CHAPTER 8

JASON'S POWERS

Before the Doctor could respond, two things happened at once. Jason was suddenly in his true form, his tendrils wrapped tightly around him, and the hatches opened, a wall of water surging in. The time travelers were knocked senseless as the water slammed into them, sending them helplessly through the tunnel and out into the cold ocean depths. The weight the Doctor was chained to sank to the ocean floor, dragging them down with it.

Jason recovered his senses first and was relieved to see he still had a firm grip on his friend, his having woven his tendrils together just to make certain of this. He was just turning his atten­tion to the handcuffs when the Time Lord came to his senses and looked around groggily, com­pletely disoriented by the total blackness.

"Not a journey I'd care to repeat," Jason remarked.

The Doctor started. "Jason?"

"Who else?"

"What happened?"

"Ah…well, put simply, we got out."

"I can see that," came the irritable reply. "Can you do something about getting me loose?"

"I'm trying," Jason replied tersely, "but the lock on the cuffs is jammed and this chain isn't making it any easier. If I snap them the wrong way, I'll snap your wrists along with them."

"Never mind. Take your time," the Doctor said quickly. He got to his feet not having real­ized as yet that the only reason he could stand was because of the weight he was attached to. "Is it me or is it hard to breathe?"

"Sorry. That's me. I wanted to make sure I didn't let go of you," Jason said guiltily, loosen­ing his tendrils slightly.

"You can let go of me now."

"No, I don't think so," came the amused reply. "You'll feel a lot more than my weight if I do that."

"What?"

"I couldn't get us out of the tunnel in time, Doctor. We're outside the Dome." As he said this, Jason finally managed to free his friend's hands. He then began rising in the water, moving slowly back towards the Dome.

The Doctor blinked, looking around himself in astonishment. Unfortunately he could see lit­tle more than the Alterran's crystalline sensors illuminated, which was not much. He was suddenly aware of his own buoyancy, his feet no longer touching the ground. There was no denying he was underwater, and yet…

"Jason, the Dome is two miles beneath the surface," he heard himself saying.

"Yes, and so are we," came the patient reply.

"How? I'm alive and breathing. I shouldn't be, you know?" the Doctor observed. "The wa­ter pressure alone—"

"I know all that," his companion said in mild impatience. "As long as you stay in contact with me you're protected by my energy field."

"What energy field?"

"The one that allows me to levitate, among other things. Look, you're alive. That's all that matters. I'll satisfy your curiosity with the full details later."

"You can satisfy my curiosity now by answering one simple question," the Doctor said firmly. "How do we get back inside?"


Bryce strode into the power room, finding Talbot at the main console, some of his crew at other terminals around the room. "What the hell is going on down here?" he demanded. "Ten units have collapsed, and who knows how many others are about to."

"I know that," Talbot snapped. "We're working on it."

"Working on it!" Bryce was incredulous. "Ten units down in one afternoon!"

"I've already got replacements on the job."

"And the one's that collapsed?"

Talbot gave a wry smile. "They're resting."

"Very funny," Bryce snapped, clearly not amused. "What's going on with the power? It should have stabilized by now. Why are we still having problems?"

"I don't know," Talbot replied truthfully. "That's what we were working on when you inter­rupted. That new energy system doesn't want to stabilize. And the fluctuations are making find­ing the fault difficult."

Bryce stood motionless a moment, apparently thinking this over. Suddenly he turned on his heel, heading for the computer room. "Let me have a go. After all, I'm the one who installed it." So saying, he vanished through the door.


Once the initial shock of his surrounds had worn off, the Doctor asked his companion how he came to be in the discharge tunnel in the first place. Jason told him of his journey through the building and what he discovered in the storage area.

"The cargo is people, Doctor," he said in anger and revulsion. "Hundreds maybe even thou­sands of them. And it's the same race that's making up the work force."

The Doctor nodded, his companion having confirmed one theory. He went on to confirm an­other when he said, "And those chains they wear are a kind of control device. I managed to scan one before the lights went out."

"Yes. Set to a telepathic frequency, no doubt," the Doctor replied thoughtfully.

"Why do you say that?"

"Two encounters with a massive wave of psychic energy; the first when we arrived, and the second when I entered the storage area. It practically knocked me over."

Jason's crystalline eyes glowed brightly a moment. "Is that what that was? I thought I'd walked through an energy field."

The Doctor gave him a steady look. "It seems I was right about your being telepathic," he observed.

"I don't see how that helps us now."

The Time Lord did not reply directly asking instead if there were any way he could have freer movement in order to explore the Dome. His Alterran friend began untangling his tendrils. "Just remember, Doctor," he said warningly, "if you let go of me, even for a second at this depth, you're dead."

"I'll try to keep it in mind," came the arid reply. "And might I suggest that you concentrate on not letting me go."

The Doctor was amazed again at his companion's ability to counteract his own buoyancy, allowing him to walk and climb as if on dry land. He scrutinized the ship from all angles, clam­bering up the sides and over the top. From what he had seen of the interior, the Dome was only a small portion of the space ship they now knew it to be. The outer hull had evidence of fresh re­pairs and the Doctor commented on its construction as well as his amazement that it hadn't bro­ken up on impact. The telltale burn marks bore witness to a reentry gone wrong.

The Doctor's investigation of the top of the Dome ended at a rock face and he remarked on how the ship had imbedded itself in to the rock formation. Jason interrupted at that point, in­forming him that the rocks were actually a part of the landmass that rose out of the ocean two miles above them. "From its location," he said thoughtfully, "I'd say it's where the service ele­vator in the Dome is located."

The Doctor gave him a startled look and then turned his gaze to the rocks. Looking upwards he was unable to see beyond the area illuminated by Jason's sensors, the wall disappearing into the inky blackness. "You can tell where we are in relation to the interior?" he asked, turning back to his companion.

"Oh, yes."

The Doctor muttered something in an approving tone before continuing with his investiga­tion. He slid down the side of the Dome to get a closer look at where the ship came in contact with the ocean floor, immediately taking up where he had left off with his observations and theo­ries. "Where do you suppose the ship was heading when it crashed?" he wondered aloud. Obvi­ously Captain Talbot and his crew were the survivors of the original ship's crew. But who were they working for? And what was the original plan for the captives in the hold?

Jason listened in silence as the Doctor went on. He was speaking so quickly his companion would not have been able to reply even if he wanted to. Of course, he knew from experience that his friend was simply trying to work everything out in his head and had probably forgotten he was even there.

After several minutes, the Doctor suddenly stopped and looked around. He tried to get his bearings but had become completely disoriented in the near total darkness. "Jason, where are we in relation to the in­terior?"

"Just coming up to the storage areas at the far end," Jason replied.

The Doctor nodded, continuing on. Suddenly a massive wave of psychic energy washed over him. This time Jason felt it too and was so startled he released his grip on the Doctor. Had the Time Lord not taken hold of him to steady himself he would have died on the spot.

Realizing what he had almost done, the Alterran rewound the Doctor in his tendrils, prepared to stave off any objections that he give him freer movement again.

"What was that!" Jason gasped.

The Doctor did not seem to hear him. He was moving steadily forward, following the psy­chic energy to its source. He placed his hands on the hull and closed his eyes. "I'm here," he said softly. "I'm here. I hear you. What do you want?"

The Doctor relaxed visibly, freeing his mind to make contact with whoever, or whatever, was trying to reach him. He stood silently a few minutes, apparently listening. Suddenly he reeled back, a loud cry escaping him. He clamped his hands over his ears, his face twisted in pain. He struggled against this unseen force for several seconds, and then he collapsed.