28
Ianto was sitting by Toshiko as she went over the paperwork he had brought back, the others going over the food and such, as Martha went over the weapons. Jack was telling them about the Bugs as Ianto tuned him out, focusing on Toshiko who was sharing his thoughts on the GE food.
The kids were happily engrossed in the toys brought back as Rhiannon excitedly went through the bedding for the kid's beds. Everyone seemed happy and busy as they all talked at once. Ianto and Toshiko however, had their little side table and it was covered in papers from the safe and office. Ianto had a puzzle… he just was not sure how the pieces fit and Toshiko loved a challenge.
"Seems interesting that they went there, they seem to be searching for something" she muttered. "I would love to know if they hit other GE farms or all farms. This sort of thing… there is something they are searching for or something they are sent to do… but I can't see it."
"They use the roads. Only roads. Like, they don't go across country. I watched them and their feet are well made, they could easily walk on grass… they do move across uneven ground, do when chasing us but, when patrolling or whatever… they are just wandering on the roads. Turn at driveways and look in, then come back out." Ianto answered "I have a theory."
She nodded for him to continue.
"They are mapping."
"Ah, you said so the other day, you think they are really here to make things more comfortable for another species" she nodded.
"Yes so…" Ianto' voice petered off as she held the sheet of tracking stickers. He then reached up to touch his stab vest he had not yet taken off, then he looked down and made a noise of interest.
"Ianto?"
"Can you track these?" Ianto said, leaning forward with excitement "Toshiko… can you track it?"
She stared at him and then at the stickers "I don't know. Cell phones… wait. These would be satellite able trackers for overseas shipping… maybe. Depends how long the information is stored in the Cloud Server… maybe… six months? Twelve would be optimum.""
She got her laptop and started to work from the paperwork, Ianto watching as she inputted the numbers beside the empty sticker then sitting back with Ianto to hold her breath. Then a map flickers to life and she gasped with glee, clocking the start of the tracker form the homestead.
It was easy to follow… as Ianto had predicted, it kept to the main road, all the way to London. Just like the truck had.
"Wow." She said softly "It moved fast."
"I wonder…." Ianto hummed, and then pointed "See one of the stickers is missing half way down, out of sequence… Jack stuck it on me being silly before I was attacked. Here on my vest. The thing must have ripped it off while we were fighting… hopefully it had it stuck on it when it escaped. Then... the others ate it. Did they eat the tracker too? Can we be that lucky in an unlucky world?"
She balked at him but did as he asked, watching the tracker leave the homestead… on the same route as the one that must be six months old.
"Yeah, and like I thought, it kept to the roads" Ianto frowned as he drummed his fingers and then sighed "mapping. They ARE mapping. I really want to know what calls them back."
"Like a sound?"
"If we can work out what call them, we might be able to work out what repels them too, or a way to trap them?" Ianto replied as he slid the chair closer, looking at the screen. They watched the tracker move across the city to the docks.
"So… they… wait. Fuck, it's not a boat. I bet the huge warehouses there are where they sleep" Toshiko said softly as she peered at the screen with him.
"Or where the away vessels are to take them up to the mother ship to report their findings so far" Ianto muttered with a deep frown. "I don't think our atmo is that pleasing to them, they must have places to relax."
"Like, life pods?"
"Hmmmm."
"We have feet!" Owen suddenly leapt to his feet across the room, making everyone turn to look at him "the one that wanted to eat Ianto… Jack blew two limbs off!"
Everyone cheered and took off with him to get them from the Transporter, then finding the extra vehicles to look over with glee.
Ianto and Toshiko remained at the table, staring at the screen.
"You know… I never thought of that" she said after a while "They go somewhere to sleep. Why not sleep in the field. No. The go to a nest or something to relax, it must be more conducive to their home environment."
"I wonder what that is" Ianto drummed his fingers again and then sat back "but I suppose that is the great unknown right? I do not want to wind up there to find out. I get the feeling it would be a one way trip."
"So let's not go there."
"No. But it would be nice to be able to watch… maybe we can put more stickers on Bugs. Like my sister wanting to paint them different colours… we can tag them. Some way… see how far they fan out. If there are areas they avoid? We might find out some way to repel them."
"Now you are talking Doctor Jones!"