Tea With Moses: We Ran Like the Doctor

Chapter 3: The Sontarans Tremor (Part 1/2)

"A ship, Earth's atmosphere descending..... descending.... directly above Ireland, 1,479 miles up, visible to almost anyone within the UK" Ashildr was watching the screen intently, Clara had sat down, her head in her hands.
"There's no response from UNIT, there's nothing from the Osgoods, and the TARDIS isn't responding to any of my commands." she was panicking "There's no sign of another TARDIS landing here, so there's no Doctor, and that ship has the power to burn earth in 35-40 seconds at most" Ashildr looked over, she hated to see Clara worried about anything, it hurt more to see her trying to take responsibility for Earth. She placed an arm around Clara's shoulder, when it hit her, somewhere in her finite memory, there was someone, someplace that could help them.
"Hold on for a minute, there has to be somewhere else." she told Clara and headed off quickly towards the library. Ashildr's calm demeanor had dropped almost as soon as she had stepped inside the TARDIS and took off with Clara. Somehow, around the younger woman she wasn't as calm and isolated as other people perceived her to be. Despretly, she searched through her journals, there was on from some time near there landing day, that talked about Torchwood, a place that, oddly enough, was just what she was looking for, holding the book to her chest, she made her way though the TARDIS halls, and back to Clara, who had gotten up, and began trying to scan the ship by flipping levers and pressing buttons, making the screen fill with information. Ashildr stood and watched her for a moment, guiltily. Clara looked up and waved her over, "Found anything?" she asked quickly, motioning to the leather bound book in her hands. Clara had never looked at Ashildr's journals, she didn't want to come on as a creep who looked through her companion's past just to get to know her a little better. Ashildr was silently glad for it, especially for the day on trap street, if Clara knew what she had written, Ashidr wound never hear the end of it.
"Yeah, there's a place, Torchwood, it's still around on Earth I believe." She said, "Luckily, during this time period, my past self was making a deal with the Time Lords to get the raven, and eentually tra the doctor, I was off earth, there's no risk of running into Mayor Me anytime." Ashildr had chosen to use her original name after a few days aboard the TARDIS. "torchwoood is based in Cardiff, could you get us there?" she asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice, she had never properly learned how to fly the TARDIS, Clara usually handled most of it.
"If I can get us into flight at all, that's where we're headed! Who runs Torchwood, I feel like Ive heard the name before."
"An ex-companion of the Doctor's, he might have mentioned it, a 'Jacques Harkness' or Captain Jack" she looked at Clara, who gave her a weak smile, Ashildr was relieved that she could help, even if only a little. They took off, with much protest from a seemingly spontanious moody TARDIS, and landed, hopefully somewhere close by. Ashildr took Clara's hand and led her out the door.
They headed towards the fountain-like statue in the center of the pavement. The world around them was in terror, shops on the sides of the road were ransacked, people were running, screaming, taking photos of the ship, calling family and friends, as though it could be their last day on Earth. It very well could be. Through the ground outside of the fountain, came a man, in a dark blue trench coat. He wore a vortex manipulator on one wrist, Clara recognized it from the last days of the Doctor's eleventh face, she started to tear up, she missed that chin, and those eyes. Even when he had gotten older, he had still been the Doctor. Ashildr gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Clara stopped thinking about the Doctor, and instead, focused on the man, he was now walking towards them. They met somewhere in the middle. Jack stuck out a hand "Mayor me" he sounded like he was flirting, Clara flinched, hoping that Ashildr wouldn't notice. She wasn't sure how Ashildr felt about people yet.
"Jacques" she said, watching his face go red at the mention of his name.

"Jack" he said "please, call me Jack"
"This is Clara" she said, ignoring what he said, Clara waved awkwardly "we have a TARDIS of our own, we were wondering if you have any sort of information on the fleet surrounding Earth" Ashildr's cold appearance had returned.
"'Course we do, step inside" he gestured with one long arm to the entrance of Torchwood "Just follow me" Clara was confused by the odd twists and turns that led her to the Torchwood base.
"So, Mayor Me, are you here to come out with any big personal choices?" Jack asked, nodding at Clara's hand still in Ashildr's. Quickly, she pulled away, having forgotten that she was still doing that. Jack smiled, and Clara began to dislike him.
Clara stepped in front of Jack when they reached the main room, he had a team, he hadn't lied about that. A young woman, wearing square glasses was sitting at a computer, her long white lab coat hanging from a hook on the wall behind her. She was turning dials, and repeatedly checking the monitors, making little notes on whatever her task was. In the center of the room, wrapped around by a balcony of sorts, was a man in a leather jacket. He was loading a series of alien-tech looking guns, and making notes of his own, while looking over at a second woman frequently. They obviously had, or were soon to have a relationship.
"Welcome to Torchwood" he announced, obviously proud of his institution. "Would you like to look around?"
"No, you know what we are here to discuss, do you have an office, or a spare room we could go to" she stated coldly. He finally shut up and led them up some stairs and into his office.
"According to Toshiko, theres a signal keeping any fire arms from discharging on Earth, we know its from the ship, but not much else about it.
" 'Merica could use that sometimes" A man said, quietly. He was shorter than Jack, with features that were impossible to read. There was a few papers in his hands that he placed on Jack's desk.
"Ianto, this is Clara, she's with Mayor Me, here, they came to help." Jack laughed at all the cheap shots he could make for the next hundred thousand years around Ashildr.
"Jacques here, was just telling us about a signal?" Ashildr asked Ianto, but he seemed not to care.
"Yes, Toshiko is trying to break the signal for a minute or two, that's what Owens weapons are for, we have them all loaded and on target, as soon as the firewall is broken, we will be ready."
"Owen can't work around women without being distracted can he" Clara commented, wanting to get back at Jack for the incident on the way there. His ears were getting redder as the conversation went on.
"Got any ideas in that pretty head, or should we stick to what we're doing?" he almost shouted at the two of them. Ashildr sat silently, but Clara did have some ideas of her own.
"If we could beam up onto that ship-" she started to speak, but Jack's computer began to beep in an earsplitting pitch. Jack turned away from them and began typing, a map onscreen getting closer and closer to a specific location. Ianto hurried out, the glass doors closing with a thump behind him.
"Sorry girls, I know your dying to work with us" He turned the screen toward them "we got all the help we need" The screen showed a police box, standing at the entrance of an alley.