Gwen's Golem
Fandom: Torchwood (shock, shock, horror, horror...)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 622
Summary: Gwen and Tosh are out in the middle of the country, investigating some strange geological disturbances...
Prompt: 053. Earth.
Gwen's Golem
Gwen trailed three steps behind Tosh, stopping occasionally as Tosh paused to check her scanner.
“Found out anything new about Jack?” Tosh asked casually after a few minutes.
Gwen pretended to watch something of great interest at the other end of the field, shrugging and saying, “Not much. Why do you ask?”
Tosh shot her a quick smile, saying, “He gave you the obligatory gun-training session last night. He’s always a little more free with his secrets then. Among other things.”
Gwen had the decency to blush faintly, though she still looked a little indignant at the idea that Tosh (and the others) knew precisely what had happened. After a brief pause, she said, “He did say something about not sleeping.”
Looking interested, Tosh was midway through asking, “As in nightmares, or insomnia?” when her scanner went off frantically and a section of ground some six feet in front of them erupted skywards with a roar.
“That would be what we’re looking for,” Tosh said thoughtfully, looking up at the fifteen-foot humanoid (which seemed to be made from stones and earth) before them, while Gwen took two steps backwards, then stopped because Tosh wasn’t following.
The humanoid swung one giant fist down, smashing it into the ground less than a foot in front of Toshiko, sinking it into the turf and making the grass ripple from the aftershock. Tosh ignored it, calmly making a note of the readings on the scanner as the thing pulled its fist back and swung again, making another small crater in the field, some eight inches to the side of the first one.
“Tosh!” Gwen shrieked. “Don’t just stand there!”
“Why not?” Tosh asked in surprise, glancing back at her. “It’s not going to hurt me.”
“It’s… not?” repeated Gwen nervously, as the humanoid, red eyes glowing in its craggy, stone-like face, raised both hands and slammed them into the ground either side of Tosh.
Tosh frowned at the thing, and told Gwen, “No, it won’t. Its primary instruction is not to cause harm to living beings.”
“Its instruction?” Gwen said. “It’s a machine?”
“Sort of,” Tosh allowed, snapping her fingers at the creature and watching it straighten to its full height, overlong arms dangling by its sides. “It’s a golem. A bit like a robot made of clay. The aliens who came here and made them thousands of years ago were keen on recycling.”
“And you’ve dealt with these things before,” Gwen said, edging forward a little and hoping that Tosh’s answer was in the affirmative.
“We’ve got one back in the Hub, actually,” Tosh said cheerfully, going to one side to walk around the golem and inspect it, inadvertently leaving Gwen alone in front of it, transfixed by its red glare. “Ours is quite friendly,” Tosh continued, “as long as you keep it busy. If they’re left to their own devices for too long they try to go back to the clay they came from. And they get upset when they can’t do that.”
The golem blinked.
Gwen hastily backed off again, saying, “When you say we have one in the Hub, you mean…”
“It’s down in the lower archives,” Tosh said, tapping the golem’s arm and listening to the chink to check its condition. “Helps Ianto with the heavy lifting and things. Jack guessed that’s what was causing the geological disturbances out here. We’re to bring it back.”
Gwen nodded wordlessly, still staring with her eyes a little too wide.
“You’d better get used to them,” Tosh told her in amusement. “From the looks of things this one’s a female version of ours. If we’re not careful we’re going to end up with lots of little golems.”
Gwen could have sworn the golem smiled.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 622
Summary: Gwen and Tosh are out in the middle of the country, investigating some strange geological disturbances...
Prompt: 053. Earth.
Gwen's Golem
Gwen trailed three steps behind Tosh, stopping occasionally as Tosh paused to check her scanner.
“Found out anything new about Jack?” Tosh asked casually after a few minutes.
Gwen pretended to watch something of great interest at the other end of the field, shrugging and saying, “Not much. Why do you ask?”
Tosh shot her a quick smile, saying, “He gave you the obligatory gun-training session last night. He’s always a little more free with his secrets then. Among other things.”
Gwen had the decency to blush faintly, though she still looked a little indignant at the idea that Tosh (and the others) knew precisely what had happened. After a brief pause, she said, “He did say something about not sleeping.”
Looking interested, Tosh was midway through asking, “As in nightmares, or insomnia?” when her scanner went off frantically and a section of ground some six feet in front of them erupted skywards with a roar.
“That would be what we’re looking for,” Tosh said thoughtfully, looking up at the fifteen-foot humanoid (which seemed to be made from stones and earth) before them, while Gwen took two steps backwards, then stopped because Tosh wasn’t following.
The humanoid swung one giant fist down, smashing it into the ground less than a foot in front of Toshiko, sinking it into the turf and making the grass ripple from the aftershock. Tosh ignored it, calmly making a note of the readings on the scanner as the thing pulled its fist back and swung again, making another small crater in the field, some eight inches to the side of the first one.
“Tosh!” Gwen shrieked. “Don’t just stand there!”
“Why not?” Tosh asked in surprise, glancing back at her. “It’s not going to hurt me.”
“It’s… not?” repeated Gwen nervously, as the humanoid, red eyes glowing in its craggy, stone-like face, raised both hands and slammed them into the ground either side of Tosh.
Tosh frowned at the thing, and told Gwen, “No, it won’t. Its primary instruction is not to cause harm to living beings.”
“Its instruction?” Gwen said. “It’s a machine?”
“Sort of,” Tosh allowed, snapping her fingers at the creature and watching it straighten to its full height, overlong arms dangling by its sides. “It’s a golem. A bit like a robot made of clay. The aliens who came here and made them thousands of years ago were keen on recycling.”
“And you’ve dealt with these things before,” Gwen said, edging forward a little and hoping that Tosh’s answer was in the affirmative.
“We’ve got one back in the Hub, actually,” Tosh said cheerfully, going to one side to walk around the golem and inspect it, inadvertently leaving Gwen alone in front of it, transfixed by its red glare. “Ours is quite friendly,” Tosh continued, “as long as you keep it busy. If they’re left to their own devices for too long they try to go back to the clay they came from. And they get upset when they can’t do that.”
The golem blinked.
Gwen hastily backed off again, saying, “When you say we have one in the Hub, you mean…”
“It’s down in the lower archives,” Tosh said, tapping the golem’s arm and listening to the chink to check its condition. “Helps Ianto with the heavy lifting and things. Jack guessed that’s what was causing the geological disturbances out here. We’re to bring it back.”
Gwen nodded wordlessly, still staring with her eyes a little too wide.
“You’d better get used to them,” Tosh told her in amusement. “From the looks of things this one’s a female version of ours. If we’re not careful we’re going to end up with lots of little golems.”
Gwen could have sworn the golem smiled.