Dominator The Dominators were a group made up of the male half of a race of humanoid s from Drahb . A gang of conquerors , they claimed to control much of the Ten Galaxies . They were intensely utilitarian , and hesitant to misuse any amount of energy for matters that did not directly benefit them and their mission . This was especially the case in energy management of their robot ic labourers , Quark s . ( TV : " The Dominators " , PROSE : " Mutually Assured Domination " ) Biology . The Dominators were similar to human s in form , but over two and half metre s tall with pale skin , dark hair and red - rimmed green eyes . ( PROSE : " The Dominators " ) Their ancestors were stocky , pale - skinned bipeds with dark hair , as vulnerable and naked as the humans of Earth . During the breakout from their home solar system , they experimented with physical augmentation . They made themselves taller , toughened their skin , and encased their bodies in armour plating . They eradicated sexual reproduction and instead became a mono - gendered species who reproduced by parthenogenesis . They altered their bodies to remove the need for food and obtained their energy from radiation , extending the normal Dominator lifespan by several hundreds of years . Their blood is purple . ( PROSE : " Mutually Assured Domination " ) Technology . The Dominators used saucer - shaped craft which were powered by negative mass flux absorption . This negative mass flux absorption allowed the ships to absorb radiation and convert it to propulsion . The Dominators used the Quarks as labourers in their forces . Though they used them for a variety of tasks , they preferred to use slaves where they could , in order to reserve their energy . Quarks were designed by Dominator Engineers to be easily transportable and adaptable : their cuboid bodies could be easily stored and transported , and the spherical , spired heads assembled from packs stored within a cavity inside the main casing . On low power , Quarks were able only to move very slowly , conserving their energies for their weaponry . A squad of high - powered Quarks , however , is a versatile and lethal tool , able to transform and expand into various configurations as the situation demanded it . The Dominators used Neuro - Initiative Test s , or NIT . These tests were intelligence tests where the subject was shocked and then had to fit objects into similarly shaped holes . These tests were used to find out the suitability of other species for slavery and to determine their level of threat . ( PROSE : " The Dominators " ) History . The race that came to be known as the Dominators were once a human - basic tribe of hunter - gatherer - warriors dwelling on the planet Drahb in the Phi - Ralix galaxy , second to the Domina , the female rulers of the planet . Given too much autonomy and power , the males revolted and fled the planet . They quickly developed a highly industrialised technological society based on atomic power . They mastered space flight through the use of negative mass flux absorption – utilising radiation for power – and conquered first their home solar system , and then the entire Phi - Ralix galaxy . They spread out and conquered the easily conquerable races like Bandril s , Tivolian s , Gond s , Gurdel s and Monoid s , while at the same time calling themselves the Masters of the Ten Galaxies . However this claim was seemingly more propaganda than fact . During the 20th century , they won a military victory against the Valethske , while a personal triumph for Vaar they never boasted of it to other species , suggesting it was only a minor victory . ( PROSE : " Mutually Assured Domination " ) Their command structure expanded , with a clear chain of command from the lowest ranks ( Probationers ) up to the middle ranks ( Navigators , Tacticians , Engineers ) to the top ranks ( Directors ) and the Dominant Echelon of the War Fleet . The need for power was their one constant problem . During their escape from the Phi - Ralix galaxy , they found their resources were spread thin . The Dominators therefore cultivated a strict culture of power conservation . Waste of energy was considered a capital offence , and Probationers were rigorously trained in the techniques of power management . In addition , Dominators made use of enslavement of the conquered to help build their empire , and also constructed a tool to assist in their programme of expansion ; a robotic slave force they called the Quarks . Such measures allowed the Dominators to expand . However , they required new sources of power to expand their empire ever further . Negative mass flux absorption required nuclear energy – radiation found in space , e . g . solar radiation , was not sufficient – therefore task forces were created to find new methods of acquiring negative mass flux energy . " " ( PROSE : " Mutually Assured Domination " ) Several planet s were researched , such as Epsilon Zero Gamma and Dulkis . The scouts sent to Dulkis consisted of Toba and Rago . The plan was to take the strongest Dulcian s as slaves and then use a special seeding device dropped into the magma of the planet in order to destroy it . This destroyed planet would then have its energy used for powering the Dominator fleet . Though the Dulcians were unwilling to fight back , the Second Doctor was able to stop them from destroying the planet . ( TV : " The Dominators " ) The Dominators tried to invade Earth in the 1950s . Anyone who discovered their Quarks before they intended were stunned and held in confinement . The Dominators were defeated by the Tenth Doctor . ( COMIC : " Prisoners of Time " ) A new attempt was made in 1969 , this time using a cover identity of Dominex Industries . Director Vaar was the head of a special task force sent to the Milky Way galaxy for that very purpose . They bribed the UK government with the promise of cheap energy in order to get the nuclear waste they needed to wipe out the planet and use it for fuel . This plan was thwarted by the efforts of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge - Stewart and Harold Chorley . ( PROSE : " Mutually Assured Domination " ) In 1984 , the Dominators and the Quarks attempted to acquire Earth ' s core as a fuel source , but this was foiled by UNIT . ( COMIC : " The Fires Down Below " ) The Seventh Doctor stated that they had a tendency to boast about their achievements . ( AUDIO : " The Blood Furnace " ) Rassilon Era . The Dominators launched an ultimately failed invasion of Gallifrey by flooding the Capitol with Quark s , 39 of which were destroyed by Leela and K9 Mark I . Though the Fifth Doctor would claim that there was never " any serious risk of us being conquered " , one of the Quarks was fitted with a bomb which heavily damaged the Capitol , necessitating the construction of a replacement building . ( AUDIO : " Time in Office " )