Of the Vortex Born: Chapter Fifteen
Aug. 17th, 2008 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)

Chapter Fifteen: Retrieval
The clank of something metallic hitting the hull of their life pod woke Jamie and Luke with a start. Luke could feel both of Jamie’s hearts racing against his own. They’d slept, gone through ‘a day,’ and slept again, only to be woken a few hours into what would have been sleep shift on the Moon. Jamie didn’t need to sleep as much as he did, but it was easier to make the time pass in dreams than awake so she had matched her own cycle to Luke’s.
“What do you think that was?” Luke asked.
“It’s probably some kind of mechanism for snaring our pod and reeling it in. Can you feel it? We’re moving,” Jamie said.
“Yeah, I can feel it. I wish these pods had some kind of window.”
“Oh, there’s a screen. It’s in the roof. Push blue, blue, orange, yellow,” she told him. Luke reached up and hit the appropriate buttons and a panel slid open to reveal a screen. It turned itself on and showed an image of what was going on outside the pod. Jamie rolled sideways and looked up at the images.
“That must be the Ganyite's ship,” she said. “It doesn’t look like anything we have in the database on Torchwood’s shuttles or station. And they’ve got some kind of cable net around us.”
“They’re definitely pulling us in,” said Luke watching as the ship got larger and larger in the pod’s camera.
They watched in silence as they were hauled on board the alien vessel. “I hope they have a breathable atmosphere on board,” Jamie said as they heard the seals on the life pod being broken.
The top of the pod was opened and something hard and unyielding lifted Jamie off of Luke by the back of her jeans. It held her dangling in the air for a moment before putting her to one side and reaching in for Luke. Luke was removed in a similar manner and set down beside Jamie.
He immediately started coughing. The big, black rock person that had picked him up shoved a mask in his direction. Luke was coughing so hard he couldn’t figure out what to do, so Jamie helped him into it. She looked around for a second mask and found it, putting it on. Her respiratory bypass system was only good for so long, so having the mask with its little oxygen tank would be necessary in a few minutes.
The creature indicated that they were to walk in front of it and they did so, Jamie’s hand searching for Luke’s. She grasped it tightly. The creature herded them to a room and then stepped back. A large glass panel came down and covered the entryway behind them, trapping them in the room. A loud hissing sound came from the ceiling and they looked up to see pipes.
When the hissing stopped the alien indicated they could remove their masks. Jamie shook her head at Luke and held up one finger before cautiously removing her mask. She tested the atmosphere, found it to be the right mix of nitrogen and oxygen and then nodded her head to Luke and he removed his mask, too.
The black rock creature stared at them, his (and somehow they both knew it was masculine) eyes glittering, and suddenly Luke realized he was made almost entirely out of black diamond. He was beautiful in a cold, dark, bloodless way. He didn’t know if the alien was cruel or unyielding, though the immobility of the creature was starkly frightening.
“What are you doing with us?” Jamie asked. She was not expecting an answer, certainly not one in the perfectly spoken American accented English that emerged from the creature.
“I have put you in a safe environment for your respective species. It would be difficult for you to breathe our air for long.”
“You speak English!” Luke said.
“That is obvious,” said the alien.
“But…how do you know English?” Jamie demanded. “That can’t be your language.”
“We receive your television and radio broadcasts. They beam off your planet and into space. We have learned English that way.”
“That explains the American accent,” said Luke. “Most of the TV broadcast comes from them.”
“Why did you bring our life pod on board your ship?” Jamie asked.
“Our sensors indicated that your oxygen stores were depleted. You would have run out of air within minutes if we had not,” the alien said simply. “We did not want you to die.”
“But you shot at us!” said Luke. “The Moon was attacked. You cracked open three domes and killed people.”
The creature turned its glittering eyes on Luke. “That was not us.”
“If you didn’t send the missiles, where did they come from?” Jamie asked.
“It was not us.” No matter how much they questioned the alien they could get no further information from him. Eventually they stopped asking. A strange, melodic pulse echoed through the chamber and the alien got up and walked away.
“Now what?” Jamie asked.
“Now we wait for them to do something or for your parents to come and get us out of here. I just wish it weren’t so cold,” he said. He glanced around the room, the cell really, that they were being held in. There was a thin mattress on the floor in one corner and a couple of blankets. Luke went and retrieved a blanket and wrapped it around himself.
“Aren’t you cold?” he asked Jamie.
“It’s not cold enough yet to bother me. I’ve got a lower body temperature than a human and can put up with cold a lot longer.”
“Good,” said Luke retrieving the second blanket and wrapping it around himself as well. Jamie went and sat down on the mattress, her back against the wall.
“I never was good at waiting,” she said impatiently.
“Well, at least we’re doing it some place larger than that life pod,” he told her. “How long has it been since they grabbed our pod and brought us on board?”
“An hour,” said Jamie promptly.
“Then we only have to wait five more until your mum and dad show up.” Luke sat down next to her on the mattress and she leaned against him, snaking one arm inside his blankets to grasp his hand.
“I think I’ve got it,” the Doctor said holding a thin solution up to the light and watching as it bubbled softly.
“What’ll that do?” asked Rose.
“It won’t stop their brains from functioning properly, but it can dissolve diamonds and since they’re made mostly of diamonds it’s a way of destroying them. It’s just a back up though. We’ll try to reason with them first,” the Doctor said cautiously.
“Reason?” snapped Mairi. “Reason with a race that without warning just killed one thousand of our people and destroyed twenty percent of our city?”
“Yes, Mairi, reason,” said Rose, looking disapprovingly at her daughter. “That is always the first step. We’re not Torchwood. We’re U.N.I.T.”
Mairi looked down but a rebellious expression stayed on her face. “We’re almost there,” she said. “Landon sent me to tell you we’ll be in visual range in ten minutes.”
The Doctor poured the solution into several tubes and stoppered them, before placing them carefully in one of his pockets. The three of them then exited the TARDIS and he locked the door behind them. Carefully they made their way out of the hold and forward to where the passenger seats were.
When the alien vessel came into range, they saw that it was a big, black ship that looked as if it has been carved out of onyx, and perhaps it had. Rose slipped up into the co-pilot seat and picked up the radio. “U.N.I.T. shuttle Kelly Green calling unknown alien vessel. Come in please.”
She received static in return. Every five minutes she repeated her call until finally she received an answer. “This is the Ganymede ship Dark Heart of Jupiter. We are receiving you, Kelly Green.”
“Acknowledged, Dark Heart. We are in search of a life pod carrying two children that was on a trajectory matching yours. Have you seen them?” Rose asked with a hitch in her voice.
“Affirmative, Kelly Green. We have two adolescent Earth creatures aboard our ship that were extracted from a life pod five hours ago. Do you wish to rendezvous for retrieval?” came the voice from the Dark Heart.
“Affirmative, Dark Heart.”
“Transmitting rendezvous coordinates now. We will see you within the hour.” The radio returned to static.
“That went…unexpectedly well,” said Landon giving his mother an odd glance.
“There’s more going on here than meets the eye,” said the Doctor who had taken up a position behind Rose when the aliens had finally answered her call. “I’m starting to think those missiles didn’t come from the Ganyites at all.”
“But if they didn’t then where did they come from?” Landon asked.
“That’s the question,” said the Doctor. “And maybe the Ganyites have the answer.”
“It’s probably some kind of mechanism for snaring our pod and reeling it in. Can you feel it? We’re moving,” Jamie said.
“Yeah, I can feel it. I wish these pods had some kind of window.”
“Oh, there’s a screen. It’s in the roof. Push blue, blue, orange, yellow,” she told him. Luke reached up and hit the appropriate buttons and a panel slid open to reveal a screen. It turned itself on and showed an image of what was going on outside the pod. Jamie rolled sideways and looked up at the images.
“That must be the Ganyite's ship,” she said. “It doesn’t look like anything we have in the database on Torchwood’s shuttles or station. And they’ve got some kind of cable net around us.”
“They’re definitely pulling us in,” said Luke watching as the ship got larger and larger in the pod’s camera.
They watched in silence as they were hauled on board the alien vessel. “I hope they have a breathable atmosphere on board,” Jamie said as they heard the seals on the life pod being broken.
The top of the pod was opened and something hard and unyielding lifted Jamie off of Luke by the back of her jeans. It held her dangling in the air for a moment before putting her to one side and reaching in for Luke. Luke was removed in a similar manner and set down beside Jamie.
He immediately started coughing. The big, black rock person that had picked him up shoved a mask in his direction. Luke was coughing so hard he couldn’t figure out what to do, so Jamie helped him into it. She looked around for a second mask and found it, putting it on. Her respiratory bypass system was only good for so long, so having the mask with its little oxygen tank would be necessary in a few minutes.
The creature indicated that they were to walk in front of it and they did so, Jamie’s hand searching for Luke’s. She grasped it tightly. The creature herded them to a room and then stepped back. A large glass panel came down and covered the entryway behind them, trapping them in the room. A loud hissing sound came from the ceiling and they looked up to see pipes.
When the hissing stopped the alien indicated they could remove their masks. Jamie shook her head at Luke and held up one finger before cautiously removing her mask. She tested the atmosphere, found it to be the right mix of nitrogen and oxygen and then nodded her head to Luke and he removed his mask, too.
The black rock creature stared at them, his (and somehow they both knew it was masculine) eyes glittering, and suddenly Luke realized he was made almost entirely out of black diamond. He was beautiful in a cold, dark, bloodless way. He didn’t know if the alien was cruel or unyielding, though the immobility of the creature was starkly frightening.
“What are you doing with us?” Jamie asked. She was not expecting an answer, certainly not one in the perfectly spoken American accented English that emerged from the creature.
“I have put you in a safe environment for your respective species. It would be difficult for you to breathe our air for long.”
“You speak English!” Luke said.
“That is obvious,” said the alien.
“But…how do you know English?” Jamie demanded. “That can’t be your language.”
“We receive your television and radio broadcasts. They beam off your planet and into space. We have learned English that way.”
“That explains the American accent,” said Luke. “Most of the TV broadcast comes from them.”
“Why did you bring our life pod on board your ship?” Jamie asked.
“Our sensors indicated that your oxygen stores were depleted. You would have run out of air within minutes if we had not,” the alien said simply. “We did not want you to die.”
“But you shot at us!” said Luke. “The Moon was attacked. You cracked open three domes and killed people.”
The creature turned its glittering eyes on Luke. “That was not us.”
“If you didn’t send the missiles, where did they come from?” Jamie asked.
“It was not us.” No matter how much they questioned the alien they could get no further information from him. Eventually they stopped asking. A strange, melodic pulse echoed through the chamber and the alien got up and walked away.
“Now what?” Jamie asked.
“Now we wait for them to do something or for your parents to come and get us out of here. I just wish it weren’t so cold,” he said. He glanced around the room, the cell really, that they were being held in. There was a thin mattress on the floor in one corner and a couple of blankets. Luke went and retrieved a blanket and wrapped it around himself.
“Aren’t you cold?” he asked Jamie.
“It’s not cold enough yet to bother me. I’ve got a lower body temperature than a human and can put up with cold a lot longer.”
“Good,” said Luke retrieving the second blanket and wrapping it around himself as well. Jamie went and sat down on the mattress, her back against the wall.
“I never was good at waiting,” she said impatiently.
“Well, at least we’re doing it some place larger than that life pod,” he told her. “How long has it been since they grabbed our pod and brought us on board?”
“An hour,” said Jamie promptly.
“Then we only have to wait five more until your mum and dad show up.” Luke sat down next to her on the mattress and she leaned against him, snaking one arm inside his blankets to grasp his hand.
“I think I’ve got it,” the Doctor said holding a thin solution up to the light and watching as it bubbled softly.
“What’ll that do?” asked Rose.
“It won’t stop their brains from functioning properly, but it can dissolve diamonds and since they’re made mostly of diamonds it’s a way of destroying them. It’s just a back up though. We’ll try to reason with them first,” the Doctor said cautiously.
“Reason?” snapped Mairi. “Reason with a race that without warning just killed one thousand of our people and destroyed twenty percent of our city?”
“Yes, Mairi, reason,” said Rose, looking disapprovingly at her daughter. “That is always the first step. We’re not Torchwood. We’re U.N.I.T.”
Mairi looked down but a rebellious expression stayed on her face. “We’re almost there,” she said. “Landon sent me to tell you we’ll be in visual range in ten minutes.”
The Doctor poured the solution into several tubes and stoppered them, before placing them carefully in one of his pockets. The three of them then exited the TARDIS and he locked the door behind them. Carefully they made their way out of the hold and forward to where the passenger seats were.
When the alien vessel came into range, they saw that it was a big, black ship that looked as if it has been carved out of onyx, and perhaps it had. Rose slipped up into the co-pilot seat and picked up the radio. “U.N.I.T. shuttle Kelly Green calling unknown alien vessel. Come in please.”
She received static in return. Every five minutes she repeated her call until finally she received an answer. “This is the Ganymede ship Dark Heart of Jupiter. We are receiving you, Kelly Green.”
“Acknowledged, Dark Heart. We are in search of a life pod carrying two children that was on a trajectory matching yours. Have you seen them?” Rose asked with a hitch in her voice.
“Affirmative, Kelly Green. We have two adolescent Earth creatures aboard our ship that were extracted from a life pod five hours ago. Do you wish to rendezvous for retrieval?” came the voice from the Dark Heart.
“Affirmative, Dark Heart.”
“Transmitting rendezvous coordinates now. We will see you within the hour.” The radio returned to static.
“That went…unexpectedly well,” said Landon giving his mother an odd glance.
“There’s more going on here than meets the eye,” said the Doctor who had taken up a position behind Rose when the aliens had finally answered her call. “I’m starting to think those missiles didn’t come from the Ganyites at all.”
“But if they didn’t then where did they come from?” Landon asked.
“That’s the question,” said the Doctor. “And maybe the Ganyites have the answer.”
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Date: 2008-08-18 03:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 10:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-18 06:19 am (UTC)I am so glad that your Vortex muses have returned!
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Date: 2008-08-19 10:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 06:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 10:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-17 11:39 pm (UTC)