Chapter 10

The Plan In Action

The Doctor chanced a quick peek out the door and breathed a sigh of relief. The corridor was empty. Turning back to his companions, he whispered, "All clear. Wish me luck."

"I wish you had K-9," Jason whispered back.

The Doctor smiled. So did he. Stepping out the door, he got his bearings and set off in the direction of the Containment Area. He had not gone more than ten metres when the detachment of guards led by Saunders came around the corner.

"That didn't take long," the Doctor muttered, raising his hands in surrender.

Saunders could not believe his sudden turn of luck. He had actually managed to locate the Doctor. Without even trying! Surely the Commander would be pleased with him now.

The guards fell upon the unresisting Time Lord, pushing him roughly against the wall. After being searched for weapons, the Doctor's hands were handcuffed behind him and he thought on how prophetic Jason's statement to Tegan had been just minutes before.

Saunders spun the Doctor around and slammed him back against the wall, almost knocking the breath out of him. "Where are the others?" the Guard Leader demanded.

"Others?" the Doctor asked innocently.

"Your accomplices. We know they were with you."

"We were separated."

"I don't believe you," Saunders snarled. Glancing down the hallway, he ordered, "Search all the rooms along here." The detachment split up and he turned menacingly back to his prisoner. "Perhaps we can reunite you."

The Doctor's companions had listened uneasily to the events in the hall and were appalled when the guards started searching the rooms. Jason spun around. "You've got to hide!"

"Where?" Turlough asked pointedly. "Everything's just open space. And there's no time for all of us to get into that vent."

"Trust me," the Alterran said earnestly. Going over to the blank wall beside the computer terminal, he motioned for Tegan and Turlough to stand directly in front of him with their backs to the wall. "Stand perfectly still and don't make a sound, what ever happens," he whispered, shutting off the computer at the same time. Taking hold of either side of his cape, Jason held it up and around them all. Just like Dracula descending on a hapless victim, thought Tegan. She caught her breath when the Alterran's body shimmered. In a blink, she and Turlough found themselves inside a large metal cabinet.

The Doctor, in the meantime, was trying to maintain a cool exterior, while inside he was a tangle of emotions. It would be bad enough for his companions to be found, but to be found with Prince Jason would be devastating. Everything depended on the pretense that the Doctor and his companions did not know the Alterran Prince from Adam. He watched as a guard entered the room he had just exited and waited, expecting to hear the voices of his companions. He heard nothing. To his relief, the Doctor realized that, somehow, Jason had come through again.

The guard looked around the lab and saw exactly what the Doctor had seen when he originally took refuge there. The only addition was a large filing cabinet with five horizontal drawers. The guard pulled on one of the drawers and it rattled loudly. Satisfied the cabinet was locked, and thinking the room empty, he turned and left.

Inside the hollow cabinet, Tegan and Turlough breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon completing their search, the guards reported all the rooms were empty, dashing Saunders' hopes of taking all the intruders back to his superior. Had the Commander not wanted the Time Lord in one piece, Saunders would have taken his disappointment out on him. As it was, he shoved his bound prisoner so roughly up the corridor that he barely managed to stay on his feet.

The guards then half-pushed, half-dragged the Doctor to the Security Center. Inwardly, he was thankful for the Master's ominous power over the guards. Had they not been so petrified of retribution, he felt certain he might not have survived the journey.

Jason listened at the door as the guards left. He had to fight to keep himself from flying out the door to his friend's aid, being very much afraid for his safety. "There's no turning back now," he said softly, more to himself than the others.

"Jason, why can't you be K-9?" Tegan asked suddenly.

"What?" Jason gave her a stunned look.

"K-9. Adric told me about him. Why can't you—?"

The Alterran was aghast at the very idea and took an alarmed step back. "I couldn't. I mustn't. I can't!" How could he possibly explain to this human female something that only the Doctor, as a Time Lord, had ever been able to fully comprehend? Humans were so violent by nature.

Tegan was justifiably baffled. "But, I thought…"

"Tegan, you don't know what you're asking. K-9 was a fully armed automation. To take the form of any weapon is contrary to the cardinal Law of Alterrous. I can not do it!" Jason stated emphatically.

Tegan had a flash of déjà vú. The Alterran was reacting in exactly the same manner the Doctor had when she and Nyssa had begged him to go back in time to prevent Adric's death. The boy had sacrificed himself to prevent the Cybermen from destroying the Earth, and the Doctor had stated categorically that he could not transgress the Laws of Time to change what had already occurred.

Turlough thought he had better defuse the situation and leave the cultural exchange until later. "You said you had a job for us?" he said, touching the agitated Alterran on the shoulder.

Jason's mind went momentarily blank. Job? Oh, yes! "I need you to initiate the program that will destroy every culture in the Containment Area," he said simply.

Now it was Turlough's turn to be stunned. "You must be joking? There are thousands of them."

"You don't have to tell me, I've scanned every one," Jason replied darkly. "It's imperative that they be destroyed before the Master gets control of them. He's too busy concentrating on the Doctor and me right now, but once we're out of the way…"

Turlough stiffened, his eyes growing wide. This was almost as unpleasant a thought as the Master being able to transmute. "Jason, how can you possibly expect the two of us—?"

Jason held up his hands. "You don't have to go any further than a computer terminal. I've already entered the program, all you have to do is start it running. Just enter COMMAND OVERRIDE and the computer will do the rest."

Jason saw two unconvinced faces looking back at him. He quickly explained that there was an emergency sterilization program built into every chamber that completely destroyed the con tents when activated. His program activated the emergency program in all the storage chambers throughout the level by transmitting a false signal. Once the program began processing, it could not be shut down. It would continue moving in series until it had run its course and knocked out the entire system.

"Just liked dominoes," injected Tegan.

"Exactly," Jason confirmed. "The only drawback is the signal has to switch on each chamber individually. While it's doing that, the program locks up the terminal until the level's done."

"You didn't want to make it easy, did you?" Turlough said aridly.

Jason flashed an amuse smile. "It's the only way to prevent the program from being shut down while it's running. Fortunately, each level has its own control center. The program can be initiated simultaneously on all the levels."

"I take it that's where we come in?"

"You got it," Jason showed them exactly how to gain access to the control center on each level. "By using a different terminal for each level, it'll take only about an hour or so before the sterilization is complete." With a wry smile, he added enigmatically. "Then the real sterilization begins."

The Doctor was unceremoniously thrust into the computer room where the Master was waiting. "Do come in, Doctor. I'm so glad you decided to pay me a visit," the Master cooed.

"I couldn't resist," the Doctor said aridly.

"You seem to've lost your companions. Don't be concerned. I'm certain we can locate them for you."

"No doubt," the Doctor said blandly. "I see you've already managed to locate the TARDIS." He nodded in the direction of his beloved Police Box. "How did you get her here, anyway? As I recall, I left her rather badly jammed between two chambers in the Containment Area."

"Some of us are better pilots than others," the Master replied smugly, receiving a snort from the Doctor in response.

Saunders was totally confused by this verbal fencing. The Commander had had him move heaven and earth to find this man, and now they stood chatting like old friends. He jumped when the attention suddenly turned his way. What was he being asked? The Prince? Oh, yes, where was the Prince?

Saunders began a rambling account of his men's fruitless search.

"You seem to have a great deal of trouble finding people," the Doctor observed. "Perhaps you should take out an ad in the lost and found. Or in the personals?—I think that's what they call them in this part of the galaxy. You know the sort of thing, don't you? 'Darling come home. All sins forgiven.'"

The guard nearest the Doctor was not amused and struck him savagely across the face. The force of the unexpected blow sent him reeling, almost knocking him off of his feet.

"You'll show respect for the Commander," barked the guard.

Never! Doctor remained silent, but his eyes burned in anger.

"Yes, Doctor, a little respect," chided the Master. Indicating a chair, he smiled ingratiatingly. "Do sit down."

Before the Doctor could respond, his overzealous captors dragged him to the chair. "I'm quite capable of walking unaided," he snapped, now at the end of his patience from the constant mauling he had received. The guard raised his hand to deliver another blow. The Doctor glared back, unflinching.

"Strike the Doctor again," the Master snarled suddenly, "and you shall not live to regret it."

The guard shrank away in mortal terror, afraid to even be in close proximity of his now perplexed captive.

"Release him and get out, all of you," the Master ordered, waving at the guards as if they were a flock of sheep. "Saunders, have two of those fools remain in my office."

After leaving Tegan and Turlough to their task, Jason disguised himself and went to another section of the building before returning to the familiar form of Prince Jason. From there he made his way through the Complex toward the security section, the plan being for him to be spotted by the guards. Since the Master had already given orders for him to be brought to him, it was a sure bet he would be informed the Alterran was coming, which would also alert the Doctor.

Finding a squad of guards still searching for the Doctor's "accomplices," Jason decided it best to continue playing the spoiled aristocrat. Ignoring the guards, he strode down the hall and swept past the astonished men before they realized what was happening. It was only after he had van ished from sight that they realized they should have stopped him.