Chapter 1

Rhys looked about halfway to having a stroke, running his fingers repeatedly through his short dark blond hair as he sat on the floor of the spaceship. Spaceship? He couldn't handle this. This was a little bit too far past reality for him to grasp. He could handle aliens mucking about on Earth, getting sold as meat or even attacking the city and whatever. He could handle that his wife worked for an agency that kept those aliens from hurting anybody. He could even accept that every so often he'd be dragged into the middle of it. But actually leaving Earth and hurled about in a spaceship, who knew where...no. He was having more than a bit of a problem with it.

Right about now he would give just about anything for this all to be some strange nightmare and he was about to wake up in his own comfy bed...any second now. But a flickering light caught his eye, distracting him out of his short-circuiting thoughts. From that light a hazy image started to materialize, "Gwen?"

The Torchwood group were in a huddle, trying to figure out what was going on as Jack pointed to this and that, identifying what he could although some things even he didn't know about and that was a scary thought. Their only possible guide didn't have all the answers, "Nav. Life support. Food dispenser...look I'm just...not familiar with this model but a ship's pretty much a ship. So, we just have to figure out where to go."

Gwen looked at their leader with large eyes, tucking a long strand of dark hair behind her ear, "How about home?"

Nodding, "Sure." Then he gave her a frank look, "But I don't think home's there. Not the home you and I remember."

Ianto frowned slightly, "You're saying...what, exactly?"

Grimacing minutely, taking a look around the ship, "I'm familiar with all sorts of models, the older the better...and some of this tech I've never seen before. I know this ship." Grumbling to himself, "It's really familiar actually..." It was tugging at him. This was a very familiar ship, he just couldn't lock in on the memory. Shaking his head, "...it just looks...upgraded."

Nodding slightly to himself, "So, we're in the future."

Jack grinned at him, knowing he was certainly not slow on the uptake, "I think so. Parts of this ship... anyway I think at minimum we're at the beginning of the 51st Century." Ianto and Gwen glanced at one another with wide eyes.

Whispering softly, "Jack? A strained smile crossed her lips, "Just how dead are we? How are we s'posed to get home?"

He gave her a grim expression, "Working on it. Tapping his wrist strap with his finger, AUnfortunately, unless we can find another time agent we=re temporarily stranded. Or the Doctor, he silently thought to himself. But that was rather unlikely. He had the sinking feeling unless it was the end of the world, he might never see the Timelord again. That certainly seemed to be the pattern. The Game Station, then vanish. The Master, then they part ways. Grinning, "But if nothing else we'll look up the Time Agency on Earth. With my incredible good looks I'll throw in my usual persuasive charm..." Ianto and Gwen both rolled their eyes. Mentally he winced, remembering that it had supposedly been shut down.

Gwen gestured around them, "Can't the ship just send us back? After all, it=s what brought us here...right?"

He didn't look any more optimistic, "I wouldn't even know where to begin. Whatever they did, they've done something with the rift I didn't think was possible." It was so much more complicated than he could ever hope to explain. As if jumping across time wasn't tricky enough, whoever did this went a step further. They not only shifted them from the past to the future, but their location moved from Earth to wherever they were now. She frowned at him, "A controlled spike, Gwen. They opened the rift at a precise location at a precise time to pull us through from Earth to here-..."

"Gwen?"

His blue eyes flickered to her husband, noting the strain in his voice, "Go calm Rhys down, okay?" She nodded quickly, wondering who was supposed to calm her down as she walked quickly over to him and knelt next to him.

"It's alright-... Her tone was supposed to be reassuring but it seemed to him more placating than anything. Rhys grit his teeth, grabbed her chin, and jerked her gaze around as the shadowy figure took shape into the image of Captain John Hart. Gwen jumped to her feet, about to speak before pausing to give him a second look over. He looked older. At least ten years older than she remembered him and that was less than two months ago. That and tired. Very tired, AJack!

Jack spun around, eyes widening to see his old partner's image. That's why the ship seemed so familiar. This was John's old rig, passed down from his parents. John's mouth was moving, running restless fingers through his shaggy hair as he spoke soundlessly. Ianto frowned, watching him as well. Jack's eyes strayed over to the wall, flipping a few switches before pressing a glowing button. The image shifted off, then on, and sound was suddenly heard. His image was now that of the John they were familiar with, as young as they remembered him. Dark sable curly locks cut short and blue eyes burning intently, "This is hologram program 35864. If you don't know who I am, get stuffed cause this ship's about to blow up." Rhys made a strangled sound, Gwen slapping a hand over his mouth, "If you do know, then you know what to code in. You've got thirty seconds."

"Jack, that was at least twenty seconds ago!"

"On it." Jack called this out to Ianto over his shoulder, was already punching in a series of codes into the computer. He stepped back, glanced back at the image almost anxiously as a grin spread across the hologram's face.

"Jack." His image flickered and changed, that of the older John, "Good of you to join me." Rhys and Gwen relaxed, Ianto didn't.

Crossing his arms as his spine stiffened, "I had a choice?"

John snickering, "Not that I really gave you a choice, eh?" There were double takes all around and he grinned cheekily, "Sorry, couldn't resist. This isn't an interactive hologram but I'm sure that's what you said, complete with your arms crossed and Cause-I'm-Scary-And-Intimidating stance." Jack looked very put out and Gwen swallowed a giggle. His expression turned quietly serious, "Right, to business then, since I know my humor's lost on you. If I did this right, it wasn't so long since you've seen me last. I know, you probably never wanted to see me again, but desperate times and all that. And, if I calculated the temporal shift narrowly enough it's just you."

Jack took a step, "You did it?" John wasn't stupid but the man he'd known hadn't been capable of that level of calculation.

John shrugged to himself, continuing to speak, "Probably not. Gwen, no doubt you're here and I'm sorry in advance. Should know better by now to keep away from him but I'm sure he'll need you." Gwen smiled just a little to herself. A man who tried to kill her. A man who was at least partly responsible for Toshiko and Owen's death...yet there was something slightly redeemable about him. Frankly, she'd always felt conflicted about him, "Eye Candy's here as well I imagine, since you two are joined at the hip. He snickered again while Ianto looked grimly offended. The two of them had never liked one another, mostly over Jack, "Hadn't even intended the pun...that's a bit-... He sighed suddenly, "Sorry. Ramble a bit more than normal. They say it's all part of getting old. He rubbed his face with his hands, "Right. I'll have no idea what year it is, cause quite frankly I'm dictating this while I'm still competent enough to handle flying."

Jack ventured closer, frowning. It wasn't just his age, although his former partner of everything looked years older. He looked wrung out and used up. Normally a wiry man, right now he looked gaunt and his pale skin almost grey, "What happened to you?"

John sighed again, "If you're here and this message is playing, it means you're my only hope...Obi-Wan Kenobi." He snickered just a little to himself, "It's set on a six month cycle. Every six months I delay the program or it activates and brings you here. So, sorry. I'm running out of options, Jack. Runnin' out of time. Wrist straps can't work anymore. No more trips. No more fixing mistakes." He shook his head a bit, leaning back against a hologram of the ship's hull as if the ordeal of standing up was too tiring when he'd recorded this, "The ship will automatically take you to the nearest harbor. They'll be able to tell you what's going on and how you can help. There's a woman goes by the name of Scholar. Seek her out, Jack. She can solve all of this, I just know she can. I've been looking for her for years-..."

The hologram cut off just as the power on the entire ship died. Rhys, who'd been relatively calm even as he clutched Gwen, yelped and scrambled for purchase. Jack went back to the controls, flipped a few switches before shaking his head and disappearing into a maintenance tunnel. A few tense minutes and he was back, power shifting back on. John's image didn't resurface and after a quick check of the controls Jack nodded to himself, "The rest of the data's been corrupted. This ship has just enough power to reach our destination. I say we not waste it." There were nods all around, Gwen pressing her lips to Rhys temple as she held him and Jack flipped a few switches, the ship moving in a spiral pattern.

Casually the Doctor walked out of the bartering square, coat swinging lightly behind him as he moved with a slight swagger. He'd actually found honest chocolate, which meant Rose would be pleased with him. He grinned to himself, weaving his way through the crowd and proud of himself. He'd already stashed it in one of his bottomless pockets, not wanting to risk losing the small box nor tempt himself into eating it before he could present his prize. And if his internal clock, which he was never telling Rose he had since it was much more fun to leave her exasperated with his tardiness, was anything to go by he had about forty-five minutes left to dawdle as he pleased before her massage was done. He took a sip of the tea he'd found, already sweetened just a little with milk and honey, and sighed softly as the tannins and free radicals worked their magic on him and sorted out his neurol impulses.

He frowned and looked up as a gust of wind took him and others around him by surprise. That didn't feel like a stiff breeze, knocking over a vendor's stand and sending the owner scurrying after his merchandise. It wasn't uncommon for gusts to develop from ships leaving for space but he didn't remember a launching base this close to the market. Several people looked up with fearful expressions though they were quick to hide it. It was possible it was nothing. Possible it was just a random ship that ventured too near but the Doctor had stopped believing in coincidence a long time ago. Rose? He frowned as there was no response. It was possible she'd just fallen asleep. He sped up his walk a fraction, deciding it was time to get back to Rose.

The Doctor paused outside of the massage parlor. Something was wrong. He wasn't sure what it was but he had an inkling. He looked around the streets with a keen eye but nothing was out of the ordinary. As per usual he was ignored until he wanted attention and he took a quick sniff. Nothing strange there. No, wait. Antimatter. Not in form, much too dangerous, just a scent of it in the air. A ship? This close?

Closing his eyes, he submersed himself and mentally followed the bond back to Rose. He physically jolted to realize he couldn't feel her. Eyes open, hardening, he kept his expression carefully casual as he walked into the reception area, cup of tea held in his right hand. There were five people sitting in the lobby, waiting their turn. The receptionist smiled as he walked in, though the smile froze on her lips when she realized who he was. Rose. He moved swiftly past the desk, ignoring her calling out to him and down the long corridor. His anger spiked to see someone else getting a massage in the little room and the attendant studiously avoiding his eyes.

The tea in his hand shattered as his hold on the cup had tightened, making both occupants jump and stare at him, "I'm sorry, sir."

He spun around to see the dejected receptionist, "Sorry?" He shoved his hands into his pockets quick, had to just to keep the instinct from using them at bay.

She didn't jump from his tone, in fact she seemed to welcome his ire. She just eyed her hands with a helplessness that would have made him feel sorry for her for any other reason, AWe couldn't stop them.

His nostrils flared and he bristled with anger, fists tightening and jaw ticking, "Them? Who? Which them? What have they done to my wife?" He took a step towards her, hands inching out of their hiding places, eyes intensely staring into her own.

She trembled under his rather terrifying gaze, "They're monitoring all the planets in the system for human contact."

Frowning, confused and distracted from his initial angered instinct. Masipolibus was one of 8 planets in the system, all belonging to this one race. Since the people came from this planet they called it after the name of their species, "I didn't know Masipolibus had a prejudice against humans."

Shaking her head rapidly, offended, "Oh! No sir, we don't. It's just that...since they've started hunting humans-..."

His eyes narrowed, realizing she wasn't talking about some government conspiracy or radical group within her own culture but another race of alien. His voice dropped an octiv, growing quiet. Intense, "Who?"

Shrugging helplessly, "The Dakelians, of course." The Doctor's thoughts turned inward. Dakelian? He vaguely remembered that race. One of many that shared a neighboring system to his home planet. The entire system had been destroyed along with his people. He'd never imagined they'd survived. At his blank expression she continued, "They'd declared war on the human race, capturing any that come within the systems they control..." But he wasn't hearing her, he was sending his thoughts outward to try to find Rose. Nothing. She wasn't on the planet and he felt another spike of rage. It was different than before, less based on instinct and more on his natural protective nature but it still left him much more volatile than normal. He blinked before grinning to himself, glad he'd given her a silver charm bracelet for her birthday. He'd had the TARDIS put a tiny tracking device on one of the charms, the one that looked like a miniature TARDIS. And since the TARDIS had been the one to create the bracelet, he was sure to make it indestructible so nefarious characters couldn't snatch it from her wrist, "...would have killed us if we'd interfered, I'm sorry."

Blinking once, his mind sorting through what information the confused receptionist had been telling him while he'd been preoccupied. Frowning, "Why are they at war with the human race?"

Shaking her head, "No one knows, sir."

He turned his grin to her, "Don't worry, I'll have it sorted." His expression sharpened, "Why didn't they come after me?"

She shrugged just a little, "You must not be considered human."

Of course he wasn't. These Dakelians may not have done DNA typing but one hint to his double heartbeat would immediately betray his alien-ness to a human. Then another thought occurred to him. He and Rose had been here for almost twenty minutes before her massage, "And you couldn't have warned us?"

She looked down again, "We've tried."

And it was the way she said it that told him how it had ended. People had died. He didn't know how many but apparently the Dakelians didn't take well to human sympathizers. Frowning at her, "What's your name?"

Smiling weakly, "Lynor'a."

"I'm so sorry, Lynor'a." For her people. For his initial blaming of her kind. For a war that she and most probably others were trapped in that had little to do with them. He nodded a silent goodbye and turned on his heels, walking quickly for the TARDIS.

She nodded as he left, deciding she was going to conveniently forget the girl had a traveling companion, "So are we." She wished him luck without words and went back to her duties.