Dalek War: Chapter One (audio story)

 was the first instalment of Dalek Empire II: Dalek War, and the fifth release in the Dalek Empire series overall.

Publisher's summary
The galaxy is in the grip of a terrible war. Kalendorf and his alliance forces are fighting alongside Daleks from another dimension. Their common cause? The defeat of the Dalek Supreme's mighty army.

But where is the evil Emperor of the Daleks? And can it be that the legendary Angel of Mercy, Susan Mendes, has already been exterminated?

With civilisation on the brink of destruction, it may now be impossible to tell friend from foe...

Plot
Once the Daleks from the parallel universe (the Alliance Daleks) entered the primary universe, they joined forces with the rebelling humans and the remnants of the Earth Alliance forces against the Daleks from that universe (the Enemy Daleks). In the five years since the Alliance Daleks crossed over from their own universe, the surviving Enemy Dalek forces have been forced to retreat into the Sol system, making Earth their final stronghold from where the Dalek Supreme coordinates the war effort. An Alliance fleet under the commander of Kalendorf aboard his flagship, the Earth Alliance battle cruiser Courageous, endeavours to retake Earth in order to achieve final victory over the Enemy Daleks. Herrick is his first officer. The Alliance fleet had earlier succeeded in cutting off the Dalek Supreme's retreat to the Seriphia Galaxy. In spite of their efforts, raiding parties of Enemy Daleks still exist in outlying areas but are not considered a serious threat.

In the parallel universe, the female creator of the Alliance is the Mentor. She regularly communicates with Kalendorf in the form of a holographic transmission through the executive communications centre aboard the Courageous.

Mirana has been given command of the Alliance scout ship Defiant. Her first officer is named Marber whereas Dr. Johnstone, who oversaw the deactivation of the psychotropic implant in Mirana's brain almost six years earlier, is the ship's chief medical officer.

Susan Mendes was not exterminated on Yaldos but only stunned. She was then transported off the planet by the Daleks and placed in suspended animation in preparation for her robotisation and ultimate conversion into a Dalek. According to the Mentor, the process is irreversible and she must be terminated as a result of the length of time that she spent as a captive of the Enemy Daleks. When the Alliance Daleks first arrived, the Dalek Emperor transferred its consciousness into Suz's mind. Unbeknownst to the Mentor, Kalendorf charges Alby and Mirana with the mission to retrieve her. Still in suspended animation, Suz was being transported aboard the cargo freighter Omega N-7, which was destroyed by Alby. The Defiant retrieves the cryogenic pod from the debris and Dr. Johnstone revives her.

Over time, Kalendorf, Alby and Mirana begin to develop doubts about the Mentor and the Alliance Daleks. Reports suggest that they enforce peace and order with the same ruthlessness with which the Daleks from the primary universe subjugate and conquer. Several planets which refused to provide troops to the war effort were reduced to a mediaeval level, having had their industrial infrastructure destroyed. In a more extreme example, Emmeron, which had been embroiled in a nuclear war by the time that the Dalek War began, was reduced to a Stone Age level. These worlds came to be known as the Punished Planets. The actions of the Alliance Daleks led Kalendorf to conclude that they have merely swapped one dictatorship for another, outwardly more benign one.

Cast

 * Fleet Commander Kalendorf - Gareth Thomas
 * Susan Mendes - Sarah Mowat
 * Alby Brook - Mark McDonnell
 * Mirana - Teresa Gallagher
 * The Mentor - Hannah Smith
 * Saloran Hardew - Karen Henson
 * Siy Tarkov - Steven Elder
 * Marber / Drudger - Ian Brooker
 * Dr. Johnstone - Simon Bridge
 * Herrick - Jeremy James
 * Morli - Dannie Carr
 * The Daleks / The Alliance Daleks - Nicholas Briggs

Worldbuilding

 * Although he was aware of Kalendorf, Siy Tarkov had never heard of the Daleks until he was told of them by Saloran Hardew.

Continuity

 * After being revived from suspended animation, Suz recalls the Earth Alliance battle cruiser crash-landing on Vega VI and the consequent destruction of Vega City. This was the first indication that the Dalek invasion of Mutter's Spiral had begun. (AUDIO: Invasion of the Daleks)
 * Mirana recounts the events of AUDIO: Project Infinity to Suz.
 * The Dalek Emperor was captured by the Alliance Daleks on Lopra Minor almost immediately after they crossed over from their own universe approximately six years earlier. (AUDIO: Project Infinity)
 * 2,500 years later, it was discovered that Morli was an advanced form of Roboman. Their creators, the Alliance Daleks, referred to them as Demons. Others of her kind included Galanar and Elaria. (AUDIO: The Demons)