Knight Progenitor

by Sharon L Reddy

  Chapter Nine

  "Dad, He's got the contracts. Two of them, but he doesn't realize it. They seem legitimate. They were filled within minutes."

  "Can we stop them?"

  "I don't see any way. We can save one of the scientists, the physicist. The other one dies."

  "Tech, we need to change that."

  "No. We don't. He's killed by his own bigotry."

  "Explain."

  "He knows why he's creating the virus. He's a good virologist, but a lousy human. He hates telepaths, aliens, anyone he doesn't see as 'pure'. He's killed by his own creation. He has a high psi potential. He wouldn't believe it if someone told him."

  "The attacks on Liberty are human instigated?"

  "I don't know, Dad. I've got a big blank spot. I remember grabbing the physicist, a running battle, Doc and Diz turning a corner, then nothing until you're carrying me into my room in the TARDIS. You're real mad."

  "Are you hurt. Is that why I'm carrying you?"

  "No. You tell me you're glad I don't remember. You'll remember for all of us."

  "I'm not taking you with me."

  "Yes you are. Whatever happens, I come through all right. We all do. You've taught me I can choose. My choice is to go with you. Don't ARGUE about it. I'm sorry. Maybe the choice isn't mine. Maybe the change is yours to make. You're the one who takes the pain. You never tell us what it is, but I think Data knows."

  "Doc and Diz?"

  "Not hurt, not changed, with us around a table later. I never find out. We never talk about it. You order us not to. Your anger is almost a physical presence. Dad, Data shares your anger. Not like we would feel, but very real. You and he leave us on the ship and take the TARDIS. You both come back. The anger's not gone, but it has something else with it. Doc calls it icy satisfaction."

  "Is this the same memory as before?"

  "Those memories are gone. Just like the first time. When you didn't send me away, everything I remembered happening in my life was just different. I don't know why this change was so much more difficult. I don't know, because I don't know what the memories that changed were. Once the new images replaced the old ones, they just went. Never were. I know they changed, because I saw it happening. That's the only reason I know some changed."

  "I'll think about it. Leave me alone for awhile. No. Find Data. I think he's in the TARDIS computer center. Ask him to meet me in the cloisters."

  "Done."

  He smiled as he walked toward the cloisters. Tech's one word answer had been picked up from Doc. It had been a major chore convincing them not to have the tailors make a series of identical outfits. The novelty of being so similar would eventually wear off. He'd finally suggested they have things made in the same colors and materials, but in different styles. They had agreed, but insisted on some being identical. They had called them Knight boys uniforms. He hadn't argued with them over their choices for shoes and boots. Their selections of the cobbler's wares had just been too practical to disagree with.

  It had been interesting to see their personalities come out in the style choices. Tech favored a somewhat tailored look, reserved and 'dressy'. Doc chose styles designed for frontier worlds, sturdy and practical with lots of pockets. Diz like loose fitting and flamboyant, modern and 'showy'.

  The tailors had been delighted. It had been a challenge to their skills. Once they had discovered the boys' individual tastes, they searched for fabric that would be suitable for the three distinct styles. He'd tipped them generously and recommended them to Albert. The recommendation was probably worth a great deal more than the tip.

  "Doctor, you wished to see me?"

  "Yes, Data. I've a bit of a dilemma. I would like your opinion."

  "Good day, Agent Slogar."

  "Captain Knight! I didn't expect to see you for several days."

  "I'm in a bit of a rush. I need information on a pair of contracts."

  "I'm not sure I have anything that would interest you at the moment. It's all rather standard fare. A war here, a corporate battle there. Cannon fodder and firepower. Not really your style. Isn't Leroy with you?"

  "I had other duties for him. I'm interested in two contracts you've already filled. I have good information they are not what they seem. The persons contracting falsified their intentions and the signers are in deadly danger."

  "Captain, those are serious allegations. If they came from someone else, I might doubt them. I'll pull the recently signed contracts. I'd rather break a disclosure seal than learn someone had been killed because I let him sign an erroneous document."

  "The two contracts are scientific; one for a virologist, the other a physicist. I need see no others."

  "I know the two you mean. They were very specific. They came in a few hours apart. The pay was exceptional and duties quite specific. I had two men listed who were exactly what was wanted. I think both were signed within minutes of their receipt. Captain, if you're going to produce your glasses, I'm going for tea."

  The Doctor laughed. "Bring me a cup. I'll put them away before you return."

  The virologist was Dr. Aegis Ormach; the physicist, Dr. Franklin Masters. The contractor of the virologist was listed as Intra-cluster Medical Laboratories; specified as a small, private, developmental research lab. The physicist's contract was with Formanse Research Foundation; described as a non-profit think tank currently doing a study of the mathematical relationship of time as a dimension. Each gave an inter-planetary comm code for contact by interested parties.

  "Here, Captain. I see you've put your glasses away. I'm not sure if I can help, but, if you need a legal reason for getting yourself involved in this, I might be able to get the Agent's Guild to contract you."

  "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I already have a contract. You could, however, assist me by registering it and putting it on file." He laid the folded contract on the desk. "The tea is excellent, but I must be going. Our association has been a pleasant one. Good-day."

  "Good-day, Captain." Agent Slogar shook his head. He'd recognized the captain's last comment as a final farewell. He was going to disappear as mysteriously as he'd arrived. He reached for the contract. It was on actual paper, not comp print flimsy. He unfolded it and started to laugh. Underdogs and horses. The contract was with a telepathic race on Liberty and had been signed with a hoof print.

  "Doctor, I have traced the two comm codes to a specific sector, but can not obtain the information you have requested."

  "What's the problem, Data?"

  "Both were assigned as temporary. They were ordered by a person representing himself as an out-cluster trader and seeking buyers for his cargo. The trader seems to have been legitimate. Most of the communications to the numbers were originated by importers of pharmaceuticals."

  "Poor guy probably thought he was doing some research bunch a favor. Didn't know what he was getting mixed up in."

  "Very likely, Diz. Did you learn who he was and where he was going, Data?"

  "I have ascertained no information on his projected itinerary, but his name is Carrick Atmarra. I believe inquiries amongst his clients may be beneficial in obtaining his normal suppliers."

  "Yeah, we can get his regular run, if he has one."

  "That was my conclusion also."

  "Tech, do you have anything that would save us time?"

  "No. I remember us doing what Diz and Data suggest. You know how it works. I remember high points, not all the details. There's a space station, but I can't tell you where it is. I don't think I know. I think we run across it by accident. I don't remember us talking to the trader. We're just traveling out-cluster and there it is. I remember recognizing it when I see it. It's in the middle of nowhere. I've been trying to bring up the background, but it doesn't mean anything to me, just a bunch of scattered stars. There is a blue-white that's fairly dominant, but I don't know... Wait. You say you named it for
Liberty."

  "That doesn't help much. There were a half dozen big blues in our sky."

  "True, Doc, and I don't remember which ones I gave her the names of, two or three of them. Hmm, no, I didn't follow any pattern, just chose a bright one here and there. Well, let's find out where our trader was headed.

  "Good day, Mr. Porvith. I have a few questions about one of your suppliers. A trader named Carrick Atmarra."

  It was the first of nine visits he made. Atmarra was liked and respected. He had to give Albert as a personal reference to get any information. He explained Atmarra had been duped by unscrupulous individuals and he was trying to locate them, not Atmarra. Albert was a good reference. The import company officers tried very hard to help. He ordered some rare pharmaceuticals from three of them. He notified Albert he might have to cover their cost. Albert laughed.

  Albert also gave him some very pleasant news. Buck's son Joey had completed his series of reconstructive surgeries. He and his sisters had been adopted and would be loved and provided for. The Doctor asked who had adopted them. Albert replied he had forgotten how enjoyable it was to hear children's laughter filling his house. He added his new wife sent her greetings and he had discovered she was as good a mother as she was an engineer. She was also very pleasant to look at. The Doctor smiled. Albert wasn't as old as he'd appeared and he was probably getting younger daily. Data was pleased with the news and expressed the opinion Albert recognized outstanding ability.

  They began tracing Atmarra's most probable course. He was a trader. His route would be as efficient as possible, both in time and fuel consumption. Five days into the journey they picked up a large object on their sensors.

  "That's the station."

  "Yes, Tech, and there's the star I named for Liberty." Bethera, the first he'd named.

  "Don't tell me. I don't need the confusion right now." Tech grinned. "We're already here. Now, give me a moment. The virologist is dead. We bust up his lab and find him. Center section. The virus is loose, but we've been inoculated. Travel down the first outward corridor. Physicist a prisoner. Second room on the right. Bad shape. Back towards the TARDIS. Data carries him. Beam fire. Lots of it. Stunners mainly. No chance of holing the station. That's it."

  "All right. Get ready. Data, whatever happens, get the physicist out. He's an innocent and it sounds like he's suffered."

  "Dad! Tech's down! Out!"

  "I'm going back. Data get him to the TARDIS. Take him home."

  "We'll cover."

  "No, Doc, go with Data." He ran back down the corridor. He saw Tech lying on the floor. He raced for him.

  Doc felt the man aiming for Diz. He shoved him aside and took the hit. Diz got to him.

  Data carried the unconscious man into the TARDIS. He had his orders. He landed the TARDIS, carried the physicist into Agent Slogar's office, turned and left. He landed the TARDIS on the space station three point seven milliseconds after she'd left. It was as close as she could get without temporal overlap.

  He ran out the doors and saw Diz hit with a stunner beam. He opened a small panel in his arm and put the TARDIS key in it. The Doctor had given it to him. Tech had left his behind. He raced down the corridor. He would collapse as if stunned when he reached the Doctor.

  The Doctor had known he wouldn't leave Tech behind. He and Data had devised a series of scenarios. Each was designed to give Data a specific course of action up to a point, then he was to improvise. Data had chosen the scenario that seemed most appropriate. He was to avoid being hit by anything other than a stunner. One of the persons shooting at him near Doc and Diz had been using a sonic disruptor. He found the Doctor, allowed himself to be hit by a stunner, and feigned nonfunction. He was to give no indication he was not a biological being.

  He set up an automatic diagnostic program to initiate a jamming signal the instant he felt the control headband. He would be able to interpret the commands without being compelled. The Doctor and he had used one of the units they had found on the ship and both had practiced. He began cataloging some of the raw data the TARDIS had given him. He had quite a lot of it. It would occupy him until it was time for him to 'wake up'.

  "This one's an alien. The fat man will like that."

  "Better be careful. He doesn't like being called that."

  "Who's going to tell him? You?"

  "Course not, but he's got a way of finding out about things. Damn he's heavy. Slim for a heavy worlder, but can't be anything else."

  Data tracked the speed and direction he was carried by trailing his fingers on the floor. He heard other footsteps, counted the people, determined all were carrying burdens, and waited. The Doctor, the boys and he were all being carried the same direction.

  The control band would not work on the Doctor either. Or, rather, he could refuse to allow it to work. He had spent a great deal of time learning to interpret the sophisticated signals the headband delivered. He complained of the 'racket' it made in his mind. The 'racket' was designed to inhibit the higher brain functions. The extremely sophisticated programming of the control units allowed the headbands complete control over all motor functions with the use of a few simple controls, the primary one of which was a 'joystick'.

  Data had suggested the Doctor allow the unit to control his body and take back control when he wished. The Doctor had found the suggestion unacceptable. He too would feign being controlled. The stunner had worked. He would awaken with a 'nasty headache'. Data wondered what it would be like to have a headache.

  "It has to be a transport of some kind, Minister. How else would they have gotten here?"

  "Have you searched them for the key?"

  "Yes, Minister. Nothing on any of them. We're attempting to force entry."

  "Notify me when you get it open. My, what a pretty group. Three of them. Can't be telepaths. They were in the lab. They'd be dead if they were. Seems a shame to waste them. Perfect! My sister's birthday. Send them to her. Put the alien and the man with the laborers. Bring my dinner. I'm wasting away."

  Data counted thirty-eight heartbeats in the room. The man with the wheezing voice was evidently the 'fat man'. Even in the low gravity, his heart was laboring. The Doctor and the boys were eight. Thirty was too many for him to dispose of. The Doctor would be most unhappy to learn his boys were being 'sent' somewhere.

  He and the Doctor were carried back to the outer ring. The station evidently used rotation to supplement artificial gravity. The 'fat man' had been in the low gravity center. The outer section was point eight five Earth normal. The men carrying him and the Doctor laid them on the floor and left, shutting an airtight door behind them. He opened his eyes and sat up.

  There were nineteen dirty men in the room. All wore headbands. They stood where they had been left and stared. Most were emaciated. There was one man lying dead in the center of the room. Data surmised he had died of starvation.

  "Oh, my head. I don't know which is worse, the headache from the stunner or the racket in my mind. Even in neutral the headband is noisy."

  "Doctor, I am glad you are awake."

  "Those people have been starved."

  "I had reached the same conclusion. We are with the laborers. Doctor, the boys are being sent to someone. The person called alternately Minister and the fat man designated them as a birthday present for his sister."

  "NO!"

  "Doctor, calm yourself. We know we shall find them."

  Data told him everything he'd learned. He wouldn't be able to open the door. It was an airlock and beyond his capabilities. The Doctor examined the controlled men. They were being fed, but not enough for the labor they had been doing. He estimated four more would die within a few days. He debated removing the headbands, but decided they shouldn't have to endure the pain of their starved condition and he could think of no way they could feign control.

  Data and he quickly laid down on the floor a
nd stared at the ceiling when they heard the hatch opening.

  "Well, now we know why they're starving. I had my rations and yours and I'm still very hungry."

  "I am glad you accepted them."

  "You were right. The best chance these men have of survival is for me to be, I believe you put it, functional. I doubt if I could have gotten any of them to eat anyway. Even normal body functions are controlled. I couldn't believe it when I felt myself being commanded to chew and swallow."

  "'I thought you would laugh at one point. It would have revealed our ruse."

  "That was close. If we'd been in the first group, I'd have never known what I was being ordered to do. I suppose I could do as we discussed, but I'd rather not. Distancing my mind and allowing someone else to control my body is not something I wish to do. I will if I have to, but thus far it hasn't been necessary. I ache all over. I HATE moving rock."

  "I have determined the space debris is reduced to its constituent elements and used to provide oxygen and other raw materials."

  "At least they gave us gloves. Those meteorites were primarily ice becoming very cold water."

  "Six days, Data. I'm worried about the boys and I'm slowly starving."

  "The hatch."

  They assumed stationary standing positions. They were commanded to walk. They proceeded through the station and into the large central area. The man was fat. He couldn't have existed in a normal gravity environment.

  "She's just being greedy. They're both nice, strong, workers. She says she wants them both. I'll send her one."

  "Minister, do you think that wise?"

  "Oh, hush. She won't be very mad. She wouldn't even have known about them if I hadn't sent her those boys. So this is the famous Captain Knight and his alien Leroy. Tult, let me see what I'm sending her. Not the alien, the man. Oh yes, I can see why she wants him. Turn him around slowly. Ooh, very nice. Bring him over here and give me the controls."

  The Doctor had to release control of his body after all. Not because he didn't understand the commands, because he just didn't want to pay attention to it. He wouldn't have been able to act controlled and he had to. He was being sent to his boys. And the woman who had them.

  Data watched and decided he would call his program response anger. He waited until the Doctor and he were commanded. He walked until they were ordered separate directions, then began walking toward the TARDIS. He maintained speed and posture.

  "Damn unit's out. Get another box. I hope it's the box and not the band. I'd hate to change the band on a heavy worlder."

  "Get a stunner in case. He won't get far. He'll just run into a wall. I'll get a box and band."

  Data ran for the TARDIS. He had improvised. He had to track the ship the Doctor would be on. The TARDIS was surrounded by equipment. They had obviously been trying to get into her. There were no people in the vicinity, but indications were they would soon return. He pulled the key out, unlocked the door, and stepped through. He heard approaching voices and quickly closed the doors. He turned on the scanner and began setting the TARDIS to track any departing ships.

  He watched three men setting up a laser cutter. He smiled. He didn't even realize he'd done it. The fat man would not be pleased when the men told him the 'transport' had disappeared as soon as they hit it with the laser. He set the coordinates for the ship and checked the tracking program. It was operating. A ship had left the station.

  The TARDIS tracked the ship carrying the Doctor while it traveled to its programmed coordinates. Data decided the Doctor was right. She was fond of him. It was a very complicated task. He waited in the TARDIS until she could give him an estimated destination for the ship being tracked, then went to the bridge and set course to follow.

  He was COLD! And he didn't have enough energy to fuel an increase in metabolic rate. He'd been left in a cargo hold that was above freezing. Slightly. He decided no one was going to enter for awhile and started investigating the rest of the cargo. He blew on his hands and wrenched the lid off a nearby crate. He forgot he was cold.

  Children! Stacked, crated, and staring. A cargo of children wearing headbands. Who were they? Where had they come from? What monstrous plot had he uncovered and what did it have to do with telepaths on Liberty? Why were children being shipped from a space station? How had they gotten there? It wasn't until he found the colts that he realized what he was seeing. It still didn't make any sense.

  The children and colts were clones. He hadn't realized it at first, because the children were of differing ages. The colts were easy to identify. They had identical markings. They must have been growth stimulated. There hadn't been enough time for either the children or colts to have reached their current size.

  He reattached the lids of the crates and sat down to think. He'd interrupted the collection of the telepaths on Liberty and the persons collecting had attempted to destroy the telepathic population at its beginnings. Or had they?

  It had definitely been the space station project, and the same type of control units were being used. Did that mean the same people had been behind both attacks? Not necessarily. Someone was dealing in clones of telepaths, but his captors might be buyers, not sellers. They had tried to destroy the source of supply.

  Cloning was a difficult and expensive process. It shouldn't be this far advanced. Something very odd was going on. The headband and control units were also beyond the technology level he'd observed in the space station.

  Most of the telepaths were human. Humans had been colonizing other worlds at an incredible rate since they'd run into the first aliens that would trade advanced space technology for human ingenuity. Humans were the hardiest and most adaptable of species if you wanted a world explored, or mined, or conquered. Human telepathic children and horses. What were they being used for?

  He heard a door open and quickly stood. He wasn't in quite the right place, but doubted it would be noticed. Two men walked across the deck toward him.

  "Told 'em it would'n work. It had, we would'n still have cargo."

  "I'm not sure about that. I mean, they wouldn't all just disappear."

  "Yes they would. Never have been. We wouldn't remember. They wouldn't be here. Might not be here ourselves. Gives me the jeebies. They could have messed up the whole cluster. Course we wouldn't know."

  "Jess, you think too much. I don't like this either, but we don't stand much chance without 'em."

  "Yeah, well, I'm not sure about that. I liked the old man. He would'n have got us in this."

  "He's dead. And they're what we've got. Better than being taken over is what I say."

  "Is it? Using their methods? I feel dirty. If I wasn't close to my twenty years, I'd've resigned. Still might. She's disgusting and he's worse."

  "Careful. Treason covers a lot these days."

  "Yeah. And more every day. Too bad the kid died with the old man. Makes me wonder."

  "Whoa, Jess. I don't want to hear it. Don't want to think about it. She's queen and her brother's Science Minister. They're the heirs. All I need to know. Let's get out of here. That guy gives me the shivers. He ever got loose we'd be dead meat."

  "Tempted to cut him loose. Hear he's somethin' special. Ask him to get us out of this mess. That's it. All signed and proper. Another load. Damn, I hate this."

  He watched them leave and started pacing. He'd learned a great deal. A king and his 'kid' had died. Their kingdom was in competition or at war with someone else. The clones weren't their idea. And Jess wanted him to 'get them out of this mess'. He wondered if he was actually dealing with three groups. Two in competition. One providing the materials for both. Why telepathic horses and children? He decided to fulfill Jess' request.

  Data watched the planet beneath him rotate. He was ahead of the ship carrying the Doctor. He had come in behind the nearest moon and landed on it. No one on the world below would have realized he was th
ere.

  The world had four continental masses, but both settled areas were on the largest. It circled a star twenty light years from its nearest neighbor. The space station was situated near a trade route. The planet was not. Most interstellar trade probably was conducted through the station. He hoped someone was feeding the Doctor. Three days was a long time for an organic being to go without food. He estimated it would be two more before the much slower ship arrived.

  The Doctor decided he liked Jess. He'd brought him food and wrapped him in blankets. He spent the entire time muttering about 'no way to treat a person, freeze to death, crates keep kids warm, damn mess anyway'. He felt the ship begin to decelerate and gripped a crate to keep from falling, then realized that was silly. He laid down and took a nap. He would awaken on touchdown.

  He woke and wondered why. The ship hadn't touched down. The ship shook and he realized he'd been awakened by a shockwave. They were being fired on. He rolled against a crate and held on as the pilot made some rapid maneuvers. He felt rather than heard the ship returning fire. A war then. A very strange war that used telepathic children and horses.

  The firing stopped. He could hear they were in atmosphere, but he'd known that. There were no shockwaves from a near miss in space. The firing began again, but the duration was less. Massive braking thrusters fired. The war was planetary and airspace jealously defended. They'd made two orbits and battled their way through enemy territory. He relaxed and wondered how the humans could function in the immense pressure of their deceleration.

  "Damn. Should'a thought. Hope he's not hurt." Jess turned him over and felt to see if any bones were broken. "Came through pretty good. Sorry fella. Didn't think about ya. Got busy on the gun. Hate ta think about where yer goin'. Do somethin' if I could. Well, time to get you up. She's already askin' for ya. Least I can wrap ya up." He tied the corners of the blanket and moved off.

  The Doctor felt the headband giving commands and stood. He walked through the hold to a personnel lift and stood while it descended. He was directed down a flight of steps and through a hatch. He walked down a ramp and waited. The planet's air was fresh and sweet. It smelled of spring. Jess handed the control box to another man. He said, "Damn" as he walked back up the ramp.

  The band commanded the Doctor bend down and enter a vehicle. He sat and watched out the front window. The city had a frontier look about it. A new growth type of arrangement to the streets. His nose itched. He knew it was foolish, but all he wanted to do at the moment was scratch it. He thought about his sons and forgot the itch.

  They entered the grounds of a palace and drove to a side door. He was commanded out of the vehicle and into the building. He walked along a corridor and up a flight of stairs. His control box was handed to an obese, giggling, woman and he walked through a set of doors. He had found his boys. And he was MAD.

  "Ooh, Tish, he's beautiful."

  "I'm Your Majesty, Posch. Remember or I'll have your fat body separated from your head. Get the blanket off. Yes. Very nice. If that fat brother of mine wasn't useful, I'd get rid of him. I wanted the alien too. Look at these scars. Keep your hands off! He's mine. I've got the set now. Get Aerka in here. I want him done like the boys. I'll put some programs together starting with the same kind of workout they get. Have to keep him looking like this. We'll get a computer unit for his controls. He'll be very entertaining."

  Posch giggled. "Ooh, T... Your Majesty, can I watch?"

  "Be good and I might even let you play."

  "Your Majesty, you are overwrought. You need to take your mind off this terrible war. You work too hard. All this responsibility and bad news. And you're so brave and dedicated. It's a true wonder. You must take some time for yourself."

  "True, Posch, I do work hard. If my uncle hadn't been so stubborn and gotten himself killed, I wouldn't have to do this. Yes, I need to relax. How soon will the new control routines be completed?"

  Tomorrow evening."

  "Why so long? I'm getting tired of all these delays."

  "The programmers said it would require that long to do justice to the amazing artistry of your requests."

  "Yes, I suppose my talent does require more time to be expressed. Very well. Put in program six."

  "Oh, thank you, Tish!"

  Posch!"

  "I mean, Your Majesty.

  The Doctor went rigid with anger. He watched his sons in outrage. Only knowing they would remember nothing, stopped him from destroying the control box, and possibly the queen.

  "That was fun. I want to play with him. I hate having to use a control box while I'm playing. I have an idea. You use the controls, Posch. See if you can please me."

  "Ooh, I think that sounds like fun. You're so brilliant and artistic. I'll do my best, but I won't equal your skill."

  "Of course not, but you might please me."

  He felt the band giving commands and distanced himself. The palace was a hive of armed men. He had to find a way out for himself and the boys. He let it have control of his body and began putting the pieces of the puzzle together in his mind.

  Data watched another orbital skirmish. A larger and better armed ship dropped toward the planet. It was of very different design than the one that had arrived from the station, then lifted off again. He sought its communication band. The nonhuman face on the screen was reptilian.

  It was a one-sided battle. The ships from the western city could not penetrate the defensive shields of the larger ship. It destroyed two of them in its three orbit descent. Data learned from its communications.

  It was carrying replacements. The estherna had increased the price again. Its captain wondered if they were worth the expense. He was told the eventual enslavement of the human population would make it worthwhile. They would build the nests and provide for many young.

  Data watched the ship land, then returned to the TARDIS. He would remain there. The TARDIS was prepared. He decided to spend the waiting period in the TARDIS memory banks. Perhaps she knew who the estherna were.

  The Doctor waited until the two SLOVENLY, obese, women were snoring, then began a quiet reconnoiter. He checked the apartments for exits. There was only the one. He cautiously opened the door and peeked through. The hall was still filled with people, most of them guards armed with stunners. He would have to wait. He would not be able to get the boys through.

  He very much wanted to free them from the control bands, but he didn't want them to realize what had been happening to them. He returned to his place and waited. He wondered what Data was doing.

  Data had tracked the ship and seen the battle. He decided it was time to communicate with the TARDIS. He was going to need her assistance. He left the ship's bridge. He didn't think it strange the Doctor referred to the TARDIS as 'she'. He had been trying to get to know her. She had circuits that couldn't exist. Theoretically. The theories were obviously wrong.

  Perhaps the Doctor would have used her telepathic circuits. Data had his own form of mind to mind contact. He opened the panel above his right temple and told her what he needed. The Doctor had worked very hard. He had repaired circuits and checked functions. He had even dusted. She told Data she could do what he asked.

  "All right, let him in. Wait a minute. I'll get them lined up. Silly old fool. I love his expression when he's trying to ignore them. It was good when I just had the clones, but now, with these, it's wonderful. Yes, like that. What do you think, Posch?"

  "He changes it. He makes it look... dangerous."

  "I like that. Like a muzzled and leashed wild animal. Better not keep him waiting any longer. Let him in."

  "Yes, Your Majesty."

  "General Geth, how nice to see you." He'd noticed the man. She watched him try not to look. "I understand you have news for me."

  "Yes, Your Majesty. They have moved into area six. We are countering."

  "How long until th
e ones that came today are ready?"

  "Approximately nine days, Your Majesty."

  "Too long. The takalats get theirs into the field in six. Speed it up."

  The Doctor watched the old general. He saw him struggle to contain his anger at his queen. Something about the command had caused him to clench his hands in barely controlled fury.

  He unclenched his fists, took a deep breath and said, "That would not be wise, Your Majesty. The TAR-RAAlats use them at a prodigious rate. They have large off-planet resources to draw on. We do not. The increase in the speed of growth reduces their lifespan to a few weeks. Their minds become incapable of development."

  "I don't care about their minds. I'm not one of your soft old women mumbling about education and assimilation after the war."

  "The expense is still a factor. The increase would require we quadruple our purchases. It would necessitate complete replacement at nine week intervals. The slower method is actually reducing our expenditures. They are more coordinated and can actually perform some tasks without manipulation. They learn to take cover without an order. The longer they are in the field, the higher their chances of survival. The choice is raising our costs or lowering them."

  "So tax more."

  "It would require the total income of your kingdom and the sale of your personal jewels to maintain the war for four months."

  "What?!"

  "The outlay would reduce our resources to near zero before production would catch up. Even with full mobilization, we would retain only five percent of our total gross. Recovering the initial outlay would take eight years of near starvation."

  "Take your nine days."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  The old man turned to leave. The Doctor saw him smile when the queen smashed a vase against the wall. This queen was not well liked by her people.

  "How dare he suggest my jewels be sold. If he wasn't the best tactician on the planet, I'd have him beheaded. He's soft. They all are. Talk about how terrible the aliens are, using up the clones. Want to preserve them for lives after the war. I don't want them after the war! Bunch of creepy, mind-reading, clones roaming around the planet. MY planet!"

  "Oh, look, Your Majesty, one of the new programs is here."

  "Wonderful. Which one? Yes! The one I really wanted to try. They finished hours before their original estimate."

  "Yes, Your Majesty. Are we going to try it out?"

  "I am going to. Not WE, I."

  "I meant you. I just hoped you'd let me watch."

  "Actually, I was thinking of making a party of it. Invite an appreciative audience. But do it quickly. I'm going to set up a nice show while you're gone. I'll use the new program for the finale."

  Posch waddled from the room and the queen began sorting through the program cubes. The Doctor watched her smile and pat a new control box. He realized the new program would include him. He had to think of some way out soon. His anger was building. He would not be able to maintain the fiction for much longer.

  People arrived and oohed and aahed over them. They were examined and his scars were the subject of a great deal of speculation.

  "Quiet. Take your assigned places. I have three programs to run. I don't want any interruptions. Especially during the finale. Now, Maddis, move your chair onto the mark. Everyone check your positions. Good. Posch, the first program."

  The queen had a disgusting and fervent imagination. The Doctor hadn't thought he could become angrier. He had been wrong. By the time the queen announced the finale, he was struggling to keep from shaking with rage. He felt the command sequence and took control of his body. He looked at the queen and quietly said, "No."

  Data waited. The TARDIS was in motion.

  The queen stared at the Doctor. "You can't speak! You're controlled!"

  He pulled the band from his head. "No, I am not. I have had enough of this obscenity. You are disgusting. This I will not do."

  She started screaming for her guards. Then screamed hysterically as something came into her apartments.

  The Doctor laughed as the TARDIS materialized around him and the three boys. "Data, you're a genius. Thank you."

  "Doctor, you should thank the TARDIS. She was in control. I asked her to choose an appropriate time and retrieve you."

  "Thank you, you sweet lady. Your timing was impeccable. Data, help me get the boys out of these things, then get things from the wardrobe. I want all of us changed before they awaken."

  "Yes, Doctor. I have learned who is supplying the reptilian race the humans are fighting. They are called estherna."

  "Daleks. I should have realized it sooner. The cloning techniques and control units should have told me they were involved."

  "Daleks, Doctor?"

  "They have several groups that serve them. Well, work with them. The estherna are one of them. I'll change while you go to the wardrobe. We'll do some planning and leave the boys on the ship. You and I have a war to stop and a commercial enterprise to put out of business."

  "Hi, Dad. Just like I remembered."

  Yes, Tech, just like you remembered. I want you to rest. The tiredness and dazed feeling will pass with sleep." He laid his son on his bed and smiled at him.

  "You're smiling, but you're mad. I'm not Doc, but I can feel it."

  "Do not ask questions. Do not try to remember. I will remember. I do not want it discussed or speculated on. Ever. Do you understand me? Ever."