CHAPTER TWELVE

HUNTING FOR AN EXIT

"It would appear this is where the parts for the signal beacon came from," the Doctor observed from within the hidden spacecraft. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Definitely." Jason was investigating the gutted flight deck and turned back to look at him. "I don't think it's being used as the relay, though. There's nothing left of the control system."

"There has to be a monitoring site somewhere nearby, though. Whoever sent up the satellite would want to keep track of it."

"But not from here?" Ace inquired.

The Doctor was still poking around in the wall panels and came across one he found very interesting. "Hang on. I may be mistaken…"

"Now there's a first," the Alterran muttered dryly as he exited the flight deck.

His friend gave him a sour look. "It seems the relay is here. Or at least part of it. Take a look."

Jason peered into the panel, nodding in agreement. "Looks that way. That must be the signal the TARDIS homed in on. Shut that off and the jamming signal should shut down as well."

"What's to stop whoever put it there from just turning it back on again?" Ace asked practically.

"Oh, I think a can of your Nitro-9 should do the trick quite nicely," the Doctor replied with a small smile.

Jason gave her a startled look. "Nitro-9?"

Ace grinned, pulling a can from her backpack. "It's like regular Nitro only with an extra kick." She attached the can to the panel and looked over at the Doctor. "Now? Or do you want to poke around a bit longer?"

"Now," the Time Lord replied, motioning Jason out. "Set the timer for twenty seconds. That way we'll have at least ten to get clear."

"Alright, alright," his companion said irritably. "I fixed the timers." She received an indignant snort in reply.

Twenty seconds later the ship was rocked by the explosion. "See?" Ace announced proudly. "Twenty seconds."

"Well done," the Doctor replied. "Now, let's see…" His voice trailed off as he turned to Jason, who appeared to be dazed. At first the Doctor wondered if the explosion had stunned him until he realized the Alterran was listening to or for something.

"Jason…?" the Time Lord said quietly. "What is it?"

Jason held up a hand to silence him and closed his eyes, concentrating for several seconds. When he finally opened his eyes, he said apologetically, "Sorry. It's just…for a second there I thought I could feel Juris."

"Juris…? How near?" the Doctor wanted to know.

Waving a hand dismissively, the Alterran monarch shook his head. "No, it's gone now. I must be imagining things. Usually I have to be practically on top of him to feel him that strongly." Waving his hand again, he said, "Don't look at me like that, Doctor. It's just wishful thinking, that's all."

The Doctor had other thoughts on this but kept them to himself. That his friend should have so strong a mental contact the instant the relay was shut down was worth looking into, but that would have to wait until their home worlds had been contacted.

Inside the Aylsworth mansion, Juris had also felt his father's presence and caught his breath when the mental contact abruptly came and went.

"What's the matter?" Frankie asked worriedly.

The Alterran gave her a bewildered look. "My father. For just a second, I could feel his mental energy. Then it was gone."

"Great," the Teggellan replied almost helplessly.

"He must be very near."

"Are we going to sit here and wait for him?"

Juris gave her a dark look. Then his father's comments on his cautious nature returned to mind. It was truer than he cared to admit.

"Come on, this isn't getting us anywhere." Not waiting for a reply, Juris went to the door and peeked out. The hall was empty. He stepped silently through the door, looking up and down the long corridor. "Now. How do you get out of this mausoleum?" he said under his breath. Since one way seemed just as good as another he made his way down the hall, hoping to find the way out without running into anyone in the process.

"What's the matter? Why have you called me?" Reed asked the Black Guardian.

"The Alterran has escaped with the woman," the Black Guardian announced angrily. "Why did you leave him unguarded?"

"Escaped? How?"

"I told you Alterrans are shape-shifters!"

Reed blinked. The Guardian had also told him that Alterrans concealed themselves, and since he'd left Dr. Albert in the room, it was a logical assumption that Juris would not reveal himself to her. He had yet to learn she already knew he could transmute.

"If he wins his freedom, you will lose yours."

"No!" Reed said angrily. "I won't allow one miscalculation to jeopardize everything!"

"Then correct the error. The Doctor has already discovered the satellite and the ship," the Guardian informed. "He will try to locate the true source of the transmission. That will lead him to the boy."

"He won't find the Alterran before my men—"

"The boy is telepathic. He won't need to look, the boy will find him unless you amplify the jamming frequency."

Reed scowled. How could he be expected to function properly without knowing all the facts? Before he could inquire further, the Guardian said, "Do not fail me," and cut the transmission.

Jason was looking down at the control console, a dismayed expression on his face. "I don't get it," he said helplessly. "We shut down the relay, but the signal's still being jammed." Looking up, he saw a grave expression on the Doctor's face. "Do we have to take out the satellite, too? Or is that just another red herring?"

The Doctor silently reset the coordinates. Within minutes, they were looking at the satellite again. "The jamming's coming from someplace near the ship," he observed softly. "Has to be."

"It's like trying to follow a trail of bread crumbs after the birds have been at it," Ace muttered darkly.

"Yes, we do seem to be being led on a sort of mystery tour, don't we?" the Doctor remarked thoughtfully.

"Doctor, what is going on?" Jason asked again. "What aren't you telling us?"

"Jason, I've already—"

"And don't brush me off," the Alterran said forcefully. "I got hurt, but I'm not in a coma. That beacon wasn't Gallifreyan, but the High Council said the signal was so ancient they had to research it. The parts for it came from the ship—you said so yourself—which makes it a recent installation. Therefore, someone duplicated the original alert beacon. Someone who knew it was there thousands of years ago."

"You're hiding something, aren't you?" Ace chimed in forcefully. "You know who's behind this and you're not telling us!"

The Time Lord drew a deep breath, looking from Ace to Jason and back. He knew if he didn't tell them at least part of what he knew already, he'd be fighting them too.

"What we're dealing with nothing less than good verse evil," he said succinctly.

Jason could feel himself becoming angry. "Doctor, don't patronize—"

"Or more accurately," the Doctor went on calmly, "the White Guardian verse the Black."

Jason's rage immediately evaporated. "The White…" he said slowly. "They really exist?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor replied softly, briefly telling of his meeting with the White Guardian. "The thing is, I don't know if Juris being missing has anything to do with what's going on with them. It could just be a coincidence."

"Yeah, just like your turning up in my backyard centuries ago was a coincidence," his friend snorted.

"Excuse me, remember us?" Ace broke in, waving a hand to include Alex. "We don't know what you're talking about."

Jason and the Doctor exchanged glances.

"Hang on, Ace," Jason said, holding up a hand. "I'm getting a glimmer."

"Do you know what he's talking about?" Ace asked pointedly.

"I think so." Turning back to the Doctor, Jason added, "And it terrifies me. What would the Black Guardian want with Juris?"

Even though he suspected the reason, the Doctor replied, "I don't know. A delaying tactic, perhaps."

"Delaying what?"

The Time Lord met his friend's inquiring gaze. "The longer we stay out of contact, the more nervous Alterrous and Gallifrey will become."

"My God, he's trying to start a war," Jason breathed in a horrified whisper. "Doctor, if that happens, I don't think either side will survive. They'll wipe each other out."

"The Black Guardian thrives on chaos," the Doctor said warningly. "Remember that."

Reed did not bother to check the tank in which Juris had been confined. He immediately mobilized the estate's security force, instructing them to find the escaped Dr. Albert and the intruder who had rescued her.

Unfortunately, Aylsworth's over inflated ego was always at work and once a week the mansion was opened to visitors. On this particular day a special tour had been arranged and a large group of teenaged students had just arrived and would be swarming the grounds within minutes.

Utilizing the satellite, the Doctor began searching for Juris. Since the missing Alterran Prince was the only silicon-based lifeform on the planet, it was not a difficult task. At the same time, Jason did his best to explain to Ace and Alex what he feared might be going on.

The Doctor did a double take when he read the coordinates as the TARDIS materialized on the Aylsworth estate. "No wonder you felt Juris' presence so strongly, Jason. That cave the ship is in is practically under the house."

Suddenly the Doctor was all business. He stated flatly that he did not believe his Alterran friend was sufficiently recovered to accompany them on a full-scale search of the house and grounds. After several heated words, Jason grudgingly agreed to remain behind.

The Time Lord took advantage of the milling crowd near the entrance of the mansion, joining the group. Ace was very close to the age of the students and blended in instantly. The Doctor and Alex, in the meantime, immediately became chaperones.

"Everyone stay together," someone from the tour called out.

"Yes," the Doctor chimed in, glancing at Ace. "We wouldn't want anyone wandering off, would we?"

"I always wander off, Professor," Ace grinned.

The Doctor grinned back. "I'm counting on it."

Juris and Frankie had managed to elude security within the mansion, the tour having distracted almost everyone. They had gone from room to room, hoping to escape when the tour left.

In one room, they found nothing but pottery; in another, glassware: in yet another, tools. Entering a room full of stone fragments, Frankie looked around in bewilderment. "Is there anything this guy doesn't collect?" she wondered aloud.

"He doesn't seem to have a lot of friends," Juris replied aridly as he looked over an odd collection of stone spheres.

Dr. Albert came up beside him, stifling an alarmed cry when she looked at the display. One of the stone balls was an Epsilon sphere, the very cause of all the trouble two months ago. Taking in the rest of the items, she saw fragments from the chest that once held it and several others. Had Aylsworth been the one behind all the souvenir hunters swarming the Temple of Jaka?

Hearing the gasp, Juris looked down in bewilderment. "What's the matter?"

Frankie met his gaze and wondered if she should tell him what the sphere was. As an Alterran, he would be able utilized its power and get them out. But would he be able to handle the amount of power she knew the sphere could produce?

There was a noise out in the hall, and Juris took her by the hand, leaving inquiries until later. "Come on," he said, turning to the far door. He did not notice Frankie take the sphere from its display stand and slip it into her pocket.