Tranter Tranter was a Space Security Service officer in command of Station 7 . Biography . In his youth , Tranter fought the Daleks , and hated them so much he adopted the slogan " The only good Dalek is a " dead " Dalek . " He received a field promotion at the Fall of Pythagoran . While first assigned to Station 7 as a junior officer , Tranter spoke out against Professor Weston ' s proposal to genetically modify Daleks into pacifists . He was reassigned to the front lines for his hot - headedness , where he earned numerous military awards . Tranter was reported lost in battle at the Siege of Logario when he was captured by the Daleks . They tortured him for information on Station 7 . They also gave him false memories of his time in prison and escape , a specific behaviour pattern and an ocular implant . The Daleks used Tranter as an agent , controlling his thoughts , accessing what he saw through the ocular implant . They tracked his location through a transmitter . After he was permitted to escape and found by his comrades , Tranter was released from active combat and offered any desk job he wanted . Under Dalek influence , he chose command of Station 7 . Weston jettisoned his laboratory onto the planet below , fearing that Tranter had come back specifically to stop his research . Some time later , the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond came to Station 7 and were brought to Commander Tranter by Jay . As their psychic paper said they were inspectors — and the Doctor mentioned his previous association with Bret Vyon and Sara Kingdom — ( " The Daleks ' Master Plan " ) Tranter explained the research carried out in the Station . One project , headed by Kustler , involved the conversion of Daleks for remote control by humans . He objected to this , as did the Doctor . Soon after , the Daleks attacked Station 7 . Tranter ordered the conversion and re - armament of Daleks to use against the attackers . The converted Daleks turned on them and they were forced to flee ( as Weston had ) , leaving Station 7 to be destroyed by the Daleks . On the planet below , Tranter and the Doctor found Weston and the result of his research : a pacified Dalek . However they learned from Weston that Jay and Amy were tracking them down with a " converted " Dalek and that other Daleks were close . Once Amy and Jay arrived , the Dalek was stopped from exterminating the pacified Dalek , and the mutant trapped in a container . Its casing was prepared for the pacified Dalek to help them escape , while a countdown was set for the laboratory ' s reactor to explode . As they made their way to safety , they were blocked . Tranter volunteered to go with Jay to the laboratory to open hatches for a different route . Once there , Jay realised Tranter had purposely put the unmodified Dalek back in its casing . The Doctor intervened and revealed Tranter as a Dalek agent , after which he cut off the Daleks ' control . Again himself , Tranter deactivated the reactor ' s safety mechanism while the pacified Dalek re - activated the countdown , leaving neither time to escape . Tranter ' s sacrifice helped defeat the Daleks and let the others escape , earning his redemption . ( COMIC : " The Only Good Dalek " ) Other information . Tranter knew of Bret Vyon and Sara Kingdom by reputation at least , regarding the Doctor ' s friendship with them as proof of his impressive credentials . Behind the scenes . He is clearly named after " Torchwood " ' s then - executive producer Jane Tranter , who was also responsible for bringing the rights to " Doctor Who " back on screen while controller of drama commissioning for the BBC .