Free Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks by Trevor Baxendale Page B

waste of time,' muttered Cuttin' Edge, lowering his blaster.
     
'Wait,' breathed the Doctor quietly. 'Look...'
     
He was pointing at the centre of the beast. In among the dangling appendages and wires still connecting the flesh to the armoured machine, there was an eye.
     
And it was opening.
     

NINE
The eye was yellow and bloodshot with a single black pupil.
     
No one said a word. The cargo chamber felt hot and claustrophobic now, more like a prison cell than a ship's hold. There was a genuine feeling that they were all witnessing something extraordinary.
     
The eye twitched, as if gaining some kind of focus, and began to move slightly in its socket.
     
'Dude,' said Cuttin' Edge, 'you are one ugly critter.'
     
'Be quiet,' said the Doctor sharply. 'I don't suppose you're the number one poster boy on Skaro yourself.'
     
'No, I guess that would be you,' said Cuttin' Edge.
     
'Only if they're "wanted" posters.'
     
'Shut up, the pair of you,' said Bowman. He stepped forward and looked down at the mutant. 'Can you hear me?'
     
There was a faint, gurgling reply. Bizarrely, the lights on the Dalek's dome flashed weakly.
     
'It's still connected,' Scrum realised, peering more closely at the nest of wires and tubes leading from the mutant's quivering flesh into the interior of the Dalek.
     
'Get back!' cried the Doctor, pulling Scrum to one side. As he moved, the black suction cup on the end of the Dalek's immobilised arm suddenly flexed as if trying to grab hold of Scrum's head.
     
'Whoa!' Cuttin' Edge cocked his blaster and aimed it at the creature's blinking eye. 'Steady on there, boy.'
     
The sucker continued to grasp at thin air. The arm juddered in the vice-like grip of the cargo loader, and the Dalek let out a long, low groan of despair.
     
'You got it, dude,' said Cuttin' Edge. 'We got you by the—'
     
'That's enough,' growled Bowman. He turned back to the Dalek. 'You're on board the Wayfarer . I'm Captain Jon Bowman and this is my crew. You're our prisoner.'
     
'I think it's worked that part out,' said the Doctor.
     
'You stay out of this,' warned Bowman.
     
'I can't.'
     
'You can and you will. If you say another word, I'll have Cuttin' Edge throw you out. Got it?'
     
Cuttin' Edge gave the Doctor a stony look to reinforce the promise.
     
'You were one of a squad of Daleks on the planet Hurala,' Bowman continued, addressing the dangling mutant. 'What were you doing there?'
     
'It won't answer,' said the Doctor.
     
'Cuttin' Edge,' said Bowman.
     
The Doctor held his hands up as Cuttin' Edge started towards him. 'All right, all right! I won't say another word – and nor will the Dalek.'
     
Bowman smiled thinly.
     
'We'll see. Hey. Dalek. I know you can hear me. And I know you can understand me.' Bowman lowered himself to his haunches, so that he was eye-level with his prisoner. 'Now we're all humanoids here and we can be reasonable. It's your choice. Talk to us, tell us what we want to know, and things will be easier for you. If you don't cooperate – well, let's just say it won't be so easy. I don't want things getting ugly in here, but if they do... then so be it.'
     
The Dalek's single eye glared at Bowman with a fierce, palpable hatred. But it said nothing.
     
'That your final answer?'
     
The eye closed.
     
'Right,' said Bowman, standing up. 'You got that equipment I asked for, Scrum?'
     
Scrum wheeled a small instrument trolley forward. Laid across the tray were a number of tools.
     
'You can't be serious,' said the Doctor.
     
'You know I am,' said Bowman bleakly.
     
'I can't allow this.'
     
Bowman raised an eyebrow. 'You're not in charge around here, Doctor. I am. I want some answers from this ugly son of a bitch and I'm going to get them – by whatever means necessary.'
     
'You're better than this, Bowman!' the Doctor argued fiercely. 'You're a human being! Don't do this. Stand up for what you believe in.'
     
'I'm standing up for Stella. I'm standing up for the people of Auros.