Torchwood/Dr Who - fic - The Torchwood Girls, Part 8, Jack, Joan Redfern, OCs, Nine, Rose, PG
Title - The Torchwood Girls, Part 8 (final version)
Author - laurab1
Characters/Pairings - Jack, Joan Redfern, OCs, Nine/Rose/Jack/TARDIS
Rating - PG
Length - approx 1650 words
Spoilers - TW: general series, 1.12 CJH, DW: to 3.11-13
Summary - He’s had a plan since the beginning of the century, and the last pieces of it are now in place. As with the country, the women will keep Torchwood going.
Disclaimer: alas, none of these people are mine
Feedback is loved and appreciated :) Enjoy!
Previous parts:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7
The Torchwood Girls
by Laura
Part 8
Meanwhile, back upstairs, the nine other women have been split between Jack's team. Penelope and two more doctors are with Andrew and Joan, in the medical lab, examining some preserved aliens. Jennifer and three mathematics students are with Michael and Simon, examining the Metazonican star in greater detail. The two engineering students are with Ioan, looking at the differential analyser.
Jack and his six women eventually return upstairs, chatting among themselves. He begins rounding everyone up, asking them to come back to the boardroom. Once everyone is assembled, Jack says, "Ladies, thank you for your time. We'll bring you in some lunch, shortly, and leave you to talk among yourselves." With that, he leads his team out of the room. "My office, Andrew, Simon and Joan. Michael and Ioan, take in the food, then come on up."
***
"Who are we employing, then?" Jack asks, and then takes a bite of his sandwich. "Who said the right thing, asked the right question? Did anyone throw up at the sight of the aliens?"
"Dr Penelope White is a very smart woman, Jack," Andrew says. "She came up with a couple of ideas about the biology of the aliens we showed them that even I hadn't considered."
Jack nods. "Good, good."
"Unfortunately, one of her colleagues was a little unwell," Joan adds, and Jack winces. "I dealt with the situation, though. One of those bright green pills from Draxan and a glass of water, and she felt much better."
She still refuses to say Retcon, and he really can't blame her. "Good work, Joan," Jack compliments her. "Ioan, how did the engineers get on with the differential analyser?" His machinery expert has a rather grim expression. "That bad, huh?"
"They really didn't understand it all, Jack. I haven't got a bloody clue how either of them managed to get into Imperial."
"Money talks, Ioan. Always has, always will." Even in the fifty-first century. "Anyway, Michael, Simon, what happened with the scapesono?"
"One of the LSE students saw all the patterns in the buttons practically immediately," Michael explains.
"Great! Who was that?" Jack asks.
"Amy Rhodes," Simon replies. "She's exceptionally clever, Jack. We then showed her the untranslated transcript of the conversation we had with those shape-shifters you won't name, and she could see the maths in that language as well."
Those shape-shifters had made him, partly through his own actions, lose his child. Of course he wasn't going to acknowledge them. "That's two, then. Joan and I hired Jennifer Porter and Eleanor Smythe on the spot, didn't we?" Jack looks at Joan.
"Yes," she replies. "We gave them non-existent jobs, in non-existent companies."
"I'll make a con-woman of you yet, Joan Redfern," Jack chuckles.
"I believe that has already happened, Captain." Her tone is serious.
"Yeah," Jack says, equally darkly, before putting his business face back on. "Michael, Ioan, go back to the boardroom and take orders for coffee and tea. Then I want you to give Retcon to everyone except Eleanor, Jennifer, Penelope and Amy. I'll call those four on Monday to tell them they're hired. Understood, people?"
They all reply with a yes or a nod. "Just one thing, though, Jack," Andrew asks, "Are you sure there's going to be enough work to go round?"
"Is there ever not?" Jack replies, knowing he really can't keep all these secrets for very much longer. The war is three weeks away, and he fully expects that all of his men will volunteer, and he'll lose them permanently to German shells, in a muddy European field.
But he has a plan. He's had a plan in place since the beginning of the century, when Germany started making threatening noises, and the last pieces of it are now good to go. As with the country, the women will keep Torchwood going.
***
The following Monday, the last Jack call makes is to Amy Rhodes.
"Hello?"
"Amy, this is Captain Jack Harkness. I'm calling to offer you a job. You're a clever woman; we want you to come and work for us at Torchwood." There's silence on the other end of the line. "Amy?" Jack prompts.
"Really?" she asks.
Jack laughs a little. "Yes, really. C'mon, then, do you wanna help save the world and play with alien tech or not?"
"I would love to, Captain. When do I start?"
"In a few weeks' time. I look forward to having you on my team."
"I look forward to being on your team, Captain."
Oh, she's good. "Right answer. And call me Jack. See you soon, Amy."
"See you soon, Jack."
***
Two weeks later, the chain reaction begins.
The Great War starts on July the 28th 1914 when Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This is followed by Germany declaring war on Russia, and then France.
On August the 4th, Britain declares war on Germany, after it invades Belgium. That afternoon, Jack pours six glasses of whisky, takes the journal from a desk drawer and summons everyone to his office. Taking a deep breath, he begins, "We're at war, people."
"I think we realise that, Jack," Andrew says.
Jack takes a sip of his whisky. "Yeah. And you're the first one I'm gonna lose, Andrew. The call's already been made for doctors. I'll be volunteering for the RFC. If you want, you men can forget about the aliens for a while, on concentrate on enemies closer to home." He takes another sip of his drink. "That's why I hired Joan, and the rest of the women. Joan's gonna be my second in command."
"How long have you been planning this, Jack?" Michael asks.
"Too long, Michael. Longer than anyone should have to plan anything. Before..." He can't finish the thought. "There's a hell of a lot I need to tell all of you." Opening a drawer, Jack pulls out the Journal of Impossible Things, and places the book on the desk. It's just as well he works for Torchwood; if he mentioned any of what he's going to talk about to... well, a Muggle, he'd be carted straight off to the recently opened Cardiff Mental Hospital. "First off, my name isn't Jack Harkness, but please don't ask me what it is, because I can't remember. It may even have been taken from me, I don't know. I was born in the fifty-first century, on one of the Earth colony planets, and I was the first person from my backwater little region, the Boeshane Peninsula, to get into the Time Agency.
"This thing on my wrist is a Vortex Manipulator. If you don't happen to have access to a time machine, it can be used to time travel. I woke up one day with two years of my life missing, so I left the Agency and became a conman."
He needs another sip of whisky before the next part.
"I spent a lot of time in the 1940s --" Jack cuts himself off, before he says too much. He can't tell them the rest, so he just says it to himself, to at least acknowledge what he did: I took my name from the lists of dead servicemen. And then, out loud again: "1941 was when I met the Doctor."
As expected, the men talk all over each other. There's the odd mention of "enemy".
"Be quiet, gentlemen!" Joan orders, and is instantly obeyed. "Please, let Jack explain." She sips her whisky.
"Thank you." Jack then continues, "The con I was running went wrong. The Doctor and his friend, Rose, they fixed my mistake, saved my life. Then I fell in love with the two of them, and the Doctor's time and space ship, the TARDIS." Picking up the journal, he finds the pages about the TARDIS and shows his team. "This is her; temperamental old thing that doesn't work properly, stuck as a police call box from the 1950s, because her chameleon circuit's broken. But she's beautiful, and alive." Jack has to swipe at his eyes, take another sip of whisky.
"How can a ship be alive?" Simon asks.
"When she's grown, like a plant."
"How did you end up here, Jack?" Ioan says.
"I'm getting to that. In the far future, we wound up fighting these enemies that were supposed have been destroyed, but somehow they'd survived. And they wanted to turn everyone on Earth into them.
"The Doctor sent Rose away, to keep her safe. But she came back, the headstrong girl. I came back from the dead for the very first time, heard the TARDIS' engines, but I was only able to see the ship dematerialise.
"So there I was, stuck on a space station, all on my own. Used my Vortex Manipulator to try and catch up with them. I didn't, obviously. Arrived in 1869, instead, with the time travel and teleport functions both burnt out, because the journey was so long. I've been with Torchwood almost since the beginning. Cardiff is the best chance I have of meeting up with him again, however long I have to wait. Anyone wanna know anything else?"
"Is the Doctor really our enemy, Jack?" Andrew asks.
"No," Jack says, after a minute. "Yes, I'm angry with him about abandoning me. But I miss him, Rose and the TARDIS like hell. And how can someone who's saved this world and others so many times possibly be an enemy?"
They nod in agreement, and talk among themselves.
"Jack?" Joan whispers.
"Yeah?" Jack replies, equally quietly.
"Show the gentlemen the rest of the book, tell them about your friends. We need something pleasant, before the darkness sets in."
"Good idea, Joan. Thank you." Jack smiles at her, before flipping to Rose's pages, and pouring some more whisky for everyone.
"Guys," he begins, regaining their attention, "the aliens are gonna have wait to be dealt with, if any of them arrive; we're not doing any more work today. Let me tell you some more about my friends, Rose Tyler and the Doctor, instead."
Continue to the final version of Part 9
Author - laurab1
Characters/Pairings - Jack, Joan Redfern, OCs, Nine/Rose/Jack/TARDIS
Rating - PG
Length - approx 1650 words
Spoilers - TW: general series, 1.12 CJH, DW: to 3.11-13
Summary - He’s had a plan since the beginning of the century, and the last pieces of it are now in place. As with the country, the women will keep Torchwood going.
Disclaimer: alas, none of these people are mine
Feedback is loved and appreciated :) Enjoy!
Previous parts:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7
The Torchwood Girls
by Laura
Part 8
Meanwhile, back upstairs, the nine other women have been split between Jack's team. Penelope and two more doctors are with Andrew and Joan, in the medical lab, examining some preserved aliens. Jennifer and three mathematics students are with Michael and Simon, examining the Metazonican star in greater detail. The two engineering students are with Ioan, looking at the differential analyser.
Jack and his six women eventually return upstairs, chatting among themselves. He begins rounding everyone up, asking them to come back to the boardroom. Once everyone is assembled, Jack says, "Ladies, thank you for your time. We'll bring you in some lunch, shortly, and leave you to talk among yourselves." With that, he leads his team out of the room. "My office, Andrew, Simon and Joan. Michael and Ioan, take in the food, then come on up."
***
"Who are we employing, then?" Jack asks, and then takes a bite of his sandwich. "Who said the right thing, asked the right question? Did anyone throw up at the sight of the aliens?"
"Dr Penelope White is a very smart woman, Jack," Andrew says. "She came up with a couple of ideas about the biology of the aliens we showed them that even I hadn't considered."
Jack nods. "Good, good."
"Unfortunately, one of her colleagues was a little unwell," Joan adds, and Jack winces. "I dealt with the situation, though. One of those bright green pills from Draxan and a glass of water, and she felt much better."
She still refuses to say Retcon, and he really can't blame her. "Good work, Joan," Jack compliments her. "Ioan, how did the engineers get on with the differential analyser?" His machinery expert has a rather grim expression. "That bad, huh?"
"They really didn't understand it all, Jack. I haven't got a bloody clue how either of them managed to get into Imperial."
"Money talks, Ioan. Always has, always will." Even in the fifty-first century. "Anyway, Michael, Simon, what happened with the scapesono?"
"One of the LSE students saw all the patterns in the buttons practically immediately," Michael explains.
"Great! Who was that?" Jack asks.
"Amy Rhodes," Simon replies. "She's exceptionally clever, Jack. We then showed her the untranslated transcript of the conversation we had with those shape-shifters you won't name, and she could see the maths in that language as well."
Those shape-shifters had made him, partly through his own actions, lose his child. Of course he wasn't going to acknowledge them. "That's two, then. Joan and I hired Jennifer Porter and Eleanor Smythe on the spot, didn't we?" Jack looks at Joan.
"Yes," she replies. "We gave them non-existent jobs, in non-existent companies."
"I'll make a con-woman of you yet, Joan Redfern," Jack chuckles.
"I believe that has already happened, Captain." Her tone is serious.
"Yeah," Jack says, equally darkly, before putting his business face back on. "Michael, Ioan, go back to the boardroom and take orders for coffee and tea. Then I want you to give Retcon to everyone except Eleanor, Jennifer, Penelope and Amy. I'll call those four on Monday to tell them they're hired. Understood, people?"
They all reply with a yes or a nod. "Just one thing, though, Jack," Andrew asks, "Are you sure there's going to be enough work to go round?"
"Is there ever not?" Jack replies, knowing he really can't keep all these secrets for very much longer. The war is three weeks away, and he fully expects that all of his men will volunteer, and he'll lose them permanently to German shells, in a muddy European field.
But he has a plan. He's had a plan in place since the beginning of the century, when Germany started making threatening noises, and the last pieces of it are now good to go. As with the country, the women will keep Torchwood going.
***
The following Monday, the last Jack call makes is to Amy Rhodes.
"Hello?"
"Amy, this is Captain Jack Harkness. I'm calling to offer you a job. You're a clever woman; we want you to come and work for us at Torchwood." There's silence on the other end of the line. "Amy?" Jack prompts.
"Really?" she asks.
Jack laughs a little. "Yes, really. C'mon, then, do you wanna help save the world and play with alien tech or not?"
"I would love to, Captain. When do I start?"
"In a few weeks' time. I look forward to having you on my team."
"I look forward to being on your team, Captain."
Oh, she's good. "Right answer. And call me Jack. See you soon, Amy."
"See you soon, Jack."
***
Two weeks later, the chain reaction begins.
The Great War starts on July the 28th 1914 when Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This is followed by Germany declaring war on Russia, and then France.
On August the 4th, Britain declares war on Germany, after it invades Belgium. That afternoon, Jack pours six glasses of whisky, takes the journal from a desk drawer and summons everyone to his office. Taking a deep breath, he begins, "We're at war, people."
"I think we realise that, Jack," Andrew says.
Jack takes a sip of his whisky. "Yeah. And you're the first one I'm gonna lose, Andrew. The call's already been made for doctors. I'll be volunteering for the RFC. If you want, you men can forget about the aliens for a while, on concentrate on enemies closer to home." He takes another sip of his drink. "That's why I hired Joan, and the rest of the women. Joan's gonna be my second in command."
"How long have you been planning this, Jack?" Michael asks.
"Too long, Michael. Longer than anyone should have to plan anything. Before..." He can't finish the thought. "There's a hell of a lot I need to tell all of you." Opening a drawer, Jack pulls out the Journal of Impossible Things, and places the book on the desk. It's just as well he works for Torchwood; if he mentioned any of what he's going to talk about to... well, a Muggle, he'd be carted straight off to the recently opened Cardiff Mental Hospital. "First off, my name isn't Jack Harkness, but please don't ask me what it is, because I can't remember. It may even have been taken from me, I don't know. I was born in the fifty-first century, on one of the Earth colony planets, and I was the first person from my backwater little region, the Boeshane Peninsula, to get into the Time Agency.
"This thing on my wrist is a Vortex Manipulator. If you don't happen to have access to a time machine, it can be used to time travel. I woke up one day with two years of my life missing, so I left the Agency and became a conman."
He needs another sip of whisky before the next part.
"I spent a lot of time in the 1940s --" Jack cuts himself off, before he says too much. He can't tell them the rest, so he just says it to himself, to at least acknowledge what he did: I took my name from the lists of dead servicemen. And then, out loud again: "1941 was when I met the Doctor."
As expected, the men talk all over each other. There's the odd mention of "enemy".
"Be quiet, gentlemen!" Joan orders, and is instantly obeyed. "Please, let Jack explain." She sips her whisky.
"Thank you." Jack then continues, "The con I was running went wrong. The Doctor and his friend, Rose, they fixed my mistake, saved my life. Then I fell in love with the two of them, and the Doctor's time and space ship, the TARDIS." Picking up the journal, he finds the pages about the TARDIS and shows his team. "This is her; temperamental old thing that doesn't work properly, stuck as a police call box from the 1950s, because her chameleon circuit's broken. But she's beautiful, and alive." Jack has to swipe at his eyes, take another sip of whisky.
"How can a ship be alive?" Simon asks.
"When she's grown, like a plant."
"How did you end up here, Jack?" Ioan says.
"I'm getting to that. In the far future, we wound up fighting these enemies that were supposed have been destroyed, but somehow they'd survived. And they wanted to turn everyone on Earth into them.
"The Doctor sent Rose away, to keep her safe. But she came back, the headstrong girl. I came back from the dead for the very first time, heard the TARDIS' engines, but I was only able to see the ship dematerialise.
"So there I was, stuck on a space station, all on my own. Used my Vortex Manipulator to try and catch up with them. I didn't, obviously. Arrived in 1869, instead, with the time travel and teleport functions both burnt out, because the journey was so long. I've been with Torchwood almost since the beginning. Cardiff is the best chance I have of meeting up with him again, however long I have to wait. Anyone wanna know anything else?"
"Is the Doctor really our enemy, Jack?" Andrew asks.
"No," Jack says, after a minute. "Yes, I'm angry with him about abandoning me. But I miss him, Rose and the TARDIS like hell. And how can someone who's saved this world and others so many times possibly be an enemy?"
They nod in agreement, and talk among themselves.
"Jack?" Joan whispers.
"Yeah?" Jack replies, equally quietly.
"Show the gentlemen the rest of the book, tell them about your friends. We need something pleasant, before the darkness sets in."
"Good idea, Joan. Thank you." Jack smiles at her, before flipping to Rose's pages, and pouring some more whisky for everyone.
"Guys," he begins, regaining their attention, "the aliens are gonna have wait to be dealt with, if any of them arrive; we're not doing any more work today. Let me tell you some more about my friends, Rose Tyler and the Doctor, instead."
Continue to the final version of Part 9