Part 25 (1/2)

'She is against the Daleks,' Janley told it. Turning back to Polly, she removed the gag from the girl's mouth. 'Not afraid, are you? Nothing will happen to you if you're smart and behave.'

Kebble untied Polly's wrists. As she ma.s.saged the chafed skin, he fetched her a gla.s.s of water from the bench.

'Here,' he said gently, 'you'll need this.' Polly accepted the gla.s.s gratefully, and quickly downed the cool, refres.h.i.+ng water. Kebble took the gla.s.s back and refilled it. 'Don't be frightened,' he told her as she sipped at this drink.

'Of the Daleks?' Polly asked, eyeing the one still watching her. 'Of course I am, and so should you be.'

Janley laughed with scorn. 'The Daleks are going to help us,' she said.

'Us being the rebels, I suppose?' While they were being talkative, Polly intended to milk them for whatever information she could get. Every little bit would help her.

Janley shrugged. 'If you like to call us that.'

Polly shook her head. 'So you're getting ready to take over, is that it?'

'With the Daleks' help,' Kebble said eagerly. 'We're almost ready to make our move.'

'And when you've won,' Polly replied, 'the Daleks just go back to being servants again? You're bigger fools than I thought.'

'We are your servants,' the Dalek insisted, obviously trying to rea.s.sure Janley and Kebble.

'When it suits you,' Polly snapped. She watched the faces or her fellow humans for any sign of a reaction to her words. Kebble looked a trifle uncertain, but Janley's face possessed the certainty of fanaticism.

'You'll see,' she promised Polly.

'What will you do with the girl?' the Dalek asked. 'You do not aim to harm her?'

'Of course not,' Kebble replied. 'We just need to keep her out of the way for a while'

'There is s.p.a.ce within our capsule,' the Dalek suggested.

'She could be detained there without risk of discovery.'

Janley smiled. 'I was hoping you'd say that.'

'In,' Kebble told Polly, giving her a gentle push in the direction of the capsule. To Janley, he said: 'You want me to stay with her?'

'Yes. You may have to help Valmar. He'll be along soon to finish off the work on the new power cable for the Daleks.'

The Dalek eye-stick moved back to survey her again.

'When will the work be completed?' It ignored Kebble and Polly as they entered the capsule. The important thing to it was clearly the power supply the Daleks needed.

Janley didn't answer directly. 'What is this cable you Daleks are laying anyway?'

The Dalek evaluated its reply. It would not hurt to be truthful with this human: she believed that they were helping her. 'Daleks operate on static electricity,' it explained.

'Static?' The scientist in Janley was intrigued. 'Is that posible?'

'Yes. To create the needed static charge, the Daleks need a completed cable circuit.'

'I see,' Janley said, intrigued. 'You are converting the electricity we supply you with into a form that you can use.'

'That is correct,' the Dalek answered. 'When will the human being complete the work'?'

'He'll be here shortly,' Janley told it. 'It's much easier now. There is no one to interfere with our plans.'

The Dalek hesitated very briefly. 'No,' it agreed. 'We proceed as we antic.i.p.ated. Soon we shall have the power we require.' Then it focused on Janley again. 'Then we can help you to take control of the other humans.'

'Yes,' Janley agreed, a smile playing on her lips. 'Then I I shall have the power that shall have the power that I I require.' She ran her hand along the dome of the Dalek. 'This is such an excellent arrangement for us both.' require.' She ran her hand along the dome of the Dalek. 'This is such an excellent arrangement for us both.'

The Dalek returned to its work. 'Yes,' it grated. 'Soon the need for secrecy in our planning will be over.' As it had expected, Janley a.s.sumed that it was referring to both the Daleks and the rebels and not simply to the Daleks.

23.

I Can't Stop Them The Doctor had eventually discovered what he was looking for: a small gla.s.s stirring rod. Naturally, it was in the last pocket he had tried. Now he was busily stuffing everything back into his pockets that he had earlier removed. Quinn gave a baffled sigh of irritation.

'What are you doing?' he demanded. He was finding the Examiner's behaviour to be more and more peculiar.

'Working on an escape,' the Doctor replied. He picked up a small square of gla.s.s he'd found in another pocket and started to tap it with the gla.s.s rod. It emitted a series of chimes.

'Do you have to do that?' Quinn asked, annoyed.

'I wonder how they're converting the power,' the Doctor mused. He struck the gla.s.s several more times.

'What are you talking about now?' Quinn wished the strange little man could keep his mind centred on a single subject at a time. These dislocations in the conversation were beginning to be quite irritating.

'The Daleks are powered by static electricity,' the Doctor explained, looking about the small cell with an absorbed expression on his face. 'To them it's like the blood in your veins, a constant life-stream.'

'That's nonsense,' Quinn said firmly. He had a background in engineering. 'Static isn't workable.'

'It is to the Daleks,' the Doctor a.s.sured him. 'Their minds and their science don't operate along the same lines as a human's. They've conquered static, just as they've conquered anti-magnetics'

'Anti-magnetics?' Quinn shook his head. 'I can't take any more of this nonsense. You're not making any sense'

'I just can't seem to hit the right note,' the Doctor complained, tapping the gla.s.s again. Then his eyes lit up.

'Aha!' He jumped to his feet and dashed over to the small table his cell was provided with. On it was a tall drinking gla.s.s and a pitcher that was about a third full of water. The Doctor emptied the pitcher into the gla.s.s, which was now just over half full. Using his rod, he tapped the gla.s.s. A clear note rang out. Thoughtfully, the Doctor took a sip, then hit the gla.s.s again. Another note sounded, slightly lower in pitch.