CHAPTER 39

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

"As we've already seen," the Doctor went on, "after I regained consciousness, Prince Jason revealed the reason for his unorthodox extraction of the pacemaker as well as voicing his own desire to locate the Benefactor."

oOo

Mission Day 53 - continued

As the Doctor got dressed, Jason threw his cloak back on. His eyes fell on the computer terminal and he stopped, cocking his head to one side as he studied at it.

"Well, for the first time since I got here, I actually know what you're thinking," the Doctor remarked from behind him.

Jason turned and then stepped aside, holding out a hand. "Would you like the honors?" he asked politely.

The Doctor scowled and then smiled, holding out his own hand. "No, no," he replied, equally politely. "By all means. You're the expert."

"Doctor, we are after the same thing," Jason said as he dropped into the chair. He pushed several buttons without success. "No power."

The Doctor searched the surrounding area and found several switches on the wall. He began throwing them one after the other until the computer came to life. "Power," he said triumphantly, looking back at the screen.

Jason was already tapping away on the keyboard. "Let's just pray this piece of junk doesn't crash before I can bring up…bring up…" He voice trailed off and he scowled at the screen. "Come on, come on. Tell me your secrets, you archaic piece of scrap iron," he said quietly.

The Doctor watched the monitor as file after file flashed up.

"What the hell?" Jason stopped his flurry of activity and sat back. "What does he think he's doing?"

The Doctor didn't like the sound of this at all. "What is it?"

"It looks like he's trying to bring all the ship's systems back on-line. Look at this!" Jason pointed at the screen. "Those're the diagnostic programs that've run in the last day alone."

"Trying is one thing, Jason. The question is, is he capable of pulling it off?"

"Until now, I'd've said no. Now I'm not so sure."

"He's trading more than just information and gadgets," the Doctor muttered thoughtfully.

"What?"

"Nothing," the Doctor said quickly. "Any way of telling how close the systems are to being fully online?"

The Alterran's fingers clattered on the keyboard. The monitor screen flashed up file after file and then suddenly started to buzz. "Uh-oh," he said under his breath, jumping to his feet and backing up as the panel beside him started to throw out sparks. There were several pops from within the panel followed by a loud hissing, a sharp bang, and finally smoke.

Jason gave the Doctor an apologetic look. "Um, I think the answer to your question would be, no," he said in a small voice.

The Doctor gave him a disapproving look. "Then we'll just have to look, won't we?" he said sharply. He didn't wait for a reply and headed for the door, which he slowly pulled open. To his relief, the corridor beyond was empty. "You didn't happen to look at the map of this place before you followed me, did you?" he asked as he stepped out into the passageway.

"Yes, I looked at the map," Jason replied in an annoyed tone. "The main control systems are eight floors above the engine room. Fortunately, we happen to be on that level."

"Good." The Doctor held out a hand. "Then you can lead the way."

As Jason described the route they needed to take, the two moved deeper and deeper into the ship. The sound system started to crackle with static and they ignored it until they heard the sound of someone clearing his throat. "Come out, come out, wherever you are…" the Benefactor sing-songed. "I know you're out there, Doctor. Quite the escape artist, aren't we?"

There was a squeal of feedback and a roar of static.

"I've decided to look for greener pastures," the Benefactor went on happily. "If you don't want to be here for liftoff, I suggest you make your way to the nearest exit." This was followed by a loud pop as he signed off.

"He's nuts. He can't possibly think just because I got a transmat working he can get this relic airborne," Jason snorted, completely unaware of how this remark would be taken.

"What!" the Doctor exclaimed. "You got the transmat working?"

Jason actually flinched. "Yes. Doctor, he was supposed to be working with me to—"

The Doctor cut him off. "With you? Or for you? Just what part did he play in the Triad?"

"The Triad? None."

"Then why did you have your ship intercepting messages?"

While this was a valid question, Jason was unable to follow the logic that caused it. "My ship picked up the transmission traffic," he replied in a bewildered tone. "I thought there might be a spy in the Sanctuary. I didn't even know for certain that the others knew it existed until the day they tried to kill me."

The Doctor put his hands to his ears, in an obvious gesture that he had heard enough. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. It's not my fault! Everybody's against me." He shook his head, anger blazing in his eyes. He pulled out the pacemaker and held it up. "I foolishly thought you might actually have wanted to save me when you pulled this out. You did it for yourself." He threw the device to the ground. "Now that your partner thinks you're dead, you need me to help stop him selling your secrets to the highest bidder. Just how long have you been selling information?" Not waiting for a reply, the Doctor turned on his heel and stormed up the corridor.

"What partner?" Jason wanted to know. He had absolutely no idea what the Doctor was raving about and was getting more confused by the minute. He stood in a stunned silence as the Time Lord strode off and finally had to run to catch up.

The Doctor stopped at an intersection and looked around. "Well, which way the power room?" he asked sharply the instant Jason arrived.

"Power room? I thought you wanted…" the Prince's voice trailed off when he received an irritated look. The Doctor was in no mood for arguments and seemed beyond reason at this point. "Okay, the power room." Having never been there, Jason closed his eyes, visualizing the map. He located their present position and that of the power room. His eyes snapped open and he got his bearings, pointing down a corridor. "That way."

The Time Lord strode off, leaving the Alterran to chase after him again.

"I'm almost afraid to ask this," the Doctor said as his reluctant companion caught up with him. "Just what kind of power system does this dinosaur use?"

"I have no idea," Jason replied. "It could be anything from anti-matter to an old style nuclear reactor, for all I know."

"You didn't look when you fixed the transmat?" the Doctor asked sarcastically.

"No, I didn't. It wasn't necessary."

The Doctor did not even break stride as he threw a disbelieving look over his shoulder.

"It wasn't!" Jason protested. "Why won't you believe me?"

The Time Lord abruptly stopped dead and turned, looming over the Alterran so suddenly that he fell over backwards onto the floor. "Because everything you've told me so far has been a lie," he stated categorically.

"Not everything," came the meek reply.

An angry growl rose in the Doctor's throat. He turned and stormed off again. This time Jason let him go, choosing not to run after him, following at a walk. He'd slow down eventually. Maybe then he would be able to tell him they still needed to go down several floors.