CHAPTER 42

TIME TO LEAVE

Nearly half an hour after vanishing into the darkness Jason reappeared at the top of the ladder all smiles, his face flushed. As the Doctor predicted, he had pulled himself together while examining the vertical drop and tunnel system below. "That's quite a climb," he remarked as he pulled himself over the edge.

"Don't I know it," the Doctor replied. "From your smug expression I can only assume you've come up with an alternative."

Jason grinned, his eyes sparkling. "Well, actually…" He paused dramatically. "Yeah."

Within half an hour the group was safely at the bottom of the shaft. Jason was able to quickly transport everyone, one at a time, by returning to his true form and utilizing his ability to levitate, gently floating down the long shaft, his tendrils extended to the four walls for stability. Each of his friends had a different reaction to the journey, the Doctor seeming to enjoy it the most.

Grant and Pr'Ce'el had taken advantage of the time while waiting their turn and removed as much of the makeup from their faces as they could. Buckley had returned to his senses moments after reaching the bottom of the shaft. He shrank back when the Alterran deposited the last of the group and then moved in to lash him to the ladder. The officer stared at this newest monster as his feet were bound. It was not until Jason returned to his human form that the officer finally found his voice. "Wh…what…are you?" he asked in a quiet awestruck tone.

Jason gave him a look of utter revulsion. "I'm your worst nightmare," he replied succinctly, rising to his feet. "I assume you know about the Earth summit that's supposed to determine the sovereignty of this planet."

The Gres-Fa-Raayn officer blinked, thrown by this apparent non sequitur. "Of course, that's why I'm…" His voice trailed off as he made a sudden realization. "That's what you were after all along, isn't it? The location of the hostages!"

"Actually, that's what they were after," Jason replied, nodding in his friends' direction.

"Who are you?"

Jason drew himself to his full height. Then he did something that he did so rarely that it actually surprised the Doctor. He took on his royal appearance; his clothing changing to elaborate regal finery, complete with floor length cape, gold collar of rank and gold circlet on his brow. "I am His Most Royal Highness Crown Prince Jason of Tel-Shye," he announced proudly. "I am also Ambassador Krystovan, leader of the summit." With that he turned on his heel and stalked off into the darkness, his cape billowing dramatically behind him. The bewildered Pr'Ce'el exchanged a puzzled look with Grant before hurrying after him.

Buckley gave the Doctor and his companion a questioning look. Finding his voice at last, he said, "He's lying. The Ambassador's dead. I got the report."

"I would hazard a guess that the report stated the Ambassador's ship vanished into a wormhole," the Time Lord replied, receiving a stunned look in reply. "He is the Ambassador. He's also the Grandnephew of the Lord Emperor of Alterrous."

"Wh…? He's Alterran!" Suddenly all the pieces fell into place and the captive officer wanted to kick himself for not having realized sooner. "They're shape shifters!"

"You noticed that, did you? Must be why you're an officer," Grant remarked sarcastically. "Come on, Doctor, we're being left behind." He turned and hurried after the others.

"Wait a minute! What about me?" Buckley called out as the Doctor made to follow.

"Oh, don't be precious, Buckley," the Doctor moaned wearily. "Someone will be along to collect you. There's a garrison or two of Alterran Imperial Guards somewhere about. I'm sure they'll find you—eventually."

"Eventually! You can't just leave me here!"

"Can't I?" So saying the Time Lord strode into the darkness, leaving the officer protesting loudly behind him.

Jason stopped at the first junction in the tunnels and waited for the others to catch up. Pr'Ce'el arrived a moment later and came up beside him. Uncertain what to do next, the boy kept his eyes fixed down the tunnel, shifting from foot to foot as he nervously watched for the others.

"How's the arm, Cee?" Jason asked suddenly.

The young man actually jumped. He put his good arm protectively over his swaddled broken one. "It hurts," he replied hesitantly.

Jason nodded sagely. "As soon as we get back to the TARDIS I'll do something about that." The frightened look he received in reply made him laugh. "My dear, Pr'Ce'el, I am a Healer, first and foremost. I only do monsters as a sideline."

Before Pr'Ce'el could respond Grant suddenly appeared out of the darkness. He skidded to a halt when he saw the two had stopped. Jason glanced in his direction and then down at himself. "I'm going to change into something a little less ostentatious," he warned. "Don't either of you freak out on me, okay?"

Pr'Ce'el's expression of uncertainty did not change. "Is it true?" he asked quietly. "What you told Buckley?"

"About what?" Jason asked, his body shimmering as his clothes changed back to their previous casual state.

"Are you really Ambassador Krystovan?"

"He most certainly is," boomed the Doctor's voice from behind them.

"You took your time," the Alterran shot back smoothly.

The Doctor gave him a glowing smile. "Taking one's time is a Time Lord's prerogative," he quipped. "Now, let's see about getting you to Earth, shall we? I believe you have a summit to oversee." Not even breaking stride, he continued on into the gloom ahead of them.

Jason gave Grant a long-suffering look and sighed. "I swear he gets worse instead of better with each regeneration."

"I heard that!" the Doctor called back.

After Jason's last communication, Commander SorRell joined the unit clearing the blocked stairwell. The moment they broke through she contacted those on the surface and was pleased to hear reinforcements from the other garrisons had started to arrive. Her Lieutenant gave her a quick rundown of the number of troops and their commanding officers.

SorRell gave the order to implement the plan they had worked out prior to her departure, going on to tell Torr what had been happening in the now not-so abandoned nuclear facility. She went on to order the Lieutenant to organize a complete search of the building to locate and arrest the mercenaries within.

Lieutenant Torr was standing over his desk, talking into the microphone and hurriedly typing commands into his computer at the same time. He looked as though he were about to run out the door as soon as he finished. "Do we know what we're up against, sir? Or how many?"

"Prince Jason was able to do some very impressive recon for us," she replied. "There are forty-five Gres-Fa-Raayn regulars guarding the hostages and about twenty unpleasant mercenaries in the building itself."

"Were those his exact words, sir?"

"Actually, Lieutenant, his exact words were extremely unpleasant."

Torr stiffened visibly upon hearing this. In the language of the Alterran military, extreme unpleasant translated to extremely violent. "Anything else I should know, sir?"

SorRell gave a wry smile before explaining the Prince's unorthodox method of extracting the information, which he had relayed while investigating the vertical drop into the tunnels. The Commander went on to suggest that the personnel searching the building utilize it. After all, this was the kind of deception that many of them dreamed all their lives of doing. "His highness told me he wasn't a stickler for the rules but I never expected him to prove it so dramatically."

The animated Lieutenant Torr stopped dead as the story came over the radio and he sat down, the stunned expression on his face changing to one of fascination. "Just who do you want to participate this little…um, theatrical road show?"

"I'll leave that to you, Torr. I know a few of our own people who have an equal flair for the dramatic. If you need others, contact the other commanders and see who they have that fits the bill, so to speak." Pausing, she added, "You'll be leading the search yourself, I assume."

Lieutenant Torr broke into a broad smile. "You know me too well, sir," he replied. "I'll get on this immediately."

"Remember to delegate, Lieutenant," SorRell suggested. "I don't want my best officer burning himself out on this one. SorRell Out."

"Noted, Commander. I'll be in touch. Command Center out."