CHAPTER 17

TIME TO RECOVER

Inside the apparently deserted Temple of Jaka, High Priest Brogan was pouring over his notes on Teggellan mythology for what seemed the hundredth time. It had been several hours since the apparent rescue of the Doctor and Alex, yet there had been no sign of either of them anywhere. Even his man inside the police department had heard nothing. Brogan chuckled to himself. How wonderfully ironic it would be if it turned out they had been caught in one of the rip tides that plagued the area.

The High Priest sighed heavily as he looked down at the papers, pushing them away in frustration. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the stolen chest, which sat on the main control console nearby. No matter what he did, it obstinately refused to open. So close! he thought in dismay. He was so close he could taste it. If only he could find the right key. Then the source of ultimate power would be his.

Rising to his feet, Brogan went to the other side of the room, scowling at a small control panel in the wall. He discovered, just as the Doctor had, that power was still being supplied to the computer. Encouraged, he began a meticulous examination of every control in the room. If he could get the computer working, perhaps he could find the key he was searching for.

Frankie did not think it possible, but she was amazed yet again when she saw the room Jason had designed for Alex. The rear section looked like a pseudo-hospital room while the front was more like a lounge. There were two sofas, an over-stuffed easy chair (complete with matching foot stool) a coffee table, and a couple of end tables. A plush carpet beneath completed the illusion.

The Doctor appeared in the doorway just as his companion was finishing with Alex's transfer and checking his status. He looked up when the Time Lord chirped brightly, "Well, now isn't this nice?"

"The carpet's a nice touch," the Alterran grinned. "What do you think, Frankie?"

The overwhelmed Frankie shook her head, not knowing what to think.

"Are you hungry?" Jason asked suddenly. "I'm starving." Not waiting for a reply, he promptly vanished from the room.

Frankie blinked, turning to the Doctor. "Is he always like that?" she asked almost helplessly as she sat down.

"Energetic or hungry?" the Doctor replied as he came over to join her. "The answer to both questions is, yes."

"He's just so—different."

The Doctor was forced to agree that this was indeed true, in more ways than one. Jason was normally easy going, cheerful, and…well, submissive at times. But when acting in his capacity as Healer, he was completely serious and in authority at all times. It was this that concerned the Doctor most as he had never seen Jason simply abandon a patient in such critical condition. Normally he would ask that someone else get anything he might need.

Finally Frankie could stand it no longer and asked, "Doctor, who are you? And who, or what, is Jason?"

"I'm a traveler," the Time Lord replied simply. "And Jason is an Alterran."

"A traveler? You mean a space traveler, don't you? I mean, this is a spaceship we're sitting in, isn't it?"

"The TARDIS isn't limited solely to the dimension of space. We travel in time as well. When Jason was delirious, he altered our original course and then had the discourtesy to lock the controls on me." Shaking his head, the Doctor added darkly, "And was it a job getting them freed up again."

The oceanographer took a moment to absorb all of this. The Doctor grinned when she suddenly threw a frightened look in his direction. "We're not alien invaders," he said calmly.

Frankie gave a self-conscious laugh, throwing a quick glance in Alex's direction. "No, I don't suppose you are."

Jason came bounding back into the room at that moment, pulling a cart loaded with an unusual assortment of food in after him. Rubbing his hands together, he asked, "Now, what's your pl…" His words trailed off and he stiffened, his face darkening. He stood perfectly still, listening a moment and then turned to look across the room.

"What's wrong?" Frankie asked.

Not seeming to have heard her, the Alterran Healer crossed to his patient and was about to scan him when he heard an almost imperceptible moan from the man in the bed. All the tension in Jason's face drained away and he relaxed, relieved that he had not been imagining things.

Alex's eyes flickered a few times as he fought to return to consciousness. The effort seemed too much for him and he sank back into oblivion.

By this time Frankie was on the opposite side of the bed. "Well?" she demanded when the young man looked up at her.

"Let's eat."

"Chr—Jason!" she exploded in exasperation. "What about Alex?"

Jason grinned, looking admiringly down at the man in the bed. "He's just fighting the medication I gave him. He's as good a fighter as you are, Frankie, but I seriously doubt he'll wake up any time soon. He needs to recover his strength, and so do you. Now come and eat something before you collapse." So saying, he turned on his heel and strode across the room.

Dr. Albert stared after him a moment, looking down at the bruised and apparently peaceful figure in the bed. Touching Alex's swollen face, she sighed and went back to the lounge area, realizing suddenly that she was ravenous. It had been a long time since breakfast.

Jason laid out the contents of the cart on the coffee table and invited the others to help themselves. He poured himself a large mug full of coffee and then sank into the easy chair that he had positioned to give himself a clear view across the room. "My Lord, I'm tired," he sighed wearily, leaning back in the chair and putting his feet up. He closed his eyes and was sound asleep within minutes.

The Doctor exchanged a look with Frankie that was a combination of relief and concern before he carefully took the mug from his companion's hand and placed it on the table beside him.

"I don't think he slept a wink last night," Frankie said as the Doctor put a blanket over the sleeping youth. "He must be exhausted."

"And how about yourself?" the Time Lord asked, startling the woman with his unexpected show of concern.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she replied stiffly.

The Doctor was momentarily thrown by the coldness of her response. It wasn't until he saw her rubbing her now repaired wrists that he realized the reason for it. "My dear Dr. Albert, you must forgive me. I've only just realized. I never apologized for my abominable behavior towards you in the console room. It was never my intention to hurt you, and I'm afraid I pushed you rather harder than I'd intended."

Frankie studied his face a moment and then smiled. "Okay, I forgive you," she said at last. "Now why don't you try calling me Frankie? Dr. Albert is so formal." She turned to look at the sleeping Alterran. "And we've come way beyond formalities."

Completely forgotten by the occupants of the TARDIS, the outside world was still going about its business. When Alex failed to return to the Freeland Center, some of the staff became concerned. After several hours passed without any word, which was not like the Security Chief at all, the police investigating the break-in contacted their superiors to report his apparent disappearance.

Detective Rider, who was in charge of the investigation, was the least surprised of anyone. He had been formulating a theory, which Alex's disappearance only seemed to verify. Rider believed the Security Chief himself to be the person behind the break-in, the sole purpose of which was to cover the murder of Dr. Albert.

The Detective theorized that Alex had enlisted the aid of an outsider, who would have been the person Carl heard Dr. Albert fighting off, and quite possibly the one Johnson chased from the water's edge. The fact that the Security Chief had been absent from his office when Carl went looking for him became extremely significant. Was he really making rounds, or was he letting his accomplice into the building? Was this mysterious Doctor the accomplice? He had, after all, insisted on speaking with the Director only hours before the crime, and had also reappeared the following morning to be seen by the Security Chief. Both men were later admitted to the observation room, which was strictly off limits, and were later seen retracing the suspected escape route out of the building. After this, neither man was seen nor heard from again.

Rider admitted that he was uncertain as to why Harris had been killed, but suspected it was more than likely a deliberate act to cast further suspicion on the Cult of Jaka. Aside from this little detail, everything seemed to hang together quite nicely. The question was raised as to what motive Alex Grove could possibly have that he would go to such elaborate lengths just to murder one person.

"Jealousy, hatred, injured masculine pride. Take your pick," Rider replied. "Every statement we've taken from the staff bears out the fact that Dr. Albert and Mr. Grove have been at each other's throats since she took over as Director." He went on to speculate that Alex probably could not deal with taking orders from a woman. Especially one he hated. "And everyone knows how obsessed he is with the Cult," the Detective pointed out. "How many times have we had to come out here this month alone? It would've been easy for him to fabricate the evidence pinning the blame on them." He went on to say that there was almost too much evidence implicating the Cult.

While on the surface the case against Alex Grove seemed to be getting more and more airtight; Rider knew it to be a total fabrication. It was he whom Jason had seen and warned Frankie about the night of the break-in. He was also Brogan's plant in the police department. Only he among all the investigators knew that Alex Grove was very probably dead and would therefore be unable to defend himself against the allegations now being heaped on his once good name.