It always is, with The Doctor, isn't it?
The Doctor and Cas crouched down and scampered up to the crest of the ridge overlooking the Dalek mining site. Fiona was waiting for them; she handed a pair of binoculars to Cas.
The Doctor took a few moments to process the view. A dozen massive, conical structures of reinforced Dalek concrete ringed the western side of the site, their open tops belching pillars of white steam. Thick cables ran down to a huge rent in the earth, two soccer pitches in diameter, at the centre of the compound. At each point of the compass was a cylindrical access shaft. Five meters down the hole, sectioned metal roofing, undergirded by a web of support struts, extended slowly inward. A building sized crane, mounted on a dozen railway tracks, ground back from the pit’s edge.
Overlooking the site to the north was a sheer cliff face, into which was built a looming Dalek installation of metal and concrete. To the West was a helipad, beside which squatted a domed structure with a ring of tubes extending out from the top, which glowed phosphorescent blue-green: Taranium processing!
Thousands of human slaves swarmed about like ants: extending the helipad with tiling, laying new building foundations, setting up metal sheeting around the hole, and clearing away construction detritus, all while watched by robomen armed with whips and submachine guns. A few Dalek supervisors were stationed in overwatch positions.
Odd there weren’t more about.
The Doctor shifted his gaze to the outer defences: the camp was ringed by a three meter high wire fence with wooden towers every fifty meters, manned by robomen. Twenty meters of barren earth extended out on either side, in which nothing grew.
“That Death Strip will be difficult to cross in daylight,” grumbled Cas, handing the binoculars to The Doctor. “There are Dalek hover tracks running along it, but no external Dalek patrols I can see. Best to wait till dark.”
“That’s at least two hours away. May be too late,” said the Doctor quietly. He looked over his shoulder as Sergei, Ben and Craddock moved up beside them. Ian, Sanjay and Reuben stood guard at the base of the ridge. “They’re preparing for something. Clearing out the workers. Odd they’re closing off that shaft. Was it here the last time?”
Cas shook her head. “We did have intel, about two months ago? One of their primary battle saucers hovering over the site, on columns of searing white light, followed by blasts of thunder. Perhaps that was related, cutting it out.”
Fiona gestured to the north. “There are some old human-built access shafts, from before the Daleks occupied the site, along the ridge. Black marketers use them. Exit in one of their waste pits. We’d need a ladder, but it would allow us to bypass the outer security.”
“We passed an abandoned fire truck half a click back,” noted Ben. “It had ladders.”
“Good thinking,” said Cas with obvious relief. She got up and tapped Ben on the shoulder. “Right, take Sanjay and grab a ladder. We’ll secure the tunnel. No Slyther?”
Fiona paused a moment, as if in a trance, then said: “It’s for construction waste material, not bio waste.”
The Doctor pondered the gaping hole in the earth. Whatever the Daleks were planning, it required a great deal of power. Taranium introduced another wrinkle: it was used in Dalek time travel technology. “The question is, what do we do when we get in there?”
“Blow up that command complex,” said Craddock, patting a satchel at his waist. Each of them was carrying six packets of Craddock’s high explosive putty and three detonator sticks.
“We need to target key infrastructure of Project Infinity.” The Doctor nodded at the cliff installation. “That’s the operations hub, but is it the crux of Project Infinity?”
Craddock merely shrugged.
The Doctor took stock: “Right. What do we know? They’re digging into the core of the earth. Taranium, Eye of Harmony, and my granddaughter means they’re also messing with time. All are definitely interconnected. Odds are co-located.”
“Makes sense” said Cas. “But that just leads back to the command complex, doesn’t it?”
“What about the power cables?” asked Sergei. “If we cut those, it’ll cripple whatever it is they’re doing.”
“Good thought, but not necessarily. Now shh!” snapped the Doctor. “I need to concentrate.” He sat down cross legged on a flat rock just below the ridge. He rested his wrists on his knees, palms opened upward, and closed his eyes.
With calm, regulated breathing, he cleared his mind, just as K’anpo Rimpoche had taught him all those lives ago.
At the very edge of consciousness, he felt the faintest echo of Susan’s recursion loop. Not enough to contact directly. There was far too much psychic noise. Angry Dalek cognition spikes. But he could determine the direction of Susan’s cognition. He locked in on it, then snapped open his eyes. Unsurprisingly, he found himself staring at a point beneath the earth, slightly to the east of the main shaft. “That one,” said the Doctor, pointing at the east access cylinder stub. “The operational hub for Project Infinity is down there.”
Craddock scowled. “Based on what?”
“Call it a gut instinct.”
He had to get down there!
Cas considered. Then: “Agreed. We aim for the east access shaft. Let’s move people!”
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