Jack walked casually down to the cargo bay, which was in the lowest compartment of the ship. Before, in the days of Torchwood, he would have used subterfuge and been forced to sneak into the compartment but nowadays he simply used his swipe card. There was no denying that this technique was simpler and aroused less suspicion, but it wasn't as exciting.
Once into the cargo bay Jack could sense that he wasn't alone. He could hear the snarling breaths of the weevil. Jack delved into his pocket and pulled out his pepper spray.
Jack had first become suspicious when three workers on the ship were injured in successive days. However nobody reported their injuries because they were all low paid workers and couldn't afford time off for a few scratches and bruises.
The second clue stemmed from a conversation that Jack had overheard between the kitchen staff about a disfigured man eating a substantial amount of the week's food supply. The Head Chef walked into kitchen and believed that the person standing at the fridge was a member of staff and not a weevil, as he was hidden behind the door. The Head Chef was under the misapprehension that the man was checking that the fridge was full for the upcoming lunch service and started a conversation with him. The Head Chef grew irritated because the weevil was ignoring him so he walked towards the fridge and pulled the door back far enough to see the culprit. The weevil, once caught, fled the kitchen as fast as possible and in the process tipped over the fridge breaking the Head Chef's foot.
The final clue, which convinced Jack that he needed to act, was a woman complaining of sexual harassment. She was new and had wandered down to the cargo bay by herself on a tour of the ship. Once she realised she was in cargo, and this was of no interest to her as she was to become the ship's new flight navigator, she turned to leave. Just as she did the lights tripped. She fumbled around trying to find the door handle. Suddenly a quiet snarl echoed around the cargo area. At first she thought she had imagined it and carried on regardless. Twenty seconds later there was another snarl, but this time it was only a few feet away from her. She knew it was best not to panic and stood as still as stone. The weevil got closer to her and began to growl in her ear. She felt something, like a hand, slip round her waist. Just as she was considering whether to scream or stamp on its foot the door opened. It was an engineer who had noticed that the lights had tripped and had come to sort it out.
Whilst the engineer was sorting out the lights she explained that something or someone had been acting inappropriately so they searched the cargo bay high and low. Nobody was there apart from themselves so decided the offender must have escaped. They put out a warning and told everybody to travel around in pairs and to be careful.
Jack decided that a weevil eating and destroying a week's supply of food for the ship was an expensive act but hardly dangerous; a potential rapist on the loose was another matter. He had a suspicion that it was a weevil, as they were not only treated with disgust by humans, but he also checked with the satnav programme. It was loaded with all the types and the numbers of aliens on board the ship. The satnav worked by reading chips implanted in the back of necks. Having a chip, which contained information such as name, species and date of birth, was a requirement to work or stay on the ship. However the device also had equipment to detect moving objects that were not chipped but were big enough to be human or alien. The programme then gave suggestions as to what the object could be by the way it moved. The programme usually gave about twenty suggestions but when Jack asked what species the object in the cargo bay was it gave a sole answer. Weevil.
Down in the basement of the ship Jack slowly opened the door to the cargo bay and shut it gently behind him. So as not to spook the weevil he did not turn on the main lights but opted for a torch he found on the way down to the cargo bay. He then walked into the centre of the room and waited in silence. Sure enough after Jack had been in position for three minutes he began to hear the quiet snarling of the weevil. Jack remained silent and still. Jack heard behind him the pounding of feet as the Weevil ran towards him. Jack span on his heel and when Jack and the weevil where almost face to face Jack sprayed the pepper spray in the eyes of the weevil. The weevil growled viciously as he was temporarily blinded. Jack threw the spray can onto the floor and shone his torch at the weevil's hands. Jack pulled the handcuffs out from his pocket and tried to put them on the weevil's wrists. The weevil struggled and managed to break one arm free. With that arm he attacked Jack. He scratched Jack's face and knocked the borrowed torch out his hand. The glass of the lens and the bulb smashed as it hit the floor. They were plunged into darkness. Jack quickly grabbed the arm that had escaped and cuffed the weevil's wrists together. Jack shoved his knee into the weevil's back and directed him towards the light switch.
Once the main lights had been switched on Jack directed the weevil towards a nearby crate and forced him to sit. The weevil obeyed. Jack stood opposite the seated weevil and just glared at him. He then noticed that the weevil wasn't struggling to escape but was in fact cowering. The weevil was scared. Upon closer inspection Jack saw that the weevil was covered in scratches, bruises and burns. There was more to this than just a rogue weevil.
'Someone's using you, aren't they?' Jack whispered sympathetically. Jack sat down next to the weevil and removed the handcuffs. 'You aren't dangerous. Whoever or whatever is controlling you is dangerous. Will you help me stop them?' Although the weevil and Jack spoke different languages they seemed to have an understanding as the weevil nodded at Jack's statement. 'We need to give you a name,' announced Jack. 'Our last weevil was a girl and we called her Janet. She died. It was my fault, usually is. But you are a boy, obviously. So how about I call you Jake?' The weevil appeared to grin and he purred softly. 'So you approve, big boy? Good. My name is Jack. So, Jake, who's doing this to you? Is it another weevil?' Jake shook his head. 'A human?' again Jake shook his head, which ruled out Darren. Jake yawned and looked down at the floor. 'You're tired. I shouldn't over exert you. I'll come back tomorrow.' Jack stood up and took out his mobile phone from his hoody pocket. 'Do you know what this is?' asked Jack. Jake looked at the phone with a puzzled expression. 'It's a phone. It means you can talk to somebody when they aren't in the same place as you. If this person tries to make you do horrible things again then call me. Any time.'