23
Amilie was confused to see the huge Hovers rolling into town and she strode forward to meet them, also surprised to find not Jack or Ianto at the helm of the largest building sized one, but John Hart.
John jumped down from the Hover and the dust swirled around his boots, but did not settle on them. Would not dare fuck with perfection. He walked forward but his gaze was not locked on her, but on one of the men standing back.
"Eric? Are you Eric? I was told to seek the one who looks like a Viking with a huge beard and a name to match" John came to a halt as the man nodded in silent shock, John then squared off "I am Captain John Hart, and yes I did earn that rank. Behind me being lifted down like she is a child is Tech Sergeant Sato. Doctor Sato is what she prefers. And she is also capable of packing a punch. She is our Tech specialist and the one who is reaching up to help her is Rhys Williams, our top grease monkey. He has about eight others with him who are familiar with the standard mechanics of spaceships. Now, you have the Devoretti 3000 and some of our parts are compatible. We also know some of those parts you ordered either did not arrive or arrived damaged. Also, whoever did your ordering made a mistake in the paperwork and some of the parts don't fit… correct?"
John stopped talking and gave Eric a moment or two to splutter, then ask "How do you know all that?"
"Magic." John said, then laughed heartily as he added "No, we are mutants. Your people told us all that the other day while breaking bread with us. We are worried about you and have taken some time to go over the betrayal that tricked us into coming here. We have decided to forgive you and help you, as it is clear that it is why you did this act of cheekiness."
"We did not tell you anything of our plight, and we apologised for the misinformation that was a mistake and…"
"Amilie. We are not discussing this with you, we no longer want you as liaison as we now know you lie. Lying to your new neighbours is bad. Bad girl… naughty, naughty girl! Did it not occur to you that we can read minds?" John wagged his finger at her then turned back to Eric "Now. Come on duckie. Let's have a look at your old girl. She might not fly anymore, but we can at least get her shields up to more than fifty percent for the love of starlight!"
Amilie turned to look at her leaders and they shook their heads to tell her to let it go, following those heading straight for the huge building that hid their craft. They were all in shock, but as the huge hovers lifted off to follow those on foot there was a new feeling starting to grow in the colony.
Hope.
.
.
"So… they really have no idea what they are doing" John said around a mouthful of food and paused as Ianto's glare made him chew and swallow. God, like having a mother. John grinned at him and continued once his mouth was clear "Looks like most of those with real ability died in the initial attacks with those things. Those left are more than wallowing in grief as well. They are all sallow, grey and boring. God, I swear my IQ dropped several points in the afternoon."
"He's not exaggerating" Toshiko agreed "I think with time and training they can get their shields up as high as seventy five percent efficiency. Hell, given the right parts… if we can jury-rig them from the wrong parts they ordered and our spares, we might be able to even get it off the ground. It will never really fly in the black again but can at least ascend several meters up out of danger."
"No, the seals are right proper stuffed" Rhys joined the conversation, slapping at Andy who was sneaking more food onto Rhys's plate "Stop it. I've already had seconds of that."
"You can have my seconds" Andy replied like it was no big deal "You worked hard today. Came back all smelly and so damned fine."
Rhys coloured as he glanced at the two men who continued to eat like there had not been blatant flirting at their private table. Perks of being the ones in charge they had their own stateroom which had a lovely big table that doubled as a desk for meetings.
"Well at least they are finally starting to open up and tell the truth of things" Garry said as he added to his leader's remarks and Andy turned from Rhys to glare at him like he might be competition even as Ianto hid a grin.
Garry had a mate, she was one of those serving them. Clearly, he just really respected Rhys but to see Andy bristling and clearly staking a claim on the large teddy bear was nice.
And the weird feeling was dissipating like mist. The feeling of something under the water waiting in the darkness to surge up into the light and swallow them all whole … was moving away.
They had finally found the secret of this place and although it was scary, it was not a deal breaker.
They could have a future here.
And Jack was happy.