2
"Lucas. You young buck you" Ianto said as he gingerly climbed out of the jeep like he was ancient, Andy rushing around to help his 'uncle' with his cane that was somehow stuck between the seats. With the waist high pants, the old knitted jersey with odd coloured pockets (yes Jack is so clever) and the hair dye, Ianto really did seem like an older gentleman that was a little long in the tooth and needing a younger man's help. Of course, Andy looked mature enough to stand on his behalf.
"Mister Jones, Mister Davidson. How lovely to see you both. I was just saying to the missus about the Chermi as she was about to sell it behind me back." The man bustled towards them, as wide as he was tall… which was quite short actually, if he tripped he might roll.
"A Chermi? Why… Lucas son, don't tell me you found one!" Into gaped, genuinely excited as he gripped the cane tighter, "Come on. Show an old man something to soften his heart."
They moved around the side of a large building and in the back was a field with aircraft sitting on landing pads, further out… Ianto gasped out loud as he saw the huge ship hovering above the landing pad, too big to actually land without crushing all the other vessels beneath it, this was a behemoth compared to the little four man vessels under its massive girth. A Space Craft capable of being a city in space. Once a pleasure model for cruises around the solar system, he was old but still clearly capable.
"Got her last month, remembered ya lamenting one last year for a retirement cruiser around the star system with your family and been looking ever since. Imagine, one at auction that went for a fraction of her worth. And I know you would pay twice as much but can you believe I got her for twenty thousand credits?" Lucas asked.
Ianto stopped moving, shocked at the price and Andy turned to him to whisper "Is that good… or bad."
"Lucas… that was practically illegal to steal it for that… tell me it's not hot or something" Ianto frowned theatrically as he took in the huge monster "My goodness."
"Was a private sale gone wrong. The bank repo-ed it and of course… no one really knows how to fly one of these anymore… your generation were the last to fly one into space" Lucas laughed "I don't' know if her seals would even hold. But… your last hurrah as you called it… might do. A almost craped me dacks flying it back here in low airspace."
"Pay the man, ten percent finder's fee and… another grand for affections" Ianto said as he moved forward, trying to remember to limp as he fought the urge to run to the vessel capable of carrying at least two hundred souls into battle… or away from it. This ex-militarial spaceship a relic he knew well.
And knew Jack could fly it like he stole it.
Andy paid the man.
.
.
Jack was first to hear the blasters as she broke atmo to come back down to the planet surface after Ianto had taken her up to test those 'pesky' seals, finding them as solid and true as he had hoped. This girl had been well looked after and loved, a little sad as she had been forgotten for a few years in a hanger somewhere but now she was moving, she was running like a factory refit.
Others looked up as they saw Jack doing it and soon the speck above grew, coming in to 'land' a few feet off the ground as Jack whooped with glee, punching the air as he rushed to the doors, eager to get inside.
Ianto laughed as he pushed past to get off and let Jack check her over as he called out "This one will do. She is capable of long haul across the black, can house three times those of us here and still make it in one piece. I suggest now is the time to consider our life pod idea."
"My god, how much did it cost us?" Martha asked, looking up as she shielded her eyes to see Jack in the window of the cockpit, pretending to lick the glass.
"A third of what we budgeted for and she is twice the size we had hoped we might find" Ianto said, those around them all celebrating. "I suggest tomorrow we start fitting her out for the chance of running. We put some supplies on board, choose rooms and act like this is a holiday caravan or something so if we do have to move fast… she's already going and we don't have to waste tome snatching and grabbing."
"And those of us who don't' want to leave?"
Jack was the one who answered as he emerged from the vessel "Those who want to stay, can Gwen. We will only take our portion of supplies, leave the rest as per the agreement. If you and yours don't trust our plan or feel you can stay as you pass for human… we will not argue the point. More power to you. But me and mine… are so Mutant that it screams for our very pores. If the Cleansings start again, we have to be prepared to move."
"And we will think no less of those staying. It's a brave decision, and one not made in haste" Ianto agreed.
"Well… I want a double berth for mine" Martha clambered up the small foot high gap onto the lowered gangplank, joined by Owen who wanted to check out the medical by.
"I suggest under the cover of darkness tonight, we place the big stuff onboard and at first light we take her up in the atmo where she can hide in the space junk" Jack said as he calmly considered her hugeness "She's too big to stay down here and stay hidden, she's the bloody size of the entire camp. God, she's gorgeous. I saw two fully functional away vessels in the jump hold."
Ianto moved away as Gwen looked up at it again, this time with undisguised annoyance. She found the entire thing so stupid. A life raft. Like they might need to run from humans intent on wearing their skins like suits or something, so bloody stupid. The Cleansings were over a hundred years ago, she was not even born yet and still the older mutants harp on about it.
She worked out in the Human world, her own Mutant powers so weak that they were undetectable by the huge doorway screens that you had to walk though at several checkpoints, her own mother's mother the last one who had any real powers to show. All Gwen could do was use Empathy.
She really thought this was just stupid to even prepare for.
After all… she was Heddlu and it would mean her hunting her own, she would know about the cleansings before anyone else, one of the reasons she was encouraged and helped into a role in the local Heddlu Security Force. And she loved it there.
And there had been nothing to suggest anything like a Mutant Hunt.
She was sure they were overreacting.
