Fic: Night Of The Harvester - Epilogue
Title: Night Of The Harvester - Epilogue
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, OCs.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1908
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: With Harvester gone, it’s time for the people of Bounteous to celebrate their freedom.
Written For: spook_me 2024, using Torchwood, Pumpkinhead / Jack O' Lantern.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my Through Time and Space ‘verse.
Previous Part
By the time they reached the town’s central square, the town elders and many of the townsfolk were there waiting for them. Tanisa came towards them, smiling, reaching to clasp their hands.
“It is true? Harvester is destroyed?”
Ianto nodded. “It looks that way, but there’s a lot still to be done before we can be certain he won’t return. I think that can wait until tomorrow though, as long as the farm families and workers remain where they are for the rest of the night. Just as a precaution. I doubt that they’d want to move back to their homes in the middle of the night anyway.”
“Whatever must be done, we will gladly do, to ensure our safety.”
“You won’t be doing it alone, we’ll all work together on this,” Jack assured the gathered people. “And on any necessary repairs. Harvester wasn’t too happy about not having any people or animals to drain of life. He took his frustration out on quite a few buildings.”
“Damage can be repaired; lives are of far greater importance, and you have saved many this night,” Lorrenz Makerra said, striding forward to clap both men on the shoulder. “You have our gratitude, insignificant as that might be, and you will always be welcome on Bounteous. Our home is yours, for however long you choose to stay, both now and in the future, should you ever choose to return.”
“Thank you. That means a great deal to us.” Ianto smiled and Jack nodded agreement.
“Tomorrow, after all our people have returned to their homes, the harvest must begin, but once the crops are safely in, we will hold a great celebration, the greatest our people have ever known, in gratitude that we are free at last from the menace that has taken so much from us since we first arrived here. But anyone who is not needed in the fields will be available to you for whatever tasks must be carried out to ensure our safety. You will have no shortage of willing helpers.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
The crowds parted as Bessica Sullmon hobbled slowly through, leaning on a cane made of a gnarled and smoothly polished branch from one of the native trees. Ianto stepped forward quickly to kneel before the tiny, frail form.
“Wise one.”
She leaned down to kiss his forehead, smiling, her eyes almost disappearing among her wrinkles. “You have done us a great service, child. The threat that ha hung over us for our entire lives is gone from this place.” She looked deeply into his eyes and chuckled. “Although why I should call you child when you are at least thrice my age, I do not know. The years have treated you and your man with far greater kindness than they treat the rest of us, and yet I would not share your burden for any price. To live so many lifetimes…” She shook her head. “That would be a curse as well as a blessing. But I see you already know that, and have made peace with your fate.”
“We have,” Ianto agreed.
“The path ahead of you both is a long one, and it will not be without hardship at times, but the good times will far outweigh the bad as long as you follow your hearts.” Bessica smiled around at the crowds. “I am glad I lived to see this moment. Now that it is safe to do so, I believe I will spend the rest of this night in my own bed. These old bones were not designed to sit up all night, no matter how comfortable the chair.”
Tanisa chuckled. “Then I will escort you before I return to my own home. Tomorrow will be a busy day.” She smiled at Jack and Ianto. “You should rest too. You have worked harder than any.”
“We will,” Jack assured her. “But not until the sun rises. We have our own preparations to make for the coming days, and besides, we need less sleep than most people.”
Slowly the crowd broke up, some drifting away to their own homes while others returned to the TARDIS to make sure everyone had heard the news of Harvester’s destruction.
Ianto turned to Jack. “And what exactly is it we need to do for the rest of the night?”
“Walk around the farms, to make sure Harvester doesn’t pop up anywhere else. Chances are good that he won’t, but there’s still just under six hours until sunrise. A lot can happen in that time.”
“I suppose you’re right. Before we start though, I’m going to make some more coffee.”
“I was going to suggest that.”
“Good, because if we’re going to be wandering the fields for the next few hours, we’ll need refuelling.”
OoOoOoO
Everywhere remained peaceful as Jack and Ianto strolled unhurriedly around the fields. A few sentries remained, guarding the occupied farms, trading places with others every couple of hours so they’d all get at least some sleep. The two immortals were greeted warmly by everyone they met, and the night, although cool, remained clear and dry, scattered stars just visible overhead despite the light of the three moons. The heavy sense of dread that had hung over the community at the start of the night was gone.
As the moons at last set, and the horizon began to lighten with the approach of dawn, the two men made their way slowly back into town, looking forward to a good breakfast before work began. Lights were already on in the farmhouses they passed, and they could smell the aromas of cooking as the morning meal was being prepared. Soon, farmers and their workers would be out in the fields, ready to begin the harvest, and for the next few days, or even weeks, that would take precedence over most other tasks.
OoOoOoO
Harvest time was certainly busy, but the farmworkers had plenty of help. Every able-bodied person in the settlement was busy either bringing the crops in, tending the herds, or helping to repair the buildings on the two farms Harvester had visited.
Ianto and Jack were busy with another task, helped by bands of children old enough to behave responsibly, but too young to help in the fields, and a few adults, most of them elderly, injured, or disabled in some way, who wanted to be doing something useful.
Each field was scanned for meteor debris, and the position of each piece marked. Where possible, they were dug up and transported to a spot outside of town where, each evening, with a few shots from a more powerful version of the pulse guns designed for this specific purpose, the energy matrix within them was burned out.
The largest fragments, the ones a metre or more in diameter, had to be left where they were, at least for now, although they were treated the same way, ensuring that if any of them retained traces of the energy creature that had become Harvester, they would be neutralised.
From the farmland, they continued outwards, checking the valley from one end to the other, including the surrounding hills, until they were certain every last fragment small enough to be moved had been collected. Then they were loaded aboard the TARDIS and dumped on an uninhabited moon orbiting a lifeless planet.
Perhaps someday the larger pieces might be unearthed, broken up, and taken away, but for the moment that wasn’t practical, since it would involve digging up large areas of pasture and arable land, a project both time-consuming and labour-intensive.
OoOoOoO
Everyone turned out for the celebration after the last crops were gathered and stored for the winter. The town square would have been nowhere near big enough for all the tables laden with food, the casks of beer and wine, cooking pits, bonfires, and space for dancing, so the festival was held in a wide, sloping meadow beyond the town, which was too rocky for farming and was mainly used as summer grazing for sheep and goats.
There was music, singing, dancing, laughter, speeches, more than enough food for everyone to eat their fill, and enough alcohol to make everyone feel mellow. Four couples got married, seven more renewed their vows, and Bessica, despite her age, insisted on dancing with both Jack and Ianto. They lifted her off her feet and twirled her around the dance floor until she was giddy and laughing like the young girl she had once been, declaring that she hadn’t had so much fun since her courting days.
Tanisa danced with both men as well, but so did at least half the women and men of the settlement, or so it seemed, including whole groups of giggling children, from toddlers who could barely stand, to blushing youths experiencing their first crushes. Everyone wanted a chance to show their gratitude to the two men who had changed their lives so profoundly. Never again would they have to fear the coming of the monster that had threatened the settlement’s very existence.
The celebrations continued all night, with groups of revellers disappearing from time to time into the tents that surrounded the meadow for a nap, or to indulge in more adult activities with their partner, or partners, of choice.
At one end of the meadow, the TARDIS presided over everything, standing tall and straight, an immense tree with widespread branches clothed in shimmering golden leaves, and a trunk so vast that it took a good ten minutes to walk right around her. A number of swinging seats hung from her lower branches, and her door was wide open so anyone who wanted could sit inside in her comfortable armchairs and still watch the festivities.
Finally, as the sun came up over the distant horizon, people started to drift away, farmers to tend their herds, parents to put sleepy children to bed, others going to their own beds to sleep the morning away. They carried with them chairs, rugs, baskets of leftover food, half empty jugs of beer, musical instruments, discarded shoes, shawls, and coats that would find their way back to their owners over the next few days…
“What will you do now?” Tanisa asked as she, Lorrenz, Bessica, and twenty or so other people sat around the console room drinking coffee and tea. “Will you stay for the winter?”
Ianto shook his head. “It’s tempting, but no, it’s time for us to check in on some of our other friends. But we’ll be back in the spring to help negotiate a treaty between yourselves and the natives, whatever they call themselves. I don’t think that will be too difficult now that Harvester is gone. I have a feeling that, despite the obvious physical differences, you have more in common than you might think.”
“We shall look forward to your return.” Tanisa smiled. “Old though I am, I feel as though my life has only just begun. Our world seems filled with more possibilities than I ever imagined, and it is all thanks to you.”
Jack shook his head. “Nothing we did would have been possible if you and your people hadn’t been strong enough and brave enough to keep going despite all your losses. You could have given up, stopped trying, but you never did.”
From now on, Bounteous would live up to its name, the colony would grow and flourish in peace and safety. Tanisa was right; this was just the beginning.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, OCs.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1908
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: With Harvester gone, it’s time for the people of Bounteous to celebrate their freedom.
Written For: spook_me 2024, using Torchwood, Pumpkinhead / Jack O' Lantern.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my Through Time and Space ‘verse.
Previous Part
By the time they reached the town’s central square, the town elders and many of the townsfolk were there waiting for them. Tanisa came towards them, smiling, reaching to clasp their hands.
“It is true? Harvester is destroyed?”
Ianto nodded. “It looks that way, but there’s a lot still to be done before we can be certain he won’t return. I think that can wait until tomorrow though, as long as the farm families and workers remain where they are for the rest of the night. Just as a precaution. I doubt that they’d want to move back to their homes in the middle of the night anyway.”
“Whatever must be done, we will gladly do, to ensure our safety.”
“You won’t be doing it alone, we’ll all work together on this,” Jack assured the gathered people. “And on any necessary repairs. Harvester wasn’t too happy about not having any people or animals to drain of life. He took his frustration out on quite a few buildings.”
“Damage can be repaired; lives are of far greater importance, and you have saved many this night,” Lorrenz Makerra said, striding forward to clap both men on the shoulder. “You have our gratitude, insignificant as that might be, and you will always be welcome on Bounteous. Our home is yours, for however long you choose to stay, both now and in the future, should you ever choose to return.”
“Thank you. That means a great deal to us.” Ianto smiled and Jack nodded agreement.
“Tomorrow, after all our people have returned to their homes, the harvest must begin, but once the crops are safely in, we will hold a great celebration, the greatest our people have ever known, in gratitude that we are free at last from the menace that has taken so much from us since we first arrived here. But anyone who is not needed in the fields will be available to you for whatever tasks must be carried out to ensure our safety. You will have no shortage of willing helpers.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
The crowds parted as Bessica Sullmon hobbled slowly through, leaning on a cane made of a gnarled and smoothly polished branch from one of the native trees. Ianto stepped forward quickly to kneel before the tiny, frail form.
“Wise one.”
She leaned down to kiss his forehead, smiling, her eyes almost disappearing among her wrinkles. “You have done us a great service, child. The threat that ha hung over us for our entire lives is gone from this place.” She looked deeply into his eyes and chuckled. “Although why I should call you child when you are at least thrice my age, I do not know. The years have treated you and your man with far greater kindness than they treat the rest of us, and yet I would not share your burden for any price. To live so many lifetimes…” She shook her head. “That would be a curse as well as a blessing. But I see you already know that, and have made peace with your fate.”
“We have,” Ianto agreed.
“The path ahead of you both is a long one, and it will not be without hardship at times, but the good times will far outweigh the bad as long as you follow your hearts.” Bessica smiled around at the crowds. “I am glad I lived to see this moment. Now that it is safe to do so, I believe I will spend the rest of this night in my own bed. These old bones were not designed to sit up all night, no matter how comfortable the chair.”
Tanisa chuckled. “Then I will escort you before I return to my own home. Tomorrow will be a busy day.” She smiled at Jack and Ianto. “You should rest too. You have worked harder than any.”
“We will,” Jack assured her. “But not until the sun rises. We have our own preparations to make for the coming days, and besides, we need less sleep than most people.”
Slowly the crowd broke up, some drifting away to their own homes while others returned to the TARDIS to make sure everyone had heard the news of Harvester’s destruction.
Ianto turned to Jack. “And what exactly is it we need to do for the rest of the night?”
“Walk around the farms, to make sure Harvester doesn’t pop up anywhere else. Chances are good that he won’t, but there’s still just under six hours until sunrise. A lot can happen in that time.”
“I suppose you’re right. Before we start though, I’m going to make some more coffee.”
“I was going to suggest that.”
“Good, because if we’re going to be wandering the fields for the next few hours, we’ll need refuelling.”
OoOoOoO
Everywhere remained peaceful as Jack and Ianto strolled unhurriedly around the fields. A few sentries remained, guarding the occupied farms, trading places with others every couple of hours so they’d all get at least some sleep. The two immortals were greeted warmly by everyone they met, and the night, although cool, remained clear and dry, scattered stars just visible overhead despite the light of the three moons. The heavy sense of dread that had hung over the community at the start of the night was gone.
As the moons at last set, and the horizon began to lighten with the approach of dawn, the two men made their way slowly back into town, looking forward to a good breakfast before work began. Lights were already on in the farmhouses they passed, and they could smell the aromas of cooking as the morning meal was being prepared. Soon, farmers and their workers would be out in the fields, ready to begin the harvest, and for the next few days, or even weeks, that would take precedence over most other tasks.
OoOoOoO
Harvest time was certainly busy, but the farmworkers had plenty of help. Every able-bodied person in the settlement was busy either bringing the crops in, tending the herds, or helping to repair the buildings on the two farms Harvester had visited.
Ianto and Jack were busy with another task, helped by bands of children old enough to behave responsibly, but too young to help in the fields, and a few adults, most of them elderly, injured, or disabled in some way, who wanted to be doing something useful.
Each field was scanned for meteor debris, and the position of each piece marked. Where possible, they were dug up and transported to a spot outside of town where, each evening, with a few shots from a more powerful version of the pulse guns designed for this specific purpose, the energy matrix within them was burned out.
The largest fragments, the ones a metre or more in diameter, had to be left where they were, at least for now, although they were treated the same way, ensuring that if any of them retained traces of the energy creature that had become Harvester, they would be neutralised.
From the farmland, they continued outwards, checking the valley from one end to the other, including the surrounding hills, until they were certain every last fragment small enough to be moved had been collected. Then they were loaded aboard the TARDIS and dumped on an uninhabited moon orbiting a lifeless planet.
Perhaps someday the larger pieces might be unearthed, broken up, and taken away, but for the moment that wasn’t practical, since it would involve digging up large areas of pasture and arable land, a project both time-consuming and labour-intensive.
OoOoOoO
Everyone turned out for the celebration after the last crops were gathered and stored for the winter. The town square would have been nowhere near big enough for all the tables laden with food, the casks of beer and wine, cooking pits, bonfires, and space for dancing, so the festival was held in a wide, sloping meadow beyond the town, which was too rocky for farming and was mainly used as summer grazing for sheep and goats.
There was music, singing, dancing, laughter, speeches, more than enough food for everyone to eat their fill, and enough alcohol to make everyone feel mellow. Four couples got married, seven more renewed their vows, and Bessica, despite her age, insisted on dancing with both Jack and Ianto. They lifted her off her feet and twirled her around the dance floor until she was giddy and laughing like the young girl she had once been, declaring that she hadn’t had so much fun since her courting days.
Tanisa danced with both men as well, but so did at least half the women and men of the settlement, or so it seemed, including whole groups of giggling children, from toddlers who could barely stand, to blushing youths experiencing their first crushes. Everyone wanted a chance to show their gratitude to the two men who had changed their lives so profoundly. Never again would they have to fear the coming of the monster that had threatened the settlement’s very existence.
The celebrations continued all night, with groups of revellers disappearing from time to time into the tents that surrounded the meadow for a nap, or to indulge in more adult activities with their partner, or partners, of choice.
At one end of the meadow, the TARDIS presided over everything, standing tall and straight, an immense tree with widespread branches clothed in shimmering golden leaves, and a trunk so vast that it took a good ten minutes to walk right around her. A number of swinging seats hung from her lower branches, and her door was wide open so anyone who wanted could sit inside in her comfortable armchairs and still watch the festivities.
Finally, as the sun came up over the distant horizon, people started to drift away, farmers to tend their herds, parents to put sleepy children to bed, others going to their own beds to sleep the morning away. They carried with them chairs, rugs, baskets of leftover food, half empty jugs of beer, musical instruments, discarded shoes, shawls, and coats that would find their way back to their owners over the next few days…
“What will you do now?” Tanisa asked as she, Lorrenz, Bessica, and twenty or so other people sat around the console room drinking coffee and tea. “Will you stay for the winter?”
Ianto shook his head. “It’s tempting, but no, it’s time for us to check in on some of our other friends. But we’ll be back in the spring to help negotiate a treaty between yourselves and the natives, whatever they call themselves. I don’t think that will be too difficult now that Harvester is gone. I have a feeling that, despite the obvious physical differences, you have more in common than you might think.”
“We shall look forward to your return.” Tanisa smiled. “Old though I am, I feel as though my life has only just begun. Our world seems filled with more possibilities than I ever imagined, and it is all thanks to you.”
Jack shook his head. “Nothing we did would have been possible if you and your people hadn’t been strong enough and brave enough to keep going despite all your losses. You could have given up, stopped trying, but you never did.”
From now on, Bounteous would live up to its name, the colony would grow and flourish in peace and safety. Tanisa was right; this was just the beginning.
The End