[#024] Out On The Rim (Torchwood)

[badly_knitted]

Theme Prompt: #024 – Starry Night
Title: Out On The Rim
Fandom: Torchwood.
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes.
Word Count: 956
Summary: Out on the rim of the galaxy, Ianto and Jack are searching for a missing spaceship.



It’s always night out in deep space, and there are always stars to be seen, even on the very edge of the galaxy. Other far off galaxies are visible, floating in the dark, pinpoints and swirls of radiance, and when you turn round, facing back the way you’ve come, the whole of the Milky Way stretches out before you, or it would if you could get enough distance to see it in its entirety.

As far as Ianto knows, nobody has ever tried, or if they have, they never made it back to tell the story, because it would take more fuel than any spaceship ever invented could carry. Maybe the Doctor could do it. Probably he could, and quite possibly has; he’ll have to ask Jack about that at some point, but not right now. Knowing where the Doctor has and hasn’t been isn’t exactly a priority at present; they’re not out here on a pleasure jaunt.

An exploration vessel came out here eight Galactic months ago. It was scheduled to arrive at Orginvy Station for re-supply two Galactic months ago, but it never did and all attempts at making contact with it have failed. The Mimulaic Federation wants to know what happened to their ship; its mission was to scout out potential new colony worlds, and it’s the only ship capable of such long voyages that they own. It will be several generations before they can afford to buy another one, and in the meantime they won’t be able to expand in their little corner of the galaxy. They’d like the ship back, naturally, but more importantly, they want the crew found and rescued if at all possible. They have family units back home, mates and young who miss them.

They’d tried for almost two months to find someone willing to venture into an unknown and unmapped region of space on a rescue mission, but ship after ship turned them down, citing too much risk for too little reward. The Mimulaic Federation isn’t exactly broke, but they sunk a large proportion of their assets into the search for habitable planets, knowing it was a gamble, one it now appears they’ve lost, along with their ship.

Ianto and Jack don’t do this kind of thing for the money though. They know how dangerous the Galactic Rim can be, having been out that way themselves mapping unexplored regions on more than one occasion, so here they are, searching.

They’ve been out here just over two weeks, earth time; they began their search at the exploration ship’s last recorded position, following the course it should have been taking in order to reach Orginvy on schedule, and gradually expanding outwards from there. Space is big, and spaceships, even exploration vessels, are very small. All the Wanderer’s sensors are at maximum range, trying to pick up any sign that a ship has passed through this region, but the trail was probably cold before they started.

Both men are well aware how far from any possible assistance they are, but being immortal they have less reason to worry about it than most. The Wanderer is well equipped, with plenty of fuel, a large reserve of power cubes, spare parts for all the onboard systems, and enough food in stasis pods to last them for several years. Air and water are constantly recycled, and they have the technology available to filter out anything that would be harmful to them from what they might find on the scattered planets out here if it becomes necessary to refresh their supply. It’s a bit difficult to store spare air, even compressed in tanks. It can only be squished down so far.

Ten days later, Ianto’s on watch in the cockpit when he catches the faintest blip on one of the monitors, right at the limit of sensor range. He radios for Jack to join him even as he turns the Wanderer to a new heading and increases speed. The blip grows larger and before long a spaceship can be seen on the forward screens.

“Is that it?” he asks Jack.

“Sure looks like it.”

They try to make radio contact, but there’s no reply; the ship is drifting, without power.

Drawing alongside, they dock with the forward airlock and board the hulk, expecting the worst, only to get a pleasant surprise; most of the crew are alive, although not in particularly good shape. The captain was lost in the explosion that crippled their guidance systems, navigation, and communication, while two others were injured, one of them seriously.

The ship is poorly designed; too many of its vital systems run from the same control panel, which is wrecked beyond repair, wiring, circuits, and delicate components fused together. It will all need stripping out and replacing, not a task to be carried out in deep space. The Wanderer is a workhorse though; she can handle the tow. As for the explorer’s crew, they’re welcome aboard and will probably be more comfortable in the passenger cabins than back on their own ship, where the life support is already struggling thanks to several power relays getting burned out in the fire.

When everyone is settled, and the grapples locked securely to the crippled ship, Ianto takes the helm once more, setting course for Orginvy. The return trip will take at least three weeks, maybe four, but that’s okay, all that matters is that despite the odds being against them, the rescue mission has been a success. That’s not always the case; many lost ships are never found.

Pointing the Wanderer away from the Milky Way’s sparsely populated rim and towards civilisation, Ianto relaxes, smiling contentedly, letting the ship carry them all to safety through the endless, starry night.


The End




 

Comments

[mxcatmoon]

I like the idea of Jack and Ianto, out in space together helping those who need it. Hopefully they'll be able to help repair the ship, now that they've rescued the crew.

[badly_knitted]

They'll tow it back to the space station and leave the repair work to the professionals. Repairing their own ship is one thing, but the explorer is of a type they're not familiar with. Besides, they need to get back to their regular life of transporting cargo from place to place. Rescuing people is a sideline ;)

This one's part of my Ghost of a Chance 'Verse, one of two 'verses (the other one being Through Time and Space) that ha Jack and Ianto out in space, living their lives and helping people whenever they can.

Thank you!