My thanks again to Sayle for beta-reading

The Sleeper Awakens
Part 7: Daybreak

Silence filled the box canyon, broken only by the low hum of the Asimov's gravimetric drive.

"YOU!" River's voice echoed around the valley as she marched towards the two shocked Operatives and with the cold inevitability of an advancing glacier, "You sought to control me? To control what I am? DID YOU REALLY THINK IT WOULD BE THAT EASY?"

Long gone was the frightened little girl, and in her place stood a vengeful goddess with the untamed rage of a race that had bent the universe to their bidding through sheer force of will. The Operatives back up until they found their backs pressed up against a large, moss-covered bolder. Feeling trapped, the female Operative made her move and jumped at River, her full weight behind the attack. But River had already moved out of the way, and caught the flying woman with one arm and spun her round into an arm-lock before propelling her back towards the other agent, who caught her and held her close, protectively. Leaning in close, Rive could hear their heats beating loud and fast in their chest, like an insane drummer pounding away for all they were worth.

"Go tell you masters that I remember everything: all that I am, and all that I can do." She ordered, her tone of voice cold and hard, "My people could stop planets spinning and restart suns! I will be watching them, and if anything ever happens to my friends then they will know my anger, my wrath!"

Time seemed to stop for a moment as Mal's mind raced. He could see the Alliance strike team ready to open fire at a moments notice, and there was no where to hide in the open valley. The strange ship hung above them like the Sword of Damocles, ready to strike down any who opposed its will. Simon looked torn between his desire to protect his sister, and his instincts that screamed at him to find somewhere safe to curl up into a ball and hide away from the universe. But it was the expression on Jack's face that caught his attention. The former rebel captain's face had turned almost grey, and there was a look in his eyes that said he'd seen this all before, and it hadn't ended well. Mal knew that all it would take was one misspoken word, one misinterpreted gesture, and the slaughter would begin.

And yet amid this River stood like a mountain before the sea, unyielding to the elements and as eternal as the stars themselves. Mal watched as the two Operatives withered under her gaze like a moth before a flame. For all their terrible power and authority, they had been brought low by a woman barely out of her teens.

"Okay," The senior Operative swallowed hard, his voice barely above a whisper, "let's go."

As one the strike team slowly melted back into the trees, their weapons at the ready but not pointed at any in particular. The guns on the Asimov tracked them until they were out of sight.

"River." Simon slowly walked towards the woman who had once been his little sister, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Simon." River looked back over her shoulder and smiled warmly, the darkness in her eyes replaced with the bright hope of a newly dawned day, "I really think I am."

There was a flash of light that momentarily connected the Asimov and the ground, and when it faded it left behind a young, blond haired woman dressed in a khaki-green t-shirt and matching cargo pants. There was a large pistol strapped to her right hip, and a large rifle hung over her shoulder.

"Wait here." Jack ordered, then walked over to the new arrive, leaving Mal with nothing but questions. "Excuse me, but 'Captain Smith'?" He stood, hands on hips, and glared at the woman, "You're no more a Captain than I am these days. And if that is a Torchwood ship, where are the rest of the crew?"

"Probably still back on Earth." The woman admitted somewhat sheepishly, "Well, they wouldn't have let me borrow it if they'd still been on board..."

"Borrowing implies you intend to give it back." Jack shook his head, but couldn't hide his own amusement, "The word I believe you were looking for is steal."

"Something I picked up from you, obviously." The woman chuckled, leapt up and wrapped her arms around the much taller man neck, "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to be seen." Jack returned the hug, spinning her round so fast her legs flailed outwards, "It's been too long."

"So, what's so important that you called me here?" The stranger asked, her expression suddenly serious as she dropped back down to the ground, "I know you well enough by now to know that you wouldn't have activated that beacon without good reason."

"That's where it gets complicated." Jack put an arm around her shoulder and led her back towards the others, "Guys, this is Jenny; the old friend I told you about."

"Jenny?" Mal asked, "Just 'Jenny'?"

"Only name anyone ever gave me." The woman smiled sweetly, "That said, given what my dad was lumbered with, I think I got off lightly."

"Cut her some slack, okay?" Jack insisted, "Jenny's the only person in this 'verse I trust without question. And given my opinion of her father, that's saying a lot."

"You can't keep blaming him." Jenny frowned, "You know he had no choice..."

"That doesn't change what he did." Jack shook his head, his eyes closed, "Or what he didn't do."

"Just think about it, okay?" Jenny's shoulders slumped, "For me?"

"For you, My Lady, anything." Jack nodded with a faint smile, "You know I can never refuse you. After all, someone's got to watch your back."

"Hey!" Jenny punched him on the shoulder, "He may not be the best dad, but he's the only one I've got."

"Excuse me." Simon interrupted, River following close behind, "What has this to do with, well, anything that's happened over the last couple of days."

"River's not human, not any more." Jack explained, "In fact, she wasn't human to start with."

"I'm like her." River looked at Jenny and felt a kindred spirit, "A child of Gallifrey."

"Really?" Jenny blinked, taken aback. She looked deep into River's eyes, and saw the wheel of time slowly turning, "Then I think we should go back to your ship so we can talk..."


"What's taking so long?" Simon paced back and forth like a caged tiger, "What are they talking about?"

"River's, changed; she's not your little sister any more." Jack shrugged, lying back on the beat-up old sofa in the lounge area, "The fob-watch is part of a device called a Chameleon Arch; it rewrites DNA and changes memories, creating a complete false history. They were created by a race known as the Time Lords as a defence against their enemies, the idea being that they could hide in plain sight, and not even a psychic could find them. I've only ever seen it in action once before, and it wasn't a pleasant experience."

"You trying to tell me that River isn't human?" Mal asked, still finding it hard to believe anything he'd seen or been told, "Because that's just stupid. I've seen her as nature intended, and she looked perfectly normal to me."

"She would: Gallifreyan's are physically almost indistinguishable from humans, on the outside anyway." Jack explained, "But inside, well, as the young doctor there will tell you, no human has twenty-five ribs, two livers, a dual cardiovascular system and several organs that I don't know the name of but have no analogous in human biology. They also tend to be smarter, stronger, more resilient and possessing heightened senses."

"Like your girlfriend upstairs?" Zoƫ asked, "I never knew you had a thing for blonds. Which is odd, considering I've seen you go after almost everything else."

"Jenny...our relationship's not like that." Jack shook his head, "I know her father; use to travel with him, but he wasn't around much when she was young, so I took it upon myself to help her find her way. Somewhere along the line she became the little sister I never had. But I'll never see her father as anything but what he is."

"And what is that?" Simon asked, "I want to know just what kind of people you're entrusting my sisters well-being to."

"Remember how I told you about the first time I died? The enemy I was fighting, they had a name for Jenny's dad, dating back from the dawn of their civilisation." Jack shuddered at the memory, "They called him 'The Oncoming Storm', and it was years before I found out just why. That's what I meant about the Angel and the Demon: you can't always tell them apart, as one can be just as bad as the other."

"You said before that if she was the demon, you'd have to kill her." Kaylee stood hugging herself in the hatchway, torn between her fear and the need to know if her friend was okay.

"I don't think that's the case." Jack gave her a reassuringly smile, "You get a feel for these things, after a while. River... is still a good person."

"That I can vouch for." Jenny appeared on the stairs leading to the upper level, "She's a Gallifreyan, but it's almost like she's a blank slate."

"Explain." Simon asked, equal parts confused and worried.

"My knowledge of my people, their history and culture, has gaps in it." Jenny wrecked her brains for the right words, "I have some genetic memory thanks to the way I was born, but I'm just a regular Gallifreyan when all is said and done. River has a lot more built-in knowledge, but lacks the experience or training to use it. Between us we'd probably equal one normal Gallifreyan, but not a full Time Lord. If I had to guess, I'd say she hasn't regenerated before; I think she's on her first incarnation."

"Incan-what-not?" Jayne asked, confused my all the long words and upset that he'd missed the closest thing to a proper shoot out in months.

"My, our, people have a way or sort of cheating death." Jenny explained, "We can regenerate our bodies into a new form; same mind, same memories, but a new face, voice, and often, a new personality. It's not something to be undertaken lightly; we can only do it twelve times. Mine...seems to work a little differently, but that's a whole other, and very complicated, story."

Simon and Jayne started to talk at once, making it impossible to understand what wither was trying to say.

"Bai-tuo, an-jing-eedyen!" River stood behind Jenny, her tone of voice inviting no argument, "She's right. They're both right. I don't know who or what I am, but until I do it would be best for all of you if I left."

"Mei-Mei!" Simon walked over to her, "You can't just leave..."

"I have to, Simon." River smiled warmly as she embraced him, "It's my turn to protect you. To protect everyone." She turned to face Jenny, "I'm ready."

"Right." The blond nodded, then turned to face Jack, "Well, at least you haven't forgotten how to show a girl a good time. Leave it to you of all people to uncover a missing Time Lord."

"It's a gift." Jack hugged her, "You look after her, and yourself: it's not a safe 'verse."

"Two untrained Time Lords in a stolen Torchwood gunship? What could possibly go wrong?" Jenny laughed, "I hid your ship, by the way. I'll put it back before we leave."

"Ai-yah tyen-ah..." Mal rolled his eyes, "Just look after River, okay? She's part of my crew."

"She's more than that." Inara punched him in the shoulder, "She's family."

"Trust me, the 'verse won't know what hit it." River smiled, "Goodbye. I'll be back, some day."

Jenny pressed a control on her belt, and the two young women were enveloped in a bright flash of light, and were gone. Mal looked like he was about to say something, but a grinding, scraping sound filled the air, emanating from the cargo bay.

"Oh, juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan!" Jack's eyes narrowed, "Leave this to me, and say nothing about what just happened here."

The others followed him into the cargo bay, and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a large, blue box standing in the middle of the room. A door on the side opened, and a smartly dressed man stepped out, a confused look on his face.

"Jack?" The stranger looked confused, "I picked up a beacon..."

"Doctor." Harkness smiled, then punched the other man in the face as hard as he could.

To Be Continued...

Bi-tuo, an-jing-eedyen = We will enjoy your silence now
Mei-Mei = Little sister
Ai-yah. Tyen-ah = Merciless Hell
Juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan = this is a happy development