Fabula
S21E13 · Resurrection of the Daleks Part 3

Shooter falls protecting Tegan on Thames path

Tegan flees armed policemen along the Thames embankment only to stumble upon a stranger scanning the shore. As she calls for help the man turns to face the officers, immediately drawing their fire. The policemen shoot without hesitation, killing him where he stands as Tegan screams in shock. The brutal execution on a public riverside route exposes how ruthlessly Dalek control has infiltrated law enforcement and shatters Tegan’s remaining hope for safe escape, freezing her in terror. key_dialogue: [ TEGAN: Hey! TEGAN: No! ]

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

Tegan notices policemen behind her and attempts to flee, seeking help from a metal detectorist on the shoreline. However, her attempt at escape is thwarted when the policeman shoots the metal detectorist.

urgency to horror ['shoreline', 'steps']

Tegan reacts in shock and dismay at the shooting of the metal detectorist.

horror to despair

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3

Indistinguishable from procedural detachment masking institutional terror

Uniformed officer plants himself with disciplined proximity to the shoreline chase, raising a sidearm in precise alignment with departmental use-of-force doctrine under Dalek overlordship. Without hesitation or spoken word, he follows protocol—target acquired, trigger squeezed, stranger dispatched—his movement mirroring the remit of an enforcement arm hollowed of independent moral judgment.

Goals in this moment
  • Eliminate any obstacle to Dalek objectives
  • Demonstrate immediate and overwhelming force
Active beliefs
  • The stranger’s presence constitutes an unauthorized threat
  • Dalek commands override civilian lives
Character traits
Mechanical obedience to superior directive Absolute procedural compliance Ruthless elimination of perceived threat
Follow Police Officer's journey
Stranger
primary

Startled surprise curdling into disbelief as he becomes an instant casualty of ideological occupation

Mid-scan of the Thames shoreline equipment in hand he turns to face the approaching uniformed officers presumably expecting inquiry or warning, unaware of their new chain of command under dalek dictate. His movement toward confrontation is met by immediate gunfire, his body crumpling where he stands with no chance of evasion or defense against politically programmed bullets.

Goals in this moment
  • Continue routine shoreline scanning
  • Confront approaching officers for safety
Active beliefs
  • Uniformed officers represent lawful authority
  • Civilians retain autonomy on public paths
Character traits
Unaware of transformed enforcement landscape Facing armed threat without hesitation Turns to meet danger with civilian curiosity
Follow Stranger's journey

Panic clawing at hope that curdles into disbelieving agony as witness to arbitrary violence

Racing down the embankment steps toward shelter, Tegan halts abruptly upon spotting the metal detectorist and shouts encouragement before freezing as armed pursuers take lethal aim. Her instinct to cry for help curdles into horrified witness as bullets strike the stranger and her scream of denial pierces the damp river air.

Goals in this moment
  • Seek immediate refuge from armed pursuers
  • Find a survivor or ally on the embankment
Active beliefs
  • Believes a stranger might still offer sanctuary
  • Assumes calling out cannot worsen the violence
Character traits
Impulsive in seeking aid Momentarily paralyzed by shock Driven by shock rather than tactical sense
Follow Tegan Jovanka's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Mercer’s Station Security Sidearm

The service pistol is drawn with disciplined swiftness and leveled by the officer—no hesitation, no warning—before its muzzle flash and report coincide with the stranger’s collapse into the damp wharf stones. The weapon itself embodies institutional authority transmuted into instant lethal enforcement, its compact engineering belied by the life-ending force it dispenses.

Before: Holstered at the officer’s belt, ready for routine …
After: Still clutched by the officer as he resets …
Before: Holstered at the officer’s belt, ready for routine carry but primed by Dalek reprogramming for summary use.
After: Still clutched by the officer as he resets stance, the gun now an instrument of premeditated public execution rather than defense.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Butler's Wharf Thames Embankment

The narrow embankment between river and warehouse wall becomes a contested choke point where fleeing footsteps echo against cold stone and the river swallows every plea for mercy. Gas lamps struggle against winter damp as Tegan’s final hope of refuge crumbles in the pistol smoke, the shoreline slick with algae and the blood of an innocent passerby.

Atmosphere Clammy dread thick with gunpowder and river mist, a public corridor hollowed into a killing …
Function Chase corridor transformed into a kill zone after law enforcement’s ideological subjugation
Symbolism Exposes how public spaces under Dalek control lose all sanctuary, their neutrality corrupted into spaces …
Access Nominally open to citizens but effectively controlled by armed enforcers answerable only to dalek command …
River water muffling all sound except gunfire and screams Wet cobblestones glistening under gas lamps

Organizations Involved

Institutional presence and influence

2
Dalek Empire

The Dalek organizational will is enforced through officer compliance and the summary execution executed under color of municipal authority, revealing how the Daleks infiltrate and hijack local governance structures. Their presence is felt in the transformation of public streets into killing zones through reprogrammed enforcement arms and unquestioning violence.

Representation By suppressing independent thought in law enforcement and ordering summary eliminations of civilians
Power Dynamics Commanding every municipal enforcement action while ensuring officer obedience through fear and ideological programming
Impact Establishes the precedent that no public authority remains independent of Dalek directive, turning civic space …
Maintain uncontested control of strategic Thames-side facilities Neutralize perceived threats to Dalek duplication objectives Reprogramming of human enforcers into extermination tools Terror tactics to deter civilian interference with Dalek operations
Shad Thames Police Force (London) under Dalek Directive

Uniformed officers operating here are not municipal guardians but Dalek-controlled enforcers who interpret any presence as suspect and command instant elimination. Their disciplined brutality serves as the visible hand of occupation, ensuring no deviation from the Supreme Dalek’s eradication directives while terrorizing the civilian riverfront.

Representation Through uniformed officers who follow extermination orders without deviation or moral hesitation
Power Dynamics Exercising absolute coercive force over civilians and public space under dalek hierarchy
Impact Colonial terror tactics replace civilian policing, shattering trust in uniformed authority and converting public routes …
Eliminate any civilian perceived as obstructing Dalek operations Demonstrate state terror to deter further resistance Immediate lethal force as first response to perceived threat Reprogramming of institutional loyalties to serve extermination priorities

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 2

"Tegan's continued attempt to escape the warehouse escalates into her pursuit by policemen on Earth, where lethal force is used, showing the Daleks' widespread influence and brutality."

Davros turns Daleks into his puppets
S21E13 · Resurrection of the Daleks Part …

"Tegan's continued attempt to escape the warehouse escalates into her pursuit by policemen on Earth, where lethal force is used, showing the Daleks' widespread influence and brutality."

Tegan slips away as Davros manipulates Daleks
S21E13 · Resurrection of the Daleks Part …