CHAPTER 16

"KILL THEM!"

Laurel took an angry step forward and started to raise his gun. The Doctor immediately caught him by the arm, stopping his progress. "No," he said firmly, "don't let him provoke you to murder. You'll only get yourself killed in the process."

The Terrellian youth gave him a puzzled look, following his gaze to see Graham's weapon already raised—and aimed at him!

"What are you waiting for?" Jacoby ranted hysterically. "Can't you see these creatures have gone mad? You've got to destroy them before they kill again!"

Suddenly Laurel realized the Doctor was right. The whitecoat in the cage wasn't worth getting killed over. Sighing resignedly, he slowly lowered his gun and tossed to the floor at the feet of the astonished Graham Remington.

"Ho…how…did this…this creature get a weapon?" he stammered out finally.

"I gave it to him," Jason replied matter of factly. Nodding in Dillon's direction, he added, "I gave one to him as well." Emptying his pockets, he placed the other procured weapons on the table, coming up with the last one and aiming it straight-arm at the flabbergasted Second-in-command. "I kept all the others. And, as you can see, I'm getting quite a collection."

Jacoby couldn't believe what was happening. "Graham, are you blind? Can't you see what they've done?" he went on frantically. "They've trained these creatures to kill for them? You've got to destroy them before they kill any more people."

Still, the Second-in-command hesitated. He had always known the Terrellians to be timid creatures that fled whenever he came anywhere near them. What could these two strangers have possibly done in a single day to make them aggressive? Even violent?

Jason took advantage of Graham's indecision and suddenly ordered, "Everyone behind me, now! Stay close to Jasmine." The villagers obeyed instantly, collecting around Dillon and his unconscious spouse.

The Doctor leaned close to his companion's ear. "You do realize, off course, that you've just proven his point."

The Alterran nodded slowly. The weapon in his hand did not waver, nor did he take his eyes from the men at the door. "Yes, I do. And I don't really care. The villagers are learning to fight back, and…in many ways, that's my fault."

"Jason, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about violence, Doctor. I came to destroy this lab. To put an end to the atrocities being committed here." The Alterran's voice hardened as he added, "And I'll kill anyone who gets in my way."

"What?" the Doctor gasped. "Jason, you can't be serious."

"Can't I? They've been through hell in here because of the likes of him." His companion nodded in Jacoby's direction, his voice hardening further. "Believe me, Doctor, I know."

Suddenly, finally, realization dawned. The Doctor was still unaccustomed to the fact that his Alterran companion could change his appearance so completely that he was unrecognizable, even to him. Then he wanted to kick himself for not having realized it sooner. "Good Lord, it was you! The stranger. The hybrid. It was you, wasn't it?"

Jason quietly replied, "Yes."

This certainly explained a great deal in the Doctor's mind, but did nothing to resolve the current standoff. "Jason," he said gently, "think about this very carefully. You've never killed anyone. It goes completely against your nature, your training…everything you believe in."

"I know."

Graham saw the gun dip slightly and took a step forward, causing Jason to tighten his grip and eye him coldly. "Don't push me, Graham. I don't want to harm anyone. But I swear, I will kill you or anyone else who raises a finger against my friends because of what that... that...human has to say."

The Doctor knew the angry look in his companion's eyes and had come to recognize the signs of an imminent eruption of Mr. Jason. His companion was fighting very hard to stay in control of himself, and he was not about to let him be pushed to the point of completely losing his temper, which would make him dangerously unpredictable. He held up a hand in warning to the Second-in-command. "He means it."

Raising his hands in a conciliatory gesture, Graham took a step back. "Now, Jason, just put the gun down. We can talk this over like two reasonable adults, can't we? There's no need for anyone to get hurt."

"You idiot!" Jacoby screamed. "Isn't it obvious they're not going to talk. You've got to kill them."

Dillon had heard quite enough from the ranting Jacoby. To the astonishment of all present, he angrily snapped, "Why don't you shut up! We're not animals! And we're not murderers, either!" With that, he threw the weapon Jason had given him across the room as hard as he could.

"It…it…" the wide-eyed Graham stammered.

"His name is Dillon," Jason informed calmly. "And he's right. They're not murderers."

"Well, somebody is!" the colonist exploded, waving a hand toward the corridor behind him. "There's a trail of bodies from here all the way back to the main entrance."

Jason gave him a horrified look, but the Doctor seemed to brighten. "Ah! That would be the route Mr. Jacoby took during his take over bid," the Time Lord informed. "Our friends here can supply a wealth of information on how Dr. Jordan has been terrorizing them since before your people even arrived."

"What?" Now it was Graham's turn to be horrified.

"I'm not too clear as to why," the Doctor went on. "But I can tell you it was Jacoby who killed Dr. Jordan. And all the others, too, I would imagine."

"This is too much…" the overwhelmed colonist muttered. He turned to those with him, motioning that they lower their weapons. Following his lead, Jason lowered his as well, the angry lines on his face softening. He turned back to the relieved villagers with a reassuring smile on his face.

Jacoby, on the other hand, was appalled. "You don't believe him, do you? There's no proof."

"You seem to be forgetting," the Doctor broke in, "I heard everything that went on in here. Especially the part about eliminating the non-essentials. I may've been paralyzed, but I was still fully conscious."

The man in the cage blanched visibly, his dreams of wealth and power suddenly turning to dust. His eyes glazed over and he sank down onto the cot, utterly defeated.

Just as Graham was about to start firing a battery of questions at the group, Jasmine moaned softly, bringing Jason to her side instantly. She opened her eyes and gasped when she saw the white-coated stranger standing over her. Her claws immediately came out and she reached up to fight him off, forcing him to catch hold of her wrists.

"Hey, hey, hey, Jasmine!" Jason reproved gently. "I'm on your side, remember?"

Jasmine was so stunned that he knew her name she stopped fighting and stared up at him. Dillon had been astonished by her reaction, and gave Jason a puzzled look. The Alterran grinned back at him. "She doesn't know me in this form," he said simply, smiling down at the apprehensive female. "It's alright, Jasmine, don't be afraid. My name is Jason. I'm here to help you."

Jasmine suddenly saw Dillon on the other side of the bed and relaxed slightly, the memory of the rescue party returning to mind. Obviously it had arrived. She reached out to her husband, catching her breath when she saw the tube in her arm.

"It's alright, my Love," Dillon whispered, pressing her hand against his cheek. "It's putting your blood back."

"Dillon, the Doctor…" she urgently, "that evil woman—"

The Doctor was suddenly at her side. "I'm right here, my dear. Don't upset yourself."

"You…are unharmed?"

The Doctor smiled. "Yes, I am unharmed, thanks to you. You were very brave to fight the way you did."

"If I hadn't, she would've killed you," Jasmine replied matter of factly. "I was afraid…I'd failed."

Suddenly Jason realized he had gotten it all wrong. The Terrellians weren't fighting back out of selfishness, but out of self-less-ness. They were indeed following his example, fighting on behalf of another. He had fought on behalf of Laurel and Willa, and now Jasmine had fought on behalf of the Doctor.

"You were wonderful, Jasmine," the Time Lord was saying.

Jasmine smiled weakly, turning to Dillon, who shushed her. "You must rest. That evil woman can't harm us anymore."

His wife threw a frightened, uncertain look at Jason as he checked the tube in her arm. He could feel her body tense as he touched her and smiled reassuringly. "Don't look so worried. I couldn't possibly hurt the sentry who saved my life."

Dillon gave the Healer a meaningful look. "Jason will take very good care of you, my Love. You can trust him."

"Dillon, I'm so…con…fffus…" Jasmine's voice trailed off and she went limp,

"No!" her husband cried in anguish.

"Don't panic," Jason assured gently, "She's only unconscious." He went on to say that he needed to take her to a place where he could give her his undivided attention. Her wounds needed tending, and he wanted to do all he could to insure the survival of her unborn child.

Graham Remington had been completely forgotten during all this, but had been listening intently the whole time and was extremely interested in finding out exactly what had been going on inside the Research Center.

"I'll do what I can to help you sort it all out," the Doctor told him, "since you'll probably need a go-between. My friends are understandably wary of humans."

Graham nodded, telling one of his men to contact the others to see how they were doing. Hopefully, they hadn't encountered anything as bizarre as what he had found in the main lab.

This was not to be.

Considering all he had heard thus far, Graham was not surprised to learn the search teams had encountered only a few members of the Center's staff still alive, some of whom were in hiding, the others packing in haste.

One team broke in with the news that they had just found the bound and struggling Baker near the rear door of the garage. They told of the note that had been attached to him informing whoever found him that he had murdered Gordon Taylor, whose body was in the back of the transport he was tied to.

"What do we do, Graham?" came the bewildered inquiry. "Do we let him go?"

"No, Ben. Under no circumstances are you to let him go. Is that understood?"

"Not really. What's going on?"

"I'm not sure myself. I'm in the process of finding out."

Ben exchanged a mystified look with his partner before turning to Baker whose face was now a deep shade of crimson. The colonists had, as yet, to remove the gag. The hunter thrashed in rage, but was just as powerless to escape as all his previous victims.

Suddenly the radio crackled again. "You still there, Ben?"

"Yes, I'm here."

Jason had been in the process of moving Jasmine when Ben's report came through, reminding him of the three others he had left in the woods.

"We'll need to get everybody in on this," Graham sighed. "That forest's a big place. And Ellis and his men are the only ones who know it."

"I know it," Marjora informed. "I will guide your people to where we left the hunters."

"No, Marjora, not you," the Healer cut in quickly. "I need you to help me with Jasmine."

"Jason, I can not," she replied sadly. "I don't understand the human medicines as you do."

"And I don't know enough about yours. I need you. More importantly, Jasmine needs you," Jason said forcefully. With that, he pushed the examining table and its precious cargo from the room, heading toward the Center's medical section, Dillon at his heels.

Marjora turned back to the others in uncertainty.

"He wouldn't say it, if he didn't mean it," the Doctor said firmly.

The Terrellian physician considered a moment and then nodded, hurrying after the Alterran to assist him in any way possible.

Thatcher stepped forward. "I will guide your people."

"And I'll come with you," Laurel chimed in, unwilling to let his friend go alone.

"In that case, Graham," the Doctor began slowly, "I think it would be wise if you radioed your people so they don't shoot—"

"We're not all barbarians, Doctor," the colonist reproved in a slightly insulted tone.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "My apologies. I so rarely meet someone who doesn't have a shoot-to-kill mentality."

"Under the circumstances—" Graham threw a meaningful look in Jacoby's direction. "—I'd say that was understandable."

The Doctor turned to the last remaining member of Jason's rescue party. "And I think you should return to your village—No, go to the release point. Tell the sentry to deliver this message to Olyeon. Tell him, the Doctor says the terror has ended."