CHAPTER 22

ARGO LOGS

Eustis was at his desk in chambers staring into space, dazed and slightly overwhelmed by the last extract in the day's proceedings. He was also puzzled, and wondered what the Doctor hoped to prove. Everything he had presented thus far had done nothing to prove Prince Jason's innocence. In fact, many of the extracts only seemed to bolster the prosecution's case. No wonder Fitzhugh had been so quiet.

Suddenly the Doctor came bursting into the room. "Eustis, I need access to the ARGO," he said without preamble.

Eustis jumped. "What?" he gasped.

"The ARGO. It is here, isn't it?"

"Yes…"

A voice from the outer door asked, "Why would you need access to the ARGO when you already have access to the Matrix of Time?"

Startled, the Doctor looked up to see Cardinal Wythe standing in the doorway. "I thought this was a simple criminal trial?" he said sharply. "Is the High Council putting its oar in before all the evidence has been presented?"

Cardinal Wythe smiled thinly. While not dressed in his ceremonial robes, he had an elaborate walking staff in his hand, which had become a fashion for many High Councilors to carry. As he entered the room, the Doctor noticed that he used it to maintain his balance. "I'm here in an advisory capacity," he informed coolly as he took a seat. "You'll agree, Doctor, such a case as this requires discretion."

"Especially when one's own name is amongst the allegations," the Doctor shot back smoothly.

"Ah, so we finally get to that," the Cardinal replied without surprise. "I wondered if his highness would have you pointing your finger at me. He's already done that once, you know?"

"Oh yes. I also know that you took the usual High Council position and denied everything."

"Doctor!" Eustis admonished sharply.

Wythe held up a hand, waving him to silence. "Since you weren't here for that…sordid business, I'll overlook that remark," he said, his tone suggesting otherwise. "The scene Prince Jason made was quite animated, shall we say. I don't know what he might've done if I hadn't had him removed by—" He broke off when the Doctor folded his arms and scowled disapprovingly, giving an annoyed sigh. If he was trying to elicit sympathy from him, it wasn't working.

Cardinal Eustis intervened a second time. "Doctor, at the time the events on Eldeberon took place, Cardinal Wythe was in the Capitol's intensive care facility recovering from injuries sustained in a very serious fall down a flight of stairs."

The Doctor gave him a startled look before turning back to Wythe. "That explains why you actually use your staff for walking, Cardinal," he observed calmly. He took a seat and studied the High Councilor a moment before asking, "When exactly did this fall take place?"

"Do you doubt my word now, Doctor?" Eustis said tersely. "If need be, I can get the sworn statements of his physicians attesting to the fact that it would've been impossible for him to rise from his bed. I myself visited him in on several occasions."

The Doctor held up his hands. "I'm not doubting your word. I'm just trying to get the timeframe straight in my head," he said quickly.

Wythe furrowed his brow as he thought back. Then he looked at the Inquisitor. "Eustis, you have the exact time references, don't you?"

Eustis turned, retrieving the information from the terminal on the corner of his desk. "Yes, here it is," he muttered triumphantly. "Cardinal Wythe's fall was…seventeen days prior to the time Prince Jason alleges he contacted him."

The Doctor sat back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Well, Doctor," Wythe said challengingly. "What do you have to say to that?"

"I say there's something more to all this that we're not seeing, Cardinal. Too many anomalies haven't been accounted for," the Doctor replied vaguely, his eyes focused in the distance. He looked up, saying in a firm voice, "Which is why I need access to the ARGO, Eustis."

"Well…" Eustis hesitated, glancing in Wythe's direction and seeing him nod. "Very well, Doctor. Why not?"

Oblivious of the Doctor's current exploits, Jason had eaten his dinner and curled up in bed for the night. Not that he expected to get any sleep. This precious commodity had eluded him since his arrest so many weeks ago.

The Doctor suddenly burst into the holding area, the door clanging loudly behind him. Jason nearly jumped out of his skin and sat up, seeing the Time Lord storming into the room.

"I want answers from you!" the Doctor thundered as he crossed the room. He turned to the flustered sentry who had been trying unsuccessfully to keep him from entering. Waving a hand, he ordered, "Don't just stand there, man! Get this thing open."

The shocked guard stammered out something about needing authorization. The look he received in reply made him flinch.

"I didn't ask you to let him out," the Doctor snapped impatiently, "I want you to let me in."

The guard was certain this was not proper protocol and that he would get into a great deal of trouble should anything go wrong. Nevertheless, he did as ordered, watching as the apparently raging Time Lord entered the cell. He switched on the forcefield and left the room, thinking that this was the first time he thought it might be the prisoner to be the one in danger.

Jason watched this entire display in astonishment, wondering where this tantrum had come from. He had barely spoken to the Doctor since he poured out his story to him several days earlier. He feared something had gone desperately wrong and that he had suddenly lost the only ally he had. "What happened? What's gone wrong?" he asked, not daring to move.

The Doctor's eyes sparkled and he broke into a broad smile. "Nothing. That was just for the guard's benefit."

Jason groaned, closing his eyes and flopping back onto the bed. "And you call me melodramatic," he said in a relieved tone.

The Doctor pulled up a chair, sat down and then bounded to his feet again, too full of energy to sit still for a second. "I've been going through your ship's logs," he informed brightly.

Jason groaned again. "That's what got you so excited?"

"Yes!"

"Why? My personal logs were just mission notes. I told you that."

The Doctor's smile broadened. "Not you personal logs. Your security logs."

The Alterran scowled and sat up again. "Security logs? What security logs?"

"Jason, you idiot! Have you forgotten what you programmed that ship to do?"

"Yes, actually," came embarrassed reply.

This admission was enough to stop the Doctor from moving, at least for a few seconds. "Really?" he replied in amazement. "How's that possible?" Jason's gift of total recall had been a constant source of annoyance to him over the years.

The Alterran gave a self-conscious smile. "After I was kidnapped, I…uh, went a little nuts. Well, I went a lot nuts, actually. Paranoid, if you must know."

The Doctor's expression changed to one of concern and he finally sat down. "Understandable, given the circumstances."

"Yes, but you were there. You can understand why I went off the deep end for—" Jason moaned, running his fingers through his hair. "This is really going to help my case, isn't it?"

"You promised me straight answers," the Doctor reminded gently.

"I know. But this is still hard for me."

"Just take your time."

The Alterran nodded, running a hand through his hair a second time. "My therapist suggested that I sit down and work out exactly what I was afraid of. Worse case scenario." He drew a deep breath, adding darkly, "Like I hadn't just lived through that already. I'd just got the redesigned ARGO and ended up locking myself in and reprogramming every system on the ship—several times. I came up with the most ridiculous events I could think of."

"And did it help?" the Doctor wanted to know.

"I don't know. Maybe. Now instead of me being paranoid, my ship is," Jason said with a smile of irony.

"Yes. And now your security system records and stores everything when someone is onboard," the Doctor replied firmly.

Jason's eyes narrowed and then grew wide. "Are you saying…?" He caught his breath. "It recorded my meeting with Wythe!" he exclaimed, only to scowl. "Wait a minute. Shouldn't that be in the Matrix, too?

The Doctor gave him a knowing smile. "That's something we've got to talk about."

oOo END PART TWO oOo