Posting early because tomorrow will be madness in RL
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12
Lights arc across the dormant buildings as the flat deck turns onto the "main drag." It trundles down the rutted street, throwing up sheets of filthy water as the massive wheels hit pond-like potholes. Windblown rain lashes across the headlights.
Like a gigantic skateboard with controls at the front and one long bar along the middle to cling to, the Evac Crew stand bracing themselves as they rumble towards the Hub.
The Flat Deck rolls up close to the entrance. The crew step off.
"Sir, the CPU is on-line." Suzie advises as she checks the door's locking mechanism.
"Okay, stand by in operations." Jack says so Ianto can hear, then adds to his crew "Let's go. Suzie, open her up please."
She walks to the exterior lock door-controls and studies them. She punches some unfamiliar buttons. Nothing happens. She hits another button. The door-motors come to life and she relaxes a little.
Jack gestures for her to precede him inside.
John catches up with Jack as the others move ahead of them into the bowels of the complex. "Looks like the Collective can write off its share of this colony."
Suzie sees the ravaged administration complex. Fire-gutted offices. John notices her looking around nervously. He motions to Jamie with his eyes and the young trooper casually falls in beside her on the other side, rifle at ready.
Hewson emerges from a side corridor ahead. "Sir, you should check this out..."
He leads the way into the corridor.
This wing is completely without power. The crew switch on their pack lights and the beams illuminate a scene of devastation worse than they have seen.
"Right ahead here..."
They approach a barricade blocking the corridor, a hastily welded wall of pipes, steel-plate, and outer-door panels. Sonic Blaster holes have slashed through the floor and walls in several places. The metal is scratched and twisted by hideously powerful forces, peeled back like a soup can on one side. They squeeze through the opening.
They pack-lights play over the devastation of the colonists' last ditch battle. The equipment of the med labs has been uprooted to add to the barrier. The walls are perforated by pulse-rifle fire and acid. Scorched by untended fires to bare metal. A few instruments glow with emergency power.
"Last stand." John says softly.
"No bodies?" Suzie asks.
"No, Sir. Looks like it was a helluva fight." Jamie answers to his higher up.
"I don't like this" Jack says as he looks around "no bodies. Not of either persuasion. You gotta think they caught a few bugs before they succumbed … did the bugs eat their own as well? And if so… at least some blood should be evident… right?"
"Jack … this is not like last time" John agrees.
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Ianto is listening on the Torchwood, his fingers drumming on the arm of his chair as the General stands to stretch his legs "Get you anything?"
"No thank you sir. Too nervy"
"You are a good man. Remember that, so is your man down there. They will be fine."
Ianto grunted as he continued to stare at the console ahead like it might give him more, then he sighed "You're right. I will stretch my legs too. Toshiko, you have the chair."
"Sir"
Ianto walked with the General along the corridor to the holding bay where the Spark had been not so long ago and as they walked Ianto felt a weird sense of change. Like stepping from a warm room to a cold one and he stopped walking "Do you feel that?"
"Hmmm?"
Ianto looked around "Colder."
"Thinner membrane most likely, as each end it air locked in case of … Ianto?" the General watched as Ianto walked to the hull and started to touch it, his face calm even as he seemed to be acting a little weird, finally stopping at one spot.
"Cold. Sir, come feel. Icy cold."
The General did so and frowned "what does this mean?'
"The Torchwood has double membrane, same as the Mother Ship. If the outer hull has a breach and the inner hull is intact you can tell the difference in the change of temperature. This tells up there is a small tear or something in our outer hull." Ianto paused to consider "If we go up into void we might be compromised."
"Then we land and fix it."
"And we might be compromised." Ianto shot back.
"Then we space walk it out!"
Ianto blinked, not speaking so the General finally added "And we could be compromised?"
Ianto smiled "I think the best bet is to try and land on the surface, run a bot out to slap on a fix then we jump to the Spark's coordinates since we are in the inner atmo."
"Agreed"
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"Sir, just had a call from Mother. Their outer hull has caught a bit of space debris, they are landing to Bot-Spot it then will jump to our coordinates. They will then wait for us to return and evac." Suzie called out.
"Awww… just when we were having fun" Jack pouted "I wanted to fly her back up."
"And I prefer Ianto's calm hand" someone called out as Jack swung to glare around him.
"Who said that, you scummer!"
They laughed nervously as they continued to search.