Chapter Twenty-One

Pillar Of Light

Juris was surprised that Asta would have to ask at all, let alone twice. "Don't you know?"

"As with the others of his race," Asta informed, "the Doctor guards his thoughts and emotions very carefully. While I remain passive, I only know those thoughts he wishes to reveal. All others are closed to me."

The Doctor's eyes flickered, but his pensive expression did not change. "Before I agree to anything," he began firmly, "I'll need to know more. What exactly do you have in mind?"

"If you'll open your mind, I can give you all the answers you desire telepathically."

The Doctor remained silent, his thoughts on this being known only to Asta, who said, "Yes, Doctor, I do have the power to force you. But that would cause you considerable pain, and Juris doesn't approve of that. You must initiate contact yourself."

The Doctor threw an inquiring look in the direction of the Alterran Prince, who held up his hands and shook his head, gesturing to indicate he had not been the one to make her say this. With a bit of a shock, the truth suddenly dawned on the astonished Time Lord. Asta truly cared for Juris. Not as her Master, but as a person. An individual. This was just the key he had been looking for. Now he had no doubts.

Drawing a deep breath, the Doctor closed his eyes and a finger of light slowly moved from the energy field. The instant it reached him, it enveloped him completely, but unlike before, it did not trap him. His body started to glow dimly. The glow flared suddenly, causing the Doctor to catch his breath, his face twisted in pain. He held up his hands, taking a step back. "Not so fast! Not so fast!" he exclaimed. His face cleared and he stood motionless for several minutes.

The light vanished the moment the Time Lord opened his eyes and he looked at the energy haze in wonder. "You know?" he muttered approvingly. "It just might work."

Flashing a broad smile at the others, the Doctor turned, vanishing into the TARDIS. He reappeared a few minutes later carrying what appeared to be a control board from the control console. Without a word, he climbed the stairs to the power station's control room and proceeded to connect the board into the main computer terminal.

After a long, puzzled silence, Prince Juris turned to his father and smiled apologetically. "Papa, I—" He got no further. His use of the endearment he had not used in years brought tears to Jason's eyes and he hugged his son tightly, letting out a sob of joy when Juris hugged him back. This was the first time since his arrival that the boy had shown any kind of affection.

"Welcome back, Juris," the King whispered. "I missed you. Oh, Lord, how I missed you."

"Oh, Papa, you have no idea!" the Prince replied tearfully. "I thought they'd killed you!"

The emotional reunion was ultimately interrupted when the Doctor finished his connections and switched on the microphone. "Are you ready, Asta? The systems are coming on line."

"Yes, Doctor," came the calm reply.

After a brief pause, the Doctor said, "Here we go, then."

The dense cloud and surrounding blue haze slowly started to fold in on itself, compressing into a solid pillar of light. It hovered in the center of the opening above the generators a few seconds as the Doctor made several entries into the computer. When he finished, the pillar moved to the edge of the accessway where the others stood watching in an awed silence. The pillar flared brightly a moment, forcing them to shield their eyes. When the glare faded, the actual shape of the pillar was more discernible, as was the obscured silhouette of the being within. The operation proceeded without a hitch until Asta tried to step from the energy field and came up against a solid barrier. For the first time in her short existence, she felt real terror. "Doctor, I can't get out!" she cried. "I'm trapped!"

"Don't panic. Don't panic," the Time Lord called back. He quickly checked the instruments, looking up in bewilderment. "I don't see a problem this end. Is someone holding you back?"

Asta concentrated on those around her. "No. I feel no resistance, only…only… Oh! I don't have the right words!" she said in frustration. "Like fear, but not strong."

"Apprehension," Juris injected helpfully.

"Yes, apprehension," she verified before going on to say, "Doctor, the form isn't solid enough to break free. Are you sure everything is functioning properly?"

The Doctor double-checked the readings, seeing everything to be as it should be. "Everything's in perfect order," he replied.

Juris gave Jason a pleading look. "Father, could you…?"

The King nodded and went over to the living block of light, looking it up and down. "Doctor, is it safe for me to touch this thing?" he called.

The Time Lord did not have to ask why. The Alterran's unique ability to scan anything he touched had proven a lifesaver on more than one occasion when they were traveling together. "Yes," he called down, "but don't be surprised if it feels semisolid."

From his place in the control room the Doctor watched as his friend placed a hand on the pillar and then snatched it away. "There might be a slight static field," he added belatedly.

Jason threw him a sour look. "Thanks," he muttered darkly before putting his hand on the pillar again.

The Doctor waited patiently for the diagnosis as Jason carefully scanned the block. With any luck, he would be able to discover what had gone wrong.

After a minute the monarch stepped back and looked thoughtfully at the form outlined in the block of light. "Asta, do you know how you want to appear once you leave the energy field?"

"Yes. I have the image Juris has given me."

Jason sighed heavily and continued to scowl at the block. He had had his doubts about all this, while at the same time had every confidence that, if anyone could pull this off, the Doctor could. So why wasn't it working? He could sense the presence of a living being, but the exact form didn't register distinctly. It was just like—

"Of course!" the King gasped excitedly, turning to his son. "I should've realized. Juris, if the image is from you, it's Alterran. She'll need to know how to transmute to properly manifest her self. You'll have to go through it mentally with her, going from your true form to your human imprint."

"But why can't you—?"

The King sighed heavily. "Because, my dear child, I'm not the one who's linked to her. If anyone's going to hold her back, you are. So you're the one who has to pull her out."

Juris gave his father a skeptical look as he came to stand beside him. He put a hand on the pillar and was surprised when he felt Asta pushing back from the other side. For a fleeting instant, he felt uncharacteristically malicious, a wave of vindictive satisfaction flooding over him. Now she knows what it was like to be trapped like an animal, he thought, recalling his own terror when he found himself imprisoned.

On the other side of the semisolid barrier, Asta read these thoughts clearly, Juris having forgotten he was still telepathically linked to her. Suddenly she understood the betrayal he had felt and her terror grew. "No!" she wailed. "Juris, please! I can't go back! Not after coming this far! Please, help me."

Juris was the only one to know the real reason for Asta's cry of anguish and immediately regretted his malicious thoughts. "Don't be afraid," he soothed gently. "I'm going to give you the image, alright? Just concentrate as I go through it." After a pause, he asked, "Do you have it?"

"Yes. It is very—unusual."

The significance of this remark was lost on Peri, who had no idea that Alterrans were a non-humanoid lifeform, or that their true form would have terrified her.

"Now," Juris said patiently, "follow the change and reach for my hand. Got it? Think the form and reach for my hand."

After a few seconds, a small delicate hand emerged from the pillar. The Prince smiled broadly, drawing out the rest of the arm to see the woman he had pictured in his mind emerging into his world of confusing emotions. She paused on the threshold as if uncertain, causing the youth to grin all the more. He took her by the waist and lifted her out.

The instant Asta was free of the energy field, the block of light exploded into thousands of star-like fragments, bringing a shower of the energy residue upon the pair that would sever the enslaving mental link permanently.

Asta watched the cascading stars in wonder, and then looked at Juris. "Now I am free," she announced and promptly fainted dead away.