CHAPTER 3
"WHERE AM I?"
The storm had raged into the night, blowing itself out by morning. The sun rose on a day that was clear and calm with all the earmarks of being very warm and pleasant. The Doctor awoke shortly after dawn and looked around the room in bewilderment. His gaze came to rest on a youth sleeping in an armchair across the room and he scowled. As soon as he started to rise, his bruised muscles brought back the memory of the fall. He groaned, getting as far as the edge of the bed and waking the sleeping stranger in the process.
"Good morning," Jason yawned, stretching his arms and rising to his feet.
"I know this is going to sound cliché," the Doctor said mildly, "but, where am I? And how did I get here?"
"You're in Starbridge House in the province of Krystovan," the Healer informed as he came over to him. Seeing his patient was none the wiser, Jason grinned. "To be less specific, you're on Tel-Shye."
"Thank-you," the Doctor mumbled, trying to recall exactly where the planet was located.
"And…" the young man went on, "as for how you got here, I found you at the bottom of a dry well last night. You had a disagreement with the boards covering it, and I'm afraid you lost."
The Doctor gave him a wry smile and stood up, only to waver unsteadily on his feet. Jason grabbed him to keep him from falling. "Hey, not so fast, Doctor," he admonished mildly. "Even a Time Lord needs time to heal."
Startled, the Doctor turned sharply to the youth, but before he could say anything there was a soft knock at the door and a pretty young girl peeked in. "Jason?" she said in a voice that was scarcely above a whisper. "Jason, are you—Oh!" Kyska jumped when she saw her cousin supporting the Doctor.
"It's alright. You can come in," he told her as he helped his patient back down on to the bed.
"I came to wake you," she explained self-consciously.
"Well, as you can see, we're both awake," Jason replied. He then proceeded to make the introductions. "Doctor, this is my cousin, Kyska. She was with me when I found you last night. Kyska, this is the Doctor."
Kyska smiled politely, only to giggle when the Time Lord broke into one of he most engaging smiles.
"And, in case you don't remember me, I'm Jason."
The Doctor looked up sharply. "Yes, of course. You're the voice in the well."
Kyska giggled again and said as though it were a title, "Healer Jason, The Voice In The Well."
Her cousin was not amused. "Was there something else you wanted, Kyss?" he asked acidly.
"Breakfast is almost ready."
"Good. Have Constanza set another place," Jason ordered crisply. "Now, shoo!" He waved his hands at her, bustling her out of the room and closing the door. "Now let's see about getting you dressed," he said, crossing to where the servants had hung the Doctor's clothes.
"Healer Jason?" the Doctor said with a note of marked surprise.
"Hmm?" Receiving no response, Jason turned to see the Time Lord studying him curiously. "What's the matter?"
"Aren't you a little young to be…?" the Doctor's voice trailed off when the young man started to laugh.
"I've just reached my first century, Doctor," Jason said with a smile. "I'm Alterran."
Alterrans were old allies of the Time Lords, and the Doctor knew a great deal about them, although to his knowledge he had never actually encountered one before. They were a highly intelligent, and technologically advanced. A noble, peace loving race that abhorred violence of any kind. They also possessed the ability to assume any form they chose by realigning their molecular structure, a process known as molecular transmutation.
As the Doctor watched his physician, he could not help but wonder as to his true appearance, which was one of the few things he did not know about Alterrans. They were a non-humanoid race that concealed themselves in human form, rarely appearing in their true form to anyone other than members of their own race.
"And with Alterrans," the Doctor observed finally, "things are never as they appear."
During breakfast, the Doctor learned of the forthcoming coronation, which was to be held in only a few days time. His hosts were surprised he did not seem to know about, this being the reason so many alien visitors were on Tel-Shye.
As a rule, the Doctor tried to adhere to a strict policy of honesty, but felt he would be able to learn more from his hosts if they believed his fall had caused a slight lapse of memory.
"Father's being insufferably unreasonable about the whole thing," Jason was saying. "Do you think it's fair that I should be forced into representing the family while he sits home relaxing throughout the entire, tedious business?"
"Jason! Where are your manners?" Aaron snapped. Turning to his guest, he said in a milder tone, "I must apologize for my son, Doctor…"
"Oh, not at all, Aaron, as a matter of fact, I'm in complete agreement with him," the Doctor said airily. Aaron scowled at him, only to break into a broad smile when he added, "After all, if Jason's that ashamed of his family, it hardly seems reasonable for you to expect—"
"I never said I was ashamed of my family!" Jason objected fiercely.
Kyska started to giggle and her cousin glared over at her a moment before realizing he had just succeeded in trapping himself. Then he laughed, conceding, "Oh, it's not that, Doctor, don't get me wrong. I've known Terran since we were children. I'm just not looking forward to all the ridiculous trappings that go along with it. All those dignitaries and courtiers trying to out do one another, milling around in fancy dress like so many peacocks. Whose feathers are the brightest?" Laughing at a sudden mental image, Jason added, "You know what it reminds me of? One of those ludicrous official assemblages in the Panopticon."
The Doctor was justifiably surprised. "The Panopticon? On Gallifrey! But—"
"Aliens are forbidden on Gallifrey," the Healer completed, grinning at the astonished look on the Time Lord's face. "I'm Alterran, Doctor, remember? We're not considered aliens."
"Oh, yes," the Doctor muttered thoughtfully. "The proviso in the Alliance."
"I spent a couple of years there doing some post-graduate work," Jason explained. "I've gone back a few times since to brush up on what little I know."
"What little you know!" Kyska exclaimed unbelievingly. "Would you listen to him? Jason's the leading authority on Gallifreyan medicine here on Tel-Shye. And to hear him tell it, he's just a medical neophyte with a passing interest."
"Now, Kyska…" Jason began warningly.
"It's the truth, Jason! Don't you dare deny it."
Now it was the Doctor's turn to smile at the way the young man blushed vividly in response to his cousin's disclosure, which was apparently quite true.
"Then I'm very glad I fell into the most qualified hands available," the Time Lord quipped, receiving a chorus of groans from those present. "Would it be possible," he then asked, "for me to accompany you in to Krystos, Jason?"
Aaron was puzzled. "Don't you have your own transport, Doctor?"
"Ah, yes, well…" the Doctor began haltingly, glad that he could finally give a completely honest reply. "The TARDIS can be a bit…erratic when she wants to be, and I don't always end up precisely where I'm supposed to."
"I see…" the elder Healer said thoughtfully. "So that explains it."
Now it was the Doctor's turn to be puzzled. "Explains what?"
"What you're doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere."
"A mile or so more west and you'd've been in the ocean," Jason laughed. "The distance doesn't matter, though. We'll be using the transmat. And it's always been completely reliable." He then went on to voice his concerns for the Time Lord's health, stating that, since his father was not going anyway, they could easily put off the journey until the following day in order to give him time to recover.
"Rubbish! I won't hear of it," the Doctor blurted out. "I feel wonderful. And anyway, how can I possibly get into trouble with Tel-Shye's leading authority on Gallifreyan medicine by my side?"
He was about to find out.