Title: In These Stones Horizons Sing
Author: Protector of Atlantis
Disclaimer: Okay, here we go with the usual stuff. 1) I DO NOT repeat DO NOT own Stargate: Atlantis or Torchwood. I am just a fan of both shows and sometimes I wish I did because there would be some cool stuff goin on in both show. 2) I suck at titles and summaries (see summary below) and so I am just BORROWING the quote from the Wales Millennium Centre. In no way am I taking credit for the creation of the title.
Summary: While visiting his brother in Cardiff, Major Lorne discovers the existence of a faction of replicators and a dark secret.
Spoilers: Nothing too major. At this point, up to Outcast in season 4 of Atlantis. Maybe a few spoilers for Torchwood season 2. Mainly Sleeper but nothing serious or anything.
Author's Notes: (And believe me, I'm gonna have a few… quite a few!!) Okay, time for the rants. Only saw one episode before I was hooked! And for some strange reason I thought this idea might make a decent story. Just for the record, I'm new to Torchwood but I REALLY love the show. I've only seen two episodes of the first season courtesy of YouTube (Everything Changes and Countrycide.), at least until my copy of season 1 arrives, but I'm completely caught up on the second season. Character wise, Ianto's my favorite. Like the saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." There's more to him than meets the eye, so don't let the suit fool you. Also, I'm not sure where to post this… Stargate Atlantis, Torchwood, or TV Cross Overs. More than likely it needs to go under the latter but crazy ol' me is gonna go with Atlantis for now, since it starts with Atlantis. Another thing, I don't do accents. I mean, the simple things yeah, but I'm not gonna offend someone by trying to type up a sentence with an accent and butcher it. So just imagine that the person with the accent is saying what you are reading. Also not gonna put too much into the whole Jack/Ianto relationship, other than a friendship. It's not that I have anything against the relationship, in fact, I'm all for it. I just don't want to overstep my bounds with the new territory, so maybe in later stories I'll try to expand my depths to include more of a relationship. Don't want to give too much away but, before this story is over, Atlantis WILL fly again!! One last thing, for now anyway, my other story: for details on that please check out my profile. An explanation will be up there soon. And now, on to our feature presentation!! Hopefully you'll enjoy it.
The first thing he noticed was the setup. Very different from the clubs he was used to visiting back home. However, this wasn't Evan Lorne's first experience with an alien environment. In fact, he was used to dealing with them on a daily basis. Although the sights and sounds that amazed him the most were the ones coming from his home planet of earth. But this wasn't a bad type of amazement this was a good one. He had ranked the sights and sounds of Cardiff among the top ones he has seen, yet he could name a few that topped the list. Taking in the sights of the club before him, Evan didn't even see the younger man slide onto the seat next to him.
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, grabbing one of the half full glasses in between them. With no reply, the young man tried again. "Evan?" Finally coming out of his daze, Evan just turned to look at him.
"Huh?" Evan just turned to look at his brother, "did you say something?" Trying not to laugh, Drew took a sip and just looked at Evan.
"Don't tell me that you've already you've had enough and only just started your drink." Smiling, Evan took a sip of his own drink.
"Just the jetlag I suppose. Not quite used to this new time zone yet."
"And here I thought you'd be used to jumping around the world by now. With everything you do with the Air Force and all."
"Yeah, but there's still the occasional place that throws me for a loop." In the two years since they've seen each other, Drew had made a few changes in his appearance. It wasn't that he wanted to be apart that long, but with Drew's classes and Evan's assignments in the Air Force, time wasn't really a luxury where their hectic schedules would allow for overlapping time to hang out. Nonetheless it was great to see him again. However, it would take a bit of time for Evan to get used to the few changes Drew had made. His black hair was a bit longer than it used to be with blonde highlights adorning the tips, which really accented Drew's blue eyes. He was also now just as tall as Evan, whereas in the past, Evan had towered over his brother, even though they were only a year apart. Another feature was the neatly trimmed goatee/ mustache combination that he was now sporting. Evan had to admit that this really freaked him out, due to fact that Drew had always looked like their mom and now, all Evan could think about was their mom walking around with a beard. Taking another drink, Evan returned his attention to the club they were in. "This is a great place. What's the name of it again?"
"Aqua. Though it's kinda hard to forget. The name is on the two columns over by the stairs." Drew said, motioning over towards the entrance. "About two months after I first came here, my roommates dragged me here and I've been coming back now and again."
"I can see why," Evan began with a smile, "that blonde over there has eyeing you for the past half hour."
"Actually, bro. She's been checking YOU out! Now, whaddya say we get outta here. I've got one more thing to show you."
"Lead the way, little brother." Evan said, noting the disappointed look on the young girl's face due to his departure. The blue LCD lighting on the staircase made the ascent to the outside a feeling of floating and weightlessness. Outside the cool night air gave Evan a slight chill in his spine and he quickly countered it by zipping his jacket up to his neck. Looking around, he noticed that there weren't any people outside and couldn't help but feel as if he was a character in a horror movie, about to be slaughtered from some creature hidden in the night. After walking in silence for a few minutes, Evan began to wonder where their destination was and decided to add some noise to the environment. "So, where we headed?"
"Roald Dahl Plass. The Millennium Centre looks awesome at night. Don't worry, it's not far." Evan couldn't help but smile at his brother's enthusiasm. They both had an artistic side the stemmed from their mother being an art teacher. Drew had just chosen to pursue those talents more while Evan chose the Air Force. And he had to admit, Drew picked one of the best places in the world to further his artistic talents.
The peaceful night that had began so well, quickly turned to chaos. From out of nowhere, the sound trashcans being impacted pierced the quiet of the night. Instincts kicking in, Evan broke into a run and took off in search of the source of the disturbance, Drew close on his heels. The trek only took about five minutes until the Lorne brothers came to their destination. Upon arrival, they discovered the scene was littered with garbage and damaged trash bins scattered about. About two hundred feet away from them, two men were standing near where the may lay had apparently began. One man stood over six feet tall, dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans, and appeared to be in pursuit of another, smaller, man who was clad in khaki pants and wore a white polo shirt, which was slightly torn. From the dim lighting around, Evan could tell he was battered and bruised. Cautious to approach for fear of not knowing the situation provoking the attack, or the strength of the former or if any weapons were in use, Evan kept his distance.
The smaller of the two was on the ground, trying to escape his attacker. Inching closer, Evan tried to get in range to hear what the two were saying. Surprisingly enough, the loud disturbance hadn't attracted the attention of any others. From out of nowhere, the smaller man pulled a gun on the other man in a last ditch effort to defend himself.
"Stay back!" The man yelled, waving the gun, trying to deter his assailant. His attempt to get to safety was halted as his back hit the bricks of the building behind him. An already unsteady hand began to tremble even more, the grip on the gun also becoming unsteady. The moment the gun was drawn, Evan immediately went into 'military mode'.
"Hey!" He called, trying to diffuse the situation. The taller man turned to gaze at Evan and just smiled, confident even in the fact that he had a gun drawn on him. The quivering victim never took his eyes off of the man who was tormenting him. After ignoring Evan completely, the man began to speak to the cowering person in front of him.
"You're making this a lot harder for the both of us, Adrian." He began. "All I want to know is where the package is."
"I don't… I don't know what you're talking about." Adrian, as he was identified, responded with fear. Wanting to do more than just watch, Evan tried to inch closer but was halted by his brother's grip on his arm.
"Evan, what are doing?"
"I've got to do something, anything!" He said through clenched teeth.
"And get yourself killed in the process? How would you propose I explain that to mom and dad?" Drew asked, the concern for his brother clearly painted on his face. Before anything else could be said shots rang out through the night. Quickly turning back towards the scene the brothers couldn't believe what they were seeing. For where the assaulter's right hand was, there was now a long silver blade. Evan swore that his heart stopped beating because of the thoughts that were running through his mind at that moment. "Where the hell did that guy get that sword thing?"
'No, it can't be.' Evan thought, eyes wide at what he was seeing.
"What the hell are you?" Adrian asked in disbelief, the barrel of his gun still smoking slightly. The only response he got was of the bigger man closing in on him. As he stepped into the light, Adrian fired once again.
This time, Evan heard the sound tiny particles scattering with every shot. Not only that, one of his wounds was clearly visible from the illumination of the street lamp. A medium sized wound, silver in appearance, instantly healed itself and returned to the form of pink flesh. As he gazed in disbelief at what he was seeing, even thought to himself if his heart wasn't beating before, it definitely wasn't beating now. He knew what he was seeing. Thankfully for Evan, Drew didn't observe the wounds healing due to the fact that he had finally gotten out his phone to call for help. That would be that much less to try to explain to him.
"This could have gone a lot easier if you would have just cooperated. But now, it ends." Without hesitation, the towering figure drew back his arm and quickly thrust blade into Adrian's lower torso. Not quite registering what had happened, Adrian slowly glanced down at the blade that penetrated his body, and then looked back up as blood began to pour from his mouth.
"Oh my God!" Drew gasped, looking back to the scene before him. He couldn't believe what was happening and just let his phone drop to the ground, unaware that it had left his hand. Not knowing of anything to say or what else to do, Evan took off at breakneck speed towards the injured man. Turing to once again look at the approaching Evan, the man withdrew the blood soaked blade and gave him another smile before walking off into the dark. If it wasn't for the badly injured, very bloody Adrian, Evan would have given further pursuit, but the wounded man took priority. Kneeling beside him, Evan took off his jacket and balled it up to use as a pillow to comfort Adrian as much as possible.
"Just hang on. Help's on the way." He told him, trying to think of what he could do. As Drew came over by his brother, Evan ripped off his outer shirt, buttons flying everywhere. Tearing off a sleeve, he used it to apply pressure to the wound to try and get the bleeding under control. In the distance, Evan could hear the sirens of the approaching police cars. Looking up to see if he could spot the cars for any signs of hope, he noticed that the gunshots had brought out a few more onlookers before feeling a hand grabbing at his shirt. Glancing down, it appeared that Adrian was trying to say something, but the strain was taking its toll on him. "Don't talk. Help will be here soon. You're gonna be fine." But it was all in vain. With one final breath, the blood that had pooled in Adrian's mouth bubbled before a blank stare overtook the man's face. An anguished look crossed Evan's face with the fact that there was nothing more he could have done.
In the ten minutes that it took for the police to arrive, it seemed like hours had passed. Drew did most of the explaining while Evan just started at the ground in disbelief. He either had the worst of luck or this was a very cruel coincidence that this was happening now. The officer taking their statements had just finished writing down the information when another officer approached him and whispered something to him. Evan looked up to see the paramedics zip up the body bag and load the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. Noticing this, the officer put his hand on Evan's shoulder in a comforting gesture.
"You did what you could. That's all anyone could've asked for." The officer told him. All Evan could do was nod. It wasn't just the death that bothered him. It was how he was killed that bothered him the most. "We appreciate your help, but we'll need you to talk to the specialists." Evan couldn't help but notice the officer's sarcasm as he indicated the black SUV with blue lights lining the sides of the windshield that had just pulled up beside the police cars that decorated the area. As the SUV parked, four people, two men and two women, climbed out and took up a position in front of the vehicle. The four split into two teams and headed into two different directions. One team consisted of a man who had what appeared to be a medical kit, accompanied by a woman who appeared to be of Japanese decent and was holding a computer tablet. Those two entered the back of the ambulance to examine the body, Evan had guessed. The other two spoke to the officer who had just finished talking to Evan and Drew.
"Who are these guys?" Evan asked, indicating the SUV and the occupants.
"They're some kind of special ops guys." Drew explained. "From my understanding, they handle the weird cases and the unexplained occurrences."
'Great.' Evan thought. 'How am I gonna get out of this one?' No sooner had Drew finished explaining this to Evan, the man speaking to the officer, who also happened to be wearing a coat that looked like it came from World War II, approached Evan and Drew, taking out a small notepad and a pen.
"Gentlemen, would you mind telling me what happened here?" He asked, barely even looking up at them. Before Evan could try to explain, Drew started up.
"Like we told the officer, my brother and I were walking when we heard this loud crash. We came over and saw these two guys in the middle of it. The guy who died pulled a gun and shot the bigger guy a few times before he had this sword-like thing on his arm that came out of nowhere. Next thing we know, he's gone and the other guy's bleeding to death."
"Uh-huh." The man said while writing down what Drew had just said. Looking up, he began to press for more details. "This bigger guy, what did he look like." Again, it was Drew who spoke.
"He was around six foot five. Black hair. He was wearing jeans, a black leather jacket and a white shirt. He looked to be in his late twenty's or early thirties."
After writing the details down, he looked at Evan. "You're awfully quiet. Is there anything you want to add?"
"No." Evan replied. "It happened the way my brother described it." Evan hoped he would believe what they were saying and not press the matter any further than need be.
"Okay. All I need to do is get your names and we'll be done for now." He said, flipping to a new page in his pad.
"This is Drew Lorne and my name is Evan. Evan Lorne"
"Major Evan Lorne." Drew added, to the unseen annoyance of his brother.
"Major?"
"United States Air Force." Evan filled in.
"Well Major, thank you for your help and cooperation." With that he closed his notepad and turned to rejoin his teammates. Noticing that Evan started to rub his arms from the cold, Drew moved over to his brother.
"Lets get back to my place. You look like you're about to freeze." Drew said, putting is arm around his brothers shoulders.
"Sound's like a plan." Evan responded, putting on a fake smile. Taking off into the night, the twenty-minute walk seemed to take forever. Finally reaching the flat that Drew shared with his schoolmates, Evan went to his bag by the couch and pulled out a jacket and his radio as Drew walked into his room to change clothes. "Are you sure your roommates don't mind me crashing here?"
"Not at all." Drew responded from his room. "They're off visiting family and God only know what else. So by the time they get back, they won't even know you were here."
'Good.' Evan thought. 'The less they know about tonight the better.' Pulling on his jacket, Evan turned his attention to his radio before telling Drew of his plans. "I'm gonna step out on the balcony for a bit to get some air." Not waiting for a reply, he hurriedly stepped on the balcony of the top floor flat and made sure that no one else was outside before switching on his radio.
"This is Major Evan Lorne calling any Air Force ships in orbit, please respond. Repeat, this is Major Lorne calling any ships in orbit."
High above the Earth's surface, the U.S.S. Apollo silently orbited the planet, ready to respond to any threat that may present itself.
"Repeat this is Major Lorne to any ship in orbit."
"Major Lorne, this is Colonel Ellis on board the Apollo. We're reading you."
"Colonel, I'm sorry to bother you but I need to you to relay a message to Atlantis for me."
"Of course. But I thought you were on leave."
"I am. At least I was. A situation as developed here and it requires immediate attention." After hearing the urgency in the Major's voice, Ellis quickly figured out that something was horribly wrong."Go ahead, Major."
"The message is to Colonel Sheppard. We have a Replicator loose on Earth. Again."
I want to apologize for the redundant use of "the man" earlier. I just didn't want to give too much away. Also, please forgive me for any mistakes in spelling and word arrangement. I'm working on this after work and my brain is pretty much fried after a long day. I'd be honored if anyone has suggestions for me and if they would want to proof read anything for me before I update. Any and all criticisms are welcomed and appreciated! Thanks again, and I'll try to get another chapter up soon!