The Gas Shell Gambit: Separation and Capture in the Trenches
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
A hidden panel in the door opens, and a gas shell explodes nearby, forcing the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry to seek respirators from the corpses.
The Doctor, Harry, and Sarah are overpowered by troops in rag-tag uniforms, but then neatly uniformed soldiers emerge and incapacitate the initial attackers, capturing the Doctor and Harry while Sarah is left behind.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Analytical urgency masking deep concern for his companions' safety, with a flicker of frustration at his own vulnerability in this moment.
The Doctor discovers the corpses propped up as sentries, theorizing about the war's cyclical nature and the desperation of the Kaleds. When a gas shell explodes, he quickly identifies it as poison gas and leads the group to scavenge respirators from the dead. He attempts to escape capture but is overpowered by Kaled soldiers, who drag him away into the service tunnel.
- • Survive the gas attack by securing respirators for the group.
- • Avoid capture by Kaled soldiers to maintain mission continuity and protect Sarah and Harry.
- • The war on Skaro has been ongoing for an extended period, evidenced by the anachronistic mix of technology.
- • The locked service tunnel likely leads to Davros’s bunker, making it a critical path forward for their mission.
Disciplined and focused, executing their orders with precision and efficiency, showing no hesitation in eliminating threats or capturing intruders.
Kaled soldiers burst through the service tunnel door, machine-gunning down the ragtag militia and capturing the Doctor and Harry. They drag the Doctor and Harry away into the service tunnel, leaving Sarah behind in the chaos. Their actions are disciplined, efficient, and authoritative, reflecting their role as the dominant military force on Skaro.
- • Eliminate the ragtag militia to maintain control of the trench network and the service tunnel.
- • Capture the intruders (Doctor and Harry) for interrogation or elimination, ensuring they do not interfere with Kaled operations.
- • The trenches and service tunnels are critical Kaled territory that must be defended at all costs.
- • Intruders and militia forces are threats to Kaled dominance and must be neutralized or captured.
Anxious but focused, driven by the need to survive and stay close to the Doctor, with a growing sense of isolation as the group fractures.
Sarah discovers the locked service tunnel door and alerts the others. During the gas attack, she helps scavenge respirators from the corpses, showing resourcefulness under pressure. When the Kaled soldiers burst through the door, she is separated from the Doctor and Harry, left behind in the chaos of the ambush and gunfire.
- • Find a way into the dome to continue the mission despite the chaos.
- • Stay alive and avoid capture to regroup with the Doctor and Harry later.
- • The locked service tunnel is a potential entry point to Davros’s bunker, crucial for their mission.
- • The Kaleds are a significant threat, and evading or outmaneuvering them is essential for survival.
Aggressive and desperate, driven by the chaos of battle and the opportunity to ambush intruders, but ultimately overwhelmed by the Kaleds' superior firepower.
A ragtag militia soldier ambushes the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry amid the gas attack, exploiting the chaos. However, the militia is swiftly cut down by Kaled soldiers, who emerge from the service tunnel door with machine guns, leaving no survivors from the ambush.
- • Ambush and eliminate the intruders (Doctor, Sarah, and Harry) to secure their position in the trenches.
- • Survive the encounter and potentially gain resources or intelligence from the captives.
- • The intruders are a threat that must be neutralized to maintain control of the trench network.
- • The Kaleds are a greater threat, but the militia’s desperation drives them to act despite the odds.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The corpses propped up as sentries serve as a grim illusion of defense, symbolizing the desperation of the war on Skaro. They are discovered by the Doctor, who notes their role in making the trenches appear fully manned. During the gas attack, the group scavenges respirators from these corpses, using them to survive the toxic fumes. The corpses thus transition from a symbolic element to a practical tool for survival, highlighting the war’s inhumanity and the lengths to which the characters must go to endure.
The locked service tunnel door is discovered by Sarah, who alerts the others to its presence. As they move away, a panel in the door opens, and eyes peer out before a gas shell explodes nearby. Later, Kaled soldiers burst through this door, machine-gunning down the ragtag militia and capturing the Doctor and Harry. The door thus serves as a tactical entry point for the Kaleds, a potential path to Davros’s bunker, and a catalyst for the group’s separation.
The gas shell explodes nearby, unleashing poison gas that forces the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry to scavenge respirators from the corpses. This sudden threat disrupts their exploration of the service tunnel and creates chaos, during which the ragtag militia ambushes them. The gas shell thus acts as a catalyst for the group’s fragmentation and the subsequent capture of the Doctor and Harry by Kaled soldiers.
The respirators plundered from the corpses are crude but effective tools for survival, allowing the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry to endure the poison gas attack. These respirators, patched and battle-stained, highlight the war’s desperation and the characters’ resourcefulness. They are a temporary solution, enabling the group to survive the immediate threat but ultimately contributing to their separation and the capture of the Doctor and Harry.
The Kaled soldiers’ machine guns are used to swiftly and ruthlessly cut down the ragtag militia, demonstrating their disciplined and lethal efficiency. These weapons are a symbol of the Kaleds’ military dominance and their willingness to eliminate threats without hesitation. They play a critical role in the capture of the Doctor and Harry, as the gunfire disorients the group and allows the Kaleds to close in.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The trenches of Skaro serve as a battleground and a labyrinthine setting for the event, filled with mud, sandbags, and the corpses of fallen soldiers. The claustrophobic environment amplifies the tension and desperation of the characters as they navigate the warzone. The trenches are a symbol of the endless, cyclical conflict on Skaro, where even the dead are repurposed to deceive enemies. The explosion of the gas shell and the subsequent ambush by the ragtag militia and Kaled soldiers turn the trenches into a chaotic and deadly space, where survival is uncertain and alliances are tested.
The service tunnel is a narrow, hidden passage leading from the trenches to the Kaled Dome, where Davros conducts his experiments. It is discovered by Sarah and briefly explored by the group before the gas attack disrupts their plans. Later, Kaled soldiers burst through the tunnel door, using it as a tactical entry point to ambush the ragtag militia and capture the Doctor and Harry. The tunnel thus serves as a critical link between the war-torn trenches and the heart of Kaled operations, symbolizing the group’s potential path forward—and their vulnerability to capture.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Kaleds are the dominant military force on Skaro, prosecuting a brutal war against the Thals. In this event, they are represented by disciplined soldiers who burst from the service tunnel, machine-gun down the ragtag militia, and capture the Doctor and Harry. Their actions reflect their ruthless efficiency and their role as the enforcers of Kaled ideology, which prioritizes racial purity and the extermination of threats. The Kaleds’ involvement underscores the high stakes of the group’s mission and the danger posed by their military dominance.
The ragtag militiamen are irregular combatants operating in the trenches of Skaro, desperate to survive and gain an advantage in the war against the Kaleds. In this event, they ambush the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry amid the gas attack, exploiting the chaos to strike. However, their disorganized assault is swiftly cut down by Kaled soldiers, who emerge from the service tunnel with machine guns. The militiamen’s involvement underscores the desperation of the war and the fragility of their position, as well as the high cost of challenging the Kaleds’ dominance.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry being caught in the artillery fire (beat_f71f34717d3f7200) leads to their capture by the Kaled soldiers (beat_5ffdcf9b8d07dd15)."
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry being caught in the artillery fire (beat_f71f34717d3f7200) leads to their capture by the Kaled soldiers (beat_5ffdcf9b8d07dd15)."
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry being caught in the artillery fire (beat_f71f34717d3f7200) leads to their capture by the Kaled soldiers (beat_5ffdcf9b8d07dd15)."
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry being caught in the artillery fire (beat_f71f34717d3f7200) leads to their capture by the Kaled soldiers (beat_5ffdcf9b8d07dd15)."
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry being caught in the artillery fire (beat_f71f34717d3f7200) leads to their capture by the Kaled soldiers (beat_5ffdcf9b8d07dd15)."
"The explosion of the gas shell, forcing them to seek respirators, leads directly to their capture by Kaled Troops."
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry theorizing about the dome foreshadows Harry's speculation about a service tunnel leading into it when he finds the locked door in the trench wall."
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry theorizing about the dome foreshadows Harry's speculation about a service tunnel leading into it when he finds the locked door in the trench wall."
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry theorizing about the dome foreshadows Harry's speculation about a service tunnel leading into it when he finds the locked door in the trench wall."
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry theorizing about the dome foreshadows Harry's speculation about a service tunnel leading into it when he finds the locked door in the trench wall."
"The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry theorizing about the dome foreshadows Harry's speculation about a service tunnel leading into it when he finds the locked door in the trench wall."
"The explosion of the gas shell, forcing them to seek respirators, leads directly to their capture by Kaled Troops."
"The capture of the Doctor and Harry (beat_5ffdcf9b8d07dd15) directly causes them to be brought before General Ravon in the strategy room (beat_4a034dcf2678acff)."
"The capture of the Doctor and Harry (beat_5ffdcf9b8d07dd15) directly causes them to be brought before General Ravon in the strategy room (beat_4a034dcf2678acff)."
Key Dialogue
"DOCTOR: *Even the dead have a part to play. Propped up to make the trenches appear fully manned.*"
"HARRY: *War of attrition, eh, only backwards. At this rate they're going to finish off with bows and arrows.*"
"DOCTOR: *It's a gas shell!*"
"SARAH: *Gas!*"
"DOCTOR: *Poison gas!*"
"SOLDIER: *This one's alive. Get him inside.*"