10. Boco and Hilda
SCENE #108 – INT – YENTIAS HUB, DWAXI FLAGSHIP – 26TH CENTURY – EVENING
Aboard the Dwaxi flagship on Yondamus IV, doors slide open harshly as Nyssa and Nina are pushed into a large room by the Blockade. Nyssa and Nina fall to the ground once they’ve been pushed in, and the Blockade sneers at them mockingly.
BLOCKADE
(laughs; yells) HA, HA, HA, HA! THINK YOU COULD ESCAPE THE DWAXI, DID YOU? THINK YOU COULD CALL FOR HELP, DID YOU? REMEMBER WHAT I SAID GIRLS!” (fiercely) “YOU HAVE RIGHTS! YOU GET HELP FROM NO-ONE!
NYSSA
(appalled) Stop being so vile!
BLOCKADE
(yells) IT’S WHAT YOU DESERVE! NOW STAY HERE; SHUT UP AND DON’T COMPLAIN! BECAUSE WE WON’T LISTEN!
The Blockade stomps out of the room. The doors slide shut harshly and lock with Nyssa and Nina inside the room. Nyssa, still on the floor, goes to check on Nina.
NINA
(groans) “My back.”
NYSSA
“Are you in great pain, Nina?”
NINA
(sarcastically) “No! Not really! I’m okay! I’ve had my arm twisted round and I’m in the midst of thugs! What’s worst, the kid I knew who kept coming to my sick bay because he was sick has gone bad!”
NYSSA
(sympathetically) “I’m so sorry, Nina. These Dwaxi are no better than the Daleks! So ruthless and callous!”
NINA
(despairingly) “Well now there’s no hope for us! We had no luck with communicating with the Moonraker and now we’re done for.”
NYSSA
(reassuringly) “Nina, there’s always hope!”
NINA
(angrily) “Yeah. Where has that hope led us then? Back with these thugs! We’re going to get dissected or brainwashed soon like Jack! What’s the blinking point of holding on?”
NYSSA
(insistently) “It’s better to keep on hoping than not at all. Things are only bad now because we’re in the midst of terrible events. But that doesn’t mean we stop giving up!”
Moment of silence, as the tension between Nyssa and Nina dies down.
NYSSA
“Now. They said something about ‘processing’ us. So we must find out what they’re up to before we become like them and as you said what they did to Jack.”
NINA
“Nyssa, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that. You’re right! There’s always hope. I didn’t mean what I said.”
NYSSA
“I know. I’m sorry we got into this. But we’ll find a way out, you’ll see.”
NINA
“It’s just…those Dwaxi. They really mean what they say. I just can’t believe we’d meet some really nasty pieces of work.” (Pause) “I’m scared, Nyssa. And the way those Dwaxi treat us…they scare me to death!”
NYSSA
“Yes. I wouldn’t dare to deny that I’m a little scared too. But it’s better to be scared than not be at all.”
NINA
(puzzled) “What do you mean?”
NYSSA
“I find…the Doctor tells me this…that whenever I face a situation that terrifies me, I have to keep calm and not lose my grip. Sometimes it’s hard to do. But in the end my fear has become my strength.”
NINA
“So it’s okay to be scared because you can brave.”
NYSSA
“Well it’s not as simple as that. Sometimes it takes courage to brave through the dangers. But if you’re determined to get to something because you have something to hold onto, then you brave your fears.”
NINA
(sighs) “Thanks, Nyssa. I don’t really find it helpful at the moment. But thanks anyway.”
Moment of silence.
NYSSA
“Come on. Let’s see if we can find a way out of here.”
NINA
Right. Perhaps these doors might be a good starting point.
NYSSA
That’s the spirit.
Nyssa and Nina get to their feet and goes to the doors of the room. They feel around the hinges of the doors to find any weak points.
NINA
I have a mother and father back on Earth, Nyssa. They’re expecting me for Guy Fawkes Night. At least they’re both something to hold on to. (Pause) Do you have any family, Nyssa?
NYSSA
(sadly) I used to…once. But not anymore.
NINA
Oh, I’m sorry. (Pause) Left you, did they?
NYSSA
(gradually; solemnly) No, they died!
NINA
Oh.
NYSSA
(gradually) “But the Doctor and Billy are the two people I have left. At least I have them to hold on to.”
Both Nyssa and Nina continue searching around the doors to find a way to escape.
SCENE #109 – INT – BOCO’S HUT, YONDAMUS IV – 26TH CENTURY – EVENING
Meanwhile, Billy slowly wakes up to find he is no longer in the sandstorm but in some small hut. A small fire is being churned and the ferocious wind echoes from outside. As Billy wakes up, a man and a woman talk to each other nearby from a distance. They are Boco and Hilda H.
HILDA
“What do you think I should give him then? Mushroom soup or potato skins?”
BOCO
“Hey! I’d go easy on the soup, Hilda. The boy needs water if he’s dehydrated!”
HILDA
“I’ll just give him a little bowl then. Just in case.”
Billy slowly gets to his feet and follows where the voices of the man and woman are coming from.
BOCO
“You wouldn’t believe it! He was just lying there in the storm. Saw him. Coming out of the shuttle. Then collapsed to the ground!”
HILDA
“Poor boy. He must have had a crash-landing. Its wonder you brought him back alive.”
BOCO
“That’s the whole point. Maybe we should kill him. To stop the suffering.”
HILDA
(appalled) “Boco H!”
BOCO
“Might not be bad idea though. Save him going through all that groaning and screaming.”
HILDA
“If you wanted him dead, you should have left well alone. You can’t kill him now.”
Billy enters the room where Boco and Hilda are.
BILLY
(interjects) “Uh…excuse me?”
Boco grabs a spear-like weapon and trains it instantly on Billy. Hilda yelps whilst Billy is startled. Boco eventually calms down.
BOCO
“Oh! Beg my pardon, young man. Didn’t expect you to be awake so soon.”
HILDA
“He’s always ready for action. Never stopped to ask for caution.”
BOCO
“Hey! It’s not easy being a hitchhiker, is it?”
HILDA
(to Billy) “Come and sit by the warm fire, darling. You’ll feel warmer there.”
BILLY
(nervously) “Thank you.”
Hilda escorts Billy to a seat in the room. He sits beside the fire where he keeps himself warm.
BOCO
“There’s this story of a group of fire-fighters who went to a restaurant in L.A. But then they lost their money and the only way they had to get back home was through a ‘des-sert’!”
HILDA
“How terrible!”
BOCO
“Yeah. But at least it kept their stomachs full.”
Moment of silence. Boco and Hilda then laugh out loud.
HILDA
(laughs) “That’s got to be the worst joke you’ve ever made, Boco H!”
BOCO
(laughs) “Yeah. But it still works. I mean I laugh. You laugh.” (to Billy) “Don’t you think its funny, boy?”
BILLY
(laughs; nervously) “Yes. Very funny. Ha, ha.”
HILDA
(to Billy) “He always does this whenever he’s hungry. And speaking of which, would you like some soup and bread? I’ve got it cooking you want some.”
BILLY
“Oh that would be lovely, Mrs…”
HILDA
“Hilda. My name’s Hilda H.”
BOCO
“And I’m the bad half. Boco H.”
Billy shakes hands with Boco and Hilda.
BILLY
“How do you do Mr. and Mrs. H.”
Hilda goes off to fetch the soup, whilst Boco talks to Billy.
BOCO
“And who might you be, man? Brave of you to get out of the shuttle while you could. With a shuttle like that I thought you’d never get out.”
BILLY
“Yes. What about the shuttle? Are you taking care of it!”
BOCO
“Oh, it’s gone.”
BILLY
“Gone?”
HILDA
“Gone.”
BOCO
“Lost underneath all that sand. It’s a good thing you got out just in time.”
BILLY
“I see.” (Pause; realises) “Sorry, I’m Billy. Billy Walker.”
BOCO
“Ah. Nice to meet you, Billy.”
BILLY
“Thank you.”
BOCO
“Well. You’ve met the wife and me. But you haven’t met the children.”
Boco grabs a remote control and presses a button onto it. A sealed compartment in the room slowly opens outwards. Intrigued, Billy gets up and goes over to it to see what’s inside. Billy gasps with delight at what he sees.
HILDA
“They’re both of ours. Tracy and Dermot.”
BILLY
(awed) “Aww! They’re lovely.”
A baby gurgles, as Billy then leans in to smooth one of the babies inside.
BILLY
(to baby) “Hello.”
Billy giggles as he gently plays with their babies in their cot.
BILLY
(to Boco) “They really are lovely, sir.”
BOCO
“The finest of H’s. And please! Just call me Boco.”
Hilda returns with a bowl of soup and a plate of bread and places it on the table.
HILDA
“And just call me Hilda, Billy. Your soup is ready, dear.”
BILLY
“Oh, thank you.”
Billy returns to sit at the table with the soup and bread waiting for him.
BILLY
(gradually) “How old are they? Your children, I mean?”
HILDA
“Both of them are twins. Eighteen months old, they are.”
BOCO
“Had them born on the little peninsula of Tamos. Blessed by the President himself.”
BILLY
“So you live here then? On this planet?”
HILDA
“For two years. Hard to imagine, isn’t it?”
BILLY
(puzzled) “But…how come you live here? I thought it was…the Yondamons…those aliens with oddly-coloured blood that live here.”
BOCO
“Oh they did live here. Once.”
HILDA
“And then they were gone. And so was this planet.”
BOCO
There used to be great forests of Micros Pli, Qavin and Tamos for the Yondamon ladies to dance in. But all that was gone since a day ago.
BILLY
Lush forests and flourishing vegetation?
HILDA
We heard the sound of huge spaceships coming over our heads. Then it started to happen. The trees began to decay. All the lovely flowers and plant-life seemed to wither. (sobs) Nothing left of this lovely planet.
BOCO
(reassuringly; to Hilda) Ah, there, there, my darling. You’re safe now.
BILLY
How did you survive?
BOCO
This thing you’re in now, used to be a bunker. Well, sort of a bunker at times whenever the planet got into trouble. Not that it ever did, mind you. But me, my wife and the kids managed to get in here just in the nick of time.
Moment of silence, as Billy is about to take the soup and bread from the table and eat it.
BOCO
“You wouldn’t happen to know a pet of mine called Sandy, would you?”
BILLY
“Sorry?”
BOCO
“Na, I thought not.”
BILLY
(gradually) “I need to find someone.”
HILDA
“Is that why you were here? Why you crash-landed?”
BILLY
“Yes. I’m trying to look for my friend Nyssa. She’s on this planet with some ruffians called the Dwaxi.”
HILDA
“Dwaxi? What are they?”
BILLY
(anxiously) “I can’t explain at the moment. I must go and find her.”
Billy puts his soup and bread back on the table and gets up to go to the door and leave. Boco stops him.
BOCO
“Uh where do you think you’re going?”
BILLY
“I’ve got to find my friend.”
Billy opens the door, letting he fresh wind and sand in. Boco comes over and shuts the door quickly.
BOCO
“You can’t go out in a sandstorm. Wait till it passes.”
HILDA
(encouragingly) “Come and sit down. Finish this lovely soup and bread you were having. It’ll warm you up.”
BILLY
“Thanks, but I’ve got to [go out there and find]…”
BOCO
(insistently) “We wait until the storm ends. Nobody goes out on a sand-storm like this. My grandmother did and she got dead through one.”
HILDA
“We’ll go and find your friend together, Billy.”
BILLY
(hesitant; reluctantly) “Alright.”
Billy makes his way back to the table, with the soup and bread waiting for him. Boco pats Billy on the back.
BOCO
“Anyway! We’ve got a Sandy to catch! So if you help us find Sandy, we’ll help you find your friend. How does that sound?”
BILLY
“Yeah, alright. That’s okay. with me.”
BOCO
“Splendid.”
Billy sits down in his chair, before Hilda passes the soup and bread to him from the table.
HILDA
(gently) Here you are, dear. Enjoy that while it’s hot.
Billy takes the soup from Hilda, and continues to eat with the bread to dip it in.
SCENE #110 – EXT – YONDAMUS SPACE – 26TH CENTURY – N/A
Meanwhile, the Dalek Mothership and the Moonraker arrive at their destination. Both ships slow to impulse speed, as they come into orbit above Yondamus Prime.
SCENE #111 – INT – DALEK MOTHERSHIP – 26TH CENTURY – EVENING
On the command deck of the Dalek Mothership, the Doctor; Elaine and Togal see Yondamus Prime on the viewscreen.
ELAINE
(dryly) So, this is Yondamus Prime then?
TOGAL
“Yes! As beautiful and lush a home of mine as I remember.”
DOCTOR
“Not like Yondamus Four as it is now. Let’s just hope Ambassador, your home won’t be scavenged in the same way.”
TOGAL
I didn’t choose this decision to join the Daleks lightly, Doctor.
DOCTOR
Your decision to join the Daleks is hard to understand, Togal. The Daleks are one of the most hated and feared species in the universe. You and your people should be all too aware of that to avoid making an alliance.
TOGAL
And as I said before, Doctor. The Yondamus Empire is dying. We need the Daleks to give us the power we need.
DOCTOR
And just what are the Daleks getting out if? Hmm? Have you ever considered that, Ambassador?
Hesitant, Togal doesn’t answer the Doctor’s question. He then addresses the Supreme Dalek.
TOGAL
(to Supreme Dalek) I wish to see your Emperor now, Supreme Dalek! It is vital that our deal should be completed…
SUPREME DALEK
YOU WILL NOT MOVE FROM YOUR POSITION, AMBASSADOR TOGAL! YOU WILL REMAIN SILENT AND STAY WHERE YOU ARE!
TOGAL
Why? We’ve arrived at Yondamus Prime. I should make contact with my people and with the Yond Elders…
SUPREME DALEK
DO NOT INTERFERE WITH DALEK OPERATIONS. YOU WILL BE SILENT OR BE EXTERMINATED!
TOGAL
I will not be treated in this way…
SUPREME DALEK
OBEY! OBEY! OBEY!
TOGAL
(sighs; reluctantly) Very well.
Togal rejoins the Doctor and Elaine, whilst the Supreme Dalek addresses one of the Dalek technicians.
SUPREME DALEK
HAS THE CREW OF THE EARTH SHIP BEEN SENT DOWN TO THE PLANET?
DALEK TECHNICAN
YES. WORKFORCE UNITS SUPERVISING LABOUR CAMPS HAVE DESIGNATED CREW MEMBERS OF MOONRAKER TO LABOUR FORCE TWO.
SUPREME DALEK
EXCELLENT! (to Agent Dalek) TAKE THESE PRISONERS TO THE EMPEROR AT ONCE! THEY WILL BE PUT TO THEIR USE!
AGENT DALEK
I OBEY!
The Supreme Dalek then addresses the Doctor; Elaine and Ambassador Togal.
SUPREME DALEK
YOU WILL BE FOLLOW THIS DALEK WITHOUT QUESTION. HE WILL TAKE YOU TO TRANSPORTER PAD WHERE HE WILL ESCORT YOU TO THE DALEK EMPEROR!
TOGAL
About time.
AGENT DALEK
YOU WILL FOLLOW ME! FOLLOW! FOLLOW! FOLLOW! FOLLOW!
Without a choice, the Doctor; Elaine and Togal follow the Agent Dalek that escorts them to the transporter pad.
ELAINE
“Doctor? Kevin; Colin; Gavin and the others…”
DOCTOR
(interjects) “I’m sorry, Elaine. There’s nothing I can do for them at the moment. Let’s just hope the Dalek Emperor will finish what he wants to do with us as soon as possible and then…”
ELAINE
“And then?”
DOCTOR
(thinks) “…Well I’ll think of something.”
ELAINE
“I wonder what they want the Yondamon Ambassador for. Or more to the point what do they want with you?”
DOCTOR
“I don’t know. But whatever it is, I’m sure I have no choice in the matter.”
With the Agent Dalek escorting them, the Doctor; Elaine and Togal leave the command deck of the Dalek Mothership.
SCENE #112 – INT – YENTIAS HUB, DWAXI FLAGSHIP – 26TH CENTURY – EVENING
On Yondamus IV, Nyssa and Nina are still inside the Dwaxi flagship. Nyssa tries to open the door of the Yentias Hub room that she and Nyssa are trapped in. Nyssa accesses the control panel to enter a sequence of numbers into the keypad to open the door. Nyssa however gets negative bleeps in response. Nyssa tries again. Same response.
NYSSA
(sighs) “The codes to unlock this door are so complex! I can’t understand this technology. It’s too advanced.”
Nyssa tries to enter another sequence of numbers into the keypad, but she’s denied access again with a negative bleep in response. Nyssa smacks her hand at the door, annoyed.
NYSSA
(annoyed) “No good.”
NINA
(absorbed) “Nyssa?” (Pause) “These cubicles here. Like huge bunk beds except standing upright. They remind me of those experiments done on Frankenstein.”
Nyssa goes to join Nina and see these cubicles for herself.
NYSSA
(gradually) “They do seem morbid, yes. I wonder what they’re for.”
NINA
“More to the point what’s this whole room for? There’s so many utensils and equipment here that’s big enough for my sick bay.”
Nyssa and Nina examine the cubicles closely. They look inside to see its contents.
NYSSA
“This one cubicle must be big enough to hold one Dwaxi trooper.”
NINA
“It’s horrible. The interior of this thing’s got needles; straps and clamps. They’ve even got a hair-dryer on top.”
NYSSA
“I think that must be the device for brainwashing the victim.”
NINA
“Brainwashing? Could this be what happened to Jack?”
NYSSA
“It’s possible.”
Nyssa then examines a section of the interior of the cubicle that intrigues her.
NYSSA
“These must be the straps for the arms to go in.” (Pause) “But this. This section that’s for the neck. It connects to a section for the left arm. It’s a containment valve to inject something into its victim.”
NINA
“Inject? Inject what?”
NYSSA
“You’re a doctor, Nina. You tell me.”
Nina ponders on this as she goes away from the cubicle to look around the room. She then spots something and picks up a small tube with liquid inside it from a set of tubes on a table close by. She returns to rejoin Nyssa, taking the small tube of liquid with her.
NINA
“Could this small tube of liquid be what goes into that containment valve?”
Nyssa takes the small tube from Nina and examines it herself.
NYSSA
“Where did you find this?”
NINA
“Over there. On the table next to us. There are more tubes of this liquid like that.”
Both Nyssa and Nina go to the table and see the set of liquid tubes before them. They pick one up each from the table to examine them closely.
NINA
(intrigued) “This…yellow liquid that’s inside these things. What is it for?”
NYSSA
“It looks like some kind of drug.”
NINA
“Drug? What, these Dwaxi use drugs?”
NYSSA
“Think about it, Nina. The Dwaxi have heightened intolerance levels. The strength of these troopers only increases when they get belligerent and aggressive.”
NINA
(wryly) “Yeah. Haven’t I noticed that before?”
NYSSA
“Well perhaps this is what gives them that strength and intolerance. Maybe that’s why they’re so cruel. Because of the effect of this drug.”
NINA
(realises) “What you mean…these tubes of liquid are what make the Dwaxi tick?”
Before Nyssa can answer Nina, the hub doors suddenly slide open harshly. Seeing the doors open, Nyssa and Nina anticipate who’s going to come into the room.
NINA
“Hey! The doors are open! Could it be the Dwaxi coming in?”
NYSSA
“Perhaps. But I thought they would have come in stomping and ordering us about by now.”
NINA
“So why haven’t they come in then?”
Just then, crawling around the side of a door, is the furry gorilla-like Globtol Ferroca creature that Nyssa and Nina encountered earlier. It growls and grunts as it enters and gnashes away at his huge fangs.
NINA
(thrilled) “Hey! It’s big bear again!”
NYSSA
“The Globtol Ferroca! Thank goodness.”
NINA
“But hang on? They said they killed it! They said that they gave it a shot-full.”
NYSSA
“Maybe that’s what they want us to believe. Come on!”
Nyssa and Nina go over to meet the Globtol. The Globtol groans as it is in pain and collapses to the floor. Nyssa and Nina kneel down to tend to it.
NINA
(concerned) “Hey! Are you alright?”
NYSSA
“It’s bleeding! Look! There’s a trail of blood next to where he came in.”
NINA
“Perhaps that’s where it got attacked by those Dwaxi troopers.”
NYSSA
“Come on. We must help him up.”
Nyssa and Nina go to each side of the Globtol and begin to help it up. The Globtol helps to take the pressure off Nyssa and Nina as it tries to stand on its feet. Nyssa and Nina stand back to find that the Globtol is okay.
NINA
(encouragingly) “That’s it! Good boy! You’ve still got some strength left in you!”
NYSSA
“Come on, Nina! We must find a way out of here.”
The Globtol grunts to Nyssa and Nina, indicating to where they should go.
NINA
“He’s pointing, Nyssa. I think he wants us to go that way in the direction it came from! Do you think we should?”
NYSSA
“How else did he get in here? Let’s try and go back the way he came. It might be a safe route. Come on!”
The Globtol leads the way, as Nyssa and Nina follow and leave the Yentias hub behind them. They head off down the corridor.
SCENE #113 – EXT – DWAXI FLAGSHIP – 26TH CENTURY – EVENING
A while later, Nyssa; Nina and the Globtol Ferroca run out onto the landing ramp of the Dwaxi flagship. They stop for a moment to see whether they can escape easily.
NINA
(cheers; triumphantly) “Yes! We’re out in the open air! Good thing we followed gorilla-boy’s directions.”
NYSSA
(uncertain) “There’s something not right about this.”
NINA
“What are you talking about?”
NYSSA
“Well there’s no guard! No Dwaxi troopers to stop our escape!”
Nina steps forward.
NINA
(dismissively) “Oh who cares?! We’ve escaped! That’s the main thing. Let’s just get out of here…”
NYSSA
(cries) “Nina, look out!”
Shots then fire and Nina screams, as Dwaxi troopers fire their rifles at her and Nyssa. The Blockade leads the Dwaxi troopers firing at Nina and Nyssa.
BLOCKADE
(yells) “STOP THEM! STOP THEM! DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!”
The Dwaxi persist firing their rifles. Nina ducks down, terrified.
NINA
(screams) “Nyssa! Get away from here!”
Nyssa does as Nina says, as she heads the other way with the Globtol Ferroca joining her. They leave the Dwaxi troopers behind them, but is stopped in her tracks as Dwaxi Jack gets in her way.
JACK
(mockingly) “Going somewhere, pretty?”
NYSSA
(realises) “Jack!” (aggrieved) “I’m so sorry, Jack! But I have to do this!”
Nyssa still has a tube of yellow liquid in her hand. Using it, Nyssa stabs the tube into Jack’s shoulder. Jack screams out in pain, once stabbed by Nyssa with the tube and injected with the yellow liquid inside of him.
JACK
(screams) “You stupid, stupid…You stabbed me with…with that! That raw tube of our gorgeously vile gunk! That…”
Jack screams hideously out loud in pain. As Jack screams and weakens, the Globtol Ferroca advances towards him, growling fiercely.
JACK
(screams) “No! Keep away from me, you get big furry mongrel! Keep away from me! STOP IT! KEEP AWAY, YOU FREAKING BEAST!!!!”
But the Globtol roars furiously, as he grabs Jack ferociously and lifts him up in the air. The Globtol holds Jack up in the air, roaring wildly.
JACK
(screams; angrily) “Don’t you throw me! DON’T YOU FREAKING THROW ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
But the Globtol swiftly throws Jack over his head. Jack screams endlessly as he ends up into a pile of rocks which smash all on top of him. After throwing Jack, the Globtol slumps to the ground becoming tired. Nyssa quickly makes her way towards the Globtol to check on him. Once the Globtol sees Nyssa, it moans gently. Nyssa touches the Globtol gently.
NYSSA
(to Globtol) “Thank you.”
The Globtol grunts soothingly.
NYSSA
(bewildered) “But that tube! I interjected that drug into Jack. He was in pain. Perhaps…”
But before Nyssa continues in her thoughts, she looks to see Nina captured by the Dwaxi.
NYSSA
(realises) “Oh no!” (cries) “Nyssa!”
NINA
(cries) “Nyssa! They’ve got me! Get out of here, before they get you!”
Nyssa runs forward to rescue her friend. But the Globtol stops her and takes her with him.
NYSSA
(to Globtol) “No! Get off me, please! I can’t leave her! She’ll get turned into one of them! She’ll get turned into a Dwaxi!”
But the Globtol picks Nyssa up off her feet, as he lifts and carries her away from Nina. Nyssa struggles to break free, protesting as the Globtol takes her with him.
NYSSA
(protests) “Put me down! Put me down, please! I must save her!”
But the Globtol grunts in response, as he carries Nyssa with him away from the Dwaxi. Meanwhile Nina struggles to break free in the captivity of the Dwaxi. Nina sobs and weeps away, before the Blockade comes upon her and menacingly looks at her in her eyes.
BLOCKADE
(laughs; mockingly) “HA HA! HA HA! GOT YOU AGAIN! GOT YOU AGAIN! NOW! HOW ABOUT HAVING SOMETHING STUFFED DOWN YOUR NECK!”
Nina whimpers, terrified about what the Dwaxi intend to do with her.
SCENE #114 – EXT – GRAVLIO HILLS, YONDAMUS IV – 26TH CENTURY – EVENING
Outside at the Gravlio Hills in Qavin, the sandstorm has ended. Boco packs some stuff into an jeep-like vehicle, as Hilda and Billy sit inside and wait patiently to go.
HILDA
“Are you going to be much longer, Boco? At this rate another sand storm might come again.”
BOCO
“I’m just getting my stuff! Need all the tracking equipment.”
HILDA
“But you’ve got it all here. Surely you can’t have more to get.”
BOCO
“Just bear with me, darling. Nearly there.” (Pause) “Oh! I forgot my normaliser. Hang on.”
Boco goes back inside the hut. Hilda groans, annoyed.
BILLY
“So, how come you live on this planet?”
HILDA
“Well actually we don’t really. My husband trades in the black market.”
BILLY
“What, he’s a crook?”
HILDA
“A professional man of essential supplies, I’d like to call him.”
BILLY
“You mean…he’s a spiff? They have spiffs in the future!”
HILDA
“He does little deals with the Yondamons and the humans to get a bit of dole. We weren’t meant to stay on Yondamus Four for long. But our ship got smashed up by some gang. We then met this community in Qavin who looked after us well. Nice people too, before they got caught up in this fiery-thing that scorched the planet.”
BILLY
“Sorry to hear that.”
HILDA
Luckily my Boco was able to get us underneath this growth and make a new home for us and our children. I don’t know where I’d be without my Boco H.
Moment of silence.
BILLY
Is this…car yours?
HILDA
Car? This is a fiftieth edition space-travel jeep.
BILLY
Space-travel jeep?
HILDA
Yeah. It’s all we had of what survived from our ship.
BILLY
This Sandy pet of your husband’s? What is it like?
Just then, Boco comes out of the hut. He carries some luggage with him, before putting them into the space-travel jeep.
HILDA
Well, Boco had to work really hard to get that hairball tamed. Luckily he got into his care and became his pet afterwards. We had him for years even when this planet got burned up.
BILLY
Then how did you lose it?
BOCO
(interjects) Oh, it got lost in a sandstorm. We made our way back to this hut before we could make a search. We haven’t been able to train the Globtol where to find our new home.
Boco finishes packing the last of the luggage before locking up the boot of the space-travel jeep.
BOCO
Now. Just need to lock up the hut.
HILDA
Are you sure you’ve got everything, Boco?
BOCO
Yes, dear. Everything we need for the journey to find Sandy and Billy’s friend.
Boco locks up the hut with an electronic key from a distance. He then makes a double check with locking the hut with his key, before returning to the space-travel jeep.
SCENE #115 – INT – BOCO’S SPACE-TRAVEL JEEP – 26TH CENTURY – EVENING
Boco gets inside the space-travel jeep with Hilda and Billy, as he sits in the front seat. Boco closes the door once he’s inside the space-travel jeep.
BOCO
Right. Are we all ready?
HILDA; BILLY
Yes.
BOCO
Good. Now before we take off, make sure I’ve got everything.
Bobo uses his fingers to check.
BOCO
“Now! Tracking equipment; sandwiches; drink; normaliser; phasers – just in case. Err….books to read; music to play…”
HILDA
“Boco?”
BOCO
(continues) “…Pen and pencil…”
HILDA
“Boco?”
BOCO
(realises) “What is it, dear?”
HILDA
“What about the kids?”
Moment of silence.
BOCO
(realises) “The kids?”
HILDA
You haven’t left the kids in the hut, have you?
Moment of silence, as Boco thinks.
BOCO
Uh, I’ll go and check. Then we’ll go. I promise you.
Boco gets out of the space-travel jeep and heads off go back to the hut. Hilda and Billy remain behind. Hilda groans annoyed, whilst Billy tries to be patient. Boco unlocks the door to the hut with his electronic key before he enters inside.
HILDA
This always happens when my husband forgets things. He has to forget one tiny thing…and it happens to be our kids. (Pause) I’m sorry, Billy. You must be getting impatient.
BILLY
Oh it’s alright, Hilda. Let’s trust to hope that Nyssa’s still alive and well when we find her…eventually.
SCENE #116 – INT – EMPEROR DALEK’S CHAMBER – 26TH CENTURY – EVENING
In the citadel of Sliu Nos, the capital city of Yondamus Prime, the Emperor of the Daleks is housed in a gigantic chamber overlooking all of the Dalek operations. One of the Emperor’s guards glides to its ultimate leader to give a report.
DALEK EMPEROR GUARD
“EMPEROR!”
EMPEROR DALEK
(booms) “SPEAK.”
DALEK EMPEROR GUARD
THE DALEK FORCE SENT TO CAPTURE THE DOC-TOR HAS ARRIVED!
EMPEROR DALEK
(booms) EXCELLENT!
DALEK EMPEROR GUARD
THE DOC-TOR IS BEING BROUGHT HERE TO THE CITADEL. HE IS JOINED BY THE FIRST OFFICER OF EARTH SHIP MOONRAKER, AND THE AMBASSADOR FOR YONDAMUS TOGAL. THEY WILL BE HERE INSTANTLY!
EMPEROR DALEK
(booms) THE PURPOSE FOR THE DOC-TOR MUST BE EXPLAINED EXPLICITLY TO HIM. PREPARE THE DEMONSTRATION SO THAT HE MUST UNDERSTAND WHAT HE MUST DO. THE DALEKS MUST LIVE AND AVOID THEIR DOOM FROM THE DWAXI.
DALEK EMPEROR GUARD
UNDERSTOOD.
EMPEROR DALEK
(booms) THE DALEKS WILL BE SUPREME. WE MUST BE READY TO TEACH THE OPPOSITION THE MEANING OF DEFYING THE DALEKS!
© Tim Bradley, 2016
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Hi Tim
Another great chapter!
I like the way Nyssa tells Nina about using her fear, and staying calm to work through it to a solution. That’s really nice, and really channels the Doctor very well.
I noticed at the end of Scene #108 you have that Nyssa and Billy are trying to find a way out; it should be Nyssa and Nina.
Boco and Hilda seem really nice, if a little odd. But who wouldn’t be odd, living as they have to do, on Yondamus IV? They’re great characters, I like the way you’ve written them together.
I like the detail of the shuttle being lost under the sandstorm.
Oh, so they had a pet called Sandy? I am worried that was the Globtol Ferroca that the Dwaxi killed, now!
The soup and bread sounds delicious!
I like the scene with the Dalek ship and the Moonraker arriving at Yondamus Prime; that works really well, that scene.
Oh, the Globtol Ferroca is back, I’m glad he wasn’t killed by the Dwaxi!
Excellent pacing, Tim, with the scenes being good lengths, and cutting back to other scenes. I really like the way you’ve laid this all out, with so many different scenes requiring to be cut to.
Great stuff, Tim, looking forward to the next chapter.
Leigh
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Hi Leigh.
I’m glad you enjoyed Chapter 10.
CHAPTER 9
I’m pleased BF have treated Nyssa well in the audios compared to the TV series. Nyssa was a great character to start off with in ‘The Keeper of Traken’, but later on she tended to be neglected by writers on the TV series especially when there was more than one character in the TARDIS set-up. Not that I’m blaming anyone on that, but I feel that the BF audios have shown Nyssa’s potential as a companion and I wanted to reflect in the stories I was writing and it’s an aspect I enjoyed doing whilst writing that first trilogy with the Fifth Doctor; Nyssa and Billy back in the beginning in 2010.
Actually, I have read/listened to ‘Prisoner of the Daleks’ by Trevor Baxendale with Nicholas Briggs reading it. In fact, I read/listened to it on my holiday in Scotland with my family in the summer of 2010 before writing ‘Doom of the Daleks’. Some of the influences of my story came from reading/listening to ‘Prisoner of the Daleks’ to give me inspiration. It is a great story indeed and I really liked how Trevor Baxendale wrote the Daleks and the supporting characters that the Tenth Doctor interacted with in the story.
Well, it was a way of enhancing Billy’s fondness and liking for Nyssa during these stories. I wanted to show that in his character especially when Billy gets agitated; upset and panic-stricken about Nyssa being in trouble or thinking that she in trouble when he’s a long distance away from her. I’m glad that it fits within the parameters of who Billy is and where he comes from in being brought up in the 1950s/60s on Earth.
Yes it did seem lucky for Billy to survive after crash-landing on Yondamus IV in the shuttle without being killed. But I didn’t want Billy to survive without any blemish or damage, which is why I had him get a gash on his forehead after crash-landing and when he was suffering through the sand-storm as the shock of the shuttle’s crash would affect him deeply. And of course I didn’t want to ‘kill’ Billy off too soon, especially as I developed him from his first two stories that it wouldn’t make sense for him to die half-way through ‘Doom of the Daleks’ before getting to the end.
It did seem odd that the Supreme Dalek would destroy the Patrol Dalek Ship instantly and without warning. But I like it when Daleks do odd things as it creates the element of surprise and you can do different, new things when writing them. To me it felt perfectly natural for the Supreme Dalek to have the Patrol Dalek Ship destroyed as ‘failure’ does not count in the Dalek way of things, does it? Also the Supreme Dalek could be fearful of upsetting the Emperor Dalek and doesn’t want to fail his Emperor, does he?
Ah that’s an interesting and good point you’ve got there about Elaine, Leigh. Yes, she would act as a liaison between the Doctor and the Moonraker crew about what’s going on with the Daleks and the Dwaxi. So it’s understandable that she would go with the Doctor to see the Emperor Dalek and not just do it out of personal devotion; companionship or protection for him.
Yes Ambassador Togal does seem to be a little bit like Mavic Chen, doesn’t he? I don’t remember if I re-listened to ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ for inspiration on this story. I’m sure I have, it’s such a long time ago. But it’s good to have a classic characters like that from Dalek stories who think they can work well with the Daleks but in the end can’t as they don’t realise the Daleks are only using them for their own selfish needs.
I like your comments about how the Emperor Dalek and the Daleks want to taunt the Doctor but at the same time need him to help them with this Dwaxi threat that they most greatly fear at the moment. I think that’s a true balance of their character in being malicious and fearful at the same time in their Daleky way.
Hmm,yes. Nyssa could get converted into a Dwaxi before she changes back again. Who knows? Maybe there isn’t a reverse effect. The same could be for Nina as well. Who knows?! 😀
Well it was trying to find that balance in how the Daleks can be brutally aggressive and terribly clever in their ways of dealing with their enemies. I’m glad you spotted that and found that worked well in how they tackle the Dwaxi menace. Will the Dalek win though? That is the questions.
CHAPTER 10
I’m glad you liked the scene where Nyssa tells Nina to use her fear as her strength. I wanted to have a moment that was similar to the scene that the Third Doctor had with Codal in ‘Planet of the Daleks’. Of course, Nyssa would have gained a lot of experience traveling with the Doctor. Because Nyssa’s so calm and resourceful in the stories she’s in she would have been able to channel her own fears into strengths from her lessons with the Doctor. I’m glad you liked those moments and how Nyssa conveys them to Nina. Whether Nina will take those encouraging words from Nyssa on board is yet to be seen.
Thanks for noticing that error about Scene #108. That was meant to be Nyssa and Nina and not ‘Nyssa and Billy’. I’ve corrected that in the scene, thanks.
Did you like it when Nyssa shares with Nina that she hasn’t got any family anymore and that the Doctor and Billy are the two people she has left to hold onto?
So Nyssa and Nina have discovered the secret about the Dwaxi’s power with the Yentias and the cubicles they get into. What did you make of that then?
I knew you’d like the characters of Boco and Hilda. I’m pleased you like them. I felt it was important to have some comic relief in the story and with Billy being alone on Yondamus IV, he needs some help to find Nyssa again. So why not have the people that Billy finds to help him to provide that comic relief.
Yes, they do like an odd quirky couple, but I think they’re easily likeable and it’s what Billy would want to meet during this tense atmosphere with the Daleks and the Dwaxi. Goodness knows how they managed to cope on Yondamus IV like that and it’s interesting history they have with being on the planet in the first place, isn’t it?
Oh really?! Is it the way Boco told Billy that the shuttle is lost underneath all that sand that you liked it?
What do you think of Boco and Hilda’s children and how they’re kept in their cot?
Typical of Billy to call the Yondamons as ‘aliens with oddly-coloured blood’ when he didn’t think humans like Boco and Hilda lived on Yondamus IV as well, isn’t it?
A little more is given to what happened to Yondamus IV when it lost its lush forests and flourishing vegetation. It sounds like the Dwaxi’s handiwork, doesn’t it?
Yes, Sandy. It could be the Globtol Ferroca that the Dwaxi ‘killed’. Is it though? You’ll have to read on and find out. If it is, it’s peculiar that Boco and Hilda would have pet like that and call him Sandy, isn’t it?
I’ve got your taste buds going with the soup and bread, then? I’m glad you find it delicious. You can smell the food off the page, can’t you? 😀 I’m not sure whether it’s chicken or tomato though. I’m sure it’s either as Billy would like those types of flavours of soup where he comes from.
Oh good, I’m glad the scene where the Dalek Mothership and the Moonraker arriving in orbit of Yondamus Prime worked well for you, Leigh. What aspects of that scene did you like about it then?
Yes, I couldn’t bring myself to kill the Globtol Ferroca as he seemed to be a nice beast and one that Nyssa and Nina were beginning to warm up to from the previous episode. It got tense when Nyssa and Nina were escaping from the Dwaxi outside their ship with the Globtol, wasn’t it? Poor Nina’s been captured again, hasn’t she? Nyssa managed to escape though with the Globtol carrying her off, didn’t she? What’s going to happen to Nina though? Poor dear. It doesn’t look too good for her, doesn’t it?
Did you like the moments when Boco, Hilda and Billy were about to go off in the space-travel jeep and Boco forgot the babies?
Could you hear the Emperor Dalek’s voice booming out from the story as you read it? 😀
I’m glad you liked how I paced the story out with the various inter-cutting of scenes. It was a challenge to do I can tell you, but it was neccessary as it needed to be pacey with cutting of scenes to make it an action-packed adventure story.
Very pleased you’re enjoying what I write in my stories, Leigh. I hope you enjoyed Chapter 11 next.
Tim. 🙂
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Hi Tim
I think one of the problems that the Fifth Doctor era had on tv was that he had so many companions, and it was very difficult to write them all into some action, and keep the scenes cost-effective and flowing, I would imagine. It’s a bit easier for BF to do so, as they don’t have to provide all the props! But they have definitely written well for Nyssa, and the other Fifth Doctor companions, and in the stories where there are multiple companions, it’s nice to hear them all getting some action.
I’m glad you liked Prisoner of the Daleks. I thought it was a great story, too, and I really liked the way the Daleks were written, and the other characters, and the whole interaction with the Tenth Doctor. The story was very gritty and dark, but it worked tremendously well, I thought.
Oh, no, we don’t want Billy to be killed off, or to suffer badly. He has to remain there and remain true to his character, I think, which is exactly what you’re doing with the way you’ve written him. I think he is a very well-rounded character, who is very much of his time, and that’s exactly how it should be. I liked the feeling of the Star Trek element of the crash on Yondamus IV, and the sandstorm, and being rescued by Hilda and Boco – felt a bit like Star Trek, and a bit like Star Wars – you could imagine the sand-swept landscape, and the characters all swathed in clothing against the weather.
You’re quite right, I think it’s good when the Daleks do something that seems completely inconsistent or wasteful, or against their own characters as you would have previously understood them. It makes them unpredictable, which of course makes them all the more dangerous, and that’s how they should be – the most dangerous creatures the Doctor has ever come up against, really. That’s a very good point; the Supreme Dalek may have reacted as drastically as that, in order to ensure the Emperor knows of his complete dedication and ruthlessness in protecting the Dalek plan.
I think the type of characters, like Mavic Chen, or Ambassador Togal, are reminiscent in some ways of the types that the First Doctor, and the Third Doctor (on Earth) often met up with. Greedy, and somewhat amoral, concerned only for their own safety and gain. It’s in showing these people up for what they are that we cheer the Doctor on, don’t we?
I agree; the Daleks don’t want to half to rely on the Doctor, but they know, and they know that he knows, that they need him, so they make sure they still treat him badly, so that they feel they’ve still got the upper hand over him.
Hmmm, you’re teasing me again, Tim!
The Daleks and the Dwaxi seem quite matched in their ruthlessness and brutality, though they both come at it from different angles, don’t they? But we still haven’t met the Directors yet, and they could well be matches for the Daleks, in their grand scheming!
I think the scene with Nyssa talking with Nina about how they can approach the situation they find themselves in, was very well done. It was nice to have that moment of calm and contemplative reflection on how best to approach things, in the middle of all that’s going on around them.
You’re welcome about the scene fix, Tim. Glad I could pick that up for you.
I did like the way Nyssa talked so openly with Nina, about her family and about the Doctor and Billy. I would think that being in the Tardis, travelling with people in the same situation as you, would very quickly make you close.
Yes, Nyssa and Nina have discovered the secret of the Dwaxi’s power – but I’m not sure they quite realise all the significance of it yet, and what can they do about it? That’s the question now, isn’t it!
I think Boco and Hilda are great characters, and they’re very true to the planet that they now live on. It’s good to have people like that there, who’ve made their life in these strange circumstances, but they still remain, even to Billy who comes from such a long time before them, very ‘human’ in their ways, which is nice. They’re comic, but they’re still rather poignant, aren’t they, trying to live in the best way they can on such a devastated planet.
I think it came as a shock to Billy to realise quite how destructive the planet can be to him. He wouldn’t be used to that, having come from a quiet and peaceful world. But he is now realising, when Boco and Hilda tell him that the shuttle is gone for good, that he has more things to worry about than he had first thought. And I think that’s a sobering thought for him, to reflect on where he is, and how far away from everything that he thought he could hold on to. But he pulls himself together well, and I think that shows well in the scenes that he has with Boco and Hilda. I like their characters, and I think it’s nice that they’ve taken up with Billy as they have.
Yes, it does sound like the Dwaxi have had something to do with the destruction on Yondamus IV; but you wonder why; if they wanted to capture a planet, you would think they wouldn’t destroy it; but then perhaps the destruction and death is all they really are interested in; but then what do the Directors want to do with all this that they’re conquering? Ah, you know, I know, but I don’t know – yet!
I suspect Sandy is the Globtol Ferroca – he’s very friendly, but he’s frightened, which has made him lash out, but he recognises that Nyssa and he can help each other, which I think is very nice.
The soup and bread sounded delicious! Made me hungry! I think you’re right, Billy would like chicken soup, or tomato soup.
I think the scene with the ships all meeting up at Yondamus Prime was excellent, because it gave a really good idea of the scope, I think. It was another of those scenes you could really ‘see’ playing out in front of you, and it would, in that way, remind the audience of the menace that really lies underneath all that’s going on. It’s all starting to come together, and not in a good way for anybody mixed up with either the Dwaxi or the Dalaeks!
No, it doesn’t look good for Nina! Poor Jack seems to have bitten the dust, too! But what are the Dwaxi keeping some people alive for, and converting them like that for? I don’t know!
Yes, I chuckled when Boco forgot the babies – seems like a typical sort of thing for this family, to have those types of interactions, which is good.
I could definitely hear the Emperor Dalek’s voice booming out – that really deep tone, with the faint echoes behind it, threatening and thundering.
Having so many characters, and in so many scenes, would be difficult to keep the scenes and the cutting and pacing of them right, but I think you did it very well, Tim. Everything was moving along, and keeping pace with the other scenes moving along, and it all felt well timed.
Looking forward to chapter 11 next!
Leigh
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I’m so glad the Globtol Ferroca wasn’t killed by the Dwaxi & the scenes he came to Nyssa & Ninas rescue even though the latter was captured agai, but is the Dwaxi another experiment by the Daleks?.
Speaking of…
I have a theory the Dwaxi are a originally peaceful species experimented on by the Daleks as a weapon & it all went wrong? Making them these savage brutal beings?
I love Boco & Hilda there kind befriending Billy & he even gets a nice bowl of soup by a warm fire & it’s nice they helping Billy find Nyssa but who is Sandy? The Globtol Ferroca perhaps.
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Thanks, Simon. Glad you enjoyed Chapter 10.
Yes the Globtol Ferroca seems like a good beast, isn’t it? I’m glad you’re pleased that he came to rescue Nyssa and Nina and that he wasn’t killed by the Dwaxi. It is a shame that Nyssa managed to escape but Nina got captured. I know that’s unfair, but this is a very dangerous adventure isn’t it? Do you think Nina will end up the same way as Jack did?
What do you think of the Dwaxi now and their addiction to drugs?
Interesting theory of yours about the Dwaxi being an experiment of the Daleks. The thought of the Dwaxi being peaceful once has got my brain thinking about their origins. There is a connection between the Dwaxi and the Daleks in this one. You’ll have to find out more about why the Daleks and Dwaxi are fighting each other. Both believe each other did the blame. That’s all I can say.
I’m pleased you love Boco and Hilda. They are nice to Billy aren’t they, and it’s good that they’re helping him to find Nyssa on the planet as well as giving him a bowl of soup and a warm fire.
Sandy could be the Globtol Ferroca, yes. You’ll have to read on and find out.
Many thanks, Simon. Hope you enjoy Chapter 11 next.
Tim. 🙂
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