CHAPTER 18

AFTERMATH

After the Master escaped the courtyard, he made straight for one of the entrances to the hidden passageways. He went directly to the sub-basement, cursing the Doctor the whole way. His only consolation was the certain knowledge that his enemy would not survive the deadly assault of the TSA beam.

Emerging from the tunnel, the Master peeked out cautiously, relaxing when he saw no one about. He strode down the corridor and into the room where his lab had been, walking straight in to a trap.

The Doctor had warned King Terran that his enemy had a knack for eluding capture, and like the Emperor, the king had chosen to take the warning seriously. He had even gone so far as to ask for possible hiding places of the renegade Time Lord's TARDIS.

In the center of the nearly empty room, King Terran was seated in the overstuffed armchair that had been in the Master's office. "Leaving already, Lord Masters?" the young monarch said in mock surprise. "Why…I simply could not allow that."

The Master turned on his heel to run, but was already surrounded by the Imperial Guardsmen that Quinton had been good enough to lend the king.

Terran snapped his fingers and the guards closed in on the horrified Time Lord.

When the battle ended, the sound of energy weapons and shouts were replaced by the moans of the injured and dying. Only three of Payne's mercenary task force survived the battle un-harmed, the rest having been overwhelmed by the Imperial Guard. Later, Jason felt ashamed when he looked back on how pleased he was to see the sadistic Colonel counted among the dead.

When Emperor Quinton finally came to his senses, he opened his eyes and looked around dazedly from his place in the corner. It took a moment for his mind to clear, and when it did, he saw Jason digging frantically through his medical bag, tears streaming down his face. "It's here. I know it's here," he was saying angrily to himself. Giving up, the Healer dumped the contents of the pouch out onto the floor and started searching through the pile. On the floor beside him, the Doctor lay as white as death.

The Emperor went to the Healer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Lord Krystovan—Jason, some things are beyond all our powers to prevent," he said consolingly.

Jason did not even look up. "I can save him, my Lord. I know I can save him. I just can't find the medication!" He continued his desperate search, blinking back the tears as he went.

The monarch knelt beside the Doctor, touching his icy hand. "No one can save him now."

Jason looked up sharply and then down at the Doctor, whose skin was taking on a bluish cast. "Oh, no…" he whispered. "No, not yet. Doctor, not yet!" Turning back to the pile on the floor, he saw a vial that had rolled slightly away from the rest and snatched it up. A quick look proved it to be the one he had been searching for and he held it to the dying Time Lord's neck, allowing its contents to be absorbed directly into his blood-stream.

The Emperor watched in admiration and pity, thinking the desperate young man was trying in vain to raise the dead.

Jason tossed the empty vial into his equally empty medical bag before taking hold of the Doctor's hand. His eyes moved back and forth in his head as he scanned the motionless form.

"Come on, Doctor, come back. I know you can do it," he encouraged softly. "Please! Come back!"

It was as if the Healer had spoken a magical incantation, the Emperor thought in amazement. Even as he watched, the Time Lord's color started to return to normal and after a few anxious minutes, his vital signs, although extremely weak, had stabilized. Only then did Jason relax and all the tension left his body at once. He slumped where he sat, resting his head wearily on an upraised knee.

The Emperor removed his cloak, placing it over the shoulders of the trembling and emotionally drained young man, holding up a hand to stop any objections. "You've just saved my life and the entire Empire. And now you perform a miracle before my very eyes. How can I possibly repay this…this truly remarkable debt I—No, and the entire Empire—owes you?"

Speechless, Jason stared back into the face of his Emperor, reflecting on the irony of events that had brought them together. In spite of the fact that they were, indeed, directly related, Jason had never met his illustrious Great Uncle. To him, he was the Supreme Sovereign of the Alterran Empire—no more and no less. Now this self same sovereign was expressing the gratitude of the entire system to him, which only added to the shame he felt.

"I don't deserve your praise, my Lord," the young man said brokenheartedly. He looked away in shame, unable to meet the monarch's admiring gaze. "I'm the one who helped the Master perfect that horrible device. None of this would've happened if I hadn't been such a…a… coward."

The Emperor smiled benevolently at him. "I'm already aware of your assistance to the Master," he said startlingly, a hand going to the Great Seal. "The entire incident was in your mind while you were telling me of the plot against the Seal. Your own guilt revealed it to me in intricate detail."

Jason put his face in his hands. "I can't expect you to forgive me, my Lord. And I'll accept your judgment—"

"Fear isn't a crime, Jason," the monarch said sharply. "Nor is it treason." He shook his head in bewilderment. "You're a very perplexing individual, my Lord Krystovan. You'll accept an unjust punishment for yourself without question. Yet, you're willing to oppose even myself to prevent a punishment from being imposed on your cousin, which, under the Law, is just."

Jason looked up sharply, marveling at him.

"Yes, I know of this, too." Looking him in the eye, Quinton smiled. "You have quite a reputation, my nephew. Even I have heard of the Guardian of the Krystovans. I'm told you have a caring and compassionate heart. I'm also told that you're headstrong with a volatile temper." With a wistful smile, he added, "How like your mother you are."

Lowering his eyes in embarrassment, Jason blushed. This was not the first time he'd heard this comparison, but he found it disquieting coming from the mouth of his Emperor.

"You sit there and talk of treason, yet you didn't take the Great Seal for yourself when I was powerless to stop you. You're a truly remarkable man, Jason Krystovan."

The dumbfounded youth stared back at him, having no idea how to react or respond to any of this. It was not until the Doctor moaned softly that he finally came back to reality. Removing the cloak from his shoulders, and receiving a nod of permission, Jason covered the unconscious Time Lord. Checking his condition, he noted that he was slipping into a coma. "He needs to get to a hospital as soon as possible," the worried Healer said softly.

From across the room, one of the medics attending the wounded informed him that medical transportation was due to arrive at any moment.

It was only then that Jason took in the devastation. The fountain had been completely destroyed, and the courtyard was littered with debris—and bodies. Pulling himself together, he put his supplies back into his bag. What was he doing just sitting there? As far as he could see, he was the only qualified Healer present, and that was exactly what the medics needed. He put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder to say good-bye and then rose to his feet.

"I'll stay with the Doctor until help arrives," the Emperor said gently. "You've done all you can for him. Now, go see what you can do for the others."

The Doctor awoke in a hospital room and looked around groggily. His first thoughts were that he was in the UNIT infirmary and had just experienced the most extraordinary dream. There was a nurse at the door talking quietly to a dark-haired man in a white lab coat who apparently was a doctor. Harry Sullivan, perhaps?

"Harry?" the Doctor called weakly.

The young man turned around, a broad smile spreading across his face. "No, Doctor, it's Jason." Crossing to the bedside, he pulled up a chair and sat down. "How're you feeling?"

"I've felt worse."

Jason's smile broadened. "But not much worse, I expect."

The Doctor smiled weakly back at him. "I know this is going to sound cliché…"

"But, where are you? And, how did you get here?" the Healer completed with a laugh. "Isn't this where we started, Doctor?"

"Ring around the rosy," the Time Lord muttered. "No wonder I'm dizzy."

"It's a bit more complicated than that, I'm afraid," Jason said seriously. "You went into a post-regenerative crisis after you were hit by that beam. You've been in a coma for the better part of a week now."

The astonished Time Lord stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words.

"You missed the coronation, too, I'm afraid," the Alterran added ruefully.

The Doctor laughed and struggled to sit up only to be stopped by Jason, who raised the head of the bed. At the same time he informed him that the Emperor had granted Kyska a full pardon, going on to tell of the Master's capture and forthcoming trial for crimes against the Empire. The renegade Time Lord had been charged not only with causing Kyska to break the Law of Alterrous but also with breaking the long standing Alliance between Alterrous and Gallifrey.

The Doctor was horrified and struggled to get up. "No, the Emperor mustn't break the Alliance because of the Master."

Jason held him down, insisting that he was in no condition to go charging after the Lord Emperor.

"Jason, don't you realize what this would mean?" The Doctor could not understand why the boy was so calm. "Your people and mine will be at war!"

"I hardly think that's likely, Time Lord," came the calm rejoinder from the door.

The Doctor looked up to see Emperor Quinton standing just inside the doorway, smiling benignly at him. "I've been in touch with the High Council, you see. Why didn't you tell me they sent you here? It would've saved you a great deal of trouble."

Amazed, Jason stared in wonder at the Doctor; not realizing the Time Lord was equally amazed.

Then again, the Doctor thought, that would explain why the TARDIS hadn't returned to Earth as it should have; and why he had ended up, literally, in Jason's backyard.

"Yo…you're an agent of the High Council?" the Healer breathed in awe.

The Doctor did a double take when he glanced over to him. "Perhaps, as with Alterrans, things are never as they appear with Gallifreyans, either."

"You've done us a great service, Doctor. Both of you have. Your alliance with one another saved the one between our people," Quinton said admiringly. "When you've recovered, perhaps you'll allow me to reward you both in some way."

"Thank-you, your Majesty," the Doctor replied mildly. "I'd've considered it reward enough knowing the Alliance is safe and the Master is in custody."

"And all I wanted was to clear Kyska," Jason injected.

"My offer stands," Quinton stated firmly. "I don't easily forget those who've risked their lives on my account." He placed a hand on the Great Seal and smiled, giving a slight bow. "Good-bye, Doctor. Good-bye, Nephew Jason. Until the day you seek my favor on Alterrous." With that, he swept from the room.

The Doctor and Jason exchanged a mystified look.

"Was that…an invitation?" the Healer asked finally.