CHAPTER 30
MYTH, LEGEND, AND FACT
When he emerged from the TARDIS, Alex found the Doctor standing in the doorway to the devastated computer room.
"Jason was right," the Time Lord observed softly. "It's such a waste."
Alex made no reply. He was staring open mouthed at the gaping hole in the roof directly above the TARDIS. He returned to reality when he heard an annoyed grunt and turned to see the Doctor struggling to close off the way to the computer room. The doors refused to budge.
"They're probably melted inside," Alex observed as he crossed the room.
The Doctor shook his head, stepping inside the control room. "Not with the TARDIS pulling the energy away from them. It's more likely the control mechanism's been fused." He studied the door's control panel a moment before attacking it with his sonic screwdriver, pulling off the cover plate. He hoped he could somehow trigger the release mechanism, thus allowing him to manually force the door closed.
What followed was a length operation of trials and failures. After each attempt at the panel, the Doctor and Alex pushed, pulled and tugged at the doors without success.
Frankie watched their futile efforts on the viewer. Every so often she would check the motionless figure on the bed, becoming more worried each time. Jason had not moved a muscle since the Doctor left, and his breathing had become so faint that at one point Frankie thought he had stopped altogether. She was watching yet another vain attempt to close the doors when a hand suddenly touched her on the shoulder. She let out an alarmed cry and spun around, backing up when she saw Jason standing behind her. He was leaning heavily on the console, the blanket that had been covering him draped over his shoulders. He looked haggard and exhausted, his eyes dull and heavy lidded.
"Sorry," he said in a quiet, tired voice. "I didn't mean to startle you. Where's the Doctor?"
Frankie tried to speak but could not make a sound. She motioned to the exterior doors and then looked over to the viewer. Jason followed her gaze, seeing the Doctor and Alex struggling with the doors. Turning back to the console, he looked blankly down at the controls. There was something vitally important he needed to do. Now…what was it?
Using the console for support, the Alterran worked his way around, scrutinizing each panel until he came to the one he wanted. With a sigh of relief, he placed his hands on two metal disks and closed his eyes.
Frankie had been slowly edging her way to the door and was about to call to Alex when she heard a gasp from behind her. She turned and was horrified to see a beam of light coming from the console and playing over the body of the motionless Alterran. It vanished as abruptly as it appeared and Jason gave a small sigh, his body relaxing. The first thing Frankie noticed when he opened his eyes was how clear, bright, and alert they were. For a fleeting instant, she wondered if Jaka had not been fooled at all and was about to return in full vengeance.
Jason gave Frankie a small smile and stepped hesitantly from the console. He was still extremely unsteady on his feet and after another faltering step, his knees buckled. He just managed to grab the console on the way down, ending up on his knees.
Frankie was immediately at his side. "Are you alright?"
Slightly embarrassed, the Alterran nodded, smiling weakly. "I guess I'm not as strong as I thought." Looking up slowly, he saw for the first time the condition Frankie was in. "How about you?" he asked, reaching out a hand.
Frankie flinched away without thinking. "Sorry," she said apologetically. "I'm just—"
"Afraid I'll hurt you again," the Healer completed sharply. "It really is me, Frankie." Reaching out again, he put a hand beneath her chin, turning her face to examine the fresh set of bruises and fast blackening eye. "That these hands should've done this to you," he muttered angrily.
"I got in a few licks of my own to make up for it," Frankie grinned proudly.
The look on her face made Jason laugh. "You're still a tiger, dear lady, there's no doubt of that," he observed delightedly, adding in a serious tone, "Thank-you, by the way, for saving my life."
Frankie blinked, thinking he meant while he was sick. "Jason, you've already—"
"No, I mean out there. In the Temple. Alex would've killed me, if it hadn't been for you. What on earth made you—?"
To his astonishment, Frankie took his face in her hands. "Oh, shut-up," she admonished and kissed him.
"Doctor, are you absolutely sure Jaka is trapped in that computer for good?" Alex asked nervously as the Time Lord scowled at the seemingly immovable door.
"Actually, Jaka has been destroyed for all time," Jason calmly announced from behind him.
The Doctor turned and smiled, obviously delighted to see his companion back on his feet. He saw a strange, almost pained look pass across the young man's face and gave him a quizzical look.
"Don't just stand there staring at me, Doctor," Jason said in feigned reproof. "Give me one of those jelly babies before I pass out. I have to keep my energy up, y'know."
The Time Lord's smile returned to his face and he tossed the now grinning youth the crumpled bag before asking him to explain his remark.
"Strictly speaking, Jaka wasn't really here at all," the Alterran informed enigmatically. He slowly stepped away from the TARDIS and was half way across the room when his legs gave way again. With nothing to grab on to, he fell to the floor. The Doctor was immediately beside him and helped him to a slightly warped bench. "I have got to stop doing that," Jason grumbled under his breath.
"What do you mean Jaka wasn't really here?" Alex demanded. "We all saw him! He stole your body, for pity sake!"
Jason shook his head. "What you saw was his imprint." He went on to explain that everything that made Jaka what he was had been meticulously recorded in the computer's memory. Everything. This meant that, even though his physical self was no longer alive, his essence lived on in the computer.
"That's impossible!" Alex snorted in disbelief.
"Not for a few select races," the Time Lord countered.
"Your myth says Jaka was betrayed," Jason went on quietly, "and apparently that part is true. The Projector wasn't fully programmed at the time, so instead of giving it up, he hid the power source and transferred his essence into the computer to finish the job. Then he waited until some unsuspecting fool like myself stumbled across this planet again."
The Doctor gave his companion a questioning look. "Now, hang on a minute, Jason, I know the story, too. And I don't recall his giving up quite so easily."
"Who said he gave up?" the Alterran countered. "He put up a fight so everyone would assume he'd been destroyed. Apparently it was his lifeless body that was cast into the sea—which would explain how everyone knew what the Guardian looked like."
"Wait a minute, back up," Alex broke in. "If he was killed, how did he get into the computer?"
"Block mind transference," the Doctor replied, his voice taking on an accusing edge when he said, "Which takes considerably longer than a few minutes, I might add."
Jason smiled weakly. "True. But that's not exactly what he used on me. He…well, he pulled my basic personality out of the way so he could do his take over bit. Once he'd gotten the Projector up and running, he was going to purge himself of the rest of me, as it were." Jason went on to explain that he had been able to program the computer to begin a meltdown of the memory core the instant the transfer occurred. He then downloaded a secondary program into the TARDIS computer using the open telepathy circuits. With it he was able to purge himself of any lingering vestiges of Jaka's personality.
"Of course!" the Doctor gasped. "That's what you meant about being close to time."
Alex was completely lost, but Frankie suddenly caught on. "That's the light I saw coming from the console!"
Jason nodded. "I also took the liberty of erasing Jaka's implanted programs. I've had my fill of being controlled."
What followed was an awkward silence.
The Doctor turned to look at the doors and sighed heavily. Would they never close again?
Jason got to his feet, looking the doors up and down. "I suppose I could always transmute and force them closed," he muttered thoughtfully. He placed a hand on the wall and scanned the control mechanism. "But I think the problem is the spring. It seems to be stuck." With a sudden flash of inspiration, he gave the wall a tremendous thump with his fist.
Nothing happened.
"Well, it was worth a—" The Doctor broke off when he heard the unmistakable boing of a spring letting go. Then one of the doors lurched forward.
Within minutes the mural that had parted so many hours before came together once again, closing off the melted and now useless computer room. Having never seen the image before, Jason studied it curiously. "Doctor, the painting!" he gasped.
Even when the Time Lord had seen it the first time it seemed unimportant. "What about it?"
"Look at it. That box. The one reflecting the lightning bolt. It's the chest the power source was in."
"And that's where we found it!" Frankie gasped, running a finger down the lightning bolt to the water. "Right there!" She turned back to the others in astonishment. "The location was here the whole time. Just like the legend says."
"It's all here," the Alterran said, looking over the ebony panels written in his own ancient tongue. "Now it makes sense. The myth. The prophecies. Even the inscription on the monolith."
"The inscription?" the Doctor echoed.
His companion gave him a blank look before realizing, "Oh, yes. I never got the chance to tell you about that, did I? I read it when I was scouting around." He explained that the inscription stated that Jaka was in bondage for crimes against all sentient life and warned that he should never be reunited with his power. If this were to happen, he would bring death and destruction to Teggell and possibly the downfall of the universe.
"Ominous," the Doctor remarked aridly.
"Which leaves us with a rather ominous problem of our own, doesn't it?" Alex remarked blandly. "How do we explain all this to the police?"