CHAPTER 31

MAKING PLANS

The Doctor was setting the coordinates for the Heladin system when Jason entered the console room. "Are l'X'el and K'ell'k all settled in?" the Time Lord asked conversationally.

"They're both sleeping, thank goodness. Mel said she'd keep an eye on them for me," Jason replied as he made his way across the room. He stood before his belongings and sighed heavily. "Do you really want to wade through all the documents on the Gres-Fa-Raayn's claim, Doctor? There are an awful lot of them." He lifted the mangled box from the cart and turned back toward the control console to make his point.

The Time Lord stopped what he was doing and straightened. He looked over at what he now knew to be a file box. "No, I'm sure they've found every loophole they could. Probably had every lawyer they could find on Enol working on them before turning them over to you."

The Alterran nodded and set the box into the floor. "That's what I thought, too." He took a smaller container from the pile and gently rubbed its battered surface with his fingers. He turned back to the Doctor, absently turning the misshapen object over in his hands as he spoke. "So Plan B is out. Back to Plan A?"

"Yes. Back to Plan A." The Doctor gave his friend a steady look, knowing how difficult this next step would be for him. It entailed Jason contacting the Alterran home world. Considering the fact that everyone would have assumed him killed in the attack, he faced the very difficult task of explaining how he had survived and what had happened in the interim.

"Might as well get it over with," Jason sighed, looking over at the communications system. He set the box he was holding beside the transmission switch and stood looking at it for a long time, composing his thoughts. As he reached for the switch, the Doctor suddenly stopped him, taking hold of his wrist and pulling his hand away.

"Didn't l'X'el say something about the Gres-Fa-Raayn monitoring all outgoing communications?" the Time Lord asked pointedly.

"But that was only out there—" Jason waved a hand toward the exterior doors. "—on Enol. Surely you don't think…?" His voice trailed off as he thought back on all they had learned. He gave the Doctor a steady look and nodded. "I have my own encryption code that only the Emperor's inner retinue can decipher." As he spoke, his hands moved swiftly over the controls finally going to the transmitter switch. "That should plug any leaks."

"Indeed. It will make explanations that much easier too, I should imagine."

After several messages and responses of disbelief, Jason was finally connected directly with the Alterran Emperor, who was delighted to learn his favorite nephew was still very much alive. They had a lengthy visual communication in which Jason explained the situation as they knew it, passing on the Doctor's concerns as well as his plan, which they hoped would resolve the situation. The Emperor's first act was to endorse Jason's official request for the Time Lord's assistance, thus alleviating any fear of intervention from Gallifrey. He also agreed that their concern, first and foremost, was the safety of the Wieonol hostages whom they had learned were being held on the planet designated as Heladin Alpha.

Jason was instructed to rendezvous with Commander SorRell, who was in charge of the Imperial Guards stationed on the protected planets, and apprise her of the situation. The Doctor would then coordinate with her troops while Jason went straight to Earth where he would await the next phase in the plan. Of course, first they had to actually locate the hostages.

Before signing off, Jason asked the Emperor to contact his family to let them know he was safe. He did not care if everyone in the universe believed him dead so long as his family knew the truth. He transmitted a message to his wife, which the Emperor agreed to pass along. "Thank you, Uncle," he said as he signed off. "I'll contact you from Earth when I arrive."

"Good to have you back, Jason," Emperor Quinton replied. "And Doctor…"

"Yes, Majesty?"

"The Emperor thanks you for assisting his Ambassador." The monarch's chiseled features softened and he smiled warmly. "And Quinton thanks you and Miss Bush for saving his nephew's life."

The Time Lord bowed slightly. "Majesty, as always, it is a pleasure to serve you."

Jason drew a deep breath when the screen went dark "Well, that's that dealt with." He turned back to the cart and started towards it. "Now to deal with this lot."

The Doctor turned his attention to the console. "Next stop, Heladin Alpha," he announced as he hit the dematerialization switch. The time rotor lit up and began its rhythmic rise and fall as the TARDIS took flight. The Doctor gave a satisfied grunt and turned to Jason. "Do you really want to go through all those now?" he asked conversationally.

Jason was looking down at the pile and turned to reply, as he did the console room distorted wildly around him, sending him reeling back against the wall. He stood clinging to the reassuringly solid surface as the console room spun around him. He had a horrifying sense of déjà vu, feeling as if he were back in the wormhole. The room shuddered, stretched from side to side, top to bottom and then, most frighteningly, seemed to actually fade out of existence. The phenomenon lasted several seconds, but was still long enough to leave him dazed and shaken.

When the room finally returned to normal, Jason waited a few seconds longer incase the world decided to turn inside out next. When it did not, he hesitantly let go of the wall and shook his head to clear it. Looking up, he saw the Doctor clutching the console with one hand and holding his head with the other, obviously having experienced the same affect.

"What the hell was that?" Jason asked as last, moving unsteadily to the console as he spoke.

"That's a very good question," the Doctor replied, scrutinizing the control console as Jason came up beside him. The interior door opened at that moment and neither of them turned around.

"Before you even ask, I don't know what happened," the Doctor said as his hands moved over the controls. "Looks like we grazed the edge of a temporal rift."

Jason looked up and stiffened visibly, staring wide eyed at the newcomer. He did not know who it was, but he knew for certain it was not Mel. Not unless she had suddenly been transformed into a four-foot tall penguin. "Um, Doctor…" he said in a low urgent tone.

The Time Lord did a double take when he glanced up, seeing the stunned expression on his friend's face. "Jason, what on earth…?" He followed his friend's gaze and actually jumped, a startled cry escaping him. The penguin was Frobisher, a former traveling companion.

"Oh, dear," the Doctor said darkly. "I think things just got very, very complicated."