Part 16 (1/2)

Serenity.

Sanctuary.

Absolution.

He opened his eyes and smiled. Sam was gone still, but she would return.

He would find her. More important to him right now was the start of his training.

He looked around and saw one of the hovering droids, a cap perched on its head, the word COACH stencilled across it.

He tapped on its head and it swivelled around, looking at him.

The faintest sound of a camera zooming could be heard as he let it read his features.

'Oh, hi,' it said.'You're Kyle Dale. Training Ground Four.' Kyle thanked it and looked for the signs to the training grounds.

Today was going to be such a good day.

Professor Jeol sat at his desk, twisting a pen around aimlessly. The Doctor had vanished and Commandant Ritchie upstairs seemed to be going through some sort of denial about the man's very existence.

His thoughts were interrupted when a Teknix walked in, without knocking.

Jeol was about to reprimand him when he saw the name tag (well, it was the only way to tell the wretched things apart) and realised it was Kra.s.six, Ritchie's PA. 'Can I help you, Kra.s.six?'

Kra.s.six dropped a datapad on his desk. 'Commandant Ritchie considered your questions... inappropriate. However, he asked me to prepare some answers for you.' Without waiting for a reply, Kra.s.six turned and left. Jeol shuddered - Teknix gave him the creeps. What on Earth provoked Ritchie to employ one he could not imagine. And what would the powers that be on Micawber's World do if they found out? Oh well, so long as Kra.s.six kept his head down...

He activated the datapad and began reading about the Doctor, why Ritchie had employed him and a few pertinent facts gleaned from the Federation database about his activities in the past.

Jeol a.s.sumed that Kra.s.six had downloaded some corrupted information as the dates were way off (unless the Doctor was more than two hundred years old) and shook his head. Given even the simplest tasks, administrators couldn't get them right.

After a few moments, Jeol was aware that he was being watched.

Expecting it to be the Doctor, the scientist looked up and prepared to challenge him on a few things.

Instead, he was facing his missing colleague, Dr Miles Mason, his arm in a sling.

'Dr Mason, how are you?'Jeol was at his side in an instant. 'We thought you were... well, anyway, I'm very glad to see you. The Doctor and I were very concerned.' He guided Mason to his seat. 'Can I get you a drink?'

Mason shook his head. 'Doctor? Doctor who?'

Jeol shrugged. 'Some weirdo brought in by the SSS Administration. Odd, but has a knack for observation frankly lacking in most of our interns these days. If he wasn't so d.a.m.ned strange, I'd ask him to do some lectures.'

Mason tilted his head slightly and Jeol wondered if he'd hurt his neck. 'You all right. Mason?'

'We're fine, thank you, Professor Jeol.'

'We?'

'I. We. We're all the same.'

Jeol decided Mason had clearly had a rough time. 'Hurt your head, did you? Where have you been?'

Mason stood up and took the datapad from Jeol's hand, scanning it very quickly.

Jeol a.s.sumed he was looking for something, because he couldn't possibly read it that fast.'Can I help?'

Mason stopped reading and slowly looked back at Jeol. 'You know this person well?'

”The Doctor? Not really, but yes, we were working together last night.

Trying to find you in fact: Mason suddenly crushed the datapad in his hand, ignoring the bits of plastic and plexigla.s.s that splintered into his palm.'We are perfectly healthy, thank you, Professor. We need you to see something. It's terribly important.'

Jeol was staring at the destroyed datapad which Mason let fall to the carpet.'What the h.e.l.l...'

Mason suddenly tugged his injured arm out of the sling. In place of his hand and most of his lower arm was a green pulsating ma.s.s of mucus-like skin. His s.h.i.+rtsleeve was somehow melded into it and the arm was constantly changing shape, as if it was moving of its own accord, growing then subsiding.

'My G.o.d, Mason, what happened to your arm?'

'Perfection,' hissed Mason. He swiped the thras.h.i.+ng limb at Jeol's face.

The professor gasped as some of the mucus came away from Mason and coated his cheek.

He wanted to cry out, in surprise and alarm, let alone the sudden burning pain.

But then a voice in his head told him not to panic. Everything was going to be fine.

It was his own voice. And Miles Mason's voice. And Jean-Paul Cartwright's voice. And Steven Bailey's voice. And Jis Tok Nannarn's voice And...

And everything really was perfect now.

Ms Sox regarded the Doctor pretty much as she regarded most people - with suspicion and a healthy dose of scepticism.

'So Commandant Ritchie asked you to work, undercover, for the SSS, to discover something his own agents couldn't?'

The Doctor grinned with delight. ”That's exactly right, yes...!'

Ms Sox glanced back towards the office door, behind which Chase Carrington was at work.

'And why should I believe you?'

The Doctor seemed to just look at her, his head c.o.c.ked slightly. Ms Sox felt almost... uncomfortable at this. Certainly surprised. It was as if he was seeing past her... no, through her. Trying to read her mind. Instinctively, she took a step back.

'You may be right, Ms Sox,' he said quietly. 'But, if I am on the level, you have an ally, not an enemy.'

Ms Sox rea.s.serted her cool. He was just a good manipulator. It wasn't as if he could really read her mind. Jadeans were blank to telepaths (that was why they so often found employment in business offices - no one could unwittingly scan them for the opposition), so she shouldn't be affected by his prying. So why was she?

'What do you mean, Doctor?'