CHAPTER 15

WHAT MUST BE DONE

With a resigned sigh, the Doctor said sadly, "I hoped we could prevent—Good Lord!"

Jason suddenly drew a sharp breath. His eyes snapped open and he blinked to focus, looking up at the Time Lord who was staring back in stupefied amazement. "Doctor, are you alright?" he asked weakly.

The Doctor was incredulous. "Am I alright?"

Later, Jason explained that he had been able to absorb the energy blast through a rather complex form of transduction that was child's play for an Alterran. He added offhandedly that it was only because of his slightly weakened physical condition that he'd had any difficulty at all. Otherwise, he never would have been knocked unconscious. Upon hearing this, the Doctor resolved that nothing the extraordinary young man could do would surprise him anymore.

Jason sat up slowly and rubbed his bruised chest. "This definitely isn't my day," he muttered darkly. The Doctor helped him to stand, supporting him as he shook his head to clear it. "Wow, she really packs a wallop."

"Are you sure you're alright?" the Doctor asked concernedly.

"Yes, I'm fine," the youth assured, turning his attention to the king, who was still kneeling beside Kyska. "Terry, how is she?" he asked worriedly.

The king shook his head in bewilderment. It was the Doctor who replied. "She's in a state of post-hypnotic shock. It's the result of her mind rejecting having been forced to do something that's against her nature."

"I take it you've seen this before?" Jason observed.

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Well, now you know how the Master found out who you are," Jason remarked as he went over to his silent cousin.

"And you also know what must be done, don't you, Jason?" Terran said regretfully.

"Oh, no, Terry, you can't. You mustn't," Jason said imploringly, but he knew the Laws of Alterrous were very specific on these matters. Over the centuries they had been set down to safeguard against the misuse and abuse of the extraordinary powers his people possessed.

By taking on the form of a Dalek, Kyska had broken the cardinal law, which forbade taking on the form of any weapon. The punishment for this offense was banishment. But because Kyska had compounded the crime by attempting to kill a Time Lord, she would be further punished by having her ability to transmute permanently suppressed. In other words, Kyska would be exiled from her own people, trapped in her present form forever; and it was this that Jason plaintively explained to the Doctor.

"Oh no, your Majesty, Jason's right. You can't do that to her," the Doctor said beseechingly.

King Terran stared in wonderment. "Doctor, Lady Kyska just tried to kill you. Why are you defending her actions?"

The Time Lord shook his head. "They weren't her actions. If they were, she wouldn't be in the state she's in now."

"I can't do anything for her," Jason said helplessly. He looked searchingly over to the Doctor. "You said you'd seen this before. Can you help her?"

"I can try."

The Doctor knelt down in front of Kyska and took her face in his hands, cradling it gently as he stared into her vacant eyes. Keeping his voice a gentle, soothing lilt, he said, "Kyska, can you hear me? You're safe now. No one can harm you any longer."

Jason kept his gaze fixed on his motionless cousin as the Time Lord went on in the same hypnotic tone. He thought he saw a slight flicker in her eyes. Then she blinked.

Kyska came out of her trance with a jolt, babbling frantically about Jason, the Doctor, and the Master. She started to cry hysterically, fighting weakly against the Doctor, who was now holding her firmly by the wrists. He never took his eyes from her face, nor did he raise his voice. Then as suddenly as she had revived, Kyska stopped fighting, being transfixed by the Time Lord's unwavering gaze.

"You're free, Kyska," the Doctor soothed gently. His voice hardened slightly as he commanded, "You will forget all the orders the Master or Lord Masters ever gave you. Do you understand?" The young woman nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Very good. You can sleep now." The Doctor touched her temples and she went limp, falling back onto the unsuspecting Jason who had to grab her to keep her from striking her head on the floor.

"She'll sleep for several hours now," the Doctor informed as he got to his feet. "I'm not sure how much she'll remember of her encounter with the Master. But I can assure you, she won't remember a thing about what happened here." Turning to the king, he added pointedly, "I think we should all forget this incident as well."

"Doctor, as a Time Lord, you must understand my position," Terran said insistently as he, too, climbed to his feet. "You're bound by the Laws of Time just as we—" He held out a hand to include Jason and Kyska. "—are bound by the Laws of Alterrous."

"I can assure you, your Majesty, the Master has only contempt for the law, be it Gallifreyan or Alterran. And he's the one responsible for this."

Jason effortlessly lifted his cousin from the floor and carried her to a sofa. He looked tenderly down at her peaceful figure and shook his head. "You can't punish her." He turned to the monarch, his eyes blazing. The Guardian of the Krystovans had arrived in full glory. "I won't let you hurt her, Terran Krystio. King or not, I swear I'll fight you."

Terran knew this was no idle threat. Jason never called him by his given name unless he meant business. He had seen the Guardian in action before, and regretted that the day had come when he was forced to oppose him. Especially since Jason usually won.

"Jason, I have no choice!" Terran said at last, his voice filled with anguish. "I'm not enjoying this, you know. She's my cousin, too. Distant, perhaps, but of the Royal Bloodline, like yourself."

"You don't arrest the gun for shooting someone," the Doctor quietly injected. "You arrest the gunman."

The argument abruptly stopped and the royal Alterrans turned to face him as he went on to say, "Kyska is merely the gun. The Master is your gunman."

"And Colonel Payne," Jason added pointedly.

"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten him."

"Payne!" the king gasped. "Impossible. He was banished—"

"It was Payne alright," Jason said darkly. "I'd know that sadist anywh…" His voice trailed off and he stuck his forehead with his hand. "Colonel Payne, of course! I should've realized."

"Realized what?" the Doctor wanted to know.

"Payne's hand in all this. Kyska didn't have to take on the form of a…a…"

"Dalek."

"Yes, a Dalek. She didn't have to change form at all, but Payne knew what would happen if she did." The Healer went on to explain about the infamous Colonel Payne and his connection with his family. "He's out for revenge and he's using Kyska and me to get back at my father."

"And the Master is using that to get to me," the Doctor concluded. "Ring around the rosy."

"You know, the true irony in this is that my father is completely unaware that anything's wrong."

"Yes. And so's the Emperor," Terran injected darkly. "He needs to be informed at once."

Jason was appalled. "What?" he gasped.

"An excellent suggestion," the Doctor enthused.

"Terry, can't we work this out here, between ourselves, without involving Alterrous?" Jason asked reasonably.

For the first time since the Doctor met him, King Terran smiled. "The Emperor isn't that far away," he informed. "He arrived last night for my coronation."

"The coronation!" Jason cried. "Good heavens, I'd forgotten all about it."

"How can the Emperor help?" the Doctor asked practically.

The royal pair told him that as the Bearer of the Seal, the Lord Emperor had the final say on any deviation from the Law. Any decision he made could not be overturned.

"The Bearer of the Seal?" The Doctor was only vaguely familiar with the title but not its implications.

"The Great Seal of Alterrous, Doctor," Jason said helpfully. "It's what gives him authority over the system and the power that…well, that binds us together in peaceful coexistence."

"Figuratively, I assume."

"Oh, no. In reality. It's not just a symbol of his power. The Seal is his power. No one really knows how much, either." Catching the Time Lord's eyes, the youth grinned. "Except the Lord Emperor, of course"

Jason saw a puzzling change come over the Doctor. His face darkened and he was suddenly lost in thought. One might even call it brooding. He paced the room asking one question after another about the Great Seal and its history. Jason smiled at this second irony. Myths and legends had always fascinated him and he had studied them in depth, including all those connected with the Seal.

Jason explained that the Seal made its appearance during the most violent period in Alterran history. Krystos, for whom Tel-Shye's capital was named, had discovered its power and used it to unite the fractured Alterran system that had been divided into warring factions for centuries. In doing this, he became the first Lord Emperor of a united Alterran people.

The new Emperor Krystos then went on to make peace with the Time Lords, their bitter enemies for untold centuries. With the help of Rassilon, the greatest of the Time Lords, he was able to forge what would become the current Alliance between Alterrous and Gallifrey.

Since the time of Krystos, the Great Seal had been passed from one Emperor to the next in an unusual act of succession. The Seal itself making known to its bearer who the successor was to be, thereby assuring the power was not passed on to an individual who would misuse it.

"So only the Emperor can control this power?" the Doctor asked innocently.

"Only the Emperor has the Great Seal," Terran replied.

"But what if someone were to take it from him? Would they have control of it?"

The Alterrans were appalled the Doctor would even suggest such a thing.

"No one can take the Great Seal from the Emperor," the king stated flatly. "It protects him. Doctor, I've seen what happens when he taps into its power. No one could get near him."

The Doctor did not reply, merely raising his eyebrows. The expression on his face clearly said, "I know something you don't know."

Like a flash of lightning, Jason knew exactly what he was thinking and his eyes grew wide. "Not if he's in total suspended animation…" he breathed, receiving an approving look.

"Exactly," the Doctor beamed. "I think we should arrange to see the Lord Emperor as soon as possible. Don't you, your Majesty?"