CHAPTER 44
A NEW SET OF EYES
As promised, the Matrix Keeper was waiting outside the door when the Doctor and Jason arrived. He threw an apprehensive look in the Alterran's direction before addressing the Doctor. "Cardinal Eustis has already sent the necessary clearances for you, Doctor," he informed nervously as he pulled the door open. "If you should require any assistance, I'll be at hand."
"That's very kind of you, Keeper," the Doctor replied. "But I think we can manage."
The Keeper inclined his head, exchanging a quick glance with Jason's guard before disappearing into his office.
The Doctor held the door open so Jason could enter and then quickly stepped in front of his guard. "Sorry, the clearance is only for the two of us," he informed crisply.
"Sir, my orders are to remain with Prince Jason at all times," the guard replied.
The Doctor would not budge. "If you'd like to take it up with the Keeper, you're more than welcome to try."
The guard threw a helpless look in the direction of the Keeper's office.
"He'll just tell you," the Doctor went on, "that the only way in or out of here is through this door. Now be a good chap and stand guard, will you?" With that, he shut the door in his face.
"That wasn't very nice," Jason said disapprovingly when his friend turned to him.
The Time Lord waved his hand in the air. "Never mind him, we have work to do."
Jason turned to take in his surroundings, his first impression of the room being that of a private viewing room. At the front was an enormous screen similar to the one in the courtroom, at the back a curved console with two chairs directly behind. As he drew closer, he noticed the controls on the console were similar to those in the Doctor's TARDIS.
"Well, don't just stand there, take a seat," the Doctor said impatiently. He went to the back wall and began switching on the systems.
Jason crossed to the chairs and stopped, looking them up and down. They were very high, and allowed the operator at the console to reach all the controls while having an unobstructed view the screen. Unfortunately, they were too high for him to climb into with his hands shackled against his body. "Doctor, I've a bit of a problem here," he observed mildly.
The Doctor turned, seeing what he meant. "Easily fixed," he replied. He reached over and switched off the power source, causing Jason to look up in shock. "Doctor, are you sure—?"
The Time Lord gave him a steady look. "Jason, we've just watched you save my life nearly a half dozen times on Eldeberon. Yes, I'm sure."
"Sorry," the Prince said self-consciously. "It's been hard these last few weeks. Everybody's terrified of me doing just this…" He pulled his hands free with conspicuous ease. The shackles dropped, dangling from the chain at his waist. A second later, they fell, chain and all, to the floor. "Oh, that feelsgood," he sighed happily.
"Yes, well, just don't tell anyone I did that," his friend said conspiratorially.
"I'm glad we're back on the same side, Doctor," Jason said seriously.
"As am I," the Time Lord replied as he took a seat and checked over the console.
Jason gave a small smile. "At the risk of inflating your ego further," he said mildly, "you're the last person I'd want as an enemy. I'd lose. I have no illusions to the contrary."
The Doctor gave him stunned look. "I'm going to assume that was meant as a compliment."
"It was. Okay, end of the accolades. We have work to do, don't we?" Jason turned to the screen. "If you don't mind, I'll watch from here. I need to revert. I haven't been able to since I was arrested. My energy field is a mess." He immediately returned to his true form.
"You still need to restabilize?" the Doctor asked with a note of surprise.
"Those wretched things don't just throw off my equilibrium, they play havoc with my energy levels," Jason explained. "And the forcefield isn't set correctly. Only the barrier generator in court is working properly."
This explained a great deal in the Doctor's mind. Little wonder his friend looked so drained the first time he saw him. As the Alterran stretched out his long tendrils in all directions, his appearance suddenly struck the Time Lord as amusing.
"What's so funny?" Jason wanted to know.
"I'm sorry," the Time Lord said apologetically. "It's just occurred to me. You look like a giant alien thistle when you do that." To his relief, the Alterran also laughed at this observation.
Jason opened his sensors fully, drinking in the energy flooding the room from the Matrix of Time. "Wow, this thing kicks out some serious power," he said, clearly impressed.
The Doctor continued to watch his friend in a combination of amusement and sorrow. If his efforts to clear him of the charges failed, the Alterran would lose the freedom to transmute at will permanently, which for him would be worse than a death sentence.
"I wish I knew exactly what we're looking for," Jason said finally, his voice noticeably stronger. Without turning, he was able to redirect his line of vision by simply using a different set of sensors, the crystals surrounding his body changing in brightness as he turned his gaze to look at the Doctor.
Anyone else would have been completely thrown by this. The Doctor, however, did not even bat an eye, and met his friend's gaze steadily. He was the only non-Alterran in whose presence Jason had ever been comfortable enough around to revert to his true form on a regular basis. Because of this familiarity, the Time Lord had learned, among other things, how to read the Alterran's body language.
"I've a feeling it's something obvious," the Doctor replied, returning his attention to the controls. "So obvious, in fact, that we can't see it." He pulled out a sheaf of paper and looked over the symbols covering them, his hands manipulating the controls at the same time. "Now, Eustis gave me the time coordinates of the Cardinal's fall, so if I can just zero this in…Ah! Yes, here we go."
The screen came to life and Jason was amazed to see the overview of the whole of the Capitol on Gallifrey. He moved closer to the console as the Doctor continued to manipulate the controls, zeroing in on Cardinal Wythe's exact location. "Got him!" he said triumphantly.
o
"Young man, this is not the time or place to be pestering me with theories," the Cardinal was saying. He was walking quickly down a corridor, not even bothering to look back at the youth dogging his heels.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," the cadet replied. He was considerably smaller than the taller, more imposing figure of the High Councilor he was pursuing and the fact that he kept his head down the whole time made him look as though he were paying homage to a deity. "It's just we were learning about your work in temporal transcendentalism. I thought you might let me interview you for my theses."
Wythe sighed heavily and stopped at the top of a flight of steps. He turned back to his relentless pursuer. "Young man, I'm already late for a High Council meeting. If you wish to talk to me, make an appointment. I am not in the habit of giving interviews in corridors."
The Cardinal turned sharply back to descend the stairs. His feet seemed to get tangled in the hem of his long robe and he fell headlong down the flight of steps. Behind him, the cadet stood watching, a satisfied smile coming to his face.
o
The Doctor heard Jason make a small squeak and froze the image. The Alterran's body was rippling with color, a clear sign that he was startled. "What did you see?"
"I know him," Jason replied in a horrified whisper. "Play it back, slower. And watch Wythe's feet."
The Doctor did as instructed. "Alright. He turns here…" he said as the image slowly shuttled forward. "Then it looks like his feet get tangled…" He zoomed in closer and froze the image. A tendril was snaking its way from under the cadet's robes to the High Councilor's. As the imaged shuttled forward, they could just make out as the tendril tangled in Wythe's feet, tripping him.
The Doctor froze the image again. "Jason, who is that?" he asked finally.
"Mission Coordinator Trevor," came the disbelieving reply. "I haven't seen him in…years." Jason turned his gaze back to the screen. "Play the rest of it."
o
The Cardinal fell headlong down the stairs.
The man Jason identified as Trevor slowly descended the steps and stood over the moaning Time Lord sprawled at the bottom. He knelt down, took the stunned Wythe's head in his hands and then smashed it hard against the tiled floor. There was an audible crack, which could have been tile, bone, or perhaps both. He then went on to break one of the helpless man's arms and the bones in both legs and before finally screaming, "Help! Somebody, help me!"
The first to answer the call was one of the Chancellory guard. The apparently panicked youth ran up to him. "Help me, please! It's the Cardinal! He's fallen down the stairs. Please, you've got to help. I think he's dying!"
The guard was already calling for medical assistance and then turned back to calm the apparently hysterical cadet. A group of others appeared in response to this commotion. More guards came to remove onlookers as the medical team took the unconscious Cardinal away. In the midst of all this activity, the cadet vanished.
o