Hostage! (short story)

was an original short story in the pages of Terry Nation's Dalek Annual 1979.
== Summary ==
On the planet Valkenine, a group of rebelling prisoners burst in on a Brindigulum of their Dalek captors from three different castes. The slave leader has the Daleks give the slaves five of each of the three castes to keep direct watch over on a small raised platform, to serve as hostages. When the platform proves too small to accommodate fifteen Daleks plus the one acting as an intermediary between the rebels and the Daleks, the Dalek intermediary takes the opportunity to confuse the slaves into believing one of the Dalek hostages has already escaped and is bringing reinforcements. As the slaves begin to argue among themselves, the Daleks take their chance and open fire on them, wiping them out.
== Characters ==
* Slave leader
* Dalek transport official
* Daleks
* Slaves
== Worldbuilding ==
* The Brindigulum includes Dalek transport officials, Dalek miners and Dalek metalworkers.
== Notes ==
* This story makes use of the term Brindigulum, introduced in The Dalek Dictionary, where it was explicitly defined as "a conference or talk between four or more Daleks," which may not be held without the Emperor Dalek's authorisation.
* It also references the Golden Emperor by name. This was the closest thing to an appearance by the Emperor in the original prose stories in Terry Nation's Dalek Annual 1979, although the Emperor appeared in person in the game Race to the Golden Emperor, which is not considered a valid source on this Wiki.
== Continuity ==
* The Daleks are using slave labour for mining operations. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Destiny of the Daleks)
* The slaves want the intermediary Dalek to take their demands to the Golden Emperor. (COMIC: Invasion of the Daleks, etc.)
Category:Dalek short stories
Category:DAN short stories
Category:1978 short stories