A lot going on in this chapter but splitting it into two chapters would make them both really short.

Chapter 15

When Alex awoke, he found himself looking at a stark white ceiling, his vision surprisingly clear, though his eyelids and the skin around his eyes were a little sore. He barely had time to notice the hardness of his supposed bed – a thin mattress pad on an elevated concrete platform – when he felt a rib being pushed back into place, forcing a scream from him.

"Stay still," Jakobb's stern voice ordered just before a low hum filled his ears and the pain subsided to an ache.

Reason came as his mind realized his current situation. "You're tending my wounds?"

"Well, you can't be further interrogated if you die on us," the Human answered, continuing his work as he moved the healing device over the darkening bruises on the Doctor's torso. "At least, that's my lord's view on the matter."

"So, you're going to torture me and then heal me repeatedly until I answer your question."

"Pretty much. Or until the Keeper decides that you aren't worth healing anymore. Or he might resort to torture that can't be healed and you really don't want it to come to that," he finished with a hint of menace.

Alex gave a weak smile at his words. "You're very good at that."

"At what?"

"Intimidation."

"Is it working?"

"No, not really."

"Too bad for you."

"Probably," the Nere'i agreed, gritting his teeth as the second broken rib was set. "So, how did you wind up being the Keeper's slave?"

Jakobb laughed with incredulity. "I beat the hell out of you, tend your wounds, tell you you're going to be tortured again, and you ask me how I got to be my lord's slave?"

"From what I heard, you spent time in the Zone," Alex started, making sure that he referred to the area by the accepted name. "Not exactly the ideal area to recruit or procure a slave. It can be pretty cut-throat there, sometimes literally. For a Time Lord to find a slave in the Zone, he either wants a challenge in subduing a person or is looking for certain less-than-pleasant talents."

"You just answered your own question."

"Well, I suppose so but how did you obtain those talents? If you don't mind me saying so, I don't think you actually enjoy your work. Oh, you put on a good show but it's there in your eyes if you know what you're looking for. You're good at aggressive interrogation but you hate it. So, where did that talent come from?"

The Human stopped his ministrations to stare at the half-Gallifreyan, clearly baffled by him. "You are either completely insane or up to something."

"What does it matter? You're going to torture me for information until I either give in or am no longer of any use. Why not patronize me with an anecdote of your past while you mend me? You never know. I might return the favor."

"And tell me what I want to know in the process?"

"It's possible, isn't it?"

Jakobb considered his prisoner's words for a long moment. It was clear that the Nere'i was smart and was a talented manipulator. He was definitely up to something but the interrogator couldn't for the life of him even guess what his goal was.

"Okay. Why not? I joined the Time Revolt when I was old enough to do so. I learned my interrogation skills from them. And I was good. I was their go-to person for interrogations."

"Time Revolt? Not Time Agency?"

Jakobb frowned at his words. "What the hell is a Time Agency? Time travel is forbidden unless you're a Time Lord. Everyone knows that."

"And yet, you joined a Time Revolt."

"Not everyone agrees to be subjugated under the Time Lords and some of us were willing to fight to regain our freedom." His voice was subdued as he spoke. It was clear that he wasn't telling the entire truth.

Alex allowed him whatever he was keeping secret, certain he would learn of it at a later date. "How'd you end up in the Zone?"

The Human laughed without humor. "I was looking for someone and was caught with contraband time travel technology. A vortex manipulator. Very dangerous to use but effective. The Time Lords exiled me to the Zone where I used the skills I acquired from the Time Agency to survive and thus caught the attention of the Keeper."

"Who recruited you," the Doctor surmised.

"I wouldn't exactly call what he did recruitment. More like blackmail. He manipulated me into a position where I had to choose either enslavement or execution for aggravated assault on a member of the Imperial High Council. It's not too bad, though, as long as I do what I'm told. And I've got more power than any other Human in the Empire." Finishing his task of tending Alex's wounds, he tucked the medical device into his tunic and started towards the door.

"Is it worth it?" Alex asked abruptly. "Hurting all those people at your master's whim? Is it worth your soul to maintain your standing with a people who will never see you as anything more than a slave?"

"It keeps me alive," Jakobb answered. "Right now, that's something you should be considering." He exited immediately, not wanting to continue the conversation further.

Alex exhaled slightly. He knew he was starting to get through to the person he knew Jakobb was capable of being. It was just going to take time. The real question was how much he would have to endure before that happened.

Alex didn't get much rest while he waited for the next interrogation session. It didn't help in the least that the lights were still fully bright, his body still ached from the abuse he endured, and he hadn't had anything to eat or drink since before he had been captured.

He had been trying to fall asleep for the twelfth time when the door to his cell opened and Jakobb entered with another male Human. Without a word, they forced Alex to his feet and pushed him towards the door. The half-Gallifreyan didn't fight them, knowing that the chances of a successful escape were low. A few minutes later, they entered the same room in which Jakobb had abused Alex before. They immediately stripped him down to his boxers and restrained him with the manacles, his hands once again above his head.

After the second slave had left, Jakobb stood in from of Alex and looked into his eyes. "Where is Lord Rega?"

"As I said before, I will not now nor ever betray my people by telling you or your master where our community is," the hybrid replied firmly.

"I didn't ask about your community. I asked about Lord Rega," the Human countered.

"Right now, they are one and the same."

Jakobb took a breath. "Very well. We'll do this the hard way." He then went around his prisoner so that he was out of sight.

Alex heard something distinctively mechanical and turned his head in an attempt to look over his shoulder, hoping to determine the cause of the sound. His attempt failed, compelling him to wait for whatever his tormentor had in store for him.

The reason for the sound was Jakobb's opening a hidden cabinet which held a variety of implement, including a long frayed leather whip. Picking up the instrument, he let it unfurl before raising it and lashing Alex's back, causing the latter to scream in surprise and pain.

The hybrid gasped in air, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to ignore the pain the lash had brought him. "You're better than this, Jack. I know you are."

"My name's Jakobb, not Jack," the interrogator replied with a glare before lashing Alex again, eliciting another scream.

"Don't you want to know what I was trying to steal?" the Doctor tempted once he regained his breath.

"No." Another lash against his back brought another scream. This time, Jakobb didn't wait until Alex had a chance to catch his breath before he continued his onslaught, bringing more cries of agony. Only when his victim's back and legs were covered with welts and cuts did he change the location of his assault, going around to the front to lash his chest and arms several times before stopping when he noticed his prisoner's screams had weakened to whimpers.

Alex struggled to remain on his feet, gripping the chains holding him up in order to do so. He could feel trickles of blood slowly moving down his body to the floor, not enough to cause death but certainly enough to make remaining conscious difficult. He felt Jakobb's hand grip his chin, forcing him to look into the Human's eyes.

"Jack…" he murmured, hoping to somehow connect with a fragment of the man he knew.

"Tell me where Lord Rega is," the interrogator ordered.

Alex shook his head slowly to the demand. "Never." Closing his eyes, he couldn't stop himself from collapsing, too weak to remain on his feet. The sudden strain on his lungs was too much for his body and he instant slipped into unconsciousness.

When Alex woke, he found himself back in his cell, again being tended to by Jakobb. The latter seemed so focused on the task of mended the Nere'i that Alex thought he was unaware his patient had awaken.

"So, I told you my story," the Human stated, surprising Alex. "How about you tell me yours?"

The abruptness of Jakobb's question confounded the half-Gallifreyan for a moment. "It's a long story," he finally replied. He sucked in air through his teeth as Jakobb finished one wound and started on another.

"We've got time. I finished your back but you still have a lot of injuries everywhere else."

"All of which you inflicted."

"And none of which you would have received if you had cooperated."

"Fair point," Alex conceded. "Promise to keep it to yourself?"

"Depends on what you tell me. I have a responsibility to my master. If you tell me where the Crown Prince is, I will have to tell my lord. Anything else I will keep confident unless my lord asks. Then I'll only keep that information I deem non-detrimental to my own safety."

"Always the survivor."

"Absolutely. So, how's you end up on Gallifrey?"

"My girlfriend and I were yanked off 21st century Earth by your master with his time scoop and deposited in the Zone for the purpose of entertaining the Time Lords, just like many of my brothers and sisters fighting to survive out there. But I'm sure you've been witness to such many times since your enslavement."

The Human nodded, understanding Alex's derisive tone. "And you know Lord Rega how?"

"He found us in the Zone and invited us to become part of his community which we accepted," Alex replied. "When we got there, we found out that the community was afflicted with a disease designed by the Time Lords, more specifically your master, to kill anyone of Human descent." He noted how Jakobb stopped his ministrations at those words. He definitely had his attention. "I broke into the Hall of Science and Technology to find a cure. I found it and was stealing it when you and your master stopped me. I would've found and destroyed the disease as well so that no one else could be inflicted with it."

Jakobb frowned, disbelief in his eyes. "So, you were on an errand of mercy?"

"Yes," the Doctor answered bluntly. "Even now, everyone in our community who is of Human descent is in danger of a slow, horrible death."

"And this affects me how?"

"You're Human. The people dying in that community are your brothers and sisters as well as mine."

Jakobb gave a derisive laugh. "Not my brothers and sisters."

"Really? Do you really think that the Time Lords are only going to use that disease to kill some renegade Humans, Nere'ii and other half-breeds in hiding? Or is it more likely that they'll keep using it to control the population of their slaves? It wouldn't be the first time a society used selective eugenics to keep a supposed slave race in its place. All that the Time Lords would need is a cure to prevent their loyal slaves from succumbing to the disease the next time they want to punish miscreants in need of food and supplies. And what do you know, they have exactly that. I bet they've already inoculated the most loyal of their slaves already. It's only a matter of time before they decide to introduce the disease to whole populations of Human descendants."

Jakobb frowned slightly as he considered Alex's words. He had to admit what the hybrid said made some sense. He remembered the Keeper had given him an injection a couple of months before, telling him that it was for his own protection. He had thought it odd at the time but he didn't dare to question his master on the matter. When it had proved to be as harmless as the Keeper had assured, he let the matter pass. Now he wondered if he had been inoculated against the disease Alex had referred to.

Not getting a response from the Human, Alex closed his eyes. "I understand," he stated. "You have to do whatever you have to do for your own security."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Jakobb protested.

"This coming from the one Human slave in all of the Time Lord Empire who actually has influence. Seems to me the only person you care about is yourself and that is sad. So very sad." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, effectively informing Jakobb that the conversation had come to an end.

The Human huffed in frustration, knowing that the Nere'i had gotten the best of him and not knowing how to respond. What really bothered him was that he knew Alex was right. He had been focusing on his own security at the expense of others. But what was he supposed to do? He was the Keeper's slave as long as the Time Lord had the advantage. Why shouldn't he make his own situation better? Besides, he couldn't risk a death sentence, regardless of any sentiments he might have, the primary ones being confusion and resentment at the moment.

Deciding that he needed to get as far away from the prisoner as possible, he quickly and silently finished tending to Alex's injuries. Without a word, he stood and exited the cell. He had errands to run and duties to perform in service of his master, including another interrogation. But this time, he'd have Alex's words haunting him.