Official Eighth Doctor

A Dalek Adventure, Part 1

A/N: For those a little less familiar with the Eighth Doctor, this story takes place sometime between the Eighth Doctor Adventure (EDA) stories Dominion and Interference. Samantha (Sam) Jones and Fitzgerald (Fitz) Kreiner are his companions. Fitz especially is one of my favorite companions ever, and I highly suggest reading the EDAs. Fitz is canonically in love with the Doctor, and I love them. I'll try to reveal important relationship details as we go on, which may seem redundant for people who have read the books up through Interference, but for the rest of you, it should be helpful.

Another little warning: I don't swear irl personally, but I have include some swearing because Sam and Fitz do swear in the series. I am simply trying to keep the continuity of their characters.

The grass grew on the banks of the river. Beyond, it turned into mud, then clay, then hard, dusty dirt. The river itself, wide and brown, coursed through the valley quickly, almost angrily. A caravan of people, walking on foot, came closer to its rushing waters cautiously. They were small, the tallest perhaps five and a half feet; their faces were haggard and weather beaten. They wore little, and the children wore nothing at all. Their light-brown skin was dark with dirt and dust.

As they watched the waters, their attention was drawn away from the rush. A blue light flashed on the other side of the river. They drew back, afraid. The light disappeared, and out of nowhere, a creature appeared. Was it a god? Or a demon? Its body was strangely smooth and shiny, with bumps in perfect rows down its body. From its domed top, a stick poked out, from which a faint blue glow emanated. Two appendages stuck out lower down, like arms. One was a thin stick ending in a black circle, the other a thin silver wand.

The people fell on their faces, some pushing their children down into the dirt as well. This strange creature must be a god of some sort.

For the creature's part, it sat there - or was it standing? There were no legs visible - silently, the top swiveling around, the faint blue glow casting shadows in the dusk.

One man, summoning courage, rose to his feet, but kept his head down. "O mighty one," he proclaimed, in a voice loud enough to reach across the river to the creature, "my name is Vasya. I am your humble servant. I humbly beg permission to ask a question."

"Speak." The creature's voice was grating, metallic.

"O mighty one," said Vasya, "I ask for nothing but a sign. This valley has good soil and flowing water. I ask for you to send a sign, one to tell us if we can make this valley our home."

"You shall make your home here!" the creature replied.

"Is this your sign?" Vasya asked hopefully.

"It is a fact," the creature said. It swiveled its body around to face the crowd of people. "This is my sign. Exterminate! Exterminate!" A beam of blue light shot out from the silver wand, enveloping Vasya. The others watched in horror as Vasya screamed and fell to the ground. When the blue light disappeared, he lay unmoving.

The creature disappeared in a haze of blue light. The people slowly stood up. The elder of the caravan went to Vasya and checked him over, putting her cheek to his mouth to check for breath.

"Vasya is dead," she told the others, "but the strange creature told us it was a sign."

"Do you not believe that it was a god?" a man asked. His three small children clung to his legs, stealing glances at Vasya's body.

The old woman shook her head. "I do not believe that a god would do something like that. I believe we have been visited by a devil."

"How do we know it won't come back?" a woman asked. It was Vasya's wife, Draupadi. Her face was haggard and careworn; despite her young age, wrinkles had already started to form on her forehead and cheeks. "What if it wants us to stay here so that it can just kill us whenever it wants?"