Chapter Ten

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Returning his attention to the Commander, Jason asked, "Is that everything?"

"We also located that crate you asked about," Daniels informed. "It's—"

"I know," the King interrupted, "I found it last night." He dismissed the officer and turned back to the conference table. It was obvious the Doctor would be completely absorbed in his work for some time, so the Alterran turned his attention to the somewhat confused Peri. With a grin, he suggested that they have some breakfast.

After several minutes of casual conversation, Peri hesitantly asked, "Can I…ask you some thing, your Majesty?"

"Only if you promise to call me Jason when we're alone," he replied calmly. Noting her surprised expression, he laughed. "I hate being called by a title. Always have."

"You never seemed to mind Healer," the Doctor observed without looking up.

"I earned that one."

Peri smiled. "Okay, Jason, then."

"What's your question?"

After a brief pause, Peri bluntly asked, "How did the Doctor get his sight back? I'm no doctor, but—you'll forgive the pun—I'm not blind, either. I know once the optic nerve is damaged, it can't be repaired. Can it?"

This inquiry was enough to pull even the Doctor from his work and he looked up expectantly. Seeing this, Jason grinned self-consciously before explaining about a species of fungus that was unique to the planet and possessed some very unusual properties. For reasons that were still being researched, the fungus seemed to encourage the healing of nerve endings, and even brain cells in some individuals. It was currently being used experimentally to treat spinal injuries and the victims of head trauma, its highly toxic properties in humans being its major drawback.

"It actually heals brain cells?" Peri said, looking over to the equally amazed Time Lord. "But I thought that was impossible too."

"It is—in humans," King Jason confirmed. "Fortunately the Doctor isn't human, or he never would've tolerated the dose I administered."

"You weren't kidding about it being a dose of poison, were you?" the Time Lord said in a mildly disapproving tone.

Clearing his throat nervously, the Alterran confessed to not being completely honest as to the contents of the cup, either.

"Aha! I knew it!" the Doctor said triumphantly, thumping his fist on the table. "You drugged me, didn't you?"

"I had to, Doctor, and I'm sorry," Jason said apologetically. "It was the only way I could treat you properly. You were in no condition for explanations, and considering the fact you didn't know who I was, I'm glad I didn't try. To be perfectly honest, I didn't want to tell you what I had to do. I still don't."

"That bad, was it?"

"Worse. Remember, I am a surgeon. And if you press, I'll tell you everything in excruciating detail," his friend said firmly, adding, "You won't like it."

The Doctor was stunned by the bluntness of this reply and wondered what atrocious procedure he had undergone during his drugged sleep. Whatever it had been, two things were certain; Jason's expert ministrations had worked (since there was no doubt his sight had been restored) and pressing the matter would be unwise. If Jason did not want him to know, it was best to let it go.

"In case you're wondering, Peri," the Doctor said conversationally, "before the events that caused Jason's rise to power, he was an ordinary physician. What his people call a Healer."

"Ordinary? Ordinary!" Jason snorted indignantly. "Just see if I ask you how your hands and face are doing."

The Doctor blinked, having completely forgotten about his burns. He examined his hands a moment, clearly impressed, checking his face in the refection on the table. It was as though he had never been injured. "Artificial skin?" he said at last.

"Just one of the many mundane skills of an ordinary Healer," the Alterran replied airily.

The Doctor ignored the remark and continued to address his companion in the same bland tone. "One of Jason's other side lines is chemistry. He's quite good at it, too. Although I do seem to recall his blowing up one of my laboratories once."

Jason gave an indignant snort, waving his hand dismissively. "Ignore him. He's just trying to annoy me because I drugged him."

"And…" the Time Lord went on baitingly, "I also seem to recall he had a minor interest in herbicides or some such thing."

Peri giggled. She was not sure if this friendly banter was for her benefit, but at least it confirmed to her that the shape shifting Alterran did indeed have a mind of his own.

Jason had heard quite enough. "What the Doctor is trying to say is I'm an herbalist. That means I have more than a passing knowledge of the curative properties of plants. I specialized in it while I was in private practice."

"Really?" Peri said delightedly. "I'm majoring in botany myself." She then went on to ask if he could tell her more about the fungus he had mentioned.

The Doctor smiled as the two got into a lively conversation concerning the origins of the plant and others like it, which was exactly what he had been aiming for all along. If his friends were engaged in a topic of mutual interest, they would not be pestering him with a lot of irritating questions.

The Time Lord's work was temporarily halted when he tried to access the Power Station's main program and was denied entry. He tried several different times to bypass security without success. "I seem to've hit a very sophisticated firewall," he informed.

Seeing what he meant, Jason flashed a broad smile. "You mean there's actually a security program you can't breach?" he chided.

"I'm sure given time I could get in, but you did say the matter was urgent."

His friend just grinned all the more before informing him that it was he who had programmed the security screen, utilizing the techniques the Time Lord himself had taught him. He provided the Doctor with all of his clearance codes, thus giving him unlimited access to the planet's entire computer network.

A buzzer sounded from across the room and Farrell's image appeared on the communication screen. Jason's face suddenly darkened and he sighed heavily before going over to it. "Yes, Mr. Farrell, may I help you?" he said urbanely.

"I've just had an interesting meeting with your Commander Daniels," the Inquisitor said in a voice that contained all the loathing he held for his foreign overseers. "I'm coming over."

"Certainly. I'm sure I can arrange—"

"Don't waste my time, Krystovan," the man on the screen snapped. "I haven't got all day to waste waiting for that batty King of yours to deign me with his presence."

A placating smile came to the young man's face. "Of course. I understand completely. If I can't persuade his Majesty to see you, I'll see you myself in the throne room." The screen went blank and Jason's face darkened even further.

"Lord Krystovan rides again, I see," the Doctor remarked amusedly. "Is he the secretary to our potty old King?"

"As it appears to all, Lord Krystovan does all the work, while King Jason gets all the credit," the Alterran explained. "It's funny. People will tell a harmless, if slightly batty old man a lot more than they'll tell his workaholic aide."

Peri was baffled. "If you can do all that, why do you need André the Giant?"

Jason gave her a blank look. "André the what?"

The Doctor grinned before translating. "She means Commander Daniels."

"Oh!" The King laughed. "Aside from the fact that he's saved my skin on more than one occasion, he adds credence to the illusion that my batty old monarch needs a keeper."

"How on earth do you keep it all straight?" Peri wanted to know. "How do you remember it all?"

"Oh, it gets easier after the first half century or so."

The Doctor grunted. "I'm sure having total recall doesn't hurt, either."

King Jason flashed a broad smile. "In the beginning, the hardest part was making sure my children knew which one of us to call Daddy."

"Your children!" the Doctor gasped, his eyes wide. The last time he had seen his Alterran friend, he had only just become engaged to be married. Or was he only just married? The Doctor could not quite recall and made a mental note to see just how far forward he had jumped in Jason's timeline.

Amused by this reaction, the monarch smiled broadly. "My eldest son has been here nearly a year working on his thesis. He's taken an interest in solar energy and related fields and came to study the solar generators as 'just another student with an aristocratic background.' We tried to keep it that way, but someone let it leak that he was Crown Prince shortly after I arrived."

"Crown Prince?" the Doctor echoed. "Your heir, I take it?"

"Yes," the monarch said darkly. "And if you're lucky, you won't have to meet him." Realizing the implications to his offhand remark, Jason pulled himself together, smiled weakly, and vanished into the next room.

Seeing the stunned look on the Time Lord's face, Peri said, "He wasn't kidding, was he?"