News spread fast amongst the group that Jack and Rob were bringing back an alien carcass. Ianto and Julia were waiting at the back entrance as the UAV pulled up. Jack got out and looked at the two.
"Jules, I got a present for you," he said with a feral grin. He was hoping that she would be able to find him a way of fighting these things if they showed up again.
"Jack, you shouldn't have," Julia said with a faint smile as she watched Ianto and Rob lift the covered alien in the stasis field out of the back of the UAV. "You remind me of my tabby cat which used to leave me presents on the foot of my bed. However, this is one present I will gladly accept."
"Careful," Jack said as he followed them into the Hub. "You're going to have to be extremely careful of this one. Its blood is highly corrosive and this stasis field or glass are the only things that seem to contain it." Jack watched as the two men maneuvered the alien through the doorway and into the main area of the Hub. "Over to the autopsy room, boys."
"OR," Julia corrected absently, her mind on how she was going to do an autopsy on an alien whose blood was caustic.
"No, today it is an autopsy room," Jack said as he moved ahead of the two men to help guide them down the stairs and over to the examining table. "We're going to have to figure out a way to put this on something that won't disintegrate."
"I don't suppose we can just do a partial stasis," Julia mused. "That way we could suspend the base of the carcass while we work on the top, and then find a way to rotate it and work on the rest."
Jack shook his head. "Sorry, it's an all or nothing here. And we really don't have anything else that would be effective." They looked at the glowing alien that Ianto and Rob had put on the examining table. Already, blood had pooled around the base. The minute they let that field go, it would spill onto the table and the floor. They would have to be extremely careful if they were going to be able to do this successfully.
"Do we have any large plates of glass around here?" Rob asked. Ianto thought about it for a moment and shook his head. "It's too late for any of the shops as well."
"We could break in somewhere and get it," Jack suggested. Julia looked at him with disapproval at the suggestion. "Hey, this is all in the interest of science!" He looked over at Ianto who had a thoughtful expression on his face. "What are you thinking?"
"We have plenty of glass," Ianto said with a smile as he turned to look at Jack. "We just have to liberate it."
"Liberate?" Jack had a puzzled expression on his face. "Liberate it from what?"
Rob and Ianto replied at the same time. "The greenhouse." Ianto nodded. Rob said something about getting his tools and headed back out to his desk.
"Awww, do we have to?" Jack really didn't want to dismantle his little oasis. Although it wasn't the same one that had his team had built all those years ago since the Hub had been destroyed or damaged a few times since then, he did have a fondness for it. It held many good memories for him and as Ianto climbed the steps to follow Rob he smiled sympathetically at Jack.
"It's only temporary, Jack. And the good thing about those panes is that they are beveled so they'll hold the blood in without spilling, as long as Julia is careful. We'll put it back when we're done. Promise!" He said as his voice drifted away up the stairs.
Todd went to help them and soon they carefully carried one of the big panels down into the autopsy room and placed it on the examination table after moving the stasis held alien out of the way. Jack stood off to one side and observed as they placed it carefully so that the stylized Torchwood symbol etched into the glass was face down. He had to admit that it would do the job.
"Now, the only problem I can foresee," Julia said as she donned her robe and pulled gloves on, "is how can I dissect something that can dissolve metal?" The four men looked at one another for a moment.
"Iron utensils?" Rob asked. Jack looked thoughtful. Julia shook her head.
"Don't think I have any, unless you thought to bring them with you. And even then I can't very well dissect something when it's smoking around me, can I?" She put her hands on her hips and regarded the alien which was still covered in the white glow of the stasis field. "What else?"
"Anyone know a local smith?" Jack asked. Blank faces met his gaze. "Oh come on, there has to be one somewhere! They still shoe horses, after all!"
"Hardly practical," Julia said. "I'd love to get this done sometime before the battery wears out in that thing," she said with a gesture towards the stasis box. Jack sighed and scrubbed his face with his hand as he thought.
"Actually, I think I may have something," Ianto said with a thoughtful look on his face. "Be right back." He walked up the stairs and across the main floor, disappearing into the Archives. Todd shrugged and told them he was headed back to his desk. Now that they had been able to pinpoint the time of an actual timeswarm he wanted to look at the logs and see if there was anything unusual which might allow them to predict another one if it were to occur. Rob also went back to his console, wanting to keep busy and distracted. Jack nodded as he informed them he was going to go do some research.
That left Jack alone with Julia. She looked at Jack after following Rob with her gaze as he left the room. "How was he?"
Jack came down the short set of steps. "Shaken, but he held up okay," Jack said in a low voice. He knew that Julia was concerned about Rob's reaction based on her knowledge of his medical records. Though they were sealed, she had gone over them thoroughly before Jack had recruited Rob. She knew of his breakdown with the loss of his family and coworkers in an alien attack when he was with the SAS. "How's Ianto?"
Julia looked thoughtful. "I think it helps when he has something to concentrate on. He's feeling survivor's guilt." Jack nodded. He could well believe that would be the case, based on what Ianto had told them and the devastation he had seen at the house with his own eyes. He resolved to talk with him when they were alone at some point. He sighed and looked at his watch. It was now after six.
The clatter of heels on the steps drew his attention upwards. Ianto approached with a cloth bundle in his hands. Julia watched him speculatively as he brought it over to the instrument tray and set it down.
"Doctor, your tools," he said with a nod. Julia moved over and opened the bundle. The waxed fabric crackled softly as she unfolded it. Light glimmered off of something and as she lifted the flap covering the items, she saw a full set of surgical tools, all made of glass. She looked up at Ianto in surprise.
"Where did you find these?" She carefully picked up a scalpel. "They are exquisite."
"In the Archives," Ianto replied, a note of satisfaction reflected in his tone. "They're from the Torchwood Institute circa 1885. It was part of the historical archive at Torchwood London and was relocated here with some other items after the Battle of Canary Wharf." Ianto glanced at Jack. "Apparently when Suzie and Owen were cleaning up Owen felt some sort of nostalgia and brought them back here. I remember cataloging them some time ago. It's a good thing I did, since they will serve us well now."
"Yes, these will do nicely," Julia said with a smile. She opened the sterilizer and placed each of the instruments in to be decontaminated. Pushing a button, the device fogged up as the sterile field cleaned the instruments. "Thank you, Ianto. As usual, your knowledge of all things Torchwood surpasses everyone else's. May I ask a favor?"
"Certainly," Ianto replied, pleased that he had been able to help.
"Would you stay and assist me?" She asked. He looked momentarily taken aback for a moment before nodding in reply. "Good. Please change into a lab coat and help me move the body." She turned to Jack. "I'll let you know when we finish."
Jack nodded. He left them to it and headed to his office. The Hub was quiet again, the staff working at each of their assignments. There was no sign of Sherry and he assumed she was downstairs with Sian Davies. He lingered for a moment, watching Todd and Rob work. After a few minutes he chided himself for delaying the inevitable and climbed the stairs to his office. He had a log entry to make.
