Fic: Operation Awesome, 1/5
TITLE: Operation Awesome, 1/5
Rating: PG
Main characters: entire casts of SJA & Torchwood, the Doctor, Martha, Donna; cameos by other new and old school characters
Spoilers: SJA-S1; TW-S2; DW-S3, Journey's End
All characters licensed by the BBC. This is not an authorized tie-in.
Who_Daily; T3; Sonic: a href="http://neadods.livejournal.com/706386.html#cutid1">Operation Awesome 1/5 by lj user="neadods"> (casts of all shows | PG | Spoilers: SJA-S1; TW-S2; DW-S3 & Journey's End)
"Oh hello! I got your email. I think a regular gathering would be-"
"Put me through to Jack. We have a situation."
"Invasion? Possession?"
"I think the best way of describing it is 'man down.' I don't know about Torchwood, but UNIT doesn't leave one of its own behind."
Chapter 1: The Gathering
The first time anyone else knew there was a problem was when Wilf ran Sarah Jane off the phone.
"He did something to her head," Wilf whispered urgently. "I don't understand it, but he says if she remembers anything, it could kill her. So don't call here no more."
Sarah heard a muffled voice in the background. "Who is it?"
"Just a telemarketer, sweetheart. I'm telling them to stop calling."
"Oh, let me!"
There was a fumbling and then a familiar voice, but somehow harsher and shriller than Sarah Jane had last heard it. "I'm Sarah-" she started.
"I don't care if you're Margaret Flippin' Thatcher! We're not buying, we're not donating, and we're not going to waste our time on the likes of you. Lose this number!"
The phone slammed down and Sarah Jane stared at her handset in amazement.
"Mum, is there a problem?"
"Yes," answered Sarah Jane, dialing as fast as she could. "But we're going to fix it."
****
Ring!
"Cardiff Tourist Bureau by the Bay."
"Ianto, this is Sarah Jane."
"Oh hello! I got your email. I think a regular gathering would be-"
"Put me through to Jack. We have a situation."
"Invasion? Possession?"
A pause. "I think the best way of describing it is 'man down.' I don't know about Torchwood, but UNIT doesn't leave one of its own behind."
"Neither do we. Putting you through now."
****
Incoming Instant Message:
< CoT_SJS: Are you there? >
...
< CoT_SJS: Are you there? Situation! >
< CoT_MJ: Here. What? >
< CoT_SJS: Donna needs our help. >
< CoT_MJ: I can be there in 48 hours. Want me to make a long-distance call? >
< CoT_SJS: YES! >
****
Inside the swirling Vortex, a blue box slowly spins. Inside the blue box, long legs squirm for purchase, pushing a body deeper under the console while sparks fly.
"Now stop fussing, old girl, and let me..."
A phone rings.
"My hands are full!" the voice shouts. "Can you get that, Do-"
For a moment, all is stillness. The legs freeze. The sparks die.
In the silence, the phone rings again.
****
"Smith, Sarah Jane," Jack was reciting as the Torchwood SUV swung onto the motorway. "Previous companion to an earlier incarnation of the Doctor."
"Two," Ianto corrected from the back seat. Jack looked at him in the rear view mirror and he shrugged. "Torchwood One had very thorough records."
"As I was saying, previous companion to the Doctor, right around the time he was working for UNIT. He left; she stayed. About 15 years ago, she wrote a book about them. Them meaning UNIT, not her and the Doctor."
"Jesus, Jack, are you going to lecture us all the way to London?"
"Gwen, you've always complained that I don't tell you anything. For once, we're going in fully briefed. Where was I?"
"Doctor, UNIT, 70s or 80s; the records are unclear," Ianto said. "I want to hear more about how she stopped the sun from going out."
"All in good time. We've got a three-hour drive. You okay back there, Mickey? You're quiet."
"I'm good. But I'll let you know if you get anything wrong about Sarah Jane. I've met her."
"She seemed nice," Gwen said.
Mickey smiled. "Someone I used to know would have called her fantastic."
****
Three sets of eyes watched the canteen clock move with agonizing slowness.
"Mum promised she wouldn't let anything start before we got home." Luke sounded more like he was trying to talk himself into believing it than he was passing on information.
"I can't believe you got to see the Doctor," Maria said with equal amounts of wistfulness and jealousy.
"I can't believe we've got to have double French before we're allowed to save the world. Again!" grumbled Clyde.
****
Martha was surprised to see a cute, brown-haired man waiting just beyond airport customs holding a sign with her name. "I'm Martha Jones."
"Alan Jackson. Pleased to meet you. Sarah Jane asked me to pick you up."
"I wasn't expecting anyone," Martha said warily.
"She said if you didn't believe me, I was to say 'Children of Time'." Alan sighed. "I don't know if I feel like James Bond or a total prat."
Martha laughed. "If you feel that way now, all I can say is, don't step into any blue boxes!"
***
They had tried to start with small talk, but a less likely social group had rarely gathered. Only Maria, Alan, and Gwen were at all able to chat politely. Ianto and Luke were having a geekfest in a corner, Mickey and Clyde were comparing notes, and Jack was attempting to recruit Martha while Sarah Jane put up a spirited defense of UNIT.
A fanfare of music sounded from above, cutting through the various conversations.
"Just a moment, Mr. Smith," Sarah Jane called up. She lifted her cup of tea. "Before we begin, a toast to the one who brought us all together."
Jack hoisted his water high. "To the Doctor!" Around the room, everyone sipped tea, lemonade, or water to murmurs of "The Doctor."
Everyone except Sarah Jane. "Him too. But I meant someone who mustn't be forgotten." She lifted her cup a little higher. "To Harriet Jones."
"Sarah Jane!" Mr. Smith insisted. "Sensors show temporal transport materializing on your lawn." But his voice was drowned out by the rusty sound of the TARDIS appearing.
Sarah Jane flung the door and her arms open wide. Everyone else crowded around her, jostling for view and almost shoving her out of the house in excitement.
When the Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS he just stood there, watching them expressionlessly, until smiles faltered and arms were lowered. Only Luke, with his usual inability to read the emotions around him, dared break the suddenly chilly silence.
"May I see the inside of the TARDIS, please?" he asked politely.
"No." The Doctor's voice was sharp and cold. "I don't let humans in anymore."
Part 2
To be crossposted when finished. Have at; sing out if there's something that doesn't work or needs Brit-picking; as usual, I'm using the f-list as a big old beta.
Rating: PG
Main characters: entire casts of SJA & Torchwood, the Doctor, Martha, Donna; cameos by other new and old school characters
Spoilers: SJA-S1; TW-S2; DW-S3, Journey's End
All characters licensed by the BBC. This is not an authorized tie-in.
Who_Daily; T3; Sonic: a href="http://neadods.livejournal.com/706386.html#cutid1">Operation Awesome 1/5 by lj user="neadods"> (casts of all shows | PG | Spoilers: SJA-S1; TW-S2; DW-S3 & Journey's End)
"Oh hello! I got your email. I think a regular gathering would be-"
"Put me through to Jack. We have a situation."
"Invasion? Possession?"
"I think the best way of describing it is 'man down.' I don't know about Torchwood, but UNIT doesn't leave one of its own behind."
Chapter 1: The Gathering
The first time anyone else knew there was a problem was when Wilf ran Sarah Jane off the phone.
"He did something to her head," Wilf whispered urgently. "I don't understand it, but he says if she remembers anything, it could kill her. So don't call here no more."
Sarah heard a muffled voice in the background. "Who is it?"
"Just a telemarketer, sweetheart. I'm telling them to stop calling."
"Oh, let me!"
There was a fumbling and then a familiar voice, but somehow harsher and shriller than Sarah Jane had last heard it. "I'm Sarah-" she started.
"I don't care if you're Margaret Flippin' Thatcher! We're not buying, we're not donating, and we're not going to waste our time on the likes of you. Lose this number!"
The phone slammed down and Sarah Jane stared at her handset in amazement.
"Mum, is there a problem?"
"Yes," answered Sarah Jane, dialing as fast as she could. "But we're going to fix it."
****
Ring!
"Cardiff Tourist Bureau by the Bay."
"Ianto, this is Sarah Jane."
"Oh hello! I got your email. I think a regular gathering would be-"
"Put me through to Jack. We have a situation."
"Invasion? Possession?"
A pause. "I think the best way of describing it is 'man down.' I don't know about Torchwood, but UNIT doesn't leave one of its own behind."
"Neither do we. Putting you through now."
****
Incoming Instant Message:
< CoT_SJS: Are you there? >
...
< CoT_SJS: Are you there? Situation! >
< CoT_MJ: Here. What? >
< CoT_SJS: Donna needs our help. >
< CoT_MJ: I can be there in 48 hours. Want me to make a long-distance call? >
< CoT_SJS: YES! >
****
Inside the swirling Vortex, a blue box slowly spins. Inside the blue box, long legs squirm for purchase, pushing a body deeper under the console while sparks fly.
"Now stop fussing, old girl, and let me..."
A phone rings.
"My hands are full!" the voice shouts. "Can you get that, Do-"
For a moment, all is stillness. The legs freeze. The sparks die.
In the silence, the phone rings again.
****
"Smith, Sarah Jane," Jack was reciting as the Torchwood SUV swung onto the motorway. "Previous companion to an earlier incarnation of the Doctor."
"Two," Ianto corrected from the back seat. Jack looked at him in the rear view mirror and he shrugged. "Torchwood One had very thorough records."
"As I was saying, previous companion to the Doctor, right around the time he was working for UNIT. He left; she stayed. About 15 years ago, she wrote a book about them. Them meaning UNIT, not her and the Doctor."
"Jesus, Jack, are you going to lecture us all the way to London?"
"Gwen, you've always complained that I don't tell you anything. For once, we're going in fully briefed. Where was I?"
"Doctor, UNIT, 70s or 80s; the records are unclear," Ianto said. "I want to hear more about how she stopped the sun from going out."
"All in good time. We've got a three-hour drive. You okay back there, Mickey? You're quiet."
"I'm good. But I'll let you know if you get anything wrong about Sarah Jane. I've met her."
"She seemed nice," Gwen said.
Mickey smiled. "Someone I used to know would have called her fantastic."
****
Three sets of eyes watched the canteen clock move with agonizing slowness.
"Mum promised she wouldn't let anything start before we got home." Luke sounded more like he was trying to talk himself into believing it than he was passing on information.
"I can't believe you got to see the Doctor," Maria said with equal amounts of wistfulness and jealousy.
"I can't believe we've got to have double French before we're allowed to save the world. Again!" grumbled Clyde.
****
Martha was surprised to see a cute, brown-haired man waiting just beyond airport customs holding a sign with her name. "I'm Martha Jones."
"Alan Jackson. Pleased to meet you. Sarah Jane asked me to pick you up."
"I wasn't expecting anyone," Martha said warily.
"She said if you didn't believe me, I was to say 'Children of Time'." Alan sighed. "I don't know if I feel like James Bond or a total prat."
Martha laughed. "If you feel that way now, all I can say is, don't step into any blue boxes!"
***
They had tried to start with small talk, but a less likely social group had rarely gathered. Only Maria, Alan, and Gwen were at all able to chat politely. Ianto and Luke were having a geekfest in a corner, Mickey and Clyde were comparing notes, and Jack was attempting to recruit Martha while Sarah Jane put up a spirited defense of UNIT.
A fanfare of music sounded from above, cutting through the various conversations.
"Just a moment, Mr. Smith," Sarah Jane called up. She lifted her cup of tea. "Before we begin, a toast to the one who brought us all together."
Jack hoisted his water high. "To the Doctor!" Around the room, everyone sipped tea, lemonade, or water to murmurs of "The Doctor."
Everyone except Sarah Jane. "Him too. But I meant someone who mustn't be forgotten." She lifted her cup a little higher. "To Harriet Jones."
"Sarah Jane!" Mr. Smith insisted. "Sensors show temporal transport materializing on your lawn." But his voice was drowned out by the rusty sound of the TARDIS appearing.
Sarah Jane flung the door and her arms open wide. Everyone else crowded around her, jostling for view and almost shoving her out of the house in excitement.
When the Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS he just stood there, watching them expressionlessly, until smiles faltered and arms were lowered. Only Luke, with his usual inability to read the emotions around him, dared break the suddenly chilly silence.
"May I see the inside of the TARDIS, please?" he asked politely.
"No." The Doctor's voice was sharp and cold. "I don't let humans in anymore."
Part 2
To be crossposted when finished. Have at; sing out if there's something that doesn't work or needs Brit-picking; as usual, I'm using the f-list as a big old beta.