Chapter 17

Jack watched as Al walked away. As the actual head of the project, he knew he could order the man to turn around and stay on post, but with what Al was saying, he knew this was a bit much for the eighty-six year old man. Ghosts and giant lizards, he'd said. Having to face for certain that alien life existed in abundance. Meeting the Doctor. That last was a lot for anyone. He turned to go back to the Control Room when he heard a voice that came from no specific direction. Ziggy's voice could find anyone anywhere in the project.

"Captain?"

"Yeah, Ziggy," Jack replied, tucking his hands into his trouser pockets.

"Tell me about this Doctor that my father is with."

Jack looked around at the hallway he was standing in. "Now?" he questioned, wondering why the hybrid computer was so interested. "Thought you heard me explain it all to Al in his office."

"I need more data. There is much you haven't told the Admiral."

Jack considered the computer's words for a long moment before replying. "I'll tell you what. I'll tell you everything I know about the Doctor but you have to file it away as ultra high clearance. Meaning only you and I know about it."

"That is acceptable, Captain."

"Good. Let's take this somewhere more private." He walked casually to his office - formerly Al's office in F wing - and took a seat before speaking aloud. "So... what is it that you want to know about the Doctor?"

"I've been combing the internet, government sites, UNIT. There seems to be a continuing pattern about a man and a blue police box. Not all the stories are good ones. Death and destruction seems to be intertwined with this man."

Jack sighed slightly. "Yes, it seems that way, doesn't it," he murmured. "But if you notice in all those little patterns, the Doctor is usually the one who saves the day."

"Yes. But not all reports indicate that. There are some quite odd documents from Scotland. Coded Torchwood. They are not so kind." There was a slight pause. "That is the other project you work with, isn't it? I didn't know it was quite so old."

"Yeah... it's been around awhile. Amazing you were able to find anything about them," Jack stated wryly. When Ziggy didn't fall for his divertive tangent, he sighed. "Right. Scotland. Those documents were written in an age full of people with little tolerance for anything in the slightest bit unusual. Queen Victoria probably had a burr up her ass that morning."

"Indeed. You would know that from experience then, Captain?"

"About Victoria? Well, not personally, no. She wasn't my type."

"A bit of information that is quite irrelevant to our discussion. I was actually talking about the documents, not your possible sexual preferences for an elderly monarch. The documents concerning this Doctor, to be more precise."

"The Doctor. Yeah." He paused. "How'd you find those documents again?"

"I am a parallel hybrid computer," Ziggy replied haughtily.

Jack blinked at her response, confusion flitting across his face. "And I'm a human being who can't die. What does that have to do with the cost of tea in China?"

"It has nothing to do with tea or any other beverage," came back the sarcastic response. "I am surprised that you did not consider the fact that, as a computer, I am intimately familiar with untangling virtual attempts to obfuscate. Did you really think Tosh could create an information brickwall that I couldn't navigate around?"

Jack had the distinct impression that if the computer had physical eyes, they would have rolled and then caught him dead center. "Now, there's a word you don't hear very often," he said with a broad grin. "Obfuscate. You're starting to sound like Ianto."

"I like Ianto. He's a brilliant man."

"Among other things," Jack couldn't help but agree, his eyes gleaming.

"The point is, Captain, Torchwood appears to have been around a very long time. Indeed, my research into your past shows that you have had a close relationship with the organization almost since its beginnings."

"Not by choice originally," he countered. "It's not like I agree with what they stood for when they were first chartered."

"If you didn't agree with them, why did you continue to assure their continued activities? Don't misunderstand me. I'm glad that you did, otherwise my father would be truly lost to time without hope of coming home. However, it does beg the question of how far you are willing to go to assure that the goals of that organization are paramount."

He glared at the ceiling. "What I do is nowhere near what Torchwood did before I took control. Besides, we were talking about what those documents said about the Doctor, not about me. You had questions about him, remember?"

"Yes. I must know whether he is a threat to my father or this project."

"He isn't," Jack stated firmly. "That is, unless this project is going to do something stupid, like cause the destruction of the Earth."

"Probability of that happening is calculated at 2.3%."

Jack's forehead creased. "Really? That high?"

"Well, actually it is artificially high. To actually cause the destruction of Earth, there would have to be a specific major breech in the radium ring around which Dr. Beckett placed redundant and sequential controls to prevent such an event. However, if all those controls were breached, the result would trigger the detonation of the nuclear firepower on Earth."

"Oh, yeah. That," he conceded, remembering that particular section in the project documentation. "You've got nothing to worry about with the Doctor, then."

"And what proof do you have of that?"

"Isn't my word good enough?"

"No."

The former Time Agent looked towards the general direction Ziggy's voice appeared to be coming from, a surprised and hurt look on his face. "Ouch." He shrugged. "Well, I'm afraid that if you are going to go by ancient documents written by paranoid queens, I don't know how I'm going to convince you otherwise."

"Then I cannot help you with the Admiral."

He folded his arms. "Let's get to the real heart of the matter. Do you trust me?"

"Not entirely."

Jack laughed. "I don't think even the Doctor trusts me entirely." He paused, thinking about her words. "So, what would it take for you to trust me?"

Ziggy considered his question. "Given your involvement with an organization which has listed this Doctor as an enemy of the Crown, I want some reassurance of your motivations, specifically concerning the real reason why you decided to fund the project."

Jack took a breath, deciding to be as forthright as possible with her. "Because projects like this can become extremely dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands. While Al and Sam and everyone on this project are honorable, trustworthy men and women, there's no guarantee that some nutjob won't just waltz right into here and take over. And if that happened, you can say goodbye to space, time, the human race, and everything in between."

"True," Ziggy agreed. "Now you claim that the reports that shine darkly on this Doctor are not correct. Tell me more about him. Why should I trust him?"

"Because I do," he replied automatically.

"Are you saying, Captain, that I should take this being on faith?"

"No. I'm saying that you should really look a little more closely at your research and determine who the real enemy is. Now, I don't know the details of why Victoria declared him an enemy of the Crown. But Elizabeth retracted that declaration because of all the good the Doctor does for this world. Okay, sometimes people die. It's unfortunate but it's not his fault. He tries to save people. And he's saved this world so many times it makes my head swim thinking about it. You want to be suspicious? Be suspicious of those who go against the Doctor. They're the real enemies."

"So, you are telling me I'm your enemy?" If a computer could bristle, Jack had just pushed the wrong button.

"Now, I didn't say that," he protested quickly, abruptly standing from his chair. "I'm just saying that the Doctor and Dr. Beckett have a lot in common in that they try to make the world a better place." The computer was silent and Jack was somewhat worried that his words wouldn't sooth the wounded ego of Samuel Beckett's creation. A few minutes went by. "Ziggy?"

Ziggy replied after a continued pause. "I have reviewed the data you have suggested I look at concerning the current queen's retraction and I am now willing to accept that neither you nor the strange Doctor are a threat to this project or its goal of returning my father to his home."

"Good. Glad we settled that," he grumbled slightly. "Now, are you going to help me help Dr. Beckett and the Doctor or what?"

"Yes. I suggest you look on the top shelf of the bookcase in my father's office, inside the front cover of his biography of Einstein to be exact."

"You want me to check out Sam's office?" Jack frowned slightly. "That's not a good idea, Ziggy. Al's really protective of that office. Won't even let the cleaning lady in there."

"I know. But this is important. Trust me, Captain."

Realizing that, in this case, mutual trust was critical, he got up and left his office, closing the door behind him. As he walked across the hall, he told Ziggy, "You'd better not be leading me on a wild goose chase."

"I wouldn't do that, Captain. This situation is far too serious."

"Right." Arriving at Sam's office, Jack swiped his card over the lock. "You do know that Al's going to go bonkers if he finds out I've been in Sam's office like this." He didn't wait for an answer but rather walked to the bookshelf that Ziggy had specified. Finding the book, he pulled it down. "What am I supposed to be looking for?" he asked as he opened the book. His question became moot as he pulled out an envelope from the front cover and turned it over in his hand. "A letter?"

"Yes. A very special letter," Ziggy replied.

"Better not be a 'Dear John,'" the head of PQL murmured.

"Not at all. It's a "Dear Sam."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Now I know you're teasing me." He paused. "Or is that flirting with me? I never could tell the difference." He took a closer look at the envelope and noticed that it had a postmark of April 17, 1986. "Okay, that's a bit odd," he commented. Lifting the flap, he pulled out a folded sheet of paper. Opening it, he tilted his head back slightly as he read the note. "'Sam. The same technique that you used to get out of the Imaging Chamber today is being used to get this letter to you. It is very important that you put it in a safe place where Al won't find it. Make sure Ziggy knows where it is. Tell Ziggy not to let Al open it until the Doctor is with me and the "ghosts" are trying to communicate.'" He raised an eyebrow as he read the second part of the note. "'Right now, you're questioning your decision to go back into the Accelerator to save Al. Don't. It's the right thing to do.'" It was signed with a simple, "Sam." The former Time Agent looked up at the ceiling. "So, I am assuming that this was from Dr. Beckett."

Ziggy's voice turned gentle. "Yes. It was one of the last things he did before he stepped into the Accelerator."

"Before he leaped in 1995?" Jack questioned.

"No, Captain. He was back once for a short time in 1999. Back when Dr. Elesee was still with us. He and the Admiral had switched places." She paused. "My father went back to save the Admiral's life. I believe it's why Dr. Elesee eventually chose to leave."

"Of course," Jack commented, remembering the report he had read concerning the incident. The current head of Project Quantum Leap folded Sam's note back up and put it into his pocket. Al didn't need to see it. It would only cause the older man to relive that moment when he had to accept that Sam went back for him instead of staying with his wife. "So... I am also assuming that there is a letter that Dr. Beckett hid for you to tell Al about," he stated as he returned the book back to its proper place.

"Yes. That seems quite obvious, Captain. Why would I show you this letter if that wasn't the case?

"Just making sure all my ducks are in a row. Where is the letter then?"

"I will provide that information when the Admiral joins you."

"You called him down, didn't you," Jack concluded. "Well, aren't you a sneaky little fu..." he started. "Funship," he finished, deciding that insulting the parallel hybrid computer wasn't in his best interests at the moment, especially since he was starting to worry about whether or not he would be able to regrow a head again after the Admiral decapitated him for invading the sanctum that was Sam Beckett's office.

With an arrogant air that only Ziggy could muster, the voice continued. "He is on his way. And I am not 'sneaky'. I am only assuring that my father's wishes are carried out. The Admiral is currently in a state of metaphysical overload and until I could assure myself that both you and the Doctor were fully trustworthy, I was not about to put everything my father worked for in danger."

"No, only me, apparently."

"You'll live. Eventually."

"Gee, thanks for the show of support."

"I think under the circumstances, I'm showing a great deal of support. Dr. Beckett obviously did not know about you when he sent that letter. Thus, the fact that I've shown you his communication shows just how much I do trust you."

"How could Sam not know of me? I'm unforgettable!" Jack taunted.

"That may be, Captain, but he has not had the pleasure of making your acquaintance which is necessary to forget you... or not. We could discuss this further but the Admiral is arriving..." The door to the office began opening. "Now."