CHAPTER 9
HOW TO GET BACK
The appalled Jason caught the Doctor as he fell, scanning him as he did so. The Time Lord was barely breathing and his vital signs were incredibly weak. Entwining him protectively, the Alter ran backed away from the Dome, raging against his friend's unseen attackers. "How could you do that! He was trying to help!"
Again he heard the haunting voice he had pursued down the hall. "Help, help, help…"
Pulling his helpless friend closer, Jason called back, "I'm not a trained telepath. I don't know what to do."
"Quiet…" the voice said softly. "Listen…listen…"
Tightening his grip on the Doctor, Jason increased the oxygen level within his life sustaining energy field. Suddenly he felt very much alone, fully conscious of the fact that he held his friend's life quite literally in his grasp. He was also torn. Should he abandon the unknown aliens on the other side of the hull, or find out more about them? Of course, he knew exactly what the Doctor would do. Summoning his courage, Jason moved closer to the Dome and concentrated, directing his all his sensory energies to listen on all levels. This time the voice came through clearly, albeit very faintly. "Quiet your mind. Listen…listen…"
Afraid to speak, Jason listened as the voice went on.
"Help us. Trapped. Used. Help us. Please…"
Jason wanted to ask how but was prevented when a ship suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The shuttle was one of the vessels that brought the numerous visitors to the Dome. The noise of its approach registered very loudly on the Alterran's purposely oversensitive hearing and he instantly lost his concentration.
Somehow he knew it had taken the combined efforts of all those trapped on the other side of the hull to make the brief contact with his untrained mind possible. They had very likely exhausted themselves and would be unable to reestablish contact. With this in mind, Jason did not even try, turning his attention instead to an even bigger problem. Getting back inside.
To Captain Talbot's annoyance, Bryce not only managed to restabilize the power system, but was able to get the computer realigned as well. All systems were now functioning better than ever before.
The CEO had been gone only a few minutes when Talbot received the news he had been waiting for. All the repairs to the ship were finally complete. Every system was at peek efficiency, and all program upgrades had been fully installed and tested.
The Captain happily acknowledged the news, an evil smile coming to his face. Finally, his ship was back in one piece. Time to take it back. That fool Miller thought I was going to just hand everything over to him, did he? Not bloody likely. Not my ship My cargo. He would have back what was his. And if he couldn't get Miller to see reason, he would take it back by force.
Another evil smile came to Talbot's twisted face. He already knew the CEO would not see reason. It was going to be a pleasure to put him in his place.
The shuttle finished its approach, moving into the airlock and settling onto the landing pad, the crew within completely unaware of having taken on two more passengers. Jason had taken refuge on top of the ship with his own precious cargo. As the water drained from the airlock, he wondered if he should get down now or wait. It turned out the decision was made for him. As soon as the room was sealed, the airlock closed, the main door opening simultaneously. Once the main door opened fully, the landing pad slid into the main hanger.
A shuttle door opened somewhere below and two of the crew stepping out to prepare for the debarkation of the passengers. Several members of the Dome staff then appeared and lined up near the entrance to greet the new arrivals, while others moved to offload the contents of the hold.
"Great, now we're stuck up here," Jason said as he watched all this activity on the ground.
After a few minutes he noticed a pile of boxes beginning to accumulate on the far side of the hanger and wondered what they might be. They could not be the passengers' luggage, as a conveyer was taking that from the hanger.
The answer was provided when a man in coveralls carrying a clipboard crossed to the pile and began checking them off of his list. "Hey, Harry," he called back toward the ship. "There's two crates missing. See if they got mixed up with the luggage, would you?"
"What crates?" the unseen Harry replied from the hold.
"You know. These supply crates." Pausing, the man corrected himself. "No, wait, mail crates. The manifest says there should be two more than I've got here. We can't board for departure until they're accounted for, so get a move on."
"Mail crates. Perfect," Jason whispered. Then to the unconscious Time Lord, he remarked, "I hope you don't wake up before we get delivered."
The Alterran moved silently to the deck, remaining concealed behind the ship. When the crates were turned over to the Dome staff for delivery, the hanger was empty for a full minute. Seizing the opportunity, Jason moved in among them, transmuting into a similar container, the unconscious Doctor hidden inside.
The annoyed Bryce Miller returned to the storage area, having been summoned by Captain Talbot. "Yes, Talbot, what is it now?" he asked wearily as he stepped through the door.
The Captain gave him an evil smile, which when combined with his scarred appearance was grotesque to say the least. "A change of plan, Miller," he replied, raising the gun in his hand. He pushed the door closed and then stood in front of it, barring the way back to the safety of the Dome.
Bryce regarded the weapon almost without interest, his face unchanged.
"I mean to have back what's mine," Talbot snarled.
Bryce heard the sound of several energy weapons powering up and turned without surprise to see the remnants of the ship's crew stepping out of the shadows. "Flexing our muscles tonight, are we, Talbot?" he asked blandly, turning back to the Captain, his expression and manner still unnervingly calm.
"This is no joke, Miller," the Captain snarled. "You think you're such a big man, don't you? In charge of my ship! My cargo! Mine, Miller, not yours!"
"Are you sure of that?" There was only the smallest hint of malice in the reply.
The Captain did not seem to hear him. "You strut around in your expensive tailored clothes, with your big important business connections. The big man! Chief Executive Officer Miller! But not down here. I know what you really are. You're nothing but a blood sucking parasite."
Even though his expression did not change, Miller's eyes turned to angry flames. "Beware, Talbot," he replied, his voice icy cold. "I have the power to destroy you."
Talbot laughed at this seemingly fatuous remark. "Not down here you don't." Waving a hand, he commanded, "Give him a little taste of our power."
The man behind the CEO stepped forward, holding out a device known appropriately as a Pain Stick. Its sole function was to inflict pain in varying degrees, from mild to excruciating.
Bryce regarded the device steadily, standing motionless as the officer approached. As soon as he was a few feet away, Bryce held out a hand and to the astonishment of all present the device flew into it. A quick twist changed the setting and he stabbed the contact point into the stomach of his would-be attacker. The man fell screaming and writhing to the ground.
Bryce watched the man's torment dispassionately. The moment the induced fit ended, he casually kicked the unfortunate individual from the walkway, watching unmoved as he fell screaming to his death on the metal floor below.
The stunned and horrified crew finally reacted, opening fire on the unarmed CEO. He held up his free hand and a barrier formed around him, deflecting the rays harmlessly aside. Then a wave of the same hand disarmed his attackers, who now stood in a terrified silence.
Slowly Bryce turned back to Talbot, a look of cold malevolence on his face, his eyes burning with hate. The Captain felt his heart freeze in his chest, realizing too late how truly evil this man was. He wanted to run but was unable to move. In fact, he was scarcely able to breathe.
"Now, Captain," Bryce said chillingly, "you and your crew will feel the fullness of my power."
Within an hour of his return inside the Dome, the disguised Alterran and his cargo were delivered to their suite.
The moment the door was closed, Jason returned to his human form, taking the Doctor to his room and placing him on the bed where he rechecked his condition. He was relieved to find the Doctor's vital signs were now strong and stable, his breathing regular. He was still unconscious however, and despite all the jostling had not moved since collapsing; his time aura, which was usually so strong that it registered on Jason's senses without his having to initiate a scan, was conspicuous by its absence. This meant only one thing as far as the Alterran Healer could make out. Whatever the aliens had tried to impart had so overwhelmed his Time Lord friend that it tripped a defense mechanism that protected his mind from attack. How long he would stay unconscious was anyone's guess.
Sitting down in a chair, Jason put his head in his hands in an agony of indecision. Now what should he do?
