Ok, first of all I want to apologize for not updating in like forever, but I'm back at school, and then there's family life, but anyway, here's the next bit. It's based about a week after the events of Exit Wounds and about a month after the last chapter, Southerndown Ghosts 3. Enjoy.
Killer Droid 1
Jack glanced around. He spotted Gwen not to far from him, she had her weapon drawn just as he did. They were tracking a signal that the computers had yet to identify. Not that it mattered. Even if it was identified, they couldn't do that much with it. Without Toshiko a lot of the Rift monitoring had gone to shit. Jack knew he needed to hire someone to replace her, but he just couldn't. Then there was the issue, if it's alien and they killed it, no one to do an autopsy, he had already arranged with Martha that she'd help out till he hired someone. Luckily, he had his eyes on someone, he just hadn't approached the man yet.
Motioning to Gwen that she should move one, he too moved on, then tapped his ear piece, "Ianto, where is it?"
"Just a little further up, it's stationary," came Ianto's reply from the hub.
He looked at Gwen, she nodded to him. She'd heard the message too. They continued on a little further, "Ianto, we're not seeing anything..." Gwen said into her comms.
"It should be there," he said again.
"There..." Jack pointed, Gwen looked in the direction he was pointing, "Found it Ianto."
They moved forward, carefully. The creature didn't move. It looked Human, but then again, Jack had figured about sixty-percent of the aliens out there actually looked humanish. The approached it, and still it didn't move. They were on top of it when it spun around to face them. It's eyes, glowing a dark red, casting an eerie glow over a defiantly human face.
It spotted them and stared right at them. It paused as they approached, carefully. Suddenly, it charged at Gwen. She fired her weapon; the bullet's bounced right off it. Jack tapped his ear piece and practically yelled at Ianto, "Bullet's don't work!" He ran forward as he waited for Ianto's response, Gwen had run to one side, but the red-eyed creature was following her every move. Jack tried to pry it's attention away from her, but it wasn't interested in him at all. It charged at Gwen again.
"JACK!" She cried as she tried to duck again.
At the same time, Ianto spoke to their ear pieces, "Stun guns, try the stun guns!" Jack pulled his from writhing his great coat as Gwen scrambled away from the red eyed alien. She'd dropped her glock, but pulled the stun gun from a shoulder holster under her jacket. They fired at the same time.
The red eyed alien stopped in it's tracks as the two beams of concentrated electricity hit it in the chest and back. The chest cavity sparked and appeared to blow. The creature fell to the ground. Rain started to fall around them, causing the creature to spark more. Jack approached cautiously, he moved round to where Gwen was sitting and held his hand out to her. She took it and he helped her up.
"What the hell?" She asked, looking down it.
"Android, I think..." Jack replied.
-T-O-R-C-H-W-O-O-D-
"Jack, we need someone to look at this stuff. Ianto only knows so much," Gwen said.
Jack sighed, they were sitting in the board room trying to come to a decision about new team members, "I know we need someone, but finding someone with the technical genius to do this job isn't exactly the easiest."
"We understand that Jack," Ianto said, "We really do."
Jack sighed, "Ok, I've found someone to be our Doctor. I haven't approached him and I'm trying to figure a way for him to be exposed."
Jack put up a picture, "Chief Petty Officer Taye Rikes. He's about to be discharged from the Navy and will be looking for a new job. He's been in the Navy since he was eighteen and has been trained as a Doctor. I like him for the job, but only after he's been exposed."
They all nodded, "Ok," Ianto said, "Now we really need someone to maintain the computers and the equipment."
"We have an android downstairs that we can't even investigate Jack," Gwen insisted, "Look, We need someone, yes?" Jack and Ianto nodded, "What about someone who already knows about Torchwood?"
"Like who?" Ianto asked.
Jack stared at Gwen, "I've been thinking about this and i'm not totally thrilled with the idea myself, but we're desperate," she pressed a few buttons and pulled up Astra's file.
"No!" Ianto cried.
"Gwen!" Jack said, "We're not hiring Astra!"
"Why not? She knows. We can't retcon her and she's an Engineering student. She's good with this stuff and you've said it yourself Jack, she knows her Aliens!"
"She's a kid. That's why."
"No field work. She stays at the hub and it's temporary till you find someone."
"We haven't seen her since Southerndown," Jack said.
"I have," Ianto said.
(Three Weeks prior)
Ianto sat in the Information Office. It was early evening and the others were heading out for the night. He said goodnight to Owen, Tosh and Gwen. He'd been about to lock the door to the office when Astra came in. He smiled, "Hi there."
"Hi Ianto."
"You want to see Jack? The others have already gone for the night."
She shook her head, "No, I'm good Ianto. I don't want to disturb Jack and you look like you're about to head off yourself, by the way, isn't it a bit early for you guys?"
He laughed, "Jack's being nice."
She nodded, "Ok, well, could you give this to Jack?" She handed him a small box, "It's not urgent, so, just whenever you have time."
He nodded, "Ok, you sure you don't want to stick around longer?"
"I've really got to go."
--
"And you never gave it to me?" Jack asked.
Ianto looked at Gwen then back at Jack, "Well, no sir, you... sort of distracted me from it."
Jack thought for a moment, "Oh..." He glanced at Gwen, who just grinned at them, "Ok, well, where is it now?"
"My desk, I'll get it."
Ianto disappeared and returned a few minutes later with the small box. He handed it to Jack. He carefully opened it and glanced inside. He pulled out a wristband similar to his, more feminine and defiantly smaller. Just like the one he'd seen on Astra.
"Isn't that-" Gwen started.
Jack nodded. He flipped it open and pressed some buttons. It wouldn't activate. He tried something else and it gave him a small electric shock, "OW!" He dropped it on the table.
"What happened?" Ianto asked.
"It's genetically coded to the user," He picked it up again, he inspected the outside looking for a sign, anything that could tell him who should of had the wristband, but nothing, "I can't tell who it's supposed to belong to."
He put it back in the box, "But back to what we were actually discussing. I'm not hiring her. We'll survive without someone. In the meantime I'll keep an eye on Mr. Rikes."
-T-O-R-C-H-W-O-O-D-
(That evening...)
While playing at their not too subtle attempt of seduction, neither of them noticed anything coming from the store room where they'd stored the 'Killer Droid' earlier that evening. Ianto leaned in, ready to kiss Jack, when the droid fired at them.
"Shit!" Jack cried as he pulled Ianto to the floor.
"What was that?" Ianto asked.
Jack peered over the railing, "The droid's awake!"
"What?" Ianto groaned. Jack took out his revolver, "Don't. Guns don't work, remember" Ianto said.
"Then what Ian?"
"We need to get to the stun guns."
Jack groaned. The weapons locker was on the other side of the hub, "I'll distract it while you go to the locker."
"Jack... No..."
Jack smiled, "Hey, you used my name!"
Ianto nodded, "Yes... Yes I did."
"Come on, let's do this!" Jack said, then headed down the stairs. He moved through the hub and wasn't particularly careful about being noticed. When Ianto was sure Jack had the Droid's full attention, he made his way carefully down the stairs. He hid behind Toshiko's old desk. The mass of computers hiding him from the Droid's vision. He watched as Jack dodged attack after attack, "HURRY UP IANTO!!"
Ianto pulled his eyes away from his Captain and made a dash for the weapons locker. The droid noticed him and attempted to make its way over to Ianto, but Jack shot it, just to get its attention away from the young Welshman. The droid turned its attention back to Jack.
Ianto made it to the weapons locker and punched his access code into the keypad. The door sung open and he grabbed a stun gun. He turned back to the droid in time to see it pick Jack up and throw him across the Hub, "JACK!" Ianto made his way closer to the droid to get in range for the stun gun to work. The droid noticed him and closed the rest of the distance. Ducking a punch from the machine man, Ianto shoved the stun gun to the droid's side. It sparked, like it had previously, but kept on moving. Then he remembered. Last time, there had been two of them firing on the thing. He pushed up the settings and fired again. The droid sparked and something near it's shoulder blew up. It stumbled forwards and landed on top of Ianto.
Squished beneath the droid, Ianto tried to push it off himself, but was finding it difficult, "Uhh... Jack..."
Jack made his way over while rubbing his neck, "Ok, you push, I'll pull." He leaned down and grabbed hold of the droid's shoulders. Together they moved the thing off of him. Then Jack held his hand out to Ianto.
Ianto nodded and took his hand, "Thank you sir."
"Ian... there you go with that 'sir' stuff again..."
The Welshman gave Jack his smile, "But it suites you so well!"
Jack grinned, "You think?"
"Yes sir. Shall we store the 'Killer Droid' more effectively now?"
"We should."
After they'd locked the droid up, again. This time they'd also stuck it in a locked box, "Think it'll stay this time?" Jack asked as they left the storage room.
"It had better. I've got a mess to clean up now..." Ianto said, as he started to get to work.
-T-O-R-C-H-W-O-O-D-
Gwen unlocked the door the information centre, it was just past eight in the morning. There was a light crowd milling about the pass already. She entered and shut the door behind her. The pressed the button behind the desk and made her way down into the hub. The large cog door whirled to life as she stepped through. The hub was quiet, but as she walked to her desk she noticed several things amiss. A computer screen was broken, papers were scattered over the floor, there were burn marks on two of the walls. She put her bag down on her desk and spotted Jack and Ianto sleeping on the couch. She smiled as she made her way around the hub quietly.
Jack stirred and looked up at her, "You're early..."
She nodded, "Looks like a good thing too," She said motioning to the mess.
Jack carefully slid himself from under Ianto and stood up, "I'll help."
As they started picking up some broken equipment, Gwen looked back at Jack, "So, are you going to tall me what happened?"
"Oh, this?" Jack gave one of his cocky grins, "The android woke up and attacked us."
"Tell me you're kidding right?"
"Nope."
Gwen stopped what she was doing and came over to him, "And you think this would have happened if someone had looked at the thing before we put it in storage?"
Jack sighed, "I can't Gwen... I can't hire Astra."
"I'm not saying hire her for good, Jack, things like this wouldn't happen..."
"If Tosh was around?" Jack asked.
Gwen nodded sadly, "Yeah..."
"Let's finish cleaning up..."
-T-O-R-C-H-W-O-O-D-
Jack sat in his office, his feet on his desk and he through a ball against the furthest wall. On his desk were printouts on Taye Rikes, the possible new medical officer and he'd succumbed to Gwen and printed out some background information on Astra. Judging by qualifications, Rikes had all the training neccesary to be part ofthe team, Astra on the other hand, didn't. But again, Gwen was right, they couldn't really wait for him to follow and trick someone else. He frowned and through the ball harder againmst thewall, startling Ianto as he entered with coffee.
"Everything alright sir?" Ianto asked.
Jack put the ball down on his desk and took the coffee cup from Ianto, "No."
"Anything I can do to help?"
"Gwen still wants me to ask Astra..."
Ianto nodded, "I know... we talked about it... I kind of think you should..."
Jack stared at him, "But you were against it..."
Ianto nodded, "I know that..."