for rude_not_ginger Terra Novus: Outpost 7

[quitehomoerotic]

Follows this.

Smack.

Jack landed on the marbled floor with an unceremonious fall.

"Yeah, but you missed it," he said finishing the sentiment the Doctor started before he activated the manipulator.

He pulled himself up from the floor and stretched himself out, looking over to the Doctor to make sure he was okay and all in one piece.

"We're about 800 years to the left," he said as he checked his wrist strap. "Set it on random, thought it'd be more fun that way."

He grinned over at him, and stretched his neck out a little more as he looked around.

What he saw, was nothing short of spectacular.

The walls looked to be made of stone and were decorated with gargoyles and elaborate gold filigree flourishes. Ahead of them, up on the wall, was a vast round glass stain window. Small lights illuminated it around the circle, but just about visible through the other side was the vague starlight in the distance. They were still in space, not on a planet surface.

"Well this is new... what is this, some sort of space monastery?"

Comments

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor nodded at the manipulator. "Almost rather be ripped apart anyway," he said, giving Jack a small, teasing smile. He had to smile now, they had to make it through this. Fixed point in time or not.

"Why would they evacuate?" the Doctor asked. He slipped on his glasses and peered over Jack's shoulder at the screen.

"Everyone's left, no reason stated. Considering the damage that comes out of this outpost..." He pulled off his glasses and looked back at the empty pods. "They wouldn't have made it away from the blast radius, no one heard of any survivors from ground zero. No one."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

"Really, Doctor, it tickles, that's all," he smiled back at him. "Don't tell me you don't love that little tingle down the spine." Well okay, it was neither a tickle nor a tingle, but he liked it, in a strange sort of way.

"Maybe they knew," Jack theorised with a shake of his shoulders. "Maybe whatever happens... has already happened. Some desperate attempt to get away, even if they knew they couldn't. But there's no distress signal or anything."

He shook his head. Why wouldn't they send out a signal? Covering something up? Scared of causing a panic? Oh that was more like it. If something huge was going to happen, and something they couldn't prevent, why scare the population?

But they couldn't solve this. He had to stop thinking about it.

"Okay," he said, shaking his head, "don't suppose we can... recall the TARDIS or something?" No, he didn't suppose so.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"We could," the Doctor said. "Potentially. Don't think the Proclamation would follow us to this part of space."

Oh, but they were so close to a mystery right now. The Doctor did love a good mystery. He raised an eyebrow and looked back to Jack.

"Or, I could call one of those pods from another Outpost over here and we could get some more information before we leave. Figure out exactly---" He shook his head. "No, no, no. We can't. Can't get into this, can't start looking, because we can't change it."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack looked back at the Doctor with a look that almost mirrored the one he was given.

Oh it was so tempting, so very tempting, and Jack just wanted that reason to say yes. The look the Doctor gave him qualified as enough.

"Maybe not," he said, "but someone should know. Even if it's only us. Someone should know why. Someone should know what happened here. Three million people dead, Doctor. Three million. We won't change it, we won't, but..." he nodded towards one of the empty pods, "call one over. We'll keep each other in check, won't we."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor gave Jack a grin. Of course they would.

He slammed a few buttons down on the control pad, and an automated spacepod headed towards their outpost. Ten minutes or so, that was how much longer they had on this little hunk of rock.

"Let's see if we can't find the source of the explosion, shall we?"

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack offered his own grin back, he couldn't help it, the Doctor's smile was infectious. Maybe something terrible was going to happen and... well, they could be pretty certain it was, but that didn't matter, because they'd do what they were best at, and they'd do something, even if that something wasn't stopping it.

"Doctor," he beamed, "I thought you'd never ask."

He stepped around him and took place at the station beside him, frantically keying away himself.

"Okay well it looks like the last activity here was precisely three hours and fourty seven minutes ago. That's when the last pod left. Only thing I've got logged here is a minor power surge about 45 minutes before that."

He glanced over and offered another smile as he spoke, but this smile, a little more personal than the last.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Very minor," the Doctor agreed, heading behind Jack and looking over his shoulder. "Barely a power hiccup, but in a place this well-fortified, it shouldn't have happened at all."

He reached across and pressed another button, bringing the layout of the outpost into a hologram in front of them. The Doctor gestured to where the screen indicated.

"A small burst of energy originating here. Could've been nothing, but considering what happens to this outpost not all that long in the future..."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack looked at the hologram and nodded. "So I'm guessing that's where we're heading, right? Section... C. Well, not quite what I had in mind for tonight, but I'm sure we can make it interesting."

He shot another grin at the Doctor and nodded towards the door. "Okay the doors in these places are usually on some sort of lock system. They use that I46 locking. You know that? With the questions. Hows your trivia? On second thoughts maybe we can try and disable it."

He took another step around the Doctor, putting his hand on the small of his back as he moved, and nodded, "Right! So we've got, what, how long before that pod gets here? Better not waste any time!"

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Deadlock seal," the Doctor said. "We'll have to wing it. Shouldn't be too hard, though. And we can always call a lifeline."

He pulled out his mobile and gave it a little wave in Jack's direction. "Martha'll help us out. She's handled pop quizzes like this before."

This was better. Running around, death on their heels, preparing to uncover one of the great mysteries of the universe. The Doctor's smile was wide and genuine as he led the way to Section B. He grabbed a door clamp and a small computer, which he tossed to Jack.

"Piece of cake."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack caught hold of the computer and grinned at the Doctor.

"Oh yeah? You think Martha's got time to help us with a pub quiz? Call her and I might owe her an apology before anything else."

He smiled though, and as true as the sentiment was, he was light with it. Martha would forgive him, of course she would, and he was with the Doctor again and that was good. Very good.

Jack headed out through the first open door behind the Doctor and ahead towards the first door seal.

"So!", he asked him, "Theories yet?"

They reached the first locked door and he nodded to it, lifting the computer. The question was both amusing and surprising. He read it aloud.

"Name the Earth organisation set up by Queen Victoria of Britain in order to monitor alien activity."

He looked over at the Doctor, incredulously. "Hard one."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor snorted. "That how difficult they get? Really? Preferred the ones that were recreational mathematics, myself."

He slammed the end of the clamp to the center of the door and turned back to Jack.

"And as for theories, I've got a few. Nothing that could explain all of the damage, though. It was such a wide-spread disaster..."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack keyed 'Torchwood' into the hand held device and laughed to himself.

"Recreational mathematics? Seriously? Oh Doctor what do I see in you?" he teased him as the door unlocked ready for them to head through the corridor and along to the next.

"I always thought it was the magnets," he offered. "Central magnetic core these things have, these outposts. And that's all well and good until something comes and knocks off the polarisation and them bam. But even that wouldn't be enough to rip a hole like that. No that's something specific. Some sort of time technology."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

He gave Jack a grin. What did they see in each other? They had so much in common, but yet so very little, as well.

"Rumors were," the Doctor spoke as he headed to the next door. "That the Eternals wanted to undo this section of space for their own amusement. But, they weren't really the sort to admit their mistakes."

He shrugged. "Or a multicausality link overload with those magnetic cores. Another very solid theory."

He slammed the clamp into the section of wall. "But! If you ask me, I'd say this was definitely no accident."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

"Going a bit far for a game, isn't it?" Jack said pulling a none to amused face. "They all seem to fall short. I think that's why people were so interested it. Because they never could work it out. That and the fact so many died. All that morbid curiosity. Humanity, gotta love it. Death always draws them. They'd have a field day with me."

Jack held the device out again and waited for the next question to pop up, doing his best to ignore that voice in his head that told him that maybe it wasn't an accident, but maybe someone was trying to make it look like one. And maybe that someone was them.

The computer pinged as the next question arrived, and Jack looked down to read it, but when he did... he couldn't. He frowned. In front of him was something that looked more like art than writing. It looked familiar too, like he'd seen it somewhere but he wasn't sure where.

"Doctor..." he called, "I think it's another language or something. I can't read it. Think you can work this one out?"

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"If it's in another language, the TARDIS should translate it," the Doctor snapped irritably. They had too much to do, and not enough time to sit around and discuss what might've been. Not really enough time to do what they were doing right now.

All the same, he pulled away from the clamp and raced to Jack's side. The words didn't need to translate in the Doctor's mind, not like every piece of English he'd read did. The swirls and loops made perfect sense to him.

"But that's impossible," the Doctor said. He shook his head. "It's Gallifreyan, a very simple number sequence. Hit that third button, sixth from the right."

He slammed the clamp back to the door. "Causality loops and the time referberation recortorators probably linked the avaliable minds to the machine, creating questions only you and I could answer because only you and I are outside of the time center."

That had to be it. That could be the only reason.

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

"Yeah well the TARDIS is taking a holiday!" he snapped back, "Just you and me now."

He held the device out towards the Doctor for him to take a look at and watched his face as he regarded the screen. His brow furrowed again at seeing the Doctor's expression change, and he felt the urge to reach out and just rest a hand on his side. He held back, but the intent was there in his eyes.

Gallifrey. Oh that's where he'd seen it before. On the walls in that tower, etched into the side of that tomb. But that seemed so long ago now.

Jack hit the button as he was told and smiled, and in an attempt to lighten the mood or lift things a little he tried to tease, "oh you know I love it when you talk dirty like that."

Right on cue, the door opened and he nodded as he advanced forward. "Only things we'll know. Well, this should be fun." he didn't even attempt to sound as though he meant it.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Yes, so we should start seeing Beatles trivia and drink mixes soon," the Doctor said, clinging to Jack's light tone as he threw the clamp into the next door.

This would be easy to pass through. Too easy. The Doctor counted the number of doors left.

So many dead, they stopped counting bodies before they hit the center of the blast. The Doctor and Jack could've easily been atomized, and Jack wouldn't have time to pull himself back together before the Marquis arrived.

"Hurry."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

"You know I mix a really mean Manhattan now you mention it! Remind me to show you some time." Jack said, attempting to continue the thread.

What were they doing this for? He wondered. Habit? Some incessant need for adventure? It was like an addiction. Instead of getting out they always jumped right into danger. But then he supposed he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" he protested with a huff as he waited for the next question to come through.

"Come on come on!" It popped up and he recited it as the words appeared, "Give the name of--" but he stopped. He repeated the question in his head the name of Captain Jack Harkness as given on his birth record.

He input the answer, stone faced, and waited for the door. "It's fine," he said, "I've got it."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor looked back over his shoulder to Jack. He opened his mouth to question him, but the clamp in his hands undid the lock.

Something private, maybe? Very personal? The Doctor felt a surge of panic as he worried what information the link might pull from him, or force him to call the answer to Jack for.

After all, the Doctor didn't always think in Gallifreyan.

He raced through the next door and threw the clamp. He took in a deep breath and then let out a cough. "Can you smell that?" he asked. "Like...mildew, decay."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack headed through the next door without looking to the Doctor. "Almost there, right? Can't be long to go now." He hoped not. What else could be asked? He'd rather not have to find out.

As soon as he crossed the threshold though the smell hit him.

"Oh yeah," he said, scrunching his face up and lifting a hand to cover it, "Smells like a trench. Like disease. Doctor, you know you really take me on the nicest dates."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Well, I can't precisely top something of the level of Christmas Planet on one go," the Doctor said, his voice a mock pout. "Give me time, Jack! Give me time!"

He threw the clamp into the next door, which splintered under the clamp's strength. Everything seemed to be rotting, including the deadlock seals and the floor beneath the Doctor's feet.

"Not enough time energy in the smell to be time waste," he commented. "Space waste, maybe? Something collecting below the Outpost?"

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

"When we get out of this? And we've dealt with our little friend over in anti-time? We're going somewhere nice. Like a restaurant. With tables, and chairs. And food. And nobody trying to kill anybody. I want the biggest disaster to be a burned crème brûlée! And time? he laughed, "oh I'm giving that away." Jack made his voice as forceful and authoritative as possible, mainly in a vain attempt to cover the fact that on some level he was asking the Doctor out on something that could very well be described as a date.

Not that he'd admit that, of course.

He looked around as the room seemed to creak and shift. It felt as though the floor might disappear from under them, and he got the distinct impression that these rooms had been vacant for a lot longer than three hours.

"Ooh, time waste!" he said with mock sarcasm, "my favourite!" He shook his head as he waited for the next question. "What energy systems do these bases use? Could be some sort of leaking by product?"

The screen bleeped and he looked back to it. "It is said he will knock, but how many times?"

He frowned at the screen.

"Well what the hell does that mean?"

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Four."

The Doctor's response was immediate and hard. Four times. He would knock four times, and then that would be the end. He'd spent so long running, so long absorbed in fixing things with Jack, he'd almost forgot about the knocking, about how close to his own death he was.

So close, he could almost feel it in his bones.

"Go on, press that in. We need to keep moving."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Four knocks? Four knocks for what? Who would knock four times, and what did that have to do with the Doctor?

He looked at him, as if waiting for explanation, and stalled for only a moment before nodding and inputting the answer.

"Yes, Sir," he said, and waited for the door to respond. He wanted to ask. He wanted to know. But that could wait.

The door unlocked and he took a step forward, touching his hand out to touch the Doctor's arm. The movement could appear unconscious, but it wasn't. It was precise.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The clamp loosened the door and he gave it a tug open, letting in another waft of diseased air. Fouled by what, the Doctor had no idea. Right now, his mind was on the box, on the prophecy it promised him.

Jack's touch was light, but it jarred the Doctor by how real and gentle it was, in that moment. All he'd worked for, struggling to keep himself safe, and then he just leapt from adventure to adventure with Jack, not even thinking about the things he meant to protect himself from.

He blinked wet, frightened tears from his eyes and put on a brave face. "I suppose I'll have to pay for this dinner, then?" he said, his voice as precisely nonchalant as Jack's unconscious touch. "Well, I suppose I owe you at least a good meal. We'll take in a show or something after, make it a proper date. No tuxedos, though, I'm rubbish in tuxedos."

He pulled away from Jack's touch and raced down the corridor, towards the banks of the main computers. They were packed together to help warm the station, but there was something wrong about them. Something organic, peering through the crevices between the monitors.