Two days later they got the hail from the acting captain of the Valiant that they had arrived. UNIT would land a helicopter out on the Plass for Ianto to bring him up. They asked for Ianto to pack an overnight kit in case he had to stay. Ianto had everything ready to go before the helicopter landed.
"Call me if you need anything," he told Jack as he hefted the duffle bag over his shoulder. He also had his laptop with everything else he needed. Jack nodded. Before he turned to head out the exit he gave Jack a searching look. He was still nervous, just having the Valiant overhead. "I'm off then." He went up the lift to the Tourist Centre and met Gwen as he was leaving the building.
"Gwen?" He asked and she turned towards him. "Can you please keep an eye on him while I'm gone?"
She nodded at Ianto. "Consider it done." She leaned in to give him a hug and whispered in his ear. "I know that he's upset about something, so I promise I'll let him be. I've never see him like this before."
"Just don't press him," Ianto said, lips brushing her ear as he responded. "The Valiant represents a lot of bad memories for him that he still hasn't dealt with yet. Maybe some day, but not now. I'm counting on you to watch over him for me." He gave her a kiss on the cheek before turning towards the Lieutenant from UNIT who was approaching from the helicopter. He could see a crowd forming as people who were in the area stopped and watched the military vehicle. It wasn't a normal sight, so he wasn't surprised. "Call me if you need anything. I can relay the comms. through their systems so we'll still have a private line."
"Will do," she assured him. By that point the soldier had reached them.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," Ianto said, giving the woman a nod. "I'm all set." She picked up his duffle and hefted it onto her shoulder. Grabbing his laptop, he slung that over his back and followed her back towards the helicopter, ducking as they came under the rotors. He climbed into the back and sat down on one of the seats, the Lieutenant following him into the helicopter. She banged on the back of the pilot's chair and gave the thumbs up sign that they were ready. She grabbed a headset and pointed for him to do the same. Ianto put it out, glad that it was muffling the sound of the large rotors above them.
Holding on as the aircraft tilted, Ianto waved to Gwen as they lifted up. Soon he had a view of the Bay as they ascended up to where the Valiant hovered above them. While he had studied the plans and as-built drawings for the ship, he couldn't appreciate the massive size of the thing until they approached it. It was enormous. He could well understand how Saxon could have used it to launch an attack from it and was glad that man was no longer a problem anymore.
They made good time, eventually coming to rest on the flight deck. Once the rotors had stopped, the platform they had landed on descended to bring the helicopter inside. The roaring sound of the wind diminished once the bulkhead doors above them closed. He hadn't realized how loud it had all been until he felt its absence.
"Welcome to the Valiant," the Lieutenant said with a smile. "The General is waiting," she said, getting up and leaving the helicopter. He picked up his laptop and disembarked, following her across the wide expanse of the lower deck until they reached a doorway. As he walked he could see the crew bustling about other craft that were stored there and a quick glance showed him that even this lower level area was massive.
Once they got into the corridors they moved quickly up several levels and over to the control area. They ended up in a massive board room and as he discretely looked around he realized that this was the same area that Saxon had used for his coup and subsequent imprisonment of the doctor. It was definitely good that Jack hadn't come up then, he thought to himself.
"Agent Jones," a voice boomed, startling him out of his reverie. Standing on the platform that was raised at one end of the room he saw General Maddock standing with Major Seales at his side.
"General," Ianto said, nodded and smiling at them as he approached. "Please, call me Ianto."
"Ianto it is," the General said jovially. "A pity the Captain was too busy to come up."
"Well, Her Majesty waits for no one," Ianto said. He reached into his duffle bag and pulled out a thermos. "Thought I would bring you a present," he said. The General's eyes lit up as he accepted the item from the Torchwood operative.
"My god man, you are a miracle worker!" He exclaimed with a grin. "Perhaps if you have time you can whip these men into shape and teach them how to make a decent cup. If you could, I would be forever in your debt."
"I'll see what I can do. I'm sure there will be time while we're running program modifications," Ianto said with a smile. He noticed that everyone but Stan Seales stood at attention while the General was on deck. Scanning the room, he saw that there were a lot of nervous personnel about. Perhaps teaching these people to make better coffee would put the General at ease and make their lives easier.
"Excellent," General Grant grinned. "Stan, why don't you show Ianto where he can store his kit and then bring him off to the computer area." Stan Seales nodded.
"This way, please," he said as he headed down the stairs, Ianto following him. "We've set aside a cabin not too far from the computer centre so you can rest when you need to take a break."
"Thank you, Major, I appreciate that," Ianto said. They went through a different doorway from the one he had arrived in and he looked around curiously.
"First time on the Valiant?" Stan asked and Ianto nodded. "What do you think?"
"She's impressive," Ianto admitted. "Even knowing how she runs, she's a marvel." The major chuckled at the tone in his voice.
"She has that affect on all of us," he said with a smile as he indicated a turn down the corridor. "A pity the Captain couldn't get back up here." Ianto didn't reply and continued to walk along beside him. After going through a few different corridors, they reached their first destination which was Ianto's cabin. Major Seales opened the door and gestured for Ianto to enter. Ianto was impressed with the richly appointed interior. He had it in his head that it would be a little more utilitarian, but this felt more like a cruise ship.
"Nice," he commented. He put his duffle bag on the bed and turned to look around. The head was off to one side with a privacy door, and there was even a small kitchenette area for making coffee. That would come in handy. "Who'd I displace?"
"No one at the moment," Stan said with a laugh. "We're still at only half crew while we finish the work, so the crew deck is still half empty. By the way, the men's showers are down the hall on your left.
"If you would follow me, the computer centre is not too far from here." Ianto nodded and followed him out of the door, making a note of the cabin number as he left. Paying attention, he memorized the route they walked so he could get back and forth without issue.
