15
Rose tries to catch up to Jax in the cargo bay as he strides along showing his anger in his walk, "Jax!"
"I got no answers for you, Rose." Jack hisses as he turns to face her, "I got no rudder. Wind blows 40 northerly, I go north. That's who I am. Maybe that ain't a man to lead but they have to follow so you wanna tear me down do it inside your own mind."
"I'm not trying to tear you down" she cries but he cuts her off.
"But you fog things up. You always have sister, you spin me about. I wish like hell you was elsewhere."
"I was." She says sadly as her brother turns from her and starts pulling at his hair like he did when they were children. She starts to realise she is not the only secret on this boat he is keeping form his crew.
Something has him twisted every which way.
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Rhys is looking at the storage locker door. A beat.
He moves to the aft hall, shuts and locks the door. Goes back to the locker and starts to unlock it, pulling his gun. "No trouble now, little crazy person... we're going for a nice shuttle ride…"
He opens the door and Ianto is on him in an instant, whip blow to the throat, the nose - he fires wildly as he jumps on him, wraps his arms around his neck and topples him back - The crew enters, drawn by the shots. Jax is first - can't open the door. Looks in to see an unconscious Rhys... "The other way! Find him, and-do not engage!"
Everyone piles out the other way. Owen remains, to look in the window.
There is Rhys, not moving - and Ianto pops up right in front of him at the window. He starts, then waits as he opens the door.
"It's gonna be oka …" Owen croons but Ianto elbows his throat viciously. He drops to his knees, shocked and gasping, as he spin-kicks him to the ground. He doesn't move. He looks at him a moment, then takes off.
Jax is throwing his shoulder against the bolted door to the upstairs. He gives up, looking around.
"He's sealed off the bridge. I do not like him there." Martha warns.
"Cap'n!"
Toshiko calls as she tosses him a bolt remover. He starts pulling a bolt out of a panel on the wall, tells Martha "Check the shuttles. He coulda snuck in."
He pops the panel off and starts wriggling in among the wires.
A floor panel hinges open, Jax pulling himself up. He moves quietly to the bridge, gun drawn.
He enters to find Ianto frantically punching up coordinates on a big Cortex screen he's pulled out by the co-pilot's seat. He whips Rhys' gun at his face, never looking at him.
A moment, and Jax lowers his own gun.
"The government's man, he says you're a danger to us. Not worth helping. Is he right? Are you anything but a weapon? I've staked my crew's life on the
a … person-,…actual and whole, and if I'm wrong you'd best shoot me now." Jax informs Ianto who cocks the gun, Jax snorts, "Or we could talk more..."
Ianto is pointing to the screen "Hallett."
It's a planet.
Matches the one from his dream.
Jax drops his stance and steps over to look at the finger tapping the screen, "What is it love?"
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Everyone has gathered. Mickey is piloting now, as they are in atmosphere. Ianto is by Owen. He moves restlessly in the seat, upset.
"How can it be there's a whole planet called Hallett and none of us knowed that?" Toshiko asks with confusion.
"Because there isn't one. It's a black rock. Uninhabitable. Terraforming didn't hold, or some such. Few settlers died." Jax answers her as he watches Ianto.
Ianto is trying to apologise to his brother "I had to show them. I didn't know if you were going to make me sleep."
Owen replies in a hoarse whisper "You could've asked..."
"Wait a tick, yeah!" Toshiko suddens says "Some ten years back, before the war. There was call for workers to settle on Hallett, my daddy talked about going. I should've recalled..."
"But there's nothing about it on the Cortex - History, Astronomy... it's not in there." Mickey blusters as he checks his map list again.
"Half of writing history is hiding the truth. There's something on this rock the Agency doesn't want known." Jax states with a knowledge borne of betrayals.
"That's right at the edge of the Burnham Quadrant, right?" Rose tries to remember. "Furthest planet out."
"It's not that far from here" Jax answers her.
"Whoah, no, no" Mickey explodes from the seat as he realises what is about to happen.
Martha disagrees with her mate, "That's not a bad notion"
"Honey" Mickey sighs.
"I got it, baby." She grins.
"Don't show them the bad..." Mickey starts and then slumps as the screen flickers to life.
She hits some commands on the screen, pulls back to reveal a couple of other planets near Hallett."This is us, see? And here's Hallett. All along here, this dead space in between, that's Muncher territory."
"They just float out there, sending out raiding parties" Mickey shivers with disgust.
"Maybe a hundred ships. And more every year. You go through that you're signing up to be a banquet." Martha points out.
"I'm on board with the run and hide scenario - and we are just about..." Mickey says and he looks at his monitors, looks ahead... as he changes the screen to the aft cameras and the ship swings around a mountain to come into view of the camp.
It is a world of fire.
Every building burns, some blown right apart. Bodies litter the scene, not one of them moving. There's a grounded Agency ship not far from the cannon that shot it down.
We see Jax's face as the sight hits him like a gut-punch.
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The crew pours out even as the ramp lowers, going off in all directions, calling out to people...Toshiko heads for the burning church.
"Doctor? Doctor…Doctor!" She stops, looking at the ground by the steeple. There is the body on the ground, face down. The child she played with at dinner. Toshiko stares, at first uncomprehending.
Jax is moving in the other direction, approaches the cannon, Rhys behind him. He stops and sees Doctor, lying by the cannon, torn up badly from the waist down.
"Get the Doc." He says to Rhys as he moves to the Doctor, grabs his searching hand. "Doctor... Don't move."
"Won't go far..." the Doctor chokes out.
"Shouldn't've been you. I'm so sorry, it was... they should've hit us. They should've hit me." Jax cries as he wrings his friend's limp hand.
"That crossed my mind." The Doctor chokes, then nods, "I shot him down"
"I seen." Jax smiles proudly.
"I killed the ship... that killed us. Not... very Christian of me."
"You did what's right." Jax assures him softly.
"Coming from you, that means..." the Doctor laughes through his pain, "almost nothing... HNAAH! Ah, I'm long gone..."
"Doc'll bring you round. I look to be bored by many more sermons 'fore you slip - don't move" Jax is afraid and is shows in his face.
"Can't... order me around, boy. I'm not one of your crew."
"Yes you are." Jax sobs.
Doctor coughs up blood, grabbing Jax. Urgent, almost angry. "You... it's on you now... all this death, this shit... you have to find a course. This can't mean nothing. Ianto... you have to..."
"Come on, keep it up" Jax begs.
The Doctor grabs Jax's face, talks as though replying to something "I don't care what you believe! Just... believe it. Love...Whatever you have to..."
His breathing becomes laboured.
Hitched.
Stopped.
His hand slips away, his blood leaving a distinct print on Jax's face.
Rhys and Owen run up, Owen slowing down - going to the Doctor. "he's-dead"
Rhys looks around him, Jax still fixed on Doctor.
"How come they ain't waiting? They know'd we was coming, how come they only sent one?" Rhys wonders with confusion.
Martha realizes the answer, turns to Mickey. "Get on the Cortex. Wave the Sanchez brothers, Li Shen - anyone who's ever sheltered us after a heist. Tell them to get out. Get out now."