Danziger ripped up part of his shirt and tied it around Devon's leg as best he could. He didn't have anything else to work with as the Daleks had confiscated most of their belongings, including their gear sets. Julia had injected all the Edenites with wide-body antibiotics long ago, but whether it was enough to keep clean gaping wounds such as the ones they had sustained, he didn't know. Their captors certainly didn't care enough to help out. He was afraid even to ask them for aid in case they simply executed both himself and Devon as being unfit for slave labor, which, according to his fellow prisoners, was the usual fate of captives of the Daleks.

"What do you think our chances are of getting out of here?" he asked her quietly.

From the way she looked around, he could tell that her Adair optimism was trying to find an answer it liked. But even she had to admit that things looked grim. "Not good," she replied just as quietly. She winced slightly as he bound her leg, then nodded her thanks.

There were about 30 prisoners, held within a simple, white room on board the Dalek craft. Morgan, Denner and Yale were there, as well. The Daleks had simply stuck them in there, saying only that they would be "processed" when they were through with the last batch of prisoners.

While being ushered in, Danziger had caught sight of those prisoners being ushered out. One of the faces in that crowd had been Savil's. The young Time Lord had looked terrified. Danziger had had no chance of speaking with him, and no clue as to where they had taken him.

"Forgive me for asking this, but you do not seem to be of the same race as the rest of us," a voice said. It was a simple, kind, old voice, one which sounded so serene and free of worry that Danziger was startled. He turned to find a face which matched the voice perfectly. An elderly man was sitting on the floor next to him, smiling at him kindly.

"No," he said cautiously. "I'm a human. Why?"

"Oh, just curious, that's all," the man said. "You didn't act like a Time Lord. That's one of the things we can just pick up on instinctively. My name is Oleander, by the way." He held out his hand.

"John Danziger," he replied, and shook it. "Do you know anything about what's going to happen to us?"

Oleander didn't get a chance to reply. The door opened and a Dalek entered the room. "Stand and remain silent," it instructed. Everyone obeyed.

It rolled up to the Edenites. "Our sensors indicate that you are humans. You," it rolled up to Danziger, "and you," it indicated Devon, "and you," it pointed to Oleander, "were all seen speaking to each other. You will therefore be questioned. You will exit this room, turn right, and proceed to the interrogation chamber. The rest of you are to exit this room, turn left, and follow where the Daleks lead you. Failure to obey any of these instructions will result in your immediate extermination. Move."

Everyone looked in fear at each other, and Danziger felt the cold knot of terror in his stomach. He didn't know whether he had been given the better fate or the worse one. Either way, he resolved, he would go down fighting. Just give me a chance, he thought.

The others filed out the door. Morgan looked as if he were about to faint. Yale was breathing hard, trying to face whatever lay before him bravely. Denner was looking at Devon and Danziger with terror. Typically, she was more worried about them than she was about herself. Danziger watched them go. Good people, he thought. All good people.

He supported Devon as she limped alongside him.

"Move faster!" the Dalek commanded.

"She can't," he said, keeping his voice as calm as he could so he wouldn't antagonize them. "She's been wounded."

"Pain is irrelevant," the Dalek said. "Move faster! Faster!"

Devon hobbled forward as fast as she could, biting back tears of agony. Oleander supported her other side and together the trio made it to the interrogation room. Danziger had half expected to see machines and instruments of bizarre torture, but all he saw were two white globes at one end of the room. Each was about half a meter across and rested at waist height on its own stand.

The Dalek turned to Devon. "You will stand between the globes and lay your hands on them. These globes can detect untruthful responses. Move."

She said, "I can't stand very well-"

"Move! Immediately! Move! Move!"

Devon hobbled over to the two globes. Danziger tried to help her but another Dalek barred his way, aiming its weapon at him. Devon limped on alone and stood between the globes, shaking. She laid her hands upon them and the Daleks began.

"The Doctor, an enemy of the Daleks, has been known to keep humans as companions. You are a human. Are you a companion of the Doctor? Answer 'Yes' or 'No.'"

"No," Devon said.

Another Dalek spoke up. "Computer indicates untruthful response."

"You are lying," the first Dalek said. "Our records indicate that humans have a weakness called emotion. It is a weakness I will now demonstrate. There is a great possibility that you care for this other human. If the computer registers another untruthful response, we will exterminate him. This is your only warning. We will proceed. Are you a companion of the Doctor?"

"Yes," Devon whispered, looking at Danziger with terror.

"The computer indicates truthful response," the second Dalek said.

Devon felt sweat on her brow and moved to wipe it off.

"You will not remove your hand from the globe!" another Dalek informed her, advancing menacingly. She instantly slapped it back down. Her knees shook, her leg felt as if it was about to give way. She could feel the blood rushing to her head and it seemed as if she was going to throw up at any moment. Please, God, let this end, she thought.

"What is the status of the Gallifreyan defenses?" the first Dalek asked.

"I don't know."

"The computer indicates truthful response," the second Dalek said.

"What are the access codes to the Eye of Harmony?" the first Dalek asked.

"I don't know."

"The computer indicates truthful response," the second Dalek said.

"When you were captured, were you engaged in hostile actions against the Daleks?" the first Dalek asked.

"No."

"The computer indicates truthful response," the second Dalek said.

"What is your planet of origin?" the first Dalek asked.

Devon looked at Danziger helplessly, and he looked back at her with horror. Her heart screamed for this nightmare to end! What could she tell them? The moment she informed the Daleks of the existence of G889, they would send a detachment of forces there to subjugate it immediately! But if she told them any other answer, John Danziger would die a horrible death right in front of her eyes.

"Answer! What is your planet of origin? Answer! Answer!"

She closed her eyes and leaned back her head, calling into her mind every image, every smell, every sight and sound of the space stations that she possibly could. "I'm from Earth," she whispered.

"The computer indicates truthful response," the second Dalek said.

Devon shook harder than ever before and she gasped for the air to feed the heartbeats hammering away in her chest. The Daleks knew of Earth – they had tried to conquer it and had been defeated already – so she hadn't told them about any place new. For the moment, G889 was still a secret.

The door opened and another Dalek entered the room. It rolled up to the first Dalek and delivered its report. "The defense forces of Gallifrey are putting up a more determined fight than we anticipated, and they have successfully captured one of our landing craft."

"How is this possible?" the first Dalek asked. "Intelligence reports informed us that all enemy forces were heading for Central Control."

"The battle is still being analyzed," the other Dalek replied. "In the meantime, the Emperor Dalek has ordered all reserve forces into action."

"I obey," the first Dalek said. The one which had made the report left the room.

"This interrogation session will be continued later," the first Dalek said and turned to two of its underlings. "Take these prisoners to Holding Area 2 and do not allow them contact with any other prisoner. When you have finished with this duty report to the control deck."

"We obey," the Daleks said. Devon gratefully stumbled across the room into Danziger's arms. He picked her up, wincing terribly at the pain in his shoulder, but he knew that after the bravery he had just seen her display he could never drop this woman. Ever. He and Oleander left the room, followed by the two Daleks.

 

Morgan was literally shaking so hard he wondered why he didn't just fall to pieces onto the floor. "Where are they taking us?" he asked weakly.

"The prisoners will remain silent," one of the Dalek guards said. There were two of them, escorting them along a featureless, gray corridor.

Morgan just gulped and walked on. Denner put a hand on his shoulder, but she looked just as frightened. They were ushered to a door and waited there for several seconds. When it finally opened, they gasped.

Savil stood in the doorway. His face held a blank, dead expression and an elaborate helmet had been clamped onto his head.

"Robomen!" Yale whispered, aghast. "That's what they meant by being processed."

"The prisoners will now enter the procession chamber," the lead Dalek informed them.

"Why?" one of the other prisoners spoke up, now that it was obvious what their fate was. "You think we're going to walk into that room willingly, without fighting you?"

"Yes," the Dalek answered, and shot him.

The man screamed and his body writhed as the energy beam enveloped him. It took a full five seconds for him to die, and to Morgan it seemed the longest five seconds of his life.

"Our weapons are specifically designed to prolong death and to make it as painful as possible," the Dalek said. "You will move forward immediately or you will suffer the same fate."

In shock, the prisoners shuffled forward.

Denner shook her head. "Not like this," she said. "I don't want it to be like this."

Yale patted her on the shoulder. "We rarely get to choose how we die, Denner," he said. "But we can choose how we face it." There was something odd about his voice, something almost messianic. Denner turned to look at Yale and she saw him staring into the procession chamber in wonder, as if he were receiving an epiphany. It was so surreal, she didn't know whether to feel comforted or to feel as if they had lost all hope.

They filed into the room. It was huge, and it seemed to serve multiple purposes. Near the door was a table, obviously made for a person to lie on. Beyond this was machinery of a decidedly different sort. A conveyor belt, which was still at the moment, stretched away from them along the left wall. It ran through several different machines around the entire room and returned to the front along the right wall. Even further beyond the strange setup was a storage area of some kind, with all kinds of equipment neatly stacked on shelves.

"It's their assembly area," Morgan whispered. "This is where they make Daleks."

Denner's eyes grew wide as she realized he was right. The table was for turning people into robomen, but the conveyor belt system was for manufacturing the armored shells of the Dalek travel machines. All the parts stored on the shelves beyond were colored the same dull, gunmetal gray. The same color as most of the Daleks they had seen thus far.

Yale was breathing hard and his hands were clenching and unclenching, almost bursting at the seams with the desire to look at the equipment. He was the only one edging forward while the rest of the prisoners edged away. So naturally, the Daleks chose him first.

"Lie on the table and lay your arms and legs into the grooves provided," the lead Dalek said.

Yale did so. A roboman, still in his trance, punched a button on a machine by the wall and magnetic clamps locked into place around Yale's arms and legs. Other robomen wordlessly clamped a helmet onto his head.

"Activate the robotizer," the Dalek said. "Set power level to 81."

The roboman at the machine punched another button and a long, thin cone slid out of the ceiling, pointing straight at Yale's head. Then he slid a lever part of the way along its slot. The cone lit up and Yale stiffened as if he'd received an electric jolt.

"Attempting to fight the robotizing process will lead to more pain and a shorter life," the Dalek informed him. "Increase power level to 120."

The roboman slid the lever up further. Yale's body shook some more, and he stared back at the cone of light with a face so full of defiance that, for a moment, Denner felt it could blow up stars. She started to weep.

The roboman at the machine turned around and said tonelessly, "The subject is still attempting to resist."

"Increase the power level to 135," the Dalek said.

The cone's light increased and it started to hum. Yale's body shook even more, then he screamed as the robotizing ray tore into his mind.

 

The Edenites worked their way toward the landing platform, but they no longer had any enthusiasm. Filled with despair, frustration, helplessness and rage, they hiked on, hiding from intermittent Dalek patrols, wondering if they would ever see their companions again.

Their anger and fear found an easy target.

During a brief rest stop, while everyone was breathing hard after running from the Daleks who had captured the others, Walman had suddenly come to life and slammed Reilly against a wall. "If they die, I swear to God, you will, too!" He had then tried to punch him, but Reilly had pulled a jujitsu move which levered Walman's arms over his own head, and Walman had found himself flat on his back and so enraged he could barely see straight.

Reilly had wisely kept silent most of the time, not drawing attention to himself or attempting to console them on their losses, even though it seemed he was genuinely regretful of them. But he was under no illusion as to how they felt about him, and with his knowledge of psychology, he had known perfectly well that it was only a matter of time until they vented frustration on him. In fact, Walman was the one he had been most expecting to attack him, and he did so pretty much on schedule.

They were so predictable, he thought.

Julia and Alonzo had stopped the fight before it had gone any further (meaning they had sat on Walman until he calmed down; Reilly had done nothing else). Now they were slowly making their way down a deserted avenue, following its dark path as it curved gently to the right up ahead, hoping the battle would not visit them again. But it was not to be.

A quick succession of explosions came marching towards them from the left. A ship flashed overhead, just behind them, dropping bombs as it went, one of which smashed into the base of a building they had just passed. They all screamed and clapped their hands over their ears as the rumblings subsided. Then the building quickly toppled over.

Right towards them.

All they had time to do was look up in horror and give one last shout of defiance and frustration as a 250,000-ton building fell lengthwise, into the street, right on top of them.

 

Devon began to groan and flail about in Danziger's arms just as he approached a turn into a more narrow corridor. "Devon," he hissed, trying to keep her still or to set her down gently, whichever was needed. "What's wrong?"

"Keep moving," the Dalek behind them ordered.

Devon groaned some more and struggled in his arms, and Danziger had no choice but to lower her to the floor. Desperate to help, Oleander moved forward, around Danziger, to see what he could do.

"Danziger," she whispered. "My leg is a lot better than I've been leading them to believe. Get ready to run."

His eyes grew wide. Her face, covered with grime and scratches, actually broke into an insane, tear-stricken grin, and she winked.

Danziger whirled around in the narrow doorway and swatted the Dalek's gunstick aside, then spun the Dalek around as best as he could and gave it a hearty shove. "Run!" he shouted.

Devon leaped up, a lot healthier than she had been looking, although she was still limping somewhat. They ran, choosing corridors at random. Behind them came cries of "Emergency! Emergency! Prisoners loose on Deck B, Area 5! Pursue and exterminate! Pursue! Pursue!"

"Do you have a plan?" Danziger asked.

"Yes," Devon answered. "Escape or die trying. I'm not going to put up with any of this one moment longer."

Danziger actually smiled at that, and he felt exhilarated.

After hiking across a planet for over a year, they were both quite physically fit, and only Devon's leg threatened to slow her down – and Danziger knew it was a lot worse than she was letting on. He'd seen the wound. But he also knew that her determination would literally block the pain, allowing her to run until her leg gave out completely. She kept up a reasonably good pace. So did Oleander, and Danziger put that down to the advanced physiologies of Time Lords.

They ran down one gray corridor after another. They hid in a store room for a moment to let a Dalek patrol glide past before moving on, and once came upon a dead end and had to double back. Always they heard the voices of the Daleks screaming at each other to pursue and exterminate.

"Do you suppose Dalek ships have evacuation pods?" Danziger asked during one of their quick stops, as they caught their breaths and tried to discern from the Daleks' shouts how close they were.

"You'd think so," Devon said. "Unless they're so arrogant they think they don't need any."

"Do either of you have any experience with evacuating a space ship in an emergency pod?" Oleander asked.

"Yeah," Danziger said. "We've got a little."

They heard "Pursue and exterminate!" from around the corner. They ran on, but not quickly enough. The Dalek came around the corner and fired at them just as they reached the end of the corridor and ran into another one. The blast hit the wall behind Oleander.

"Wait!" Devon said, stopping suddenly and doubling back. "There's a door! Close it!"

There was so little time that the others couldn't argue. They unclasped the heavy bulkhead door from its wall mounts and swung it shut, right in the Daleks' eyestalks.

"They'll just open it up again!" Danziger said.

"I know," Devon replied, and pulled out her hand mirror. "Hope this works." Devon cupped the mirror into her hand as the door opened and shoved it right up against the Dalek's gunstick as it fired.

The blue beam reflected back into the Dalek, blowing its casing apart, and sliced into the one behind it also.

Devon screamed and fell back, clutching her hand. Danziger and Oleander quickly closed the door again and they ran on. Devon had a new bruise on her scalp from a piece of the Dalek's casing, her face was slightly burnt and her arm looked terrible. She cradled it as she ran.

They sprinted to the end of the next corridor, rounded the corner and found themselves facing two more Daleks, who seemed just as surprised as they were. They turned and ran back the way they'd come, but heard other Daleks shouting to each other, heading towards them from that direction.

There was a single hatch along the corridor. Danziger opened it and ran through, Devon and Oleander right behind him. Oleander shut the hatch.

It was an empty, rectangular room with no other exits. There was evidence that machinery had been housed here at one time but it had been moved for some purpose. They could hear the Daleks approaching. Devon and Danziger stood in the middle of the room, staring around them in disbelief, then turned to look at the hatch with despair.

"Pursue and exterminate!" they heard.

"There is no lock, I'm afraid," Oleander said quietly.

Devon turned slowly to John, then looked up into his eyes. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"For what, Devon?" he asked.

"For everything," she answered, her lower lip trembling. "I'm sorry I ever got you mixed up with me, with Eden Advance."

Danziger just looked at her in wonder. Then he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her close, and kissed her passionately.

The hatch burst open and Daleks poured in, strafing the room from one end to the other, blasting away at anything they could see.