Doctor Who and the Star of Arcadia - The Cricketer at Brendon School 6/16
Title: Doctor Who and the Star of Arcadia - The Cricketer at Brendon School 6/16
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, The Doctor (10), OFC, OMCs, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Benton, Johnson
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Neither Torchwood or Doctor Who are mine
Summary: In the Citadel of the Time Lords, about 250 million light years away from Earth, a number of elements were protected in case they fell into the wrong hands. If an exhibit was deemed to be powerful enough to corrupt in the wrong hands it was usually destroyed, or if that was found to be impossible, it was split into segments and kept apart from itself in case it were stolen.
Spoilers: Children of Earth
Rating: PG-13
A/N: This is a sequel to Doctor Who’s End Game. The Whole thing starts with Doctor Who and the Cathedral of Light.
Prologue here
Jack was the first to fall; rolling on his right shoulder he managed to stop himself from hitting the roadside hedge directly in front of him by jamming his heals into the dirt.
Unfortunately for Evens his luck wasn’t as prominent. Seeing Jack beneath him was a shock in itself until he hit the hedge, then he realised what shocks were all about. The sharp branches slashed at the backs of his unprotected hands and face as he travelled through and hit the road beyond in a bone jarring heap. Despite his injuries his training took over and he rolled and managed to get to his feet, drawing his side arm in one swift motion. Turning back towards the field Jack had landed in, he was just in time to catch Ianto as he hit him midsection throwing them both across the road, causing Evans to drop his SIG in the process.
Jack emerged from the field, looking a little dishevelled and checking his vortex manipulator as he walked. Looking up he saw Evans lying on top of Ianto who was struggling to get from underneath him.
‘Typical… as soon as my back’s turned,’ he said then continued to adjust his wrist manipulator. ‘There’s something wrong with the time line,’ Jack said as he adjusted the settings. ‘It’s telling me one minute that it’s June the seventh, nineteen seventy seven then in the nest minute it flickers over to nineteen eighty three, but from what the Brigadier said neither can be true.’
Ianto managed to extricate himself from underneath Evans and stood, dusting himself off as he did so. ‘Could it have something to do with the star point causing interference?’ Ianto asked as he examined Evans’s cuts and abrasions.
Jack shrugged and, turning to look down the road, threw himself to one side as a white Escort van came hurtling around the corner. In a screech of tires the vehicle came to a juddering stop. A dark haired man leapt from the van and stood looking at Jack as he pulled himself out of the hedgerow.
‘Sorry I didn’t see you until it was almost too late. You should be careful.’ Then noticing Jack’s air force great coat he came smartly to attention. ‘Warrant Officer Campbell Sir.’ Then relaxing he added, ‘I’ve never seen a Group Captain in these neck of the woods before… err… sir.’ Jack nodded and returned Campbell’s salute.
‘Captain Jack Harkness late of the 133 squadron; I was an American volunteer in the err…the err, hush, hush and all that… you understand?’ Campbell smiled and nodded, it seemed to Jack that he understood a lot more than he should of.
‘I understand sir, no need to tell me any more. I think we’re both looking for the same thing.’ Campbell tapped the edge of his nose with his for finger and winked.
‘Hi my name’s Ianto Jones and this is Private Evans.’ Ianto said as he approached the driver. Campbell was taken aback, not having seen the others until they walked around the corner to meet him. Campbell looked down at Ianto’s outstretched hand then back at his face. Then turning towards Evans he shook his head.
‘Are these sheep shaggers with you Captain? Look like a pair of poofs if you ask me.’ Jack hid a smile as he approached the driver.
‘Yes Campbell… they’re with me… but I see what you mean. Don’t worry I’ll keep an eye on them.’
‘Should be flogged if you ask me Sir.’ Campbell added as he opened the back door of his van. ‘I can give you a lift back to town via Brendon school if that’s ok.’
Jack surreptitiously checked the tracker which clearly pointed in the direction Campbell was travelling. Jack motioned for Ianto and Evans to jump in the back and was about to join them when Campbell slammed the door. ‘You’re not sitting in the back with them deviants. You can sit up front with me. I’ve a flask of coffee and some chocolate Garibaldis.’ Jack smiled and followed Campbell into the front of the vehicle. Picking up the packet of biscuits he removed one.
‘Oh Garibaldis,’ he said waving them in Ianto’s direction. Starting the engine Campbell turned gazing accusingly at Ianto and Evans.
‘There’s a blanket back there…’ Ianto picket up the soft thick blanket and held it for Campbell to see. ‘Don’t sit on it… it’s for Nancy… the horse. And don’t molest anything back there; I still have six payments left on the van.’ Ianto rolled his eyes then looked on in disgust as Jack took a sip of coffee and began chewing on a chocolate biscuit.
***
‘Sorry about that back there Captain. You can’t be too careful on these roads. That’s the first time I’ve had an accident. It’ll not happen again.’
The road ahead was overgrown on both sides by trees and bushes shortening the width of the road to almost a single track. As they travelled at speed round a blind corner, up ahead a blue 1929 Humber sixteen fifty came hurtling towards them. With lightening reflexes Jack just managed to lean over and pull the wheel to the right as the ancient vehicle ran off the road into the field opposite colliding with a bail of straw.
The near collision had thrown Ianto and Evan into the side of the van almost knocking them unconscious. Jack leaped out of the passenger side door brushing the scalding coffee from his trouser leg just below the crotch. Holding the sodden trouser leg away from his burnt skin he walked round to the rear of the van and opened the door. To his surprise and for the second time that day, Evan lay astride Ianto.
‘I can’t leave you two for a second can I?’ Campbell opened the second of the two rear doors and looked aghast.
‘Dirty bastards… get out of my van and… get off Nancy’s rug!’ Jack placed a hand on his shoulder and pointed to the second vehicle lying on one side in the field. As he did so he surreptitiously placed his hand inside Campbell’s jacket and removed his wallet.
Walking across the road Jack stood at a sign post showing Lane End one way and Brendon School the way the tracker was leading them. Removing five ten pound notes he thrust them into his coat pocket. ‘Perhaps that was their destination after all,’ he thought.
As they approached the wreck Jack noticed two boys, who lay sprawled across the grass, both wearing school uniforms. One had distinctive red hair and the other was wearing black spectacles that drooped at an odd angle. The dark blue car lay almost on one side, resting on a recently severed tree trunk. Both the driver side and passenger doors lay open.
Close behind them a white Escort police car pulled up and a sergeant, wearing the flat cap of the traffic police quickly ran towards them. Without a word Jack pointed towards the wreck.
‘We’ve just got here officer. Not sure what happened,’ Campbell interjected before anyone else could say anything.
The policemen removed one of two light blue radios from his top pocket and, depressing a button on top, radioed for an ambulance. When he was satisfied that one was on its way he then attended to the two boys. Ianto was already checking the red haired lad that seemed to have been the driver, and nodded.
‘He’s unconscious but he’ll be all right,’ he informed the policeman with all the authority he could muster in his dishevelled state. The bespectacled youth was groggy but after some coxing from Evans eventually came around.
A second car arrived driven by a man in a school master’s gown with another similar dressed man sitting next to him. Leaping from the front seat a tall figure wearing a tan corduroy jacket and matching cloth cap strode purposefully towards the wreck. As soon as Jack saw him he grabbed Ianto and nodding towards Evans they backed quickly away.
‘It’s the Brigadier isn’t it?’ Evans said as Jack clamped a hand over his mouth. Gesturing with his head he motioned for them to leave. As the masters left their car a third vehicle pulled up, an overweight man at the wheel. Jack took the opportunity to throw Campbell’s wallet into the foot well of his vehicle, but not before noticing a “ladies Night” Freemason invitation in one of the slots.
‘So that’s what he meant when he said they were probably looking for the same thing. He must have thought I was a freemason as well,’ Jack said as he neatly side stepped the newly arrived vehicle and began walking away from the scene.
Looking down he noticed that a sign in the window just below the driver’s tax disc stated that he was a Doctor. With his bag in hand he followed the two masters. The first had joined the police sergeant who was now examining the conscious boy while the doctor and the second school master examined the red haired boy.
Looking through the hedgerow Jack watched as a second police vehicle arrived, its red light flashing announcing its arrival. Two more police left the car, one with a note book in hand. A woman, who it seemed, lived opposite, walked towards the policeman and in no uncertain terms stated that she saw everything. Nodding the policeman began taking a statement. Jack concentrated on the wreck, looking for the Brigadier and wondering where he’d gone.
‘He’ll be alright…?’ The master said looking down at the red haired boy.
‘No bones broken, just a slight concussion,’ was the doctor’s diagnosis, after only a peremptory examination.
‘It’s a wonder they weren’t both killed. What’s the damage at your end Brigadier?’ The master said turning towards the vehicle. Jack craned his neck to see as the Brigadier strode into view.
‘Err… in thirty years of soldiering I’ve never encountered such destructive power as I’ve seen displayed here and now by the British school boy.’ The Brigadier walked purposefully from the scene of his examinations and joined the master and doctor. Putting both hands deep into his trouser pockets he looked down at the boy. ‘How is he?’
‘He’s been lucky, he’ll be alright.’ As the boy came round in a wild thrashing of arms Jack, Evans and Ianto took the opportunity to leave, before the Brigadier noticed them.
***
As they walked down Ianto was the first to spot the school about two miles away. ‘What was the Brigadier doing there?’ Evans asked, nervously checking the way they had come in case the Escort driver was back on the road.
‘He wasn’t… well… not our Brigadier anyway; we’re in the past. Whatever date this is?’ Checking his vortex manipulator he shook his head in wonderment. ‘The date still won’t settle. Something bad happened here or will happen here and it’s fractured the time line so nothing is certain.’
‘But…’ Evans thought, still trying to get his head around the fact that they’d just travelled through time and everyone seemed so calm about it. ‘The Brigadier looks… old… and from the conversation I could pick up he works as a teacher in Brendon school… the one we’re travelling to.’ Ianto nodded and tried to explain.
‘We’ve travelled through time into the past, before the Brigadier was captured by the Sontarans and cloned. He’s old because he is old… retired from UNIT and it seems working as a school teacher.’ Jack stopped and looked across at his two companions.
‘That’s where the problem lies, you see. I’ve read the UNIT files on the Brigadier and he never did retire and teach at a public school. He stayed with UNIT as a scientific advisor and only retired when his wife died.’ This time both Ianto and Evans looked puzzled. ‘He’s what… about sixty… well his wife died when he was eighty and it was only two years after that when the Sontarans kidnapped him.’ Ianto looked back the way they had come then back at Jack.
‘So that isn’t the Brigadier then.’ Jack shook his head.
‘Don’t get me wrong, that is the Brigadier, but something’s disrupted the time line so bad that nothing’s how it was.’ Turning back they continued to walk, knowing that they were near their goal.
‘It’s the Rani, isn’t it… she’s done this… disrupted the time line so the Doctor would bump into himself if he arrived here.’ Jack nodded as he walked, Ianto was right the Rani’s influence still stretched even after her death.
***
Following the tracker Jack took a detour and headed into a nearby town. Pulling out the money he’d taken from Campbell the driver, he bought a round of sandwiches and three coffees. Evans took the opportunity to clean up his wounds with cotton wool and disinfectant bought from the local chemist.
Some time later, fed and revitalised they headed towards the school. About half a mile from the school the tracker forced them to leave the road and cut through the tree line, paralleling the school. Ianto was the first to spot the giant obelisk that stood thirty feet in the air, towering over near by trees, like a giant watching over their approach.
As they drew near Jack held up a hand and all three immediately crouched down out of sight. Ahead, at the base of the stone obelisk, they could just make out two boys sitting on a wooden bench and gazing back at the school, which could be seen, far off, through a break in the trees.
‘Aren’t they’re the two boys from the car wreck this morning,’ Evans said as he scanned the area for other, more alien presences. Slowly the red haired boy stood and walked towards a stone plinth with, what looked like a stone vase standing on top.
The red haired boy knelt and pushed at the base of the vase. The bespectacled youth with him shrugged, not knowing what was going on, and after a brief contemplation decided to join him. As the red haired boy stood a twelve foot cylinder materialised directly in front of them.
‘What is it?’ the bespectacled youth asked with a look of incomprehension clearly showing on his face.
‘A transmat capsule,’ was the only answer he was given which, under the circumstances meant nothing to him.
Turning, with a look of surprise on is face the red haired school boy added, ‘Don’t you know anything?’ Turning back he strode purposefully towards the capsule just as his companion shouted after him, almost panicking.
‘Keep back.’ Smiling, the red haired youth ignored him. As he approached, the outer door slid open and looking back just once, he entered. With the sound of grinding metal, the opening closed behind him. The bespectacled youth looked on in horror as he shouted the boy’s name. ‘Turlough!’ Without another word the capsule faded then disappeared. With a look of panic in his eyes the remaining youth stumbling, turned and ran back towards the school.
Ianto stepped out into the clearing, tracker in hand and gazed after the boy. Evans followed closely behind, his SIG drawn and at the ready. Jack, as if he had all the time in the world, strode out of the tree line, his attention fixed firmly on his vortex manipulator.
‘I should have checked earlier… but… I think the ginger chap is an alien… or at least not indigenous to this planet.’ Evans smiled as he continued to scan the area for any signs of alien activity.
‘I knew there was something about gingers… from the planet Ginger I bet, in the constellation of “Let’s abuse him.”’ Ianto smiled as he played the tracker over each stone plinth.
‘Nothing here Jack… but the tracker’s going wild.’ Standing where the capsule had dematerialised Jack looked across at Ianto.
‘It’s got to be around here somewhere… keep looking.’ Turning towards Evans Jack looked across at the tree line. ‘Evans… head into the trees and build some kind of hide that’ll protect us from view but one that will give us all-round observations on this area and the approach from the school.’
Nodding Evans smiled and holstered his SIG. He’d only been in the SAS for a few months but hides were his speciality. Any trooper needs to be able to build a forward observation post, or FOP, as they like to call them, so they can keep observations on a target, sometimes for days at a time.
As Jack examined the stone obelisk Evans removed a collapsible shovel from his belt kit and extended it to its full length. Scanning the area he immediately selected a section of bush behind the obelisk but slightly to the left giving a full field of vision of the area and the approach via the school. If anyone came at them through the bush he’d hear them from a mile away, so he wasn’t too bothered about his rear. Slowly he began digging a scrap and selecting branches that would look natural to the area he was working on.
Finishing off the rest of his sandwich he’d kept wrapped in his pocket, Ianto followed the tracker signal for the twentieth time, stopping at the base of the obelisk each time.
Gazing around, he couldn’t see any signs of a horn or star point in the vicinity. Circling the giant stone, all signs lead to it being the point, but that was impossible, he thought. Surely all the points were the same size.
‘Jack… I’m getting strange readings from the tracker.’ Jack joined him and looked down at the tracker in his hands. Then looking up he saw the problem Ianto was having. As his eyes ran up the length of the stone a smile played across his lips. He was just about to say something when Ianto held up a hand to silence him.
The conversation of two men approaching from the school, floated to them on a slight breeze, one of them was breathing heavily. A voice, distinctive over the other, caused both Jack and Ianto to run round to the back of the obelisk and dive head long into the half constructed hide Evans had built. Despite it not being finished it offered cover from the casual viewer but full view of the area between the plinths and the obelisk.
‘If you took more regular exercise Ibbotson, not only would your body be less disgusting, you’d enjoy a healthier imagination,’ the Brigadier said as he strode into view.
‘I didn’t imagine it Sir,’ said the bespectacled boy known as Ibbotson.
‘Take it from me boy a solid object just can’t dematerialise.’ As the Brigadier strode off towards the plinth the boy shook his head and followed, still breathing heavily. ‘Turlough,’ the Brigadier shouted on his approach.
Sliding more cautiously into the hide than his two counterparts, Evans looked across at the Brigadier as he searched the area around the obelisk. Seeing nothing of interest the Brigadier looked at Ibbotson and shook his head. Without another word he turned on his heels and headed off back towards the school.
Backing out of the hide Jack took the tracker from Ianto and copying every move Ianto had previously performed followed the signal back to the obelisk.
‘We have to find it quickly before the world and his wife decide to pay us a visit. I have an idea-’ Jack never saw or heard the bullet that killed him, few would. The steel jacketed projectile cut through the air dragging dirt and cloth in its wake as it slammed into Jack’s heart, a perfect killing shot that threw him over onto his back. As he gazed up as the bright blue sky Jack almost burst out laughing. There it was at the top of the obelisk, the star point of Arcadia. Before he could warn the others or tell them where the star point was, blackness took hold of his vision. His hearing was the last to go and as he slowly died he heard the reports of more shots as they screamed all around him.
Heat Haze at the Obelisk 7/16
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, The Doctor (10), OFC, OMCs, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Benton, Johnson
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Neither Torchwood or Doctor Who are mine
Summary: In the Citadel of the Time Lords, about 250 million light years away from Earth, a number of elements were protected in case they fell into the wrong hands. If an exhibit was deemed to be powerful enough to corrupt in the wrong hands it was usually destroyed, or if that was found to be impossible, it was split into segments and kept apart from itself in case it were stolen.
Spoilers: Children of Earth
Rating: PG-13
A/N: This is a sequel to Doctor Who’s End Game. The Whole thing starts with Doctor Who and the Cathedral of Light.
Prologue here
Jack was the first to fall; rolling on his right shoulder he managed to stop himself from hitting the roadside hedge directly in front of him by jamming his heals into the dirt.
Unfortunately for Evens his luck wasn’t as prominent. Seeing Jack beneath him was a shock in itself until he hit the hedge, then he realised what shocks were all about. The sharp branches slashed at the backs of his unprotected hands and face as he travelled through and hit the road beyond in a bone jarring heap. Despite his injuries his training took over and he rolled and managed to get to his feet, drawing his side arm in one swift motion. Turning back towards the field Jack had landed in, he was just in time to catch Ianto as he hit him midsection throwing them both across the road, causing Evans to drop his SIG in the process.
Jack emerged from the field, looking a little dishevelled and checking his vortex manipulator as he walked. Looking up he saw Evans lying on top of Ianto who was struggling to get from underneath him.
‘Typical… as soon as my back’s turned,’ he said then continued to adjust his wrist manipulator. ‘There’s something wrong with the time line,’ Jack said as he adjusted the settings. ‘It’s telling me one minute that it’s June the seventh, nineteen seventy seven then in the nest minute it flickers over to nineteen eighty three, but from what the Brigadier said neither can be true.’
Ianto managed to extricate himself from underneath Evans and stood, dusting himself off as he did so. ‘Could it have something to do with the star point causing interference?’ Ianto asked as he examined Evans’s cuts and abrasions.
Jack shrugged and, turning to look down the road, threw himself to one side as a white Escort van came hurtling around the corner. In a screech of tires the vehicle came to a juddering stop. A dark haired man leapt from the van and stood looking at Jack as he pulled himself out of the hedgerow.
‘Sorry I didn’t see you until it was almost too late. You should be careful.’ Then noticing Jack’s air force great coat he came smartly to attention. ‘Warrant Officer Campbell Sir.’ Then relaxing he added, ‘I’ve never seen a Group Captain in these neck of the woods before… err… sir.’ Jack nodded and returned Campbell’s salute.
‘Captain Jack Harkness late of the 133 squadron; I was an American volunteer in the err…the err, hush, hush and all that… you understand?’ Campbell smiled and nodded, it seemed to Jack that he understood a lot more than he should of.
‘I understand sir, no need to tell me any more. I think we’re both looking for the same thing.’ Campbell tapped the edge of his nose with his for finger and winked.
‘Hi my name’s Ianto Jones and this is Private Evans.’ Ianto said as he approached the driver. Campbell was taken aback, not having seen the others until they walked around the corner to meet him. Campbell looked down at Ianto’s outstretched hand then back at his face. Then turning towards Evans he shook his head.
‘Are these sheep shaggers with you Captain? Look like a pair of poofs if you ask me.’ Jack hid a smile as he approached the driver.
‘Yes Campbell… they’re with me… but I see what you mean. Don’t worry I’ll keep an eye on them.’
‘Should be flogged if you ask me Sir.’ Campbell added as he opened the back door of his van. ‘I can give you a lift back to town via Brendon school if that’s ok.’
Jack surreptitiously checked the tracker which clearly pointed in the direction Campbell was travelling. Jack motioned for Ianto and Evans to jump in the back and was about to join them when Campbell slammed the door. ‘You’re not sitting in the back with them deviants. You can sit up front with me. I’ve a flask of coffee and some chocolate Garibaldis.’ Jack smiled and followed Campbell into the front of the vehicle. Picking up the packet of biscuits he removed one.
‘Oh Garibaldis,’ he said waving them in Ianto’s direction. Starting the engine Campbell turned gazing accusingly at Ianto and Evans.
‘There’s a blanket back there…’ Ianto picket up the soft thick blanket and held it for Campbell to see. ‘Don’t sit on it… it’s for Nancy… the horse. And don’t molest anything back there; I still have six payments left on the van.’ Ianto rolled his eyes then looked on in disgust as Jack took a sip of coffee and began chewing on a chocolate biscuit.
***
‘Sorry about that back there Captain. You can’t be too careful on these roads. That’s the first time I’ve had an accident. It’ll not happen again.’
The road ahead was overgrown on both sides by trees and bushes shortening the width of the road to almost a single track. As they travelled at speed round a blind corner, up ahead a blue 1929 Humber sixteen fifty came hurtling towards them. With lightening reflexes Jack just managed to lean over and pull the wheel to the right as the ancient vehicle ran off the road into the field opposite colliding with a bail of straw.
The near collision had thrown Ianto and Evan into the side of the van almost knocking them unconscious. Jack leaped out of the passenger side door brushing the scalding coffee from his trouser leg just below the crotch. Holding the sodden trouser leg away from his burnt skin he walked round to the rear of the van and opened the door. To his surprise and for the second time that day, Evan lay astride Ianto.
‘I can’t leave you two for a second can I?’ Campbell opened the second of the two rear doors and looked aghast.
‘Dirty bastards… get out of my van and… get off Nancy’s rug!’ Jack placed a hand on his shoulder and pointed to the second vehicle lying on one side in the field. As he did so he surreptitiously placed his hand inside Campbell’s jacket and removed his wallet.
Walking across the road Jack stood at a sign post showing Lane End one way and Brendon School the way the tracker was leading them. Removing five ten pound notes he thrust them into his coat pocket. ‘Perhaps that was their destination after all,’ he thought.
As they approached the wreck Jack noticed two boys, who lay sprawled across the grass, both wearing school uniforms. One had distinctive red hair and the other was wearing black spectacles that drooped at an odd angle. The dark blue car lay almost on one side, resting on a recently severed tree trunk. Both the driver side and passenger doors lay open.
Close behind them a white Escort police car pulled up and a sergeant, wearing the flat cap of the traffic police quickly ran towards them. Without a word Jack pointed towards the wreck.
‘We’ve just got here officer. Not sure what happened,’ Campbell interjected before anyone else could say anything.
The policemen removed one of two light blue radios from his top pocket and, depressing a button on top, radioed for an ambulance. When he was satisfied that one was on its way he then attended to the two boys. Ianto was already checking the red haired lad that seemed to have been the driver, and nodded.
‘He’s unconscious but he’ll be all right,’ he informed the policeman with all the authority he could muster in his dishevelled state. The bespectacled youth was groggy but after some coxing from Evans eventually came around.
A second car arrived driven by a man in a school master’s gown with another similar dressed man sitting next to him. Leaping from the front seat a tall figure wearing a tan corduroy jacket and matching cloth cap strode purposefully towards the wreck. As soon as Jack saw him he grabbed Ianto and nodding towards Evans they backed quickly away.
‘It’s the Brigadier isn’t it?’ Evans said as Jack clamped a hand over his mouth. Gesturing with his head he motioned for them to leave. As the masters left their car a third vehicle pulled up, an overweight man at the wheel. Jack took the opportunity to throw Campbell’s wallet into the foot well of his vehicle, but not before noticing a “ladies Night” Freemason invitation in one of the slots.
‘So that’s what he meant when he said they were probably looking for the same thing. He must have thought I was a freemason as well,’ Jack said as he neatly side stepped the newly arrived vehicle and began walking away from the scene.
Looking down he noticed that a sign in the window just below the driver’s tax disc stated that he was a Doctor. With his bag in hand he followed the two masters. The first had joined the police sergeant who was now examining the conscious boy while the doctor and the second school master examined the red haired boy.
Looking through the hedgerow Jack watched as a second police vehicle arrived, its red light flashing announcing its arrival. Two more police left the car, one with a note book in hand. A woman, who it seemed, lived opposite, walked towards the policeman and in no uncertain terms stated that she saw everything. Nodding the policeman began taking a statement. Jack concentrated on the wreck, looking for the Brigadier and wondering where he’d gone.
‘He’ll be alright…?’ The master said looking down at the red haired boy.
‘No bones broken, just a slight concussion,’ was the doctor’s diagnosis, after only a peremptory examination.
‘It’s a wonder they weren’t both killed. What’s the damage at your end Brigadier?’ The master said turning towards the vehicle. Jack craned his neck to see as the Brigadier strode into view.
‘Err… in thirty years of soldiering I’ve never encountered such destructive power as I’ve seen displayed here and now by the British school boy.’ The Brigadier walked purposefully from the scene of his examinations and joined the master and doctor. Putting both hands deep into his trouser pockets he looked down at the boy. ‘How is he?’
‘He’s been lucky, he’ll be alright.’ As the boy came round in a wild thrashing of arms Jack, Evans and Ianto took the opportunity to leave, before the Brigadier noticed them.
***
As they walked down Ianto was the first to spot the school about two miles away. ‘What was the Brigadier doing there?’ Evans asked, nervously checking the way they had come in case the Escort driver was back on the road.
‘He wasn’t… well… not our Brigadier anyway; we’re in the past. Whatever date this is?’ Checking his vortex manipulator he shook his head in wonderment. ‘The date still won’t settle. Something bad happened here or will happen here and it’s fractured the time line so nothing is certain.’
‘But…’ Evans thought, still trying to get his head around the fact that they’d just travelled through time and everyone seemed so calm about it. ‘The Brigadier looks… old… and from the conversation I could pick up he works as a teacher in Brendon school… the one we’re travelling to.’ Ianto nodded and tried to explain.
‘We’ve travelled through time into the past, before the Brigadier was captured by the Sontarans and cloned. He’s old because he is old… retired from UNIT and it seems working as a school teacher.’ Jack stopped and looked across at his two companions.
‘That’s where the problem lies, you see. I’ve read the UNIT files on the Brigadier and he never did retire and teach at a public school. He stayed with UNIT as a scientific advisor and only retired when his wife died.’ This time both Ianto and Evans looked puzzled. ‘He’s what… about sixty… well his wife died when he was eighty and it was only two years after that when the Sontarans kidnapped him.’ Ianto looked back the way they had come then back at Jack.
‘So that isn’t the Brigadier then.’ Jack shook his head.
‘Don’t get me wrong, that is the Brigadier, but something’s disrupted the time line so bad that nothing’s how it was.’ Turning back they continued to walk, knowing that they were near their goal.
‘It’s the Rani, isn’t it… she’s done this… disrupted the time line so the Doctor would bump into himself if he arrived here.’ Jack nodded as he walked, Ianto was right the Rani’s influence still stretched even after her death.
***
Following the tracker Jack took a detour and headed into a nearby town. Pulling out the money he’d taken from Campbell the driver, he bought a round of sandwiches and three coffees. Evans took the opportunity to clean up his wounds with cotton wool and disinfectant bought from the local chemist.
Some time later, fed and revitalised they headed towards the school. About half a mile from the school the tracker forced them to leave the road and cut through the tree line, paralleling the school. Ianto was the first to spot the giant obelisk that stood thirty feet in the air, towering over near by trees, like a giant watching over their approach.
As they drew near Jack held up a hand and all three immediately crouched down out of sight. Ahead, at the base of the stone obelisk, they could just make out two boys sitting on a wooden bench and gazing back at the school, which could be seen, far off, through a break in the trees.
‘Aren’t they’re the two boys from the car wreck this morning,’ Evans said as he scanned the area for other, more alien presences. Slowly the red haired boy stood and walked towards a stone plinth with, what looked like a stone vase standing on top.
The red haired boy knelt and pushed at the base of the vase. The bespectacled youth with him shrugged, not knowing what was going on, and after a brief contemplation decided to join him. As the red haired boy stood a twelve foot cylinder materialised directly in front of them.
‘What is it?’ the bespectacled youth asked with a look of incomprehension clearly showing on his face.
‘A transmat capsule,’ was the only answer he was given which, under the circumstances meant nothing to him.
Turning, with a look of surprise on is face the red haired school boy added, ‘Don’t you know anything?’ Turning back he strode purposefully towards the capsule just as his companion shouted after him, almost panicking.
‘Keep back.’ Smiling, the red haired youth ignored him. As he approached, the outer door slid open and looking back just once, he entered. With the sound of grinding metal, the opening closed behind him. The bespectacled youth looked on in horror as he shouted the boy’s name. ‘Turlough!’ Without another word the capsule faded then disappeared. With a look of panic in his eyes the remaining youth stumbling, turned and ran back towards the school.
Ianto stepped out into the clearing, tracker in hand and gazed after the boy. Evans followed closely behind, his SIG drawn and at the ready. Jack, as if he had all the time in the world, strode out of the tree line, his attention fixed firmly on his vortex manipulator.
‘I should have checked earlier… but… I think the ginger chap is an alien… or at least not indigenous to this planet.’ Evans smiled as he continued to scan the area for any signs of alien activity.
‘I knew there was something about gingers… from the planet Ginger I bet, in the constellation of “Let’s abuse him.”’ Ianto smiled as he played the tracker over each stone plinth.
‘Nothing here Jack… but the tracker’s going wild.’ Standing where the capsule had dematerialised Jack looked across at Ianto.
‘It’s got to be around here somewhere… keep looking.’ Turning towards Evans Jack looked across at the tree line. ‘Evans… head into the trees and build some kind of hide that’ll protect us from view but one that will give us all-round observations on this area and the approach from the school.’
Nodding Evans smiled and holstered his SIG. He’d only been in the SAS for a few months but hides were his speciality. Any trooper needs to be able to build a forward observation post, or FOP, as they like to call them, so they can keep observations on a target, sometimes for days at a time.
As Jack examined the stone obelisk Evans removed a collapsible shovel from his belt kit and extended it to its full length. Scanning the area he immediately selected a section of bush behind the obelisk but slightly to the left giving a full field of vision of the area and the approach via the school. If anyone came at them through the bush he’d hear them from a mile away, so he wasn’t too bothered about his rear. Slowly he began digging a scrap and selecting branches that would look natural to the area he was working on.
Finishing off the rest of his sandwich he’d kept wrapped in his pocket, Ianto followed the tracker signal for the twentieth time, stopping at the base of the obelisk each time.
Gazing around, he couldn’t see any signs of a horn or star point in the vicinity. Circling the giant stone, all signs lead to it being the point, but that was impossible, he thought. Surely all the points were the same size.
‘Jack… I’m getting strange readings from the tracker.’ Jack joined him and looked down at the tracker in his hands. Then looking up he saw the problem Ianto was having. As his eyes ran up the length of the stone a smile played across his lips. He was just about to say something when Ianto held up a hand to silence him.
The conversation of two men approaching from the school, floated to them on a slight breeze, one of them was breathing heavily. A voice, distinctive over the other, caused both Jack and Ianto to run round to the back of the obelisk and dive head long into the half constructed hide Evans had built. Despite it not being finished it offered cover from the casual viewer but full view of the area between the plinths and the obelisk.
‘If you took more regular exercise Ibbotson, not only would your body be less disgusting, you’d enjoy a healthier imagination,’ the Brigadier said as he strode into view.
‘I didn’t imagine it Sir,’ said the bespectacled boy known as Ibbotson.
‘Take it from me boy a solid object just can’t dematerialise.’ As the Brigadier strode off towards the plinth the boy shook his head and followed, still breathing heavily. ‘Turlough,’ the Brigadier shouted on his approach.
Sliding more cautiously into the hide than his two counterparts, Evans looked across at the Brigadier as he searched the area around the obelisk. Seeing nothing of interest the Brigadier looked at Ibbotson and shook his head. Without another word he turned on his heels and headed off back towards the school.
Backing out of the hide Jack took the tracker from Ianto and copying every move Ianto had previously performed followed the signal back to the obelisk.
‘We have to find it quickly before the world and his wife decide to pay us a visit. I have an idea-’ Jack never saw or heard the bullet that killed him, few would. The steel jacketed projectile cut through the air dragging dirt and cloth in its wake as it slammed into Jack’s heart, a perfect killing shot that threw him over onto his back. As he gazed up as the bright blue sky Jack almost burst out laughing. There it was at the top of the obelisk, the star point of Arcadia. Before he could warn the others or tell them where the star point was, blackness took hold of his vision. His hearing was the last to go and as he slowly died he heard the reports of more shots as they screamed all around him.
Heat Haze at the Obelisk 7/16