h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

INTERLUDE: WAR

The evening sky still danced with purple and green and brilliant yellow while the land below lush and green waved in the light breeze.
The Panoptican stood tall and proud, a glittering golden city surrounded by white buildings. Around this were huge mountains and canewood trees cast their pink and blossom into the air.
All was still.
Even the lowly watchman at his post by the hour bell, asleep.
Suddenly there was a low whine followed by an enormous explosion! The watchman twitched into life and instinctively rang the bell beside him hard.
There came another explosion and another, powerful, destructive balls of energy wiping the surface of the ground clear!
As the watchman rang the bell a window was opened from a house close by.
'Will you stop that infernal ringing, we're trying to sleep!' said a tired looking man in a white night-shirt and flopping night-cap.
'But Sir, there is something going on! Something big!' the watchman cried out but the old man shook his head.
'The wife is trying to sleep as am I and as for the children I should think otherwise?' the man grumbled and shut his window hard but the watchman breathed a sigh.
His eyes focussed on something in the night sky, his eyes widened as he saw it. It wasn't possible? Quickly he rang the bell but it was last thing he did as a creeping blast wiped him from the face of existence!
All around Gallifrey warning sirens blared out, people were ushered from their beds and forced towards evacuation stations. Chancellery guards hurried through the streets but as the fireballs descended into the streets, the numbers fell!
Within the enormous chamber that sat high in the Panoptican the doors burst open and inside hurried a group of guards and a strange looking man in grey night garbs.
Sitting at the table reading from an ancient book sat an old man, looking up he called out in a gruff tone' What in the blazes? What is going here?'
The commander of the guards, a young looking woman pushed forward.
'Lord President we are under attack from a hostile force, we need to evacuate you!' she replied.

'Evacuate? Are you ringing mad Commander? Gallifrey is the most secure planet in the whole galaxy, possibly the whole universe?' the academic replied but the Commander banged her hand hard on the table.
'Lord President! I've lost too many people to an apparently large and very realistic hoax? These are the facts: We have raised the transduction barriers but they persist through! They have attacked and destroyed several hundred towns and villages all ready! We cannot repel their firepower?' she snapped much to the look of astonishment appearing on the President's face.
He removed his glasses and night-cap to reveal his grey wispy hair.
'What? How is that possible? Why did we not see them coming?' he argued but the Commander shook her head.
'We don't know Sir, we have to get everyone to an evacuation shelter at once!' she replied.
Instead the President rose from his place and walked to a view port and gazed out at the many fountains spewing dark smoke into the air.
'We must call a meeting of the high council at once! We must make all preparations to contact the alien force!' the President muttered.
'We can't Sir, most of the high council are dead, their bodies are... they're burning in the streets next to hundreds of others!' she snapped.
Turning quickly he looked shocked. 'That's not possible? They should be able to regenerate!' he gasped but the man in the grey pyjamas piped up.
'I'm afraid not Sir, they possess weapons can stop that! As for the transduction barriers, they cross through them as if they were the very air we breathe! There must be at least eight hundred enemy ships present?' the man replied.
'This is not possible? How could it have happened? Why didn't we see it happen?' the President muttered.
'We don't know but we have to get you to safety Sir?' the Commander replied but the President merely cast off her hand.
'It's not possible? I am Lord President of Gallifrey, they people was placed me here to safeguard them against such things as this' he shouted.
Suddenly there came a heavy explosion hitting the building hard, knocking them all down.
'By the stars! What was that?' the man asked.

As a guard helped the President into a chair the Commander checked her wrist com.
'Yes, what was that?' she asked.
There came a low whining from the communicator a reply but the Commander's face was shocked, almost horrified.
'That's not possible? I want you to recheck!' she ordered but the whining voice simply repeated the answer.
'Well?' asked the grey clad man as the Commander took a deep sigh.
'It seems that the enemy has wiped out the TARDIS cradles' she simply said.
'What? But that's not possible?' the man retorted.
'Councillor, it is. I had evacuation details in there, there's nothing left of the building just a smoking hole in the ground!' she replied angrily.
'How did this happen? Escape is impossible then and all of these people are going to suffer for my incompetence!' moaned the President.
Suddenly across all speakers everywhere, throughout the air came a voice. Harsh, metallic and commanding.
'Citizens of Gallifrey, this planet under Dalek Control all resistance will be exterminated!'
'Daleks!' the President gasped.
'That's not possible? Not even the Daleks have power to do this?' snapped the councillor.
'All Time Lords will advance into the streets any attempt to escape will mean extermination!' ordered the voice.
Just then appearing at the door glided a silver Dalek.
'Which of you is the President of the Time Lords?' it grated and the President slowly rose from the chair.
'I am' he said and walked towards the Dalek.
'You are my prisoner, these others are not required. Exterminate!' it shrieked but as the President tried to stop it, the creature fired.
The two guards screamed as the lethal rays washed over their bodies and they fell into a lifeless heap.
'Wait? Please don't do this?' the President begged but the Dalek instead raised its gun and fired.
The Councillor screamed hoarsely before collapsing across the table and the Commander fell too.
Turning to face the President it grated. 'You will come with me! You will not resist!' it grated and weakly the President nodded.
'Move!' it ordered and slowly the weak man walked forward, the Dalek behind him.
Out in the streets, the Time Lords, some dressed finely while others still in their night-gowns stood shivering as sixteen Daleks halted.
'Exterminate!' they grated and each of the Daleks fired; hundreds of people twisted and screamed falling as smoking forms.

The President was ushered forward across the rough ground; he winced a few times as sharpened stones cut into his bare feet.
'Halt!' ordered his guard.
The President swallowed nervously as a Dalek sporting a black dome glided forward.
'You are the President of the Time Lords!' it grated. Weakly the President nodded.
'I am, what do you want of me?' he replied.
'You will tell us the secrets of Gallifrey and the Time Lords then you be exterminated! Move!' it ordered and glided back up a ramp. The President walked forwards slowly, he could hear screams in his ears but he did nothing, he shed tears as he was escorted to the waiting Dalek ship.
Inside the control centre the Black Dalek Leader glided towards the communications console.
'Activate Hyperlink to Skaro Control!' it ordered.
'I Obey!' reported a silver technician.
Immediately the screen came alive with a steady picture of the Supreme Dalek.
'Report your progress?' it ordered.
'We have taken the Planet Gallifrey, all Time Lords are being Exterminated, we possess the President of the Time Lords' replied the Dalek leader.
'Excellent! All Scientific engineers will be deployed immediately; all resistance will be crushed! We possess Gallifrey now, it and Time are now our to control!' the Supreme replied.
'Understood, what of the President?' the Dalek leader inquired.
'The President is of no further importance. Scientific division requires no help from inferior creatures have him exterminated!' the Supreme replied.
'I Obey' replied the Dalek leader just as the President was ushered in.
'Look, I can walk myself. What do you want with me? Why have you allowed me to live?' he muttered but the Dalek Leader simply looked at him.
'Exterminate! Exterminate!' it suddenly grated and the President was both shocked and surprised when the Daleks opened fire.
He weakly cried out before collapsing to the ground.
'Gallifrey is ours to control! We are the Masters of time!' roared the Supreme.
'Masters of time! Masters of time Masters of time!' echoed the other Daleks.
Gallifrey had fallen; all resistance had been eliminated. All threat been dealt with!
But in the High Council's chamber, the Commander stirred slowly, her vision was blurred but in her ears were the shrieks of victory.
'Masters of time! Masters of time! Masters of time Masters of Time!'
The Commander winced as she breathed. Somehow, somewhen the Daleks were going to pay for this, she decreed!

She coughed hard and tried to stiffen her breath as she pulled herself free. Her body was stinging with internal pain. As she drew her staser there came a movement out in the corridor and glancing to the side she could see a Dalek in the distance.
She was Guard Commander Valen of the Chancellery Guard; she couldn't just die here. She would have to warn someone.
She was stronger than this as she tried to walk, stumbling as she went.
Coming out of the High Council chamber she paused as a Dalek glided by.
'This section is clear' replied the Dalek.
'Continue the search for resistance' commanded the other. 'I Obey' replied the Dalek and carried on.
Breathing weakly Valen limped down the vast passageway, her eyes meeting the ground constantly the fallen Time Lords at her feet.
Swallowing as she turned a corner, she breathed a sigh but was both startled and shocked by a blackened corpse, repetitive blasts from a Dalek weapon she thought?
Where was she going? She thought- her TARDIS, her Chancellery TARDIS sited not far from where she stood.
Darting back into an alcove, she held her breath as twelve Daleks led by a Red one glided by silently.
How many people had died? How many noble people suffered at their hands?
Taking a risk she broke off from the alcove and raced far from the wall to the cloisters where in its centre there stood a tall white box.
Pleased that it was unguarded she hurried over to it and pushed free the door.
'Halt! You will remain still!' a Dalek suddenly cried out as Valen looked, it was emerging from the cloisters 'Exterminate!' it started to say but Valen was already half into the TARDIS when it fired.
The energy bolt caught her at an angle. Crying hard as the doors closed, she set about activating the controls, the end was so close, so hard to breathe.
As the Time rotor moved she pressed her hands to a plate and concentrated.
She had to find a TARDIS, another Time Lord... then she fell forward and collapsed to the ground.

The scout continued to fire at the white box but as it did so the box vanished away.
'Alert! This scout seventeen to control, Time Lord is escaping in a TARDIS. Sector seventy-one, co-ordinates nine three four eight point seven.' it replied before resuming its task.
Within the control centre the metallic pulse hummed slowly.
'Analyse Time capsule for point of departure, prime weapons!' ordered the Black Dalek Leader.
'I Obey' replied a technician and immediately the screen came alive with the swirling Vortex and within sat the TARDIS.
'Prepare to fire! All Time Lords must be exterminated!' the Dalek Leader grated.
'Black Dalek, analysis is complete. There is no life sign aboard the TARDIS' replied another technician.
The Dalek Leader considered destroying the craft but there would be no need. A waste of power.
'Lower disrupters, continue work! Report Chief Scientist?' the Dalek Leader ordered.
The Red Dalek glided forward slowly.
'We have analysed the Eye of Harmony, we are now able to harness its power!' the scientist replied.
'Excellent. What of Time Lords not present on Gallifrey?' it asked.
'Insufficient data on this. The TARDIS cradles have been destroyed, all units are searching for them. When the Eye is tapped we will hold supreme power over time!' the Dalek scientist replied.
'Continue. We are in control Gallifrey, we have triumphed and now are supreme!' the Black Dalek Leader grated.
Out there in the streets lay hundreds of bodies, men and women; children curled up next to their mothers, while buildings stood there burning.
Silver Daleks glided amongst these bodies, surveying any possible resistance movement?
While over head Dalek Hoverbouts, hundreds of them covered the skyline.
As the flames caught at the ancient flag of Gallifrey, of Rassilon the wind seemed to drop completely.
A silence filled its place. A Deadly silence.