All Wee Creatures With Wings Be Not Faeries, but. . .
It had been a little over a decade since Archie had been recruited by Captain Jack. The little book store that he set up on the Broomielaw was the perfect cover for Torchwood activities and a perfect place to observe the daily river routine. The hustle and bustle of the Paddle wheelers going "Doon the Watter" for day trips, seaside holidays and the transportation of goods up and down the River Clyde.
The store had come with a typical Victorian feature, a hidden room located behind the bookshelf under the stairs to the loft Archie used as home. He had managed to collect quite a few objects of an 'alien' nature. The newest agent of Torchwood had been surprised at how much outworldly traffic used Earth as a crossroad to wherever and whenever they came from.
The strangest item he had found so far, was in a pawn shop in Edinburgh. The owner of the shop said that he had purchased it from a rather short, broad-shouldered man that had a head that vaguely resembled a potato. Archie had laughed at the description and haggled a bit before paying half of the asking price for the leather gauntlet.
After returning to his book store with his new possession, he was surprised to find a letter addressed to him, There was no return address on the envelope and the sweeping handwriting was obviously that of a woman. It explained that the gauntlet was actually a mat-trans unit that could be used for transporting someone or something from one place or time to another. The letter also contained instructions on how to use it. Obviously this item was a 'gift' from someone who knew about Torchwood or possibly even a friend or friends of the Doctor.
The Glasgow Fair on the Green was in full swing and though Archie had never been fond of big crowds, he made it to the roof of the building the book store was located in, using his mat-trans device, to watch the nightly fireworks. It was warm July night and the Broomielaw was fairly deserted with most Glaswegians enjoying the Fair.
The music drifted through the air, the enchantment of the moment was broken by the clap of fireworks, but Archie wasn't watching the display as something else had drawn his attention; something in the Northwest sky, making its own thunderclap of noise and burning a trail across the night sky. As much as Archie loved the Fair, he knew that there was something more important for him to do. He pressed the buttons on the mat-trans device and smiled as he shimmered and disappeared into the night.
Archie's smile broadened as he materialized and immediately recognized where he was. . .The Whangie (created, as legend would have it, by the Devil whipping his tail in excitement as he flew round the corner of the hill here) a deep narrow fissure, running in a north-south direction, and bounded on both sides by steep walls of rock. He explored here with his father when he was a young lad and he knew every nook and crannie.
Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his 'pocket watch', then flipped the face to the side and looked at the indicator dial and smiled again; whatever it was it was sitting in the middle of the Whangie on the walking trail.
Archie headed into the Whangie, cautiously but filled with excitement as this was the first time that he would be the first one on scene, the first one to lay eyes upon this visitor, whatever it was.
"Aahh, she's a real beauty," Archie said as he bent down to examine to what the untrained eye might look like a toy. A small golden 'space' ship. He couldn't tell what actually powered the vehicle, but it was warm to the touch bending down and placing his ear upon it and he could hear something inside, something pounding.
The Torchwood agent gently picked up the tiny craft as he looked for a way to open it, but there was no apparent door or portal. He took his knife from his pocket and gently tapped on the craft. There was a corresponding knock from the inside again. He knocked again, this time twice and was answered in kind. There was definitely someone or something inside, but was it evil or benign.
"Is there someone out there?" Archie almost dropped the ship. "Yes, I am here, I am Archie McCrimmon, who am I talking to?"
"That is not important right now, as my ship will explode in about 3 minutes. . .I need your help getting out."
"What can I do to help?" Archie set the craft down on the ground again.
"Do you have something sharp, hopefully made of forged steel or some other strong metal?"
He smiled, "I do, what do you want me to do?"
"Strike the rounded end of my craft, it should come apart easily and I should be able to crawl out through the opening."
Archie didn't hesitate as the clock was ticking, his knife struck the rounded end and popped like a balloon. he bent down to look into the opening and was surprised at what he saw. The creature inside had the appearance of a Faerie. . .a Faerie from the childhood stories and legends of the Scottish Highlands.
It was, no, she was injured and he reached down to take her in his hand as she looked up into his eyes, "We must move quickly and get as far away as we can from my ship. . it is going to blow!"
Archie didn't wait around as he took off down the trail and just made it around the corner of an outcropping and pressed himself and the Faerie against its rocky face, just as the ship exploded.
Looking back around the corner, it was evident that the ship had completely disintegrated.
"Ckaitchlin."
"Excuse me, I didn't catch that." he looked puzzled.
"Ckaitchlin, that is my name, Chkaitchlin, Ar-chie Mc-Crimmon."
He smiled, "K-kait- che-lin?" The Faerie-like creature tittered, "Close enough. . cough!"
"You're injured, I need to get you back to my shop!" he pressed the mat-trans and shimmered out of the Whangie.
Ckaitchlin was a "ScKarchian", as far as she knew, she was the last of her kind.
"K-kait- che-lin, how is it that your ship brought you here, to Earth?"
She smiled as she tittered at the way Archie pronounced her name again. "We use the standing stones, the monolithic stone circles, like Stonehenge and the Callanish standing stones. . .there is an electrostatic filament embedded in the stones. Haven't you felt a bit of tingling when you visited any of these sites?" Ckaitchlin smiled as he nodded, "We have been visiting your planet for a very long time; where do you think the tales of Faeries originated." She tittered again and coughed.
"Ckaitchlin, perhaps you should get some rest." he picked her up and carried her to the small hearth in his loft and laid her in the small bed he had made for her. He covered her and gently tucked her in. "Good night Ckaitchlin, we can talk in the morning." Archie smiled as he blew out the candle on the mantle and headed off to bed, whispering to himself, "I wonder what the morrow will bring."