Chap 1
For weeks, rumours have spread across Mars, from outposts to settlements, from town to town.
Something that had been buried for centuries has just been uncovered. And as this mysterious force
moves across the southern valley, it leaves behind only silence and death.
A woman walks across the floor and faces a panel of her peers.
"Take your seats, please. I just talked with the Agency. They're concerned that the rumours are getting out of control. They'd like to make a statement in two hours. Some of you may not know we've had another incident." She pauses and forms her next sentence carefully, "At 1520 hours yesterday a freight train, Trans Myfanwy 74 Yankee, returned from the southern valley on auto pilot."
"Initial reports indicated it was a ghost train. It appeared no one was aboard until a single survivor was discovered in a rear compartment."
She taps the screen behind her and it flickers into life, "Lieutenant Ianto Jones, second officer for a
squad of escort Agents. They were assigned to transfer a prisoner from the jail at Shining Cardiff Mine
back here to Torchwood."
As the handsome face of Ianto Jones fills the screen, several panellists lean forward with interest, some with fear, "Lieutenant Jones was taken to hospital under guard. He had superficial wounds but was in otherwise good physical condition. However, traces of an illegal substance, tetromonochloride, were found in his system."
The woman turned and spoke to the guard standing to attention at the door, "Bring him in, please."
Ianto marched in, a slight limp the only tell that he was injured. He snapped off a salute to the panel.
"Lieutenant Jones, please be seated."
"Do I get a lawyer, or don't Agency officers have rights these days?" Jones stayed standing defiantly.
"Representation by counsel won't be necessary. Your rights are protected by the Agency." She assured him, "You can speak freely."
"Then I'm not being charged?" Ianto showed open confusion.
"Sit down, lieutenant." She demanded and as he moved to the chair she continued talking, "This is a discovery hearing, and your presence is required as ranking officer. I want your After Action Report.
Where's the rest of your team? The prisoner you were sent to pick up? What happened at Shining Cardiff?"
Ianto looked nervously at the panel then began to speak.
"Last Friday at 1750, we were slamming through a dust storm on the edge of the southern valley. 74 Yankee was an ore hauler servicing the mines in the outer sector. My squad was hitching a ride
into Shining Canyon."
Sol4 Sol4 Sol4 Sol4 Sol4
"You beat me." John Hart laughed as he pretended to glare at Owen Harper across the table of the skimmer, "Looks like you've played Tarts before."
"No, I never done this." Owen laughed as he won another hand.
"Let's spin them again." John barked with annoyance, "One down and one up. Fuck me, the Five of Bats.
You've got the Wheel. What's your wager?"
Owen leers, "Five bucks."
A young woman struggled down the centre aisle and kneels by a sleeping woman. The young Asian woman, Toshiko Sato, is pretty in a timeless way, her hair swinging around her face as she leans to wake the older black woman.
"Lisa. Hey." Tosh said softly as she touched Lisa Hallett, who sat up with surprise as she blinks and looks about.
"Sorry." Tosh grimaced, "Weather station's tracking a huge storm across the southern sector and we're right under it by now."
"What's the mark on it?" Lisa yawned and checked where the rest of the team were within her sight.
"We should be there by 1800." Tosh says then grabs for the back of a nearby seat as the skimmer if buffeted by wind.
"So, just let me know if you need anything." Tosh smiled before moving back to her seat.
Lisa looked for Ianto and found him in a bottom bunk, drifting.
Lisa leaned in and shook Ianto "Ianto! You high?"
"Fuck, Lisa, it's just Clear." Ianto slapped at her hand as he woke, "Be straighter than this trip long before we hit the canyon."
"You better be. This prisoner transfer is no sleepwalk." Lisa sighed, "We're picking up Jack Harkness."
"You mean Captain Harkness?" Ianto stuttered as he sat up straighter to stare at Lisa.
"Cooling his heels in the Shining Cardiff jail. Deep solitary." Lisa grinned.
Ianto yawned and stretched as he asked "What's the charge this time?"
"Murder." Lisa scoffed.
"Man's been up on murder three times." Ianto laughed, "He gets off every time on self-defence."
"It's different this time. Sounds like he finally went psycho." Lisa looks down at the charge sheet and frowns, "multiple corpses, all mutilated. Harkness shows up at the Shining Cardiff Mine with some bizarre-ass story. Sends three officers to the medevac before they locked him down. You starting to
see the picture?"
"All we got is you, me and this new guy John and a couple of rookies." Ianto gaped.
"What do you think of Sergeant Hart?" Lisa shuffled closer and laid a hand on Ianto's knee. "I mean, I was hoping we'd get a good, solid woman we could count on."
"I don't know." Ianto shrugged, "I guess we'll see."
"Well..." Lisa slid her hand up to his crotch and lightly brushed at his goods, "I need you tight, Ianto."
"Don't worry about that, commander." Ianto shifted in his seat to evade her fingertips, "I'm as tight as they come."
"Such a shame." Lisa smiled softly, accepting the rebuff, "Check on our transfer schedule."
"Shining Cardiff. SC, this is Trans Myfanwy 74 Yankee." The driver, Rhys Williams barked down the com link.
"They ready for us?" Ianto asked and Rhys turned to face him.
"This storm is really kicking up a mess." Rhys answered, "I can't get through to the tower."
"Here's your coffee," Gwen Cooper, Rhys' side-kick said as she entered the cockpit from the galley, "Here Pet. Three sugars and two whites, just the way you like it. You want some?"
"No, thanks." Ianto smiled as it became clear that these two were a couple, "How long?"
"About 40." Rhys snapped before going back to the coms, "Shining Cardiff? SC, this is
Trans Myfanwy 74 Yankee..."
"ETA, 40 minutes." Ianto called as he walked back through the cabin, "Everybody, check your equipment.
I don't want any surprises."
As Ianto went to walk past John, he reached out and snagged Ianto's hand. "Is everything all right, lieutenant?"
"I couldn't help but notice that charming little scene with the queen bee." He explained as Ianto stared at him.
"Yeah, well, you know how the service is, sergeant." Ianto shrugged, "She figures if I want to make
captain, I'll have to pay the price. The thing is, I don't give a damn about wearing another bar."
"Yeah, it could be that." John leered looking Ianto up and down in an appraising manner, "Or she just has
good taste in men."
"Sergeant, you are seriously out of line." Ianto snorted as he retrieved his hand.
"I'd hate to spoil my record." John snorted back.
"All right." Lisa spoke loudly to get everyone's attention, "I know you think you're some pretty tough hombres. You've had the best training, you have the best gear. You probably think this is a routine prisoner transfer. But that's what I want to bang into your heads. There's nothing routine about this prisoner. We are here to pick up Jack "Captain" Harkness. I want you all jack-ready, pardon the pun, and double-tough."
"Officers, you can disembark here." Rhys called out as he brought the skimmer in to land.
"What time is departure? We'll need at least a half an hour to secure our prisoner." Ianto asked as he passed Rhys on the way out the door.
"We got about a four-hour turnaround and we're due back at this spot at around 2200. You can report any time after that." Rhys said then turned to speak to Gwen, "See if you can raise the yard master, will you hon?"
"Ed? Ed, you out there?" Gwen tweaked the comms.
Only static answered.
