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moon_blitzTitle: Maple Leaf Fever
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Tosh and Owen
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jaune_chat
Summary: Jack takes the team on a vacation to Canada, but they take an unexpected detour while there.
Author's Note: Written formerryghoul for the the 2012 vacationthon exchange. Many thanks to jaune_chat for being a wonderful and very patient beta.
Chapter 2
“How’s everyone doing?” Jack paused and turned to look at his team, deciding it was time for a rest. They had been hiking for nearly an hour, anyway.
“I’m good,” Ianto replied, and Owen nodded in agreement as he leaned against a boulder along the edge of the trail. Out of all of them, he had been the one least eager for the hike, but Gwen had prodded him into coming.
“We’re fine,” Tosh said as she and Gwen caught up to them a moment later.
“Great. According to the map, there’s a separate trail which leads back, so we’ll have a break and then-” Jack stopped as a sudden gust of wind blew by him, whistling through the trees and making the leaves rustle. Normally he would just chalk it up to the nearby lake doing weird things to the weather, but the wind had seemed downright frigid to him. “Did that seem odd to anyone else?”
“If by odd then you mean bloody cold, then yes, that was odd. Very odd,” Owen answered, frowning and shoving his hands in his jacket pockets as another cold gust whistled past. They had all brought foul-weather gear along, but Jack was starting to think they should have brought winter coats.
“The forecast didn’t call for anything like this. Perhaps we should go back?” Gwen said, sounding concerned as she looked at the rest of the team. They all murmured in agreement, so Jack adjusted the backpack he wore and nodded. He definitely didn’t want to get caught in a storm, if that was what the weather was turning into.
“Let’s go, then. Ah…” Jack stared as a snowflake floated by, followed by another one. Which was impossible. It had to be pollen from a tree or something. It was completely the wrong season for snow.
“That doesn’t look good,” Ianto commented, looking at something behind Jack. The man turned and saw what appeared to be a white wall of snow advancing through the forest towards them. So much for a quiet vacation.
“Yep, not good. Everyone, bunch up and hold onto each other!” Jack ordered, grabbing onto Ianto with one hand and Gwen with the other. They all obeyed, huddling together in a circle as the temperature dropped and snow began to fall in earnest. The wall of snow swept over them a few seconds later, and he closed his eyes as his vision blurred and his body tingled. It felt like some kind of teleportation beam, although one far more powerful than he had ever experienced.
Breathing deeply to control the fear that flooded through him at the thought of being snatched away to parts unknown, Jack tightened his grip on Ianto and Gwen. He didn’t want to accidentally let them go, since there was no guarantee that they would wind up in the same place if they separated now. The tingling sensation lasted for nearly a minute, then quickly faded, replaced by a sharp, sudden cold.
Opening his eyes slowly, Jack was relieved to find that his team was still together and all in one piece. That was good. Unfortunately, there were now standing in several feet of snow in what appeared to be the middle of winter. That was less good. Except…the white landscape was rather beautiful. The heavy snow which had enveloped them had tapered off to light flurries, creating a scene like something one might find on a Christmas card.
“Everyone alright?” he asked, releasing Ianto and Gwen and buttoning his greatcoat up to try and keep out some of the chill. Pretty or not, frostbite was a real concern for all of them right now.
“I’m freezing, but fine.” Tosh seemed to sum up what everyone appeared to be feeling quite nicely, because they nodded quietly in agreement as they examined the snowy world around them.
“Good.” It was plain to see that they were not on the hiking path they had been on before the snow appeared - they were standing at the edge of a small clearing with a rough log cabin in the centre of it. “Let’s see if anyone’s home, shall we?”
“Best idea you had all day…” Owen muttered, and Jack smiled a little as he turned towards the cabin and plunged through the snow. He reached it after a minute of hard slogging, and quickly pounded on the wooden door. He could survive out in the cold, but the rest of his team wouldn’t last long, and he had no idea where the nearest shelter was aside from the cabin. Freezing to death, while perhaps nicer than some ways to die, was definitely not how he wanted his team to die. No, he had to ensure his team survived this unexpected trip, no matter what happened to him.
After thirty seconds of silence, he knocked again and called, “Hello! Is anyone there?”
“Great, it’s deserted. Now what?” Owen asked from behind him, sounding sullen and cold.
Jack considered the situation, then reached out and pulled on the door handle. To his pleasant surprise, the door opened, and he stared at it for a second. “I guess we go in? Assuming it’s safe, of course.” And there was only one way to find out. The team quickly changed position behind him, hugging the sides of the cabin in preparation for any attack from the interior. Taking a deep breath, Jack pulled the door all the way open and took a step inside, pausing a moment to let his eyes adjust.
Owen had been right. The place was deserted. A quick check with his vortex manipulator confirmed that there were no invisible aliens lurking within, and he gave a sigh of relief. “Come on in, it’s clear,” he said, stepping aside and taking a quick inventory of the cabin. The place was stocked with everything a single person would need to survive, minus the food.
“Now this is a proper log cabin!” Ianto exclaimed once they were all inside, looking up from knocking snow from his hiking boots.
“I’d say…but why are we here?” Gwen asked as she dropped her backpack to the floor and stretched.
“No idea. I’m sure we’ll find out eventually,” Tosh answered, walking over to examine the bed tucked into the far corner of the room. Jack noticed another door at the back of the cabin and went over to check it out, finding himself in a rough lean-to upon opening it. He then smiled as his gaze landed on the pile of wood stacked along the exterior wall. Perhaps things weren’t as dire as he thought.
“While we wait, let’s make ourselves more comfortable. Ianto, you brought matches, right?” he asked, shrugging off his own pack and stepping outside to grab an armload of wood.
“Yeah, I have a few packs. But matches won’t keep us warm forever, Jack,” Ianto replied from inside, then smiled as the man walked back in with the wood. “Ah, never mind. I’ll dig them out for you, then.”
“Excellent. Owen, why don’t you give me a hand?” The team doctor frowned at the suggestion, but nevertheless headed outside to get another armload as Jack stacked his by the wood stove. “Gwen, see what food we brought and if there’s anything else here. Tosh, try and see if we can contact civilization.”
“Gotcha.”
“Will do.”
Whatever had happened to them, his first priority was to make his team comfortable, and that meant getting everyone warm and fed. Only then would he try and figure out what was going on.
- - -
The fire hissed as Jack poked it with the end of a fresh log, then crackled as the log was carefully placed on top of those already burning. The man paused for a second before closing the door, basking in the heat from the flames, then shut it and returned to his spot beside Ianto.
They had managed to have a decent meal out of what they had brought and the supplies left in the cabin, although Jack figured no one would be eating oatmeal for a long time to come after the watery stuff he had made. Tosh had gotten the bed by way of a random draw of lots (twigs in this case), and the remainder of the team were stretched out on makeshift beds on the floor.
Ianto murmured in his sleep and edged closer to him as the wind picked up outside, and Jack absently pulled their blankets higher. It had been a long time since he had been in a snowstorm, but he could tell by the sound of the wind that the weather wasn't about to turn nasty. Sure, a little snow would blow around, but they weren't about to get buried under a small mountain of the stuff.
Still, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised by this turn of events. Weird things happened to them pretty much wherever they went. At least they were still on Earth and in a relatively safe place, if you could call a log cabin in the woods in the middle of winter a safe place. Ianto had been right - it was a proper log cabin. No electricity, no wireless connection, no running water, no indoor bathroom…it was like they had been transported to the Canadian frontier from a few hundred years ago. Perhaps they had, since the hand-made wooden furniture seemed like it might have come from that period.
Jack sighed and rolled onto his side, wrapping an arm around Ianto and breathing in the scent of his lover. As much as he would like to stay up all night and think, he knew he needed to rest. There was no telling what might happen tomorrow, and he needed to be prepared for anything.
- - -
“Jack. Jack.” The sharp tone in Ianto’s voice drew the man from his melancholy dreams, and he sat up quickly, feeling himself freeze in surprise as he focused on what Ianto was looking at. There, hovering silently above his feet, was a small metallic sphere. Well, that explained the teleportation beam. It was silver and completely featureless, at least as far as he could make out in the faint light from the one small window the cabin possessed.
“How long has it been there?” Jack asked, able to tell by the silence in the room that the rest of his team was awake and alert despite the early hour. He mentally kicked himself for falling asleep - he should have been awake and ready for something to happen, otherwise they all could have been killed in their sleep by the alien sphere.
“It was there when I woke up about a minute ago.” Ianto replied, sounding tense as the sphere shifted slightly at the sound of his voice. “It hasn’t moved from that spot or done anything threatening.”
“It’s like it’s waiting for something…” Gwen said, and this time the sphere visibly turned towards her.
“Let’s find out…” Jack stared at the sphere as it turned back to him, slowly pushing the blankets aside and getting to his feet, the ball rising as he did. Swallowing hard to dispel the metallic taste of dread the sight of the sphere brought, he tried to relax. His last encounter with floating metal spheres was way too fresh in his memory, and he hoped this one would go better. “Hello? Can you understand me?”
“Yes. We are able to understand you perfectly.” The voice that came out of the sphere was a smooth flat monotone, without any indication of gender or personality.
“What do you want? And what exactly are you?” Jack asked, gaze fixed on the floating ball. There was no apparent weapons on it, but he knew that there could easily be a small armoury hidden inside its body.
“We want your help, nothing more. You are the leader of this group, yes?”
“Yes, I’m Captain Jack Harkness.”
“Then please, tell your subordinate to put his weapon away. It will not harm us, and we mean no harm to you.” He looked away from the sphere to see that Owen had his gun pointed directly at the alien. He hadn’t realized he had brought a weapon along as well, but considering there were wolves and bears in the woods, the extra protection was welcome.
The doctor saw his look and frowned. “We don’t know what it could do, Jack. I don’t trust it one bit,” he said tersely.
“Neither do I, but let’s see what they want before we start shooting, ok?” The alien didn’t seem overly threatening yet, and something in its manner made the man inclined to listen before using force. Owen frowned and slowly lowered his gun, but didn’t holster it as the sphere had implied he do. Jack nodded at him to show he was fine with that and looked back towards the alien. Ianto nudged him as he stood up, and he knew that his lover had found Jack’s pistol and was prepared to use it if necessary.
“Thank you. As for what we are, we cannot tell you that, except that what you see before you is merely a scout of ours,” the alien resumed once everyone was focusing on it again.
“How convenient,” Owen grumbled, but the sphere ignored him this time. Jack wondered if the aliens who controlled the scouting device were studying humanity, since he knew aliens in his own time often did so on planets humans had colonized in order to learn about them before making contact.
“You said you needed our help?” he asked after a moment.
“Yes. Specifically, we need your help, Captain. One of our machines malfunctioned due to a rough entry, and we ended up in a time other than what we intended. We scattered scouts throughout a certain timeframe in an effort to find someone who might be able to help us. Eventually, we detected technology on you that we can adapt and use,” the alien replied, then added, “We meant to only transport you here, but we ended up taking the rest of your group…We sincerely apologize for the error.”
“Teleports can be weird sometimes,” Jack said with a smile. Since everyone had been holding on to each other, the teleport had probably read them as one person instead of five. With scrambled machinery, it was no wonder everyone had been taken instead of just him.
“So was it you who prepared the cabin? Or was it just close enough to your crash site that you decided to use it to hold whoever you found?” Tosh asked, clearly trying to dig for information.
“We knew that your species would not survive long in this harsh weather, and so shelter needed to be found. This cabin was found to be convenient for both of us,” the alien replied cryptically, and Jack smiled faintly, taking the answer as a yes to both questions.
“Technology? Do they mean your wrist-thing?” Gwen asked a moment later, and he nodded.
“Vortex manipulator. It’s broken at the moment, so I’m afraid it wouldn’t be much use to you guys.” Well, it wasn’t completely broken - only the time-travelling powers were unusable, thanks to a certain someone.
“How odd…our long-range scans indicated it was operational.” Jack could have sworn the flat voice sounded almost disappointed, if such a thing was possible.
“Looks like your scanners got screwed during the crash along with everything else,” Owen muttered, and the man looked over to see that he was smirking slightly.
“May we scan the device again? Perhaps our technology could be adapted to make up for whatever is broken.” Jack turned towards the alien scout again, eyes narrowing as he considered the offer.
“Say you were able to do that. What would you do with us?” Because if the aliens were just going to leave them stranded in a log cabin while they high-tailed it back to whenever they came from, he didn’t see much point in helping them.
“Return you all to your own time, of course. If you do not wish to help, we will send you back and continue searching for another who holds similar technology,” the alien replied, and he nodded.
“Give us a sec to discuss it.” The sphere floated to the far corner of the cabin as Jack and his team turned to each other. “Well?”
“Don’t trust them. How do you know we’re still on Earth, anyway?” Owen said harshly, shooting the alien scout a dark look.
“I scanned the area around here last night. Unless they somehow managed to reproduce a section of northern Ontario with perfect molecular accuracy, we’re still on Earth,” Jack responded. That must have been when the aliens detected that his vortex manipulator was functioning.
“Think they really will take us home whether we help them or not? I mean, it’s not like we can prove their story if they refuse to meet us face-to-face.” Gwen said after a few moments of silence.
“And we’d have a hard time tracking them down even if we had the right gear,” Tosh pointed out, and Owen nodded in agreement.
Ianto looked torn, but he met Jack’s eyes and spoke. “I don’t like to admit it, but I think we should trust them. What do you think?”
“I want to trust them. Not all aliens are looking to invade or wipe us off the planet,” Jack said, looking at his team and giving them a faint smile. He had witnessed that firsthand, although not for many years now. “I think they have just gotten lost and need help. Are you saying I should refuse them based on the assumption that they are lying?”
“Yes!” Owen said immediately, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Worst comes to worst, we’re stuck here. I can think of worse places to die,” Ianto said, giving Jack a loving smile. “So I say we go for it.” Gwen nodded rapidly to show that she agreed with her team mate, then looked over at Tosh and Owen.
“Ok. Let’s trust them and hope for the best,” Tosh said at least, sounding unhappy about her decision.
“You’re all idiots,” Owen sneered, stepping away from the group and glaring at the alien. Jack sighed and made a mental note to apologize to the doctor and buy him a drink if everything turned out ok.
“If you do fix your machine, I don’t suppose you’d share the technology with me? I’d like to get this thing working again,” he said, turning towards the alien scout as it floated back to him.
“We are sorry, but our directives do not allow us to share our technology with humans at this time,” it responded and Jack sighed. He had expected as much, but it was worth a shot.
“Go ahead, then,” he said, pushing back the sleeve of his greatcoat and holding out his wrist.
“We thank you sincerely, Captain Jack Harkness.” A thin beam of light shot out of the sphere and ran over the device for a few seconds. “Once you are ready, please step outside so we can return you safely.” With that, the sphere glowed and vanished.
“Come on, let’s pack up and see if they are telling the truth,” Ianto said once they were sure it was gone, then added slyly, “I’ll make everyone a cup of tea once we’re back, and cook breakfast.”
“Just don’t make it oatmeal. Please.” Tosh smiled at Owen’s remark and Gwen chuckled as she started to fold up the blankets they had used.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not used to making oatmeal on a wood stove! Besides, I’m sure it was better than anything you could make,” Jack responded, grinning at the mock glare Owen gave him. Packing up would go easier if everyone was in a good mood, after all.
- - -
“Ahhh, warm at last,” Tosh sighed, dropping into the deck chair and smiling. Jack smiled as well as he leaned against the railing, happy that they were back in their massive cabin and in their own century. Everything had gone smoothly, with the aliens returning them to the trail they had been taken from. Ianto and Gwen were busy making breakfast, she having insisted on helping him, and Owen was inside watching something on the ridiculously large telly that the cabin had.
“I wonder if the aliens’ technology influenced the weather around here? I should have asked them about it…” Tosh murmured and he chuckled.
“Maybe. I’ve seen lots of alien technology do weird things to stuff around it,” Jack responded, shifting to sit in the chair beside her. “Let’s just hope that the weather remains warm while we’re here, ok?”
“Sounds good to me,” Tosh agreed, and he looked out over the peaceful forest. He was confident that the rest of the vacation would go smoothly. It had to. Because then they could relax and try to pretend that they were normal people for once, on a normal vacation. After everything they had been through, they needed that.
Chapter 1
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Tosh and Owen
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Beta:
jaune_chat Summary: Jack takes the team on a vacation to Canada, but they take an unexpected detour while there.
Author's Note: Written for
merryghoul for the the 2012 vacationthon exchange. Many thanks to jaune_chat for being a wonderful and very patient beta. “How’s everyone doing?” Jack paused and turned to look at his team, deciding it was time for a rest. They had been hiking for nearly an hour, anyway.
“I’m good,” Ianto replied, and Owen nodded in agreement as he leaned against a boulder along the edge of the trail. Out of all of them, he had been the one least eager for the hike, but Gwen had prodded him into coming.
“We’re fine,” Tosh said as she and Gwen caught up to them a moment later.
“Great. According to the map, there’s a separate trail which leads back, so we’ll have a break and then-” Jack stopped as a sudden gust of wind blew by him, whistling through the trees and making the leaves rustle. Normally he would just chalk it up to the nearby lake doing weird things to the weather, but the wind had seemed downright frigid to him. “Did that seem odd to anyone else?”
“If by odd then you mean bloody cold, then yes, that was odd. Very odd,” Owen answered, frowning and shoving his hands in his jacket pockets as another cold gust whistled past. They had all brought foul-weather gear along, but Jack was starting to think they should have brought winter coats.
“The forecast didn’t call for anything like this. Perhaps we should go back?” Gwen said, sounding concerned as she looked at the rest of the team. They all murmured in agreement, so Jack adjusted the backpack he wore and nodded. He definitely didn’t want to get caught in a storm, if that was what the weather was turning into.
“Let’s go, then. Ah…” Jack stared as a snowflake floated by, followed by another one. Which was impossible. It had to be pollen from a tree or something. It was completely the wrong season for snow.
“That doesn’t look good,” Ianto commented, looking at something behind Jack. The man turned and saw what appeared to be a white wall of snow advancing through the forest towards them. So much for a quiet vacation.
“Yep, not good. Everyone, bunch up and hold onto each other!” Jack ordered, grabbing onto Ianto with one hand and Gwen with the other. They all obeyed, huddling together in a circle as the temperature dropped and snow began to fall in earnest. The wall of snow swept over them a few seconds later, and he closed his eyes as his vision blurred and his body tingled. It felt like some kind of teleportation beam, although one far more powerful than he had ever experienced.
Breathing deeply to control the fear that flooded through him at the thought of being snatched away to parts unknown, Jack tightened his grip on Ianto and Gwen. He didn’t want to accidentally let them go, since there was no guarantee that they would wind up in the same place if they separated now. The tingling sensation lasted for nearly a minute, then quickly faded, replaced by a sharp, sudden cold.
Opening his eyes slowly, Jack was relieved to find that his team was still together and all in one piece. That was good. Unfortunately, there were now standing in several feet of snow in what appeared to be the middle of winter. That was less good. Except…the white landscape was rather beautiful. The heavy snow which had enveloped them had tapered off to light flurries, creating a scene like something one might find on a Christmas card.
“Everyone alright?” he asked, releasing Ianto and Gwen and buttoning his greatcoat up to try and keep out some of the chill. Pretty or not, frostbite was a real concern for all of them right now.
“I’m freezing, but fine.” Tosh seemed to sum up what everyone appeared to be feeling quite nicely, because they nodded quietly in agreement as they examined the snowy world around them.
“Good.” It was plain to see that they were not on the hiking path they had been on before the snow appeared - they were standing at the edge of a small clearing with a rough log cabin in the centre of it. “Let’s see if anyone’s home, shall we?”
“Best idea you had all day…” Owen muttered, and Jack smiled a little as he turned towards the cabin and plunged through the snow. He reached it after a minute of hard slogging, and quickly pounded on the wooden door. He could survive out in the cold, but the rest of his team wouldn’t last long, and he had no idea where the nearest shelter was aside from the cabin. Freezing to death, while perhaps nicer than some ways to die, was definitely not how he wanted his team to die. No, he had to ensure his team survived this unexpected trip, no matter what happened to him.
After thirty seconds of silence, he knocked again and called, “Hello! Is anyone there?”
“Great, it’s deserted. Now what?” Owen asked from behind him, sounding sullen and cold.
Jack considered the situation, then reached out and pulled on the door handle. To his pleasant surprise, the door opened, and he stared at it for a second. “I guess we go in? Assuming it’s safe, of course.” And there was only one way to find out. The team quickly changed position behind him, hugging the sides of the cabin in preparation for any attack from the interior. Taking a deep breath, Jack pulled the door all the way open and took a step inside, pausing a moment to let his eyes adjust.
Owen had been right. The place was deserted. A quick check with his vortex manipulator confirmed that there were no invisible aliens lurking within, and he gave a sigh of relief. “Come on in, it’s clear,” he said, stepping aside and taking a quick inventory of the cabin. The place was stocked with everything a single person would need to survive, minus the food.
“Now this is a proper log cabin!” Ianto exclaimed once they were all inside, looking up from knocking snow from his hiking boots.
“I’d say…but why are we here?” Gwen asked as she dropped her backpack to the floor and stretched.
“No idea. I’m sure we’ll find out eventually,” Tosh answered, walking over to examine the bed tucked into the far corner of the room. Jack noticed another door at the back of the cabin and went over to check it out, finding himself in a rough lean-to upon opening it. He then smiled as his gaze landed on the pile of wood stacked along the exterior wall. Perhaps things weren’t as dire as he thought.
“While we wait, let’s make ourselves more comfortable. Ianto, you brought matches, right?” he asked, shrugging off his own pack and stepping outside to grab an armload of wood.
“Yeah, I have a few packs. But matches won’t keep us warm forever, Jack,” Ianto replied from inside, then smiled as the man walked back in with the wood. “Ah, never mind. I’ll dig them out for you, then.”
“Excellent. Owen, why don’t you give me a hand?” The team doctor frowned at the suggestion, but nevertheless headed outside to get another armload as Jack stacked his by the wood stove. “Gwen, see what food we brought and if there’s anything else here. Tosh, try and see if we can contact civilization.”
“Gotcha.”
“Will do.”
Whatever had happened to them, his first priority was to make his team comfortable, and that meant getting everyone warm and fed. Only then would he try and figure out what was going on.
The fire hissed as Jack poked it with the end of a fresh log, then crackled as the log was carefully placed on top of those already burning. The man paused for a second before closing the door, basking in the heat from the flames, then shut it and returned to his spot beside Ianto.
They had managed to have a decent meal out of what they had brought and the supplies left in the cabin, although Jack figured no one would be eating oatmeal for a long time to come after the watery stuff he had made. Tosh had gotten the bed by way of a random draw of lots (twigs in this case), and the remainder of the team were stretched out on makeshift beds on the floor.
Ianto murmured in his sleep and edged closer to him as the wind picked up outside, and Jack absently pulled their blankets higher. It had been a long time since he had been in a snowstorm, but he could tell by the sound of the wind that the weather wasn't about to turn nasty. Sure, a little snow would blow around, but they weren't about to get buried under a small mountain of the stuff.
Still, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised by this turn of events. Weird things happened to them pretty much wherever they went. At least they were still on Earth and in a relatively safe place, if you could call a log cabin in the woods in the middle of winter a safe place. Ianto had been right - it was a proper log cabin. No electricity, no wireless connection, no running water, no indoor bathroom…it was like they had been transported to the Canadian frontier from a few hundred years ago. Perhaps they had, since the hand-made wooden furniture seemed like it might have come from that period.
Jack sighed and rolled onto his side, wrapping an arm around Ianto and breathing in the scent of his lover. As much as he would like to stay up all night and think, he knew he needed to rest. There was no telling what might happen tomorrow, and he needed to be prepared for anything.
“Jack. Jack.” The sharp tone in Ianto’s voice drew the man from his melancholy dreams, and he sat up quickly, feeling himself freeze in surprise as he focused on what Ianto was looking at. There, hovering silently above his feet, was a small metallic sphere. Well, that explained the teleportation beam. It was silver and completely featureless, at least as far as he could make out in the faint light from the one small window the cabin possessed.
“How long has it been there?” Jack asked, able to tell by the silence in the room that the rest of his team was awake and alert despite the early hour. He mentally kicked himself for falling asleep - he should have been awake and ready for something to happen, otherwise they all could have been killed in their sleep by the alien sphere.
“It was there when I woke up about a minute ago.” Ianto replied, sounding tense as the sphere shifted slightly at the sound of his voice. “It hasn’t moved from that spot or done anything threatening.”
“It’s like it’s waiting for something…” Gwen said, and this time the sphere visibly turned towards her.
“Let’s find out…” Jack stared at the sphere as it turned back to him, slowly pushing the blankets aside and getting to his feet, the ball rising as he did. Swallowing hard to dispel the metallic taste of dread the sight of the sphere brought, he tried to relax. His last encounter with floating metal spheres was way too fresh in his memory, and he hoped this one would go better. “Hello? Can you understand me?”
“Yes. We are able to understand you perfectly.” The voice that came out of the sphere was a smooth flat monotone, without any indication of gender or personality.
“What do you want? And what exactly are you?” Jack asked, gaze fixed on the floating ball. There was no apparent weapons on it, but he knew that there could easily be a small armoury hidden inside its body.
“We want your help, nothing more. You are the leader of this group, yes?”
“Yes, I’m Captain Jack Harkness.”
“Then please, tell your subordinate to put his weapon away. It will not harm us, and we mean no harm to you.” He looked away from the sphere to see that Owen had his gun pointed directly at the alien. He hadn’t realized he had brought a weapon along as well, but considering there were wolves and bears in the woods, the extra protection was welcome.
The doctor saw his look and frowned. “We don’t know what it could do, Jack. I don’t trust it one bit,” he said tersely.
“Neither do I, but let’s see what they want before we start shooting, ok?” The alien didn’t seem overly threatening yet, and something in its manner made the man inclined to listen before using force. Owen frowned and slowly lowered his gun, but didn’t holster it as the sphere had implied he do. Jack nodded at him to show he was fine with that and looked back towards the alien. Ianto nudged him as he stood up, and he knew that his lover had found Jack’s pistol and was prepared to use it if necessary.
“Thank you. As for what we are, we cannot tell you that, except that what you see before you is merely a scout of ours,” the alien resumed once everyone was focusing on it again.
“How convenient,” Owen grumbled, but the sphere ignored him this time. Jack wondered if the aliens who controlled the scouting device were studying humanity, since he knew aliens in his own time often did so on planets humans had colonized in order to learn about them before making contact.
“You said you needed our help?” he asked after a moment.
“Yes. Specifically, we need your help, Captain. One of our machines malfunctioned due to a rough entry, and we ended up in a time other than what we intended. We scattered scouts throughout a certain timeframe in an effort to find someone who might be able to help us. Eventually, we detected technology on you that we can adapt and use,” the alien replied, then added, “We meant to only transport you here, but we ended up taking the rest of your group…We sincerely apologize for the error.”
“Teleports can be weird sometimes,” Jack said with a smile. Since everyone had been holding on to each other, the teleport had probably read them as one person instead of five. With scrambled machinery, it was no wonder everyone had been taken instead of just him.
“So was it you who prepared the cabin? Or was it just close enough to your crash site that you decided to use it to hold whoever you found?” Tosh asked, clearly trying to dig for information.
“We knew that your species would not survive long in this harsh weather, and so shelter needed to be found. This cabin was found to be convenient for both of us,” the alien replied cryptically, and Jack smiled faintly, taking the answer as a yes to both questions.
“Technology? Do they mean your wrist-thing?” Gwen asked a moment later, and he nodded.
“Vortex manipulator. It’s broken at the moment, so I’m afraid it wouldn’t be much use to you guys.” Well, it wasn’t completely broken - only the time-travelling powers were unusable, thanks to a certain someone.
“How odd…our long-range scans indicated it was operational.” Jack could have sworn the flat voice sounded almost disappointed, if such a thing was possible.
“Looks like your scanners got screwed during the crash along with everything else,” Owen muttered, and the man looked over to see that he was smirking slightly.
“May we scan the device again? Perhaps our technology could be adapted to make up for whatever is broken.” Jack turned towards the alien scout again, eyes narrowing as he considered the offer.
“Say you were able to do that. What would you do with us?” Because if the aliens were just going to leave them stranded in a log cabin while they high-tailed it back to whenever they came from, he didn’t see much point in helping them.
“Return you all to your own time, of course. If you do not wish to help, we will send you back and continue searching for another who holds similar technology,” the alien replied, and he nodded.
“Give us a sec to discuss it.” The sphere floated to the far corner of the cabin as Jack and his team turned to each other. “Well?”
“Don’t trust them. How do you know we’re still on Earth, anyway?” Owen said harshly, shooting the alien scout a dark look.
“I scanned the area around here last night. Unless they somehow managed to reproduce a section of northern Ontario with perfect molecular accuracy, we’re still on Earth,” Jack responded. That must have been when the aliens detected that his vortex manipulator was functioning.
“Think they really will take us home whether we help them or not? I mean, it’s not like we can prove their story if they refuse to meet us face-to-face.” Gwen said after a few moments of silence.
“And we’d have a hard time tracking them down even if we had the right gear,” Tosh pointed out, and Owen nodded in agreement.
Ianto looked torn, but he met Jack’s eyes and spoke. “I don’t like to admit it, but I think we should trust them. What do you think?”
“I want to trust them. Not all aliens are looking to invade or wipe us off the planet,” Jack said, looking at his team and giving them a faint smile. He had witnessed that firsthand, although not for many years now. “I think they have just gotten lost and need help. Are you saying I should refuse them based on the assumption that they are lying?”
“Yes!” Owen said immediately, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Worst comes to worst, we’re stuck here. I can think of worse places to die,” Ianto said, giving Jack a loving smile. “So I say we go for it.” Gwen nodded rapidly to show that she agreed with her team mate, then looked over at Tosh and Owen.
“Ok. Let’s trust them and hope for the best,” Tosh said at least, sounding unhappy about her decision.
“You’re all idiots,” Owen sneered, stepping away from the group and glaring at the alien. Jack sighed and made a mental note to apologize to the doctor and buy him a drink if everything turned out ok.
“If you do fix your machine, I don’t suppose you’d share the technology with me? I’d like to get this thing working again,” he said, turning towards the alien scout as it floated back to him.
“We are sorry, but our directives do not allow us to share our technology with humans at this time,” it responded and Jack sighed. He had expected as much, but it was worth a shot.
“Go ahead, then,” he said, pushing back the sleeve of his greatcoat and holding out his wrist.
“We thank you sincerely, Captain Jack Harkness.” A thin beam of light shot out of the sphere and ran over the device for a few seconds. “Once you are ready, please step outside so we can return you safely.” With that, the sphere glowed and vanished.
“Come on, let’s pack up and see if they are telling the truth,” Ianto said once they were sure it was gone, then added slyly, “I’ll make everyone a cup of tea once we’re back, and cook breakfast.”
“Just don’t make it oatmeal. Please.” Tosh smiled at Owen’s remark and Gwen chuckled as she started to fold up the blankets they had used.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not used to making oatmeal on a wood stove! Besides, I’m sure it was better than anything you could make,” Jack responded, grinning at the mock glare Owen gave him. Packing up would go easier if everyone was in a good mood, after all.
“Ahhh, warm at last,” Tosh sighed, dropping into the deck chair and smiling. Jack smiled as well as he leaned against the railing, happy that they were back in their massive cabin and in their own century. Everything had gone smoothly, with the aliens returning them to the trail they had been taken from. Ianto and Gwen were busy making breakfast, she having insisted on helping him, and Owen was inside watching something on the ridiculously large telly that the cabin had.
“I wonder if the aliens’ technology influenced the weather around here? I should have asked them about it…” Tosh murmured and he chuckled.
“Maybe. I’ve seen lots of alien technology do weird things to stuff around it,” Jack responded, shifting to sit in the chair beside her. “Let’s just hope that the weather remains warm while we’re here, ok?”
“Sounds good to me,” Tosh agreed, and he looked out over the peaceful forest. He was confident that the rest of the vacation would go smoothly. It had to. Because then they could relax and try to pretend that they were normal people for once, on a normal vacation. After everything they had been through, they needed that.
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