CHAPTER 17
RETURN TO THE SANCTUARY
After the recess, the Doctor started the next extract. The image of a darkened storeroom appeared on the Matrix screen. "This is the secondary transmat station in the Sanctuary," he informed. "It was here that I arrived after leaving the ARGO."
oOo
Mission Day 53 - continued
The Doctor materialized on a large platform in an enormous room in the freighter's hold area. He had assumed it would be empty, since the ship had been stranded for many years. To his surprise, there were crates and boxes stacked on hover-pads near the transmat platform. He was about to investigate them when he heard voices further within the room. His curiosity now fully aroused, he moved closer to investigate these sounds instead.
A group of men were moving what was left of a stack of boxes onto a hover-pad. The device sank slightly with each addition, buzzing loudly in protest as its systems adjusted to compensate before rising off the ground again. The Doctor watched this operation in bewilderment.
A deep voice suddenly called out, "You there! How'd you get down here?"
The Doctor spun around, seeing two men pointing at him. He did not wait for introductions. He turned on his heel and ran, angry shouts rising in volume behind him. He found one of the exits and dashed into the corridor beyond, looking up and down the passageway trying desperately to remember the map. "Which way? Which way?" Giving up, he chose at random, zigzagging his way through the ship, having no idea where he was going.
After several minutes of this, the Doctor found a ladder attached to a bulkhead, leading upwards and downwards. He chose to climb up to the next level. With luck, he would be able to throw off his pursuers.
The next level seemed to be storage bays as well. He moved as quietly as possible, hugging the wall and keeping a watchful eye out for the angry men chasing him. As he was moving along the wall, the Doctor's hand touched a door and it swung open. He jumped back, waiting to see if anyone emerged. When this did not happen, he peeked in and then stepped through the door.
"What on earth are you playing at?" he muttered as he took in his surroundings. He had entered what looked like a large control room. All of the systems in the Sanctuary's upper levels were off line or barely usable. Yet this room appeared fully operational. He crossed to one of the computer monitors, scowled down at the controls.
The door suddenly creaked behind him and the Doctor spun around to see the Benefactor standing in the doorway. Behind him were several heavily armed and angry looking men. "Doctor, I thought you'd be long gone by now," the robed man said in a slightly surprised tone.
"I had a few questions I wanted answering," the Time Lord replied coldly. "Such as, what is all this?"
"This is my little home from home," the Benefactor purred, holding out his arms to take in the room. He stepped further inside allowing the men behind him to enter.
"You're content to stay among your simple neighbors, are you?" the Time Lord reproved sharply.
"I never said I was out of touch with the rest of the universe. Only that I'd removed myself from it," the Benefactor pointed out.
"How long have you been working for the Triad?" the Doctor demanded.
The Benefactor seemed surprised by this question. "Someone's been telling tales out of school," he observed, wagging a finger in the air. "And I wasn't working for the Triad. They were working for me. They just didn't know it."
The Doctor frowned. "What did you get out of it?"
"Information," the Benefactor replied. "You'd be surprised how much value some races place on simple information." He waved a hand in the air. "Far less stressful than hauling freight to all corners of creation."
The Doctor's mouth dropped open. "You're an information broker?" he gasped. "Here?"
"Why not?"
The Time Lord was stuck for an answer on that point. "And the Triad? What information could you possibly you get from them?"
The Benefactor chortled at this question. "Doctor, I didn't get information from them. The information was them, and it only cost me the price of a few transponder chips," he said startlingly. "The Glyateven home world was very generous when I gave them their exact location. Rather embarrassing, losing a shipload of prisoners like that."
The Doctor frowned. "If you know all that, you also know that the Glyateven removed their prisoners some time ago."
The Benefactor had sauntered over to his workstation. "Indeed. But, alas, the fighting rages on without them."
"I see. Well, you don't need me cluttering up the place any longer, then," the Doctor said quickly and started for the door. He stopped short when the men blocking his way raised their weapons.
"He saw us," the lead man hissed worriedly. "And the cargo."
The Benefactor waved him to silence. "Don't worry, Justin. The Doctor's not leaving just yet. We haven't had time to chat. A nice little information exchange."
The Doctor continued to frown at him. "What kind of information?"
"I'm sure we can think of something. Strange how you overlooked mentioning you're a Time Lord during your stay. You must know all kinds of interesting things."
The Doctor straightened, his only reply being to glare at the robed figure. He wondered how the Benefactor had learned this, but was not about to ask.
The Benefactor picked up what looked like a television remote control and started turning it over in his hands. "Not so chatty now, Doctor?" he taunted.
"Before you even ask, the answer is no. Aside from the fact that it's forbidden, I won't reveal future events just so you can profit from them," the Time Lord stated categorically.
"And here I thought we could be friends," the Benefactor said sulkily.
"Do you always threaten your friends at gunpoint?" the Doctor asked astringently.
The Benefactor chuckled at this. "You know, the late Ambassador was always such a generous partner. I hoped you might be also."
The Doctor was thunderstruck by this revelation, his mouth dropping open in shock. The Benefactor chuckled again at his reaction. "Oh dear, did I omit telling you that I knew him too?" he asked tauntingly.
"Yes, you did. Were you working together on this little plot to take over the world? Or were you just selling off the information he could glean for you?"
The robed man waved a hand in the air. "A little of both, actually. Not that it matters now," he said dismissively. "I'm in need of a new partner."
"And you want it to be me, do you?" the Doctor replied. "Did you conspire to have your last partner killed because he'd outlived his usefulness for you?"
"You ask a lot of questions, Doctor," the Benefactor observed.
"It's the only way to learn anything."
"I quite agree." The Benefactor casually pushed a button on the remote control in his hands. The same instant the Doctor felt a sharp pain and gave a small cry of alarm, a hand going to his chest.
"Are you ill, Doctor?" the Benefactor asked mildly.
Puzzled, the Doctor shook his head. "No. Just a twinge from an old injury."
"Oh yes. You had a serious injury when you arrived. Your heart, wasn't it? Are you sure it's completely healed?"
Another button was pressed and the Doctor cried out again, clutching his chest.
"Did I also mention that I trade in electronic devices? Useful little gadgets at keeping one's minions under control."
"So I'm to go from a partner to one of your minions, am I?" the Doctor gasped out painfully. "So much for friendship."
When the next button was pressed, the pain was excruciating, sending the Doctor to his knees. The Benefactor's voice hardened. "No one leaves the Sanctuary and lives to tell about it, Doctor. I've made certain of that!"