A/N: Ianto getting his bearings
Beta-ed: TattoedLibrarian
Ianto looked at the shocked faces around him and he knew that the option for dissolving was real. He wondered what that would feel like.
"Well it's a better reaction than from one that ended himself splashing all over the console" said the blue scaled woman, she was lean and tall and Ianto could make out appeal on her strange face. Why was that? Probably because of her eyes, they looked tired and weary but not cruel.
"Shush Trianca!" Jack snapped at her. "And you" he pointed at Ianto angrily. "What kind of thinking is that? Even if you are fake, you are alive now and you have the memories of a man I valued, what in those memories suggest that I would just kill you on the spot?"
"Well you did say I'm an enemy" Ianto shrugged his shoulders. "In Torchwood we had a quick way of dealing with enemies, but I guess that was from the lack of technology, I suppose you have better cells here, but if they are as much of a dump as ours were I would prefer the dissolving option."
Jack looked at him for a moment with an expression he couldn't read. This older Jack did look harsh and unforgiving, it seemed that nothing humorous and gentle survived on him. It was a sad sight, one Ianto regretted to see. He understood the version that decided to go out with a splash.
"No, there are no cells on board" he said harshly. "This is not a prison ship and I'm not a prison guard. Why does every version just assume that I'm some kind of a space cop" he looked at Trianca exasperated. "Show him the options and let him choose."
"Why? Haven't you had enough versions already to know what I'll choose?" Ianto frowned thinking of the option of splashing around, he hated the idea of the mess he would make.
"No" Jack sighed and rubbed his face. "Sadly no. You're not a drone or a puppet, since moment you were created; you are based on a real person and have the same amount of ability to choose. Every version chose differently. It's probably influenced within moments after waking. From now on your decisions are your own and you will differ from the original. But I warn you, if other Flesh are try to convince you don't have a choice, that you have to listen to hive mind, they are lying."
"So" Ianto shoved his hands in his pockets hiding his fists, this conversation was unsettling, "I can't go back home, because there is a real version of me doing stuff, you won't dissolve me, or imprison me. That leaves me with settling somewhere new or returning to the hive. What is the hive like, do they have cute cubical apartments?"
Short, bulky man with gray skin and big hands laughed suddenly.
"I like this one" he said. "We could keep him as a pet."
"Shut up Vren" said Trianca harshly "and steer that, I don't like the prospects of ending up on the wrong end of the border. You've summed that up nicely dear" she looked sympathetic now. "There are nice places out there, it is an opportunity, we won't tell you're a Flesh, and we will fix you before you go so you won't dissolve so easily."
"That's nice of you" said Ianto sighing. "It's not easy to stand on this side of the glass, I'll cooperate." He approached her and Jack moved to avoid contact. That stung a bit, but he'd be fine, this was an adventure. Jack back home was fine, the real Ianto was with him.
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