CHAPTER SIXTEEN

TAKING ACTION

Jason led the way to the sickbay, having to lean on Alex most of the way. The jolt he had received from the energy field had drained him severely, and he was finding it difficult to concentrate beyond the pain in his extremities.

Arriving at last, Juris placed the unconscious Doctor on an examining table, the Time Lord's body still blurring as it was pulled forward and backward in the time field.

Jason struggled to do what he could, but was almost at the point of collapse himself. Cursing under his breath, he slammed a fist on the wall hoping his anger might clear his head enough for him to think clearly again. "The energy field's getting stronger, and he's getting weaker," he growled. "And I can't stop it!"

"There must be something you can do," Frankie gasped

"I can't think!"

"Father, pull yourself together!" Juris exploded. "You've got to do something or he'll die!"

Frankie caught her breath as Juris' words brought back the memory of two short months ago, when she stood in the same room, Jason's life hanging in the balance, and the Doctor saying those very words to her. "It's just like before…" she breathed.

The others turned to her in confusion.

"What?" Jason asked.

"It's just like before," she said again. "When you were here, and the Doctor—"

"Not quite," the Alterran interrupted sharply. "I don't have an Epsilon circuit."

"Yes you do!" Dr. Albert pulled the forgotten sphere from her pocket and handed it to the astonished Healer.

"Where on earth did you get this?"

"From a display case, believe it or not."

Turning back to his fast weakening friend, Jason tried several times to disperse the energy field without success. Shaking his head, he said, "It's no use. I can't…concentrate." He held the sphere out to his son. "You'll have to do it. You're the only one who can."

"Me? How?" the boy asked helplessly. "I don't unders—" He caught his breath as he took hold of the stone-like ball, its power surging through him. "What is this!"

"An Epsilon Power Circuit."

"But they don't—"

His father cut him off. "Juris, there's no time! Now concentrate. It works the same as trans muting, you think what you want to happen and the circuit turns it to reality."

Juris gave him a dubious look and then went to the Doctor's side, drawing a deep breath. "How—where—do I start?"

"He's in an unstable time field and it's taking all his energy to remain stable," the Healer explained. "Stop the time fluctuations and the energy drain will stop. Then dissipate the time field." Suddenly feeling dizzy, Jason sat down on a high stool, leaning back against the wall and clinging to the counter beside him to stay upright.

Juris nodded. "Then it's your turn," he said before turning his full attention to the Doctor. He drew another deep breath to steady himself, putting a hand on the Time Lord's chest. He had not felt the time field when he carried him to the sickbay, but now he did, his hand tingling as it passed into the surging ball of energy. He caught his breath, a startled almost panicked expression coming to his face.

"Move through the field," Jason instructed gently, forcing the boy to concentrate rather than panic. "Visualize it, move in to it, move it away."

Juris looked up and nodded, swallowing hard. Closing his eyes, he did as instructed. After several minutes, it seemed as though nothing were happening. Then a glow appeared around the Doctor's body as his life signs stabilized and then slowly returned to normal. Once all influences of the unstable time field were gone, the glow vanished. Juris realized he had been holding his breath and exhaled. He opened his eyes and sagged, sitting down on a stool beside his father, feeling completely drained.

"Mental exhaustion," Jason said softly. "It'll pass."

The young man did not reply, reaching out and touching his father's hand. Instantly the numbness that was threatening to overtake him vanished. In less than a minute Jason was free of the affects from the time field, as well as healed of all his previous injuries.

The Doctor awoke at that moment, almost scaring the life out of everyone in the room when he sat bolt upright, a loud cry escaping him. Jason sprang to his feet and took him by the arm to keep him from jumping from the table. "It's alright, Doctor. You're in the TARDIS. You're safe," he soothed gently, moving to stand in front of his friend as he spoke.

The Time Lord looked around dazedly, appearing surprised to find himself in the TARDIS. "I was—" He stopped, looking Jason in the eye. No, I can't tell himthat. Drawing a deep breath to steady himself, he said, "I was fading in and out. Couldn't stop it. I didn't think you could, either."

"I didn't, actually, Juris did."

"Juris?" He turned to see the Epsilon Circuit in the boy's hands. "Where did that come from?" he breathed. Before anyone could reply, the Doctor turned accusingly to Jason. "How could you give that to him? You, of all people, should know how dangerous they are."

"That's not very gracious of you, Doctor," his friend said coolly. "Juris just used it to save your life."

The Doctor gave him a stunned look. To the surprise of the others, Jason did not remark further on his friend's negative reaction. He knew he was remembering the death and destruction that had occurred the last time they encountered the spheres.

Juris gave a weak smile when the Doctor turned his surprised gaze in his direction. Then his father's thoughts came through with amplified clarity thanks to the sphere in his hands, and he scowled. Was that what he had held back when he told him of the original visit to Teggell?

"You did that?" the Doctor said at last.

"Yes. I'm not afraid of power like—"

Jason held up a hand to stop the altercation before it began. "Don't be like that, Juris," he said quickly. "It wasn't meant as an insult."

"Certainly not," the Doctor said brightly, getting down from the table as he spoke. "I'm delighted you chose to attempt something so daring. As I recall, it's not in you nature to do so."

Juris replied with another weak smile.

"Where's Ace?" the Doctor then asked.

"In the console room monitoring the energy field," Jason replied.

Suddenly Alex gave voice to a very important point he felt everyone had forgotten. "I'm very glad you're alright, Doctor," he injected sharply. "Now how do we go about stopping my planet from being destroyed?"

"Can we use this?" Juris asked innocently, holding up the sphere.

The reply, which came from his father, was firm and immediate. "Absolutely not!" Again his thoughts betrayed him and Juris analyzed what he saw in his father's mind while he and the Doctor debated the issue.

After several minutes, the debate was going nowhere and Juris sighed, looking down at the Epsilon Circuit in his hands. There's only one way to reverse the spreading time field and they know it.They just don't want to face it. He came to a very difficult decision just as Frankie said, "I'll think I'd better have that back."

"No, I don't think so. Not yet."

The Doctor and Jason stopped their debate and turned to the determined Prince, who was already heading for the door. The set expression on his face unsettled the Doctor, who immediately moved to bar his way.

"Juris…?" Jason said quietly.

"There's only one way to stop that time field spreading, and you know it," his son said firmly. He stopped, meeting the Time Lord's gaze steadily. "Doctor, please, let me pass."

"And if I refuse?" the Doctor asked challengingly.

"You want me to say that I'll force you, but I won't. You know I won't hurt you, Doctor. I just saved your life!"

"But I'm supposed to allow you to kill yourself?"

"I'm not going to kill myself."

"You don't know that," the Time Lord snapped. "You've never handled one of those before today."

Sighing heavily, Juris said, "Doctor, please, don't make this more difficult than it is already."

The Doctor folded his arms and glared at the young man, refusing to move. There was a look in the boy's eyes that reminded him of Jason, and he found himself unsettled further by it. "Juris, you've no idea the risks you're taking. Those spheres are highly unpredictable."

Juris closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, a pained look passing across his face. "Look, I'm going to the console room. If you really want to talk about it, we can talk about it there." So saying, he promptly vanished.

Jason was immediately at the Doctor's side. "He's more adept than I thought," he gasped. "That's bad."

Alex could contain himself no longer. "What the devil's going on!"

"Never mind," the Doctor replied, storming through the door. "Just come on." He led the way to the control room, stopping dead halfway there. "Listen." He threw a horrified look in Jason's direction. "He's dematerialized!"

"That's impossible!" Jason objected. "He doesn't know how."

"No, but Ace does. And she's in the console room!"