CHAPTER 11

ARRESTED

With the Doctor's arm to steady him, Jason made the long, slow journey back to the guesthouse. He felt the gently breeze on his skin and breathed in the scent of freshly mown grass that came with it. The sun was already setting, and the sky was ablaze with color. It would be dark before they reached the guesthouse and Jason remarked on how he had walked the path so effortlessly the day before.

Fearing his companion might be dwelling on his sudden infirmity, the Doctor tried to cheer him by pointing out how rare it was for them to enjoy so leisurely a stroll.

Jason saw through this device instantly. "Don't worry, Doctor, I'm not getting depressed," he said softly. "At least, not yet. Right now I'm just glad to be in one piece."

When at last they arrived at the house, Jason chose to remain out on the patio, not wanting to be shut inside right away. The Doctor did not push the issue, but was concerned about the Alterran being in the chilly night air and wrapped him in a blanket. For a long time they sat silently taking in the clear night sky.

It was the Doctor who finally broke the silence. "Jason, about Constance…" he said slowly. "I think you should know a few things about her."

"I know too much already," Jason sighed ruefully.

"Aside from her being a Changeling," the Time Lord said startlingly, "what else do you know?"

Jason blinked and then smiled, shaking his head. "I know she's been cured. But as a Changeling, she was condemned to death by Imperial decree millennia ago. There's even a reward for them, can you believe it? A bounty. How archaic."

"Jason, you're not thinking of turning her in, are you?" the Doctor gasped.

"What? No, of course not." The boy was clearly horrified. "I gave her my word. She kept her side of the bargain. Now I have to keep mine."

"And what exactly did you bargain for?" the Doctor asked disapprovingly. His tone wounded his companion's fragile pride.

"Doctor, what do you take me for? A blackmailer?" Jason asked in an injured tone. "If you must know, I bargained for your life." He went on to recount the confrontation at the mansion that eventually led him to Tobias Black's surgery.

"A very complex lady, our Miss Constance Sorenson," the Time Lord remarked thoughtfully. "You'd like to help her, I trust?"

Jason looked up sharply. "How?"

"Well…" the Doctor said slowly, "we could try entering a petition for an Imperial pardon. The Emperor still owes us a rather substantial favor, if you'll recall."

"How could I forget!" Jason moaned, recalling the events of his original meeting with the Doctor. They had stopped the Master in a plot that would have destroyed the stability of the Alterran Empire, and in doing so had earned the gratitude of the Emperor who had offered to grant any reward they chose. Something they had yet to do.

"But…an Imperial pardon? For a Changeling!" the Alterran gasped. "Now that is blackmail."

"Yes," the Time Lord agreed unrepentantly.

"That's devious, underhanded, manipulative…"

"Yes, yes, yes."

"That's…that's marvelous!" Jason finally burst out in delight. "That's absolutely marvelous!"

The Doctor grinned from ear to ear, aglow with pride. "I'm glad you think so, my boy, because you're the one who'll have to present the petition to Emperor Quinton."

"Oh, yes…" The Alterran's eyes flashed mischievously. "Lord Krystovan didn't stay in mothballs for very long, did he?"

The Doctor shot him a look of feigned reproach. "He'll have to stay in mothballs at least until Leela gets back," he pointed out sharply. "And that won't be for another two days."

Jason merely grunted in reply.

"That'll give us plenty of time to work out the precise language for the petition," the Doctor said thoughtfully.

"Yes," his companion agreed, "and maybe by then I'll be able to walk more than ten feet on my own."

The funeral for Director Tobias Black was held the day after Marshal Dunn returned with his group of pioneers. Out of respect for Tobias' position, and for the staff themselves, Constance declared an official day of mourning and closed the Foundation, going on to provide a buffet style luncheon in the clubhouse of the residence park so the staff could gather and reflect fol lowing the funeral. The Doctor and his companions attended, leaving almost immediately when the emotionally unstable Jason started showing signs of breaking down completely.

Constance chose not to compound her hypocrisy further and returned to the Sorenson mansion directly from the funeral. As soon as she arrived, she was informed that she had visitors. While this was not an uncommon occurrence, she was apprehensive but put it down to the strain of having to pretend grief all morning. As soon as she opened the door, however, she knew her fears had been justified. Waiting inside the room was an officer of the Alterran Imperial Guards.

Constance felt her blood run cold when she saw him, an alarmed cry escaping her. She slammed the door and locked it, whirling around in a panic. She ran blindly down the hall turning a corner and running straight into six other Guardsmen, all armed with Alterran high energy weapons.

The door to the library was unlocked and the commanding officer stepped forward. He was tall, dark and carried himself like a man who was used to getting his own way. He was seemingly unruffled by the reaction his presence induced, but his brown eyes burned fiercely with an inner anger and…revulsion?

"Miss Constance Sorenson," he began in a classic, clipped military style, "I am Commander Tolan of the Alterran Imperial Guard."

Constance knew what was coming next and shook her head, not wanting to believe her worst nightmare was actually coming true. She shrank away from the Commander, only to be seized by the others as she backed into them. She struggled weakly, overwhelmed by it all. All she could say was, "No," over and over again.

"I arrest you as a Changeling," the Commander went on, "condemned to death by Imperial decree. I am commanded to return you to Alterrous where you will stand in judgment before his Majesty, Emperor Quinton."

Constance found her voice at last. "No! You can't do this! Aegis is under the jurisdiction of the Earth authorities."

"Do you think we're fools?" Commander Tolan snapped coldly. "We have the full cooperation of the Aegin authorities. And…" he added tauntingly, "yours, too, it seems."

"Mine?" Since Constance had been anything but cooperative since she laid eyes on him, Tolan's remark left her completely baffled.

"We know all about the documents you have hidden in the Foundation's main building," he informed. "And since you've been good enough to close the facility down for the day, my men are currently searching for them now."

The stunned woman stared at him with her mouth agape.

"Take her away," Tolan ordered, waving his hand.

The protesting Constance was dragged away at gunpoint and taken to the waiting shuttle, which had been hidden behind a stand of trees near the mansion.

Upon returning to the guesthouse, the weary Jason had gone up to his room to try and get hold of himself—and rest. The Doctor and Leela went to the library. The Time Lord sat studying K-9's new schematic while his warrior companion paged idly through an enormous illustrated book on weaponry. The sound of the Alterran shuttle lifting off came through an open window and as it passed overhead Leela tensed and sat up, listening. "Doctor…!" she said in an urgent whisper. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."

"What?" Thinking she meant Jason, who was still napping on the second floor, the Doctor said, "No, no. K-9 would've alerted us if—"

"No, it isn't Jason. It's something else." Leela was on her feet moving catlike across the room, following the feeling as one might follow a sound. Having witnessed this behavior many times before, the Doctor had learned to respect her intuitive instincts and followed her out onto the patio.

"Soldiers!" Leela gasped. "We're being invaded!"

The Doctor took in the scene with benign interest, pulling a small telescope from one of his capacious pockets. "Well, if we are, then we've nothing to worry about. They seem to be invading an empty…building. Hal-lo? I know those uniforms. Now where have I seen them before?" The Doctor lowered the telescope as the answer came to him, an alarmed look passing across his face.

"Doctor, who are they?"

"Alterran Imperial Guardsmen," came the sober reply. "Leela, I want you to stay here. If Jason wakes up before I get back, make sure you keep him inside."

His tone put the warrior even more on her guard. "Why? Is Jason in danger from the soldiers?"

"No, they're friendly enough," the Time Lord said vaguely. "I just don't want him to see them until I find out why they're here." So saying, he headed toward the building below.

Inside the Alterran command ship, Tolan was completing his final communication with the detachment he had left on the planet's surface. Everything had gone smoothly with the exception of one detail. The documents had yet to be located.

"I don't care how long it takes, Sergeant," the Commander was saying. "Search the entire estate, if you have to. Just find them."

"Yes, sir," was all the response he received.

With a grunt of disapproval, Tolan rose to his feet and left the flight deck, wiping the grins off of the faces of the crew with a quelling look as he went.

In the ship's prison area, Constance had been confined in a cell that was almost completely barren. It had no windows, four blank walls and a sealed door that would prevent her escape by molecular transmutation. She had taken refuge on the only soft object in the room, this being the bed, and was huddled in the corner. Despite the fact that she'd only been confined for half an hour, she was already beginning to feel claustrophobic and was almost grateful when Commander Tolan opened the door and came in. Deciding not to honor him with etiquette, Constance did not rise from the bed, choosing instead to eye him coldly.

"Time for my bread and water already?" she asked acidly.

Tolan chose to ignore the remark. "I'm ordered to inform you we won't be arriving in the Capital City for at least thirty six hours."

"Thirty-six hours?"

"This is a shuttle, Miss Sorenson, not a battle cruiser," the officer explained, going on to say, "I'm authorized to grant you any reasonable request you may have during that time."

Picking up the slight edge in his voice, Miss Sorenson was intrigued. "And you don't agree with your orders, I take it?"

The Commander shot a glance at the officer standing behind him in the doorway. Waving the guard out, he closed the door, causing Constance to stiffen.

"Miss Sorenson," Tolan began slowly, "it isn't usually my custom to question my orders. But in all honesty I must tell you that if it'd been up to me, I'd've shot you as soon as I arrived and had done with it. I've read what a Changeling can do, and quite frankly it makes my stomach turn," he said bluntly. "So don't expect me to be a sympathetic ear."

Constance stared wide-eyed at him, not sure if she should be relieved or terrified by this brutally honest admission. It was only her years of practice as a cold, emotionless businesswoman that kept her from completely going to pieces. In as even a tone as possible, she said, "Well, now I know where I stand, don't I, Commander?"

"Yes, Miss Sorenson, now you know," Tolan replied woodenly.

"If it's any consolation," his prisoner added, "I can sympathize with your feelings, Commander. You see, I've seen first hand what a Changeling can do once the mania sets in."

The Commander snorted. "And what about before?"

"Sorry?"

"You're obviously still lucid. What was your excuse for murdering a Time Lord?"

Constance sat bolt upright. "I didn't! The Doctor's still alive!"

"I don't know who the Doctor is," Tolan said firmly. "I'm talking about Melnacon."

The woman on the bed caught her breath and put her hands to her mouth in horrified astonishment, a reaction the officer noted with interest. "Did you kill him to keep him from revealing your whereabouts?" he asked accusingly as he knocked on the door to be let out.

"No! I didn't kill him!" Constance protested adamantly. "I didn't kill anyone!"

The Commander eyed her with a distinct air of disbelief. He considered a moment and then placed a paper on the table just inside the door. "Then I think you should read this."

"Why? What is it?" came the suspicious inquiry.

"Among other things, it's how we found you," Tolan informed as he closed the door.

Constance stared at the paper before finally crossing the room to pick it up. A minute later she could be heard pounding angrily on the walls of her cell and screaming one name at the top of her voice. "Krystovan!"