Torchwood: Divergence
Book Four: Hatchweliad
Chapter 35
Turlough had carefully disassembled the strange lantern when they'd discovered it was held together by surprising delicate hinges and pins, done a spectrum analysis and detailed series of scans on the metal. Stress tests had been conducted, as well as exposure tolerances related to heat and cold, accelerated corrosion experiments, and attempts to puncture or cut the material. Many of the procedures had required equipment Torchwood didn't possess, so the redhead had used an interesting version of a remote control to bring his TARDID to the underground carpark and used items he had onboard to finish the job. The results of the tests had been rather surprising.
The material was an oddly proportioned blend of Welsh iron, local coal shale, remarkably pure copper, and the unique combination of minerals that was found only in the native rock around Cardiff that confirmed the presence of powdered stone in the alloy. But whether the old Rift signature embedded in the metal came from one of those elements, or something the craftsman had used to forge the pieces was unknown. Regardless of that point, it was uncommonly light weight, yet nearly impossible to cut or perforate with anything short of Scieron steel or a molecular drill, and even then it took an inordinate amount of time and effort to even make a scratch. It couldn't be broken down by acid or other caustic chemicals, didn't rust, never became brittle or weak even when put into liquid nitrogen, and took more than two hours for a three-by-six-millimetre sliver to melt down at the highest temperature Turlough's equipment could subject it to shy of just shoving it into a nuclear reactor. Once liquified and reformed however, tests indicated its molecular stabilization rate meant it would be able to be shaped, shaved, smoothed, and otherwise manipulated for almost a full day before it hardened into its nearly indestructible state once more.
Jack had left it in its minimally sampled component pieces, and put it into a storage box in the Safe when the testing was done. Turlough's report on it concluded that though the alloy truly was a "better metal", it would now be basically impossible to reproduce because of changes to the quality of the raw iron, copper, and other materials incorporated into it. Add the fact that there was honestly no way to tell if the original crafter had been in possession of a Rift deposited alien artefact that he's used to forge the metal, and it was clearly a one-of-a-kind creation. So, everything was duly noted in the Archives and the team got on with the day.
Which as it turned out, was busier than most barring Scieron related back logs. Between 2:00 and 6:00 pm, the Torchwood operatives responded to five different Rift spikes, all involving one or more life forms. The last had been a pair of unattended Cruckles just outside of St. Andrews Major. Bullets were useless until the quasi-dinosaurs' armour-like hide or incredibly thick skulls were breached, and only Ianto's Changeling weapons were able to make those initial openings. Everyone but Lois and Martha dispatched nonetheless, to keep the creatures from escaping and at least somewhat distracted until they could be killed. It was a rough mission all around, both Jack and Ianto taking substantial though non-lethal damage during the fight, with Gwen and Turlough coming out very tired and markedly bruised in a few spots.
Fortunately, Lois had ordered Chinese during their return drive, which arrived just as Martha was finishing up treating the gashes and bite wounds the team's senior pair had sustained. So, now they were all in the Boardroom enjoying the meal and hoping the Rift was done for a while.
"One of those awful little beasts was the cause of Ianto's first official resurrection as a Guardian last year," Cooper was telling Turlough. "He took that big tail spike in the back to protect Ebrill. Punched all the way through and came out his chest, ripped open his heart… it was horrible."
"And these are pets?" the redhead across the table asked with an arched brow, not familiar with the species until now. "For who? 'Pinhead' and his 'Hellraiser' crew?"
Jack and Ianto actually laughed at that, which definitely lightened the mood for everyone else.
"It's an alien race the Torchwood files list as Herperans," Ianto explained, laying down his chopsticks to pick up his water bottle, because his left hand was swathed in bandages due to a large, ragged bite wound along the outside edge of his palm. "They're reasonably human proportioned bipeds, about six and a half feet tall, incredibly strong, covered in brown or grey to grey-green scales, with heads like vipers. May or may not actually be reptilian, intelligent, space-faring, technologically advanced. But incredibly territorial, highly aggressive, mildly venomous, and definitely carnivorous, so they aren't overly popular with other races. Long distance trading only."
"Most worlds have bans against them and their crabby little pets," Harkness added, shifting his right leg where it was propped on the empty Archive bin to help with swelling around a huge gash above his knee. "Which they breed as a ready to hand food source, by the way. Cruckles are about the size of a large grapefruit and unarmoured when they first hatch. Quick snack for a busy Snakehead. Both species have names other than what we call them, but they're impossible to pronounce without fangs and a forked tongue, so we stick to something simpler."
"They eat their pets' young?" Lois gaped, obviously appalled.
"Eat their own young too in a pinch," the Captain shrugged. "It's a lot more common out in the Universe than you might think."
"And it's not just animal-like species either," Turlough put in, giving their receptionist a disarming smile. "In fact, some races consider the Earth's humans strange because they don't commonly indulge in the practice of dining on their own kind."
"Commonly," Habiba repeated, making a face but continuing her meal. "I supposed there are still a few isolated tribes they say eat other people, and it's definitely in the history books. Not to mention the gossip rags… things like the Donner party back during the old west days in the United States, and that Dahmer fellow a fair few years back."
"Oh, those Americans," Jack chuckled, winking at the young black woman. "Ask Gwen and Ianto about our field trip into the Brecon Beacons with the old team."
"Please don't," both of the named individuals countered in unison.
"I'll look it up in the old logs," Lois reassured, curious but figuring it wasn't a dinner friendly story if the two longtime operatives didn't want to discuss it. "Cannibals in modern day Wales. Wouldn't've expected that."
"Neither did we," Cooper admitted with a frown. "Thought it was something nasty from the Rift like the Weevils. And honestly, I would've preferred that."
Things were quiet for a few minutes, then Martha cleared her throat.
"So, Turlough," she began cheerfully. "Think you could handle all your Tech stuff and being team medic for a span come late November or early December?"
"Planning a holiday trip to Mars with your husband?" the thirty-year-old Trion native queried back.
"No," Martha smiled, shaking her head. "And it'd only be till around the following June. But it would be easier than trying to integrate a temporary replacement into the team."
"That's a seven-or eight-month span," Jack commented, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Mighty long vacation, especially since this is the first we've heard about it."
"Sounds more like maternity leave," Gwen chuckled, then went wide-eyed with surprise when the woman beside her grinned and nodded.
"Test was part of my appointment yesterday the reason I came in late," Martha stated excitedly. "My GP called this afternoon to confirm the positive results. Mickey's thrilled, and I'm not due till late December, so we figured I could stay at work as long as I feel it's safe. Maybe just part-time toward the end, yeah? We'll get a nanny once the baby is about six-months-old, and I'll come back full time after that."
"Congratulations," Harkness smiled, everyone at the table rising to take turns hugging the obviously pleased young physician.
They settled back to their meal after a few minutes, the general mood much lighter than it had been.
"So, Turlough," Lois prodded with a grin. "Are you up to being our medic while Martha's gone?"
"I think I can manage," the slender redhead half-smiled. "If I can get Technical support from Ianto."
"Happy to do what I can," the named Archivist nodded, though his blue-grey eyes didn't fully reflect the jaunty tone of his answer.
And that didn't go unnoticed by his partner as it turned out. Dinner finished up, the team headed back out to the workstations and Jack stayed behind to help the young Welshman clear the table. They got all the rubbish into a bin liner, the surface wiped down and unopened drinks back on their tray. But before the Changeling could take charge of the items and head for the kitchenette, his boss stopped him.
"What's bothering you?" the Captain insisted evenly, squarely meeting the younger man's gaze. "You don't seem happy about Martha's momentous news."
"I was," Ianto stated quietly, that lost child look creeping into his expression. "But… I don't know. When I hugged her, I got this odd feeling. And the first thing that came to mind, was that maybe it was a false positive on her test. I don't want to ask her that though. She'll worry that the Scieron told me something, and they didn't. So, I don't know what my problem is. All I know is that now I can't stop thinking that she's not really pregnant, and that she and her husband will be so devastated if it's true."
"And it's got your guilt gauge in the red," the undying American surmised, caressing his lover's scarred cheek. "Take a deep breath, and let it go. If it turns out you're right, that doesn't make it your fault. I'll have a talk with Martha, urge her to double check with the equipment here in the Lab, tell her it's to get a baseline for monitoring things down the line. Whatever happens, we'll all know for sure and no-one else needs to be privy to what we just discussed, yeah?"
Ianto nodded and took a few deep breaths that he let out very slowly. Then Jack leaned in to give him a small kiss, helped him balance the bottle topped tray since one hand was bandage muffled, and took up the bin liner himself. The pair limped out into the Hub, Lois approaching to help the younger man take things upstairs to the kitchenette, as their leader veered toward the medical bay. The Rift was quiet at the moment, but that didn't necessarily mean the Torchwood team was going to have a good night.
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AN: So, a nice surprise for everyone… maybe…
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM