CHAPTER 7

A LONG, EDUCATIONAL AFTERNOON

Kyska had thoroughly enjoyed showing the Doctor around the Palace and surrounding gardens, not realizing his request for a tour was his way of searching for the Master. In fact, she was so enthralled with Anon, and he with her, that neither of them noticed the Doctor was not paying any attention to the tour at all. By the end of the afternoon, they had been through all of the portions of the Palace that had been opened to the public.

"I'm exhausted," Kyska sighed as they made their way back to the suite. The Doctor had to admit to being tired himself and said, "I think a short nap is in order."

"That's a great idea," Anon enthused. "Then you'll be all rested up for the ball tonight."

"The ball! Oh, heavens! I forgot all about it," the young woman gasped. She started to flutter again, this time to Anon's amusement.

"You'll be fine, Kyss," Anon laughed. "And tell that cousin of yours that I will escort you there myself."

Kyska blushed at the sudden invitation, glancing nervously back at the Doctor before saying, "Anon, you don't have to feel sorry for me because I'm alone…"

"Nonsense!" the young man replied. He kissed her hand and then winked at the grinning Time Lord. "I'll be back to escort you to the ball, my Lady." So saying he vanished down the hall.

"Your friend Anon is an extraordinary young man," the Doctor remarked as he held open the door. "Quite delightful."

"I wonder if Jason would agree," she replied darkly, entering the room. Calling out to her cousin, Kyska looked in the rooms, discovering, "He's not here."

"Perhaps he returned while we were out," the Doctor guessed, giving way to a yawn.

"He probably met up with an old girlfriend on his way back," Kyska said acidly. "His lady love has gone away to school, you see…" She yawned herself and muttered, "Oh my, I am tired. I think I will have a nap."

Heading for her room, she said offhandedly, "You watch. Jason'll turn up just before the ball tonight after spending all afternoon moaning to someone for sympathy."

In the makeshift lab, Jason was definitely moaning, but not over lost loves; and he was receiving even less sympathy. The recalibration of the equipment had gone on throughout the afternoon, and the Master was heedless to the agony he was inflicting on his helpless prisoner. He was, however, finding it difficult to ignore the pleas to stop the tests, finding them a considerable nuisance only in that they broke his concentration.

"No more…please…no more…" Jason gasped weakly, his voice no more than a whisper. Sweat poured down his haggard face, and his body was racked with pain, his muscles giving way to agonizing spasms brought on by the unrelenting assault on his system.

The Master poured over the results of the most recent test and slammed a fist on the console in frustration. "Why isn't it working?" he growled.

Colonel Payne was no scientist and did not delude himself by reasoning he was any kind of intellectual, either. He was just a soldier; and all this fancy technology was quite beyond him. He hoped the failure of the equipment was not in some way his fault. "I hooked everything up exactly like you told me," Payne injected guiltily.

"What?" The Master looked up from the console in irritation.

"I hooked everything—"

"Yes, yes, yes," the Time Lord snapped impatiently, waving a hand at him. He returned his attention to his work, going over the results of the entire afternoon and concluding, "It should work." He went over to the apparatus on the cart and scrutinized its interior, wondering if it were malfunctioning in some way.

Jason took this in in a daze. Upon hearing the Master say something about starting from scratch, he could remain silent no longer. "If you don't…reduce the power…it'll never work," he informed, having to force the words through his parched lips.

The Master looked up sharply. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he gazed into his prisoner's drawn face. Payne took an angry step forward only to be halted by an upraised hand.

"Have you decided to help? After all this time?" the Master asked dubiously. "Why, I wonder?"

"A means…to an end. My…end," Jason rasped. "I assume…I'm to be…killed…when this is …over."

"Perhaps…" the Master replied noncommittally. At this point, he was ready to try anything, including accepting the assistance of his previously unwilling prisoner to attain his ultimate goal.

Payne tried to object but was silenced with an icy stare.

Jason dared not hope he might actually survive his ordeal. At present he only wanted the finality of death to end his torment. "I…I…can…help you," he said faintly.

"Tell me what you know!" the Master demanded.

"Water…please," the Healer begged. "I can't…talk."

Without warning, the Master descended on him, grabbing hold of the startled young man and lifting him off of his feet and as high into the air as the chains would allow. "If I find you're lying to me, boy," he said threateningly, "I will burn out every nerve in your body one by one." The terrified Alterran shook his head vigorously and tried desperately to reply, but the words dried up in his throat and all that came out were unintelligible croaks. His captor then dropped him and Jason let out a yelp when the shackles stopped his progress, digging themselves deeper into his wrists.

The Master snapped his fingers at Payne, ordering him to give his prisoner some water. The Colonel was incredulous. "Why don't you just get him down so he can have a nice cup of tea?" he spat contemptuously.

"An excellent suggestion," the Time Lord said coldly, his voice hardening as he added, "And perhaps you would like to take his place?"

The Colonel stiffened, knowing his employer would carry out this threat without hesitation. Bearing this in mind, he grudgingly gave Jason some water.

Once he could speak, Jason explained that it was the quick burst of power that prevented the TSA device from working properly. This was because it was working against, instead of with, the Alterran's natural ability to absorb sudden bursts of energy. Because his molecular structure was crystalline, Jason pointed out, each sudden burst of energy caused it to vibrate, or "sing" as the energy was absorbed.

"If you don't stop the crystalline singing," he informed, "you'll never achieve total suspended animation."

The Master listened to the explanation with a distinct air of skepticism and distrust. But as the Healer went on, he double checked his findings and discovered the Alterran was apparently telling the truth. Using this new information, the Time Lord made several recalculations and set to work reprogramming the equipment.

Jason took advantage of the brief respite while his captor made the lengthy corrections. The water alone had done him a world of good, and he had regained enough of his strength to pull himself to his feet, taking the strain off of his wrists and arms. Unfortunately, he then experienced painful pins and needles as he put his full weight on his legs.

Suddenly the Master announced, "If you're lying to me, boy, we'll know in a moment," and Jason braced himself. The antenna fired again. Only instead of a short burst, the beam continued for several seconds, gradually building in strength.

The exhausted and abused Healer was engulfed in the red glow and instantly paralyzed. This time, however, there was no pain. No sudden jolt. Just a strange soothing feeling like someone was pouring warm honey all over him. He relaxed completely, gratefully drifting into oblivion.

Across the room, the Master stood staring at the immobile young man in a mixture of triumph and resentment. How could he have missed something so simple? he thought angrily. It was so obvious now, yet he had missed it and Jason hadn't. A quick check on the instruments verified the captive Alterran was in a state of total suspended animation.

Coming out of his daze, the Master ordered Payne to remove all the leads and then turned his attention back to the computer.

"How long will he stay like that?" the Colonel wanted to know.

"In theory, indefinitely," the Master replied in a velvety tone that immediately made the mercenary uneasy. The Time Lord was suddenly in a very good mood and that made him dangerously unpredictable. At least when he was angry, his actions were clear, but in Payne's way of thinking, the Master was far more terrifying when he was calm. And, in spite of his own illustrious, if not infamous career, the Colonel had the distinct impression that it paled in comparison to that of his employer.

All this went through the mind of the Alterran mercenary as he removed the leads from Jason's frozen form. Stepping from the alcove, he began coiling up the wires, stacking them on a table. Occasionally, he would glance uneasily over to the alcove and its motionless occupant.

The Master found this reaction extremely amusing. "Does he make you nervous, Colonel Payne?" he taunted, receiving an icy stare in reply. This only added to his amusement. Turning a dial, he punched a button and a quick burst of energy was fired from the antenna.

The ray struck Jason in the chest and he returned to reality with a jolt, letting out a cry of alarm when he abruptly came to his senses and sagged in his bonds. He blinked and looked around dazedly, taking hold of his chains and hauling himself back to his feet. He suddenly noticed the electrodes were gone and looked over to the dark figure at the computer. "I take it you were successful?" he observed softly, leaning wearily back against the wall.

The Master was too absorbed in his work to take any notice of him. Colonel Payne was not, however, and eyed him in a way that made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. As the afternoon had worn on, Jason had been consoling himself with the certain knowledge that his captor would eventually end his suffering by having Payne shoot him. Now he was uncertain as to where he stood with the renegade Time Lord, who suddenly seemed to have forgotten his very existence.

"Do you want me to put him in a cell?" Payne inquired, with a distinct edge of resentment in his voice.

The Master looked up and glared at him, annoyed by the intrusion into his thoughts. "What?" Seeing the Colonel nod in Jason's direction, he waved a hand dismissively.

"Dispose of him."