Destiny of The Daleks - Plot

Plot

The Doctor, following the events of The Armageddon Factor, is repairing K-9. Meanwhile, Romana regenerates, choosing the form of Princess Astra from the preceding adventure, in spite of the Doctor's disapproval.

The TARDIS lands on a rocky planet, which has breathable air but dangerously high levels of radioactivity. They explore and see a group of ragged-looking natives burying one of their dead, followed by a spaceship landing and half-burying itself in the ground in a valley. Just as the Doctor and Romana are about to investigate, underground explosions force them back towards the ruins. Whilst exploring the ruins, another underground explosion occurs, trapping the Doctor. Romana returns to the TARDIS to reassemble K-9 and get him to assist in removing the debris. She finds it half-buried in rubble and, realising that she cannot reach K-9, she turns back, to find that the Doctor has vanished. As she turns to leave, a man who has been following her blocks her path. She backs away, falls down a rubble chute, and loses consciousness. She recovers only to have a pair of Daleks burst through the wall and capture her, and command her to work at one of their drilling sites.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is thanking the silver-haired humanoids who have rescued him, remarking on their strength. He asks their commander, Sharrel, where he is, and discovers that the planet is D-5-Gamma-Z-Alpha, otherwise known as Skaro. The Doctor is astonished to hear that the Movellans are here to wage war against the Daleks. Two Movellans bring in a new prisoner, the man who has been following the Doctor and Romana. He identifies himself as Starship Engineer Tyssan. He reveals that the Daleks have used him as slave labour as part of a search operation for two years. He tells the Doctor about what has happened to Romana, and they set out to rescue her.

The Doctor, Tyssan and three Movellans find Romana and head into the Dalek headquarters. The Doctor establishes that the Daleks are searching for something on a level that they have yet to access, and remembers an alternative route to this area, so they make their way to this floor. There they discover Davros, the creator of the Daleks, in suspended animation, who slowly comes to life.

The Doctor moves the revived Davros into a blocked-off room in the old Kaled city. The Doctor and Davros talk about the Daleks' "accomplishments": whilst the Doctor comments on the countless lives the Daleks have ruined, Davros replies that the Daleks have only just begun their conquest of the cosmos. The Daleks find them both, and the Doctor holds Davros to ransom with a makeshift explosive he has just concocted, bargaining with the Daleks to free all their prisoners, and to let him escape. Davros makes them see that the Doctor's logic is "impaired by irrational sentiment" and the Daleks comply. The Daleks remove the explosive and Davros vows to make the Daleks invincible, and the supreme power of the universe.

Romana reaches the Movellan spaceship; but learns that the Movellans are not as altruistic as they appear when they knock her out. The Movellans test their nova device: a weapon which changes air molecules so that a planet's atmosphere becomes flammable and can be set alight, killing all life. The Doctor meets up with Tyssan and they find a Movellan scout. The Doctor reveals that the Movellans are, in fact, robots by removing the power pack on her belt and deactivating her. He finds Romana but is captured by the Movellans.

The Doctor learns that the Daleks and Movellans have been in a stalemate for over two centuries, and that both sides' battle computers have been calculating the best strategy and precise moment at which to attack. So far, not a single shot has been fired. The Daleks want Davros to help them gain an advantage. The Movellans want the Doctor to do the same for them, which the Doctor refuses to do. Davros, on the other hand, is all too eager to give the Daleks the upper hand. He orders them to make a suicide bombing attack on the Movellan craft upon realising that the Doctor might do the same thing for the Movellans. Meanwhile, Tyssan leads the prisoners in an attack on the Movellans, deactivating them all.

The Doctor makes his way to the city to confront Davros. The Doctor informs Davros that the Movellans have been disabled; unfortunately Davros does not believe him and intends to destroy the Movellan ship anyway. As the Daleks approach the ship, the Doctor goes to detonate the bombs but is ambushed by a Dalek, which holds him at gunpoint. The Doctor throws his hat on the Dalek's eyestalk, blinding it, then destroying it. He detonates the bombs and destroys the attacking Dalek squad.

The Doctor then puts Davros into the custody of the former slave workers. Davros will be placed in cryogenic suspension and taken to Earth to stand trial for his crimes. The Doctor and Romana leave; remarking on the fact that whoever makes mistakes often wins.