Father of the Daleks (short story)

Father of the Daleks was the second short story published in The Wintertime Paradox.

Summary
to be added

Plot
The story of the Daleks did not begin with the Doctor but he was there at their beginning. And for that, Davros will never forgive him.

In high orbit of Gryphon's Reach, the Dalek Empire deploys its troops, the invasion deployment overseen by Davros himself.

''On the planet Lavellan, Davros meets with the Doctor at a café to observe the local Christmas celebrations, questioning why the Lavellanese would celebrate a human tradition. The Time Lord simply believes that some people are willing to share and allow for the cross-pollination of ideas and cultures. Comparing the concept to a virus that is carried through the hearts and minds of those infected, Davros begins scribbling formulae.''

For weeks, the Dalek Empire has been probing the otherwise unremarkable area around Gryphon's Reach before the Daleks finally admitted defeat and requested the aid of their creator. Observing his children's progress, Davros opens a channel. He knows the Doctor is down there.

''On Traxamere Beta, Davros meets the Eleventh Doctor for another Christmas. The two briefly debate who is responsible for their feud before the festive lights come on and they enjoy the sight.''

The facility on Gryphon's Reach had once been owned by the Krillitane, conducting experiments to perfect a phase-cloak, making the wearer completely invisible. A tactical advantage that the Dalek Empire will allow no other race to possess. It is only an hour after the battle began, when the Dalek reserves have been deployed, does the Doctor respond to Davros, giving him one chance to withdraw his children. When the Daleks turn to him for guidance, Davros orders them to press the attack.

''On the Red Moon of Xhe, Davros and the Doctor celebrate another Christmas, watching a group of tribespeople sing. When Davros makes to leave, the Doctor reveals his reason for asking him here. Words can have multiple meanings. Christmas, for example, here means singing but it can also mean religion, family, or simply celebrating the halfway point of winter. Dalek, however, simply means Dalek. The Doctor can stop the Daleks. But only Davros can change them. Only he could make the word mean something other than an unstoppable force of destruction. Though Davros admits that he has considered it, he ultimately cannot bring himself to change his children.''

Davros' command ship pulls away from Gryphon's Reach, the Dalek force sent running when the Doctor was able to mix Gallifreyan and Krillitane bio-technology to cloak the Daleks' own sensors. After several agonising minutes in the dark, the casings rebooted and the Daleks found their foes and prize gone. Though Davros is confident that he can overcome this vulnerability by the next time, the Daleks state their will be no text time. Declaring that they do not need Davros' help, or him, they close their communications with him.

Reeling from this, Davros head to Alacracis IV to meet the Doctor for another Christmas. Recalling their earlier discussion, Davros concedes that something must change. His words, exactly what the Doctor has longed to hear, prove enough of a distraction for the nearby Daleks to decloak and ambush the Doctor.

Surrounded by a hundred Daleks, the Doctor makes an offer. He always comes to his and Davros' truces unarmed and with no allies and he will lay down and be exterminated if... the Daleks kill Davros alongside him. To Davros' horror, fifty of the Daleks turn their gunsticks on him. As both the Doctor and the Daleks say, Davros built them to succeed at any cost.

In the smoking ruins of the marketplace, as life begins to trickle back in, the Doctor corrects Davros' assumption that he didn't have a failsafe. He had Davros. Before they take their leave, the Doctor questions if the Daleks know that they self-destruct should they ever turn on their creator. Davros confirms that they do not, justifying it as his children being unpredictable. On that note, the Doctor departs, offering his belief that the Daleks are very predictable.

Bringing the Dalek corpses aboard his ship, Davros considers abandoning his children and starting again before a Dalek transmission comes in. The Dalek Empire has declared war on Gallifrey itself. Will Davros help them?

With a father's pride, he answers that he will.

Characters
to be added
 * Eleventh Doctor
 * Davros
 * Daleks

Continuity

 * As the Last Great Time War commences, Davros is based in a command ship. (TV: The Stolen Earth, PROSE: The Third Wise Man)
 * Davros would later describe himself as the father of the Daleks. (TV: The Witch's Familiar)
 * The Doctor expresses a fondness for daiquiris. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace)
 * The Doctor notes that the Daleks can't work up the courage to shoot him out of fear that he has a failsafe. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)