CHAPTER EIGHT

SIT TIGHT

It was no surprise to the staff of the Freeland Center when their Director returned from her leave a few days early. As soon as Crystal Jr. (as Juris had been dubbed) arrived, they knew she would not be far behind.

Frankie greeted her staff and then went to her research team to assess the data they had accumulated. Or so she wanted it to appear. She was, in fact, assessing the amount of drugs the captive Alterran had been given. Armed with this information she went to the main tank, climbing up to the platform that surrounded it. She wasn't sure what she was expecting and found herself surprised when she saw Juris for the first time. He was much smaller than Jason and his coloring was slightly different. Was this because he was younger?

Carl appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and startled her from her observations. "So, what do you think of Junior, Dr. Albert?"

Frankie spun around, an alarmed cry escaping her. "God's teeth, Carl!" she exclaimed. "You scared the life out of me!"

The security guard quickly apologized. "I'd've made some noise if I'd known it was you when I came in. You wanted us to keep a close eye on Junior until you got back, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes," Dr. Albert replied waving a hand in the air. "I just came to have a look at Junior for myself. Who named him that? Was it you?"

"No. I think it was one of the divers." Carl smiled and then left, knowing the Director was much more interested in talking to her fish than to him.

Drawing a deep breath, Frankie turned to the occupant of the main tank, watching as he floated lazily in the water. She remembered calling Jason a combination between a jellyfish and a nest of snakes, and wondered what his son would think of the description. She noticed the crystals surrounding his body, which she knew to be sensors, were glowing. If he were unconscious, they would be dark. Obviously Juris was awake and watching her, possibly trying to read her thoughts.

"You're awake, aren't you?" she said at last, watching his reaction, which was minimal. He moved slightly closer but remained passive. Frankie sat down on the deck and pulled off her shoes, putting her feet into the water. She looked around to make certain she was completely alone and then turned back to the Alterran. "We're all alone. You can talk to me if you like. I know you can."

To her delight, she saw Juris' eyes glow brighter. Now she knew for certain that he was awake and understood her. Time to drop the bombshell. "I'm Dr. Francesca Albert, the Director here. My friends call me Frankie. And you—are Juris Krystovan. Shall I call you Juris?"

After a long pause, the stunned Alterran Prince said, "How…did you know my name?" Even on his home planet, no one other than his parents used his surname. And that was only when he was in trouble.

A squeak of delight escaped the oceanographer when the Alterran finally spoke. She collected herself immediately and said, "Your father told me. And before you ask, he's fine."

"Fine! The whole reef practically caved in on him!"

Dr. Albert held up her hands. "He has a concussion and a lot of cuts and bruises, that's all."

"I was afraid he'd been…" Not wanting to contemplate this further, Juris asked instead, "Have you come to get me out?"

"Er…not exactly," Frankie replied haltingly. "That's a bit complicated. Jason said I'm to tell you to sit tight until he and the Doctor can think of a feasible way of getting you out."

Juris thought this over, sighing heavily. "I can get out on my own, you know?"

"Yes, but you have no idea what—"

"I'm not really concerned with maintaining your reputation, Dr. Albert," the Alterran cut in.

"It isn't my reputation I'm concerned about," the Director said frostily. "Look, if you're going to read my mind, read all of it."

"Who said I could—"

"The Doctor, that's who."

Juris fell silent, not wanting to admit to the fact that he had only been guessing at her motives. Teggellans, although humanoid, were slightly different than humans and he had not as yet gotten a handle on how to read their thoughts. Obviously he had guessed wrong. At the same time he was delighted to learn his father and the Doctor were working on a solution to his dilemma.

"If I agree to do as you ask," Juris said at last, "you'll have to do one thing for me."

"What's that?"

"Have your people stop drugging me every five minutes."

Dr. Albert could not help herself and laughed. "Okay. You've got yourself a deal."

Contrary to Juris' beliefs, the Doctor and Jason were not working on a way to get him out. They were more concerned with the reason the beacon had been activated, and why it had been beamed at Gallifrey and not Alterrous. The discussion was interrupted by a call from Dr. Albert who passed on the substance of her conversation with Juris before saying that she would be returning shortly.

"Now all we have to do is figure out how to get him out," Jason muttered, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.

The Doctor looked at his friend and scowled, a concerned look passing across his face. He had forgotten how Jason would try to hide any illness he might have if he felt it would interfere with the task at hand; and it was all too obvious the Alterran still needed time to recover from his injuries.

"You let me worry about that just now," the Time Lord said at last. "You rest."

"Doctor, I'm fine," Jason replied firmly.

"No, you are not fine," his friend stated flatly. "Now, you rest. Before we can start worrying about Juris, we need to finish what we came here to do. I'm going to contact Gallifrey and Alterrous and tell them the beacon was a false alarm."

Before Jason could think of a suitable reply, the Time Lord was on his feet and heading toward the back door. "Let me find Ace and tell her—" He broke off, hearing an odd beating noise filtering in from outside. "What is that?" he asked.

"Hey, Professor, come take a look at this," Ace called from the porch, unknowingly answering his question. "There's a convoy of helicopters heading this way."

This was enough to rouse them all from the house and out onto the beach. In the distance they could see three twin-blade, military helicopters heading up the coastline. Suspended beneath one was what appeared to be a very large tank.

"I wonder where they're headed?" Alex said to no one in particular.

The Doctor gave the passing helicopters a cursory glance before turning his attention back to his immediate problem, this being his getting to the TARDIS. He asked Alex to take him to were he had left it, to which the big man agreed. He then took Ace aside, asking that she stay and look after Jason, who despite his efforts to conceal it, was not as healthy as he seemed. "He needs to rest and he won't do it because he thinks he'll slow me down," he explained.

"What do you want me to do, Professor?" Ace asked. "If he won't listen to you, you know he won't listen to me."

"No, but he will stay to look after you, if you stay behind to…I don't know. Go for a swim while I'm gone?"

"Swim in what? I don't have a swimsuit, remember? Anyway, I'd much rather go rock climbing."

The Doctor gave her a small smile. "You may find the rocks here a bit more difficult than the one's you're used to. They're coral and can cut you quite badly if you're not careful. You saw what they did to Jason."

Ace looked back at the jagged rocks and shrugged. "I still don't have a swimsuit, Professor."

"Oh, don't worry, Jason can fix that," the Doctor replied happily. "He probably thinks I've forgotten he learned how to manipulate the molecular structure of inanimate objects."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, he can change what you're wearing into whatever you like."