Fic: Under Alien Stars
Title: Under Alien Stars
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, the Doctor.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1752
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack takes Ianto on a special trip to make up for work spoiling their Valentine’s Day plans.
Written For: Weekend Challenge Prompt: Advanced methods in stargazing at 1_million_words.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Jack had wanted to give Ianto a special treat for Valentine’s Day, but… Well, Torchwood had sort of got in the way. On February twelfth, the Rift had gone into a manic phase, spitting out objects and aliens in what seemed like an almost continuous stream, and Jack had been forced to cancel everything he’d booked. Every member of the team had been needed, and they’d wound up working in shifts around the clock for the next three weeks, with only enough time off to grab a few hours’ sleep and a change of clothes.
Ianto had said it was fine, he really didn’t mind, and of course work had to take priority. It wasn’t as if they’d never had to cancel dates before, or abandon them when they were barely underway, having just ordered dinner or taken their seats at the cinema. That was Torchwood for you; plans had to be flexible, because you could never count on the Rift, Weevils, or random alien invaders to wait until a more convenient time.
Still, Jack hadn’t been happy about letting his lover down yet again, so as soon as things settled down a bit, he’d set about making new plans, with a little help from an old friend.
Midway through March, with the Rift finally settled and behaving itself, the Weevils seeming content to keep to the safety and security of the sewers, and no sign that Cardiff might be in danger of imminent invasion, Jack declared to Ianto that they were taking a few days off, maybe as much as a week. That hadn’t gone down as well as he’d been expecting.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jack! Just because everything’s quiet right now doesn’t mean all hell won’t break loose tomorrow, or the next day.” Ianto fixed his lover with a stern glare. “We can’t just swan off and abandon the rest of the team!”
“You worry too much.” Jack smiled fondly at his Welshman. “There’s no need. We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow.”
“What’re you talking about? We can’t go away for a week and still be here tomorrow…” He trailed off as a distinctive sound filled the air and a breeze whipped up, despite them being deep underground, tugging at their clothes. “Oh, you didn’t!”
“Oh, but I did! Relax, Ianto, there’s nothing to worry about. I already told the Doctor we need to be back here by eight tomorrow morning. The TARDIS will make sure he gets the date right. Now come on, I packed for both of us.” Jack produced two backpacks from where he’d hidden them under his desk, handed one to Ianto, then grabbed the other man’s hand and dragged him out into the main Hub, where the TARDIS was waiting, the Doctor standing in the open doorway.
He grinned at them. “There you are! Shall we get going?”
“We shall,” Jack confirmed, towing Ianto along in his wake.
“Don’t I get any say in this?”
“Nope! I promised you a special treat for Valentine’s Day this year, and you’re getting it. I know it’s a bit late, and not what I originally planned, but that’s all the more reason to go now, while we can. You’re going to love this!”
“You haven’t even told me where we’re going!”
“It’s a surprise; you’ll find out when we get there!” Jack steered his lover to the railing around the central console as the Doctor bounded up to the controls and started pressing buttons, pulling levers, flipping switches…
“Hold on tight!”
There was a lurch that almost made Ianto lose his footing, and then they were off, into the vortex, leaving all that was familiar far behind.
It took remarkably little time to reach their destination; no more than three hours later they landed, and then Jack was leading Ianto out onto a stretch of close-cropped blue-green grass that smelled faintly of lavender when they trod on it. Behind them, the Doctor called out a cheery goodbye, then the breeze got up again, and when Ianto glanced back over his shoulder, the TARDIS was already fading out of existence.
He turned to Jack again. “Okay, so where are we?”
Some distance away, beyond the lawn of lavender grass, low buildings spread out, a complex of some description, and now that he was looking, Ianto could see aliens in ones and twos and small groups moving between the buildings in an unhurried yet purposeful manner.
“This is the Meerdruvar, one of this sector’s foremost seats of higher learning. Sort of a university.”
“You’ve brought me to school for a holiday?”
“Ah, but not just any school. The courses they offer are like nothing you’d ever get to study on earth. I had the Doctor forward our enrolment for one of their most popular courses.”
Resigned to the inevitable, Ianto sighed. “Go on then, what are we going to be studying?”
Jack beamed back at him. “Advanced methods in stargazing!”
“Advanced? Jack, that’s flattering, but I’ll never be able to follow what they’re teaching. I’m an amateur astronomer at best!”
“Not astronomy, Mr Jones: Stargazing!”
“Oh, um, I’m not exactly into astrology either.”
Jack laughed. “You really do need to stop thinking in earth terms. This has nothing to do with astrology, and the astronomy part is…” Jack trailed off, waving one hand vaguely. “Incidental. Come on, we’d better get settled into our accommodations and freshen up, then we should just have time for a quick meal before our first class.”
With a shrug, Ianto decided he’d best just go along with whatever Jack said. He could only hope the classes wouldn’t prove too difficult; he didn’t want to let his lover down, not when he seemed so excited.
As usual, it turned out that he was worrying over nothing.
Their accommodations were a private room with an ensuite bathroom in a small building that housed seven other couples, all of them from different planets. They introduced themselves to everyone in the dormitory’s common room, changed into the comfortable casuals Jack had packed for them, then stopped by the communal dining room to eat, with Jack picking out a selection of foods suitable for human consumption. It was an unusual but tasty meal.
By the time they stepped outside again, it was already getting dark, and they made their way towards a building a mile or so from the main complex, which was where their classes were to be held. To Ianto’s surprise, they didn’t go inside. Instead, they climbed a long ramp that wound its way up the side of the building and onto a flat roof surrounded by a low parapet.
Scattered about the wide, tiled expanse were telescopes of various kinds, along with other instruments ianto couldn’t identify, interspersed with low, comfortably padded platforms that could be tilted to face in any direction, and something similar to beanbag chairs that moulded themselves to the contours of whoever sat in them. There were also dispensers where drinks, snacks, and anything else the students might require could be purchased using a credit chip.
Jack selected a double couch for them and picked up the remote control, adjusting it to a comfortable angle. They lay back on the warm, soft, yet supportive surface, and waited with the other students for their teacher, who arrived a few minutes later. Then began the strangest lesson Ianto had ever imagined in how to look at stars.
The night sky was spectacular, with more stars visible than he’d ever seen in earth’s sky, even out in the countryside away from the light pollution common to urban areas. There were no moons orbiting the planet, but there were several nebulae in view, breathtaking displays in shades of blue and red, gold and green.
The focus didn’t seem to be on the types of stars they were seeing, nor on their properties, how far they were from the planet, of even whether or not they had planets in orbit around them. It was more about the different techniques available for looking at them, how to get the best views, how to explore the patterns they made in the night sky, and how to appreciate their beauty.
Ianto found himself examining the starscape through all kinds of contraptions and filters, from all angles, and even under the influence of a mildly euphoric substance Jack obtained from one of the dispensers. The whole experience was mind-expanding rather than educational in a traditional sense, and when the stars began to fade as dawn approached, he could scarcely believe the night had passed so quickly.
“That was amazing!”
“I told you you’d enjoy it.” Jack sounded a bit smug, but Ianto couldn’t fault him for that.
“And you were right.”
“I’m not just a pretty face.” Jack got up from their couch and stretched.
“Apparently not.”
“The thing is, people spend so much time studying the stars, trying to learn as much as possible about them, they sometimes forget to simply appreciate the beauty of what they’re seeing. All this…” Jack gestured at their surroundings, “has been set up to remind intelligent beings not to get so bogged down in analysing the universe around us that we stop really seeing what’s there. People come from all over the galaxy to study here. Artists, composers, poets, philosophers, drawing inspiration from the glory overhead that so many people have stopped noticing. It puts everyone’s existence into perspective.”
Ianto nodded. “It does. The universe is so vast, and so full of wonder, and we’re like tiny, insignificant specks of dust in comparison.”
“But we’re specks of dust with eyes, and minds, and emotions. Understanding the universe is important, no one’s denying that, but understanding without the proper appreciation eventually becomes cold and clinical, cutting us off from something we’re part of, distancing us from everything we should seek to embrace. Every living creature is made up of the same atoms and molecules as everything else that exists in the universe. Here, we can remind ourselves of that simple truth.” Jack smiled, reaching for his lover’s hand, and pulling him to his feet. “Come on, we should grab a bite to eat and get some sleep before our next lesson. If you think this one was amazing, the next one will blow your mind.”
His thoughts still whirling with everything he’d seen and experienced, Ianto allowed Jack to lead him back towards the ramp, wondering what more there could possibly be to learn, but excited to find out. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, the Doctor.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1752
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack takes Ianto on a special trip to make up for work spoiling their Valentine’s Day plans.
Written For: Weekend Challenge Prompt: Advanced methods in stargazing at 1_million_words.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Jack had wanted to give Ianto a special treat for Valentine’s Day, but… Well, Torchwood had sort of got in the way. On February twelfth, the Rift had gone into a manic phase, spitting out objects and aliens in what seemed like an almost continuous stream, and Jack had been forced to cancel everything he’d booked. Every member of the team had been needed, and they’d wound up working in shifts around the clock for the next three weeks, with only enough time off to grab a few hours’ sleep and a change of clothes.
Ianto had said it was fine, he really didn’t mind, and of course work had to take priority. It wasn’t as if they’d never had to cancel dates before, or abandon them when they were barely underway, having just ordered dinner or taken their seats at the cinema. That was Torchwood for you; plans had to be flexible, because you could never count on the Rift, Weevils, or random alien invaders to wait until a more convenient time.
Still, Jack hadn’t been happy about letting his lover down yet again, so as soon as things settled down a bit, he’d set about making new plans, with a little help from an old friend.
Midway through March, with the Rift finally settled and behaving itself, the Weevils seeming content to keep to the safety and security of the sewers, and no sign that Cardiff might be in danger of imminent invasion, Jack declared to Ianto that they were taking a few days off, maybe as much as a week. That hadn’t gone down as well as he’d been expecting.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jack! Just because everything’s quiet right now doesn’t mean all hell won’t break loose tomorrow, or the next day.” Ianto fixed his lover with a stern glare. “We can’t just swan off and abandon the rest of the team!”
“You worry too much.” Jack smiled fondly at his Welshman. “There’s no need. We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow.”
“What’re you talking about? We can’t go away for a week and still be here tomorrow…” He trailed off as a distinctive sound filled the air and a breeze whipped up, despite them being deep underground, tugging at their clothes. “Oh, you didn’t!”
“Oh, but I did! Relax, Ianto, there’s nothing to worry about. I already told the Doctor we need to be back here by eight tomorrow morning. The TARDIS will make sure he gets the date right. Now come on, I packed for both of us.” Jack produced two backpacks from where he’d hidden them under his desk, handed one to Ianto, then grabbed the other man’s hand and dragged him out into the main Hub, where the TARDIS was waiting, the Doctor standing in the open doorway.
He grinned at them. “There you are! Shall we get going?”
“We shall,” Jack confirmed, towing Ianto along in his wake.
“Don’t I get any say in this?”
“Nope! I promised you a special treat for Valentine’s Day this year, and you’re getting it. I know it’s a bit late, and not what I originally planned, but that’s all the more reason to go now, while we can. You’re going to love this!”
“You haven’t even told me where we’re going!”
“It’s a surprise; you’ll find out when we get there!” Jack steered his lover to the railing around the central console as the Doctor bounded up to the controls and started pressing buttons, pulling levers, flipping switches…
“Hold on tight!”
There was a lurch that almost made Ianto lose his footing, and then they were off, into the vortex, leaving all that was familiar far behind.
It took remarkably little time to reach their destination; no more than three hours later they landed, and then Jack was leading Ianto out onto a stretch of close-cropped blue-green grass that smelled faintly of lavender when they trod on it. Behind them, the Doctor called out a cheery goodbye, then the breeze got up again, and when Ianto glanced back over his shoulder, the TARDIS was already fading out of existence.
He turned to Jack again. “Okay, so where are we?”
Some distance away, beyond the lawn of lavender grass, low buildings spread out, a complex of some description, and now that he was looking, Ianto could see aliens in ones and twos and small groups moving between the buildings in an unhurried yet purposeful manner.
“This is the Meerdruvar, one of this sector’s foremost seats of higher learning. Sort of a university.”
“You’ve brought me to school for a holiday?”
“Ah, but not just any school. The courses they offer are like nothing you’d ever get to study on earth. I had the Doctor forward our enrolment for one of their most popular courses.”
Resigned to the inevitable, Ianto sighed. “Go on then, what are we going to be studying?”
Jack beamed back at him. “Advanced methods in stargazing!”
“Advanced? Jack, that’s flattering, but I’ll never be able to follow what they’re teaching. I’m an amateur astronomer at best!”
“Not astronomy, Mr Jones: Stargazing!”
“Oh, um, I’m not exactly into astrology either.”
Jack laughed. “You really do need to stop thinking in earth terms. This has nothing to do with astrology, and the astronomy part is…” Jack trailed off, waving one hand vaguely. “Incidental. Come on, we’d better get settled into our accommodations and freshen up, then we should just have time for a quick meal before our first class.”
With a shrug, Ianto decided he’d best just go along with whatever Jack said. He could only hope the classes wouldn’t prove too difficult; he didn’t want to let his lover down, not when he seemed so excited.
As usual, it turned out that he was worrying over nothing.
Their accommodations were a private room with an ensuite bathroom in a small building that housed seven other couples, all of them from different planets. They introduced themselves to everyone in the dormitory’s common room, changed into the comfortable casuals Jack had packed for them, then stopped by the communal dining room to eat, with Jack picking out a selection of foods suitable for human consumption. It was an unusual but tasty meal.
By the time they stepped outside again, it was already getting dark, and they made their way towards a building a mile or so from the main complex, which was where their classes were to be held. To Ianto’s surprise, they didn’t go inside. Instead, they climbed a long ramp that wound its way up the side of the building and onto a flat roof surrounded by a low parapet.
Scattered about the wide, tiled expanse were telescopes of various kinds, along with other instruments ianto couldn’t identify, interspersed with low, comfortably padded platforms that could be tilted to face in any direction, and something similar to beanbag chairs that moulded themselves to the contours of whoever sat in them. There were also dispensers where drinks, snacks, and anything else the students might require could be purchased using a credit chip.
Jack selected a double couch for them and picked up the remote control, adjusting it to a comfortable angle. They lay back on the warm, soft, yet supportive surface, and waited with the other students for their teacher, who arrived a few minutes later. Then began the strangest lesson Ianto had ever imagined in how to look at stars.
The night sky was spectacular, with more stars visible than he’d ever seen in earth’s sky, even out in the countryside away from the light pollution common to urban areas. There were no moons orbiting the planet, but there were several nebulae in view, breathtaking displays in shades of blue and red, gold and green.
The focus didn’t seem to be on the types of stars they were seeing, nor on their properties, how far they were from the planet, of even whether or not they had planets in orbit around them. It was more about the different techniques available for looking at them, how to get the best views, how to explore the patterns they made in the night sky, and how to appreciate their beauty.
Ianto found himself examining the starscape through all kinds of contraptions and filters, from all angles, and even under the influence of a mildly euphoric substance Jack obtained from one of the dispensers. The whole experience was mind-expanding rather than educational in a traditional sense, and when the stars began to fade as dawn approached, he could scarcely believe the night had passed so quickly.
“That was amazing!”
“I told you you’d enjoy it.” Jack sounded a bit smug, but Ianto couldn’t fault him for that.
“And you were right.”
“I’m not just a pretty face.” Jack got up from their couch and stretched.
“Apparently not.”
“The thing is, people spend so much time studying the stars, trying to learn as much as possible about them, they sometimes forget to simply appreciate the beauty of what they’re seeing. All this…” Jack gestured at their surroundings, “has been set up to remind intelligent beings not to get so bogged down in analysing the universe around us that we stop really seeing what’s there. People come from all over the galaxy to study here. Artists, composers, poets, philosophers, drawing inspiration from the glory overhead that so many people have stopped noticing. It puts everyone’s existence into perspective.”
Ianto nodded. “It does. The universe is so vast, and so full of wonder, and we’re like tiny, insignificant specks of dust in comparison.”
“But we’re specks of dust with eyes, and minds, and emotions. Understanding the universe is important, no one’s denying that, but understanding without the proper appreciation eventually becomes cold and clinical, cutting us off from something we’re part of, distancing us from everything we should seek to embrace. Every living creature is made up of the same atoms and molecules as everything else that exists in the universe. Here, we can remind ourselves of that simple truth.” Jack smiled, reaching for his lover’s hand, and pulling him to his feet. “Come on, we should grab a bite to eat and get some sleep before our next lesson. If you think this one was amazing, the next one will blow your mind.”
His thoughts still whirling with everything he’d seen and experienced, Ianto allowed Jack to lead him back towards the ramp, wondering what more there could possibly be to learn, but excited to find out. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The End