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Tweak says, "Terrific, a six-demon bag."

Captain Jack Harkness (cannot_die) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-06-01 09:14:00

Entry tags:

arrival, complete, day 1, golem, jack harkness

Who: Jack Harkness and one of the golems
What: From Cardiff to a... ranch? Even for Jack, this is weird
When: Late at night in Cardiff/Around noon on the planet
Where: On the ground of the Dude Ranch, near the entrance
Status: Complete
Rating: PG

Jack ran along the dark Cardiff street, his gun at the ready and swearing vociferously under his breath though most of the words were nothing from the realms of English. He'd been planning a quiet night at the Hub with Ianto... well, as quiet as any of their nights ever got. Nowhere in those plans had there been anything along the lines of hunting down yet another escapee from the rift, especially an escapee who looked like a cross between a lizard and a rabbit and was deceptively quick when startled. He started out this hunt disgruntled and his mood wasn't improving. He'd hoped to have Ianto naked and spread out on his bed right about now.

He'd sent Owen and Ianto back to the SUV in an attempt to get in front of the damn thing while Gwen remained behind at the place where they'd first cornered it to deal with the public and police who seen it. She'd be handing out the retcon like candy on this one. Tosh was back at the Hub monitoring the CCTV in the hope of finishing this as quickly as possible. Jack still had some hopes that they could wrap this up quickly and his plans for the Ianto could still go ahead. Because he had plans... really good plans that he'd worked on for several days now. Plans that had had Ianto's enthusiatic support when he'd told his lover about them.

He saw a hint of movement in the mouth of a laneway not too far ahead and he headed in that direction. He slowed as approached the laneway then stopped and planted his back agains the wall of the building. He readied his gun and glanced down the laneway. It was pitch black and he couldn't see a damn thing but he could hear something moving around in there, rattling the bins and scrabbling against the walls.

He hesitated for a moment as he debated the wisdom of heading in alone. Neither Ianto nor Owen were anywhere in sight and he didn't want to wait and risk the creature finding another way out.

He tapped his headset at activate it. "Tosh? Can you see me?"

"Yes, Jack," came Tosh's voice in his ear.

"Is there another exit to this laneway?" he asked. "And where are Ianto and Owen? And Gwen?"

"One way in and one way out," Tosh reported after a moment. "Ianto and Owen are three streets away and heading towards you now. Gwen's still doing crowd control but it looks like she'll be finishing up soon."

"Good," Jack replied. "I'm going in. Tell Ianto and Owen to be careful when they get here."

"Shouldn't you wait?" Tosh's voice was concerned over the headset.

"I'll be fine," Jack reassured her then he took a wary step into the laneway.

He edged his way down towards where the sounds were coming from, his gun gripped tightly in his hand. He'd rather capture the creature but it had lashed out viciously enough earlier that he wasn't going to take any chances. They hadn't worked out whether it was truly that dangerous or simply frightened but he wasn't putting anyone at risk. He was about halfway down the laneway when a sudden roar startled him and a moment later the creature he was hunting leapt out from behind a large bin.

The creature hit him and drove him to the ground. Before Jack could get his hands up, the creature's head darted forward and he felt teeth in his neck. It was a sharp pain then the creature leapt off him and scuttled away. Jack gasped as pain radiated through him from the bite and he raised one hand to touch the wound. It was small and there wasn't a great deal of blood but from the way he was feeling, the creature possessed some kind of poison or venom. Suddenly his heart started racing and the pain made him arch off the ground. He screamed once then everything went dark as he died.

It was an indeterminate length of time later when Jack suddenly gasped and his eyes flew open. He clawed in several deep gulps of air then he managed to slow his breathing down to normal. He pushed himself into a sitting position and blinked. He was not in the laneway. He also wasn't in a hospital, the Hub or anywhere else he recognised. In fact if he had to categorise it, he was sitting on the ground near the entrance to what looked like a... ranch.

"Huh," he said to himself. "This is new."

he looked around and saw his gun lying on the ground not far from where he was sitting. He grabbed it and tucked it back into its holster then climbed to his feet. He swayed for a momen then shook his hed, pushing the residue of his death and resurrection away from him as he looked around. Yep, definitely a ranch and of a sort that didn't exist in Britain, let alone Wales.

He put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow. "Hello?" he called. "Anyone around?"

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mirage_npc
2008-05-31 09:15 pm UTC (link)

The golems didn't have names. They couldn't speak. And they couldn't think beyond following the orders of their creator. The Planet. This particular golem, one made from stone, was standing stock still in the foyer, waiting for something to do. When the light flashed and a shiny new key appeared on a hook in the box above the desk, the golem walked forward and extracted it. Palming the key with a clang against a stone hand, the golem wandered out of the building.

Without thought, the golem was directed by the Planet to the place where the man stood with his hands on his hips, looking distinctly perplexed. The golem stood a few feet away from the man and stared at him for a moment before lifting a hand and beckoning. It was almost robotic, the way stone man moved and gestured.

And it was nearly comical, the way the golem appeared. He was a perfectly etched replica of a human, down to the miniscule eyelashes and fingernails. And he moved as easily as if he had flesh and bone, rather than stone and mortar. Clothing the stone form was an impeccable suit. Dark, with a red tie.

The stone fingers crooked, directing the man to follow as the golem then turned and began to walk back toward the buildings. It was a strange greeting, to be sure. But, the Planet didn't care about such things.

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cannot_die
2008-06-01 03:37 am UTC (link)

Jack raised an eyebrow when someone emerged from the building in front of him then the other one went up as well when the figure got closer. He could have sworn the man approaching him was made of stone. When the man stopped a few feet away, that impression was strengthened.

"Hello," Jack said with a broad smile, appreciating the suit despite the fact it was adorning someone apparently made of stone. It looked good on the stone man; it would look even better on Ianto. Red was definitely Ianto's colour.

He didn't get a reply to his greeting, simply a beckoning gesture from the stone man who then turned and started walking back towards the building.

"Huh," Jack said thoughtfully then he shrugged and ambled along after the stone man. There didn't seem to be much else to do right now and playing along might just get him some answers.

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mirage_npc
2008-06-01 07:10 pm UTC (link)

The golem looked back to make sure Jack was following, and then continued on toward the courtyard outside the main building. The stone man walked as easily as any flesh and blood human, although he did not trip or stumble as a human might. As they arrived in the courtyard, the golem pointed to the stone tablet set into the side of the building and stood aside so the man could read it.

The stone arms folded over its chest as it waited, eyes staring straight ahead. If asked a yes or no question, the golem could answer. But, as it could not speak, it could not answer verbally. It could even maybe pantomime an answer, but most discovered that it was just easier to ask questions that could be answered with a nod or shake of the head.

When it appeared as if the man had finished reading, the golem held the key out, the sound of metal raking over the stone palm. Waiting for the man to take the key before he showed him to the room, the golem once more stared straight ahead. He was nothing more than a pawn, to accomplish a need set forth by the Planet.

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cannot_die
2008-06-02 01:03 am UTC (link)

Jack followed the stone man amiably enough, curious to find out what was going on. He was a little surprised to be lead not to a person but to a stone tablet. The stome man seemed to waiting for him to read the inscription on the tablet so Jack obliged.

He read the inscription three times before the import of it sank in and he lost any sense of bonhomie. He couldn't leave. Something clenched deep inside him and the faces of his team rushed through his head, Ianto's lingering as he turned to face the stone man. His smile was gone, as was his relaxed attitude. In it's place was what his team had a habit of calling his "Captain Harkness" attitude - stern, as stone-faced as the creature he was looking at and with a hint of menace.

"I can't leave?"

The stone man nodded silently.

"Why not?"

The stone man stayed still and Jack raised an eyebrow.

"The planet wants me to stay?" he tried.

The stone man nodded once again and Jack nodded to himself. No abstract questions then. A pity all he had left were abstract questions... or at least questions requiring a more indepth answer than a silent stone man could give him.

The stone man seemed to take his silence as its cue to continue and it held out a key. Jack stared at it for a long moment before reaching out and taking it. He refused to accept that he was stuck here but finding a way off could wait until he could find someone who could answer his questions. There was no point beating his head against a stone man after all.

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mirage_npc
2008-06-02 02:46 pm UTC (link)

The golem lowered his hand as soon as the weight of the key was lifted from the surface of his palm. He turned again, and began walking toward the building where Jack's room was located. Still the stone man made no sounds, offered nothing a human body might. No warmth, no expression, just an unerring forward motion.

The two of them moved inside the building and down the corridor to the room Jack had been assigned. The golem tapped the door gently and then stood back, indicating that this was the room the man would be occupying. It waited until Jack had opened his door, and then hesitated a minute to see if there were any other questions before it turned and left him alone.

Luckily, there were other beings who had been pulled into this place, and if Jack looked, he could probably find one or two that could answer his more abstract questions.

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cannot_die
2008-06-02 04:51 pm UTC (link)

Jack followed the stone man into the building and down the corridor, swinging the key around on one finger. It was obvious from the stone man's continuing silence that he was going to be as communciative as the substance he was apparently made of. No help there. Stone was always so boring to talk to. So it was best to just get this over and done with so that he could go looking for someone who could help him.

They finally stopped in front of a door with 202 on the front of it, a number that matched the one on his key. He unlocked and opend his door then watched with interest as the stone man walked away. Well, that had been somewhat informative.

He walked into what was apparently his room and looked around with surprised pleasure. It was an almost exact replica of his room in the TARDIS, something he hadn't seen for a long time. There was the large, exceedingly comfrotable bed that was in the same state of messy disarray as he remembered leaving it. The open wardrobe full of far more casual clothes than he wore now. The RAF cap sitting on the desk among the assorted bits and pieces he'd picked up during his travels with the Doctor and Rose. The two wicker casket chairs and the table that stood in the corner near the door. All such a contrast to the way he lived in the Hub. He'd done that deliberately, knowing he'd probably create something like this given half the chance and not wanting the memories it brought back.

As it was he looked around the room with both pleasure and pain as memories good and bad came back to him. Even the walls were right though his room in the TARDIS had never had a door leading out onto a balcony. He walked further into the room, the closing after him and sank down into one of the basket chairs. He'd investigate this place soon, for now he just needed to deal with what was in front of him and the implications that arose from it.

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