Selkie Cove: Friday night
Jack made a quick stop at his room for a coat and the mini-comp, then left the dorms. He needed to move, needed to be away from people. It was almost too much to take in. He'd long since given up on his lost memories, decided they didn't matter, and now this.
The Time Agency. The place he was going was apparently the place he'd come from.
His feet led him unerringly through town and towards the water while his mind tried to twist what he'd learned from Sam, from River, from Cameron into something he could understand.
None of it made any sense. Or if it did, it was a nasty, dangerous sort of sense. As he picked his way across the rocky shore, he knew he'd risk it for himself. But not for Sam. He would not take Sam into danger. He needed answers, for both of them.
And there was one person who he was damned sure had them.
time_agent
Settling himself on a rock, he pulled the mini-comp from his pocket and hit the buttons from memory. After several long minutes, the muted blue of the viewscreen gave way to a familiar face: Captain Jack. "I need to talk to you."
Captain Jack
There was something in Jack's voice that raised warning bells. "What's up?"
time_agent
"I know," Jack said simply, voice humming with anger. "I know about the Time Agency, I know I was involved with them before, I know they stole my memories the first time. And I know damn well that you knew it too."
Captain Jack
"Jack…"
time_agent
"No! You had to have known, and I don't give a damn that you were ready to sell me out to them, but you were ready to give them Sam. If it hadn't been for--" Jack stopped, instinct warning him not to say Cam's name. "Someone, I still wouldn't know. What was going to happen to us? What were they going to give you for me? I know this universe is full of people you can't fucking trust, but I never thought you'd be one of them."
Captain Jack
He dragged his hands through his hair, wondering how the hell this had happened. He'd thought every loose end had been cleaned up. There shouldn't have been anyone left to tell the tale. "Who told you?"
time_agent
Jack snorted. "Like I'm going to tell you. You think I want the person who bothered to tell me - someone who pretty near hates me, and they still had the decency to tell me - to end up mind wiped? Or dead? Not a chance."
Captain Jack
"I wouldn't--"
time_agent
Jack interrupted him. "Don't bother. You're me. I'm you. I know exactly what you'd do if you had to."
Captain Jack
He gave up. Jack was right. "Do I get a chance to explain?"
time_agent
"You get one chance. One. And if I'm not satisfied, I'm disappearing. If you try and find me, you'll regret it." Jack was running on pure bluff, adrenaline and fear and anger combining to carry him forward. "You know I'll do whatever it takes to keep myself safe."
Captain Jack
"I know." He was starting to rethink his words to Gwen. Right now his younger self was sharp as a blade; he could hear himself in those words. "Right. Sitting comfortably? This could take awhile."
time_agent
"Just talk. And make it good."
Captain Jack
Where to start. How much to tell him. He never thought he'd have to do this. "You worked for some Agents, but not for the Agency. They recruited you, off the radar. Told you you were working for the Agency. But you had no official status, they just wanted to use you." Never mind wanting to control him, wanting to change the future, Jack didn't need to know that. "There's factions in it, splinter groups, pursuing private interests. One of them came for you, sent you to that school."
time_agent
"Why?"
Captain Jack
"Because they knew you could find others there. I know what that place is like, the sort of people that end up there. Right now, I bet you could name five students that any covert group'd love to get their hands on. Whether they wanted to join or not."
time_agent
Jack couldn't argue with that. He could name ten. And Cameron had said they'd tried to recruit Vala. "Okayyy," he said slowly. "That, yeah, that makes sense. What happened?"
Captain Jack
"You wouldn't do it. Stopped listening to them. Tried to break away. They couldn't have that. I don't know for sure what happened, but I think they recruited someone else to take your place at the school. I'm guessing their first job would have been to deal with you."
time_agent
It fit. It fit everything Cameron had told him. "Not dead, they wanted her to wipe my memories, but she refused. Someone did it anyway."
Captain Jack
"The Agents involved had gone rogue by that point, totally abandoned Agency protocol. If they'd been caught, it would have been the end of them. They had to deal with you. And they did. Wiped your memories. I still don't know how you got them back, but when they found out, they tried to grab you. That's how you ended up looping. That's where I found you."
time_agent
Jack knew who'd undone the memory wipe, but he wasn't sharing. "I'm sure I knew how I got them back, but you took care of that. If you wanted to know, you should have asked before you had your shot at me. It's all gone now. There's not even a trace left." River's words came back to him. "It's just a black hole."
Captain Jack
He nodded slowly. "That's because I couldn't take a chance that it would happen again. They're gone forever, Jack. There's no getting them back."
time_agent
Jack snorted. "Hardly a surprise. So what happened? Why am I wandering around, remembering none of this, on my way to join the Agency?"
Captain Jack
He couldn't tell Jack all of it, but hopefully what he could tell would be enough. "That was my price. I helped them wipe out the faction recruiting outside sources. In exchange, you got a proper shot at the Agency. A real place, with the chance to become an Agent. With the others, all you would have become was dead."
time_agent
"And the year of my life? What did that buy you?"
Captain Jack
"Jack…"
time_agent
"No. Tell me what it bought you."
Captain Jack
"Nothing. But they wouldn't take you with that stuff in your head." Eyes boring into Jack's, he said, "And it was a danger to you. It would only have been a matter of time before someone took you out of the picture."
time_agent
It all made sense, and he wanted to believe it. "So the Agency's a good place?"
Captain Jack
"You know better than that. No where's a good place. But it's got good people in it. You've got a future with them." A bitter, bleak future in parts, with the good people shunning him, but it was necessary. There was so much he had to do; history demanded Jack's future, and he'd make sure it was delivered. "And before you ask, Sam will be perfectly safe. As safe as the job allows, but good Agents are valued highly. Looked after."
time_agent
"And why should I believe you?"
Captain Jack
"I don't know. There's nothing I can give you as proof. All I can tell you to do is think about it. Look at what fits the facts you've got." Because none of what he'd said was a lie, he just hadn't said it all. "Believe that you can trust me. I don't want to hurt you; I just want you to have a future."
time_agent
Jack was silent for a very long time, ignoring the viewscreen to stare out over the ocean. "It makes sense," he said quietly.
Captain Jack
"Does that mean you still want the Agency?"
time_agent
"I don't know."
Captain Jack
He wouldn't push. Pushing had never worked on him, no matter his age. "I've told you the truth. It's up to you to decide what you do with it. But don't throw away your future, Sam's future, on a whim."
time_agent
Jack nodded once, sharply. "Right. I'll let you know."
He hit the disconnect button and the picture disappeared, the viewscreen slowly fading to black. While he waited for his eyes to readjust to the dark, he thought about what he'd just been told.
It all made sense. It fit with everything. He believed every word.
He'd sleep on it, talk to Sam, and decide then. But he could feel the excitement which had dimmed to nothing bubbling back up, and his tread was lighter as he walked back to the dorms.
[ooc: pre-played with, well, myself, and no interaction possible. Details of conversation NFB, please. Also, credit for Jack's backstory with the Time Agency, and all the details with them recruiting him, Vala, and him getting mind wiped the first time go to his previous mun. I'm just traipsing along in her footsteps and twisting it to my own ends.]
The Time Agency. The place he was going was apparently the place he'd come from.
His feet led him unerringly through town and towards the water while his mind tried to twist what he'd learned from Sam, from River, from Cameron into something he could understand.
None of it made any sense. Or if it did, it was a nasty, dangerous sort of sense. As he picked his way across the rocky shore, he knew he'd risk it for himself. But not for Sam. He would not take Sam into danger. He needed answers, for both of them.
And there was one person who he was damned sure had them.
time_agent
Settling himself on a rock, he pulled the mini-comp from his pocket and hit the buttons from memory. After several long minutes, the muted blue of the viewscreen gave way to a familiar face: Captain Jack. "I need to talk to you."
Captain Jack
There was something in Jack's voice that raised warning bells. "What's up?"
time_agent
"I know," Jack said simply, voice humming with anger. "I know about the Time Agency, I know I was involved with them before, I know they stole my memories the first time. And I know damn well that you knew it too."
Captain Jack
"Jack…"
time_agent
"No! You had to have known, and I don't give a damn that you were ready to sell me out to them, but you were ready to give them Sam. If it hadn't been for--" Jack stopped, instinct warning him not to say Cam's name. "Someone, I still wouldn't know. What was going to happen to us? What were they going to give you for me? I know this universe is full of people you can't fucking trust, but I never thought you'd be one of them."
Captain Jack
He dragged his hands through his hair, wondering how the hell this had happened. He'd thought every loose end had been cleaned up. There shouldn't have been anyone left to tell the tale. "Who told you?"
time_agent
Jack snorted. "Like I'm going to tell you. You think I want the person who bothered to tell me - someone who pretty near hates me, and they still had the decency to tell me - to end up mind wiped? Or dead? Not a chance."
Captain Jack
"I wouldn't--"
time_agent
Jack interrupted him. "Don't bother. You're me. I'm you. I know exactly what you'd do if you had to."
Captain Jack
He gave up. Jack was right. "Do I get a chance to explain?"
time_agent
"You get one chance. One. And if I'm not satisfied, I'm disappearing. If you try and find me, you'll regret it." Jack was running on pure bluff, adrenaline and fear and anger combining to carry him forward. "You know I'll do whatever it takes to keep myself safe."
Captain Jack
"I know." He was starting to rethink his words to Gwen. Right now his younger self was sharp as a blade; he could hear himself in those words. "Right. Sitting comfortably? This could take awhile."
time_agent
"Just talk. And make it good."
Captain Jack
Where to start. How much to tell him. He never thought he'd have to do this. "You worked for some Agents, but not for the Agency. They recruited you, off the radar. Told you you were working for the Agency. But you had no official status, they just wanted to use you." Never mind wanting to control him, wanting to change the future, Jack didn't need to know that. "There's factions in it, splinter groups, pursuing private interests. One of them came for you, sent you to that school."
time_agent
"Why?"
Captain Jack
"Because they knew you could find others there. I know what that place is like, the sort of people that end up there. Right now, I bet you could name five students that any covert group'd love to get their hands on. Whether they wanted to join or not."
time_agent
Jack couldn't argue with that. He could name ten. And Cameron had said they'd tried to recruit Vala. "Okayyy," he said slowly. "That, yeah, that makes sense. What happened?"
Captain Jack
"You wouldn't do it. Stopped listening to them. Tried to break away. They couldn't have that. I don't know for sure what happened, but I think they recruited someone else to take your place at the school. I'm guessing their first job would have been to deal with you."
time_agent
It fit. It fit everything Cameron had told him. "Not dead, they wanted her to wipe my memories, but she refused. Someone did it anyway."
Captain Jack
"The Agents involved had gone rogue by that point, totally abandoned Agency protocol. If they'd been caught, it would have been the end of them. They had to deal with you. And they did. Wiped your memories. I still don't know how you got them back, but when they found out, they tried to grab you. That's how you ended up looping. That's where I found you."
time_agent
Jack knew who'd undone the memory wipe, but he wasn't sharing. "I'm sure I knew how I got them back, but you took care of that. If you wanted to know, you should have asked before you had your shot at me. It's all gone now. There's not even a trace left." River's words came back to him. "It's just a black hole."
Captain Jack
He nodded slowly. "That's because I couldn't take a chance that it would happen again. They're gone forever, Jack. There's no getting them back."
time_agent
Jack snorted. "Hardly a surprise. So what happened? Why am I wandering around, remembering none of this, on my way to join the Agency?"
Captain Jack
He couldn't tell Jack all of it, but hopefully what he could tell would be enough. "That was my price. I helped them wipe out the faction recruiting outside sources. In exchange, you got a proper shot at the Agency. A real place, with the chance to become an Agent. With the others, all you would have become was dead."
time_agent
"And the year of my life? What did that buy you?"
Captain Jack
"Jack…"
time_agent
"No. Tell me what it bought you."
Captain Jack
"Nothing. But they wouldn't take you with that stuff in your head." Eyes boring into Jack's, he said, "And it was a danger to you. It would only have been a matter of time before someone took you out of the picture."
time_agent
It all made sense, and he wanted to believe it. "So the Agency's a good place?"
Captain Jack
"You know better than that. No where's a good place. But it's got good people in it. You've got a future with them." A bitter, bleak future in parts, with the good people shunning him, but it was necessary. There was so much he had to do; history demanded Jack's future, and he'd make sure it was delivered. "And before you ask, Sam will be perfectly safe. As safe as the job allows, but good Agents are valued highly. Looked after."
time_agent
"And why should I believe you?"
Captain Jack
"I don't know. There's nothing I can give you as proof. All I can tell you to do is think about it. Look at what fits the facts you've got." Because none of what he'd said was a lie, he just hadn't said it all. "Believe that you can trust me. I don't want to hurt you; I just want you to have a future."
time_agent
Jack was silent for a very long time, ignoring the viewscreen to stare out over the ocean. "It makes sense," he said quietly.
Captain Jack
"Does that mean you still want the Agency?"
time_agent
"I don't know."
Captain Jack
He wouldn't push. Pushing had never worked on him, no matter his age. "I've told you the truth. It's up to you to decide what you do with it. But don't throw away your future, Sam's future, on a whim."
time_agent
Jack nodded once, sharply. "Right. I'll let you know."
He hit the disconnect button and the picture disappeared, the viewscreen slowly fading to black. While he waited for his eyes to readjust to the dark, he thought about what he'd just been told.
It all made sense. It fit with everything. He believed every word.
He'd sleep on it, talk to Sam, and decide then. But he could feel the excitement which had dimmed to nothing bubbling back up, and his tread was lighter as he walked back to the dorms.
[ooc: pre-played with, well, myself, and no interaction possible. Details of conversation NFB, please. Also, credit for Jack's backstory with the Time Agency, and all the details with them recruiting him, Vala, and him getting mind wiped the first time go to his previous mun. I'm just traipsing along in her footsteps and twisting it to my own ends.]