Chapter 6
Rose awoke again to the gentle 'bong' of the alarm, and the line of orbs entering the kennels. She had spent the night with her husband again in his head, and she had some exciting and encouraging news to tell her fellow inmates.
She picked up the end of the leash, and attached it to her collar, which locked itself into place, and allowed herself to be guided to the showers with Marla and Jack. It was then through to the dining hall and time for breakfast, where the three of them sat together in front of the food bowls.
{"I wonder what's for breakfast this morning?"} Jack mouthed with his boyish smile. {"Oh look, its dough balls."}
{"Jack, Marla, I've got some good news, John's found us, and has found the gang of collectors that captured you,"} she mouthed at Marla.
{"Brilliant!"} Jack silently exclaimed. They hadn't risked using their tattoo transponders, in case they set off alarms and gave the game away. The whole idea of this investigation was to find the people who were behind the operation and bring them to justice.
Marla looked at them in confusion. {"What, but how?"}
Rose frowned as she tried to think of a way of explaining her special link with her husband, and she settled for the stock answer. {"It's complicated."}
{"That's really encouraging news, because this place is so anonymous, anyone could be running it."}
{"Yeah, and if we can find out who our owners contacted to purchase us, we should be able to close the net."}
They ate their breakfasts as they silently discussed the possibility of being out of the kennels soon, and getting home to see their families. They timed the meal to perfection as the orbs issued the command to stand and then walk to heel. So here they were, another day of training and preparation to become the ideal working pet.
{"Good luck, see you later,"} they mouthed to each other as they were led away, except today; they wouldn't see one another later. Rose and Jack had been model students because they could understand the language, and had graduated early. They didn't realise it, but their new owners, who had chosen them four days earlier, were on their way back to collect them.
They realised that something was going on when they were led, with a group of a dozen or so, to the reception display area where they had initially been chosen. They looked at each other and smiled in anticipation as they entered the large, plush reception area.
They all stood in a line, on a slightly raised platform of polished wood. The reception was bright and airy, with wood panelling, comfy sofas, tables with magazines, and drinks dispensers, all in complete contrast to the drab, grey walled prison beyond. Through the glass doors, they could see the shuttle ship, which brings customers to and from the kennels, had landed on the pad outside.
Rose saw her family come through the doors, and the large video screen to her left came to life and a virtual receptionist welcomed them to the kennels. There was a man and woman in what looked like expensive designer clothes, and a cute little girl who was their daughter. They all had pale green scales, yellowish faces, two green antennae that arose from just above their foreheads, and dreadlocks.
"Well Tabeesha, here she is, have you thought of a name for her?" the mother said.
"Yes Mummy, I want to call her Lute."
"Oh what a lovely name Sweetheart, Lute, yes I like that," her mother said.
'Yeah, I quite like that', Rose thought to herself.
The orbs projected holograms of the virtual receptionist, and spoke to each of the owners that had come to collect their pets.
"Lute has been trained to respond to all of the commands that you requested, and is now ready to become a valued and loving member of your family. We at Pets-Assist hope that you have many happy years together. Please take as much time as you require greeting your pet, and then make your way back to the shuttle. Good bye, and good luck Lute."
The leash unlocked itself from Rose's collar, and the orb silently floated away with all the other orbs, through the hole in the wall that had suddenly appeared.
"Can I try her out Daddy?" Tabeesha asked excitedly.
"Of course Sweetheart, she yours now. Do you remember all of the commands?"
"Of course I do." She stepped up onto the platform and faced Rose. "Lute, kneel."
Rose knew she had about five seconds to respond before she got a shock of encouragement. She knelt down and sat on her heels with her back straight and hands on her thighs. Tabeesha had a diamond encrusted, pink leash that she attached to Rose's collar.
"Lute, shake hands," she said holding out her hand. Rose smiled at her and shook her hand. Tabeesha looked back at her parents, who were smiling at her, and then back to Rose. "Oh you clever girl, Lute, hug." She wrapped her arms around Rose's neck and gave her a hug, Rose responded, patting and rubbing her back as she hugged.
"Is she alright then?" the father asked.
"Oh Daddy, she's perfect, thank you, thank you," she said as she ran to him and gave him a hug as well.
"Happy hatchday Sweetheart, but remember, a pet is for life, not just for celebratory occasions. You'll have to feed her, keep her clean, and take her for walks."
"I will Daddy, I promise. I love her, I just love her to bits," she said, returning to Rose and holding a posh looking bag from a pet store.
'Hatchday?' Rose thought. 'Oh dear, I'm a birthday present'. She realised that this sweet, likeable child was going to be heartbroken when she found out that she wasn't her pet, but was a Torchwood field agent.
"I've bought you something to wear Lute," the child said excitedly. "I hope you like it, I chose it myself."
'Oh great, clothes at last', Rose thought, and then groaned as she saw Tabeesha take a pink leather harness out of the bag. It was more Ann Summers than the Armani she was hoping for, and when it was put on her, she looked like she was ready for a night out at a bondage club.
"Lute, stand, and walk to heel," Tebeesha said, holding the pink leash, and started to lead Rose towards the glass doors, and a kind of limited freedom.
"C'mon Stud," Rose heard to her left, and looked over to see Jack being led to the doors by a very attractive and sexy lizard lady, who had all sorts of rings and chains in her dreadlocks. Jack saw her looking, and gave her an enormous smile and a little wave with his fingers.
{"Bye, don't be too eager to come and fetch me will you?"}
Rose laughed silently in her head. {"Behave yourself Agent Harkness,"} she mouthed.
{"What, me?"}
"Mummy, Lute is looking at that one over there and moving her lips, do you think they were friends? Maybe they'd like to say goodbye," Tabeesh said.
This little girl was so thoughtful; it was going to break Rose's heart to tell her the truth.
"Excuse me miss," the mother called over to the sexy lizard lady. "I think our pets are friends, is it alright if they say goodbye?"
The sexy lizard lady stopped and smiled at them. "Yes, of course," she said, and led Jack towards Rose, where they embraced and kissed one last time.
{"Lute?"} Jack mouthed with raised eyebrows, that name suited her.
{"Stud?"} Rose mouthed with a smirk. Jack gave her one of his cheeky grins and nodded down towards his groin.
"Oh isn't that sweet Mummy, Lute has got a boyfriend."
They were allowed to walk hand in hand across the hard standing and into the shuttle, before being led to their travel cages at the back of the shuttle.
["John?"] Rose thought to her husband. ["We've been collected, and are takin' off now. I'll wait until we're clear of the system before I activate my transponder."]
["Oh that's great news Sweetheart; I can hardly wait to see you again."]
["Me too, I'll see you soon Love."]
Torchwood Special Operations Field Agent Office.
John had returned the small task force to Torchwood Tower, and was asking the Shadow Architect to go easy on the animal collectors. They may have been thick, but they weren't dishonest or malicious, and the Shadow Architect agreed that they should do a kind of community service, where they would find all the sentient victims, apologise, and return them to their families.
He was more interested in the bounty hunters, who were making a lot of money and causing a lot of misery. As soon as John reported his findings to the Shadow Proclamation, they put a covert surveillance on the moon containing the Pets-Assist kennels, and supplied a list of possible bounty hunters.
He was accessing the records of the galactic business index, which was the holy grail of information on all companies, their subsidiaries, and the real estate that they owned. He had also passed the list of possible suspects to the Research Office, who were cross referencing abductions with the known whereabouts of the bounty hunters at the time, in an attempt to find out which of them were involved.
Andy McNab popped his head around the door of the office. "Doc, we've got a call from the Shadow Proclamation for you in Despatch."
"Thanks Andy." He stood and walked with Andy through to the Despatch Office, where he could see the albino face, white hair, and red eyes of one of the Shadow Officers.
"Doctor Smith, one of our patrols has intercepted a slave trader entering the Thood-Crow system, with four aliens held in stasis."
"Blimey, that was quick; trade must be brisk around there. Did he manage to alert anyone before you nabbed him?"
"No, as you asked, we managed to jam her transmissions; whoever she is contracted to is unaware of her arrest."
"Her, it's a woman?" Andy asked.
"Yeah, why not? Anyone driven by greed, and a disregard for other people's feelings can do it." He looked back at the screen. "I'll need to talk to her."
"She is refusing to speak, and we are limited to what interrogation methods we can use," the Shadow Officer said.
"I don't need her to speak," John said menacingly, when he felt the warm glow of his wife in his head. Andy and the Shadow Officer watched as John closed his eyes and silently stood still for thirty seconds.
"Is everything alright Doc?" Andy asked as John opened his eyes again.
"It's better than alright, Rose and Jack have left the kennels..., I'm getting my wife back," he said with a smile, making his way to the Standby Room and the TARDIS.
He moved the TARDIS across the galaxy to the Thood-Crow system, and waited for Rose's signal. The tattoo on her hip was made of nano-circuits that formed a transmitter which could be activated by slapping it three times quickly, or by a coded signal from Torchwood.
When the TARDIS picked up her signal, John leapt excitedly into action, any time now he would be reunited with Rose, and he would give her a greeting she would never forget. He locked onto her signal, and realised that they were travelling through hyperspace, towards what must be the pet owner's home system.
["Jack's just left the shuttle,"] Rose thought to him, slightly concerned as the shuttle started to take off again.
["Okay Sweetheart, I think these people live on a number of worlds, are you okay?"]
["Yeah, it's a bit cramped in these travelling cages, but I've got a nice mattress and pillow, oh, and a blanket, they're gonna have to fight me to get the blanket off me."]
John laughed at her pleasure of something as so basic as a blanket, but then it made him wonder just how bad it had been for her, if a simple blanket could bring her so much pleasure.
He tried to keep her spirits up. ["Well, that's your Christmas present sorted this year then, a nice warm blanket."] It worked, Rose laughed with him. ["Not long now Love and it will all be over."]
The shuttle made a number drop offs at different planets in different neighbouring systems. These people must have colonised a number of worlds in their history.
Rose's signal remained on the third planet the shuttle visited, and he set the coordinates to land right next to her.
"Come on old girl, let's go get her back," he said to the time rotor, and could feel the eagerness coming from the console, she wanted Rose back, just as much as he did.
Rose felt the subtle tug of external gravity over the top of the artificial, internal gravity for the third time, and a few minutes later, the slight bump as the landing gear made contact with the ground. She saw the excited, smiling face of Tabeesha coming down the gangway towards her, and the catch on the cage being released.
"Come on Lute, we're here, time to go and see your new home."
Rose crawled out on all fours, with the blanket over her back. She stood up and wrapped it around her, only to have the young girl tug it off her.
"You don't need that smelly old thing, you've got a beautiful new bed, and bedding at home, come on..., come on, there's a good girl," she encouraged, as she picked up her leash and led Rose out of the shuttle.
They went through the spaceport control, declaring Rose as an item that they were returning with. The official checked the paperwork and indicated an archway for Rose to walk through, which apparently checked her for any diseases or parasites.
'Charming', she thought to herself.
She was taken outside and across a car park, to an expensive looking, floating SUV. The father opened the tailgate, and Tabeesha led Rose to the back of the vehicle and patted the cushions that had been placed there for her.
"In you get girl, it won't be long, and then you'll be in your new home."
Rose climbed in and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees. The family got into the front of the vehicle, and it silently floated out of the car park and along the road. Rose watched the alien landscape, vegetation and buildings glide by, as Tabeesha reached over the back seat and gently stroked her hair, thinking that she was helping to calm her anxious new pet.
Rose wasn't anxious, she was excited; John was coming to get her, and her ordeal would finally be over. Okay, it was an ordeal she had volunteered for, after all, she was the only field agent that had a unique method of communicating with a certain other 'foxy' field agent.
And no matter how good the Torchwood covert communications equipment was, there was always the chance that some advanced alien tech would detect it. Jack volunteering to go with her wasn't a surprise either, there was no way he was going to let her 'go it alone' on this one.
Eventually, they drove into a posh, residential area, and the SUV pulled up outside a futuristic, metal and glass house, before reversing onto the drive.
"We're here girl, you're home," Tabeesha said, and eagerly got out of the vehicle and ran around to open the tail gate. "Come on Lute, walk to heel."
Rose walked alongside the excited child, up a few steps to the glass front door, which opened automatically. It was obviously a 'des res', with opulent furnishings, artwork, and various knick knacks in display cabinets and on sideboards.
Tabeesha led her through to the living room, which had very comfortable looking furniture, which Rose wouldn't get to sit on as a pet. There again, she didn't want to, not at this precise moment, because at this precise moment, time and space were being bent out of shape by an incredible blue, wooden box.