CHAPTER 23

EPSILON WAVES

In the blink of an eye, Jason was back in his human form. Unfortunately, he was still mortally wounded. There were two bullet wounds in the center of his chest; another further down that seemed to have punctured a lung, one in his hip, and the least serious of all in his left thigh, making five in all.

"How…? How…?" Frankie stammered.

The Doctor pulled the sphere from his pocket, having been just as astonished as Dr. Albert. "It was this!" he gasped.

"How?"

"I don't know! On its own, it's only supposed to work on Epsilon waves," came the less than helpful reply.

Frankie looked over Jason's wounds and moaned when she saw the ones in his chest. "Oh, no. It's only made things worse. Either one of those could be lodged up against his heart. If we so much as move his now, it could kill him." Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. She put her fingers to the pale young man's neck, searching for the pulse she felt certain would not be there. "We've only succeeded in—" Catching her breath, she looked up sharply. "I don't believe it! Doctor, his pulse. It's actually stronger."

"Of course!" the Time Lord exclaimed excitedly. "It must've capitalized on his natural inclination towards concealment."

"His what?"

Frankie was completely lost, and the Doctor was obviously in no mood to explain. He pulled up a stool and sat down beside his companion, who even now was struggling to return to his senses. "Jason? Jason, it's the Doctor. Can you hear me?"

The youth stirred and moaned in response to the familiar voice. The stone-like ball was then pressed into his hand.

"Jason, open your eyes!" the Doctor commanded.

The Alterran obediently opened his eyes, only to close them again in pain. Swallowing hard, he stirred, moaned, and half-opened his eyes again. "Doctor…" he whispered.

"Jason, I want you to concentrate on transmuting," the Time Lord instructed firmly.

"Can't…" came the almost inaudible reply. "No…energy."

Squeezing the young man's fingers firmly around the sphere, the Doctor said insistently, "The Epsilon sphere will give you the energy you need to heal yourself."

Jason's eyes flickered, an expression of abject terror passing over them. "No…evil…" he whispered. "So much… Out of control…"

"Jason, concentrate!" the Doctor commanded sharply. "You'll die, if you don't!" To his relief, he felt an energy burst being released from the sphere. It flooded into the dying youth, causing his body to shimmer and then glow brightly. Jason's form blurred momentarily and then returned to normal.

Frankie watched in wonderment as the Alterran's injuries healed over just as the cuts on his hand had done earlier. Once the transmutation was complete, there were no indications he had ever been shot save for the five bullets he held in his hand.

Heaving a sigh of relief, the Doctor pocketed the circuit and made a quick check on his companion's condition, finding his pulse strong and steady and his breathing normal. Giving a satisfied grunt, the Time Lord straightened. Jason appeared to be unconscious but otherwise unharmed and would very probably be back to his usual, exuberant self as soon as he awoke.

"Are you going to tell me how you did that?" Frankie said acidly. "Or am I going to be forever in the dark?"

A broad smile spread across the Time Lord's face. "I assume you're familiar with brain waves; Alpha, Beta, Delta, and the like?"

"I am vaguely familiar with electroencephalography, Doctor," Frankie replied aridly.

The Doctor was clearly impressed. Not by her knowledge of the science, but by the fact that she could pronounce the word itself. His smile broadened. "There's one particular brain wave called Epsilon that's only present in Alterrans, like our friend Jason, here." He went on to explain that this particular brain wave was connected with the ability to transmute; Epsilon activity being greatest whenever an Alterran changed form The spheres had been engineered to utilize this unique brain wave, converting thought into reality in the same way as a form change. Even while he was unconscious, Jason would have been producing the Epsilon waves, it being second nature for his race to conceal their true appearance. Only his physical weakness and lack of convertible energy had prevented the change from taking place after he had been shot.

Frankie found it difficult to take this all in. So much had been thrown at her in the last twenty-four hours. She looked at Jason's peaceful and apparently healthy figure and was struck again at how handsome he was. This only caused her to shudder, a wave of revulsion sweeping over her. She was immediately annoyed with herself that this should make a difference. She'd had no qualms about him when she thought he was a human who could change into a creature. Why should the reverse bother her so much?

Suddenly realizing the Doctor had stopped talking, Frankie looked up to see him studying her curiously. "Are you alright?" he asked, receiving a hesitant nod in reply. "I'll be fine," she said, quickly changing the subject by asking where the Epsilon sphere had come from.

"Didn't I tell you? It was in your unopenable chest. We managed to get it away from the Cult. But I'm afraid Jason's the one who suffered the worst for it." The Doctor did not elaborate further, choosing to leave that for a later time. What he did tell her was the sphere in his pocket, as well as several others, were the components that comprised the legendary power source of Jaka, just as Brogan suspected. From what he knew of them, they were enormously powerful individually, those in the chest having been designed to be integrated into a single unit forming the heart of an unimaginably powerful weapon.

"Wait a minute," Frankie interrupted. "If only Jason's…people can control these things, why were you so worried about Brogan getting hold of them?"

"Only an Alterran can control them mentally. With the right modifications, a computer can easily simulate Epsilon waves. And that Temple is nothing more than a computer control room. A very, very old one at that."

"I hate to ask," the woman began hesitantly, "but just what would've happened if you hadn't stopped him from using it?"

The Doctor cleared his throat. "In all probability, he'd've vaporized the planet as soon as he switched on."

"What!" Dr. Albert was horrified.

"Fortunately, this is the only one left," the Time Lord said, pulling the sphere from his pocket again. "And it's quite harmless now."

Frankie was less than convinced, turning a dubious gaze in Jason's direction. "Are you sure of that, Doctor? He was unconscious and it still worked for him. What happens when he wakes up and really puts his mind to it?"

The Doctor was about to point out that Jason had to be in direct, physical contact with the circuit for it to work when he realized the sphere had been in his pocket when the Alterran returned to his human form. Suddenly Jason's delirious rantings concerning the power of old being his, returned vividly to mind. Had his companion deliberately reset the coordinates to find the ancient circuits and the weapon for which they were intended? Was it possible his normally placid friend actually desired such power?

Before the Doctor could come to grips with any of these unsettling questions, Jason stirred and opened his eyes. "What…? What happened?" he asked softly, looking around fuzzily. "Doctor, how did we get here?"

The Doctor held up the Epsilon sphere in way of explanation and Jason groaned, the scene in the Temple coming back to him.

"How do you feel?" the Doctor asked gently.

"Tired."

Jason sat up slowly, finding the five bullets in his hand. "Good old-fashioned projectile weapons," he muttered darkly, dropping them on the examining table beside him. The Doctor cleared his throat guiltily, causing his companion to look up sharply. "It's my own fault I got shot, Doctor. I didn't even bother to shut the doors."

"I believe you were too busy saving my life," the Time Lord pointed out mildly. "Several times over."

The Alterran gave him a sideways glance and smiled, getting shakily to his feet. He took a few steps only to have his knees give way. Frankie caught hold of him to keep him from falling, guiding him back to the table. She then pulled sharply away, receiving a mystified look in re sponse.

"I'm sorry," she said shakily. "I can't. Not yet."

"Can't what?" Completely baffled, Jason turned accusingly to the Doctor. "What have you been telling her? Is it what happened at the Temple?"

"No." The Doctor threw a quick glance in Frankie's direction before saying, "It's…a reaction to your true self."

"What?" Jason was even more baffled. Frankie was more familiar with his true form than any outsider save the Doctor. Why would she…? Suddenly the Time Lord's words—and their meaning—sank in. His true self, meaning she knew the reality of his appearance.

"You told her! About me?" the Alterran exploded. "The real me? You told her?" His friend nodded, and he became even more incensed. "Doctor, you had no right!"

"It was necessary," the Doctor said firmly. "It's as simple as that."

"I don't believe it!" Jason clenched his fists, turned away, and then turned back, his eyes still blazing. He took an angry step forward and the Doctor knew this meant he was going to walk away to cool down, but all Frankie could see was the scene in the console room happening all over again.

"No, Jason, please, don't hurt him," she pleaded, stepping in front of him. "It was my fault, not his."

Her words were like a bucket of cold water, cooling Jason's anger instantly. He stared at her in astonishment, realizing at the same time that she was actually afraid of what he might do. "Frankie, I wasn't going to…" Looking over to his friend, he said helplessly, "I wasn't that angry, Doctor. Honestly. I wasn't."

"I believe you," the Time Lord responded mildly. "Honestly."

His companion smiled weakly and decided not to press the matter further, choosing instead to change the subject entirely. Looking at the apprehensive oceanographer, he asked casually, "How's Alex?"

Dr. Albert was completely thrown. "Alex?"

"Yes, Alex. I left him in your care, remember? You haven't gone and killed him on me, have you?" Frankie gave him a disapproving scowl, causing him to break into an engaging smile. "Never mind. I'll find out soon enough." Jason started for the door, only to stop when he be came aware of the power of the Epsilon sphere pulling at him. He turned to see it still in the Doctor's hands and asked him to give it to Dr. Albert for safekeeping. "Hopefully she's not telepathic like you," he informed. "There's a chance I could still channel the power through you without meaning to. And that could cause all kinds of problems."

Problems indeed, thought the Doctor as he passed the circuit over to Frankie. It could also explain how the energy was released when his companion was unconscious.

The instant the stone-like ball was in Dr. Albert's hands, the Alterran stiffened and scowled, studying her curiously. "Now what is it?" she demanded.

"This is amazing. I don't feel anything," Jason breathed, waving a hand over the sphere. "Absolutely nothing."

"I thought that was the idea."

"No, you don't understand. The power these things generate is phenomenal, and dissipates slowly. Even when the others were shattered, I could feel the power as it faded. But now… there's nothing."

"What's so different about me?" Frankie wanted to know.

After a momentary pause, the Doctor observed blandly, "Well, the obvious difference is that you're female."

"Of course!" Jason gasped. "The biological and hormonal differences must absorb the energy, or create a barrier."

Frankie wasn't sure if she should be proud or insulted. "Do you mean to say the only reason this thing doesn't work with me is because I'm a woman?"

"I'm only guessing, Frankie, but you obviously nullify the power completely when you're holding—" The Alterran caught his breath, his eyes growing wide. "Good grief! Brogan was right! Frankie, don't you remember what he said? 'No woman must touch the power of Jaka.'"

Frankie's jaw dropped open and she looked down at the ball in her hands, seeing it in a new light. Shaking her head, she muttered, "Even the ancient gods were chauvinists."

"Perhaps," Jason replied blandly. "Or maybe my people's legends are right and it was designed that way."

Seeing the questioning look on the oceanographer's face, he said, "The designers felt the power would be safer if left in a woman's hands." With a so-there expression on his face, Jason strode from the room.