Captain Jack Harkness tried to stretch in the cramped quarters. He could tell that if Mal had been able to pace, he would have.
"How much longer do we wait? We should return to Moya," D'Argo stated.
"No, this way, we're in the middle of things, if we do get a fix on the Master's location," Jack replied.
"And you have faith the good Doctor will come through?" Mal asked.
"Once he knows, I think he'll tell us. He has a habit of sometimes trying to make people's decisions for them, but I don't think Rose will let him this time. We just need to wait." He smiled wryly at Ianto. "Not quite as exciting as you thought, huh?"
"Well, the novelty of being in a space for the first time hasn't completely worn off," Ianto answered with a grin.
D'Argo and Mal just rolled their eyes.
"I apologize there aren't any tourist attractions nearby," D'Argo grumbled.
"Hey, don't take it out on him. It's not his fault," Jack snapped. "And in the era he lives in, humans are only beginning to experiment with spaceflight."
Mal blinked. "You're from a different time?"
Jack nodded. "His future, technically. Many centuries from … well, I guess now."
"So, I suppose you know how to fly, then Captain?" D'Argo challenged.
Jack arched a brow. "I do. Want me to show you?"
"Sorry. This ship is only keyed to respond to Luxan DNA. Though a decent human pilot is something I would be most interested to see."
"If you start doing maneuvers to show off, I will be forced to fire on you," Aeryn's voice came through the speakers. They were keeping an open link, just in case.
Jack smirked. "Sorry if our offers to show off are bothering you. I'm sure if it was Crichton, you wouldn't mind seeing his maneuvers."
D'Argo muted the comm. "First, how did you know that? And second, now if she fires on us, it is your fault."
"It was obvious, the way they were looking at each other on the viewscreens. And I overheard her asking Rose if Crichton was okay. Hey, I don't blame her; he's hot!"
Ianto rolled his eyes.
Aeryn's voice came over the comm again. "Captain Harkness, I am so glad you decided to travel in Lo'La. If you were in here with me … well, I can't guarantee you'd be leaving in one piece."
"My apologies for the interruption," Pilot announced into the both the ships. "But Moya has once again picked up the Master's trail of void particles close to your position. Dr. Jones indicated that I should inform you, since we are currently unable to reach the TARDIS."
Jack was immediately on alert. "What? You can't reach the Doctor? Hang on, let me try someone who's with him." He dialed Rose.
It rang once before she picked it up. "Hello?"
"Rose, it's Jack. Is the Doctor okay? We can't get through to him."
"Yeah, we're fine. We're on Hyneria, and he's gone with some of the others to talk to Rygel. Right now, his cell phone is connected to the TARDIS, so we can hear what's going on. They're trying to get the Master's location from Rygel."
"We think we might have picked up the trail. Moya's been able to detect it close to our position."
"I would go for it, Jack. We're stuck in a bit of a song and dance here. We may not be able to get you the location for a bit yet."
"Understood. Is everyone all right?"
"Yes, everyone here is fine. We're just … waiting."
"Yeah, we've done enough of that for now. We're going after the Master."
"Be careful, Jack."
"We will." He turned to D'Argo as he hung up. "Got the trail?"
"Yes."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's hunt us a Time Lord."
"Lo'La and Officer Sun's prowler are traveling towards the void particles," Pilot announced.
"How far away are they?" Simon asked.
"The trail leads away from here. Talyn should not be able to sense Moya at this distance," Pilot answered.
"Tell Moya not to worry, Pilot. The Doctor and Jack will bring Talyn back safely," Martha stated.
Kaylee came into the control room, her face red and puffy.
Martha smile sympathetically. "How are you doing?"
Kaylee shrugged. Simon seemed to be hovering awkwardly, so Martha gave him a discreet elbow in the side. He stepped forward and hugged Kaylee.
Stark wandered in a few minutes later. "We don't have much, but I prepared a meal, if you'd like to have something to eat."
Martha smiled. "Thank you, Stark. What's on the menu?"
"Food cubes, mostly," Stark mumbled.
Kaylee pulled away from Simon and almost laughed. "Well, that sounds back to normal for us."
"I guess I'll just look on it as an adventure then," Martha commented. "I hope they fed you well at Torchwood."
Kaylee's whole face lit up as they walked left command. "Yeah! They gave me all the strawberries I could eat!"
John Crichton had to wonder how the Doctor was managing to keep a straight face. He seemed to be familiar with different alien races, so he must have encountered Hynerians before.
They did make a rather ridiculous-looking group – five humanoids towering over a bunch of little Hynerians. John could tell that Chiana was trying her best not to laugh. Zhaan looked placid as usual, and Crais looked extremely annoyed – also as usual. For the first time, he was glad Aeryn and D'Argo weren't with them. He had visions of little Hynerian guards being kicked down the hallway like soccer balls.
The hallway had a low ceiling that just high enough to accommodate them. The hallway was lined with long tubes filled with water. Occasionally, they saw a Hynerian swimming through. The tubes were decorated with some kind of gold inlay. It was clear that the hallway for "landlubbers" was almost an afterthought. It didn't look any grander than Moya.
More armed guards stood in front of the doorway and moved aside as it slid open. John decided that Sparky hadn't done too badly for himself. The grand hall was much more open and adorned with inlays in precious stone, jewel, and metal. There were several water tunnels that led into the room. Rygel himself was all but sprawled on his throne, surrounded by several females. Crichton averted his eyes.
"Whoa! Dominar, if this is a bad time –"
"Ah! Good, you've come!" Rygel boomed.
"Yeah, and I'd be really happy if you didn't!"
The giggles that Chiana had obviously been holding back burst out of her.
The Doctor seemed oblivious to the whole scene as he bowed in front of the throne. "Dominar Rygel XVI. I congratulate you on regaining your throne."
When Crichton risked a look up, Rygel had straightened himself up, and the females had moved so they were sitting around him, rather than on him. After a moment, he, Chiana, Zhaan, and Crais all bowed as well.
"I thank you, Doctor. And thank you for bringing these four along. It is always good to share your success with your inferiors."
Crichton grabbed Chiana's wrist before she could yell something obscene.
"Dominar, while the Master obviously saw the wisdom in returning you to your throne, I am afraid that he cannot be trusted running around the universe with Talyn. I humbly request that you tell us where they have gone."
"The Doctor's good at all that flowery talk," Jayne remarked, listening to the proceedings.
"Only when he has to be," Rose responded. "If Rygel didn't have something we need, I don't think the Doctor would be quite as patient."
"How long has it been?" Donna asked.
Rose blinked. "Since what?"
"Since you last saw each other."
"Almost two years." Rose stared at the console and ran her fingers over it lovingly. "Has he mentioned me at all?"
"Yeah, of course," Donna replied. "Why wouldn't he?"
Rose tried to look nonchalant, even as the answer thrilled her. "He doesn't always talk about people he's … lost."
"He was lost without you, believe me," Donna stated. "He was … frightening. I told him that he needed someone to stop him."
Rose's eyes widened. "What did he do?"
"He saved the world, as usual. He just … he was merciless. It scared me off, actually. He asked to come with him, and I said no. We ran into each other a year later. I realized what a big mistake I'd made by saying no."
Rose smiled. "I did, too."
"What?"
"I said no when he first asked. It was terrifying. But then … when he told me it was also a time machine, I couldn't resist."
They paused for a moment to listen to the conversation going on in the throne room. But the Doctor, Rygel, and Zhaan were continuing to go on with a delicate back and forth.
"How long, d'you think?" Donna asked Rose.
"What?"
"How long 'til the Doctor snaps and puts the toad in his place?"
Rose giggled and listened to the Doctor's voice losing patience. "I say two minutes."
"I say four. You're on!"
Jayne rolled his eyes.
Two minutes later . . .
"Rygel, look, we just need the information," Crichton interrupted. "We get a location, you get an entire empire. Sound fair?"
"Or did the Master instruct you to stall us while he disappears with Talyn?" Crais challenged.
Rygel bristled. "How dare you insinuate that I'm stalling!"
"Right!" the Doctor said, whipping out his sonic screwdriver. He pointed it at each of the water tunnels, causing them to close off one by one. He aimed the screwdriver at Rygel, ignoring the Hynerian weapons now pointed in his direction. "Dominar, I know that you have seen some of what the Master is capable of. Believe me, you have only seen a fraction of it. Now, if the mood should strike him, he will come back and take from your empire whatever he pleases. And so long as he has Talyn, no one can stop him. If you want to protect your people, and better yet, if you don't want to try my patience any longer, I suggested you tell us where they went."
Rygel stared wide-eyed at the Time Lord for a moment. "Very well. He's gone to the Peacekeepers. He wants to get his hands on their wormhole technology; he said he could make it work. He and the female will pose as disaffected Peacekeepers to gain access. I made the introductions to Lieutenant Braca. They're en route to the command carrier now."
"Why does it always come back to wormholes?" Crichton complained quietly.
"We can use the TARDIS to find it," the Doctor said, waving the screwdriver around to unlock all of the water tunnels. "Let's go. Dominar, thank you for your hospitality."
"We'll show ourselves out," Chiana added.
"I told you!" Rose cried triumphantly. "Two minutes! You owe me!"
"Doesn't that mean that the others are heading towards a command carrier?" Jayne interrupted. "That's a bad thing, right?"
"Oh my God!" Rose cried, grabbing her phone and dialing. "Come on, Jack, pick up."
"Rose?"
"Jack! The Master's going to the Peacekeepers, to a command carrier. You should break off pursuit, so we can regroup."
"All right, thanks for the heads up. We'll back off a bit and make sure we're not found by the Peacekeepers."
Rose breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. The Doctor and the others are on their way back. We'll plan our next move once they're here."
"Got it. Talk to you soon."
"The Master knows about wormholes?" Aeryn queried once Jack had filled them in.
"He's a Time Lord. They kind of know everything," Jack answered. "We need to stay back. We don't want –"
"Anyone to find you, freak?" a new voice broke in.
Jack felt a wave of nausea just hearing his voice again. He tried to stay calm. "D'Argo, signal Moya. We found Talyn."
"Tosh, Jack's not picking up," Gwen said after trying Jack's mobile.
"Try Ianto," Tosh suggested.
"Already did. No answer there either," Gwen answered.
Tosh frowned. "Perhaps we should check in with Moya or the Doctor. Something might have gone wrong."
"What else can go wrong?" Owen muttered.
"Don't say that," Wash cautioned.
As Tosh went to the work station, suddenly, the screens lit up, showing the occupants of Moya and the TARDIS looking grim. Everyone in Torchwood gathered around the screens.
"What's going on?" Gwen asked. "Where's Jack?"
"We received a distress call from Officer Sun and Lo'La," Pilot announced. "I'm afraid the Master ambushed them. He's taken them with him to the Peacekeeper Command Carrier."
Wash felt the color drain from his face. He glared at Owen. "I told you not to say it!"
"Aeryn, D'Argo, Jack, Ianto, and Captain Reynolds have been taken prisoner," the Doctor concluded. "And the Master is planning to make use of the Peacekeeper wormhole technology."
"How do we get them back?" Zoe demanded. She was not about to lose her world, her ship, and her Captain in one day.
"I can't just materialize on the ship, like I did before," the Doctor explained. "The Master will be waiting for me. Wormhole technology is peanuts when compared to the TARDIS. That's what he wants most of all. And we don't have the firepower to attack them. I'm afraid … that leaves more diplomatic channels."
Wash put the pieces together. "You need Scorpius to negotiate."
"I think the best thing to do would be for me to come to Torchwood, collect Scorpius, and have him contact the Peacekeepers from here. I don't want them to be able to track the signal back to Torchwood," the Doctor stated.
"I have an important question," Chiana interjected. "Who does Scorpius know about? Does he know we've all been found?"
"Well, he mentioned Crichton, but we never confirmed that we had met him," Gwen answered. "Did you, Owen?"
Owen shook his head. "Nope."
"He does know that people from Moya are here, but he doesn't know who," Gwen concluded. Then she paused. "River, sweetheart, did you tell Scorpius anything about the people from Moya?"
"Same as you," River answered softly. "Mentioned Crichton but didn't say where he was. S'good 'cause that's who Scorpius wants more than anyone."
"If it'll get the others back, I'll go," Crichton stated.
"It doesn't matter," the Doctor said. "The Master's seen you all, remember? He'll mention that once negotiations start. The only ones he hasn't seen are Donna, Crais, Zhaan, Zoe, Jayne, Inara, Chiana, Tosh, and Gwen. Which is a large number of people, but unfortunately, not the ones Scorpius is going to be interested in, from the sound of things."
"River, you talked to Scorpius?" Simon asked.
River nodded. "He wants to take me to the chair. Take out some of the extra stuff in my brain."
"What?" Crichton shouted.
"Not the chair!" Stark cried.
"RIGHT!" the Doctor yelled, ending the conversation. He felt like he had been doing that a lot in the past few hours. "Everyone is going to tell me EVERYTHING about Scorpius. Everything you know, everything he's done. And then, Simon, you're going to tell me everything about your sister. And speak quickly, because it won't be long before the Master goes looking for Moya or us. In fact, Pilot, start moving away from the Command Carrier."
"Moya does not wish to abandon Talyn," Pilot replied.
"I know, Pilot, but I need her to trust me. We can't let the Master or the Peacekeepers have any more leverage than they've already got. Please. I will do everything I can to get Talyn out safely along with everyone else. I promise."
There was a long pause.
"Very well, Doctor. Changing course," Pilot announced.
"Thank you." He briefly rubbed his temples and then straightened up. "Crichton, let's start with you. Tell me everything about Scorpius."
To be continued ...