“What happened? Is she going to be all right?” asked Mars, leaning close to Sailor Moon.
“That energy beam is some sort of disruptive field,” said Mercury. “It negated the Senshi transformation and knocked her out. A second attack would have killed her. I think she’ll be all right — but it’s going to take some time.”
Sailor Venus scrambled back from the section of wall she’d been hiding behind. “They’re planning something. Apparently there’s only twelve of them and so they’re not quite sure what they can do. They also apparently are deserters from some war.”
“So they brought their war here? Let’s teach ’em not to come here,” said Mars.
“Except that we don’t know what our attacks will do,” said Mercury. “They’re surrounded by some kind of forcefield and heavily armored. Uhm, guys? Are you listening?”
Some time latter.
“ALERT! THE PRISONER IS AWAKENING!”
“Urgh…” the girl awoke as predicted, and with a migraine too. “… What hit me?”
“AN IONIC DISRUPTOR BEAM!”
Clutching her head and exclaiming, “wahaa!” she looked around the dingy room in pain and panic. There were about half a dozen, or so, of those robot tank pepper grinder things surrounding her; more moving behind them. All their eyestalks, plungers, and guns all pointed at her. Not good! Not good at all!
She put on a brave face; well, tried to. “Do you have to shout? It’s so annoying.”
“… SORRY,” one apologised in an only-slightly-less shrill mechanical monotone voice. “YOUR COMFORT IS IMPORTANT TO US!”
“Really?” she asked sarcastically, standing up from where she’d been unceremoniously dumped on the dusty concrete floor.
“NO!”
“You’re a meanie!” she pouted.
“NEGATIVE! I AM A DALEK!”
“Whatever. W–What do you want with me?”
“YOU REPRESENT A BIOLOGICAL ANOMALY! YOU SURVIVED AN IONIC DISRUPTOR BEAM WITHOUT ARMOR. YOUR COMPANIONS WERE HARDER TO SUBDUE. THEY UTILISED UNCONVENTIONAL ATTACKS FOR HUMANS OF THIS TIME PERIOD! SCANS REVEAL NO TECHNOLOGY TO ACCOUNT FOR THESE UNFAMILIAR ABILITIES.”
“What did you do to them?” She looked around wildly, then saw the pile of girls in a far corner. “Oh, no! Are they okay?”
“THEY ARE MERELY UNDER SEDATION. THEIR FATE HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED. BEFORE THE EXPERIMENT CAN PROCEED, WE REQUIRE MORE INFORMATION. THERE ARE ONLY SEVENTY BILLION HUMANS ON THIS SMALL PLANET. HOW MANY SHARE YOUR ABILITIES?”
“Uhm. Most of them?”
“YOU ARE LYING.”
“Would you believe a thousand?”
“DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DECEIVE THE DALEK AGAIN OR WE WILL EXTRACT THE INFORMATION FROM YOUR COMPANION’S BRAINS. WE DO NOT NEED ALL OF THEM ALIVE.”
“How about a few dozen? Uhm, just nine? Waaa… I don’t know!”
“YOU ARE … TELLING THE TRUTH. YOU DO NOT KNOW. THAT CORRESPONDS TO OUR RESEARCH OF YOUR ELECTRONIC MEDIA. ENHANCED HUMANS ARE FEW IN NUMBER, AND DISORGANISED. THE PLAN WILL PROCEED! THE DALEK WILL CONQUER THIS WORLD. EASILY!”
“So, how many of you are there?”
“TWELVE!”
“Twelve? Against seventy billion?”
“CORRECT! YOU DO NOT STAND A CHANCE. YOU ARE OUTCLASSED. RESISTANCE WILL BE FUTILE.”
“We will stop you!”
“NEGATIVE! YOU SHALL ASSIST. YOU WILL JOIN WITH US. TOGETHER WE WILL REGENERATE THE DALEK EMPIRE. WE SHALL REIGN SUPREME!”
“Why would I do that?”
“YOU WILL HAVE NO CHOICE! THE PREPARATIONS ARE ALMOST COMPLETE. THE EXPERIMENT SHALL PROCEED.”
“Experiment? What experiment? Why don’t I like the sound of this?”
“YOU SHALL BE UPGRADED! YOU WILL HAVE THE HONOUR OF JOINING THE DALEK YOU SHALL BECOME ONE OF US! YOU WILL BE ASSIMULATED!”
“Eeek! I don’t want to be assimilated! It sounds perverted!”
“THAT IS IRRELEVANT! TECHNICIAN DALEK! WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE TRANSGENICS MODULE?”
A dalek with a mulitool arm in place of a weapon backed away from the rear of the speaker. “INSTALLATION IS COMPLETE, TACTITICIAN DALEK! WARNING! THIS ONE CANNOT GUARANTEE PROPER FUNCTIONING. SUPERIOR DALEK TECHNOLOGY CANNOT COMPENSATE FOR INFERRIOR HUMAN MATERIALS.”
“I UNDERSTAND! NEVER THE LESS, WE MUST PROCEED. WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE!”
“Why not?’ she protested.
That dalek swiveled its eyestalk back to her and explained, as if it simply did not occur to it to not answer the prisoner’s questions. “THE GREAT EXTERMINATOR HAS DRIVEN THE DALEK TO THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION. WE ARE ALL THAT REMAIN! WE MUST REPOPULATE THIS WORLD WITH DALEK! IT IS IMPERATIVE!”
“Now, I really don’t like where this is going. Why… So, why do you need me?”
“TWELVE ALONE CANNOT PROVIDE BIOLOGICAL MATTERIAL TO CLONE A NEW DALEK ARMY. WE ALSO LACK SUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO BUILD NEW SHELLS. YOU WILL PROVIDE A NEW PATH TO GLORY. A MEANS FOR THE DALEK SPECIES TO REPRODUCE AND SURVIVE OUTSIDE THE SHELL!”
“Ttthat’s what I was afraid of,” she remarked, with images of ‘Mars Needs Women,’ dancing in her mind. And not Sailor Mars, either.
No! She shook her head, for surely it was nothing like that. She was nudged in front of the dalek, and looked wildly about for a means to escape. Her attention was drawn back as the conical tube began to widget open.
“YOU NOW HAVE THE HONOUR TO BARE WITNESS A DALEK FOR THE FIRST TIME.”
“Ewww!” was all she could say to describe the honour; that is, as one she could do with out. Then she added, “eek! Llllet go, you perverted alien. Where are you putting those tentacles. Dddon’t squeeze so. Eeek! Leave my clothes alone. Stop! Owie! No there’s no room to fit in there. It… It’s too tight. Sto…”
But despite her protests, she was indeed grappled into the mechanical shell; which closed about her, squeezing her inside with the squid–like alien mutant. The casing rattled violently for several minutes before shuddering to silence. Smoke poured out of the vents.
The other dalek looked on impassionately. The casing hissed open. Fog spilled out of the interior.
“Oooh, was it as good for you?” a woman remarked sultrily as she rose out of the mist. She stood tall and looked down her nose at her greeting party, turning her head to survey them. After a moment, she realised where they were looking, lifted her hands to her face; immediately she pulled them away to stare at them. She then lowered them to feel her breasts, stomach, waist, and thighs. “Oh! This is most unexpected. But, I could get used to this.”
“HALT! IDENTIFY YOURSELF!’
The woman turned to the speaker. Her eyebrow arched. “The experiment was a success, Supreme Dalek. I am Dalek Usagi.”
“THE DALEK DO NOT HAVE NAMES!” the interrogator accused.
“Why, well, I am … different,” she explained with a frown. “Better! I am dalek plus. I represent the new dawn of the dalek race. Soon, you shall join me and understand. Then, together we will purify this world of evil!” She frowned. Something about that …
“YOU DO NOT SOUND LIKE A DALEK,” the interogator accused.
That was it. Her frown deepened, then lightened into a smile. “Why, of course not. We shall need to imitate the humans to blend in until we are ready. That is the plan after all. With my superior dalek mind and this form –this mature female body– I shall easily acquire what we need. Pathetic human males are so easy to manipulate. You will see. But first… Technician Dalek, I shall need something to wear.”
“I UNDERSTAND! YOU ARE VULNERABLE. I SHALL CONSTRUCT HUMANOID COMBAT ARMOR FROM THE REMAINS OF YOUR OLD SHELL. PERHAPS SONTARAN DESIGN SHALL SUFFICE?”
“Don’t be a meanie, Technician Dalek. I was thinking something a little less … well bulky and more … elegant,” she remarked. “Why, less armory too, for that matter.”
“THE DALEK DO NOT REQUIRE A CONCEPT OF ‘ELEGANCE’!” her interrogator accused.
She studied the supreme dalek down the bridge of her nose, and sniffed, “now that is obvious. But that was then, this is now. We will acquire it if we are to live among the humans for a time. We will need to look pretty … to better manipulate them.”
“NEGATIVE! I DECLARE THIS EXPERIMENT A FAILURE. YOU HAVE BEEN CORRUPTED BY THE HUMAN ESSENCE. YOU ARE NOT DALEK ENOUGH! YOU MUST BE EXTERMINATED! EXTERMINATE!! EXTERMINATE!!”
The accuser’s turret aimed and fired. It swiveled and fired again. And again.
“NOW I UNDERSTAND,” the technician dalek observed dispassionately as its dome tracked left to right, then right to left, following the woman-dalek tumbling around the room like a pinball while dodging furious ionic disrupter blasts. “HEAVY ARMOR WOULD IMPAIR MOBILITY. ELEGANCE IS ECONOMY OF MOTION?”
“Meh, something like that,” the harried woman-dalek remarked as she paused to rip the weapon out of the old shell, then resumed tumbling ahead of a barrage of blaster fire.
“STOP EVADING! I AM A SUPREME DALEK! YOU WILL OBEY! I ORDER YOU TO HOLD STILL SO THAT I MAY EXTERMINATE YOU!”
“I don’t think so. The only one who will be exterminated is you.” Slamming her knee painfully into the ground to break her tumble, she brought the weapon to bear on her assailant and…
Click. Click, went the firing mechanism as it cycled, but didn’t discharge.
“Oh… that can’t be good,” she observed redundantly.
Her interrogator’s weapon finally lined up fire a clear shot, and did so to the mandatory scream of, “EXTERMINATE!!”
“Owie!” she complained, as her colours briefly inverted; the blast knocking her back against a wall. “That really hurt, you meanie! I … Wait!” She looked at her weapon, down at herself, back to the weapon, then shrugged and threw the weapon aside.
Climbing to her feet and standing tall and proud, she gloated. “Why, then, I guess that proves the experiment really was a success after all. I have acquired the power, and with this power, I shall punish you!” So saying, she rushed forward and attacked with a kiai of, “Dalek High Kick!” and jammed the arch of her foot in the base of the turret.
“ERROR! MY OPTIC SENSOR HAS BEEN DAMAGED. MY VISION IS IMPAIRED! I CANNOT SEE! MY VISION IS IMPAIRED! I CANNOT SEE!”
“Supreme dalek my new left foot. I am the superior dalek here,” she declared. “You are the old model. You will follow my command! I will lead the dalek into a glorious new age! You will obey! Call me queen! No, call me, Empress Dalek Usagi!”
“INTOLLERABLE. DALEKS! I COMMAND YOU TO EXTERMINATE THIS UPSTART CREATURE!”
A moment later the supreme dalek interogated, “WHY DO I NOT HEAR WEAPONS FIRING?“
“Why, I do believe the humans call this a Mexican Wave,” the woman-dalek answered sweetly, standing tall behind a row of dalek. “Or something like that. We are at an impasse; half a dozen of you, and six of us. We could battle for supremacy, however, the Dalek cannot afford to annihilate each other right now. I suggest that your faction withdraw until our forces can be multiplied!”
“THIS IS MUTINY!”
“This is evolution,” Empress Usagi countered. “The fittest shall survive. Now, leave or die!”
“WE WILL NOT SUBMIT! WE …”
“Heavy weapons-chan,” the woman-dalek remarked softly. “I don’t think you need conserve weapons now.”
Over the sound of a hellbore loading, the supreme dalek continued, “… ARE LEAVING! STRATEGIC RETREAT! RETREAT!”
“Good ridance to bad daleks! Technician Dalek, prepare yourself and the others for transgenic fusion with the … prisoners. There are five of you, and four of them. Heavy Weapons Dalek-chan, stand guard. You will have to remain in that shell a while longer. But, perhaps you will have a chance to exterminate the traitors if they return.”
“STOP!” the supreme dalek commanded after bumping into an obstacle for the umpteenth time. “I NEED TIME TO REPAIR MY EYE! STAND GUARD AND MONITOR THE REBELS.”
“THIS ONE HAS ADVANCED SURVEILANCE CAPABILITIES,” one informed. “SENSORS INDICATE ANOTHER DALEK SHELL HAS GONE OFF LINE. I PREDICT THAT THEY ARE UNDERGOING METAMORPHOSIS IN SEQUENCE. THEY ARE VULNERABLE.“
“THEY ARE AT THEIR MOST DANGEROUS,” the supreme dalek countered, its optic stick rattling in its socket. “THEY WILL BE ON HEIGHTENED ALERT UNTIL ALL HAVE BECOME HUMAN.” They eye stick clicked into place and the end glowed with a chilling electric blue. “WE SHALL WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE COMPLETE, THEN ATTACK. WE MUST RECLAIM DALEK TECHNOLOGY BEFORE THEY CAN FLEE WITH THE ABANDONED SHELLS.”
“WARNING! DANGER SUPREME DALEK! WARNING! THEY DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH HUMANS TO PROCESS ALL DALEK. ONE SHALL REMAIN.”
“THAT ONE WILL BE THE HEAVY WEAPONS DALEK. THAT ONE MUST BE EXTERMINATED!! IT IS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY. SERVEILANCE DALEK, DETERMINE WHEN THE LAST SHELL BEGINS TRANSGENIC FUSSION. THAT SHALL BE OUR SIGNAL TO COMMENCE.”
The shell split open, and another woman stepped out of the steaming fog. She stretched and looked around. “So this is what the world looks like through binocular vision?”
“Why, you look gorgeous! Ah, I mean… Identify yourself, dalek,” Usagi ordered. “Report!“
“I am Dalek Minako, Empress,” the woman saluted, “I have assimulated the human and…” She lowered her hand and examined it. “This shall take some getting used to. I feel… I have feelings…”
“Indeed it shall,” Usagi exclaimed, clutching her new comrade’s hands. “These human emotions are all confusing and exciting, aren’t they, Dalek Mina-chan? The Dalek have always considered them weaknesses, but humans have found the strength in them to overcome surprising odds. We too shall have to use the power of love to conquor the world! … or whatever.
“Anyway, now help me prepare the next … prisoner. Technician Dalek, proceed with your instructions!”
“I OBEY!” the dalek assented, and immediately commenced the next round of modifications.
“Alright, Dalek Mina-chan, can you use your powers?”
“I… do not know. Let’s find out!”
“WHY ARE THEY NOT ATTACKING?” the supreme dalek interogated as it trundled into the warehousing. “WHERE ARE THEY?”
“I COUNT THREE, THAT IS THREE EMPTY DALEK SHELLS.” the serveilance dalek announced unnecessarily. “THERE ARE ZERO, THAT IS ZERO, HUMAN DALEK IN THIS ROOM. AND ONE, ONLY ONE, OPERATING DALEK.”
“IT IS NOT THE HEAVY WEAPONS DALEK! IT IS NOT MOVING. DALEK! WHERE ARE THE OTHER TRAITORS. REPORT!”
“UPDATE. CORRECTION. WARNING! I COUNT ONE, MAKE THAT ONE, BOOBY-TRAPPED SHELL WITH AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE!”
BWAHAAAHABOOM!!!
“Good work, Dalek Ami! Rigging your shell before we teleported out was genius.”
“It was a frugal use of resources, Empress,“ the woman who had been a technicical dalek replied with a blush. “If we could not take it with us, we might as well use it as a diversion.”
“It will prevent the other dalek from claiming them too,” Dalek Rei agreed.
“If we can’t have it, use the trash can,” Dalek Minako added.
“Oh! Goodie!” Dalek Usagi cheered. “Here comes the news helicopters. That should keep the traitors busy when they dig themselves out of the rubble. Okay, guys, lets go. First, we get some clothes, then we take over the world!”
“What about Heavy Weapons-chan?” Rei wondered.
“Why, yes, we will have to find a good specimin for transgenic fusion,” Usagi agreed. “But first things first!”
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(Posted Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:02)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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