Series 2, Episode 3 - Last Man Standing
From: Harper, Owen
To: Jack
Subject: Re: Tomorrow
Date: Tuesday 29th January 2008
Jack wrote:
> Are we all set up for tomorrow?
Oh, is it that time of year already? I had no idea, it's not like Tosh mentions it EVERY FIVE MINUTES. And with Gwen off today I'm getting the full force of it. Can't blame the girl though.
Yep, we're good to go. I've put Tommy on the slow thaw so he should be nicely warmed up by tomorrow morning. His body seems to be holding up well under the cycle (what is this, his 90th time? We should have a party) and I'm hoping we'll see that the damage done by that ham-fisted idiot who did my job in the 1950s has totally gone with no permanent effects (which is pretty much a miracle).
Let's hope for a quiet night, cos we can't put this off now we've started. Do you want me to stop here and keep an eye on him?
Owen
***************
From: Sato, Toshiko
To: Ianto
Subject: Clothes for Tommy
Date: Tuesday 29th January 2008
I had a glance in the fridge - looks like you're putting on a great spread tomorrow morning! Can't wait!
Did you get Tommy some clothes? If not I could come into town with you at lunch and help pick them out. Nothing too outrageous, maybe something a bit retro like a tank top and tie? Please don't do what Owen suggested, telling Tommy that we all wear silver jumpsuits now would not be funny. Not that Tommy would fall for it anyway.
Toshiko
**************
CAPTAIN'S BLOG (BBC AMERICA)
Ongoing Archive Notes
Torchwood 3
Volume 73, Week 3
Alien activity: Thankfully, none. Must be an alien public holiday.
Alien technology: The alien cryogenics. It was that time of year again, to defrost Tommy Brockless and make sure all his bits and pieces still worked. Unfortunately, it was also time to send him off on his mission. We’d all convinced ourselves that it was way off in the future, hoping we wouldn’t have to be the ones to send him to his fate.
Rift activity: Hole in time opened up, and 1918 and the present day started overlapping. Sending Tommy back with the Rift Manipulator closed everything up again. Rift now seems fairly stable.
Security: No security issues to report. In many ways, it was a quiet week - when it looked like Tommy wasn’t going to use the Rift Manipulator, things got a bit hairy, but mostly it was quiet. Odd, how the quiet, calm moments can be the most devastating sometimes.
Staff: Toshiko became very close to Tommy on his final day, especially when we found out he was going back the next morning. It’s not always a good idea to do that, when you know it’s only for a day, and the other person is due to die, but I can’t exactly pretend to be the sensible one here. Tosh saw what happened with the real Captain Jack, so there was no way I could - or would - try and stop her. I know exactly how she feels.
Other Staff issues: Ianto and I made some progress, talked things through. What happened with Tommy got to us all. I know it got to Gerald and Harriet, too, back then, considering what they went through to try and make up for it - but that’s another story for another day.
Capt. Jack Harkness.
* * * * * *
FILES, REPORTS, MISC.
Torchwood 1918
This picture, taken in 1918, shows the Torchwood Cardiff team which tackled the Subterranean Menace (incident #1918/056) amongst other cases.
GERALD CARTER
Carter trained in military intelligence, but joined Torchwood at the age of 24. One of his earliest missions was the Centurian Incident of New Year’s Eve 1899, in Cardiff. During the months of clean-up that followed, he saw much of the city and became an early supporter of the Rift Theory. He began to lobby for a transfer to Torchwood Cardiff, but didn’t get his chance until the 1907 schism, after which he was controversially placed in command of the team. He presided over a very different Torchwood, and under his leadership the team made great strides. However, he held himself personally responsible for the death of Harriet Derbyshire and retired from active service soon afterwards, although he remained on-staff as a valued consultant until his death in 1942.
HARRIET DERBYSHIRE
The most renowned member of the team, Derbyshire was recruited directly from Oxford. At that time, although women could attend lectures and sit examinations, they could not take degrees. Derbyshire often sat in on Physics lectures: she had been educating herself in the subject for years. A professor recognised her extraordinary aptitude and recommended her to Torchwood. She was stationed in Cardiff to study the time dilations caused by Rift activity, and her early notes on the subject remain the basis for how we understand it today. Tragically she was killed on active duty in 1919 at the age of 24, with her potential barely glimpsed (before her death, she was making notes for a paper which would have beaten Heisenberg to the Uncertainty Principle). She was awarded a posthumous degree when Oxford changed its regulations in 1920.
DOUGLAS CALDWELL
Hill was a Draughtsman in the Royal Engineers when he met Carter in 1908. He was instrumental in the recovery of the Z127 airship after it became ensnared in the Rift, and when war broke out Carter argued that Hill’s experience made him essential to the safety of the nation at home. He was transferred to Torchwood and stationed in Cardiff. He remained with Torchwood Cardiff until 1930, at which point he transferred to London to work in a research and development capacity. He is best known for his work on cloaking shields. He died in 1957.
LYDIA CHILDS
The group’s secretary was chosen by Carter from staff at Torchwood London, in part due to having been born and raised in the area, but Carter also referred to her ‘outstanding organisational qualities’ - she is said to have possessed a remarkable memory and eclectic knowledge which made her an invaluable resource. She died in 1941. Caldwell’s testimonials reveal that her contribution to the team was frequently under-estimated, often undertaking field work when other members were indisposed.
DR CHARLES QUINN
Quinn fell victim to an alien parasite at the age of 13 and was placed into quarantine by Torchwood. His life was saved by the work of the pioneering surgeon, Dr Jan Van Nellen, but it was necessary to keep him under observation for some years. His education was provided by Institute staff including Van Nellen, whose protégé Quinn became. Upon attaining his doctorate he was recruited to Torchwood Cardiff: during his time there he made several significant studies of alien anatomy. He later moved into a teaching role at Torchwood, but was killed in an air raid during the Second World War.
*************
Toshiko Sketch
************
Paradox Guide
*****************************************************************************************
Letter
No. 5 - Same old hole
17th November 1917
Dear Ellie,
Thank-you for your letter. I also had one from Jim & a parcel from Father in the same batch. Tell Father thank-you from me if you see him, I will be writing to him as well when I get some time, probably to-morrow, but the letter might get lost or take goodness knows how long to get there & he will worry that I haven’t had the parcel & make a fuss. Today we are back in the trenches after nine days away. I spent most of the time in the cafes looking for music & some better food. The postal order from your mother went towards some good meals which have helped to keep my spirits up. Tell her that and tell her thank-you from me. It was good to be away, there was little to do really but after these months I do not mind being bored as long as it is peaceful & I can get some rest.
The boredom of the trenches is the worst thing I have ever gone through & I am going through it again right now. All I want is to distract myself from the noise of the shelling but the work does not do it & there is nothing else to do, sometimes by the end of the day I am tired out but cannot sleep for the noise. Two of the boys told me they have seen shells packed with nails & I wish they had not told me that, I keep thinking of it & it makes me panic. The Germans seem to shell less when it rains so we pray for cloudbursts, us Manchester boys do not mind it.
It does help to write these letters though I almost feel you are not there any more, this has been going on so long I feel like I dreamed you & my life back there. Tell Charley he should not be in any hurry to get out here unless he wants to change places with me. We have all been saying that it is like Hell out here but I was amazed at what I saw on the way back to the Front, we passed a town that had been set on fire from end to end & nobody seemed to have a clue why. Just destruction for its own sake. I wonder what will be left by the time we have finished here.
Do not think I am downhearted though, it does no good so I am trying hard to keep smiling & I like to think you are not letting it get to you. Alf is here & he says hello.
Love to all
Tommy
************
Britsure Poster
**********
Identity Card
* * * * *
To: Jack
Subject: Re: Tomorrow
Date: Tuesday 29th January 2008
Jack wrote:
> Are we all set up for tomorrow?
Oh, is it that time of year already? I had no idea, it's not like Tosh mentions it EVERY FIVE MINUTES. And with Gwen off today I'm getting the full force of it. Can't blame the girl though.
Yep, we're good to go. I've put Tommy on the slow thaw so he should be nicely warmed up by tomorrow morning. His body seems to be holding up well under the cycle (what is this, his 90th time? We should have a party) and I'm hoping we'll see that the damage done by that ham-fisted idiot who did my job in the 1950s has totally gone with no permanent effects (which is pretty much a miracle).
Let's hope for a quiet night, cos we can't put this off now we've started. Do you want me to stop here and keep an eye on him?
Owen
***************
From: Sato, Toshiko
To: Ianto
Subject: Clothes for Tommy
Date: Tuesday 29th January 2008
I had a glance in the fridge - looks like you're putting on a great spread tomorrow morning! Can't wait!
Did you get Tommy some clothes? If not I could come into town with you at lunch and help pick them out. Nothing too outrageous, maybe something a bit retro like a tank top and tie? Please don't do what Owen suggested, telling Tommy that we all wear silver jumpsuits now would not be funny. Not that Tommy would fall for it anyway.
Toshiko
**************
CAPTAIN'S BLOG (BBC AMERICA)
Ongoing Archive Notes
Torchwood 3
Volume 73, Week 3
Alien activity: Thankfully, none. Must be an alien public holiday.
Alien technology: The alien cryogenics. It was that time of year again, to defrost Tommy Brockless and make sure all his bits and pieces still worked. Unfortunately, it was also time to send him off on his mission. We’d all convinced ourselves that it was way off in the future, hoping we wouldn’t have to be the ones to send him to his fate.
Rift activity: Hole in time opened up, and 1918 and the present day started overlapping. Sending Tommy back with the Rift Manipulator closed everything up again. Rift now seems fairly stable.
Security: No security issues to report. In many ways, it was a quiet week - when it looked like Tommy wasn’t going to use the Rift Manipulator, things got a bit hairy, but mostly it was quiet. Odd, how the quiet, calm moments can be the most devastating sometimes.
Staff: Toshiko became very close to Tommy on his final day, especially when we found out he was going back the next morning. It’s not always a good idea to do that, when you know it’s only for a day, and the other person is due to die, but I can’t exactly pretend to be the sensible one here. Tosh saw what happened with the real Captain Jack, so there was no way I could - or would - try and stop her. I know exactly how she feels.
Other Staff issues: Ianto and I made some progress, talked things through. What happened with Tommy got to us all. I know it got to Gerald and Harriet, too, back then, considering what they went through to try and make up for it - but that’s another story for another day.
Capt. Jack Harkness.
* * * * * *
FILES, REPORTS, MISC.
Torchwood 1918
This picture, taken in 1918, shows the Torchwood Cardiff team which tackled the Subterranean Menace (incident #1918/056) amongst other cases.
GERALD CARTER
Carter trained in military intelligence, but joined Torchwood at the age of 24. One of his earliest missions was the Centurian Incident of New Year’s Eve 1899, in Cardiff. During the months of clean-up that followed, he saw much of the city and became an early supporter of the Rift Theory. He began to lobby for a transfer to Torchwood Cardiff, but didn’t get his chance until the 1907 schism, after which he was controversially placed in command of the team. He presided over a very different Torchwood, and under his leadership the team made great strides. However, he held himself personally responsible for the death of Harriet Derbyshire and retired from active service soon afterwards, although he remained on-staff as a valued consultant until his death in 1942.
HARRIET DERBYSHIRE
The most renowned member of the team, Derbyshire was recruited directly from Oxford. At that time, although women could attend lectures and sit examinations, they could not take degrees. Derbyshire often sat in on Physics lectures: she had been educating herself in the subject for years. A professor recognised her extraordinary aptitude and recommended her to Torchwood. She was stationed in Cardiff to study the time dilations caused by Rift activity, and her early notes on the subject remain the basis for how we understand it today. Tragically she was killed on active duty in 1919 at the age of 24, with her potential barely glimpsed (before her death, she was making notes for a paper which would have beaten Heisenberg to the Uncertainty Principle). She was awarded a posthumous degree when Oxford changed its regulations in 1920.
DOUGLAS CALDWELL
Hill was a Draughtsman in the Royal Engineers when he met Carter in 1908. He was instrumental in the recovery of the Z127 airship after it became ensnared in the Rift, and when war broke out Carter argued that Hill’s experience made him essential to the safety of the nation at home. He was transferred to Torchwood and stationed in Cardiff. He remained with Torchwood Cardiff until 1930, at which point he transferred to London to work in a research and development capacity. He is best known for his work on cloaking shields. He died in 1957.
LYDIA CHILDS
The group’s secretary was chosen by Carter from staff at Torchwood London, in part due to having been born and raised in the area, but Carter also referred to her ‘outstanding organisational qualities’ - she is said to have possessed a remarkable memory and eclectic knowledge which made her an invaluable resource. She died in 1941. Caldwell’s testimonials reveal that her contribution to the team was frequently under-estimated, often undertaking field work when other members were indisposed.
DR CHARLES QUINN
Quinn fell victim to an alien parasite at the age of 13 and was placed into quarantine by Torchwood. His life was saved by the work of the pioneering surgeon, Dr Jan Van Nellen, but it was necessary to keep him under observation for some years. His education was provided by Institute staff including Van Nellen, whose protégé Quinn became. Upon attaining his doctorate he was recruited to Torchwood Cardiff: during his time there he made several significant studies of alien anatomy. He later moved into a teaching role at Torchwood, but was killed in an air raid during the Second World War.
*************
Toshiko Sketch
************
Paradox Guide
*****************************************************************************************
Letter
No. 5 - Same old hole
17th November 1917
Dear Ellie,
Thank-you for your letter. I also had one from Jim & a parcel from Father in the same batch. Tell Father thank-you from me if you see him, I will be writing to him as well when I get some time, probably to-morrow, but the letter might get lost or take goodness knows how long to get there & he will worry that I haven’t had the parcel & make a fuss. Today we are back in the trenches after nine days away. I spent most of the time in the cafes looking for music & some better food. The postal order from your mother went towards some good meals which have helped to keep my spirits up. Tell her that and tell her thank-you from me. It was good to be away, there was little to do really but after these months I do not mind being bored as long as it is peaceful & I can get some rest.
The boredom of the trenches is the worst thing I have ever gone through & I am going through it again right now. All I want is to distract myself from the noise of the shelling but the work does not do it & there is nothing else to do, sometimes by the end of the day I am tired out but cannot sleep for the noise. Two of the boys told me they have seen shells packed with nails & I wish they had not told me that, I keep thinking of it & it makes me panic. The Germans seem to shell less when it rains so we pray for cloudbursts, us Manchester boys do not mind it.
It does help to write these letters though I almost feel you are not there any more, this has been going on so long I feel like I dreamed you & my life back there. Tell Charley he should not be in any hurry to get out here unless he wants to change places with me. We have all been saying that it is like Hell out here but I was amazed at what I saw on the way back to the Front, we passed a town that had been set on fire from end to end & nobody seemed to have a clue why. Just destruction for its own sake. I wonder what will be left by the time we have finished here.
Do not think I am downhearted though, it does no good so I am trying hard to keep smiling & I like to think you are not letting it get to you. Alf is here & he says hello.
Love to all
Tommy
************
Britsure Poster
**********
Identity Card
* * * * *