Time for Jack and Ianto to get away from Yamellia ...
Phaeton 2: Yamellia
Chapter Fourteen
It was dark outside when Jack and Ianto emerged from the store. The storm had almost blown itself out but it was still unpleasant and they were well wrapped up against the dust swirling around. With quick efficiency they set about making their escape; they did not want to be found at the site with the dead troopers and Hath.
Ianto loaded the panniers on the bike. Food and water for a couple of days went in one. The zixxtu - in another explosives container - was stuffed deep into the second pannier along with the chunk of mineral he had taken from the mine the day before. He also packed a few small tools from the store that he thought might be useful as well as a couple of torches. Meanwhile, Jack went through the living quarters with a fine toothcomb to eliminate all traces of their time there. Had it really only been a little over a day? It was hard to credit that so much had happened in so short a time. He recovered their bags – which contained their original clothes including his greatcoat – the med kit and some washing items. They had not brought much with them and had not unpacked. With these in one hand, he made a final scan of the area before returning to the bike.
"That's it," he said, handing over the bags. Ianto found room for one in a pannier and tied the other to the handlebars. "You take the bike to the stream and wait for me there."
"Is all this really necessary?"
"The troopers were sent here. As soon as things get back to normal after the storm, someone's going to come looking for them. And find this." He swept an arm across the clearing which was centimetres deep in dust, scuffed in places by their footprints between mounds where the bodies lay. "No need to leave evidence we were here."
"I suppose you're right." Despite all that happened, Ianto still believed that as they were innocent of any wrongdoing they did not need to hide.
"I am. We need to be away from here and mingling with the other off-worlders as soon as we can."
Without waiting for a reply, Jack picked up the suctren and went to the living quarters. Carefully, he used the device, developed for use in the mines, to blow the dust around covering their footprints and the bike's tracks. It was a delicate operation as the results had to look natural. He took his time, walking backwards out of the clearing to eliminate both his prints and the bike tracks.
At the stream, he climbed on the bike behind Ianto. "Go slowly, I want to cover our tracks."
Ianto gunned the engine and moved off. They stayed at walking speed, Jack deploying the suctren, until they reached a patch of bare rock near a junction with another trail leading to a neighbouring mine. Beyond this, the trail was packed down and the wind stronger, though nothing like the gale force of the night, and their passing only created a small dust cloud which covered their tracks. They saw no one even after joining the main track and heading west, away from checkpoints.
Jack threw the suctren on a heap of abandoned equipment in a ditch and wrapped his arms round Ianto's waist. "Keep to a steady pace," he said, "no need to draw attention to ourselves. We'll pull off across country again soon, like we did on the way in."
"Okay." Away from the mine, Ianto's spirits had risen once more. He was enjoying riding the bike and having Jack pressed against him. "Hang on."
"Always."
-ooOoo-
Three hours later, they stopped at an abandoned homestead. All that remained was the carved-out cave that had once been home to someone, although it was indistinguishable from those eroded by the force of the wind. Perhaps that was how it had been created. Any crops had long gone, the land reverted to natural vegetation. Under a covering of teffel was a water pump that the two men used to wash the worst of the dust, and blood in Jack's case, from their heads and upper bodies and later to refill their water bottles. With the bike under cover in the cave with them, they rested and ate a vaguely cheesy snack while discussing their next move.
"We head to the spaceport. Might be a two-man craft around we can … acquire."
Ianto shook his head and raised his eyes skywards. "I don't think stealing is a good way to keep a low profile."
"Then we need a rich trader to talk out of her ship."
"Can't we just buy one? You manipulated the credits system once, do it again."
"You take all the fun out of life." Jack took a swig from the water bottle. He had obtained their current credits with the adroit use of his superior technical knowledge, and supposed he could do it again for a larger amount. Though if they hadn't wanted to get off-planet so fast, he'd have protested more.
"Tell me about the zixxtu. How do we link it to the drive?"
"Well, for starters, we won't hang about here to do it. We can take a hop somewhere they don't know us and then have a go. And," he stressed, "there's no guarantee I can get it to work. The only time I managed it I had black crystals to hand and even then it wasn't perfect by a long shot. With the current technology?" he shrugged. "Not sure it'll work."
Ianto grinned suddenly and stood, going to the bike's panniers. Reaching in, he pulled out the large chunk of mineral found among the dillicite in Maguire's mine. "You want black crystal, I have black crystal."
Jack's mouth was hanging open. "Where did you get that?" This young man was full of surprises.
"I found it yesterday." He sat down again, the crystal in hand. "Gods, was it only yesterday? Seems like months ago. Anyway, remember the zixxtu was buried in a cave with a dark streak in the wall?"
"Black crystal? It was a seam of black crystal?" Taking the offered crystal, Jack turned it over in his hands.
"Yep. That was lying on the ground so I took it. Meant to tell you but we got talking of other things and it slipped my mind. Haven't had a chance since."
"This makes all the difference. I'll have a better chance of rigging the zixxtu now."
"And it'll really take us through time?" The wand that had taken Jack to the 41st century and The Phaeton – and his meeting with Ianto – had been returned to the Torchwood archives. It had disappointed Ianto, who had enjoyed his visit to 21st century Cardiff, that he wouldn't travel to other times.
"Uh-huh." Carefully, Jack lay the crystal down. "Professor Zixxtumajorilicariwede developed a fully functioning and, more important, undetectable time machine. Correctly attached to any ship's drive it will take us anywhere and anywhen. None of the other temporal engines, before or since, come anywhere close to its sophistication."
Which is why the Time Agency had arranged an accident for the professor and quietly found and kept as many of the zixxtu as they could. Only a handful had escaped them, including this one. Jack did not explain this to Ianto, still unsure how to broach the twists and turns of his complicated timeline. He remembered the assignment to retrieve one zixxtu which had gone disastrously wrong; he had been forced to utilise the device to get back to the 51st century, much to the consternation of his superiors.
"That is so cool." Ianto grinned broadly. "I can't wait."
His enthusiasm amused and concerned Jack. "It's not all fun and games, Ianto. We have to be very careful not to get involved and upset the timeline. Can be a right pain!"
"You've done a lot of time travel?"
"More than my share. But we don't have to go through time to have fun, there's loads of worlds out there we can visit."
Half an hour later, they removed traces of their camp and set off again, Jack driving this time. He joined the main route well south of Liffie Town and continued south for a while, just another of the many vehicles heading that way, until veering east for the spaceport. All around them vehicles lay abandoned or with owners trying to dig them out, buried by the storm itself or having swerved into unseen drifts. Troopers were assisting in some cases but this was the only sign of the authorities that the two men saw as Jack kept in a convoy of other vehicles in the cleared central passage. They reached the spaceport safely.
The main building was busy. People who had missed booked departures were milling about trying to make new reservations to board the huge freighters and liners in orbit above, too large to make planetfall. Those who had arrived after the storm were attempting to continue their journeys but ground transport was at a premium and tempers were frayed. The craft small enough to land were congregated around a satellite building to the left and Jack headed there, making a circuit of the landing pads to get a feel for the place. There were even less troopers around but they did spot some craft up for sale. It was also busy here with those craft under cover able to take off when they wished while the ones left outside had to be dug free first. Incoming craft were stacked up and arriving every few minutes, taking up every spare docking point. Potential passengers were here too, trying to find pilots to take them off-planet and being fleeced for the privilege.
Leaving the bike in secure parking, but taking the panniers and bags with them, Jack and Ianto strode into the concourse. Settling Ianto at a table in the restaurant with the baggage, Jack went off to the currency centre and worked his magic on his account. The new balance was respectable and should, he hoped, be sufficient to buy a small craft. Back at the restaurant, keeping a wary eye out for pursuers, he joined Ianto who had ordered food for them both.
"Look at this," said Ianto as Jack slipped into the seat opposite. He had the table monitor open at a local news channel. "A personnel carrier was found halfway between the mine and Liffie Town with a dead trooper on board."
Taking a forkful of food, Jack read the account. "Could be the one that came to the mine." He scrolled through the other news items which catalogued a number of deaths and accidents caused by the storm, and the continuing chaos over most of the planet. There was nothing about a search for them or about the dead troopers at the mine. "There again, it might not."
"Bit of a coincidence if it isn't."
"Maybe. At least it's just an accident, like all these others." The personnel carrier had gone off the track and into a ditch which had filled with dust suffocating the trooper.
"I wonder if Kika and the others made it out all right." Ianto took a long drink of ale.
"I expect so. They didn't need a vehicle to get off-planet." Jack assumed the family would leave using whatever device had brought them through time to Yamellia. He watched Ianto drinking. "And be careful how much you drink, that's how we got involved in this mess in the first place."
"One ale won't affect me."
"That's what you said the last time."
They continued to bicker and eat, enjoying the freshly cooked food after a couple of days of miners' rations. Bringing up the list of craft for sale, they went through it carefully, defining their needs as they went along. Ianto wanted a larger craft than Jack who was more concerned with technical specifications. Eventually, they agreed on four that more or less met their combined needs and, taking their baggage with them, they went back to the bike and made the rounds of the vendors.
They settled on the third craft they saw. Basically triangular, it had sleek racing lines that appealed to them both but was large enough to haul cargo as well as providing living space for four humanoids. It could be easily flown and maintained by the two men. The price was reasonable but Jack haggled anyway and got it for less than he had expected but not so much less that it made him suspicious. Ianto set about stocking up on supplies while Jack went through the legal formalities which took a while. It was full dark when all was complete and he walked into the ship. The combined flight deck and living area was remarkably tidy and Jack smiled as he walked up to central table where Ianto was sitting, dressed once again in his leather outfit.
Ianto was checking the course but looked round when he heard Jack approach. "All done?"
"Yeah, she's all ours. We can leave anytime." Jack perched on the edge of the table, liking the idea of having a ship of his own again. And someone to share it with.
"I plotted a course that will take us out of the system. It's laid in ready." With a smile he stood up. "Let's get going. I'd like to be off Yamellia." He moved in front of Jack and placed both hands round his waist, kissing him lightly.
"Let's do it."
On the flight deck, Jack took the right hand seat and Ianto the left as naturally as if they had flown together for years. Jack handled the formalities of takeoff during which he used the ship's new designation. While waiting for final clearance, he looked at Ianto. "Thought the name was appropriate."
"I like it."
A few minutes later, Phaeton 2 took off in a cloud of dust and energy backwash heading for adventure.
And so the story ends. I have ideas for more adventures the two could get involved in - do you want more? Many thanks to all who have read, reviewed and alerted this. I really appreciate it - Jay.