All was quiet in the hub as Jack rested his feet on his desk. A coffee on hand and his laptop open, he read through the recent files and reports on the last rift activity. It had been quiet these past few days and he'd almost wish something would happen, just to give him something to do. For the longer the tedious hours grew, the fewer excuses he could give himself to avoid doing the piles of paperwork he commonly circumvented.
His heart skipped a beat as some unknown entity must have read his thoughts for the main computers began to ring out. Jack stood from his desk narrowly avoiding spilling his coffee over his lap and went to the door to his office.
As he looked down he saw Gwen at the computer, first to respond to the alert.
"The rift again?" he asked, no surprise if he were correct
"No, the computer has just detected something approaching us at high speed, currently unidentified" Gwen replied as she rapidly typed it her board "It seems it has entered the atmosphere and is about the make a landing not far from Welsh border"
"Sure it's not a plane?" asked Ianto as he looked at the screen from behind her.
Gwen shook her head "Too small, we could research into airline flights headed over the country, but I still doubt it. Plus, it entered from earth's outer atmosphere which can only mean extra-terrestrial or a satellite".
By now Jack had made his way down the steps and was currently pulling on his coat. "Okay, Gwen keep in touch and update us on its route. Ianto, you're with me. If it is extra-terrestrial, then I want to get on it before any civilians and if they're friendly's then they might need our help"
Gwen set to work tracking the object and estimating its landing point. By the time Jack and Ianto had gotten into the SUV and onto the road, she patched through to Jack's earpiece.
"Go ahead Gwen"
"Jack it's just landed, and I was right, get onto the M4 and head straight for the border"
"Thanks Gwen, keep an eye out for any more activity" Jack put his foot down and sped down the motorway. He managed to make it within an hour. Luckily it was noon, and rush hour traffic had passed. Gwen directed them to the exact location, forcing them to leave the car and track over a hill.
Smoke had already begun to rise above the hill and Jack had many an idea of what would be on the other side, however his stomach flipped upon what they found.
At the bottom of a large crater spanning 200 yards, a small wooden police box sat tilted against the dirt. Jack immediately sprung into action as he ran down the hill and into the crater. Upon reaching the familiar box, a feeling of dread washed over him as he couldn't feel her comforting hum. She was silent.
"Jack, is it him?" Ianto questioned as he climbed down behind him
Jack failed to answer as he reached for his key and opened the door. Smoke billowed out of the ancient ship forcing the two men to cover their mouths. Once most of the smoke had gone down, Jack made the first move and entered the TARDIS.
He was surrounded by darkness; the only light was coming from the open door. "Ianto, open the doors wide and get some light in here"
Ianto followed Jack's orders and allowed some more light into the console room "What the hell?" he gasped under his breath, as he first noticed the sheer size of the ship.
"Doctor?" Jack adjusted his eyes to the rooms dim light, he could already tell the ship was damaged as smoke poured from the central console. He took out his flashlight and scanned the room "Doctor!"
The silence worried him. If the TARDIS was this badly damaged, then there's no telling what state her pilot was in.
"Jack!" Ianto called from one of the coral struts at the opposite side of the room. Jack made his way over to him and his heart sunk as his light illuminated the unconscious form of the Doctor.
Jack dropped to his knees next to the Time Lord "Shit" On the first inspection, it seemed the Doctor was lifeless, it was only when Jack checked his pulse could he breathe a sigh of relief. Blood oozed from a gash on his forehead and pooled onto the floor, more blood stained his suit trousers on his lower left leg, but what caught Jack's attention was his right arm. Its angle was off, he knew it was broken and needed immediate treatment.
"Ianto can you fetch the medical bag from under the console please?" Whilst Ianto went to retrieve the bag, Jack checked the Doctor's arm and breathing. He wasn't too happy with his rapid breaths and wanted to provide him assistance as soon as possible.
Ianto returned with a bag the size of a briefcase, he opened it and halted at the sight of its contents. Whilst equipped with some basic first aid, he wasn't familiar with this level of medical instruments.
"Don't worry" Jack noticed Ianto's reaction "Just do as I say"
Ianto nodded "Sir"
"Firstly I need you to get in contact with Martha for me and put her on speaker" Ianto proceded to take out his phone and flick through his contacts.
Meanwhile, Jack made use of the medical kit and set to work. Firstly, he retrieved the small head torch and placed it on his head to free both hands. He then took out the small oxygen mask and tank and placed it over the Doctor's nose and mouth.
"Looks like you've breathed in some of that foul air aye Doc?" Not surprised he didn't receive a reply, he didn't let it get to him as he heard a familiar voice
"Dr Jones" Martha answered
"Martha it's Jack"
"Oh Jack, hello"
"Hi. Listen I need you to get to Wales ASAP" he informed her as he placed temporary gauze over the bleeding wound on the Doctor's leg
"I can't right now Jack, I've got patients here"
"This isn't a personal call Martha. I've got an injured Timelord here just on the outskirts of Wales and he going to need some proper treatment"
"What do you mean!" she panicked
Jack began collecting the necessary supplies in order to make a splint for the Doctor's arm as he replied "We received an alert back at the hub. It was the TARDIS entering the atmosphere, but she's crash landed. By the looks of it he's got a bad break in his arm, several minor wounds located on his head and leg and possible toxic fumes in his lungs. He remained unconscious since we've got here so he's possibly got a serious concussion"
"Okay, keep him comfortable until a get there. Put him in a neck brace and control any bleeding. I'll try to get the Unit Helicopter to drop me off" she answered
"Will there be room for us?" Jack asked
"There isn't any need, I was just planning on treating him in the TARDIS, she's best equipped for him"
Jack sighed "That's the thing Martha. The TARDIS is dark, there's no light or sounds coming from her console. If it were up to me, I'd say she was dead"
It's been a while since I've written any stories, so I hope I'm not too rusty.
If you like what you've read so far, I know it's not much, please leave a review. Thanks
:)