CHAPTER 10

AZURE

Jason did not know how long he sat in his own private misery before he heard the sound of someone at the door. He went out to the main room to see a woman pulling a housekeeping cart through the door. If she was surprised to see him, it did not show.

"I came to clean the room, sir," she said dully. "If I am intruding, I will come back."

Jason was tempted to send her away but changed his mind. "No, no, that's alright. You go ahead."

The woman went on with her work, oblivious to the Alterran's watchful gaze. She did not say another word until she came to the Doctor's room and saw him lying upon the bed. "Is the gentleman ill?" she asked.

Jason's eyes narrowed. "What if he is?"

"If the gentleman is ill," she replied, "he must be taken to the infirmary."

Since the last thing the time travelers needed was to have their presence in the Dome discovered. Jason raised his hands. "No, that's alright. He just needs to rest."

"The gentleman must be taken to the infirmary," the woman said again. "I will call for assistance." She turned and reached for the telephone.

To Jason's horror, he saw the eye on the dolphin chain had also started to glow. Without thinking, he pulled the chain from the girl's neck, breaking the connection. He then had to dive to catch her as her knees gave way, sweeping her into his arms and placing her gently in a nearby chair. She recovered her senses almost immediately and looked up at him in a combination of confusion and terror.

"It's alright," Jason soothed gently. "I'm not going to hurt you." He held up his hands. Suddenly realizing he still had the collar in his grasp, he tossed it onto a table and took a small step back. "My name is Jason. What's yours?"

The woman responded with a confused look. She looked past the young man to the door and Jason knew he didn't have to be a mind reader to know what she was thinking. This thought had scarcely gone through his mind when he caught his breath. "I'm not telepathic," he said quickly. "You're going to have to tell me your name, I'm afraid."

Yet again he received a puzzled look in reply.

Drawing a deep breath, the Alterran looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. "Oh, Doctor, now would be a good time to wake up," he moaned.

"Doc-tor?"

The word sounded foreign and the tone flat and dull but just the fact that the woman had uttered a sound amazed and delighted Jason. He threw a quick glance toward the Time Lord's bed room before returning his attention to the frightened girl. "Yes, that's right. My friend, the Doctor.

"Friend?"

"The one who contacted your people. Do you understand?"

The girl nodded. "Talk…hard," she said haltingly.

"I understand," Jason said gently, getting down before her in the hopes of making himself less imposing. He decided to call the girl Azure for convenience sake, going on to get as much, or as little, information from her as possible. After several difficult minutes, he heard a noise from the next room and went in to find his friend returning to his senses at last.

The Doctor stirred and slowly opened his eyes. He tried to focus on his companion's worried face but found it impossible. Closing his eyes again, he drew a deep breath, his next attempt proving more successful. "Jason," he said in a relieved tone and sat up very slowly.

"Easy, Doctor," the Healer said gently, helping him up. "How do you feel?"

"What hit me?" the Time Lord asked, a hand going to the back of his head.

"As near as I can make out," Jason said calmly, "a massive jolt of psychic energy."

The Doctor looked up, suddenly realizing where he was. It was not where he had been and he cursed silently to himself. He had only just managed to make contact with the aliens when they overwhelmed him. He needed more information before he could devise a plan. Unfortunately, now that they were back inside, he would have to go all the way to the storage area again.

Rising to his feet, he ignored the obvious question, asking instead, "How long have I been unconscious?"

Jason glanced at the clock. "Over three hours."

The Time Lord cursed again, turning towards the door and striding into the main room. Be hind him his companion called out urgently, "Doctor, there's something I need to tell you."

The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the terrified woman in the chair where Jason had left her. Turning, he remarked, "I see you've been making friends while I was asleep."

Jason gave him a look that was a combination of anger and betrayal, wondering why his friend would choose such a time as this to comment on what he had dubbed "his irritating propensity for romantic entanglements." Especially since he had just saved his life.

Realizing how his observation must have sounded, the Doctor raised a hand. "Let me start again. Thank-you, Jason, for saving my life. Now, what have you been up to while I was asleep?"

Jason blinked. After all this time, he still wasn't used to his friend's ability to so unflinchingly change direction. Recovering himself with some difficulty, he held out a hand. "This is Azure. It's not really her name, but it's as close as I could get. She's Eldarian and apparently they don't use names."

"Eldarian? From Solus Wistos?"

Jason threw Azure a startled look before saying, "Yes. You know it?"

"Only by reputation. Go on."

Jason related what little information he had been able to get out of Azure. Her people were trapped in the storage area, those being used as staff members were controlled by the collars. Since her people communicated telepathically, the spoken word was rarely used. The collars were controlled by the computer, which in turn relayed the information they needed when they encountered a guest, all verbal communication being a part of the program.

As the story was related, the Doctor examined the collar Jason had removed from Azure. It was an engineering marvel, but he seriously doubted it could do all his companion said it could. "There's no relay circuitry," he pointed out.

"Not…needed," Azure said quietly.

"Not needed?" The Doctor was both intrigued and incredulous. "How are the commands relayed?"

The Eldarian closed her eyes in frustration, opening and closing her fists. Looking at the Doctor, she pointed to her temple, to him and back.

"A telepathic relay?" he asked

Obviously delighted he had understood, Azure smiled brightly and nodded. "My people… used."

"Yes, that much I remember from the thought link," the Doctor said slowly, looking down at the chain in his hands. "The psychic energies being produced by those in stasis are being used to control those in the Dome."

"That's incredible," Jason breathed, awed by the sheer magnitude of it. A program capable of such a feat would have taken a genius to write and implement.

"It's obscene!" the Doctor snapped. "Using the power of an entire race to subjugate itself? It's technological slavery on a grand scale!"

"Doctor, I'm not arguing with you," his companion injected mildly.

The Time Lord gave him an apologetic sideways glance. "I need to make contact again," he said suddenly. "I need to know more before I can go forward."

"Are you sure that's wise after—?"

"Don't worry. I'll be ready this time."

"Doctor, they almost killed you!" Jason exploded.

"Jason, I've got to try!" the Doctor roared back. "I can't expect Azure to act as go-between. She can barely manage two words at a time."

"Go-between?" Azure repeated. She got to her feet, crossing to the Doctor, pointing at her temple, his, and then in the direction of the storage area.

"Yes, that's right."

Smiling in satisfaction at getting this correct, she reached up to him, frowning when the Time Lord held up his hands and took a step back. "Doctor…go-between," she said firmly.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "You can help me establish contact from here?"

Azure nodded, and the Doctor threw his companion a quelling look before allowing her to try. The Eldarian cupped his head in her hands, their eyes locking. After a few minutes, the Doctor's eyes slowly closed and he relaxed visibly. The moment Azure took her hands away, he collapsed again.