A great big thank you to Badly-Knitted and PCJanto for reviewing. And thank you to every one reading this.
Chapter 9 Tumbling lifeboats and vanishing nations
They spent the next couple of days getting to know one another and grieving for those they had lost. Orion suffered from nightmares each night that had him waking up screaming. Warwyn always held him as he struggled to come to terms with the dreams and the reality behind them. It was always the same; The monster chasing him through endless corridors, catching up to him and merging with him. In some dreams he would find Warwyn dead, in the worst of them he was the one to cause the death of his mate. After such terrible dreams Orion would cling to his mate, as if Warwyn would disappear if he let go. Warwyn never complained about it. It just cooed and purred in a soothing manner until Orion dozed off again.
More often than not Warwyn would suddenly remember its parents and its past life and the overwhelming grief and sense of loss would cause it to break down in to a sobbing mess of its own. So it could understand Orion's nightly breakdowns. Needless to say their first days together were filled with shared tears. Years later they would look back at that time and think it was a bittersweet time.
They had explored the lifeboat's many cupboards and made use of the contents. A routine of sorts was established; they ate their meals from the stored food packets, slept through the night and talked through the day. They had agreed not to wander too far from lifeboat, since they didn't know what kind of dangers there might lurk outside. But they had branched out a little into the immediate surrounding area. 'It must be how camping feels like' Orion had thought, as they sat outside on folding chairs enjoying an evening meal and watching the fiery sunset.
"What's that?" Warwyn asked pointing to something on the far distant horizon. Orion followed his mate's gaze, while putting his finished plate on the ground. Still chewing the last mouthful he frowned. Though it was flattering that Warwyn thought him the great expert on all things planetary, the truth was he had been raised pretty much under ground at the Hub and in a city. This was a very different climate, warmer and drier, and it was flat plains with the occasional cluster of shrubs and bushes. He had yet to spot a tree anywhere; or people for that matter. The distress signal had been activated and he had tried several times to contact Rea and Xarion telepathically, but he wasn't sure if he had reached them. So for now at least, they were on their own.
"Looks like a storm cloud. Probably a bad weather front coming in. We better bring everything inside, when we retire for the night." He indicated the chairs and all the little trifles of stuff that had been brought outside during their short stay. Warwyn looked at him with such trust, that it made his heart flutter. His mate had never experienced bad weather, or what it could do to things on the ground. Orion shuttered, suddenly glad there were no trees around. At least they wouldn't get hit by any flying Christmas trees!
He looked at the oncoming storm. It was still far away, but it moved quickly. He tried reaching out with his awareness, to maybe get a sense of the magnitude of the storm. He could feel the gentle slumber of the world they were on, and the herd of huge animals they had seen the first night. But he couldn't really feel the storm; he had never been particularly good at weather sensing. Rea said there were those on Hallow IV who specialised in it, but it was not for him. They would just have to wait and see.
xxXxx
An hour later a large herd of animals came galloping past a bit to the left of them. The animals looked a bit like blue ponies, with sleek bodies built for speed. They were running just ahead of the storm, like dolphins swimming in the bow wave of a ship. They didn't seem panicked, rather elated. As if running in front of a massive storm was great fun.
Orion paled as he saw what looked like a dark grey wall approaching. The storm was massive. He shut the porthole and sealed it tight and rushed over to Warwyn in the front. Everything had been stowed away in the cupboards. As he sat down in his seat and strapped himself in the safety harness, his instincts wanted him so badly to hold Warwyn in his arms, keeping it safe from harm. Their eyes met and the bond sang with emotion. Warwyn reached out its hand and Orion grabbed it.
Then the storm hit.
xxXxx
Ianto turned around lazily. The bed was soft and warm, the sheets luxurious. It was also empty, he slowly realised, as his searching hand found no trace of his bed partner. Blearily he blinked, forcing his eyelids to unglue themselves. The room came slowly into focus. It was indeed devoid of other Human life than his. They were staying at the palace as the Queens guests, much to some of the security officers' discomfiture. The glares they got from some of them… Ianto half smiled at the thought. Jack had tried to charm one of them, only to be unequivocally and unceremoniously turned down. It had bent his ego a little out of shape for half a day, until Ianto decided enough was enough and jumped him, the moment they entered their room. Making sexual overtures to the man was an effective means to bring the man out of a sulk.
Ianto stretched and was about to get up when Jack came through the door with a heavily laden tray. The scent of coffee and bacon floated before him as he approached the bed.
"Morning, Love. Look what the Queen sent us." He set the tray down on the bed and sat across from him. Ianto smiled.
"Morning, Cariad." He accepted the fine porcelain cup full of steaming hot coffee and sighed as the flavour hit his palate. It was made by a real barista, he knew. He had met the woman, a Mrs. Evelyn D'allasandro, a petite British woman, who had married an Argentinean man and, Jack had joked, was Ianto's soul mate. They had spent hours talking about coffee; from the types of beans and cultivation methods to the finer points of brewing the perfect cup for each person. By the end of the evening he had received a standing offer of an apprenticeship "in case the secret agent stuff didn't work out".
They took their time eating the fine breakfast. It wasn't often they got the chance to indulge in a sit down meal, least of all at breakfast. Their conversation invariably steered toward their investigation into Orion's disappearance as well as mutual comforting and morale boosting. They both missed their son and were both worried about him. Though Ianto was the most outspoken in his concern and worry about Orion, Jack shared the sentiments. Jack would often remind Ianto that Orion was a big boy and very capable of handling whatever would arise. But even so he didn't always feel confident that their boy would be able to – what if he was hurt? Then Ianto would remind him, that Orion was strong, gifted and resourceful.
But what really calmed them both down was that Rea and Xarion had not felt anything amiss. They were both tied up in some sort of ceremonial event on Hallow IV. Ianto had equated it to a once-in-decade graduation ceremony for some of the highest trained new scholars. It didn't really matter to him other than the fact, that Rea and Xarion were unavailable when they needed them the most.
He was jerked out of his thoughts as there was a knock on the door. Jack and Ianto looked at each other. This was the first time that someone had interrupted them during a meal. Ianto checked that he was suitably covered by the duvet. It wouldn't do for him to flash his crown jewels to the Queens courtiers. Jack went to answer the door. Outside was a prim female clerk in a smart light grey suit jacket and skirt.
"Good morning, Gentlemen. I trust you've slept well." She said pleasantly, but with an air of indifference. She was just making pleasantries, but didn't care about the answers. "Your presence is requested in half an hour. A guard will escort you." With that said, she gave a short perfunctory nod and swiftly walked away. Jack snorted humourlessly as Ianto shook his head.
"Wonder what that was about." Jack said as he shut the door.
xxXxx
The children both screamed as their little vessel was tossed topsy-turvy in the gale force winds. Orion felt as if the lifeboat was as light and unsubstantial as an empty soda can. They were rolling over flat plains, sometimes being tossed into the air and flipped around so much it was impossible to tell what was up or down anymore.
"Please stop! Make it stop. Please!" he heard Warwyn pleading. His heart breaking at the sound, knowing there was nothing he could do.
"Please!" Warwyn was sobbing and retching again. They had both forcefully lost the food in their stomachs and it was now splattered all over the insides of the lifeboat. The stench of it was enough to make him gag. Warwyn screamed loudly as they were flung front over end high up into the air and then were tossed into a side roll while falling down. A strong down draft caught them and they were slammed into the ground, right on top of a large boulder. The metal of the hull creaked and groaned as it was deformed out of shape. The wind slammed into them again, pushing them off the boulder and along the ground. The lifeboat was now rather bent around the middle, forming a sort of v-shape. The cupboards were being squashed in the middle. Those were the cupboards where the food packets were stored, he thought, as they were flung into the air again. But this time the wind caught them on the inside of the v-shape, pushing them sideways into the ground and along it. Orion looked out the window and noticed the wide furrow behind them. The wind was ploughing them into the ground in front of them. If they could just burrow downward a little, the ground could anchor them against the winds.
He spared a glance at Warwyn, who was still sobbing strapped into the harness. It was still pleading the powers that be for the winds to stop. Orion steeled himself, sent a brief feeling of comfort along their bond along with his intent and then focussed on the task ahead. He stretched out his awareness to feel the lifeboat around them. When he was complete attuned to it, he used his telekinetic abilities to try to change their angle. It only needed to be changed a little bit and held like that, and then the wind would provide the forward thrust that would drive them partially into the ground.
It was difficult. He was fighting against the strong winds that constantly threatened to pick them up again. He was also struggling because he had never really tried to influence something so large before. He was soon gasping for breath and sweating like a racehorse. At one point he lost control and the wind picked them back up. They were tossed around in a fierce set of twists and twirls. It almost felt as if the storm was retaliating, taking its vengeance out on the little lifeboat.
Orion gasped a few more times and tried again. This time he managed to keep them on the ground, but he didn't have the strength to change their angle as well. It took every thing he had just to prevent them being thrown about again. A few minutes passed and he was feeling a growing desperation as he felt his strength ebb with each passing moment.
Then another presence made itself felt. It altered their angle, making the tip of the v-shape point downward by a couple of more degrees. Orion could have cheered as he felt the lifeboat slowly but surely burrow into the solid ground. Within a few minutes they finally came to a halt. The small craft was taking a pounding by the wind and it shook and bucked. It wouldn't take much before they were wrested free again, he thought.
Stretching out his awareness he searched the ground under and around them. The top layer was just soil with the usual mix of decaying vegetation and microorganisms. Further down was a layer of clay and below that a rocky layer. It would have to do, he thought. He concentrated on gathering the clay and rocks, moving them up through the underground. Soon it broke through the surface and moved up along the wind pounded side of the lifeboat. The earth movement caused the lifeboat to sink in further, as the ground settled. Orion moved soil from the surrounding area as well and soon the little vessel was covered and resembled an oddly shaped hill. The wind blew over it, trying to sweep it away, but the lifeboat stayed put.
Orion collapsed in his seat with a great sigh. They were safe. He was exhausted from the ordeal and had only just caught his breath, when it was almost knocked out of him again. Warwyn had taken the opportunity to unclasp the harness and flung itself into Orion's arms. He abandoned all thoughts of scolding it as he heard it sobbing. They were safe, so what did it matter that it had prematurely unstrapped itself from the harness? He hugged it as close as he could, burying his nose in its hair. He could feel it trembling, as he placed a kiss on top of its head.
"Thank you." He whispered, knowing full well who had helped him wedge them into the ground. Warwyn just sobbed, getting the front of his coveralls wet. The bond let him know how terrified his mate had been and he tightened his hold. His mate was safe now. They both were.
"And I thought flying Christmas trees were bad…" he said softly, trying to lighten Warwyn's mood a little. Warwyn made a mewling sound as a response and Orion's instinct told him to continue to comfort his mate. The lifeboat was a wreck, the water was leaking both inside and out, shortening out the electrics in small brief flares of flame and smoke. Some of the cupboards had opened, throwing the contents all over the place. The beds had been deformed, the lights were flickering, and a hydraulic pump was opening and closing something under the floorboards in the engine. But his mate was safe and that was all that mattered to Orion right now.
xxXxx
The guard brought them through a maze of corridors, flights of stairs, elevators and underground tunnels until they finally arrived at a large situation room. The place was busy as a bee hive. People dressed in uniforms and suits milling about, talking on phones, checking computers and tablets. Ianto spotted at least five different agencies and as many types of armed forces, including UNIT. He also spotted the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, and a bunch of other important people. 'What in the blazes is going on?'
They hovered in the outskirts of the room, staying out of the way and waiting for someone to notice their presence. They didn't have to wait long. A middle aged balding man came over to greet them.
"Ah, there you are. Torchwood, right?" he said. Jack put on his best smile, making the man weak at the knees and blush.
"Captain Jack Harkness. This is Ianto Jones. What's going on?" The balding man frowned.
"What, you haven't been told? Oh, typical!" he said affectedly. He put his arm on Jack's, making Ianto want to slap him. "They are all so busy being important they forget to maintain the most basic of courtesies." He sighed theatrically. "Oh well, I'm Myron, by the way. Myron Hoffsteader. I work for the Foreign Ministry." Ianto restrained the urge to roll his eyes, as Mr. Hoffsteader pulled his fiancée along toward a meeting room. Jack sent an apologetic look over his shoulder, as Ianto followed behind them.
"It seems that about a week ago a message was received at Arecibo, the radio telescope in Puerto Rico. It took a couple of hours for it to be confirmed by the telescopes in Australia and New Zealand. But they all received the same message. It has been proven to be alien in origin." The man paused as they waited for a group of VIPs to pass. Jack and Ianto shared a look. Even though they dealt with alien contact on a regular basis the official First Contact had yet to happen. Jack, vaguely remembering lessons in old Earth history, was well aware that this wasn't it.
"What was the message?" Ianto asked. Mr. Hoffsteader glanced benignly at him, but frowned when Ianto put his arm possessively around Jack's waist.
"Oh some sort of alien gobbledygook." He waved his hand dismissively. "That isn't what is twisting all these bigwigs' knickers. Oh no, it's much more interesting." Both Jack' and Ianto's eyebrows rose. What could be more important than a strange alien communication – an undeniable proof of alien existence?
"It seems that when the aliens didn't get a reply to their message they got a tad bit upset." He paused dramatically. This time Ianto did roll his eyes. The man was infuriating. Jack squeezed him around the shoulders were his arm was firmly in place.
"How upset?" Jack was getting impatient as well. The balding man simpered.
"They have made the entire population of Bangladesh disappear." He said with a flirty smile for Jack.
For the record: I have nothing against the people of Bangladesh. I just needed a densely populated country and Bangladesh is in the top five worldwide.
