PART FOUR

LOOKING FOR CLUES

CHAPTER 43

BREAK IN THE ACTION

Reinhardt had to quickly put on a serious face as he and his prisoner reached the holding area. The guard on duty snapped to attention before he opened the door leading to the cell. As on every other occasion, this man stood with his weapon drawn while the Alterran's bindings were removed. Between the time the power unit was deactivated and the forcefield switched on, Jason was unrestrained by an energy barrier. If he chose to, he could transmute and overpower his escort. The presence of the second man was a way of deterring such a possibly, or so they assumed.

As always, Jason waited placidly as the bindings were removed and the cell door opened. He crossed the threshold, hearing the metal clang behind him. Since his usual way of changing his clothes was to transmute, he was allowed one minute to do so before the forcefield was activated. This single minute only underscored the freedom that he'd lost, and the fear he instilled in his captors.

When the minute ended, Jason heard a hum of power as the energy field came on, surrounding the cell and trapping him in his current form. He closed his eyes in resignation. Caged again until morning, he thought. He turned, watching as the guard holstered his weapon, saluted, and left.

Reinhardt stored the bindings for the night and turned, seeing Jason at the cell door leaning casually on his elbow. Normally he would have taken a seat by the small table in the cell to await the arrival of his dinner.

"Do you have any thoughts on all this, Captain?" the captive Alterran asked conversationally.

Reinhardt was taken aback by this. No one ever asked his opinion on anything other than security matters. "It's…not my place to judge, sir," he said evasively.

Jason flashed an amused smile, giving him an admiring look. "You'd make a good diplomat, Captain," he observed, adding playfully, "Or politician."

"Your highness," the Captain said in a mockingly serious tone, "I told them you'd stopped being verbally abusive." Much to the officer's delight, this actually made the Prince laugh. It was the first time he had ever heard him laugh and he could not help reflecting on the miraculous change that had taken place in his demeanor since the Doctor took over his defense.

"Touché. Good night, Captain Reinhardt."

"Good night, your royal highness." The officer bowed slightly and left.

Jason crossed to his bed, sat down and then flopped back, staring up at the ceiling. Just watching the events on Eldeberon was exhausting. It was like reliving the nightmare all over again. He was grateful for this break in the action, as it were, so he could reflect on what he had witnessed over the past two days. Many of the events were a complete shock to him. If only he'd known! No wonder the Doctor had thought the worst.

When dinner finally arrived, Jason rolled onto his side and leaned on an elbow, watching a similar ritual as when his bindings were removed. It was like a bizarre little dance, he reflected, and wondered why this had never struck him before, concluding that he'd been too self-absorbed to notice the two performances with each meal; bring the tray, take the tray. It was always the same little dance. A guard stood with his weapon drawn; the forcefield shut down, a food tray slid through the slot in the bottom to the door, the forcefield turned on, and players in that half of the performance withdrew.

Jason was just finishing his meal when the Doctor burst into the room. "I have good news and bad news," he announced as he entered. He stopped in front of the cell and looked thoughtfully at the tray within. "That looks very good," he remarked hungrily.

"I don't suggest you try to and reach in to get some," the Alterran replied mildly.

The Time Lord looked up, taking stock of the energy field. "Oh, yes. Pity that," he observed in a disappointed tone.

"Your news…?"

"Ah! Yes, my news. After a bit of arm twisting, I've managed to get permission for you to accompany me to the Matrix archive."

"I assume that's the good news."

"Yes." The Doctor cleared his throat. "The bad news is—"

"I have to wear my stylish electronic bracelets when I do it," Jason said in an amiable tone.

"Yes. Sorry about that. Eustis was very adamant on that point."

"Considering the circumstances, I can't really blame him."

The Doctor gave the Alterran a quizzical look and actually took a step back as though to study him further. "You're very magnanimous tonight," he observed in amazement. "A far cry from when I first walked through that door."

Jason sat back in his chair, studying the Time Lord back. "You've changed a bit in your outlook too since then," he observed. "Anyway, how soon can I—" He broke off and stood up, dropping his napkin on top of the tray. "Strike that. I forgot who I was talking to. You've come to take me to the archive now, haven't you?"

The Doctor broke into a broad smile. This was the Jason Krystovan he knew. "Yes," he said happily.

Jason crossed to the door and leaned on his elbow, resting his chin on his hand. "You'd better get someone to let me out, then," he said in an almost bored tone.

"Already taken care of."

"The Captain's already gone off duty," Jason pointed out with a sigh. "I'm not sure who they'll send. Some poor junior officer, I expect."

The Doctor waved a hand in the air. "Doesn't matter," he said dismissively before going on with his news, "The Matrix Keeper is to meet us at the archive. Oh, yes, I almost forgot. More good news. If we come up with anything, Eustis has promised to give us a continuance."

Jason was clearly impressed. "Was that part of your arm twisting?"

The Doctor smiled unabashedly. "Now we still have to find something, Jason, so don't get your hopes up. I managed to convince Eustis that it's in everyone's best interest for you to review the Matrix archive. After your little proclamation about the imposter, he agreed that it's possible you'll see something that we all missed."

"I hope so."

Two guards came in to remove the Alterran from his cell. One already had his weapon drawn. Seeing this, he said darkly, "Otherwise, this is how I'm going to end up spending the rest of my life. If I'm not executed, that is."