Chapter 9

Torchwood Special Operations Standby Room.

Torchwood One.

The members of Blue Watch, who weren't out on a 'shout', stood and watched as the TARDIS slowly became solid on the landing pad. After a few moments, the door opened and Rose stepped out to a round of applause, and a group hug

"Rose, how was it? John said you were alright, but he always says that," Julia said.

"It - was - a - bit - demeaning, - but - it - wasn't - to - bad - really."

"Oh my God, what's happened to your voice?" Gwen asked in concern.

"It's an obedience collar," John said as he followed the lizard people out of the TARDIS. "If she tries to speak, she gets an electric shock, so I've rigged up a little voice emulator until I can get it off her."

"Mind - you, - I - could - do - a - mean - Cher - karaoke - at - the - moment," she said with a cheeky smile.

"Andy, this is Broz, his wife Olgax, and their daughter Tabeesha, they have been victims of this pet scam. I've got their cash back, and they'd like to make statements."

"Tabeesha, - these - are - my - friends, - Julia, - and - Gwen. - They - will - look - after - you - while - your - parents - do - some - grown - up - stuff," Rose said as she stooped down to reassure her.

"What a lovely name," Gwen said. "Would you like to come to the restaurant and try some ice cream?"

She held her mother's hand for reassurance, her antennae drooping with worry. "Don't worry Sweetheart, these are Lute's friends, and you know she would only have nice friends, wouldn't she?"

Tabeesha nodded and looked to Rose for confirmation, who smiled and nodded.

"Lute?" Julia and Gwen said together.

"I'll - let - Tabeesha - explain - that - one," Rose said with a smile, and a wink at the alien girl.

"This character on the other hand, is in custody either as an accomplice or a witness." John said to Andy, putting his hand on the salesman's shoulder. "I'd be grateful if you could find out which."

"Where's Jack?" Gwen asked, wondering where her field partner had got to.

"He'll be with his new owner, keeping his end up and pumping her for information probably," John said with a grin. Rose's speech emulator started laughing. ["Hey, I told you not to do that, now I'm all flustered,"] he thought to her.

["Well, I'll have to try an' do somethin' about that then, won't I?"] She purred. John grabbed her hand and headed for the TARDIS.

"Hey, Doc, Wife, where you heading?" Andy asked.

"To get my wife's voice back and to find Jack."

They ran up the ramp to the console, and together they put the TARDIS into the Vortex.

"Next stop, third moon of Thood-Crow II," John said.

["Wrong…, next stop, the bedroom,"] Rose thought, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the console room.

In the bedroom, she hurriedly pulled down the zip on his uniform and pulled it off his shoulders and down to his waist. He did the same to Rose, and snapped her bra clip in one action of his thumb and finger.

["Mmmm, someone's been practicin',"] she thought, as she pulled the all in one uniform down, along with his shorts. He kicked his boots off, as he pulled her uniform and knickers down as well. Within seconds, they were on the bed and on each other, John lying on his back, and Rose straddling him, caressing his body with her lips and tongue.

John poked his index finger through the ring on her collar and gently pulled her down towards him, whispering in her ear. "I know this is going to be difficult for you."

["How so?"]

"Well, unless you want an electric shock, you've got to keep quiet, no groaning, no telling me I'm fantastic," he said with a cheeky grin.

["Ooh, you're so full of yourself, aren't ya. If anyone is goin' to be groanin' and tellin' someone they're fantastic it's gonna be you."] As if to prove the point, she wiggled herself onto his erection and squeezed with her pelvic floor muscles.

"Mngnf," he mumbled as she started to grind her hips.

["Oh come on,"] she purred in his head. ["You can do better than that."] She ran her fingers through his hair, as she nibbled his ear, whilst contracting and relaxing her pelvic floor in rhythm with him. She knew where all his buttons were, and how to press them, whilst pushing a few of her own at the same time.

Before long, she had him groaning, moaning, and gasping in ecstasy, and she had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from yelling out. Despite all her sterling efforts, a small squeak escaped, and she received a little 'tickle' of static from the collar, which surprised her by adding to her orgasm and sending a shiver down her spine.

"That was fantastic," he breathed in her ear, as she lay on top of him, panting.

["That was, or I was?"]

"Okay, that was awesome because you were fantastic."

"Told - you!" Cher's disembodied auto-tuned voice said from under her uniform. They just lay there for a while, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, instinctively stroking and caressing each other.

["So what's the plan?"] She asked in his head.

["Hah! You know me, haven't got one. If we go in, in the middle of the night, I can get a look at that collar applicator and try and work out how to reverse it. Then we find the central control, shut it down, and free all the inmates, how does that sound?"]

["Well, that sounds somethin' like a plan at least. C'mon, let's grab a shower and get movin'."] She climbed off him and grabbed his hand to pull him up off the bed and into the en suite shower.

"I hope that collar is waterproof."

["Of course, we used to have a communal shower every mornin'."]

"What, you and Jack, showering together?"

["Yeah, don't worry though, it was nothin' like this."] She gently reached down and gave her favourite part of him a squeeze, which dutifully stood to attention.

"I should hope not," he managed to squeak, before she set about him again.

New Arrivals Induction Room.

Pets-Assist Kennels Training Facility.

Third moon of Thood-Crow II.

"Is this the right room?" John asked as he stepped out of the TARDIS, into a dim, grey walled room.

Rose came out behind him, shrugging a backpack onto her shoulders, and looking around. ["Yeah this is it, those are the remote arms I told you about, and there was a kind of force field holding me still,"] she thought, pointing to the ceiling.

John took out his sonic screwdriver and started to scan the equipment. "Hmmm, I can't tell much while it's dormant; we need a subject in there."

["Well, don't look at me, I've already got one of their fashion accessories, an' I'm not lookin' to get another one just yet."]

"Nah, I wasn't thinking of you, I've got an old friend of ours in the TARDIS," he said mysteriously, and ducked back through the door.

'What's he on about', Rose thought, and walked over to the TARDIS door and opened it. She nearly got an electric shock, to go with the one she received when she saw what was standing in the doorway.

["Oh my God John, is that an Auton?"]

"Nah, they were in the old universe, this is just a mannequin, but he does bring back memories, doesn't he?"

["He sure does, if it hadn't been for his friends in the other universe, we'd never have met,"] she thought with a wistful smile and far away look in her eyes.

"Now, let's see if I can get him in place under the equipment, I've got a feeling that it might trigger with body heat, so I don't want to get stuck in there with it."

He carefully 'walked' the mannequin backwards, holding it by the hands. When he got it roughly underneath the mechanical arms, he stepped back, took out his sonic screwdriver, and adjusted the setting to emit an infrared beam at the mannequin to heat it up.

"Could you stand as close as you can to the mannequin Love, without getting in the stasis field? It should pick up your physiology and identify you as human."

Having already been through the process, and got the collar (not the T-shirt), she was understandably reluctant to go through it again. ["O-kay…, not too close though."]

"That should be close enough," he told her, as he 'sonicked' the mannequin.

After about a minute, they heard a soft, friendly voice. ""Do you speak English...? Parlez-vous français...? ¿Habla usted español…? Sprechen Sie Deutsch...?"

["Clever clogs,"] she thought, playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

"English," he said with a smile.

"Language identified, Sol Three, English. No further speech is required from you. Please cooperate with all instructions, you will not be harmed, but failure to comply will result in punishment."

"Ooh, a dominatrix…, you should meet my friend Jack…, oh you already have."

"No further speech is required from you. Please stand still with your hands by your sides."

Three arms descended and started to rotate, spraying the web around the mannequin, whilst John scanned the process with his sonic.

"Hmmm, that's interesting," he said.

["What, what have you found?"]

"Well, the building itself is a modular design, a kit effectively."

["Like the Sanctuary Base on Krop Tor?"]

"Exactly, anyone could put this together and own it, but when they start running the place, they put their mark on it, so to speak, the technology, the software protocols, it's like a fingerprint."

["And have you found one?"]

"I've got a partial, the arrogance of the automation, the demeaning treatment of life forms, the complete absence of any emotional regard for the people here…, I have my suspicions."

"No further speech is required from you. You are now safely immobilised for the placement of the obedience collar."

"Ah, this is the bit I need to see," John said and started scanning again.

"No further speech is required from you."

The three arms, holding the collar, lowered over the head, and rested on its shoulders. The arms dropped the ring and retracted back to the ceiling, as the ring contracted around its neck.

"Obedience collar in position; obedience collar is now active. Any failure to comply will now be punished."

"Do your worst Sweetheart, see where it gets you," John said with a grin, and then noticed a wall panel behind the mannequin start to move. He realised it was one of the floating mattresses Rose had told him about, that took the victims to their cages. It tilted the mannequin backwards and floated towards the wall, where a hole started to open up. John scanned the wall to find out how the hole was opened, and then hopped up on the mattress, holding his hand out for Rose to join him.

"Goin' my way Doll?" He asked in his Elvis voice.

{"Is - there - any - other - way - to - go, - daddy-o? - Straight - from - the - fridge, - man,"} her voice emulator said as she remembered a motor scooter in another universe, in what now seemed another life. She hopped up onto the mattress beside him, and they travelled sideways, arms around each other, down the grey, featureless corridor towards the kennels.

Another hole opened, and they floated into the kennels, where they went past cage after cage in the dim twilight. Rose looked at the cages in front of her and turned to look over her shoulder.

["John, half of these cages are empty, when I left they were occupied."]

["That would be because no new abductees are coming in, the Shadow Proclamation have got a covert watch on the place. All traffic, both in and out, is being intercepted, and the victims rescued."]

Rose leaned towards him and kissed his cheek in recognition of his brilliance. ["Nice one!"]

The mattress stopped and a hole opened in a cage. Rose hopped off and tugged John's hand to get him off as well, before it reversed into the cage. Rose looked at the cage next door, and realised where she was.

["John, this was my cage, which means that this one here...,"] she said as she walked to the neighbouring cage. ["...Is Marla's."]

["What, you mean Martha-Marla?"] He asked with a smile.

["Yeah, that's her."]

["Oh brilliant!"] He took out his sonic and adjusted the setting before pointing it at the cage and activating it. They could see the occupant stirring in the darkness, as the warbling whistle disturbed her. A hole opened up in the front of the cage, and Rose rushed in to gently shake Marla's shoulder.

Marla's eyes flickered open, first in confusion, then recognition, and then wide in surprise. {"ROSE!"} She mouthed her mouth so wide that Rose swore she could hear her. {"You made it."} Tears filled her eyes and she grabbed Rose into a tight hug. She looked over Rose's shoulder, and saw a man with impossibly sticky up hair, and an enormous grin on his face.

John stepped into the cage, tapped Rose's shoulder to get her to release the hug, and then gave Marla a big hug himself, completely unaware or concerned that she was stark naked.

"Martha…, you don't mind if I call you Martha do you? Nah, course you don't, it'll just be simpler if I can call you Martha, it can be like a nickname, or a pet name…, no wait, not a pet name, that's a bit insensitive in here, isn't it? Oh it's so brilliant to see you," he rambled on.

It was Rose's turn to tap him on the shoulder, and she rolled her eyes in amusement. "Marla, - this - is - my - husband - John."

{"Hello,"} Marla mouthed, shaking his hand.

John giggled excitedly. "Hello…, oh, the voice, hang on." He rummaged in a pocket and took out four small round pads. "Just lift your chin for a second."

Marla looked to Rose, a bit uncertain at what this manic, mad scientist was going to do. Rose smiled at her and nodded reassuringly. She lifted her chin and John stuck a pad either side of her throat, and then one on each cheek. He then took a speech emulator out of his pocket, switched it on, and it was only then, when he came to clip the emulator on to her clothing, that he noticed that she was naked.

"Oh, you've got no clothes on," he said, getting an eyeful of her fit body and blushing.

Rose's emulator gave a sexy laugh, and she took the emulator off him and clipped it to the ring on her collar. "There, - that - will - do - until - we - can - get - you - some - clothes; - talking - of - which..." She shrugged the backpack off her shoulders.

"You - can - speak," Marla said, and then realised the emulator had spoken the words she mouthed.

"Yeah, - just - one - of - John's - little - gadgets - until - he - can - get - the - collars - off." Rose unzipped her backpack and started rummaging inside.

Marla smiled at him. "Thank - you, - its - been - murder - not - being - able - to - speak."

John just stood there, grinning at her like an idiot, and trying to avoid looking at her very attractive breasts. There was another sexy laugh from Rose's emulator, as she pulled a white, towelling bathrobe out of the backpack and handed it to Marla. "He'd - be - dead - of - electrocution - by - now - if - he - had - to - wear - one, - what - with - his - runaway - gob."

Marla pulled on the bathrobe, and there were now two lots of sexy laughter coming out of those gadgets, and it was driving John to distraction. ["What have I told you about laughing through that gadget?"]

["Don't worry, I'll let you discipline me later,"] she purred in his head. When he looked at her, she had a twinkle in her eye, and that tongue between her teeth smile.

John cleared his throat. "Er, right, yes, okay, so let's get going and see if we can shut this place down."