!” called an Irken running communications.
“CAN I GET A WORD IN EDGEWISE?!” shouted Zim as he pointed his gun at the offending Irken.
“Forgive me,” said the Irken, “but our outposts have reported that saucer-shaped ships are entering our space! The design of the ships matches Dalek aesthetics!”
“What?! They wouldn’t dare!” protested Zim.
“They would and they will,” sighed the Doctor.
“My Tallest, the Doctor insists that you evacuate Irk,” said Sty. “Why, I don’t know.”
“I’m not leaving until I get answers!” snarled Zim. “Send a message to the Dalek fleet!”
“The Daleks are sparing us the effort,” replied the Communications Irken. “THEY are contacting US.”
“They can’t resist a gloat,” sighed Tysar.
“Open a channel!” ordered Zim. A screen lowered itself into position and footage of the bridge of a Dalek Saucer appeared with the Dalek Supreme in the center.
“Attention, Irk!” it barked. “This is the Dalek Supreme aboard the Flagship of the Dalek Fleet approaching your world! Resistance is useless! Your time has come!”
“You’ve called to gloat,” called the Doctor. “Make it quick and be done with your mission here!”
“Doctor!” barked the Dalek Supreme.
“Dalek Supreme!” replied the Doctor. “If a member of the Dalek Supreme Council is here, your mission against the Irken Empire must be high on your Emperor’s list of priorities.”
“The new World Smasher class of vessel needs to be tested! You cannot prevent what is coming!”
“So that’s why you’re doing what history says you do, just to test out your new toy!”
“Pah! Inferior technology compared to the Irken Empire’s!” boasted Zim.
“If your superiority were true, you would have withstood our assault!” retorted the Dalek Supreme.
“You cannot destroy the Irken Empire! The Lords commanding those planets will prepare the counter-offensive and reclaim our territory-!”
“Duplicates of those under your command, Zim, have ensured that retaliation will be at its least effective! They served the Daleks in the purpose assigned to them, just as the duplicate of Sizz-Lorr did!”
“You’re lying!” insisted Zim.
“WE are responsible for the destruction of the planets of the Irken Empire! WE are responsible for the massacre of your people and vassals!”
“MORE FILTHY-!”
“They’re not lying, Zim!” interrupted the Doctor. “…The Daleks have been shrinking your empire and history didn’t know until I stumbled across this time to rescue Link, Zelda, and Ariel!”
“Doctor, you are permitted to rescue the victims of the Grouping!” barked the Dalek Supreme. “But you must hurry! The Dalek Death Squad that used the transmat the Sizz-Lorr duplicate built before its self-extermination is 500 rels from the main command center!”
“Doctor, if you value your life, you will assist us against the Daleks!” ordered Zim.
“I…I can’t,” sighed the Doctor.
“You will obey!”
“She cannot!” gloated the Dalek Supreme. “Before this day ends, Irk will be destroyed and your people will ALL be exterminated! The Irken Genocide is a fixed point in time! The Doctor cannot prevent this! All life is to bow down to the Daleks or else be exterminated!”
“Now I know you’re lying-!” snarled Zim.
“It’s not a lie!” called the Doctor. “…Zim, I’m sorry, but you MUST go with Tyr’ahnee and Marvin. The Irken races dies today with you being the only survivor and there’s nothing I can do to prevent it without breaking the laws of time.” Zim stared at the Doctor in horror.
“You…You have to be lying!” he insisted.
“Time Lords cannot lie about the Laws of Time they hold dear,” remarked Tyr’ahnee. Zim…stumbled. His whole empire…destined to fall?
“Now you understand!” barked the Dalek Supreme. “Fight or surrender, it makes no difference! You will be exterminated! Doctor, 400 rels remain!” The call then ended. Zim thought for just a second.
“…Ready all weapons!” he ordered. “We’re at war!”
“Irken Defenses are being raised!” reported a Dalek to the Supreme.
“That does not matter!” replied the Dalek Supreme. “Quantum fluctuations in this time period still indicate Dalek victory!”
“Dalek Spearhead reports that Tallest Consort is approaching!”
“Her survival is unimportant! Exterminate!”
Gaz Membrane had an Irken blaster in her hands and her PAK’s legs were fully extended, making her look like an unholy demon of flesh and steel. No sooner did she round a corner than the Dalek Spearhead arrived. “HALT!” shouted the Battle Commander. Gaz aimed her gun fired right at the eyestalk, taking the dome clean off!
“ALERT! ALERT! SPEARHEAD LEADER DESTROYED! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!!” shrieked the Battle Commander’s subordinate. The Daleks fired, but the legs from Gaz’s PAK kept her out of the line of fire. Another Dalek was shot in the dome, giving the thing a terminal headache. Then…Gaz noticed something.
“Wait, I shot two and you guys were six,” she said. “There’s only three of you left though. Where’s the fourth?”
“EXTERMINATE!” One of the Daleks had engaged its flight mode and snuck behind her, striking her right in the PAK and bathing her in the usual cold cyan light as her skeleton was briefly illuminated. She screamed in agony and her PAK’s legs gave out, causing her to collapse in an undignified heap. “Tallest Consort exterminated!” reported the flying Dalek as it set itself back onto the ground.
“Satisfactory!” replied the new Spearhead Leader. “Proceed! The Doctor is not to be harmed! Exterminate all others!”
“We obey!” replied its subordinates.