CHAPTER 13

THE PRISONER

The Palace detention area was large, cold and impersonal. It was divided into individual square cells, each identical to the next. At the entrance of each cell was an energy barrier that suppressed an Alterran's ability to transmute and reduced their strength to human levels. It also carried enough power to stun anyone foolish enough to touch it.

Inside one such cell was Constance, who sat despondently staring into space. She had been on Alterrous for nearly day, and had yet to see anyone in authority. All she'd seen were the guards, who were of mixed opinions as to what form of death she deserved. Some had even taken to taunting her periodically with descriptions of their personal favorites.

Dimly aware of a metallic whine moving closer, Constance actually jumped when a quiet voice suddenly spoke her name. She looked up, her expression going from surprise, to anger, to burning hatred as she stared at the man standing uneasily in the doorway, this being Jason. The Doctor was beside him, K-9 buzzing happily at their feet.

"What do you want, Krystovan?" she hissed. "Come to gloat? Or are you here to torment me like the rest of them?"

Jason knew his reception would be hostile, but was unprepared for the venom in this greeting. "No, actually, I…I came to help," he replied mildly.

"Help?" Constance was incensed. She jumped to her feet, waving her arms to take in her surroundings. "Help! This is where you help's gotten me. I should've known better than to trust you. You…you…Krystovan!"

The young man's hand went to the insignia around his neck. There it was again! he thought in bewilderment. What could she possibly have against his family? Until his arrival on Aegis, he didn't even know she existed.

"Constance, getting angry isn't going to solve anything," the Doctor injected reasonably. "And neither is blaming Jason. It was your friend Tobias the Blackmailer who turned you in."

"What?" The imprisoned woman was taken aback. "But…that's crazy."

"Constance, he was crazy!" Jason exclaimed. "Good grief, woman, he damn near killed me!"

Constance snorted and turned her back on him, ignoring his protestations. "I don't believe you!" she cried at last putting her hands to her ears. "Go away! Just go away and stop torturing me!"

The Doctor stopped his companion from saying more. "Let her be for the time being," he ad vised softly.

Leela had been a silent observer to this entire exchange and as the Time Lord turned to lead Jason away, he said quietly, "Stay with her, Leela. Talk to her. She needs a friend just now, only she doesn't know it yet."

Leela nodded. "I will stay."

Constance tried to ignore Leela's presence for several minutes, only to give up and turn an angry gaze in her direction. "Well? What are you looking at?"

"You," Leela replied in unabashed honesty.

"Why?"

"There is no one else here."

Constance threw her a puzzled look. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I am Leela. A warrior of the Sevateem," came the proud reply.

"An alien!" the imprisoned Alterran gasped. "Have they sent you to kill me, Warrior of the Sevateem?"

Now it was Leela's turn to be puzzled. "No, the Doctor told me to stay because you need someone to talk to."

Miss Sorenson stiffened and was about to make a very unladylike remark when one of the detention area guards appeared and started taunting her again. Seeing how distressing this was, Leela immediately put a stop to it, grabbing the unarmed guard and slamming him against the wall, her dagger at his throat.

Even though Constance did not know Leela personally, knew a trained killer when she saw one. "No, Leela!" she called from the doorway. "You mustn't kill him!"

A voice suddenly boomed out, "What are you doing down there, Chapman?" It was Commander Tolan.

The terrified Chapman could only respond with unintelligible gurgles. Leela was far more articulate. "This coward was testing his manhood by taunting Constance. He prefers to tell her how she should die when she cannot stop him. He isn't so brave with me. There's no blue wall between us." She moved her dagger closer to the throat of the trembling guard.

"Leela, this it Commander Tolan," Constance said warningly. "He's the one in charge."

"Good, then take charge of him," Leela said in disgust and flung the quivering Chapman to the floor like a dirty rag. As she returned the dagger to its sheath, Tolan grabbed her wrist and stripped the weapon from her hand in one quick motion. This both surprised and impressed the warrior, who had expected him to be as inept as the quivering wretch on the floor.

"I don't know who you are, or how you got in here," Tolan began threateningly, "but weapons are forbidden in the Imperial Palace."

"Then why didn't your Emperor have it taken from me when I saw him yesterday?" Leela asked reasonably.

"The Emperor? Are you telling me that you, an alien, had an audience with the Emperor?" the astonished Commander gasped in disbelief.

Leela nodded.

Tolan gave her a dubious look. "Describe him."

She obliged immediately. "He is a tall man. As tall as you, with red hair. He speaks with a voice like thunder and wears a blue jewel that glows around his neck."

Having never seen Emperor Quinton, Constance had no idea that this was an accurate description, but she could see by the Commander's reaction that it was.

"How did you get down here?" Tolan then asked.

"I came with the Doctor and Ja—uh, Lord Krystovan," Leela informed.

"I see," the officer sighed, remembering having seen her clearance into the Palace that the Emperor himself had signed. Turning to the unfortunate guard whom Leela had accosted, Tolan snapped sternly, "I'll deal with you later, Chapman. Dismissed."

Chapman fled.

"Now, if you'll please follow me." The Commander turned on his heel to lead the warrior out.

"No. I must stay," Leela said obstinately.

Constance was intrigued, not to mention grateful to actually have someone so aggressively on her side. "Commander…?" she ventured. "Would it be considered a reasonable request to have Leela come in with me to visit?"

"It's highly irregular," Tolan replied coldly. "Especially for condemned prisoners."

Fixing him in an icy stare, Constance said equally coldly, "Commander Tolan, I'm trying to be polite. You've already made your personal convictions quite clear. And so has every guard down here. In excruciating detail!"

"Are you telling me this wasn't an isolated incident?" the stunned Commander inquired.

"No, it wasn't. In fact, I think it's become a general past time."

Normally Tolan's face gave away nothing of what was going on in his mind, but upon hearing this it darkened considerably, anger flashing behind his dark brown eyes. Glancing back at Leela, he came to a decision and turned off the force field to allow her to enter. Holding up the dagger, he informed, "Since his Majesty allowed you to have this, it'll be returned to you when you leave."

Leela nodded and went in to join Constance. She would have preferred to have her weapon returned now but was glad the soldier was not going to retain it permanently.

Indicating a button on the inside wall, Tolan said, "Just press that when you're ready to leave and someone will come to let you out." Turning the barrier back on, he turned on his heel and strode off.

Constance found Leela easy to talk to, her simple values and honesty refreshing. She didn't even noticed how much time had passed until Jason reappeared and was let in to her cell.

"I thought I said I didn't want to see you," Miss Sorenson said forcefully.

"No, actually, you told me to go away," corrected the young man. "I came back. I need to make you understand—"

"Oh, I understand alright! I understand everything." She reached over and thrust a wad of pa per into his hand. "They gave me that so I'd know who did this to me."

Jason opened the crumpled paper, reading for the first time the message he was supposed to have sent. Looking up, he said, "I already told you, I didn't send this. I gave you my word!"

"Your word!" Constance exploded. "The word of a Krystovan! I never should've believed you."

"Why? You don't even know me, but you say my name as if it were a curse."

"It is a curse! A curse on me and every other Changeling." Seeing the stunned and baffled expression on the young man's face, Constance stopped her tirade. "You really have no idea, do you?" she said in a more normal tone.

"About what?" the aristocrat asked helplessly.

She pointed to the insignia on the medallion around his neck. "That means you're a descendent of Krystovan, the first son of Krystos, correct?"

"Ye-es. But I still don't see…"

Constance drew herself to her full height. "It was your illustrious ancestor who signed the Changeling death warrant. That was after he promised to help us in any way he could." Her voice hardened as she added, "He gave us his word, too."