Torchwood: Archangel
Chapter Three: Lost Angel
As Ianto Jones watched, Eva was using her Anti-Proton lasers to cut the Dalek's outer frame off, then down to portable pieces. She stopped once she reached the internal frame that held the upper part containing the organism. It was then that Captain Harkness and Gwen Williams arrives, weapons drawn. Immediately she shut down her lasers and respectfully dropped to one knee.
'My Lord Captain, My Lady,' she said without looking them in the eyes.
'Rise Noble Archangel,' Jack said, holding his hand out to her. She rose and took his hand, a flash appearing and disappearing as their hands touched. Jack simply nodded, then motioned to Gwen.
'What did she just do? What was that flash?' Gwen asked slightly frightened, even as she gave her hand to the Archangel.
'DNA sample,' Ianto answered. 'She already did mine. Helps her keep track of us in the event we can't be located by any other means.'
A small flash later and the Archangel stood before Harkness again, right palm raised to him and head bowed down.
'Ground rules,' Harkness said firmly, taking her hand in his. 'I am not a Lord, neither is Ianto and Gwen is not a Lady. You may call me Sir or Captain, but I prefer Jack. Sometimes Harkness works in a pinch, especially if you want to get my attention. You can call Ianto by his name or by Sir and Gwen; you can call her Gwen or Ma'am. I will call you Eva, if I may. Archangel I will use as a formality. Do you understand?'
Eva stood silent for a moment, processing the new information. 'I understand, Captain Harkness,' she answered, her head still down. Sighing, Jack then put his hand under her chin and brought her eyes up to his.
'You are not a servant here, Eva. You a new and valued colleague. You are in no way considered less than any of us, got it? In future, when we talk to you or when you talk to us, you look us dead in the eyes. Understand?'
Again Eva stood stock still for a few seconds, processing the information. She then looked up into Jack's sky blue eyes. 'Understood, my Captain,' she answered.
Jack smiled, taking in her light brown-green eyes, blood red hair and tight fitting suit. He realized her body was beautiful, then he remembered she was cyborg. He wondered where the woman ended and the machine began. Ultimately, he decided she was perfect in his eyes. And in Ianto's as well, from the way he saw him staring at her. But he needed to speak with his archivist; he didn't want old memories of the Cyberwoman resurfacing. He had been doing so well since that time. Even after the losses of Tosh and Owen.
Best not to think of that, he reminded himself.
She continued to look into Jack's eyes, making the exuberant captain feel rather self-conscious. He felt his cheeks coloring as he cleared his throat.
'Status report, Archangel.'
'Captain Harkness,' she answered. 'The Dalek has been neutralized. The Dalekanium may prove useful in other applications, so I have begun to cut the frame down for easier means of transport. From your Hub Computer Mainframe, I have determined your mode of conveyance will be able to support the weight of the Dalekanium and all of us once my work is complete. The organism within the frame is deceased. Permission to dispose of it with honor, my Captain?'
Jack nodded. 'Permission granted. ETA to completion?"
Eva stood silent, then looked up to Jack again. 'Five minutes, my Captain. Forgive my tardiness, but I am having difficulty correlating my own data to this new information.'
'No need, Eva. Complete your work and we'll see you at the SUV.'
'Understood, my Captain,' she said saluting him. She then returned to cutting up the Dalek's frame.
Jack then turned to Ianto and Gwen. 'Ianto, stay with. Gwen and I will break down the BIG GUNS and stow the night vision goggles. We'll make sure there's enough space in the boot for the Dalek,' he said. Ianto handed his equipment over, then looked like he was going to say something; then stopped. Jack faced him again.
'What's on your mind Jones, Ianto Jones?'
Ianto smiled at that. It always served to remind him how far he and Jack had come. 'Are…are we keeping her?'
Jack looked back at the cyborg as she finished the last of the cutting. She then changed the setting of her lasers to a finer beam and sliced open the dome part of the Dalek, revealing the organism within.
Jack looked back at Ianto, pride burning in his eyes. 'Hell, yes.'
'Is she like…a Cyberman?' Ianto asked; his voice suddenly tight.
Jack walked up to Ianto and clapped a loving hand on his shoulder. 'Not even close.' He then turned back to the cyborg. He motioned to Ianto. 'Look.'
She removed the organism and tenderly laid it on the ground. After changing the setting on her Anti-Proton cannon again, she knelt on one knee in front of it.
'You fought well…and had you not been an enemy, I would have been proud to call you ally. You were the last of your kind as I am the last of mine. May you find your Paradise.' Closing her eyes and bowing her head, she remained silent for a few seconds before rising to her feet. She then opened her Anti-Proton cannon port and fired. The organism was instantly incinerated.
'Would a Cyberman do that?' Jack asked Ianto. Ianto shook his head, then smiled softly at Eva. She then poured a can of a thick, dark liquid that looked and smelled like oil on top of the ashes and set it alight with a light burst of her cannon.
'Where did you get that?' Jack asked, surprised.
'I discovered it when Ianto Jones allowed me to do a cursory search of the area. Apparently, he surmised, someone changed the oil in their vehicle here and left the detritus in this receptacle. I required a secondary accelerant to destroy evidence of alien weaponry and technology,' she explained.
Jack nodded, thoroughly impressed. 'Good thinking,' he said. She then began sorting the cut dalekanium into two piles and hefted both piles together. She then turned to face Jack.
'I believe we are ready to leave, my Captain.'
The ride back to the Hub had been a relatively quiet affair. Eva spent the entire time in the back seat next to Ianto looking out the window. She remained in contact with Hub Mainframe and the SUV's onboard system. If they passed something that the Hub Mainframe and the SUV could not identify, she would ask Ianto if he knew what it was. His explanation would then be catalogued and her observations would continue.
When they made it back to the Hub, Jack asked her to go the Autopsy Bay and he began a cursory medical examination of her. Gwen and Ianto watched from above, totally fascinated. The exam revealed that she was humanoid on the outside, but her skeletal structure was a mix of bone and metal that the Mainframe was having difficultly identifying. She told the Mainframe it was poly-bond carbonite. Her organs were made of flesh – and apparently she hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a while. Proper time could not be determined because she had been in the Rift.
Twenty minutes later, the exam was complete and Jack asked Eva to wait for him in the Autopsy Bay. She complied and Jack went into his office, closing the door after Gwen followed him in. Ianto went into a small kitchen area and Eva sat herself on the metal gurney. After a few minutes she had settled herself on it cross-legged with her eyes closed while she continued her contact with the Torchwood 3 Hub Computer Mainframe. She heard steps and opened her eyes to find Ianto standing in front of her with a silver tray in his hands. On the tray were two ceramic cups filled with a liquid the Mainframe identified as 'coffee' and 'sandwiches' the Mainframe identified as sustenance. Ianto smiled softly as he offered one of the cups to her, then rested the tray on the metal bed Eva was sitting on.
'I wasn't sure if you'd ever had this beverage before. And I figured it had been a while since you've eaten…,' he trailed off. Nodding up to the above area, he continued. 'I think Jack is on the phone trying to figure out what to do with you. But I wanted to ask you a question,' he said, passing a wedge of sandwich to Eva and handing her a ceramic cup. She looked up to his face, looking into his eyes as Captain Harkness had instructed.
'You have but to ask,' she replied, looking down at the sandwich, then taking a bite.
'I think Jack is trying to sort out where you are to stay while you are here. Would you…would you like to stay with me? I have a two bedroom flat – you'd be totally on your own; no one encroaching on your space-.'
'I would be honored, Ianto Jones,' she said, smiling softly. Ianto returned the smile, blushing slightly.
It was that point that the door to Jack's office opened and both Jack and Gwen came out. Jack looked at the pair of them and raised his eyebrows slightly. "Picnic and I wasn't invited?'
'Didn't think you'd be done in time,' Ianto answered without so much as batting an eyelash. Gwen smiled broadly.
'Well, Eva Tovar,' Jack continued, looking now to the cyborg. 'I just got off the phone with UNIT. Their Chief Medical Officer, a personal friend of mine, Dr.-.'
'Martha Jones, former companion of the TimeLord designated The Doctor,' Eva continued, cutting Jack off.
'You know of the Doctor,' Jack asked.
'He is the last of his kind, just as I am the last of mine. My masters were Gifted with seeing the future. They saw what was to come to pass concerning me. They made messages detailing their visions. They wanted to make sure I was informed.' She then took in the looks of all the people around her. 'Have I done something wrong, my Captain? Have I revealed information that would have been better kept secret?'
Immediately Jack shook his head. 'No, Eva. You…just surprised me is all. I just want to make sure you are okay. Doctor Martha Jones will be here tomorrow to give a complete physical. Until then you are under quarantine-.'
'Actually Jack,' Ianto began, cutting him off. 'I offered Eva my spare bedroom. She accepted…at least until we can find her suitable lodging of her own. I was hoping I could take her home this evening. I'll bring her in with me first thing in the morning, unless you think it more prudent for her to stay here.'
Jack looked at Ianto, a little taken aback. 'Are you sure you want to do this?'
'Yes,' Ianto said without hesitation, looking to Eva. She returned his steadfast gaze.
'Well..uh, I guess I'll see everyone here tomorrow,' Jack finished. He had hoped to stay at Ianto's this evening as well. But with Eva there, he wasn't sure Ianto would be up to anything.
ASK HIM, Eva's voice said into his mind. Jack jumped. It had been centuries since he had used telepathy to this extent.
THE PDT WITHIN YOUR BRAIN WAS DORMANT, BUT QUITE FUNCTIONAL, she continued softly. DO NOT HESITATE, MY CAPTAIN. LIFE AND ITS GIFTS ARE FAR TOO SHORT.
THANK YOU, he whispered. Eva simply nodded. Jack then turned to Ianto. 'Is there room for one more at your place?'
Ianto smiled broadly at that. 'Always.'
TWTWTWTWTW
Later that evening, Eva stood looking out the window of Ianto Jones' spare bedroom. He lived in a quiet neighborhood overlooking the sea. She was dressed in one of Captain Harkness' undershirts, since she had no other attire. The Captain had mentioned that the next day they would need to take her shopping for clothes. Ianto smiled, saying he knew her exact measurements and could facilitate that immediately. Now, Eva simply watched the alien sea, entranced by the foreignness of it all. Entranced…and terrified.
Everything she knew, everyone she knew was dead, gone and turned to legend, they were so beyond dust. She mourned softly; she had no desire to let her new masters know how weak she was. For even though Captain Harkness forbade her from calling them 'Lord' or 'Lady', she still knew they were her superiors. She looked to the bed and knew she should sleep, but the weight of pain within her soul made such luxuries presently impossible.
Suddenly she heard movement behind her – and from the motion and weight distribution on the floor, she identified Captain Harkness was standing behind her. She turned and acknowledged him with a nod. He strode into the room silently, his pyjama bottoms slung low on his waist and his top unbuttoned, and stood behind her. Her internal systems registered the heat coming off of his body as he put his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture.
YOU SHOULD BE SLEEPING, EVA TOVAR, he said softly into her mind.
I KNOW, MY CAPTAIN, she answered. I…WILL SOON.
Jack turned her around to face him. SPEAK TO ME TOVAR. I CAN'T HELP IF I DON'T KNOW.
She looked up into his luminous blue eyes, her own glistening with unshed tears. I AM LOST. MY KINGS ARE LONG GONE. MY PEOPLE HAVE PASSED INTO LEGEND AND MYTH. MY FELLOW ARCHANGELS…I AM AN OBSOLITE PIECE OF WEAPONRY THAT SHOULD NO LONGER EXIST. WHAT DO I …WHERE DO I FIT IN?
Jack smiled softly and enveloped Eva in a hug, holding her close to himself.
IT'S NOT EASY, TOVAR. TRUST ME ON THAT ONE. BUT YOU WILL, WITH TIME…. He then bent down and tenderly kissed her cheek. NOW, TO BED, PERCHANCE TO SLEEP AND ALL THAT JAZZ.
Eva smiled back softly, nodding against Jack's chest. Jack then stepped back from her and going to the bed, pulled the sheets for her. She nodded again and slipped in between the cover, laying her head on the pillow. MY LORD PRINCE TOVAR WOULD DO THIS FOR ME WHEN I WAS NEWLY CREATED. I WAS THE ONLY FEMALE OF ALL THE ARCHANGELS; AND THEREFORE SMALLER THAN THE REST. IS THIS A CUSTOM THAT SUPERIORS OF THIS WORLD DO FOR THEIR COLLEAGUES?
Jack chuckled. NO, WHY DO YOU ASK?
I HEARD YOU DO THE SAME FOR IANTO JONES, she responded quickly.
Jack laughed a little louder. I'M SURE YOU HEARD AL LOT MORE THAN THAT. TIME FOR BED, LITTLE ARCHANGEL. IN THE MORNING, I'LL TRY TO FILL YOU IN ON RELATIONSHIPS ON THIS PLANET. AND HOW THAT CORRELATES WITH PUTTING EMPLOYEES TO BED.
Thank you, she said softly as her eyes closed.
Jack waited until he heard her even breathing signaling sleep, then went back to Ianto's bedroom. Ianto lay under the covers nude and fully in the embrace of Morpheus. Jack smiled, amazed at how innocent and young his lover could appear at times. He removed his pyjamas and slipped into the bed, skin against skin with Ianto. Cuddling his lover in his arms, he realized the Archangel was right.
At the heart of it, life was too short. So just grab on – and hang tight.