Waiting On A Rival

Chapter 11

The lab was quiet with all the tension. The Doctor and I were set on uncovering the Daleks, while Amy probably thought we were crazy. Bracewell probably thought so too.

Let's not forget the sexual tension because of Colin. Whenever he entered the room, I looked at him for any differences from Cole. Maybe it was his descendent, but there were no differences. The Doctor saw me looking and pulled me closer to himself.

The Dalek offered, "Would you care for some tea?"

"That would be very nice," Bracewell thanked, "Thank you."

"All right, Prof. Now, the PM's been filling me in. Amazing things, these Ironsides of yours," the Doctor complimented, "Amazing. You must be very proud of them."

"Just doing my bit."

Amy added, "Not bad for a Paisley boy."

He smiled slightly. "Yes, I thought I detected a familiar cadence, my dear."

"How did you do it?" I asked, "Come up with the idea?"

"How does the muse of invention come to anyone?"

I wondered, "But you get a lot of these clever notions, do you?"

"Well, ideas just seem to teem from my head. Wonderful things, like. Let me show you." He pulled out some drawings and blueprints. "Some musings on the potential of hypersonic flight. Gravity bubbles that can sustain life outside of the terrestrial atmosphere. Came to me in the bath." I cracked a smile.

"And are these your ideas or theirs?" The Doctor accused.

"Oh no, no, no," Bracewell reassured, "These robots are entirely under my control, Doctor. They are." It returned with his tea. "Thank you. The perfect servant, and the perfect warrior."

"I don't know what you're up to, Professor, but whatever they've promised, you cannot trust them," he whispered, "Call them what you like, the Daleks are death." Death. To open their little citadel and see their life leave their single eye. To see them finished like they saw other races.

Winny broke me out of my trance, "Yes, Doctor. Death to our enemies. Death to the forces of darkness, and death to the Third Reich."

"Yes, Winston, and death to everyone else too." Death everywhere. The Doctor took my hand comfortingly and rubbed tiny circles soothingly, but I could feel his rage, under the seemingly calm façade. Rage about to explode any moment.

So I had to be the reasonable one.

The Dalek approached with the tea tray. "Would you care for some tea?" The breaking point.

He knocked the tray off the plunger and yelled, "Stop this! What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"We seek only to help you."

"Doctor-" I warned, but the Doctor ignored me.

"To do what?" He demanded.

"To win the war."

The Doctor was furious. "Really? Which war?"

It was confused. "I do not understand."

"This war, against the Nazis, or your war? The war against the rest of the Universe?" He stressed, "The war against all life forms that are not Dalek?"

This time, I tried comforting the Doctor, but he seemed to get angrier.

"I do not understand. I am your soldier."

"Oh, yeah? Okay. Okay, soldier, defend yourself." He shoved me away and picked up a spanner. I hit the wall and Amy raced to my side. My nose felt wet. When I removed my finger, blood remained. It snapped me out of my own bloodlust.