It's only fear that makes you run
And feelings that you're hiding from
When all your promises are gone, I'm the only one
        --Melissa Etheridge



Chapter 8:   THE ONLY ONE


        The Master snapped off his rubber gloves, smeared with the Doctor's blood. 
He stared triumphantly across the chair at Garner, who was pressing his
fingernails into the palm of his left hand to keep from screaming.  He
punched a few buttons on the control console and the extractor hummed to a
stop.  Garner quickly began removing the half-dozen extraction plates from
their places on the Doctor's body, his flesh an angry red beneath them.
        "That should do it," the Master said, motioning to the sample case.  On
the silver tray were dozens of vials containing fluid, tissue...some parts
of things.  Garner looked down at the Doctor, who was blessedly
unconscious.  The Master had assumed that it was blood loss or shock but in
fact Garner had surrepetitiously injected the Time Lord with anesthetic
early in the experiment, knocking him out so he would feel no pain.  Garner
had tried to clean up after the Master's careless procedures as best he
could, stitching and bandaging some of the wounds.  The Master had merely
laughed at him and called him a sentimental fool.
        He watched as the Master capped and sealed the samples he'd taken,
carefully stowing them in custom-cut foam rubber compartments.  The matrix
generation lab was downstairs and he didn't want to chance dropping or
damaging the samples en route.  "What time is it?" he barked at Garner, who
didn't answer.  His gaze was fixed on the Doctor as he contemplated his own
damnation.  "Garner!"
        "Huh?" Garner said, jumping back to the present.  "Oh.  It's...nine thirty."
        "Marvelous.  Plenty of time to generate the matrix before the launch
window.  Is Avery ready?"
        Garner nodded numbly.  Avery was the head of the biogeneration department
and would handle the Master's new matrix until it was ready for transfer. 
She was an excellent scientist, cold-blooded and calculating.  Garner hated
her.  "She's got everything set up for the samples."
        The Master clapped his hands with glee.  "Excellent!  Everything's falling
into place, Garner!" he said, slapping his assistant on the shoulder. 
Garner winced and recoiled but the Master didn't notice.  He tore off his
bloodstained lab apron, tossing it aside carelessly, and snapped the sample
case shut.  He made a dismissive motion towards the Doctor's unconscious
form.  "Tend to that," he said.
        "What would you like me to do with him?" Garner asked sharply.
        The Master paused at the door and turned back, eyeing him.  "I don't
care," he said.  "Just lock him into one of the smaller medical labs well
out of sight!  We don't want certain people to happen upon him, do we now?"
he said.
        "Indeed not," Garner said through clenched teeth, turning to stare at the
Master.  He was being reckless and he knew it.  He was sure that the
resentment must be shining from his face like a beacon, which would no
doubt arouse the Master's suspicions...but he couldn't help it.  Soon it
wouldn't matter, and the Master was too preoccupied to take much notice.
        "Then take care of it.  I'll be downstairs."  Garner nodded stiffly and
looked back down at the Doctor.  The Master boarded the elevator and was
gone.  Garner laid his hand on the Time Lord's clammy, cool forehead.  I'm
sorry, Doctor, he thought.  I did all I could.  He snapped his right hand
off and set it on the table, mounting an auto-suturing attachment in its
place.
        The minutes ticked by as Garner worked.  He stitched up the Doctor's
wounds and administered an antibiotic to prevent infection.  As to the
damage to his organs he couldn't do much except hope for the best...he
himself was not a medical doctor.  He glanced constantly at the clock.  The
hour of midnight was rapidly approaching, Byron and Romana would be here
soon.  He still didn't know precisely what the Master had planned for Ace
but it would have to be quick...the launch window would open at 6 a.m.
        Finally he stepped back from the extraction chair, replaced his hand and
removed the last of the Doctor's restraints.  He'd done all he could.  He
only hoped that the Doctor had good natural healing abilities or that he
could get better treatment soon.  He wondered briefly if it would be
possible to get him to the Soul Gardens...they had a state of the art
medical facility there, staffed by some excellent doctors.  It had taken
them years to set it up and it had been well worth it.  But that was quite
impossible...the Master would certainly notice and he'd be none too
pleased.  Garner lifted the Doctor onto a gurney and covered him with a
sheet and a blanket, attaching an IV drip to the side rail, and wheeled him
into the freight elevator.
        The hallway where he emerged on the fifth floor of Colony Central was
deserted, and the same blank sterile white of the rest of the complex.  It
was the diagnostic floor, where medical research was conducted, and there
were plenty of empty labs.  Garner unlocked one with his master key and
wheeled the gurney into it.  He hesitated, looking down at the Doctor's
slack face.  "I'm sorry that I can't do more," he whispered.  "You will
sleep through the night...although when you wake you might wish you had
stayed asleep forever."  He sighed, touched the Time Lord's hand, then
turned and left the room, locking it behind him.  He leaned against the
closed door for a moment, wondering which level of hell he'd eventually be
consigned to.
        When he returned to the lab the Master was there.  "Is our friend tucked
safely away?"
        "Yes, sir."
        "Excellent.  Ace is on her way up."
        Garner turned quickly, not sure if he'd heard correctly.  "What?"
        "Yes indeed, I sent Avery to fetch her.  Listen up, Garner...when she gets
here just don't say anything, let me do the talking."  Garner watched as
the Master began putting on the Doctor's clothes.  "Just play along."
        "Understood, Master."  He sat down near the workstation, puzzled.


        Ace snapped awake from the troubled doze she'd fallen into, her heart
pounding.  She'd been dreaming of huge spiders that chased her endlessly
through infinite corridors, and it felt as if she were running through
water.  When she saw only her monotonous cell, she took a few deep breaths
and got herself under control.  She stood and went to the sink to splash
some water on her face, which looked harried and pale in the mirror. 
"Well, Kathleen...this is a fine mess, isn't it?" she whispered.  She went
to the small window, patting her stomach.  "Somewhere in this building your
dad is probably in a lot of trouble," she murmured, a muscle in her cheek
twitching.  "I could break out of this cell, but they'd catch me before I
could help him."  She looked down to where both her hands now interlocked
protectively over her abdomen.  Over the last month she'd gotten into the
habit of talking to her unborn daughter, really just another form of
talking to herself...and yet it sometimes felt like she was listening,
although she knew that at only eight weeks' gestation that was impossible. 
Still it sometimes helped to share her thoughts and feelings with her child
so she kept doing it...and she'd stop feeling silly about it weeks ago.
        The colony outside was dim and quiet, yet there was a sense of something
building.  She could hardly bear to think about where Garner had taken the
Doctor.  He could be at this moment under torture, or interrogation,
or...she shivered.  Dead, perhaps.  Her blood grew cold at the thought of
it.  If he was dead and she'd done nothing to stop it she'd never be able
to live with it.  There was nothing you could have done, his voice
whispered in her mind.  That's not the point, she snapped back.  Oh, it
isn't? he replied.  Set one foot outside this cell and they'll be on you
inside a minute and you well know it.  You might be able to disable that
proximity alarm but don't you think they'll know that you've done it?  I
can take care of myself.  She smiled wryly to herself.  No you can't, you
never could.  That's why you needed me...why you still need me.
        She was startled out of this reverie by the sound of the door unlocking. 
She turned to see a blank-faced woman come into the cell, the alarm
cylinder in her hand.  She deactivated it and set it into the wall panel,
then came over to Ace and began unlocking the wristband.  Ace watched her
for some sign of expression, any clue that there was a free human's brain
operating inside her skull, but there was none.
        "What are you doing?" she finally asked.
        The woman glanced up at her.  "What does it look like I'm doing?"
        "You can't be letting me go," she said.
        She set the wristband into the wall panel and shut it, then turned back to
her with her hands on her hips.  "What if I were?"
        Ace took a step towards her.  "Is he dead?" she asked softly.
        The woman's face betrayed absolutely nothing.  "My name is Avery, Ms.
McShane.  Please come with me."  She stood aside and let her pass into the
hallway, then grasped her arm and led her away.
        Ace contemplated overpowering this woman as they boarded the
elevator...she didn't look too strong.  "Where are you taking me?" she
asked, her voice calm and even.
        "It's time for you to see the Master," she said, then turned to Ace and a
creepy smile curled her lips.  Ace supposed it was meant to be cheerful or
comforting but instead it was just unnerving.
        Ace turned away from that weird smile and watched the numbers tick by on
the floor counter.  The elevator jolted to a stop on the top floor and the
door slid open.  The room was dimly lit and she couldn't see anyone.
        "I have her," Avery called out, not stepping off the elevator.
        "Leave us," called a voice that Ace recognized as Garner's.  She frowned,
then was pushed forward with a jolt as Avery shoved her off the elevator
and started it descending again.  As soon as it had gone she heard quick
footsteps approaching.  A man came into the light then stopped as he saw
her, an amazed smile creasing his lips.
        He was about six feet tall, with an angular face that bore a goatee and a
mustache, his black hair wiry and speckled with gray.  And...he was wearing
the Doctor's clothes.  Ace stared at him, not sure what to think.  Before
she could say a word he bounded forward and embraced her enthusiastically. 
She went stiff as a poker but he was undeterred.
        "Ace!" he cried.  "It's me!"
        She gawped up at him.  "Me who?"
        "Me, the Doctor!  I'm regenerated!"
        Ace's jaw...and her stomach...dropped down to her shoes.  "Wha...wha..."
she stammered.  The "Doctor" grasped her hand and dragged her back to the
work area where there lay on the floor the limp body of a blond man with a
scarred, hard face.  
        "It's the Master," the stranger said, his voice sober.  "Dead, I'm afraid. 
I always knew it would probably one day come to this, but still...I didn't
like for it to end this way."
        She stared at him, still trying to process.  "You've...regenerated?"
        He turned to her, his face creasing with a compassionate smile.  "Oh, I'm
so sorry, Ace...this must be so sudden for you.  I was just so anxious for
you to see me, and to know that it's finally over that I...but you look so
shocked."  He grasped both her hands.  "We always knew that this could
someday happen, and we've talked about what we'd do, haven't we?"
        "Well, yes, but..."
        "And these aren't the best circumstances by far, but we'll have to make
the best of them."
        Ace backed away.  "You're acting like nothing at all has happened!" she
exclaimed.  "Please tell me you don't have post-regenerative amnesia
again."
        "Oh no..." he said, contritely.  "I remember everything...I remember what
happened to us, and what I did..." He seemed to be searching for words. 
"But I know we can work all that out.  What's important right now is that
we have work to do!"  He bounded over to the workstation.  Ace stood there
paralyzed, her hands playing about in the air.
        "WHAT?!?" she cried.  "What are you talking about!  Just give me one
second here, please just a little favor for my own benefit if you don't
mind," she said breathlessly.  "Lemme get this straight."  The "Doctor"
turned towards her expectantly.  "You get dragged up here, to be tortured
or killed, and then all of a sudden you've regenerated and managed to kill
the Master as well!  And without anyone knowing about it," she said,
pointing back to the elevator, "because Avery didn't know about it," she
finished, realizing why Garner had called her into the lab...so Avery
wouldn't know.  She glanced over at the major domo, who was standing nearby
eyeing the "Doctor" with a mixture of amazement and suspicion.
        He came towards her again and a shiver passed down her spine...for his
posture and attitude were the very "I'm about to teach you something so
listen carefully" pose that she knew so well.
        "I know it seems strange...I myself am often amazed at life's odd quirks,"
he said, a crooked little smile on his face.  Ace couldn't help but smile
back.  "He did bring me up here, not so much to torture me but to obtain
certain samples from my body that he needed."
        "For his immortality experiments?" Ace said, hazarding a guess.
        "Very good.  After he'd done his work, I was in pretty bad shape. 
Bleeding, cut in a few places.  Then he decides to try transferring himself
*directly* into my body thus avoiding the problem of generating a new body
out of my DNA.  So he hooked up his generator and there was some kind of a
surge.  It pushed me over the edge of regeneration and killed him.  So I'm
sorry to say I can't take credit for it," he said, casting a hard glance at
the Master's body.  Then he turned back to Ace and his expression turned
desperately needy and beseeching.  "Please say you believe me, and that
you're behind me."  He came forward and grasped her hands again.  "I need
you, and I can't do this without you."
        Ace smiled at him and squeezed his hands.  "Of course I'm behind you," she
said.  "You know you can count on me."  He sighed gratefully and hugged
her.  She returned the embrace and then met Garner's eyes over the
"Doctor's" shoulder.  He was watching her carefully, a look of veiled alarm
on his face.  She dropped a deliberate wink at him and he looked away
quickly.  She drew back from the Doctor.  "Now...what is it you need my
help with?"
        He grinned.  "I'll show you."


        He led her through the complex at such a pace that she had to jog to keep
up with his now-longer strides.  Garner trailed along after them, more out
of his own curiosity than any request the Master had made...and he didn't
want to leave Ace alone with him.
        They hurried through the endless launchpad hangars, the corridors becoming
less and less well-maintained, until they reached the furthest docking bay. 
The Master excitedly unlocked the door and threw it open with not a little
bit of panache.
        Ace pushed past him to gape up at the huge vehicle.  It stood about three
stories tall, its hull the dark matte black of carbonide alloy.  Its cone
shape was designed to pass through solar gases and its thick skin designed
to withstand the intense heat and radiation.  It was utterly smooth and
resembled a squat black bullet, but upon command its skin would open
millions of minute pores which would accomplish the intake of solar energy,
squirreling it away in the massive storage cell that comprised most of the
collector's mass.  The cramped control center, barely large enough for a
person, was located at the tip of the cone.  "There she is," the "Doctor"
sighed.  "The prototype of a..."
        "...Model 43 coronal interface fusion storage cell," Ace finished for him,
amazed.  She'd never actually seen one assembled, just blueprints.  This
design was still the most advanced solar collector available despite
numerous attempts to improve upon it.  Say what you would about the Ceres
Betans, they produced impeccable results.
        "Very good," the "Doctor" said admiringly.  "You've done your homework!"
        She turned towards him, one eyebrow cocked.  "Not at all, Doctor.  We saw
a Model 41 prototype on Maevulin.  They were about to start construction on
a modified version of this design."  The "Doctor" hesitated and looked a
bit flustered.  "Don't you remember?"
        "Of course I do," he said quickly.  "But...well...this one's been altered
quite a bit and I wasn't sure if you'd recognize it."
        Sure, whatever, Ace thought.  "Altered how?" was all she said aloud.
        "It's been shielded and enclosed to permit it to perform its missions more
than once...and manned."
        Ace, her face turned away from him, allowed herself a grimace.  The other
shoe drops, she thought.  "Really?  That's amazing!  So it can be manually
piloted into the corona and then *back* again after sending the pulse?" 
        "Yes.  The cockpit remains inhabitable throughout the journey."
        She ran a hand along the collector's smooth surface.  It *was* a
magnificent piece of engineering.  Garner stood well away from the
collector on the other side of the hangar, watching her closely.  She
exchanged a neutral glance with him then turned back towards the ersatz
Time Lord.  "Doctor...what has all this to do with us?  Let's just get away
from here.  Now that the Master's dead there's nothing holding us here...is
there?"
        "Perhaps there is."  He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled
over to her.  "This colony has a huge power reactor which can produce
enough energy to supply all the colonist's needs...but some time ago the
officials shut it down.  Power is everything here...it runs the weather
shields, the replicators, the air supply.  There is a smaller, less
efficient reactor here in Colony Central which the Betan government keeps
running under their strict control."
        "So if the colonists want power, they have to fall in line," Ace said.
        "Precisely.  If we could start up the main reactor they wouldn't be so
dependent upon the government, which might give them just the edge to
overthrow the current regime."
        "What makes you think they'd try?"
        "They have tried, but the attempts didn't go far.  We could help
them...but the reactor requires a startup pulse from this to get going," he
said, laying a hand on the collector.
        "And you want me to pilot the collector into the Betan sun."
        He nodded.  "You're the only one with enough flight experience.  I can
make the calculations and adjustments to the reactor if you fly the
collector."
        She folded her arms and grinned.  "Just gimme the specs and let me take a
quick look round it," she said.  "We'll have that generator up and running
in no time...as long as no one gets wise."
        He made a dismissive gesture.  "No one knows about the Master and it'll
stay that way."
        "What about him?" she asked, jerking her head towards Garner.
        "Oh he's all for it!  Ironically, he's part of the resistance!"  He
stepped away from the collector and headed for the control booth.  "Garner! 
Lift her up to the hatch, would you?"  He disappeared up the rung ladder
into the booth.  Ace trotted over to the lift where Garner was waiting for
her.  She climbed onto the platform and it began to raise them towards the
nosecone.
        "D'you think he's buying it?" she said out of the corner of her mouth.
        "Of course he is," Garner replied in similar fashion, not bothering to
maintain his cover with her. 
        "He must think I'm pretty bloody stupid to buy that crap," she muttered.
        "He does.  Think you're stupid, that is.  Everyone is to him.  Oddly, it's
an advantage.  He never thinks of anyone as being clever enough to deceive
him so he never looks for it.  Did he tell you I was a member of the
resistance?"
        "Yes.  You really are, aren't you?"
        He didn't take his eyes off the approaching nosecone.  "Call it one of
life's little ironies.  Pity it would be totally lost on him."  He steered
the edge of the platform to the hatch and signalled the control booth.  The
oval-shaped hatch popped open and Ace crawled inside.  Garner leaned in to
watch as she made a big show of checking the instruments and controls.
        "Is this thing bugged?" she mouthed at him.  He shook his head minutely.
        "No more than it is shielded."
        "He should keep up on his stellar dynamics current events.  He'd be able
to tell better lies...there's no known technology for shielding a vehicle
against coronal heat and radiation.  So he wants me to pilot this thing
into the sun of my own free will...it must be pretty important to him.  Lot
of trouble to try and make me believe he's the Doctor."  She glanced up at
him.  "Where is the real Doctor?" she asked, her jaw tight.
        "Shh," Garner hissed.  The "Doctor" had come out of the booth and was
climbing the ladder up to the nosecone.
        "Can you handle it?" he asked, leaning over Garner's shoulder.
        Ace cleared her throat and flipped a few switches, checking the
collector's power.  It was ready to launch.  "No prob.  When's the launch
window open?"
        "At 6 this morning."
        Not much time, she thought.  "Where's the reactor?  Can you get there in
time and make the adjustments?"  
        "It's not far..." he said uncertainly.  
        "Well, you'd better get going!" she said, suppressing a chuckle.  Nothing
like getting a liar trapped in his own lies.  If he wanted to maintain the
deception he'd have to disappear for a few hours so she could believe he
was making calculations at a reactor.  She watched his face...and could
almost see the wheels turning in his head.
        "I can access the reactor's systems from here," he said.  She shrugged
inwardly.  Oh well.  Again she felt the urge to laugh at the absurdity of
it...both of them planning actions which they both knew to be fiction but
which they both had to pretend to believe for two different reasons.  "But
you need to get some rest before the launch...it'll be a difficult flight
and you'll need to be sharp."  He reached in and pulled her out of the
cockpit and started the lift descending.  He checked his watch as they
reached the ground, then took her arm and led her out of the hangar.


        Seth sat at the foot of the long conference table, his fingers laced
tightly together in front of him.  Directly across from him at the table's
head was his employer, the Black Guardian himself.  Seated around the sides
of the table were the Dark Eternals who kept company with the Black
Guardian...and they were all staring at him.
        "Seth my good man, I've summoned you here to talk about the
recent...activity," the Black Guardian began, his voice full of deceptive
good cheer.
        "I assume you're referring to the situation on Ceres Beta, sir."
        The Black Guardian tented his fingers under his chin thoughtfully.  "As I
understand it, you decided to aid the renegade Time Lord known as the
Master in his quest for immortality in what would seem to be a routine
action."
        "Correct."
        "And as a result of this, ahem, routine action, you're about to become
embroiled in an all-out war with the Guardians on one of our associated
planets, am I right?"
        "That is a distortion of the truth, sir.  The situation is well in hand."
        "Is that so?  I also understand that this Time Lord's plans are about to
collapse underneath him and he'll be lucky to escape with his life...not
forgetting that the entire planet could be lost to the Guardians!  I think
that it is you who distorts the truth, Seth.  But then Theo always does
bring out the worst in you," he added with a patronizing sneer.
        Seth bristled under the insinuation.  "This isn't about Theo.  The human
woman Ace will be taken care of and the Master will complete his
experiments successfully."
        "Unfortunately I do not share your confidence," the Black Guardian
snapped, the smile falling from his face.  "If you have a plan to contain
this situation I suggest you implement it immediately.  What, praytell, are
you waiting for?"
        "I am not waiting for anything, sir.  I merely..."
        "Can it be that you've lost your nerve?"
        Seth swallowed hard and clenched his teeth.  "Respectfully, sir, I resent
the implication that..."
        "I don't care what you resent.  We brought you to your present position
with the understanding that you would be able to handle our tactical
operations.  You've not had a direct conflict with the Guardian since
then...we might be inclined to think that you are less than confident to
face her."
        "It's so silly," Chaos put in.  "To be afraid to face such a second-rate
opponent as that goody-goody Guardian." 
        "Don't call her that," Seth retorted without thinking.  "Theo is many
things, but she is not second-rate."
        "Well, I beg your pardon!" Chaos sniffed.  "She's never impressed me all
that much."
        "That's because she's never tried," Seth said firmly.  "If she had wanted
to make an impression she would have.  And I am not afraid to face her!"
        War shook his head, making disapproving clucking noises.  "She has already
countered every move you've made on that planet.  It seems she has decided
to fight you all the way on this."
        "And so you must make the first move," said the Black Guardian, "for you
know she will not."  He stood up.  "Do not disappoint me, Seth.  We could
have chosen any one of a number of Guardians to convert but we chose you
for a reason.  Don't prove us mistaken."  He walked out of the room, the
Dark Eternals following him out, leaving Seth seething with resentment and
boiling over with fresh determination.
        He stood and took himself back to his office at the Stronghold.  He leaned
forward on his desk and covered his face in his hands, composing himself. 
A loud smack startled him and he looked up to see Vishna leaning over the
desk, her eyes flaming.  The smack had been her hand on the desk.
        "Well.  Are you finally ready to move in?  Are we finished beating around
the bush?" she asked.
        He met her gaze and saw there the same questions he'd seen in the eyes of
the Dark Eternals...do you have the guts?  Can you face her?  Does she
still control you?  He jumped up.
        "Yes, I'm ready.  She wants a war...she's got one."


        Theo sighed and rolled over, her eyes opening slowly in the bright
bedroom.  He was sitting fully dressed in a chair near the bed with his
legs crossed, watching her.  He smiled as he saw her awaken.  For a few
peaceful moments they said nothing.
        "Thanks," she finally whispered.  "I needed that."
        "No regrets, then?" he asked softly.
        "Not if you've none."
        He leaned forward and took her hand.  "Theo...you go about saving lives
and fighting evil.  Everything you do is for others, and I personally have
owed you my life on more than one occasion."  He glanced down,
uncharacteristically pensive.  "You are my guardian angel, and you are my
friend.  I am grateful that I could lend you support at a difficult time."
        Theo thought she might cry.  "You're the only one who worries about me as
a person.  No one else seems to care."
        "They should.  You must tend to your own needs as well.  Occasionally you
must give yourself leave to be selfish, to think of yourself first."
        "I can't do that," she said, sitting up and drawing the sheets around her. 
"I'm the Guardian."
        "You are a human being first," he said emphatically.  "And that is what
makes you special."
        She sat on the edge of the bed and hugged him with one arm.  "I do feel
better, thank you."  She drew back and sighed contentedly.  "My problems
will be waiting for me when I go back to the office, but perhaps I'll have
more energy to deal with them."  She stood up and slipped on her robe. 
"And promise me that this will change nothing in our friendship."
        He stood as well, adjusting his scarf.  "Of course not.  We're both
grownups, we can handle it."
        She nodded.  "We'll both have to watch our timing, though.  We can only
mention this if it's already happened for both of us!"
        "Shouldn't be too difficult for a couple of seasoned time-travelers like us."
        There was a knock at the door.  "Come in," Theo called.  Angel entered,
barely noted the Doctor's presence, and went straight to Theo.
        "I think you'd better come down to the situations room right away."
        Her brow furrowed.  "What's going on?"
        "Someone lit a fire under Seth, that's what's going on.  He's mobilizing
all the Legion on Ceres Beta and mounting a large infiltration of the
complex.  Ace has a very real chance of freeing the Doctor and herself and
Seth's rallying support behind the Master."
        Theo made a cutting motion at her throat, glancing at the Doctor...who
had, of course, not missed the significance of Angel's words.  "Ah-ha," he
said.  "I think that's my cue to make myself scarce.  It sounds like you
have your hands full here."
        Theo turned back to Angel.  "I'll be there in a moment."  He nodded and
left.  "You won't mind if I make you forget you heard that, will you?"
        "Who, me?  You can muck around with my brain as much as you like.  You
couldn't possibly scramble it any more than it already is."  He grinned at
her with that stellar grin that shone bright light into her heart.
        She went to him and hugged him tightly for a moment.  "Thanks again.  I'm
sorry to, ahem, and run, but I..."
        "Say no more, I understand.  I'll just show myself out."  He pecked her
forehead, smiled again, and strode out the door.  Theo watched him go,
feeling grateful and melancholy at once, then turned to get dressed.  The
smile faded from her face to be replaced by her game face as she
contemplated what was starting to look like a real fight developing on
Ceres Beta.


        No one said much as they reboarded the elevator and ascended.  Garner
marveled at the Master's lack of observational skills.  Anyone with two
eyes should have been able to see that Ace didn't believe him for a
second...nor was he terribly convincing as the Doctor.  They reached the
sixth floor suite, which was set aside for the Master's use.
        "Now my dear, these were the Master's rooms.  You can rest here and no one
will disturb you...but you shouldn't leave lest someone see you and wonder
why you're not still in jail."
        Ace managed a smile.  "Of course," she said.
        "I'm off to prepare the generator, then.  I'll come and get you when it's
time for the launch preparations.  Come, Garner!" he exclaimed as he headed
for the door.  Garner quickly shook Ace's hand, his metal fingers gripping
hers, then followed the Master out the door...but just before he closed it
he turned back and made a brief pantomime, tipping his curved fingers
towards his mouth, the universal signal for "drink."   Then the door closed
and Ace was left alone.
        She opened her hand, the one Garner had shaken, to reveal one of his
fingers sitting there on her palm.  She peered at it, then carefully
screwed off the cosmetic exterior...underneath was a notched piece of metal
that looked awfully like a skeleton key.  Her heart racing, she surveyed
the room.  Bedroom, living room, workstation...food replicator.  She
slipped the skeleton key into one of the ammo pouches on her belt and
bounded over to it, quickly scanning the monitor and selecting "Beverages,"
but the machine did not display a list of available drinks.  Instead, a
message appeared on the small screen:
        "Ace, if you are reading this you are a prisoner in this suite.  The
Master has sealed off the entire floor with force fields and encrypted
passwords.  The doors' biosensors are programmed to only allow him or me to
enter or leave, even if you hack through the codes.  He set it up earlier.
        I'm taking quite a risk to tell you this but I've a feeling that pretty
soon it won't matter.  The Doctor is alive, I locked him into medical lab
546.  I'm sure you figured out that what I gave you is a skeleton key.  I
can't help you to escape the suite, I'm afraid, but I gather you're pretty
resourceful.  He's not in immediate danger but he requires medical
attention as soon as possible.
        The Master is planning to transfer himself into a new body which he is
constructing from genetic material he extracted from the Doctor.  The
fusion collector he wants you to pilot will provide the energy for the
transfer, but you would never return.  The collector is supposed to be
automated but it appeals to his sense of poetic justice to trick you into
aiding him.  Romana is with my people at our habitat outside the colony. 
She and a few of my men plan to infiltrate the complex at midnight...you
have until then to get out of the suite and find the Doctor.  I will try to
help you, but no promises...I cannot access the Master's encryptions.  Good
luck.  Garner."
        Ace glanced at her watch.  Ten forty-five.  She felt the welcome sensation
of adrenaline flooding her cells at the prospect of action.  She couldn't
depend on Garner to deactivate the Master's security measures, nor could
she take any extraordinary means to escape without being detected.  There
was one other option..."Mona?" she said softly.  "Are you there?"
        The air shimmered in front of her and Mona appeared.  "Of course I'm here. 
I've been tagging along all night."
        "You have to help me get out of here," Ace said.  "I can't get out on my
own, I'll admit it."
        Mona sighed.  "I shouldn't interfere."
        Ace strode forward and grabbed Mona by the front of her vinyl jumpsuit. 
"I don't care what you should or shouldn't do," she said through clenched
teeth.  "You can get me out of this suite and you'll do it!"
        Mona's face hardened.  "It's not usually recommended to threaten a
Guardian, Ace."
        Ace let go of her and squared her shoulders.  "At the moment I've got a
number of problems to deal with and you're the least of them.  The Doctor
is in this building, he's hurt and he needs me.  I'm the only one who can
help him, and I will get to him even if I have to blow a hole in the floor
and don't you think I won't!  Now will you help me or not?"
        Mona cast an appraising glance over her, then seemed to come to a
decision.  "All right, Ace.  I'll get you out of this room but that's all I
can do."
        "That's all I ask.  I can handle the rest myself."  She followed Mona to
the side door.  "How do I get to the fifth floor from here?" she asked.
        "This door opens onto a small side corridor.  There's a stairwell down the
hall and to the left.  That'll put you in the medlab area."  She raised a
hand and placed it, fingers splayed, over the woodgrained metal door.  Ace
sensed a low-pitched humming sound, almost a vibration, then Mona looked at
her.  "Okay, go ahead."
        "Ahead where?"
        "You can walk through the door now."
        "Through?  As in..."
        "Yes, through."
        Ace glanced at her, then took a deep breath and walked straight at the
door.  It was very difficult, more so than she would have guessed, to
suppress the urge to stop when she reached its surface...but she kept
going, and the door did not pose any resistance.  She felt an instant of
crushing coldness, behind which she could also feel that low thrumming from
Mona's hand, and then she was through and standing in a dim sterile
corridor.  She let out her breath in a rush, murmured a brief thanks to
Mona, and then set off noiselessly down the corridor towards the stairwell.