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CHAPTER SEVEN

MY GUESTS, I BELIEVE

When the stunned Captain recovered his breath, he saw an enraged Prince Jason holding him against the wall with one hand, a look of thunder on his face. Rosewood was just outside the door trying his best to stay out of the way.

“On whose authority?” the Captain finally demanded, trying and failing to sound forceful.

“Mine.”

“And just who the hell are you?”

The mind probe operator cleared his throat nervously. “He’s Crown Prince Jason of Tel-Shye, Captain.”

The officer looked the Alterran up and down. “Prince Jason left yesterday.”

“Obviously not,” Jason replied coldly. He turned to the operator. “Turn that abomination off. Now!”

“But…”

A low growl rose up in Jason’s throat. With his free hand, he took the weapon from the astonished Captain’s belt and fired a laser bolt into the control panel. The operator dove for cover as the device exploded into a show of sparks, instantly ending the Major’s torment.

Jason turned back to the officer still in his grasp. “What the hell do you think you’re doing to my guests?” he demanded as he finally released his grip.

“I’m following orders,” the Captain replied coolly, making a show of straightening his uniform.

This was never the answer to give to the Alterran Prince. He stiffened visibly, his eye narrowing as his face darkened further. “Following orders?” he repeated coldly.

“Yes.”

Whose orders?”

“With all due respect, that’s not your concern,” the Captain replied, added in a condescending tone, “Sir.”

Jason gave another low growled. “I disagree.” He threw a glance in Eroica’s direction, ordering, “And get those things off Lord Gloria.”

The officer grudgingly removed the manacles from the bewildered and still terrified Eroica. “This is an Earth matter, sir. Not really your concern,” the Captain said, turning back to the Prince.

“This is no time for xenophobia, Captain. Not with a temporal corridor operating unchecked.”

The Captain gave a derisive snort. “You can’t possibly believe that story about these two being from the Twentieth century.”

“It happens to be true.”

“It would explain the lack of any reading on the equipment, Captain,” the mind probe operator injected from his place under the control desk. He flinched back when the officer gave him a dark look and snarled, “Shut up!” before turning back to the Alterran aristocrat.

Jason pulled a document from inside his jacket and held it out. “This is the authorization giving me complete autonomy in this matter. In other words, Captain, you are to follow my orders. Is that understood?”

The officer decided on a different tact. “With all due respect, sir, do you think you can handle something like this?” he asked contemptuously.

“Are you questioning my abilities now?”

“You’re from a race of pacifists, aren’t you? Non-violent? Do you really think you can get better results than a trained professional?”

“Trained professional?” Jason’s eyes narrowed, his expression hardening as the officer continued to glare smugly at him. “Don’t try my patience, Captain. You do not want me to lose my temper,” he said warningly.

“Oh, I’m scared.”

This was the final straw. Without warning, Jason took the officer by the throat and slammed him back into the wall. The Alterran’s bright blue eyes were practically glowing with his outrage. “You should be, you condescending bastard!”

It was all too obvious to the watching Eroica that Jason was controlling himself with considerable effort. It seemed as though the Prince had to force himself to release his grip on the man’s throat.

“Now, get out!” Jason’s voice dropped in pitch as he added coldly, “Get out before I kill you.”

The Captain blanched visibly. This was no idle threat. This supposedly non-violent Alterran Prince had a grip like iron and had been within a hairsbreadth of snapping his neck. He also still had his gun in his hand. Without another word, the officer fled the room.

Eroica felt a chill run down his spine as the Prince ordered the man out, his voice sounding as if it came from the depths of hell. The glowing blue eyes were slowly turned in his direction and he flinched, afraid of what this demon was about to do to him. The “demon” seemed to sense his panic and closed his eyes, taking a moment to get control of himself. When he opened his eyes again, they were no longer glowing and his face had softening considerably.

“Did he hurt you?” Jason asked gently.

“Yes…no…I…I’ll recover,” Eroica stammered out shakily.

Jason smiled and then turned to the mind probe operator, who was still cowering on the floor. “Out,” he ordered, sending the man scurrying to the exit.

Jason looked at his bewildered and awestruck aide, who was still standing outside the door and feeling very grateful that he had not been on the receiving end of any of what he had just witnessed. “Rosewood, have someone not connected with that…barbarian sent up here. I’m going to need an escort.”

Rosewood gave a slight bow. “Yes, sir.” He gave Eroica a questioning look. “And this gentleman?”

“Lord Gloria is staying with me.”

Eroica gave the Alterran a frightened look. “I am?”

“Would you rather go with the Captain?”

“No. But am I any safer with you?”

Jason could not help but smile at this. “Considerably.” He turned his attention to the next room, where the Major lay unconscious on the couch. He made certain the mind probe console was completely deactivated, firing another laser bolt into it and then finishing up by ripping the control circuit from its slot.

Eroica reluctantly followed his rescuer as far as the door and then stopped, uncertain as to his status. Was he really this lunatic’s guest? Or his prisoner?

Jason carefully removed the mind probe helmet and then checked the unconscious officer’s condition. “Talk to me, Major.” He put a hand under the Major’s chin and slapped him on the cheek. “Come on. Come back to us…”

Klaus opened his eyes slightly, muttered something, and closed them again.

Much to the amazement of the watching Eroica, Jason suddenly switched from English to German. “Klaus! Come on, Klaus, talk to me!” He commanded, slapping the officer’s face harder. “Better yet, swear at me.”

The Major continued to mutter incoherently.

Jason threw a quick glance over at the control room, seeing the concerned and frightened Eroica still hovering reluctantly in the doorway. “Dorian, talk to him,” he said, effortlessly switching back to English. “He knows your voice.”

Eroica was torn between demanding to know how this individual knew so much about them, and helping to revive the semi-conscious Klaus. He chose the latter, concluding that the Major would no doubt be demanding answers the instant he was lucid.

Crossing the room, he asked, “What do I say?”

“Tell him that you love him,” Jason replied startlingly.

Eroica stopped dead. “What?”

“He needs to fight his way back.”

“He’ll do more than fight his way back, if I tell him that. He’ll take a swing at me.”

“Then it’s a good thing he’s still strapped down, isn’t it?” Jason said aridly. “He needs to fight and the best way to do that is to get him mad. That isn’t too hard with him, as I recall.”

“How do you know that?” Eroica demanded. “Look, just who are you? How do you know us?”

“Not now, Dorian!” Jason snapped impatiently, turning his attention back to the Major.

Eroica wasn’t sure if it was the tone, the phrase, or just his general manner, but suddenly he knew who the Alterran Prince was. “Jason…” he said in a small voice. “They said…you were Prince Jason.

Jason looked up, a small smile on his face. “Does that mean you’re going to start hitting on me now?”

“Bloody hell, it is you! But…it can’t be.”

“I didn’t think I’d changed that much.”

“Changed! The last time I saw you, you looked like an overgrown porcelain figurine.”

“Can this wait until after we’ve revived the Major?” Jason asked practically.

Eroica blinked and then pulled himself together. He sized up the situation and drew a deep breath. “You really want me to make him angry?”

“The madder, the better.”

“Alright. But you’d better tell him this was your idea.” Eroica sat down on the couch and leaned close to the Major’s ear. “Major, can you hear me? Will you hit me, if I tell you I love you?” He received an unintelligible grunt in reply.

Eroica stroked the Major’s cheek. “You really are a work of art. Shall I kiss you, my sleeping beauty?”

The Major opened his eyes slightly and gave the thief an unfocused look.

“It’s working, keep going,” Jason encouraged.

Eroica leaned down to give the Major a kiss and was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.

“I said talk to him,” Jason said warningly.

“Spoilsport.”

“I’ll let him hit you.”

“Fine.”

Eroica laid across the Major’s chest and continued to gently stroke his cheek. “It’s too bad we’re in Russia. The summer would be so much nicer at Castle Gloria, don’t you think? Or Schloss Eberbach. All that lovely mountain air…” He had to stifle a giggle at his jib at the less than mountainous location of the Schloss, but it had the desired affect.

“What foppish nonsense…” the Major muttered groggily.

A delighted grin spread across Jason’s face and he motioned for the thief to keep going.

“Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach. The infamous Iron Klaus. Bane of the KGB, Neo Nazis, and international spy networks,” Eroica whispered seductively. “Finally, I have you where I want you.”

The Major struggled to focus his eyes, finding the weight on his chest to be Eroica lying on top of him. He stared at the enormous blue eyes in horror, his mind unable to take in what he was seeing.

“I have you in my power, Major,” Eroica cooed softly, fluttering his eyelashes.

Klaus stared for a full ten seconds before he finally exploded. “Get off me, you bloody faggot!” When he tried to push Eroica away, he discovered he was still strapped down and started to struggle. “Let me out of this thing so I can kill you!” He went on to issue a stream of curses in German.

Eroica grinned and looked up at Jason. “Success, I think.”

“What are you talking about?” the Major demanded, still struggling unsuccessfully to free himself. “And get off of me, you Goddamn pervert!” A sudden thought struck him and stopped struggling, giving Eroica a stricken look. “What have you been doing to me while I was unconscious?”

“Nothing unseemly, Major,” Jason replied calmly as he started removing the officer’s bindings. “A mind probe can scramble one’s brain permanently. Dorian was just helping me bring you back to reality.”

“How? By having him molest me?”

“No, by getting you angry, which in your case isn’t all that difficult.”

Jason finished unfastening the restraints and took the Major by the arm, pulling him to a sitting position before he knew what was happening. He gave the officer a moment to regain his equilibrium and then looked him in the eye. “Major, I’m telling you right now, you’re not going to be able to walk on your own. So, you have one of two choices. You can either let me help you, or let me carry you.”

“Or I could,” Eroica offered happily.

Klaus threw an angry look in Eroica’s direction. After what had just happened, he did not want the faggot anywhere near him. He turned back to his rescuer. “Who the hell are you?” he demanded as forcefully as he could manage.

“I’m Jason Krystovan,” the Prince replied simply. “I used to travel with the Doctor in the TARDIS. The last time we met was in 1983 in Iceland.”

“Iceland?” Klaus put a hand to his head. His mind was still fuzzy, but he recalled the incident vividly. Jason had saved his life and he had gone on to return the favor. “The mission on the glacier?”

“Yes.”

The Major gave the Alterran an unfocused look. As with Eroica, the last time he had seen Jason, he was recovering from a sonic attack and was snow white from head to foot, his body covered with tiny fracture lines. “Why…? How…?”

Jason grinned. “One step at a time. First, let’s get you two somewhere safe.”

“Then take us out of this building.”

“Why?”

“We aren’t safe anywhere in KGB Headquarters.”

Jason nodded. “A fair point,” he agreed. “But you’re not in KGB Headquarters. Not anymore.” He did not wait for a reply. He put one of the Major’s arms over his shoulder and then pulled him to his feet, having to support nearly all of his weight.

Klaus wanted to protest, but realized he was too weak to give any kind of effective resistance. He was having a difficult time just focusing his thoughts, his legs felt like rubber, and he desperately needed a cigarette. He chose instead to simply go along with what his apparent rescuer said until he was strong enough to fight back.

Jason looked up to see Eroica staring in horror across the room. He followed his gaze, seeing Sully standing in the doorway, an enormous grin on his face and an even more enormous laser rifle in his hands.

“Don’t panic, Dorian. That’s my pilot,” the Prince said mildly before addressing the man at the door. “Sully, what on Earth, literally, are you doing here? And where the hell did you get that cannon?”

“Rosewood said you wanted someone not connected with Earth security. Well, that’s me. He also said you needed an escort. I figured that meant you’d be heading to the ARGO.”

“You figured right,” came the relieved reply. “To the ARGO, if you please.”

The pilot flashed a bright smile before turning on his heel to lead the way out of the room.

“What is the ARGO?” the Major asked as forcefully as he could. “Where are you taking us?”

“The ARGO is my ship. I’ll be able to check you over better once we’re there.” Jason felt the Major’s body stiffen in response to this and could not help but laugh. “Major,” he said quietly, “I’m a Healer. My interest in your body is strictly professional.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” the Major replied shakily. “So was that Captain’s.”

Eroica gave a small cry. “Major, was that an actual joke?” he gasped playfully.

The Major gave him a dark look. “Idiot.”

“No such luck,” Jason replied amusedly. “I think his brain is still too scrambled.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better, either,” the Major rejoined. This time, he allowed a small smile to come to his face.

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