Extermination (audio story)

Extermination (identified on the cover simply as Chapter Twenty-Two) was the first story of series 6 of Gallifrey. It was written by Scott Handcock.

Publisher's summary
Gallifrey Fights...

Having infiltrated the Axis, the Daleks have secured access to a myriad alternative realities and, with them, countless Gallifreys... every one with secrets to be plundered.

As her new world falls to the might of the Dalek invasion force, Romana finds herself struggling to keep her friends alive as the Capitol collapses around her.

Against all odds, there may be a way out — back to the Axis and, potentially, back home. But desperate times call for desperate measures and, ultimately, sacrifices...

Plot
Surrounded by eight Daleks in the Panopticon, President Romana, Leela, Chancellor Narvin and Councillor Rahvon are ordered to remain still whilst they perform a scan. Romana sends a signal to the Chancellery Guard which the Daleks detect, leading them to destroy her communicator before locating a faint signal analagous to the multiversal anomaly that they are searching for. Narvin says that they will find no such anomaly, so the Daleks instead declare that they will make this Gallifrey their base from which they will dominate this universe. When Rahvon says that they cannot do this, they exterminate him.

Castellan Slyne enters the Panopticon with the Chancellery Guard and demands to know who the Daleks are and what their purpose is. The guards open fire, seemingly killing the Daleks, but Romana doubts that this is the case and tells Slyne to withdraw so that they can seal the room with the Daleks within. She sends Narvin to go to the Council Chambers with Leela and is taken to safety by Guard Commander Lukas when the Daleks awaken, undamaged. Slyne, however, refuses to leave. Lukas orders all nearby squadrons to report to the Panopticon whilst the others assist in the evacuation of the Capitol.

The Daleks are unharmed as they neutralised the staser fire prior to impact, meaning that they were never hit, and powered down only to trap Slyne in the Panopticon to keep him from leading the other squadrons. Romana contacts Slyne and, before the Daleks can stop the transmission, tells him that the Daleks' weakness is their eyestalk. After the Daleks detect the anomaly that they are searching for, they kill Jevon and start a shootout during which they apparently kill everybody in the Panopticon.

Lukas sets off an alarm and tries to take Romana to safety, but she refuses to leave Leela and Narvin waiting in the Council Chambers and orders him to accompany her there.

The Daleks spare Slyne, taking him prisoner, and are able to override the security systems by deciphering the biodata coding. As some Daleks leave to secure the Capitol, the Supreme Controller makes contact from the Axis for an update on the invasion.

Leela and Narvin head to the Council Chambers, although Leela wants to warn the Chancellery Guards that the Daleks will no doubt kill them. An emergency shutdown, enacted by either the Daleks or the guards, begins to lock down the sectors and trap Leela and Narvin in the Panopticon's sector. As the doors close, Leela chooses to remain to wait for Romana whilst the fearful Narvin is torn between staying with her and fleeing. He decides to stay at the last moment, surprising and pleasing Leela, as he is determined to at the very least have a good death at Leela's side.

A Dalek descends into the cells and encounters the incarcerated Allora. Saying that she was wrongfully imprisoned and had been denied a trial by Romana, she offers to pay the Dalek in return for her freedom. The Dalek says that prisoners are known to be unreliable and executes her.

Andred contacts Lukas, informing him that the Daleks have secured the central levels and are slaughtering their forces. Most of the Inner Council have been evacuated to a secure location, but several are unaccounted for.

Councillor Braxiatel is halted by a Dalek and threatens to shoot him with a weapon he has taken from a fallen Regenerator. The Dalek identifies him as "Irving Braxiatel", although he does not recognise the first name, and says that he is an associate of the Daleks. Braxiatel offers to assist them as their partner, but the Dalek says that he has previously betrayed the Daleks and exterminates him.

Leela and Narvin find Romana and Lukas. The four of them move, Lukas closing the security doors behind them as they go, and Narvin suggests that they find some of the Regenerators' weapons and take on the Daleks. They head towards the armoury, seeking to secure the Panopticon, return to the Axis and close the portal behind them to prevent reinforcements from coming, but they are chased by a Dalek which demands their surrender.

The Supreme Controller contacts the Daleks for a report and learns that the Capitol has been captured and the multiversal anomaly, Romana, has been identified. He orders that she be kept alive to be transported to Skaro. Leela, Narvin and Lukas, however, must be killed.

Leela confesses that she entered the Capitol several times whilst leading the Mancipians, stealing food and supplies, via secret routes which they could now use to escape the Daleks and reach the armoury. Lukas agrees that this plan could work and follows Leela whilst Romana tells Narvin to look out at the Outsiders' settlements, untouched by the Daleks' attack. She feels guilty for having brought Leela from the safety of Mancipia to the Capitol and tearfully admits to Narvin that she wants to go home. Looking at the sunset once last time, she goes with Narvin to catch up with Leela and Lukas.

An Outsider tells Jamalan that the Capitol has been sealed off and that Sura is worried about Leela, who has not been seen since she left Mancipia. Smoke rises from the city and Jamalan says that it might be the end of Gallifrey.

The Daleks continue to search for Romana, their thermal sensors indicating that she has fled to the lower levels. All units are to converge at her location.

Arriving in the armoury, the group find the vast array of weapons decommissioned by Romana and deadlock the four entrances to prevent the Daleks from surrounding them. However, the Daleks arrive and begin using plasma torches to gain entry. The group arm themselves and take one of the four doors each, but Lukas' weapon fails to fire and he is exterminated. Romana fires on a Dalek and destroys most of its casing. When the Dalek regains consciousness, Romana tortures and interrogates it, learning that the Daleks' have been plundering the Time Lords' secrets across multiple timelines and that they plan to conquer the multiverse.

Leela tells Narvin that the portal is still in the Panopticon, the Daleks having found a way to keep it open and static, and they enter it. The Axis is dark and full of technology to which the Supreme Controller has been wired, monitoring every aspect of each reality and directing the Daleks across the multiverse. The Controller demands to know why they have come, telling them that K9 Mark II has fled to another timeline, and requests reinforcements. Narvin tells him that the Dalek squadron has been wiped out and that no reinforcements will come.

Romana tortures the Dalek and threatens to kill him. The Dalek does not believe her, knowing that she has previously shown mercy to the Daleks, but she explains that she allowed their threat to remain only to bring out the best in other races. Having spent twenty years as a prisoner of the Daleks, Romana hates them and uses a taser to kill her captive, saying "exterminate".

Leela goads the Supreme Controller into disengaging from the Axis systems by accusing it of being afraid of her. He activates his weapons and attacks, but Narvin gets behind him and covers his eyestalk, allowing Leela to damage him. Hearing him in pain, she offers to kill him to put him out of his misery, but he refuses to submit.

Romana enters her office and accesses Kavil's research on genetic anomalies within herself and Narvin, taking it on a data device. She also records a message for the Inner Council and Outer Chambers, telling them that she has been fatally injured and that the events of this day should never be forgotten. She asks them to look after the planet and continue to cooperate with the Outsiders.

Romana arrives on the Axis and orders Narvin to seal the portal behind them. Leela and Narvin are concerned about the fate of the Gallifrey they have been living on, but Romana has faith in her Councillors and says that they have to make their own choices and mistakes. With Kavil's research and the Biodata Archive, Romana and Narvin should be able to reprogram the Time Lords' genetics and bypass the Dogma Virus or make it less virulent. Leela heads through the portal home first to check for danger, followed by Romana and Narvin.

Cast

 * Supreme Leader Romana - Lalla Ward
 * Outcast Leader Leela - Louise Jameson
 * Chancellor Narvin - Seán Carlsen
 * Castellan Slyne - Peter Sheward
 * Guard Commander Lukas / Outsider - Scott Arthur
 * Allora - Maggie Ollerenshaw
 * Councillor Braxiatel - Miles Richardson
 * The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
 * Andred - Andy Coleman
 * Jevon - Scott Handcock
 * Councillor Rahvon - Marcus Harris
 * Jamalan - Jack Baggs

Continuity

 * Romana states that she first met the Daleks in the Proxima System during her first incarnation (AUDIO: The Dalek Contract / The Final Phase) and later on their homeworld Skaro while she was travelling with the Fourth Doctor (TV: Destiny of the Daleks). After leaving the TARDIS, she encountered them once again on Etra Prime. (AUDIO: The Apocalypse Element)
 * Leela refers to meeting the Daleks on Earth and the Moon on 30 January 2025. (AUDIO: Energy of the Daleks)
 * Narvin tells Leela that he can no longer regenerate as his remaining regenerations were extracted as a form of torture on another alternative Gallifrey. (AUDIO: Reborn)
 * Allora tells the Daleks that she was imprisoned by Romana. (AUDIO: Emancipation)
 * The Daleks refer to the fact that the Irving Braxiatel of the proper timeline was once their ally but that he betrayed them. The alternative Braxiatel is exterminated as they believe that he would likely betray them as well if they were to ally themselves with him. (AUDIO: Death and the Daleks)
 * The Daleks recognise Romana as Unit 117 from her time as their prisoner and her involvement in the Archetryx operation. They still believe her to be Lady President of the High Council of the Time Lords. (AUDIO: The Apocalypse Element)
 * One of the Outsiders mentions that Leela has not been seen since she entered the Capitol with the Regenerators. (AUDIO: Arbitration)
 * Romana recalls that she was shocked that the Fifth Doctor ran away from his responsibilities after he was appointed Lord President of Gallifrey. (TV: The Five Doctors)