Strange things are happening in Cardiff, things that the Torchwood team can't explain but some one is about to come to the team who has the answers that they need. How will each of the team members react to the appearance of someone from their past and what secrets does that person hold?
The End Of Cardiff.
"Some things never change."
The morning was cold, the kind of morning where you couldn't see the sun, blocked by the steady stream of grey clouds, clouds passing over each other, obstructing the suns every chance of spreading it's rays, covering the suns body like a cheap grey suit. The suns heat couldn't be felt either, the air around him biting everything it touched like the children's tale of "Jack Frost". As he breathed out, an almost perfect cloud escaped his mouth, the warmth of his breath mixing with the cold of the air around him. He exhaled again, staring out across the mass of the unnaturally calm sea in front of him. As he turned away from the familiar sight of the sea, pulling his collar up protecting all the skin he could from the biting chill and faced a less familiar sight.
He stared at the new buildings that filled the skyline of the bay, the high rise buildings reaching to the sky but never making it to the clouds, never coming close. The new modern buildings replacing the old run down shops and buildings that stood there before, standing like metal and brick monsters towering over the bay, trying to intimidate the sea but failing. Amongst all this new, unfamiliar skyline, amongst all that was modern, of this time, there was still something he recognised, something that told him he was in the right place, something of old and something that would never change and it made him smile.
"Typical Jack," he half chuckled to himself.
Amongst all the sounds of the yet early morning, the business people starting their journeys, hoping they get to work on time, buses starting their endless circles of their routes, the delivery trucks delivering their precious goods for the consumption of the masses, there was a continuous bleeping sound. A distress call, a call he was meant to answer, a call he knew was coming. He observed the black SUV roar into the plaza, coming to a stop briefly, the engine humming quietly as the doors opened and it's occupants vacated the SUV, it then tearing off. He watched as the unmistakeable figure of Captain Jack Harkness was followed by a younger male and female,walking over to the water tower, stepping onto the path and then disappearing like ghosts.
"Some things never change," he smiled, that familiar grin creeping across his face.
"Kato! If you want to do this for me, do it otherwise stop watching over my shoulder. Any closer and you will be sat on my lap," Arion tells him, throwing him an annoyed sideways glance.
"Thanks for that gross thought Arion. Your like my little sister," Kato remarks, moving away from her desk and back over to his.
"Hey! Less of the little. I'm only two months younger than you are," she replies, annoyance rising in her voice.
"Are you two arguing again?" Ianto asks them both, knowing the answer already, they always did.
They had been so busy arguing that they hadn't heard Ianto come up behind them, hands holding a tray loaded with steaming cups of coffee and tea as Ianto was now not the only person in the hub that drank tea. He placed the tray of seven cups down at the end of Arion's desk, handing her and Kato their cups, placing the other cups on the right workstations.
"Dad! Will you tell Kato. He's doing that annoying looking over my shoulder thing again," she tells Ianto as he rests his hand on her shoulder, the way a father did with his grown daughter, affectionately.
"You should know that she doesn't like it by now Kato," Ianto tells him, gently and only just shaking his head at Kato.
"I know uncle Ianto but sometimes I just can't help myself," Kato tries to explain but he can see by Arion's face that that wasn't an excuse.
"And that is why you don't work with family," Jack almost laughed as he joined the three, Ianto handing him his usual industrial strength coffee which only Ianto could make.
"You know you wouldn't have it any other way Jack," Gwen tells them walking past, her nose deep in a handful of files that she had retrieved from the archives, walking over to her desk and sitting down, briefly looking down to make sure it was her cup she was reaching for, Jack smiling as what Gwen had said was right.
Just as the team were about to settle down to their usual morning coffee break, the rift alert sounded, lights flashing throughout the hub, sirens screaming their alert, indicating that the rift had became active. Over the last week, it become a regular occurrence. Arion wheeled herself over to her to her desk and accessed the computer, tapping at the keypad.
"What is it Arion?" Jack asked her coming to her side, looking over her shoulder.
"Massive energy drainage from sector B12 through B15 and F4. The rift seems to be draining the energy from the local electricity supply," Arion informs him bring up charts.
"There are reports of loss of electricity supplies in those sectors, a report also coming in from two sub stations and the main electricity board reporting mass surges on their stocks and supplies," Kato announced bringing up various charts and reports up on the glass screen, sliding them around as they came in.
"Where is the electricity going to?" Jack asked, knowing full well that he knew the answer already.
"The rift seems to be some how absorbing it," Arion replied, her eyes firmly fixed on the screen in front of her.
"This doesn't make any sense," Kato announced with concern in his voice.
"What is it?" Ianto asks, starting to share his concern knowing that it had to be something unusual to concern Kato.
"The energy or electricity that is being absorbed is being drained by the rift but it isn't going to any particular destination. I have done a scan and there are no alien vessels in orbit or for that matter, anywhere near," Kato replied working frantically running scan after scan.
"It has to be going somewhere?" Jack stated but knowing the rift better than most, also knowing that the rift could be unpredictable.
"Seriously uncle Jack, it isn't going anywhere," Kato replied becoming more and more confused.
Just then, the internal sensors of the hub were triggered. Lights flashed, sirens screamed throughout the hub, adding to the already panic that had the team confused and on edge.
"What now?" John shouted, almost struggling to be heard over the sirens.
Arion rips open the top draw of her desk, fumbling around for a second and then retrieving something and slamming the draw shut again. She leaves her desk and makes for the 3D screen, the hubs newest human technology. Sliding on the gloves that she retrieved from her draw, she begins to bring up the hubs defences, trying to figure out what the treat was.
"Well?............ Arion!" Jack shouted, Arion oblivious to his shouting, more concerned about what was threatening their defences.
"Arion!" Ianto shouted as he watched Arion almost in a trance, sliding commands, stats and updates across the 3D screen, trying to keep the defences online as one by one, they were being hacked and taken down. Defence after defence, firewall after firewall.
"Unknown intruder advancing through levels 4, 5 and 6. Entry into main hub section in 30 seconds. Firewalls and defences failing," came a voice over the hubs speaker system but the words coming from Arion's mouth.
"Who or what is the intruder Arion?" Gwen asks, her voice higher in volume but not at shouting point, knowing shouting at Arion at this point was no use.
"Intruder is of unknown time and origin. Sensors can not verify if the Intruder is of human or alien origin. Entry to main hub section in 25 seconds. Firewalls and defences are almost all destroyed," Arion informs the team as Owen and Tosh enter the main hub area from the rear entrance.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Owen demands to know, making his way with Toshiko to the workstation area.
"The rift detector is telling us that energy is being drained from sectors B12 through B15 and F4 by the rift and it's going nowhere," Kato starts to explain.
"Intruder's entry to main hub section in 20 seconds," Arion warns through the hub's coms but the words still coming from her mouth.
"And to top it all off, we have an intruder burning through our firewalls and defences," Ianto continues to inform Owen.
"Armoury?" Gwen asks already knowing the answer as the armoury keys hurtle towards her.
Taking them and being accompanied by Ianto and Owen, Gwen opens the armoury, removing enough weapons for everyone but Jack and Arion. Handing them back to Owen and Ianto, they leave, Gwen stopping to lock the armoury again before joining the rest of the team.
"Intruder's entry to the main hub section in 15 seconds. 3 firewalls remaining, unable to hold them," Arion announces through the coms.
"Kato, you stay and cover Arion on the work station floor. The rest of you, attack position Alpha 6," Jack ordered as Kato moved away from his desk and into a cover position, his back almost against Arions.
Jack chosen Kato to provide cover for Arion as apart from himself, Kato was the best shot in the team, having a deathly accurate aim and 99% kill rate. The rest of the team spread out throughout the main hub section, making sure they covered every angle and corner of the main hub as they didn't yet know where the intruder would be entering.
"Entry in 5......4......3......2.......ENTRY!" Arion shouted and as she did, the team where left with no doubt as to where the intruder was entering.
The entire main hub section was filled with the most blinding orange, yellow and white light, everyone but Arion having to look away from the blinding light. Every corner of the hub was filled with light, no corner dark, no shadows, the light was so bright and blinding. Once the team had gotten over the initial blinding of the light, they raised their weapons, all except Toshiko, who lowered her weapon right down.
"Tosh! What are you doing? Raise your weapon," Owen instructed her, unbelieving of the fact that she had lowered her weapon knowing an intruder was about to enter the hub.
"There's no need. He has arrived," Toshiko mystically replied to Owen's confusion.
"Who's arrived Tosh?" he asks not seeing that the rest of the team except Kato were slowly lowering their weapons.
"Look!" she tells him, pointing to the dark figure that was now moving through the blinding light of the rift portal and into the main hub.
The figure looked male, standing about 6ft tall, broad, weapons loaded on it's back and it's waist. It had the stature of an old fashioned greek god. From it's hand hung a long, beautifully crafted sword. It's features becoming more clear as the light began to dim around the intruder. It was a man.
"He has arrived home," Toshiko replies as the portal closes behind the intruder.