CHAPTER 13

PUT TO DEATH

The Doctor took an angry step forward. "There's no need for that!" he snapped, stopping when Brogan raised his gun. Two of the assemblage broke away from the others, binding the Time Lord's hands behind him while the remainder proceeded to mercilessly beat the still struggling Alex into submission.

"Now, Doctor," Brogan said threateningly, "if you don't want to be next, you'd better start talking. How did you get in here?"

Not wanting to provoke the obviously unstable High Priest, the Doctor checked himself before saying, "Through the door," saying instead, "I'm afraid I don't know. We were poking about when the wall suddenly opened up. I thought someone in here had done it until I saw it was empty."

Brogan seemed satisfied with this response. "And just what are you doing here to begin with? This Temple is sacred—"

"Rubbish!" the Doctor interrupted. "A computer room sacred? Secret, perhaps, but hardly sacred."

By this time Alex had been beaten senseless and the Doctor struggled to pull away from his captors. "Is that really necessary?" he demanded angrily.

Brogan turned a dispassionate eye back to the others and held up a hand, commanding them to stop. The semi-conscious Alex dropped into a battered heap on the floor.

"Mr. Grove has, on more than one occasion, sneered at the name of our great god, Jaka. Those who incur his wrath must also bear his judgment," the High Priest announced, his voice holding more than a hint of malice.

The Doctor was less than impressed. "Did all your ancient gods leave inoperative computer rooms behind?"

"Who can explain the mysteries of the gods?" Brogan replied in a mystical tone.

The Doctor was even less impressed than before. "Oh, come off it, Brogan. You're no more a High Priest than I am, so you can drop the act. You're after the power source that will reactivate this control center."

Brogan's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"Someone who knows advanced technology when they see it. This is what you're after, isn't it?" The Doctor's voice hardened as he asked, "Just what does your order worship, anyway?"

The arrow found its mark. Brogan ground his teeth, his eyes narrowing further. "Bring them!" he commanded angrily, striding from the Temple.

The Time Lord was unceremoniously dragged from the computer room and taken to the edge of the cliff. He thought he and Alex were about to be thrown to their deaths, but instead they were hauled onto a rather unreliable looking wooden elevator and taken down to a large outcrop of rock at the base the cliff. From there they were taken down a stairway leading to the beach and an enormous monolith that stood several yards away. It was inscribed with the same symbols as the panels in the Temple and had dozens of holes of varying size punched through it.

The journey ended in front of the monolith, Alex having to be practically carried the whole way. The Doctor was spread-eagled against the wall and groaned inwardly as he was lashed into place. Apparently Brogan liked the part of his job that called for human sacrifices. Each of the bindings was threaded through a hole and tied over a long block of wood on the other side, thus insuring the captive was securely fastened into place and unable to reach the ends of the rope to untie himself.

Alex returned to his senses just as the last of the Doctor's bindings was secured. He saw Johnson standing smugly nearby and flew into a blind rage, astonishing everyone when he flung the men who were supporting him against the unyielding surface of the monolith, momentarily stunning them. Pulling the gag from his mouth he snarled, "Johnson, you bastard! It was you! How could you, you murdering traitor!"

Held up only by the power of his fury, the Security Chief advanced on the astonished man, apparently oblivious to the fact that there was a gun in his hand. The rattled Johnson fired the weapon, the bullet striking the already badly injured Alex in the shoulder and throwing him to the ground.

The others moved in for the kill, stopping when Brogan thundered, "No! I want him to die slowly. Tie him to the wall!"

From where the Doctor stood it was obvious that not all those present were in agreement with the order, their being more in favor of killing the Security Chief right then and there. The Doctor then witnessed the extraordinary power Brogan held over his followers. Without another word, the High Priest placed a hand on top of his staff in an obvious threat and there was no further dissent among the ranks.

As Alex was lashed beside him, the Doctor suddenly asked, "How long before high tide?"

The High Priest gave him a dark look, annoyed by his cheery tone. Instead of instilling fear, Brogan found himself unsettled by the Time Lord's calm demeanor. Glancing back towards the sea, he smiled, "It's coming in already. It comes in very quickly here, too, so you won't have long to wait."

"Oh, good, I do so hate to be kept waiting," the Time Lord said sarcastically. "Perhaps you might be good enough to answer a question or two while we wait. Unanswered questions can be so irritating, especially when one's being put do death."

The High Priest was not amused.

Suddenly the Doctor's tone was deadly serious. "Dr. Albert and the others, why did you kill them? Was it simply to cover the thief of the chest? Or was it a personal grudge as with my friend Alex, here?"

"Such a pity about Dr. Albert," Brogan sighed in feigned regret. "Such a promising career. And now…she's gone."

"That doesn't answer my question," the Doctor said acidly. "You're not going to tell me about the chest, are you?"

"Ah, the chest," Brogan grinned. "You seem remarkably well informed for a stranger here, Doctor. Especially since its disappearance hasn't been reported."

"That's probably because no one other than Alex and myself knows it's missing," the Doctor remarked, unsettling Brogan all the more. "How do you intend to open it?"

The High Priest motioned for the others to go as the rising tide started coming in at their feet. "You ask a lot of questions for someone who's about to die."

"I hate unanswered questions. Such as, what happens to us when the tide goes out?"

Brogan grinned villainously. "If there's anything left of you after the sharks've finished, we'll see that it goes out with the next tide." He turned to leave, stopping when a sudden thought struck him. "Oh! And, incidentally, this is all private land, so don't expect anyone to come along and help you. You can call for help if you like, but there's not a soul for miles." So saying, he turned and followed the others up the stairs to the elevator.

"A very charming lunatic," the Doctor observed darkly. He heard a groan from beside him and turned just as Alex opened his eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked concernedly.

The Security Chief was incredulous. "Doctor, we're going…to die. What…difference…does it…make?" he gasped out painfully.

The Doctor didn't like the sound of his breathing but wasn't about to let on. "You could've been killed already, you idiot!" he snapped reprovingly.

Alex nodded. "I know. But...when I…saw Johnson…just…standing there." Looking up, he said in a betrayed tone, "He's one of…my men, Doctor."

Suddenly the Security Chief's rage made perfect sense. Only Johnson would have possessed the knowledge to so thoroughly sabotage the equipment to ensure Dr. Albert would be taken out to sea. Only he would have known to take her card key in order to remove the chest from the vault without setting off the alarm.

"You just save your breath," the Doctor said mildly.

Alex laughed, only to wince in pain and cough as he did so. "I don't think…I'm in danger of …bleeding to death…before I…drown, Doctor."

The Time Lord nodded absently as he looked up at his hands. "How very interesting. These holes were made by a focused high energy beam."

"Fascinating," Grove muttered sarcastically, not really sure what to make of his bizarre companion. Here they were, completely helpless, the tide rising rapidly and already past their knees, and yet the Doctor seemed oblivious to the fact that they were going to be dead within an hour. Instead, he seemed more interested in the monolith to which they'd been bound.

Alex had no way of knowing the Doctor was keenly aware of their present situation and was only trying to distract the injured Teggellan. "It is fascinating," he replied forcefully. "The materials in this monolith are no more from this planet than that Temple is. And I'd hazard a guess that it was brought here for nothing more spectacular than target practice."

Now Alex's interest was piqued. "Target practice?"

"Yes." The Doctor strained to see around himself and was just able to peer through one of the holes cut on a downward angle. He could clearly see the Temple on the cliff above. "That Temple is nothing more than a weapon system's control center," he went on. "Fortunately for us, there's no power or we'd've added to this collection of holes by now."

"Just how powerful…is this…weapon?"

"Let me put it this way. This wall is made of one of the hardest alloys in the universe and it looks like Swiss cheese. What do you think?"

Alex smiled, the irony of the situation showing on his face. "I think…you're either the biggest liar...to ever walk…the face of Teggell. Or…I'm the biggest…fool."

Jason had amazed himself again when he as able to return to what he had yet to learn was his true form. Frankie gave him the directions to the temple and together they vanished beneath the waves once more. Now that is was daylight, and she wasn't terrified out of her mind, she found she was actually enjoying the journey. She especially enjoyed being able to move underwater without the necessity of the usual, cumbersome diving gear. The Alterran was moving at top speed, yet there was scarcely any sensation of the water dragging on them, and for the first few minutes Dr. Albert silently marveled at her unique companion. She described the Coral Basin at the base of the cliff where the Temple was located so Jason would be able locate the area without surfacing.

Now it was Jason's turn to be impressed. He remarked on her extensive knowledge of the sea floor and the oceanographer told him about the reef and its history. She also happened to have grown up in the area and had been diving there all her life.

Upon reaching the outer reef, Jason rose out of the water and Frankie pointed out the Temple, her eyes moving to the monolith at the base of the cliff. She was about to tell Jason to move closer when see saw the helpless individuals secured to the monstrous stone edifice. Not quite believing what she was seeing she gasped, "Chris, there's someone tied to the monolith!"