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fandomweekly2022-05-29 08:13 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2022-05-29 08:13 pm
Entry tags:
[#138] STRATEGIC ALLIANCES (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #138 - Leviathan
Title: Strategic alliances
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG. Futureverse.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Ianto is apprehensive about the growing technological advances UNIT have been making, so he decides to see them for himself.
'Welcome aboard the Valiant, Mr Jones.'
Ianto took the hand of the man and shook it. 'Brigadier,' he greeted. It wasn't the same familiarity he'd had with the man's predecessor, but then it had been a few years since Kate Lethbridge-Stewart had been at the helm and co-operation with UNIT was still limited. Getting UNIT to trust Torchwood after a hundred and fifty years was still a work in progress,. but he was making some small inroads. Diplomacy was very much on the cards these days. Let it not be said that Ianto's tenure as leader of Torchwood would have nothing to show for itself.
'I have to say this has been on my bucket list,' Ianto admitted as he followed the Brigadier around the maze of hallways and staircases. It looked just like a normal office building, state of the art, of course, but one thing it didn't look like from the inside was a giant spacecraft.
'The equivalent size of forty-four football pitches,' the Brigadier replied. 'UNIT have never built anything like her. Not just a ship for today, but a ship for the future. And the future will need her.' Several armed UNIT personnel nodded as the pair of them were allowed to pass through. 'Rather than bore you with her specifics, I thought it might be best if you saw it for yourself to give you a bit of perspective.'
As they stepped into a huge control room, Ianto could see at least three dozen personnel operating the various panels. 'This is the nerve centre?'
'We prefer to call it the bridge.' That was the moment the large metallic panels lining the walls began to peel themselves away, revealing beyond not just the blue sky and powdery white clouds far below them, but the huge expanse of the ship itself. The bridge was near the centre rather than at the nose of the vessel, giving Ianto a full three hundred and sixty degree view of it. It truly was a leviathan of a vessel.
'Impressive,' he said, without giving away too much of his awe. Part of him wanted to know why Torchwood couldn't have cool ships like this.
Jack had been strangely reluctant to join him. Jack was nothing if not a tinkerer, with a penchant for spaceships that he could basically equate to some people's obsession with cars. Not wanting to see what planet Earth had devised as their first true foray into interstellar capability was disappointing. True, the Valiant was unlikely to do much travelling herself. Her task was to stay in the thin layer of stratosphere, still safely ensconced in the Earth's gravitational orbit, but high enough that she wouldn't be seen by commercial craft and weather analytics equipment. The circle of people who knew about her was already big enough. Just having Torchwood in the loop was more of an inter-agency courtesy than anything else. She was a UNIT vessel, so no one from Torchwood would be getting to drive her, even under the most dire situation. Perhaps that's why Jack didn't want to come along. He hated being able to look but not touch.
'Nothing can stop the defensive capabilities of this vessel,' the Brigadier informed him. 'Any alien who attempts to attack us will find themselves obliterated to the point where there won't be a single atom left to reintegrate.'
Ianto refrained from saying what he really thought. 'I'd caution making those assertions so publicly. Sometimes, life persists.' He only had to look at his husband to know that was true. Jack could be torn apart and his atoms cast across all of space, but he'd still find a way to, for want of a better phrase, pull himself back together. Even if he had no conscious awareness of doing it.
What he really wanted to tell them was that it was arrogant stupidity to think they were the most powerful beings in the universe. Truthfully, they were like ants, carrying on with their own little lives, oblivious to the bigger world around them. He hoped that they would never have to use the Valiant for more than passive monitoring or dealing with rogue asteroids. If it came down to a genuine incursion or conflict it would take more than a single, albeit mighty, spacecraft to protect the planet. On that front he had first hand experience. Even after all these years, just thinking about the 456 incursion made him shudder.
'I trust we'd have Torchwood's expertise at hand in that eventuality. Negotiating a peaceful exchange would be preferable to our needing to engage any enemy.'
Ianto nodded. 'Naturally.' In fact, he very much hoped that UNIT would have little or no involvement if it came down to it. He had every confidence in his own team, and they'd handle more than their share without any help from UNIT. Still, it paid not to burn any bridges. You needed friends when they had the Earth's most advanced undersea and stratospheric defense systems.
'I sense I'm boring you already,' the Brigadier apologised.
Ianto blinked, surprised by the statement. 'Not at all.' He was usually so much better at this. Perhaps the enormity of the occasion had him off his game.
'Kate warned me that you were hard to read and even harder to impress. I won't lie, I am trying to impress you.'
'You are, I promise. I suppose I'm just twenty thoughts ahead at how aliens might view us now that we've got a dirty big defensive spaceship in orbit.'
The Brigadier arched an eyebrow. 'Worrying about tomorrow's problems?'
'Something like that. Burden of leadership and all.'
'Perhaps we should dispense with the rest of the tour and sit down to strategise for tomorrow's problems. We are allies, after all. Your problems are my problems.'
Ianto beamed. 'Sounds like a plan. But I really do want to see the ship. Bucket list, remember?'
The Brigadier extended his hand in partnership. 'What the leader of Torchwood wants, the leader of Torchwood gets.'
Title: Strategic alliances
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG. Futureverse.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Ianto is apprehensive about the growing technological advances UNIT have been making, so he decides to see them for himself.
'Welcome aboard the Valiant, Mr Jones.'
Ianto took the hand of the man and shook it. 'Brigadier,' he greeted. It wasn't the same familiarity he'd had with the man's predecessor, but then it had been a few years since Kate Lethbridge-Stewart had been at the helm and co-operation with UNIT was still limited. Getting UNIT to trust Torchwood after a hundred and fifty years was still a work in progress,. but he was making some small inroads. Diplomacy was very much on the cards these days. Let it not be said that Ianto's tenure as leader of Torchwood would have nothing to show for itself.
'I have to say this has been on my bucket list,' Ianto admitted as he followed the Brigadier around the maze of hallways and staircases. It looked just like a normal office building, state of the art, of course, but one thing it didn't look like from the inside was a giant spacecraft.
'The equivalent size of forty-four football pitches,' the Brigadier replied. 'UNIT have never built anything like her. Not just a ship for today, but a ship for the future. And the future will need her.' Several armed UNIT personnel nodded as the pair of them were allowed to pass through. 'Rather than bore you with her specifics, I thought it might be best if you saw it for yourself to give you a bit of perspective.'
As they stepped into a huge control room, Ianto could see at least three dozen personnel operating the various panels. 'This is the nerve centre?'
'We prefer to call it the bridge.' That was the moment the large metallic panels lining the walls began to peel themselves away, revealing beyond not just the blue sky and powdery white clouds far below them, but the huge expanse of the ship itself. The bridge was near the centre rather than at the nose of the vessel, giving Ianto a full three hundred and sixty degree view of it. It truly was a leviathan of a vessel.
'Impressive,' he said, without giving away too much of his awe. Part of him wanted to know why Torchwood couldn't have cool ships like this.
Jack had been strangely reluctant to join him. Jack was nothing if not a tinkerer, with a penchant for spaceships that he could basically equate to some people's obsession with cars. Not wanting to see what planet Earth had devised as their first true foray into interstellar capability was disappointing. True, the Valiant was unlikely to do much travelling herself. Her task was to stay in the thin layer of stratosphere, still safely ensconced in the Earth's gravitational orbit, but high enough that she wouldn't be seen by commercial craft and weather analytics equipment. The circle of people who knew about her was already big enough. Just having Torchwood in the loop was more of an inter-agency courtesy than anything else. She was a UNIT vessel, so no one from Torchwood would be getting to drive her, even under the most dire situation. Perhaps that's why Jack didn't want to come along. He hated being able to look but not touch.
'Nothing can stop the defensive capabilities of this vessel,' the Brigadier informed him. 'Any alien who attempts to attack us will find themselves obliterated to the point where there won't be a single atom left to reintegrate.'
Ianto refrained from saying what he really thought. 'I'd caution making those assertions so publicly. Sometimes, life persists.' He only had to look at his husband to know that was true. Jack could be torn apart and his atoms cast across all of space, but he'd still find a way to, for want of a better phrase, pull himself back together. Even if he had no conscious awareness of doing it.
What he really wanted to tell them was that it was arrogant stupidity to think they were the most powerful beings in the universe. Truthfully, they were like ants, carrying on with their own little lives, oblivious to the bigger world around them. He hoped that they would never have to use the Valiant for more than passive monitoring or dealing with rogue asteroids. If it came down to a genuine incursion or conflict it would take more than a single, albeit mighty, spacecraft to protect the planet. On that front he had first hand experience. Even after all these years, just thinking about the 456 incursion made him shudder.
'I trust we'd have Torchwood's expertise at hand in that eventuality. Negotiating a peaceful exchange would be preferable to our needing to engage any enemy.'
Ianto nodded. 'Naturally.' In fact, he very much hoped that UNIT would have little or no involvement if it came down to it. He had every confidence in his own team, and they'd handle more than their share without any help from UNIT. Still, it paid not to burn any bridges. You needed friends when they had the Earth's most advanced undersea and stratospheric defense systems.
'I sense I'm boring you already,' the Brigadier apologised.
Ianto blinked, surprised by the statement. 'Not at all.' He was usually so much better at this. Perhaps the enormity of the occasion had him off his game.
'Kate warned me that you were hard to read and even harder to impress. I won't lie, I am trying to impress you.'
'You are, I promise. I suppose I'm just twenty thoughts ahead at how aliens might view us now that we've got a dirty big defensive spaceship in orbit.'
The Brigadier arched an eyebrow. 'Worrying about tomorrow's problems?'
'Something like that. Burden of leadership and all.'
'Perhaps we should dispense with the rest of the tour and sit down to strategise for tomorrow's problems. We are allies, after all. Your problems are my problems.'
Ianto beamed. 'Sounds like a plan. But I really do want to see the ship. Bucket list, remember?'
The Brigadier extended his hand in partnership. 'What the leader of Torchwood wants, the leader of Torchwood gets.'
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And as always, UNIT is arrogantly assuming humanity's superiority over all other races in the universe, just like Torchwood One used to. Thank goodness Torchwood these days has level heads in charge.
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