Truro RCMP Office; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Eryn Sylla felt ridiculous sitting in an interrogation room. It looked like something out of a TV show. She couldn't help but remember listening to her father, and various others, talk about being arrested. Guilty people looked relaxed and even slept. They didn't ask questions because they already knew why they were arrested. She got half of it right. Until they started asking questions, she had no idea why they arrested her. Afterward she wondered what was actually going on.

The door opened and good cop returned. Ava MacDonald's intentions were obvious. She used kindness as both a tool and a weapon. "I confirmed you are in the country legally."

If she wasn't, Eryn thought, she was really bad at hiding. She spoke to the RCMP at least once a week.

"There is some confusion over who's in charge of the local Torchwood office."

Not really. Either the woman was lying or didn't have access to the local RCMP'S information. While MacDonald claimed to be a local officer, her lack of information suggested she was from another city and probably a different branch of law enforcement.

MacDonald looked up as if waiting for an answer.

Eryn focused on keeping her tone reasonable. "Was that a question?"

"I am trying to resolve this."

"Ma'am, there is nothing to resolve. I don't know where Jerard is. I've never met him." Eryn took a moment. "Nor have I met Mr. Sarkisian. Or been to his house."

"We received information that doesn't support that."

Eryn knew that wasn't true and doubted MacDonald believed it. "It's wrong. The local Torchwood office is support. Only. We research and collect information. As my boyfriend is good with robotics, we offer assistance with emergency services. We have no investigators or field agents."

MacDonald made a show of looking through papers. "According to eye witness accounts, the robotics are military hardware."

"No. The scary looking ones were designed for defending Torchwood offices. They have been used locally to rescue people from fires and search wooded areas."

"We have significant information on your personnel and activities."

That was a blatant lie. "Good. Then you know the office provides Torchwood support."


Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales

Gwen Cooper walked into the conference room gripping her mobile. The situation was ridiculous. She could only guess it was somehow related to the joint military effort to reclaim the technology from the warehouses. Nova Scotia had the best working relationship with local law enforcement of any office. RCMP had to know they were damaging that relationship.

Jack looked up from one of a pile of tablets and a laptop he had in front of him. "What happened?"

"Rex called. Eryn was arrested at a grocery store this morning."

Confused, Jack set the computer down. "Why?"

Gwen leaned on the back of a chair opposite Jack. "It sounds like RCMP wants an excuse to serve a warrant on the Torchwood office. They're accusing her of crimes the Observatory committed." Pause. "Jerard Sarkisian, one of Luc's cousins, was removed from a government facility after attempting to breach Nova Scotia's security. And someone broke into Luc's grandfather's home and stole books."

"Books?"

"Either what's wrong with Luc or the boy found in Victoria Park." Gwen doesn't know. "Ettie was probably looking for information on alchemy, and the source of the families anger issues."

"Luc?"

"Isn't the only problem. Nigeria found out. Azrael is in Nova Scotia."

Jack reached for the device in the center of the table to make a conference call.

Toshiko Soto entered Jack's office as he removed his coat from the rack. One of the worst parts of Torchwood was having to prioritize more than one urgent situation. The situation is Canada was bad, but it wasn't their priority. They had a bigger problem. Having been in more than one type of prison, she preferred to focus on freeing Eryn.

"Jack," Tosh said quietly.

He turned to look at her.

"You can't go to Canada." Tosh sighed. "I've reviewed data sent from Nova Scotia and the Observatory. Whatever is happening is happening now." It didn't help that none of them knew what it meant.

"How bad?"

"I don't know. The space station sent a notification. It's taking over tsunami warning centers in and around the Indian Ocean. Preparing to issue an evacuation order for everyone in the area. Antarctica, islands in the region, sections of Australia, possibly Tasmania and New Zealand." Tosh closes her eyes. "An object hitting water is like hitting cement. Depending on the size and density, it might not cause waves like an earthquake as much as displace water as it sinks. There are too many possibilities. All bad." She opened her eyes not wanting to think about it. "Without specifics, we may not have time to issue a warning."

"Did Keara say how she was preparing to handle it?"

"No specifics. She did say she contacted Simon for another ship." Tosh suspected that meant another space ship.

"Find Owen and pull the prep files for natural and man-made disasters."


Jack Harkness returned his coat to the rack. The impending disaster reminded him of the mentally unbalanced Time Lord that attacked Earth. The odds weren't good. But they'd survived. Jack suspected the reminder had more to do with what followed. His desire to keep secrets almost resulted in John destroying his team. If he'd done things differently, he might have prevented what followed.

After talking to John, Jack remembered why he and Dmitri were on the Arctic Wind in 1948. They were following rumors about a ship. But Torchwood was specifically interested in the Knowsley Hall. It reportedly sank off the coast of Australia in 1880. Torchwood found old records and maps at an unspecified location providing different information. Including that the ship was carrying cargo from a salvaged crash of unknown origin. Although he had no memory to support it, Jack suspected the Arctic Wind met the same fate as the Knowsley Hall.

He flipped open his wrist-strap. "John Hart."

"I didn't do it."

Jack smiled. "For once." He than explained what he remembered. "Ideas?"

"Possibly." John wasn't certain. "I found a small French museum. It has journals from Reunion, the French name for Madagascar. One person was suspected of being mentally ill, writing fiction or both. He talked about why the 1871 settlement failed. It contradicts historical records." Pause. "The writer mentioned Mount Dives, a dormant volcano, and describes a mountainside facility similar to Guyana. He claimed it was build by the same pre-Human civilization responsible for the Piri Reis map and others depicting Antarctica without the ice."

"It could involve the other Rift." One of the numerous discoveries in recent years that made Jack question what he thought he understood. The area was somehow affected by a Rift similar to Cardiff located in another universe. The barrier somehow thinned and had unpredictable results.

"I thought of that." John hesitated. "Jack, if a ship falls through a hole in space-time and disrupts a malfunctioning temporal device near a Rift, the conflicting energies could threaten more than one universe, not just this planet."

From what Simon said about Redemption, and the Time Agency from his universe, that was his area of expertise. "Keara contacted Simon."

"We need him."


Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Aman Oliveira stood back, watching Luc punch one of his modified bags. From the damage he was inflicting, Xiu needed to reinforce her modifications. Another punch followed by a crunch and a rip. The bag fell off the chain and hit the floor with a thud. Luc growled in frustration.

Aman had no idea what to say. With everything that happened, it wasn't surprising Luc couldn't handle the stress. Eryn focused since he was able to leave the cell on keeping him calm. His issues flared when she went to the store. Finding out she'd been arrested resulted in a violent tantrum.

"Is he coping?" Azrael asked quietly, seeming to appear next to Aman.

"No. He's broken chairs, a table. A wall."

Luc threw his broken punching bag across the room.

Azrael shimmered. "How does Eryn keep him calm?"

"She walks in the room and he visibly changes." Pause. "It bothered Luc. When he could still think straight without her."

Luc punched another bag, puncturing it and breaking the chain holding it to the ceiling.

"How many people know this?"

"A few." Aman exhaled loudly.

"I listened to conversations at the RCMP office. Eryn was arrested by some type of national cop claiming to be local. They know the charges are absurd."

"Can they get a warrant?" Serving it with Luc out of his control would result in people dead. And additional problems.

"No." Azrael paused. "It is being argued that Torchwood has international law enforcement standings and answers to The Hague. Rex presented evidence that the local drug cases are connected to the RCMP. And the warehouse raids. An attorney in the Netherlands demanded documentation justifying Eryn's arrest."

Kailen's footsteps sounded in the hall. Aman stepped back and watched his husband approach. If they didn't get Eryn back soon, Kailen's anxiety would start affecting his ability to work. Aman moved over and gave Kailen a hug.

"The South African Consulate is involved." He pressed his face to Aman's shoulder. "How did getting groceries turn into an international incident?"