Emma's Six- New Adventures

Jack's Training

We soon finish the phone call. 'There is a chance that the Slitheen are no longer vulnerable to vinegar,' Jack says, looking thoughtful. 'If that's the case, we need to be prepared.'
'But how can we prepare ourselves?' I ask. 'What else can we use against the Slitheen?' Jack looks up at me, looking thoughtful.
'You got your hunger yet?'
'Yes, but I don't think it's strong enough to go up against the Slitheen. I'm only a hybrid, so it would be a bit hit—and—miss.'
'That's a good point.' Jack intertwines his fingers as he thinks. 'How would you feel about using a weapon?'
'Mum and Mummy won't approve.'
'It doesn't matter whether they approve or not. How would you feel about using one?'
'If it means giving my family and friends more protection, then I'll be happy to learn.'
'That's our answer, then. Come with me.' Jack stands up and heads out of his office to the central part of the Torchwood hub. 'I'll be taking Emma to train,' he says to the rest of his team. 'Keep doing what you're doing, okay?' They nod, but as we're about to head out, Owen catches up to us.
'Emma, can I talk to you for a moment?'
'Yeah, sure,' I agree, and Jack stops walking to give us some time.
'I thought it could be helpful for someone at Torchwood to monitor you. As you are a human-Qetesh hybrid and part soul-stealer, it would be in your best interests to try and make sure that your alien half rarely shows up.'
'I know; it's something Mum and Mummy drummed into me since I was a baby.'
'I thought that instead of only monitoring your behaviour, we could also look at your biology, mental and physical patterns. That way, If you're hunger grows out of control; we might know what the warning sides are.'
'Surely biology stays the same?'
'For most people, yes,' Owen confirms. 'With your older self, it was different. We have all the alien technology she used in April 1854, right up until we last saw her in May 1911. In early April, you were in Dalbeattie. We don't know what you did or who you were with as you didn't talk about it then, and you wouldn't talk about it afterwards.'

Maybe I need to do a little research into that. If I hadn't seen anyone from Torchwood since May 1911, and it was less than a year before the Titanic sank, then what happened? Could my file have anything on it?

'I thought Emma said she had a boyfriend in Dalbeattie,' Jack says. 'Or was it Southampton? I'll have to double-check.'
'Dalbeattie and Southampton are worlds apart,' Owen points out. 'Anyway, that's not the point. We've got nothing from you from May 1911 onwards.'
'From what I remember, my older self was caught up in an engagement she didn't want, which could explain why she wasn't at Torchwood,' I say. 'Henrat came after us with his friends and forced us to become engaged with them and abandon relationships and people we loved.'
'That would explain an awful lot,' Owen nods. 'So, as I was saying, would you be happy with doing the tests?'
'Of course, I will,' I smile.
'Great, well, when you have a spare moment, can you see me in the Autopsy Room?'
'Sure.' Owen heads back to the Autopsy Room, and I notice that Jack started walking again. I quickly follow him into another underground building full of cardboard targets. Most of them are alien species I have never seen before. Jack gestures to a table in front of us, full of different guns.

'You need to know how to use these. I hope you never have to.' I start giggling.
'Sorry, it's just... I don't even kill spiders in the bath.'
'Nor do I,' Jack smiles. 'At least, not with a gun. It's all yours.' I look back at the table again and notice two pairs of glasses and ear defenders. 'All of the ammunition is beside the guns. You need to learn which of the guns uses each bullet.' I quickly pull on the glasses and ear defenders. Jack nods and pulls his on. 'As always, safety first.' He loads up the first gun. It is a silver one, and he passes it to me.
'Cowboy films often don't show you how most people fire a gun.'
'You watch cowboy films?'
'I've only seen a couple, and they were not great. If anything, I hated them. It's got me off cowboy films altogether. I never even got into Toy Story.'

I place both hands over the handle. 'One hand, not two,' Jack quickly corrects my position. 'Face sideways to the target. Look along your shoulder, down your arm, straight line to the sights. Bring up the gun.' He is in the position I'm meant to be in. I nod and get myself ready a bit too fast for my liking. 'Slow down, tiger,' Jack grins. 'It's all in the breathing.' Jack helps me raise my arm slowly and aim the gun at the target. 'Hold it firmly, don't grip it.' Jack cocks the gun for me. 'Breathe in, focus. Breathe out, squeeze gently.' I breathe out and squeeze the trigger.

The gun fires, and it hits the target. 'Wow,' I breathe.
'That was a team effort. Think you can do it on your own?' I nod and cock the gun and follow the instructions Jack gave me. I fire the gun in the centre and fire it a couple more times. 'You comfortable with that?'
'Yeah.' Jack shows me how to unload the gun and shows me how to use the next one. I place one hand on the trigger and the other underneath the handle.
'Don't grip it too tight.' He tells me, then removes the hand I placed under the handle. 'All in the breathing.' I continue firing different guns for the next few minutes.

'Wow,' I say when we're finished. 'Mum and Mummy are going to be livid that I did that!'
'But it was your choice to do it. They should respect that. But like I said, I hope you never have to use them.' We head back up to the main area, and I join Owen in the Autopsy Room.

'As I said earlier, we still have all the equipment you used in the 1850s up until the early 1910s. We also have some new equipment that I want you to try out, but you don't have to if you don't want to.' Owen is wearing his doctor's lab coat, and he is setting up the equipment around the room.
'Do you know how to work these?'
'Trust me; I'm a doctor. Now, we will be monitoring physical, biological, mental and behavioural patterns. If you have some of this equipment at home, you can send the results over to me so I can put it into the system.'
'We don't have any of this equipment at home,' I say, looking at the different alien technology Owen has in the room. 'All we have is a supercomputer that seemed to have turned bad.'
'All right, then. Well, let's get this done, then you can go and stop your computer.' He puts me on a treadmill first and attaches a heart rate monitor to me. 'You ready to start?'
'Yeah.'

About an hour later, I finish all the exercises Owen set for me. He checks over the records he has from my older self. 'Everything seems to be as it was,' he assures me. 'We have nothing to worry about.'
'Thanks, Owen,' I smile. I head back to the computers and think about finding out where the local chippy is to get to Luke faster with the vinegar. Then, I begin thinking. Why would my older self avoid Torchwood after William died? Yes, she was a mother, but was there something more to it? Did she not want Torchwood knowing something about herself?

I go back to searching for fish and chip shops and grocery stores to get some vinegar to use against the Slitheen. Wherever Luke and the others are, I hope they are safe.
'Ianto, Owen, Tosh, Gwen, can I see you all in the meeting room, please?' Jack asks as I continue working. The others finish up what they are doing and follow Jack. I look up at the room, and I can see in because the walls are made up of windows. It seems like Jack is preparing them for a mission. Maybe he is.

He walks out a few minutes later and joins me. 'I'll have the cod with extra vinegar on the side,' he grins. 'Don't worry, Emma, we'll save your brother. Speaking of which, I left Owen in charge so we can get moving.' He hands me one of the guns I've been training with. 'Let's get some vinegar and hit the road.' I'm about to move to the entrance hidden by the gates and the cog when Jack calls me over. He's standing on top of a stone platform. 'You always used the main entrance before. It's time you take the scenic route.' He holds his hand out to me, and I join him on the platform. I hold onto his arm, and he presses a button on his vortex manipulator, and the platform starts moving up. I look at the ceiling, and part of the roof moves away to reveal a bright blue sky. We continue moving up, and soon we reach level ground.

'The spot we're standing on seems to have a built-in cloaking device,' Jack says. 'We don't know what it is exactly, but it hides anyone and anything on this spot.' He turns to me and smiles. 'You ready to kick some Slitheen butt?'
'More than ready,' I grin. We step off the stone and make our way out of the Bay.