The Planet That Cried " Wolf ! " ( short story ) Summary . After answering a fake distress signal from Penal Planet X26 , ADF agents Joel Shaw and Reb Shavron soon find themselves under attack from the prisoners . Unbeknownst to anyone , however , one of the prisoner ' s scientific research has attracted the Dalek s ' attention , opening up a second front for the beleaguered ADF . Plot . Prisoners Zarg and Professor Verlaine hatch an escape plan on Penal Planet X26 . They send up a fake distress signal , claiming that the planet is being overrun by Dalek s . Although emergency messages from X26 routinely ignored by the United Planets ' internal security organisations , the Anti - Dalek Force feels an obligation to investigate potential Dalek incursions on " any " UP world . Soon Joel Shaw and Reb Shavron are entering X26 ' s atmosphere . As they enter the atmosphere , their minds are filled with powerful images . They can land the ship only very badly , coming to rest on the precipice of a ravine . As their minds clear , they recognise their danger , and carefully edge their way out of the teetering ship . Almost immediately , they ' re greeted by a murder er named Zarg . He claims they were brought down by " the Professor ' s weapon " . He also says that it ' s time for them to die . Just as he ' s about to kill the two agents , the ship ' s radio crackles to life . The ADF are looking for their two leaders . Joel quickly says that if the radio isn ' t answered , the planet will be crawling with security men . Zarg is unconcerned by this . Rather , he sees another opportunity that the unexpectedly functioning radio provides . If they were to call for ADF reinforcement , he and Verlaine would get more ships , with which to effect a wider evacuation of the whole penal colony . The problem is that the radio is in th front of the ship . Accessing it might make the ship tip over the ravine . At gunpoint , he orders Reb to make the call . She complies , thinking she might be able to reach the weapons store and reverse Zarg ' s advantage . It ' s a thought she doesn ' t really have time to explore , however . The ship almost instantly falls down the cliff and explodes . At Reb ' s apparent death , Joel explodes with anger . He has no time to focus it , though — in the sky , four ships are quickly approaching . Zarg believes it ' s ADF ships who ' ve come looking for their leader . Joel quickly dispels this notion , though . Dalek s have instead arrived on X26 . The unexpected arrival immediately forces Joel into an uneasy alliance with Zarg and the few prisoners with him . Using Zarg ' s knowledge of the local terrain , the uneasy allies devise a plan to trick one of the Dalek ships into exploding . Although successful , three ships still remain . They are saved from certain death only by the Daleks ' greater interest in Verlaine ' s laboratory . The party has little opportunity to celebrate the Daleks ' departure toward the lab , however . Zarg has died , having been hit by Dalek fire . Shaw himself has had his scalp set alight . Still , those that remain understand they must lay aside their differences and oppose the Daleks . They set off for Verlaine ' s laboratory . Once there , the prisoners in his party explain the genius of the Professor ' s machine . It can instantly affect even a thousand ships simultaneously , in exactly the same way it did Shaw ' s . If it falls to the Daleks , they will have a weapon more powerful than anything they currently possess . The group grow even more determined to defeat the Daleks . Still , the odds are very long that they ' ll be able to do much more than simply die . Especially since they notice a Dalek ship training its guns on their position at the laboratory . Shaw is about to pop up from his hiding spot to go to his certain death with guns blazing when he notices something odd about the Dalek ship . Its guns " continue " rotating , clearly losing the laboratory in its field of fire . Instead , they are now trained on a wooded area near the laboratory . The guns go off , incinerating the area . At almost the same time , two surprises pass before Shaw ' s eyes . Professor Verlaine emerges from the blazing woods , while Reb Shavron pops out of the Dalek ship . Not only did she escape her apparent death , but she ' s just destroyed the professor ' s weapon . She explains her amazing escape — and how she came to be in a Dalek ship — while the professor notes that both the machine and its blueprints have been utterly destroyed . The professor thinks , therefore , that the Dalek threat has passed . Shaw has to contradict him , however . What the criminal professor has failed to calculate is that the Daleks can still find out how to make the machine . All they have to do is extract the information from the professor ' s mind . Thus , all the small band of human s can do is wait . Both the Dalek and ADF fleets are zeroing in on their position . Their fate depends entirely upon which fleet reaches them first . References . " to be added " Continuity . " to be added "