Ianto glanced at the darkening sky as he mentally reviewed his list of errands. Lunches had been picked up from the new Indian takeaway. The incidental shopping sat on the back seat, and all the items ticked off his list. The mail from the post office box had been picked up, including a many times re-addressed parcel for Jack. And it looked like he had minutes to spare to get back to the Hub before the storm hit.
He smiled as the light changed. Good. Make this one, and he'd catch the rest all the way back. There was a roll of thunder. A freshening breeze snapped flags and banners for the latest Welsh Tourism push, smartly unfurling them. Ianto wasn't normally one to go in for ostentatious displays, but he had to admit that against the gray sky it was rather cheering.
He pulled into the loading zone and hustled his bags and bundles into the Tourist Office before moving his car around to its regular parking space. Thunder boomed, louder this time, and a strike of brilliant lightening flashed brightly over the bay. Ianto opened his umbrella as the first, fat drops began to fall. He looked up at the sky, then tilted his head in consternation as he followed the track of the raindrops to the pavement. Ianto froze for just a second as he decided his eyes were not playing tricks, and ran for the safety of the Tourist Office.
"Shut that noise off!" Jack snapped from the doorway of his office.
The klaxon signalling a Rift alert cut off as abruptly as it sounded.
"Thank you, Tosh," Jack said, in a slightly less cranky tone. He was nursing a headache brought on by too much paperwork and an over-long conversation with the Prime Minister. What he wanted more than anything at that moment was a cup of coffee and one of Ianto's special neck rubs, instead of the impending crisis signalled by the alert. "What have we got?"
Toshiko was at her station, fingers flying over her keyboard. Owen lounged against the rail above the med bay. Gwen, sitting on the old sofa, set down a thick anatomy text and looked up at Jack.
"It's a highly localized disturbance," Toshiko reported. She was cut off.
Ianto's voice cut in over the P.A. System. "Jack. The rain. You need to see this."
Jack allowed irritation to spill into his voice. "Ianto, this is Cardiff. I think I've seen it rain before. Besides we're in the middle-"
"Jack, the rain," Ianto cut over again. "It's purple."
Jack bolted for the Tourist Office.
Toshiko remained at her workstation. She brought the CCTV camera feeds outside on the Plass online and patched them over to one of the display monitors. The camera feed was monochrome, and on the display, the strange rain looked black.
Owen pushed off the rail and went to stand behind Toshiko. "Un-bloody-believable," Owen said as he looked at the display. "It's not enough we get alien rubbish through the Rift, now we get their weather too?"
Gwen followed a moment later. She tilted her head as Toshiko applied filters to the feed, giving it the approximation of colour. "It's sort of pretty, though, isn't it?"
Toshiko, glanced at the display and went back to her work. "Owen, bring up the National Weather Service, see if they're getting any other disturbances. Gwen, local Emergency Services, see if people are being affected by the rain."
"Affected?" Gwen said, still mesmerized by the unusual weather. "How?"
Owen brought his computer up and typed. He glanced at radar maps and alerts as he replied."Chemical burns, behavioural changes, anything weird. Just because it's pretty, doesn't mean it's not dangerous." To Toshiko, he added, "It's just Greater Cardiff that's affected. So far there's no special alerts."
"We're going to need samples," Toshiko replied absently, as she began to flip from feed to feed, trying to judge the number of people caught out in the strange storm.
"Got it," Ianto announced.
Ianto and Jack entered. Ianto held his umbrella open and upside down. "Best I could do," he said with a shrug.
Owen was already moving toward the medical bay. "Well don't dally, Ianto. Let''s see what you've got."
Holding the umbrella well out in front of him, Ianto carried the sample carefully into the med bay while Jack moved to Toshiko's workstation. "Anything?"
Toshiko looked at her display, glanced at Jack standing close at her shoulder, and back again at the display. "Highly localized. Definitely not terrestrial, unless the government is conducting some sort of secret meteorological experiment. It could be what it appears: that a rain cloud from some other planet slipped through the Rift."
"You don't sound convinced," Jack said.
"I started a database check as soon as Ianto made his report," Toshiko said. "There's no record of alien weather. Plants and animals, yes. Tech, definitely. But never a weather system. There's something we're not seeing here."
In the medical bay, Owen had shucked his jacket in favour of a lab coat, gloves and a mask. He had already carefully decanted the rain sample out of the umbrella and into a flask. Now, he was further separating samples into a series of test tubes and onto a slide for analysis. "Right, then, let's see just what you are," he said softly to the drop of liquid. He carefully slipped a glass slide cover onto the sample and slid it under the microscope.
He focused down and frowned. The results weren't unexpected, but they were troubling all the same. Under the eye-piece, thousands of tiny organisms swam, bumped up against one another, divided and moved away again. The water teemed with microscopic life. "Right," Owen said, moving to the small refrigerator. He removed a rack of test tubes and several petri dishes. Each contained a different type of media on which to culture samples. Working quickly, he inoculated the media and placed it in a series of temperature-controlled cubbies, varying the conditions from Arctic to tropical. He stepped back, thinking, and went to his small collection of alien potted plants. Selecting an unused terrarium, he inoculated it as well.
Toshiko watched Owen, busy with his samples. She noticed how intently he worked and wished there was a way she could help. When he filled his terrarium, she had an idea. There was a fish bowl under the sink in the kitchen. It had been there for ages, and she had, at various times, wondered who had kept a pet in the Hub. She rinsed the bowl out with fresh water, took it to the tidal pool, knelt, and filled it nearly to the shoulder. She then carried her offering to Owen.
"What do have there?" he said, barely looking up from his work.
"Well," she began, suddenly thinking it was a stupid idea, "you've got samples growing in all sorts of media, but I noticed you didn't include any sea water. The rain did fall over the bay as well as the land, so I thought..." Toshiko trailed off, realizing the statistical probabilities of enough of the inoculate falling in such a vast body of water and not being diluted or otherwise negated was probably negligible. "It was a stupid idea."
Owen started to brush the side of his face, thought better of it considering he was still gloved, and said,"No, not entirely stupid, Tosh. Granted, the chances are pretty slim, but you never know." He glanced at the fish bowl. "I think I have something 'round here slightly more appropriate than that." He took the bowl out of Toshiko's hands and set it on the counter.
"Well, I guess I better get back to work," she said as she hurried out of the medical bay.
Owen grunted an acknowledgement as he rummaged among his his supplies for a more controlled environment to set up the water experiment. He found a disused three gallon aquarium in the cabinet behind a stack of emesis basins and other gear, rinsed it out, carefully filled it with brackish water, and added a dropper full of purple rain. Covering all the microbial bases he could think of, Owen then moved on to a chemical analysis.
"So, purple rain, and not a song by the artist formerly known as Prince," Jack said as the team gathered in the boardroom. The Indian takeaway had been re-heated to piping hot and Ianto served it as the others took their places. "Tell me about it."
"Food first, boss," Owen said, as he shovelled dal onto naan bread. "Doctor's orders. I'm starving."
There was a general murmur of agreement, and Jack conceded the point as Ianto set a coffee at his elbow. He sipped and his stomach growled in response. Lunch was hours late. It was actually bordering on teatime as they gathered to confer. The room went quiet except for the occasional request to pass a carton or tray.
Gradually, incidental conversation began to resume. Jack pushed his plate away. Ianto rose and began to gather the empties. After he returned and served fresh coffee and tea, Jack cleared his throat and brought the briefing to order. "We got lucky today. Casualties were confined to a few cases of easily-treated dermatitis. Thank you, Owen for getting with the A&E Departments so quickly." Jack met Owen's look of surprise with a quick smile of affirmation before he continued. "Also, the MoD and the rest have issued the usual round of denials and the Green party people are feeding conspiracy theories left and right to the media, so we don't have to worry about planting any of our own disinformation." Jack paused and took a swallow of coffee. "Owen, why don't you tell us what we do know?"
"Right." Owen stood up, went to the display board, and as Ianto dimmed the lights, put his first slide up for the others to see. A shot of black clouds and fierce rain boring down over the Plass, obviously screen captured from the afternoon news, hung behind him as a backdrop. "First of all, that wasn't just water falling out of the sky." He switched to the next view, tiny creatures flitted back and forth in their microscopic home. "The rain is composed of water, protein chains, nitrogen, phosphorous, magnesium and several trace minerals, some of which are not commonly found on Earth. In addition, it's been seeded with these beauties." He tapped at the screen with his thumb and forefinger. "This isn't just random rainfall, someone was deliberately trying to manipulate their environment."
"Terraforming?" Jack said.
"Seems a good possibility, though I'm hardly an expert," Owen admitted.
"Terraforming, what's that then?" Gwen asked.
"Terraforming are ways to make useless land useful," Jack answered. "It's been done since ancient times, with techniques like terracing fields and diverting waterways. Eventually, people will do it on a planetary scale. But not," he added, "for a very long time."
"Wait a minute," Gwen said. "You mean like in the films? Blow something up in the sky or drill down into the earth and seed like a field of wheat? Only end up with plants and birds and things?"
"Something like that, yeah," Jack replied. "The end result, when it works, is a usable habitat."
"And when it doesn't?" Ianto asked.
"Then you get trouble." Jack took a deep breath and let it out as possibilities reeled out before his tired brain. "I'm hardly an expert either, but I do know that the success rate for planetary terraforming was only something like one in three, and that was after years of experimenting. It's not easy to create the right environment, and even then, it's got to be sustained. It's tricky business."
"But that's for a bare planet, or an asteroid, or somethin', yeah?" Owen said. "We've already got an oxygen atmosphere."
"That's true," Jack replied. "But you have to remember, not all species are oxygen breathers. Some races would look at our atmosphere as a toxic one that would need to be converted."
"We may have dodged a bullet then," Ianto said as he rejoined the others at the table.
"What do you mean?" Jack replied.
Ianto straightened the cuffs of his shirt before answering. "In the films, the seeding part is usually a secondary phase. First they clear everything unwanted away with some sort of sterilization process."
"That makes sense," Toshiko said. "If you're recreating the environment, you'd want to start with a clean slate." She stared into her tea cup for a moment, contemplating the scenario. "Suddenly a little purple rain, doesn't seem so bad."
"Well, aren't you a cheerful lot," Owen said as he looked at the grim faces around the table.
"Owen's right," Jack said. "Let's not think about the apocalypse that wasn't, because we need to plan for the one we might face. Is there anything in your samples we need to worry about?"
Owen shrugged and shook his head. "It's too early. I need hours, maybe days, before I know what else they've injected into that brew. I know there are seeds and spores, but for what, and if they'll survive or if they'll impact what's already here, it's just too early to tell." Owen sat back into his chair and slumped, staring at the slide of microscopic life. "We'll just have to wait and see."
"And on that cheerful note," Jack said as he looked at the faces of his team. Each of them looked as tired as he felt. "Finish up and go home, people."
Ianto finished the washing up and put a fresh kettle on to boil. He made Jack a stack of sandwiches, knowing the captain's odd hours and frequent need for late-night snacks, and put them in the refrigerator. When the water bubbled, Ianto warmed a pot and made tea. He glanced at his watch. It was still reasonably early by Torchwood standards. He finished assembling the tray and carried it up to the office.
Jack looked up, not exactly surprised to see him standing in the doorway, tray in hand, but not expectant either. "I thought I told you to go home."
"Your exact instructions," Ianto said, as he cleared a space for the tray, poured Jack a cup, and handed it to him, "were to 'finish up' and go home. I've just completed my duties, sir, unless you require anything?"
Jack looked up at the younger man and smiled. "You're too literal for your own good sometimes, Ianto Jones." He sipped appreciatively at a cup of fragrant Earl Grey and winced as his neck pinched. "Actually," he said, bending forward until he leaned against the desk, "if you don't mind?"
Ianto stepped behind Jack and placed his hands on the captain's shoulders. The muscles were taut underneath his fingers. "It might be easier, if you removed at least your outer shirt."
"And you might be more comfortable if you took off a few layers yourself," Jack replied, the leer in his voice unmistakable as he sat up, thumbed his braces off his shoulders, and went to work on his shirt buttons.
Ianto took the hint, but only as far as removing his suit jacket and hanging it carefully on the coat rack before pocketing his cuff links and rolling up his sleeves.
"That's... ow... oh..." Jack fell silent aside from the occasional inarticulate hiss as he slumped over his desk and let Ianto work the tension out of his back. They remained that way for some time, Ianto quietly working away at knots and stress points, while Jack let his attention drift; putting aside the problems of troublesome politicians and inexplicable weather. Jack realized Ianto's fingers were no longer moving over his bare skin and he was close to falling asleep with his head pillowed on his hands. He yawned and stretched his arms high over his head, reveling in the sense of contentment. "Thank you, Ianto, that really helped."
"Always pleased to be of assistance, sir." Ianto flexed his fingers, easing the muscles of his hands.
Jack noticed the motion and said, "Here, let me do that. And a new rule. Unless we're role-playing, if we're off the clock and clothes are removed, you will call me Jack."
"Really, it's not-" Ianto quit speaking as his fingers were caught up in Jack's strong, warm grip. "You could make good money doing that, s'Jack," he said, slurring his words as he quickly caught himself.
"What makes you think I haven't?" Jack replied with a wolfish grin. It was fun watching Ianto loosen up, and it amused him every time he found a new way to get that oh, so serious, demeanour to crack. He glanced at the package and decided it could wait a little while longer as he rose from his chair, and divested Ianto of his waistcoat, shirt and another layer of his veneer of self control, before leading him downstairs.
Far out in the Bay, a fingerling eel, looking for a easy meal, opened its jaws and darted forward in the murky water. It captured a small, unsuspecting minnow and an even smaller larva, newly hatched from a very strange egg. Voracious, it swam on, unaware it was on its final hunt.
Ianto climbed silently out of the darkness of Jack's lair and into the softly lit office. He collected his suit coat, draping it over his arm along with the rest of his clothing. Jack was asleep, sprawled across his bunk. Ianto had endured it for a time, trying to ignore that he was being gradually forced closer and closer to the edge of the mattress, but the space really wasn't big enough for two grown men, and Jack was being particularly greedy. Besides, Ianto reminded himself, as he stepped into his trousers, it was easier to go back to calling Jack 'sir' when he didn't wake up spooned in his embrace.
Ianto glanced at his watch and sighed. It was much later than he had intended to stay, barely worth driving home, considering he would have to be back in just a few hours time. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but Jack had a way of making him feel so boneless and content, it was difficult not to drift off under the best of circumstances, and he'd already put in a long, full, day by the time they'd gone downstairs. There was a fresh suit in his locker. He supposed he could set his watch alarm and stretch out on the couch for a bit. As long as he was up, showered, and dressed before the others arrived, no one would be the wiser.
Inside its host, the larva attached to a rich blood vessel and began to feed, safe and secure. From time to time, it twitched and wiggled as it shed outer layers of cells and grew fat and sleek, thriving in the strange, but hospitable, environment.
Jack woke up alone. He yawned and stretched and glanced at the bedside clock only to find morning was hours away. The evening had been pleasant, but ever the insomniac, Jack was wide awake and knew he could find ways to pass the time until the others arrived to start the new work day.
He showered and dressed in fresh clothes, then climbed the ladder to the floor above. His stomach growled noisily, so he bypassed his desk with its ever-present in-box, and headed for the kitchen. In the refrigerator, Ianto had left him roast beef sandwiches on a plate, neatly covered with cling-film. He grabbed a carton of juice, opened it, and then froze with the carton halfway to his mouth. He listened, hard. The sound, a soft snuffling, came from the darkness below. He set the plate and carton down on the counter and reached for his Webley, frowning when he realized he hadn't put his gun and holster on when he dressed. On silent feet, he moved to investigate.
He followed the sound down to the main level, moving carefully in the darkness. When he reached its source, he crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Ianto rolled over on the couch and sighed into the worn woollen blanket that covered most of his face. He shifted and turned, throwing a bare arm out to fall at his side. Jack looked down on the sleeping man and his lips formed a moue trying to work out why Ianto had gotten out of his bed, clearly with the intention of going home, only to end up on the sofa. Jack found he felt curiously out of sorts. Not upset, exactly, but at the same time, it definitely felt like a kick to his ego.
He supposed it was another phase in his curiously evolving affair with Ianto Jones. Somewhere along the line, he'd stopped sleeping with Ianto strictly out of convenience. Now they were in a sort of no man's land. Not in a relationship, but not merely in it for a shag either. Jack stepped away quietly, reclaimed his post-midnight snack from the kitchen, and retreated back to his office.
The package was still sitting there. Jack stuffed the remains of a neatly-cut triangle of beef and bread into his mouth, washed it down with orange juice, and picked up the parcel. It was wrapped in brown paper and seemed curiously old-fashioned. The writing on the label looked like it had been done using a nib pen and ink. Using a paper knife, Jack slit the wrappings open. Underneath was a hat box. He lifted the lid. A sheet of heavy-stock writing paper rested on top of a bed of raffia. The letter was short and to the point.
"For you, Jack."
There was no signature.
Jack picked up the outer wrapping again and examined it closely. Whoever addressed the label had done so simply, writing nothing more than: Jack Harkness, Torchwood, United Kingdom. Through the miracle of government bureaucracy, it had travelled from Torchwood Hong Kong, (Shut down officially a year before the hand over to the Chinese, and rumoured to still trade in alien artefacts, if the price was right.) to the London Office, (Officially destroyed, but not even that would keep the mail from its rightful destination.) and finally, to Cardiff. The original postmark seemed to have been somewhere in the Gansu province of China.
Jack frowned. It had been a long time since he'd known anybody in China, and he didn't recall anyone from that far north.
He looked into the box. Whatever it was, it was obscured by layers of careful padding. Jack lifted the bundle out and carefully began to divest the wrappings. Inside, was a palm-sized phoenix carved in exquisite translucent white jade. Jack took a breath and held it to the light. It looked and felt very, very, old. Very old and expensive. Very old, expensive, and inexplicably dangerous, but perhaps that was the fierce expression in the finely wrought eyes, or the powerful sense of muscle and sinew that whoever had carved the piece had infused into his work. It was also, strangely enough, reassuring. As if, as long as Jack kept the piece near him, he would be safe.
Jack set the jade carving down on his desk and regarded it thoughtfully as he ate the rest of his sandwiches. It was a beautiful mystery. And for a change, it was one he looked forward to investigating.
"That's very pretty," Toshiko said as she set the morning's Rift projections and a statistical risk analysis based on meteorological data of their purple rain on Jack's desk.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Jack replied, his mind elsewhere. Ianto had appeared on time and in a fresh suit, giving no sign or reason why he had spent the rest of the night on the communal sofa. Thinking of Ianto reminded him of the coffee sitting at his elbow. He picked up his mug and took a swallow, grimacing as he realized he'd let it go cold. "Know much about antique jade?"
"Only enough to know I couldn't afford a piece like that," Toshiko admitted. "Someone must like you to send you such an expensive gift."
Jack gave her a curious look. "How do you figure?"
Toshiko met his gaze. "Would you spend that much on an enemy?" She seemed amused as she exited the office.
A cursory check in with Owen resulted in the doctor suggesting fairly politely that he sod off and leave him in peace to continue his research into the purple rainfall. Gwen was off checking in with a police liaison regarding a curious sighting at Bute Park, and Toshiko was dissecting a piece of alien tech the Rift had unceremoniously dumped in a field the previous week. A check of the CCTV link to the Tourist Office showed Ianto helping a party of sightseers. He looked like he'd be tied up for a while, so Jack carefully repackaged the phoenix, slipped into his greatcoat, and headed out via the invisible lift to see if he couldn't learn more about his mysterious gift.
The day seemed particularly bright and fresh after the strange weather of the day before. Jack strolled down the Plass and realized it had been far too long since he'd done any serious goofing off. He felt almost giddy as he contemplated the idea of running away from work for a day of doing nothing more productive than peering in shop windows, getting ice cream, and maybe going to a movie. But the feeling was short lived as he realized that everything he was contemplating wouldn't be nearly as fun without someone to share the day with. He wondered what Ianto would do if he showed up at the Tourist Office and requested a personal tour of the city.
The antique shop he needed to visit loomed into view with its bright red awning and tasteful window display. A bell tinkled musically as he entered the shop. Antiques and curiosities, none of them more recent than the 18th century, were arranged in locked glass cases. A petite, dark-haired man on the far side of middle age looked up from his dusting. "Good day, sir," he said in a soft Dublin accent. "My name is Mr. O'Neal. And how may I help you?"
Jack gave him a friendly smile in return. "I need some information," he replied as he removed the carving from his greatcoat pocket. As Jack divested the phoenix of its wrappings, the shopkeeper moved from behind the counter, put his duster away, and placed a piece of soft, dusky red velvet cloth down on the glass display case between them.
Jack set the phoenix carving down on the cloth. O'Neal gave a soft exclamation of appreciation and extracted a pair of heavy-framed glasses from his apron pocket. He peered closely at the figurine. "May I?" he asked.
Jack nodded. "Please." O'Neal reached into his pocket again and pulled out a pair of white cotton gloves. He slipped on the gloves, propped his glasses more comfortably on his nose, and carefully picked up the carving. "What can you tell me about it?" Jack said, as he watched the shopkeeper turn the phoenix this way and that, looking for what exactly, he didn't know.
"Hmm. Very old," O'Neal said more to himself then to Jack. "Very old indeed. 13th or 14th century. No later. Certainly Yuan Dynasty, not Ming. This is nephrite jade. Definitely, Yuan Dynasty. This colour jade is called mutton fat. Very rare. You hardly ever see it these days outside of museums or a few very private collections." He set the figurine carefully back down on the counter. "How did you get a hold of it?"
"It was a bequest," Jack replied. And that was true enough as far as it went. "Even someone like me can tell it's old and probably valuable. But I'm not a collector, and you have a reputation for having the finest eye for jade in Wales."
The little man pinked at the compliment. He looked for a moment as if he was going to deny the claim. Instead, he refocused his attention on the carving. "A white phoenix protecting a pearl. Pearls are a symbol of luck, you know. The mystic knot the phoenix is also protecting is interesting. No beginnings and no endings. Everything is intertwined. Coupled with the phoenix, a symbol of rebirth." Jack frowned at that. The message of eternity hit a little close to home. "Carved in white jade, which represents air. I wonder if your friend here wasn't made for someone who fancied himself a sorcerer?"
"A sorcerer?" Jack said, wondering if he'd received a piece of the puzzle or another complication. Alien tech often seemed magical to those unfamiliar with it. Was the jade of terrestrial origin? Or was he seeing the hand of aliens in everything due to his long association with Torchwood? He wondered if running it through the Hub's diagnostic equipment might be of benefit. Maybe he should take it up with Toshiko when he got back.
"Sure enough." Mr. O'Neal set the carving down and regarded Jack. "I can look into the provenance of the piece if you like. I'd need to take a few photos. Was your benefactor here in the U.K.?"
Jack belatedly realized the question was bound to come up. The smuggling of jade artefacts out of China was a booming business only sometimes supported by the government. He supposed he should do a search to see if any piece similar had gone missing from a museum or other collection. "No." Jack thought quickly bending some truths to fit the occasion. "I had a dotty old unofficial uncle. He lived in China for years. Worked in exports." He searched his memory trying to remember the name of the ex-head of Torchwood Hong Kong in case he needed a name. He had it: Lee Chang. Jack had heard through channels he'd died of a heart attack not long after retiring from service. And he had a sudden vivid picture of the one time he'd met the head of the Chinese branch. Jack had still been on courier detachment and he'd been invited back to Chang's home. Chang had owned a significant collection of jade and Jack remembered the pride with which he'd shown off his prizes. He couldn't recall anything like this among them. "No, that's all right," Jack demurred as he extracted the phoenix from O'Neal and began to carefully re-wrap the piece. "You've told me far more than I knew when I came in. I appreciate your time."
"If you're looking for a buyer," O'Neal said. "A discreet buyer, I can help you with that as well." He gave Jack a significant look and touched the side of his nose with his index finger.
Jack looked blank for a second, thinking furiously. So his intel on O'Neal was correct. The antique dealer was corrupt. He returned the sly grin with one of his own. "Thanks," he said. "I'll keep that in mind." The men shook hands. As Jack exited the shop, he decided he been given more questions than answers.
The nymph-form burst out of the body of its host and stretched its nascent wings. It was already hungry even though it had recently fed. A much larger fish swam close. The nymph-form darted underneath a rock, hiding until the fish swam past. A second, smaller, fish swam close and the nymph-form wiggled its antennae and bobbed enticingly, swimming directly into its path. The fish swallowed it whole. The nymph-form began to feed.
"Owen," Jack called as he entered the Hub. He was eating the remains of a 99, although the Flake bar was missing, a bribe given to Ianto with a promise of more sweet things to come if he stayed after the others had left. The phoenix weighed heavily in his greatcoat pocket. He was faced with the prospect of an afternoon filled with the kind of routine detective work he might normally foist off on Gwen, if he wasn't so interested in keeping this particular mystery to himself. And Jack was determined to procrastinate for a few minutes longer. "Anything new on the purple rain?"
Owen came out of the med bay. He was clad in a white coat and gloves. A pair of safety goggles hung from his neck. "Nothing. They hatch and they die. It doesn't matter what environment I'm looking at. It seems our ecosystems are hostile to them."
"I'm not sure that's a bad thing." Jack popped the last of the ice cream cone into his mouth, chewed thoughtfully for a minute, and swallowed. "Run your tests for another couple of days just in case, but I think we can file this under Interesting, But Nonthreatening," he added as he disappeared into his office and closed the door behind him.
There was a tap at the door. Jack looked up from the computer and closed out another fruitless search. He smiled. Ianto stood at the threshold, a silver tray in hand. Jack waved him in with a grin.
"You are such a sight for sore eyes," A pain stabbed behind his eye sockets, and Jack winced. "Literally." The smell of coffee wafted closer and Jack breathed deep. Ianto had made the special blend he reserved for Jack alone. It was a good sign. "Where are the others?"
Ianto entered, set the tray down and leaned a hip against the corner of the desk. "All gone home. Owen said he'd have his preliminary report finished tomorrow." He studied Jack's face as he handed over the coffee cup. "You look tired."
Jack sipped and swallowed, then flipped a forefinger toward the phoenix carving sitting near his piece of coral. "It's this thing. I've been trying to back-trace it, but I'm not having much luck. It just seemed to show up in the right places to get moved on, without anybody remembering having authorized it to do so. It's almost as if it's being helped by invisible hands."
"Spooky." Ianto regarded the carving. "Is this what was in that package?"
"Yeah, it is." Jack picked it up and turned it over for what felt like the thousandth time. "It seemed kind of innocent then, but now I'm wondering if there isn't something I'm missing."
"Do you suppose it's some kind of message?" Ianto sounded doubtful.
Jack realized he was probably being overdramatic, but he couldn't shake the feeling. Not only was the phoenix meant for him, but it was meant for some purpose. He ran his fingers over it lightly again. A sense of power seemed to radiate from the jade, but for whatever reason, only he seemed to notice. Jack realized Ianto was looking at him and his face was growing gradually more concerned.
"You haven't been out of your office since this morning," Ianto said. "Maybe you need a change of scenery."
Jack thought back on his musing earlier in the day. He glanced at his watch. It was early. The streets would still be full of locals and tourists out seeking a good time. There was no reason why he and Ianto couldn't do the same. "Chippie and a walk down on the quay?" he suggested. And then he grinned as he thought back on their earlier conversation in the Tourist Office. "And don't forget, dessert. I distinctly remember promising you something sweet."
"If you like." Ianto's tone was offhand, but the pink tint to his cheeks and ears, and the slight smirk that played around his mouth, ruined his casual affectation. He covered by retrieving Jack's coat from its hook and shaking it open with practised hands. It was getting to be one of their rituals, and Ianto wondered as he smoothed the wool over Jack's shoulders, if he was developing a kink for period military-wear. He decided it was a thought worth pursuing as he let Jack lead him out of the Hub.
It was nymph-kind no more. With growing confidence, it swam the alien waters looking for others. The strange fish it encountered were easy prey. It ate rapaciously and grew powerful.
Ianto opened his eyes, weary. He'd done it again, fallen asleep in the narrow bunk, cradled in Jack's arms. He propped himself on one elbow and watched Jack sleep. His eyes were moving under closed lids, lost in a dream. Ianto shifted on his hip, trying to get comfortable. It wasn't easy, but he found a spot and watched the rise and fall of Jack's breathing until his eyelids grew heavy and he drifted off again.
Jack dreamed. A phoenix rose from a boiling sea. Up, up, higher and higher until it pieced the sky and headed straight out for space. Jack knew that he was the phoenix, each death a rebirth. He spread his wings towards space and freedom... searching.
"What's this?" Jack looked up. Ianto, dressed in a fresh suit, balanced a thick volume, plus several file folders under the silver tray containing Jack's breakfast.
"Research. I did it this morning while you were out dealing with the harbour patrol," Ianto said as he cleared a spot on the desk and arranged food and books. "There's Chinese mythology and symbology. Plus several Torchwood cases where alien materials were used to create artwork and things." Jack gave him a look, half non-comprehension and half appreciation. Ianto attempted to explain. "It seemed to be on your mind last night. I thought maybe these might help."
Before Jack could ask more, his phone rang. "Thanks," he said softly to Ianto as he picked up the handset. The phone beeped a code indicating it originated from a secure government line. Jack snagged a piece of toast, tucked the phone more firmly under his chin, flipped open one of Ianto's files, and began to read while he waited for the latest bureaucratic onslaught.
The creature swam in the alien sea, hungry and alone. It gave its cry, but no longer did others come to meet it. One by one, it sought them out, offering and answering the call. Each time, the challenge of the death-dance was given and accepted. Their bodies were new, but the challenge was ancient. They undulated through the murky water, circling and sizing, looking for weakness, striking with fangs and claws until only one remained.
Now there were no more challengers. It had vanquished the weak in this strange place, that instinctively, the creature knew was far from home. It had grown strong. Soon it would be time to leave the nurturing water, take to the air, and find a mate.
With a powerful thrust of its wings, the creature swam on.
Jack put down the book he was reading, picked up another one of the archive files, and checked his notes. He rubbed at his temple absently, thinking. He was certain there was much more to the jade carving than met the eye. There was precedence. Three examples in the last one hundred years in which alien artefacts masquerading as terrestrial antiques had been sent to Torchwood operatives just before whatever technology they contained was necessary to defeat a particularly nasty alien opponent. No sender was ever identified. He wondered briefly if it wasn't the Doctor, and rejected the idea. That sort of subtle meddling wasn't really the Doctor's style. At least not the Doctor he knew. Perhaps one of the companions? It was impossible to speculate.
Time to get serious. He picked up the phoenix and took it down to Toshiko.
"What is up with the weevils?" Owen exclaimed as he and Ianto returned from muscling their third of the evening down to the cells. "Something's got the wind up their boiler-suits."
Jack looked up from the scanner he and Toshiko were calibrating. "What do you mean?"
"We found this last one standing in the middle of the Barrage baying at the moon," Ianto said as he headed toward the kitchen.
"It didn't put up much of a fight, either," Owen added. "Just like the others. It was almost as if it wanted to be taken into custody."
"The scanner is ready, Jack," Toshiko said, looking up from her computer monitor. She tilted her head into a thinking pose. "Do you suppose the weevils are sensing something? Could it be they know something we don't?"
Jack looked troubled. "There's so much we don't understand about the weevils. But yeah, if they're getting nervous, then I think we should worry. Owen: Go home. Get your stuff. We're having a sleep-over. Ianto!" Jack called, projecting his voice to reach the younger man in the kitchen.
"Sir?" Ianto appeared at the railing.
"Call Gwen. Tell her to come back. You can pick up dinner when you go get your stuff. Get Chinese. For some reason," he said with a glance at the mysterious phoenix, "it sounds appropriate."
"Coffee first?" Ianto asked.
"Always time for your coffee," Jack replied. "Tosh, I want eyes on the Rift Monitor. I don't want anything sneaking through."
"What about your scan?" she asked as she minimized the calibration program to bring up a new screen.
Jack looked down again at the jade phoenix. It seemed like the more he learned about the carving the less he actually knew. If, as he suspected, the figurine was of alien origin, would it be helpful right now? It wasn't triggering any of the Hub's safety alerts, so it wasn't a bomb, or a weapon in the conventional sense. It wasn't spewing radiation. "When you get back. Right now the Rift takes precedence."
Ianto brought Jack a coffee. "Anything else I can do, sir?"
Oh, the things that flew through Jack's mind as he looked at the handsome man at his side. He bit back the first three comments that sprang to mind, and shook his head. "Just hurry. I have a feeling it's going to be a busy night."
It was hours later. The emergency band had been chattering constantly with weird, but inconclusive, sightings. The weevils had been restless. The Rift had repeatedly upchucked useless debris, and the team downed coffee and biscuits in preparation for what ever the night was going to throw at them next.
Toshiko was at her station punching data into the computer. Gwen and Owen sat on the couch, coffee in hand. Ianto was at his station, listening to the radio traffic while Jack stood at his shoulder.
"Coast Guard reports a fishing boat capsized and wrecked," Ianto said. The printer whined as a copy of the incident report began to feed through.
"Sad," Gwen said. "But what's that to do with us?"
Ianto removed the first page of the report from the printer tray. He glanced and frowned. "Initial forensics suggest the hull was bitten through."
Jack snatched the report out of Ianto's hands. He scanned it rapidly. "Also, survivors report a dragon was responsible for the attack."
"A dragon," Owen said in a flat tone. "Right, I'm off then." He rose and crossed to his station, deftly unhooked his phone from the charger and fitted it over his ear as he picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
"Where are you going, then?" Gwen asked.
Owen traded a glance with Jack and shrugged. "Interview witnesses. I'm guessing they're at the secure unit pending psych and drug evaluations."
Jack looked impressed. "Good call. St. Mary's. Take Gwen with you. The minute you get confirmation, let us know and get back here."
"Right boss," Owen said over his shoulder as he disappeared down the corridor, with Gwen in his wake.
Owen hustled down the hospital corridor, his face grim. "Gwen, you handle things here. Jack and the others need to see this." In his rucksack, wrapped in a hazmat bag was a piece of what appeared to be a broken talon, removed from the gut of Alun Hughes, deceased. As he extrapolated the size of the creature it came from, Owen's steps rapidly quickened until he was running down the corridor, leaving Gwen protesting about being abandoned. He bypassed the lift, in favour of the stairs, hitting the call button on his headset as he clutched the handrail and jogged downward. "Jack, we have a problem. A big, big, problem." Owen was running flat out by the time he reached the car park.
"Any new sightings?" Jack asked as he severed the connection with Owen.
Ianto, shook his head. "Nothing since the boat went down."
Jack took a frustrated turn along the catwalk and reached a decision. "We're going out. We'll start at the last known position and work our way from there. Owen said whatever it is, it's big. Get what we need from the armoury. Tosh, you'll have to work from the SUV."
"Right. The boat wasn't that far from shore when it signalled the SOS, and the weevils have all been close to the bay, maybe there's a connection," Toshiko said, thinking out loud.
Jack didn't reply. He pocketed the phoenix and ran to get the SUV.
"Anything?" Jack said, his voice full of frustration. Owen had brought the talon back to the Hub and the digital image he sent over the comm system had filled Jack's stomach with knots of dread. Whatever they were about to face was enormous and deadly. He dropped one hand off the steering wheel long enough to touch the phoenix carving through the wool of his coat and immediately felt a sense of calm wash over him. The SUV dipped as the tires caught a pothole, and Jack hastily brought his focus back to his driving, only to be reminded of something Ianto had quoted to him. 'The phoenix holds the power to tame the dragon.' Granted, it had come off the menu of a Chinese restaurant, but under the circumstances, it was strangely reassuring.
"Got it!" Toshiko cried triumphantly. "Sighting two point five miles north. Close to shore."
Jack floored the SUV and tore around a corner. In the passenger seat, Ianto yelped, grabbed the dashboard, and gave Jack a look of undisguised terror. Jack flashed a feral grin back at him and ran the last red light before he hit the coast road.
"Hurry!" Toshiko cried, as they spilled out of the car. Jack tumbled out of the driver's seat almost before the brake was fully engaged, leaving Ianto to grab the car keys and unpack the armaments he'd hastily stowed in the back. They ran down the beach. A large serpentine shape broke the moonlit water about one hundred yards off the shore, leaving the ocean undulating in its wake. Involuntarily, Toshiko gasped.
Jack reached in his pocket and withdrew the jade phoenix. He cradled it in his palm, eyeing the gently glowing stone. It seemed to speak to him.
"Jack, what are you doing?" Toshiko said.
The dragon-creature breached the water, dancing along the surface, giving the team their first full view. It was huge, easily ten meters from nose to tail and it moved with fluid grace. The wings gave the impression of being feathered, though there was nothing soft about the powerful way it moved, muscles rippling, as it crested high above the water, dipped, banked and climbed again.
Jack had to admit it was beautiful. Moonlight reflected off its scales making it shine pale gold in the bright night sky. It seemed a pity to destroy it, but beautiful or not, the thing was a killer and had to be taken out. Jack glanced at the phoenix that sat quietly in his hand. He set it on the sand and stepped back, waiting.
Seconds crawled by.
Nothing happened.
The seconds turned into a minute.
Jack looked down at the phoenix willing something, anything to happen.
Another minute crawled by.
Jack could feel nervous energy crackling around him. A bead of sweat rolled down his back. He was aware of Toshiko and Ianto shifting restlessly behind him.
Still, nothing happened. The phoenix sat quietly on the sand, reflecting the moonglow.
The dragon noticed them standing on the beach. It craned its long, snake-like neck and roared, as it changed course to investigate. It made a low pass over them and Jack could see the scales rippling along its pale underbelly and the damaged talon in its fore-claw, broken and ugly. It banked and turned again, angling for an attack. It opened its mouth, exposing long, sharp teeth meant for rending flesh. At his side, Toshiko drew a sharp intake of breath and Ianto cursed softly.
The dragon drew closer.
"Jack!" Ianto hissed, in a rare breach of on-duty etiquette. "Now might be a good time."
Jack shook his head as if clearing it. "Right. Ianto. Big Gun."
At the ready, Ianto handed the missile launcher to Jack. He flipped off the safety, sighted and fired.
The shell caught the dragon just as it folded its wings and began to dive. The creature screamed. Time slowed for a second and then sped up again as a mighty explosion rocked the inlet. Instinctively, Jack and Ianto both reached for Toshiko and pulled her downward as they dropped into a protective crouch. The scent of burning meat hit them as bits of the creature rained down.
"Everyone okay?" Jack asked, as they rose shakily to their feet.
Toshiko gave herself a cursory once-over then nodded.
Ianto picked several chunks of charred meat off Jack's greatcoat, his face a mask of disgust, but he said, "Yeah. Fine."
Toshiko picked the little phoenix up and brushed sand from its base before handing it to Jack. "Hoping for a miracle?" she asked.
Jack looked at the phoenix for a long second and then shoved it into his pocket. "Yeah, something like that." He cast one more look out onto the moonlit bay before turning his back on it. "Come on. Let's go home."
Ianto waved a trash bag and gloves in Jack's general direction before handing a second set to Toshiko. Jack sighed. "Fine. First we'll clean up, and then we'll go home." He snapped on a pair of rubber gloves, bent to his knees, and began to fill the bag with chunks of charred dragon meat.
It was a weary trio that entered the Hub an hour after dawn. Jack carried the rocket launcher in its case, Toshiko, struggled under the weight of her telemetry gear, and Ianto carried a trash bag filled with choice remnants for Owen to study. He dumped the bag in the med bay and said, "You and Gwen can get the rest," before trudging off to the locker room, one hand pulling at the knot of his tie.
Owen opened the bag and looked inside. "Oh, that is disgusting." He knotted the top closed and tossed it unceremoniously into an autopsy drawer to deal with later. Gwen was asleep at her station, headphones on and tuned to the police band. Owen jostled her shoulder and she came awake with a guilty start. "Come on, sunshine. Work to do."
Still groggy, she trooped out after Owen, leaving Jack and Toshiko alone.
"So," Toshiko said, somewhat hesitantly."No magic."
Jack was quiet for a minute. He had been so convinced that some alien technology was going to emerge from the phoenix carving, he had nearly failed to act when the dragon-thing attacked. "What is magic anyway?" he asked. "Faith in something you don't entirely understand?"
"I suppose so," Toshiko replied.
"Then you're right, tonight there was no magic." Jack said. He was suddenly very, very tired. He understood guns and killing all too well. There was no magic in death. "Go home, Tosh. There's magic in the universe, but we're not going to find it today."
"What about the phoenix?" Toshiko asked. "It's still a mystery."
Jack drew it out of his pocket. He ran a finger over it, from the top of its head to the crest of its tail, over the pearl between its claws, and along the intertwined mystic knot. "Somebody sent this to me and I want to know who. And I want to know why. But we need fresh eyes." He crossed to her side and gave Toshiko a gentle push toward the exit. "Go home. We'll find the answers tomorrow."
"I think I know a guy," Toshiko said over her shoulder.
"Tomorrow!" Jack yelled, though his scolding tone was good-natured.
Toshiko gave him a brilliant smile as she ascended from the Hub.
Jack watched the paving stone slide into place, then he walked swiftly to his office. He opened the safe, removed a box big enough to house the jade phoenix and all its wrappings, and set it on his desk. He carefully nestled everything in the secure container, and with a final melancholy glance, secured the latch. Until he had answers to his questions, it would be considered suspect; possibly alien and potentially dangerous.
The venerable plumbing clanked and rattled beneath his feet as Jack closed the safe and reset the lock. He turned his back on the problem and looked out into the Hub. A predatory grin spread over his features as he remembered that Ianto had been heading for the showers. If he hurried, who knew what he might find? It might not be as profound a mystery as that of the jade phoenix, but sometimes solving little puzzles led to great rewards.
/End