The Ambush

Dear Diary,

Chesterton soon worked out how to operate the machine. Our cover story, however, did not impress the group of Daleks which stopped us, and we were forced to make a run for it. We made it into a side room and managed to lock the door. Susan located a lift, but unfortunately Chesterton could not exit the machine and the Daleks magnetised the floor so he could not move. We tried long in vain to extricate him, all the while the Daleks cutting through the steel door. Finally, we had to leave him behind, promising to send the lift back for him if he should escape his metal coffin. And thankfully he was able to join us before the Daleks burned through the door.

From our vantage point at the top of the city, we could see that the Thals were walking into an ambush. The Daleks had apparently delivered Susan’s note and were using it to draw them to their doom. We tried to open the door to escape and warn them, but the Daleks had magnetised the door. The party who had burned through the door below were also then approaching in the lift, however, while I worked at de-magnetising the door, the others pushed a large machine into the shaft to delay our pursuers.

I wanted to escape to the ship, however Susan insisted we warn the Thals. Again, always involving ourselves in other’s affairs. We managed to get off a small warning, but we were unfortunately too late to save the Thal leader, Temmosis, who died at the hands of these ruthless beings.

We accompanied the Thals to their camp, where a lovely young girl showed me the fascinating history of this planet. It is called Skaro, and is the twelfth planet of this system. They have records dating back half a million years. Prior to the war, the Daleks had been a race called the Dals, who were the scientists and thinkers of the planet, while the Thals were something of a warrior caste, I gather. The Thals had mutated at first, but went through a cycle of mutation coming full circle relatively unscathed. The Daleks, it seemed, built their machines to house them and have not completed the cycle. They have become xenophobes, despising all life other than their own.

The Thals, meanwhile, have become somewhat pacifist.  Chesterton urged them to mount an offensive against the Daleks, but they will not. He insisted we stay to help them. I explained that in addition to the fabulous history the young lady provided, she also had plans of several other star systems. Using those, I would be able to map our current position and thus pilot the TARDIS away. I finally convinced him and turned to return to the TARDIS when Chesterton remembered: The Daleks took the fluid link from him.

We shall have to go back.

Based upon the teleplay by Terry Nation, first broadcast on BBC 11th January, 1964