Daleks Of Shadows (Novel 2)

Story 4: Masterplan

The TARDIS materialized with a shudder in the swirling vortex of a temporal anomaly. The Doctor, ever the curious soul, stepped out, sonic screwdriver in hand. The desolate landscape before him stretched into an endless grey wasteland, dotted with jagged, obsidian-like structures. An oppressive silence hung heavy in the air.

"Fascinating," the (6th) Doctor murmured, his brow furrowed. "Temporal displacement on a massive scale. But where...?"

His musings were cut short by a chilling rasp. "EXTERMINATE!"

A lone Dalek, its casing an unnatural shade of sickly yellow, emerged from a shadowed crevice. Its single, glowing red eye locked onto the Doctor. This was Dalek Giratina, a creature of legend whispered about in hushed tones even amongst the Dalek ranks.

The Doctor, however, remained undeterred. "A Dalek," he stated, his voice calm. "Unusual coloration. Prototype perhaps?"

Giratina let out a metallic screech, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. "Giratina! Supreme exterminator! You will be... EXTERMINATED!"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Supreme exterminator? That's a rather grandiose title, wouldn't you say?"

Giratina ignored his quip. It unleashed a volley of green energy blasts. The Doctor sidestepped with surprising agility for a man of his age, his sonic screwdriver whirring to life. He deflected the blasts with practiced ease.

"Intriguing," the Doctor muttered, analyzing the deflected energy with his sonic. "Unique power signature. More... chaotic than standard Dalek weaponry."

Giratina surged forward, its extermination ray spitting a continuous stream of green fire. The Doctor weaved through the barrage, taking cover behind a jagged obsidian pillar.

"You are a persistent fleshy thing," Giratina grated. "But persistence will not save you from EXTERMINATION!"

The Doctor, ever the showman, popped his head out from behind the pillar. "Now, now, Giratina. There's no need for all this hostility. Perhaps we can have a chat?"

Giratina screeched in outrage. The concept of conversation with a lesser being was anathema to its very core programming. Yet, a sliver of curiosity flickered within its single red eye.

"Talk?" it rasped, the word alien on its metallic tongue. "What... purpose would that serve?"

The Doctor smiled, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Perhaps to understand each other a little better. After all, how can we solve problems if we don't even try to communicate?"

Giratina hesitated, its internal conflict a war between its ruthless programming and a nascent spark of... something else. The Doctor, sensing the shift, pressed his advantage.

"Look around you, Giratina. This desolate wasteland. Is this truly what you want for the universe? Endless destruction?"

Giratina's eyestalk flickered erratically. The Doctor's words struck a deep chord, resonating with a buried doubt within its twisted programming.

The silence stretched, broken only by the howling wind that scoured the barren landscape. Finally, Giratina spoke, its voice a low growl.

"What... alternative... is there?"

The Doctor's smile widened. "Now that," he said, "is a conversation worth having."

And so, amidst the ruins of a temporal anomaly, an unlikely conversation began. The Doctor, the defender of time and reason, and Dalek Giratina, a creature of pure destruction, found themselves locked in a battle of ideas, the fate of the universe hanging in the balance.