Torchwood 1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights of the Torchwood show, or the characters, they belong to BBC and Russell T Davies. I am merely borrowing them and will return them after I play a bit.**

**A/N: **I want to thank my new beta **jonightgig **for all the help.

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His phone rang at 3:45 in the morning. He fumbled around the top of his dresser until he located the ringing phone.

"Doctor Owen Harper," he answered, sighing with resignation and not bothering to open his eyes.

"_Good morning_," came the cheerful greeting, the bright voice of Ianto Jones blaring over the speaker. Owen could swear that Ianto Jones could be alert, bright eyed and bushy tiled no matter what the time, or how little he had slept. It offended Owen's senses and usually hangover brain.

"D'you actually know what time it is?" Owen growled in displeasure. He opened his eyes and turned around grunting. He reached for the bedside lamp to turn in on.

A sigh came over the line, and then Ianto's voice sounded no less tired than Owen's own.

"_Yes, Owen, I do actually."_

"_C'mon sunshine. Rise and shine!"_ Owen could hear Gwen calling over the speaker phone. So they were probably already in the conference room at the Hub.

Gwen used to be the one to come last to work, being constantly late, even more so than Owen. However, since Jack had disappeared she seemed dead intent on being the hard working leader, and didn't seem to be too bothered by waking up early. Owen preferred her much more before when she was late. He used to stare at her ass and daydream. Right now he just wanted to kick his boot so far up her cheerful, morning ass…

Rise and shine, indeed.

"_Torchwood is going to the Himalayas,"_ Gwen told him.

"Say that again?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing.**

**A/N: **I want to thank my current beta **nightgigjo** for all her work.

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_We're only human, we were born to die_  
_ Without the benefit of reason why_  
_ We live for pleasure to be satisfied_  
_ And now it's over there's no place to hide_

_ **Alice Copper- Brutal Planet.**_

When the flying, metal balls of hell descended upon the human race, the Torchwood team was more than out of the loop. The team did not have any information on the situation of what was happening over at United Kingdom, nothing after the election. It was strange how Tosh's tech would work wonders to detect residual energies, for all the good that it did them, one week on and they still were no nearer to finding their objective. Try to get any channel however or any satellite and phone connection, and there was only white noise and static. Owen had tried it, first to access the news and later to try and contact Ianto at the Hub. Nothing they did worked, neither Toshiko's genius tinkering, nor Owen's swearing and kicking the equipment. He had to stop this tactic of course when Tosh threated to push him off one of the cliffs if he damaged any more of her tech toys.

It wasn't only Owen's frustration with the Torchwood equipment. They were all frustrated because they felt helpless. It all had started very fast and the battle was fought and lost very abruptly. The humans didn't stand a chance with this invasion, they weren't prepared. And Torchwood, the people who were supposed to be there protecting them, was stuck thousands of miles up a mountain looking for a Yeti.

"That's just bollocks," Owen shouted and kicked the snow around him. It was stained pink with blood that had dripped from the bodies over the top cliff.

Torchwood team had made their way down towards the village the moment the invasion started. Not that they could do much, as with their equipment, the team was useless in this situation, stuck only with their personal side arms and some tranquiliser darts in Owen's medical case, for all the good they'd do against the metal spheres.

"Keep quiet," Gwen hissed. "They will hear you."

"So what? They'll kill me now instead in two days. What's the difference?" Owen growled back at her. He knew that she was right, but he was frustrated. Someone wanted Torchwood out of the way.

"We are not lost yet," Toshiko whispered. "We still have Ianto within the Hub even if we can't contact him."

Owen looked at Toshiko incredulously and had a hard time not laughing, not because anything was particularly funny, but because he felt the hysterical laughter bubbling up inside of him, begging for a release from the frustration. Hi might go mad if he didn't let it go. Maybe going mad would be a good option right now. Going mad would mean not having to think of the bodies strewn around the village, with their horrified expressions, sightless eyes and rivulets of blood painting the landscape in pink and red.

"Yeah, and what's Tea-boy gonna do? Serve them decaf?"

He stormed off. It was his usual way of showing annoyance apart from swearing and being rude. But storming off was most effective because it left the annoying party behind him. He could hear the two women's quick steps shifting through the snow. They were clearly trying to be as quiet as they could while moving.

"Owen," Gwen hissed at him again. He could detect in the tone of her voice that she was losing her temper. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Finding my way towards civilization," he answered, deliberately loud so he could annoy her. "You really think hidin' 'ere and keepin' quiet will do us any good? They are metal balls. I don't think they need their hearing to find us."

"He is right, Gwen, we need to do something, we are Torchwood," Tosh said, placating.

Gwen gave her a scornful look and Owen had to stop himself commenting on either of the girls, or he would have started another verbal war. It looked as though Gwen was going to manage this all by herself. Owen really missed popcorn right now. _Had he mentioned how much he hates the countryside on this trip?_ He was sick of sleeping in a tent and having to take almost his whole clothing just to take a piss against a three or a snow mound.

Gwen huffed out a frustrated breath. All this was clearly playing havoc with her passionate nature and the usual impulsive desire to just jump and run into the situation. It was hard but she controlled it and assumed the position of the leader, the rational one, the one that has to get them out alive. Owen had struggled at first with her, but in the end let her lead. His hot head and stubbornness would have let them nowhere. Of course, it wasn't like Gwen didn't possess the same character traits, but she could control them better when she was under stress, Owen could see that she was a natural leader. Toshiko was too interested in playing with her gadgets before they ran out of power to really start leading them. Beside, with her timid nature, neither of the other two would listen to her, and she knew it. So, Gwen was their leader in Jack's absence.

_And where the fuck was Jack when they need him the most, anyway?_

"I know Tosh, but let's just be cautious!" The argument had carried on while Owen's mind had been wandering around. "You know me, I'm usually the one to rush in without thinking, but we won't do any good for the other people if we get ourselves killed before we can do anything."

Both Toshiko and Owen had to concede that Gwen had a point, and that she most likely had formed a plan while they were panicking. They nodded in agreement and waited for her to tell them what she had in mind.

"First and foremost we need to stay alive," Gwen told them.

_Well, yeah, aren't we Miss Obvious!_

Gwen continued, unaware of Owen's caustic thoughts, "I know that won't be easy and we will feel the desire to just rush and save someone. But even if we have to witness these things murder, we need to keep cool heads and keep going."

"Yeah, stay alive, an' then what? Then, what do we do?" Owen asked.

"Then we go down to the nearest town and find a way to find some connection and see what really is going on. And then we save the world." Gwen said it with such a conviction that Owen thought she had been infected with Jack's hero complex. It worried him because if this didn't get her killed first, it was going to break her if they were too late do anything. But they nodded and started to move slower and keep to the shade of the rocks. Toshiko took her still working PDA and calibrated it for proximity alarm, or at least to flash as they could not afford to give off the sound. Her PDA was the only one still working; she had done some poking around that Owen couldn't even identify, and she'd somehow extended its power supply, but it was going to eventually run out of power and give up on them as well. When that happened they would have to rely on their own knowledge, and Owen knew that he was useless in the wild. At least he still had his medical supplies with him, but they were basic, and how long would they last? Not long if any of them got injured.

The trek down the mountain wasn't easy, as the three members of Torchwood weren't climbers, but at least it was steady and not too dangerous. So far they hadn't encountered any more of the metal balls, or bodies. Maybe the aliens were busy somewhere else-after all, how many people were deep in the mountain? Not many, anyway, as there weren't any bodies. Either very few people had gone hiking, or they'd managed to hide from the monsters. Owen hoped it was the later. He didn't want to think of what was happening in the big cities. All those people…but maybe in a city like London and New York there were more places to hide. Still, the balls seemed to just appear-what if they could just teleport inside every habitable space? Were there people who could invent perception filters for hideouts fast enough to save lives? Or were they the only people left alive in the whole world? The thought made him shiver and Owen had to pull his coat tighter around himself.

They had made it to relatively even terrain now and the snow was tinning. It had even melted in patches and Owen could see the ground under it. It squelched under the soles of his thick boots and it sickened him but at least the cold wasn't as biting as it was up top. They were nearing a tourist town now and he could feel his insides fluttering with trepidation of what they would find there.

It was getting dark and dangerous to walk, and despite knowing that they were not too far away from the small town with its warm food and nice hotel beds, the three of them knew they had to stop and wait for the next day. It would have been better to travel under the cover of the night's darkness and at daylight, but as long as they were on an uneven mountain terrain they could not risk walking in darkness. So Gwen found a dent in the rocks that looked large and solid enough to cover them from wind and unwelcome eyes without falling on them, Tosh set up the surveillance tech and Owen prepared the sleeping bags and some food. There wasn't much food to prepare really. He couldn't risk lighting a fire and giving up their position, so it was cold tinned beans on stale bread, but it was something to keep them going. The other pressing problem with the lack of fire was the cold. They were already starting to feel it, penetrating through their thick clothes, stinging like needles, stiffening their limbs and making their teeth clatter.

Sleeping for too long a time wasn't an option in the baiting cold. They need to periodically wake up each other, to take turns at keeping watch, something that led to sleep deprivation and naturally made them cranky, Owen more than ever. Pacing around didn't do much to keep him warm, so when Gwen proposed that they all sleep and keep themselves from hypothermia by sharing body heat, he was bound to say something stupid.

"I think Gwen has a point," Tosh said. "We all need to be rested and alert in a few hours."

Owen snorted and shook his head, then directed a piercing gaze at Gwen, "If that's you wishing to fulfil some fantasies about cuddling with me, Tosh, it ain't gonna work," Owen blurted out before he could think of his colleague's feelings. "Now's not the time to get naked."

Hurt flashed briefly over Tosh's face, but it was quickly followed by stoic indifference. She turned away from him, busying herself in her trusted electronics, recalibrating the silent proximity alarm and fixing it to her arm.

"I have no wishes either hidden or not to get naked around you, Owen," she said coldly. "We could always put Gwen in the middle. You've seen and touched Gwen naked already, shouldn't be a problem."

"Do you have a secret desire to get with Gwen, then?" Owen bit again. "Wouldn't be surprised won't be your first woman."

The moment he said it, Owen wanted to take it back. He could see the raw hurt in Tosh's expression and body language just before she took her sleeping bag and prepared to leave.

"Tosh, where are you going?" Gwen demanded, getting up from her sleeping bag.

"I'd rather take my chances with the wind outside and the metal balls than stay here," Tosh answered and left the small cave.

Gwen turned towards Owen with her eyes wide open with fury. Her body was shaking with barely repressed anger and the desire to rage and hit him. For a moment Owen thought that she would jump on him and claw his face, instead she reined her anger the best she could.

"Do you have to be such a bastard?" Gwen spat, then turned around and went after Tosh.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Again I think I found a beta but I am not really holding my breath too much with the luck I have so far with beta readers. I can just hope. I post this unbeta-ed again because I post rarely enough and if it gets edited I will replace this chapter with the edited one. It is very late and I haven't had much sleep these weeks so I am sure there are errors I have missed even after re reading it, so when you find one don't be shy to point it. **

_Pick up the bones_

_And set them on fire_

_Follow the smoke going higher and higher_

_Pick up the bones_

_And wish them goodnight_

_Pray them a prayer and turn out the light_

**Alice Cooper- **_**Pick Up the Bones**_

Tosh didn't stay out more than a few minutes despite of how angry and hurt she had felt. Owen was glad about this, because he was worried about her with the cold and the metal balls out there. He would never tell her, but he was worried. Almost instantly after Owen had said what he did to Toshiko, he felt like a real dick, he didn't even need Gwen's accusation to feel like this. When the girls came back inside, Toshiko threw him a dark gaze but didn't say anything and Owen didn't try to apologise either. He had never been big on the apologies anyway. Gwen looked at him dourly without say anything, her expression and the wide berth she gave him were enough to let him know how displeased she was with him. He opened another can of cold beans and passed them silently to Tosh and Gwen. What wouldn't he give for Ianto's coffee right now, or even that black sludge that they served at the Subway near the Cardiff Bay that they called coffee, it was at least warm, if disgusting.

After a few minutes of no one making any move to strip and go to sleep, the awkward silence in the little cave started to drive Owen mad. He swore under his breath and stood up digging out the portable gas heater and some matches from the bags.

"Owen, what the hell do you think you are doing?" Gwen demanded to know when he started to assemble some stray sticks, any paper, or anything flammable that he could find.

"A make shaft bonfire," Owen answered offhandedly not stopping in his attempts to actually make something resembling fire enough so they can get more comfortable, and he could hopefully warm something to eat or drink. Although, he knew, he couldn't use the water. It was in shortage. They had to be careful with it not knowing the place, or didn't know where they could find more. Especially when they did not know how far was the next town. "I'm sick of all this. Besides if they want to find us, I don't think they will need the fire."

"We are still in more risk of being discovered with it on," Tosh insisted taking Gwen's side once again.

Owen groaned, the two of them could hardly stand each other a few weeks ago, but now were constantly ganging up on his as if they were best friends. Maybe they were now, an experience like this could forge a great relationship. He put his concentration on the fire and for a moment ignored Toshiko's comment leaving it without an answer.

The small fire started up, gaining a bit of momentum from the fuel that Owen fed it from the gas heater and after a couple of cracks, sparkles and hisses it steadied its flame, burning small but strong and casting dancing shadows on the stone walls around them. Satisfied, Owen stood up from his crouched position, dusted the knee area of his trousers and faced the other two occupants of the cave.

"It is in the back of the cave, so it wouldn't be that noticeable, and it's small," Owen defended his decision. He could see Gwen opening her mouth to argue again and most likely remind him of the danger, so he held up his hand to stall her and continued explaining his reasons. "I know of the danger, Gwen, but we are in as much danger, if not more so, of getting frozen. You see, the choice is actually between one of these two possible deaths. "

This silenced her at least for now. Owen was sure that sooner or later she will find another argument of why it was dangerous to follow Owen's decisions. Warming himself some of the beans and fire-toasting some of the stale bread so it would be more edible. He took them and sat in front of the fire hoping to block it from being seen through the cave entrance. He left the girls to make their own food, he might have felt a bit guilty for hurting Tosh, but he wasn't going to wait on them. He let his thoughts to roam a bit, trying to imagine that he was somewhere else, away from this hell, it wasn't easy but he let the fire distract him. In the background he could hear the girls leave the tin cans with food and shifting into their sleeping bags. He was, oh, so tired himself, but he couldn't make himself go to sleep, his head was too full with dark thoughts, and making plans of how to get away. He tried not to think of how much of destruction they might find once they reach the first signs of civilisation. Would they find a way to contact Ianto, and what will they find when they did? Still his busy mind couldn't stop going there, which kept him from sleep even when his eyelids started dropping.

Owen sat like this, gazing at the fire for hours. Apart from the occasional shuffling from the sleeping girls and the cracking of the fire there was no sound coming from the outside. The phrase, _the dead of night _had never seemed more accurate to Owen, it was spooky really how much oppressive the silence was. The dancing shadows on the wall formed shapes that in his tired mind made him turn around on occasion to check that nothing inhuman was lurking behind his back.

He must have dozed off at some point lulled to sleep by the dancing fire, the silence and his exhausted body, because when he opened his eyes, from what he thought was only a light doze, the sun was peeking out from the mountain tops and the sky was lighting up. There were still no wild life noises, something that should have been common for the mountain hills. No morning bird songs, that more than anything drove home the truth of what they were facing. It was easier to forget it when there was no big, laser blasting space ship hanging over their heads, until you notice the lack of natural noises, the cold stillness of everything around, as if the nature herself was holding her breath in an anticipation of what was going to happen in the next moment.

Owen inhaled a shaky breath, and shook up the girls awake. They needed to start again if they wanted to reach the nearest town before sundown. Before they left, they studied the map they had, it said that it wasn't too far away, but they had to walk cautiously even if unstopping, which meant that their progress was slowed down. Owen made sure that he had put the last sparks of the fair out before helping the girls to collect their belongings. Maybe these aliens weren't good at tracking buy old fire places and marks left in the snow, but being cautious didn't hurt.

The progress was slow but steady, they needed to use the day light as much as possible. It was largely accepted that when someone is trying to move undetected they would use the night, it was even in adventure books. The Torchwood team couldn't use the cover of the night because the terrine was dangerous, not only that but, Owen wasn't sure that walking in the dark would make the slight difference for the aliens. For all they knew, the hellish metal balls were hunting by body temperature or in the dark, then they would pick them out one by one, darkness or not. Owen sure hasn't seen them having any eyes, not that he had the misfortune to get close enough to one for an inspection.

They were lucky because the place wasn't very populated and the aliens had lost interest to it in favour of places where there were more humans to slaughter. The team didn't encounter many troubles apart from the cold and the occasional bloodied frozen corps, or one of the girls complaining that she needs the toilet. Both of them had ganged up on Owen complaining that it was easy for him to go he just needed to pull his zip open, but they had to strip almost everything and freeze their asses off.

Only when they reached the outskirts of the mountain and neared the village did they meet a living person. No one stopped or acknowledged them, everyone was too scared for their lives, probably lost too much, to stop and think about a bunch of strangers. The number of the people they met wasn't big; not nearly enough for what should have been a bustling sky holiday village. Everyone moved as fast and as quiet, as they could, seek the sanctuary of the next covered place, the next building, but it didn't always help. Some of the people were still picked off and slaughtered by the aliens. The Torchwood team tried to move inconspicuous, not mixing with any group, because the aliens picked up on the large groups mostly, making people scream and run.

It was hard watching how the aliens killed innocent people, people that Torchwood have sworn to protect, but right now was powerless to do anything but stand by and watch. Owen felt as such a bastard, being a doctor and staying hidden instead of going out there and doing his job, patching people, bandaging, fixing wounds.

Owen noticed that they have been on the journey for quite a while, and the sun was starting to get lower, despite that they did not even stop for a decent meal. That meant that the possibility of being lost was very real as they could not see any town or even a little hamlet anywhere near in sight. So they decided to risk it and keep closer to one of the groups who were going down the mountain. It did pay in getting their directions correct. However, it served to stretch their already stretched thin nerves, to nearly a breaking point. Nearing the town the group was ambushed by aliens, and humans alike. At first the team thought that the human attackers were just, scared, hungry people, but then Toshiko had noticed that they seemed to be working with the killer balls, whoever the aliens didn't kill the human soldiers collected in groups and pushed them into military vehicles, like war prisoners.

"They are taking them to build camps." Said a woman who might have been young, but the face battered by the wind and nature made her look old, it as a form of an answer to an unspoken question.

It sickened Owen that human soldiers would allay with the alien enemy against their own kind. And Gwen looked shell shocked, it was something incompressible for her that a human would do something like this to another one. Owen wasn't sure if he should envy her for this, or pity her, but he knew that she would have to get over it with the time.

When the next wave of attacks started and the screams once again reached them and the group that was hiding with them it was too much. Owen could see the tears in Tosh's eyes and was sure that if he looked at Gwen's they will be reflected there as well, he himself felt like crying. It pained them, it was visible to everyone who looked carefully, but they knew that they had to pick their fights, so Toshiko cried silently in her palms, and Gwen tried to keep busy with helping scared kids and even some adults. Owen however, was never good in emotional situations so he wasn't much help there, and he wasn't very good at picking his battles, he preferred to help by acting. After hours of witnessing the massacres and listening to the screams his nerves couldn't hold up any longer and he sprang to action. He grabbed his medical kit and his probably useless gun and ran out. He didn't get too far though before a hand pulled him back under cover just before the new swarm of aliens dove for the remaining people that the soldiers deemed useless and left behind.

"What do you think you are doing?" a male's voice hissed in his ear.

"Trying to help people and fight back!" Owen snapped.

"It's useless," another person, female this time said. Owen didn't know how many people had survived hiding there with them, but they couldn't have been many, three or four, maybe five. It made him feel powerless and frustrated hiding in there, he much more would have preferred to go out there and die fighting a losing battle.

"We can't just sit back and do nothing," Owen hissed back. "You think we could survive this at the expense of others. For how long? When does it going to end?"

"Going out there and dying is not going to help," Tosh said quietly almost hesitantly. "We need to stay alive until we could connect with other people. There ought to be groups forming resistance around the cities. And even if it's too early we can start it. But for that to happen, Owen, we need to stay alive."

Owen nodded and settled down. He accepted it because he knew that it wasn't any easier either on Toshiko or Gwen, but they kept cooler heads and were planning something better than going out there to get immediately killed. He logically knew it, but it didn't make it better, not in the least. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the sounds around him. When the last attack stopped, the sun had set behind the mountain tops and only the last rays painted the snow at the very tops a faint shade of gold and pink. The dark didn't stop the group moving this time because they had reached the even grounds around the town and had guides with them.

When they reached the town all that was let from the outer circle was smothering rubble, the fires had almost died out, but columns of smoke were still billowing out of some of the larger buildings. It smelt of burnt wood, textile and rubber, it didn't have the stench of burning flesh but it wasn't pleasant all the same. Personal artefacts were littering the ground where people had dropped them while running for their lives. Owen supposed that in the perspective of things, keeping your iPhone or tablet save didn't really matter all that much anymore.

"It's like a bloody warzone out here," Owen commented.

"It is a warzone, Owen," Gwen said annoyed. "Only the humanity doesn't seem to fight back."

"It's more like an apocalypse movie," Tosh added.

"Makes you wonder…" Gwen said looking around turning slightly in circle and trying to take everything in as fast as she could so she wouldn't have to look again.

"Makes you wonder what?" Owen asked impatient.

"Makes you wonder, if this small town looks like this, how the big cities look like," Gwen answered.

Tosh and Owen looked at her sadly and shook their heads. Owen didn't want to think or wonder. He wanted to forget. A little group of people suddenly appeared, seemingly from nowhere. All three of them reached for their side-arms that were concealed under their jackets, but the group that they had travelled with stepped in front of them and said something in what sounded as Chinese to Owen, but he was pretty sure that it was some other eastern Asian language. After a brief conversation the group of people lowered their hand made weapons and nodded at the team and their guides. The group of natives led them through the debris of the town. Deeper inside the town the destruction wasn't as noticeable as it was in the outskirts, but it was much more devastating. The usually buzzling tourist town was now covered by darkness. None of the windows was illuminated by the golden halo of the domestic lamps. It didn't matter where Owen looked at everywhere looked like a war zone front line. Shops were closed across the streets, empty chairs of cafes and restaurants lined some of the pavements, empty and desolated, forgotten there expecting their customers. Some were lying upturned by the flying in terror people. A forgotten newspaper was picked by the wind and stuck to Owen's leg.

In only a few minutes the sun had set completely and the only light was provided by the covered torchlights of their guides, which provided just enough light for them not to trip over a broken brick or window. No one dared to use anything brighter in case they were spotted by aliens and UNIT soldiers alike. Owen was furious because, despite not always seeing eye to eye with Torchwood, UNIT was supposed to be on their side fighting the invaders. After stumbling in the dark and led around what seemed as random streets the group reached a bomb shelter door which was somehow hidden from view by taller and more imposing buildings. The place was well chosen by what Owen supposed was forming to become a resistance. It was in a semi corner, hidden by buildings which looked way more important and official as targets. The metal door wasn't painted and rust from prolonged exposure to rain and snow was flickering the top layer of the metal. Owen was worried that all that careful wavering around the streets was for nothing because the moment they pushed that door open everyone in a radius of two miles will hear the creak. It surprised him when it instead opened with smooth, noiseless ease.

Their steps echoed around the concrete lining the entire place from floor to ceiling, but no one made an effort to muffle them, they will not be heard outside. It was cold in there, colder than outside despite not having the wind and the snow, but it also did not have the sun to keep it warm through the day. They kept walking through corridors for a little while yet on want felt like a gradual slop underground. Owen could feel the end of his nose getting a tin like of frost, or at least that's what he thought it felt like. He looked around himself to see how his two colleagues were doing. On his right Gwen had stuffed her hands into the pockets of her parka and was breathing through clenched teeth, Owen could see her breath coming out and forming out in front of her. On his left Toshiko was trying very hard not to shiver, but her teeth were chattering. He had almost lost hope when they finally reached what must be the living quarters. It wasn't exactly what Owen had expected of a secret base, there were no charts or maps on the walls, nor plotting tables, instead there was laundry strung on ropes around the walls, but at least it was warm. Groups of people were huddling together around make shaft beds and kitchens for comfort. One woman from the group that had found them in the mountain exclaimed something and ran towards a group of people, probably a family.

At a faraway corner of the large room, Owen could finally see something that resembled even just a bit operational area.

"So that's the resistance?" Owen asked disappointed looking at what he assumed was the leader. It was the one guy everyone turned to awaiting instructions. He was dressed in sensible black clothes and carried himself as having at least some limited military experience. Not particularly tall, but stern and proud he made even Owen wish to salute. They couldn't have had more than a day to organise but it was evident that this man had done the best he could and was keeping the spirit of the people around.

"You think you could have done better in a few hours?" the man retorted firmly. Owen wasn't sure where exactly they were. He had lost orientation a long time ago, besides geography had never been his forte at school, but when he spoke the man had very heavy Indian, or at least east Asian accent.

"No, of course we don't." Gwen answered sending a resolute glance at Owen which promised pain if he didn't shut up. "My name is Gwen Cooper, and these are my colleagues, Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato."

"Doctor Owen Harper," Owen corrected her annoyed.

"A medic?" One of the women spoke up. "We could do with a Doctor. We have some sick people who need help."

"Not now, Bairavi!" the man commanded. "Later we can get the doctor to look at them," he turned back to Gwen. "I'm commander Ehimay Kewada, and this is my resistance. It isn't much but it is people that are ready to do something unlike the soldiers you met."

"And that's all that matters at the moment," Gwen said placidly at him and smiled. "We have been high in the mountain with no communication. So could you please explain what is going on?"

Commander Kewada nodded and led them to the table in the corner where a few more men stood over pieces of phones, radios and other mechanics. A lone, antique, black and white TV crackled on a shelf above the table. Owen noticed the distinctive lack of women everywhere but at the domestic zone of the living quarters.

"It began two nights ago when the British Prime Minister made contact with these aliens and invited the American president and killed him on board of his ship in the sky." A man who the commander addressed as Mohmad informed them.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

"He is an alien, calling himself the Master," Commander Kewada answered. "Ever since he was elected he started talking about his aliens. But two nights ago he ordered them to kill the American President and started this. He has control over every country and network on Earth."

When the group of men saw the disbelieving faces of the three new arrivals, Mohmad put an old tape into a rundown player and showed them the recording of the night the American President was killed.

"No help from Jack's Doctor then," Gwen sighed disappointed after they saw the aged Doctor.

"Yeah, and we know where Jack is now," Owen added.

Silence ascended around the table while everyone was trying to process the information they had received. Everyone looked around hoping that someone else will break the silence first and will have more information. Toshiko neared one of the men around the table, some of them were looking at her and Gwen if barely withheld hostility or at least scepticism, something that kept Owen in age.

"Can I have a look at this," Tosh asked indicating the pail of mechanical junk on the table.

"I don't think it will help much, lady," one of the men said. "What do you know about devices?"

"All that there is and then some," Toshiko said defensively and then blushed for being so abrupt.

"She is the biggest technical genius this planet has," Owen said and then lifted an eyebrow at her as if to say _so what?_

Very reluctantly the group of men parted and let Toshiko take a look at the assembled electronic pieces. While Owen followed Bairavi towards the living area to take a look at the sick people that she talked about when they came in. Most of them weren't really sick but had wounds from the aliens' blades, aliens which now had the names of Toclafane, or laser burns. Owen did what he could do to treat the wounds with the little supplies he had and the unhygienic conditions. Most of them would survive even if they got a little infection, but there were the people which Owen knew that in conditions like this will for sure suffer bad infections and will not survive. He did all he could for them but it still felt wholly inadequate.

He looked at around himself. Toshiko was lost to the world around herself again, lost in her own world of technology and binary codes. Gwen, the only one from the team who didn't have anything to do at the moment was talking to people trying to calm them and generally doing what she did best, caring for them. After a while she took her phone out and started pushing buttons. Owen left the bedside of one of his patients after fixing the bandage and snatched the phone out of her hands.

"Owen, what are you doing?" Gwen protested loudly attracting the attention of large portion of the occupants.

"I was just trying to contact Rhys," she said defensively. "I am worried."

"Yes, and Toshiko is worried about her family, and I want to know what is happening in the Hub with Tea-boy but we can't call, Gwen," Owen snapped at her, perhaps a bit too sharply, but everyone's nerves were at breaking point and he was done with feeling useless. "Didn't you hear about Saxon controlling all the networks? He can trace it."

"But why would he look for my phone, he send us here and probably think we are already dead." Gwen defended her decision. "I just need to know that Rhys is ok."

"No, Gwen, I'm sorry but you can't," Owen said sharply. "When Tosh finished with her radio, and we have save and untraceable connection then we can see if we can contact Cardiff and ask someone about Rhys. Maybe we will even manage to talk to Ianto. "

Gwen pursed her lips but nodded her consent numbly and left her phone with Owen, who switched it off and took it apart just to be safe. Not long after, Toshiko exclaimed in joy, a noise Owen thought he would never hear again. It was so nice to hear something joyful again that it was contagious and he couldn't help but grin and bounce over to the table.

"You did it?" he asked exited.

"Yes!" Exclaimed Toshiko and turned the radio on. After a brief crackling noise they could hear someone on the other side speaking in French. It was a bad signal, but it was more connection to the rest of the world any of the residents had in a while.

"_Salut!"_ the voice on the other side said in French. _"Y a-t-il quelqu'un la? Je ne vous entends pas!"_

"Hello! This is Toshiko Sato, do you speak English?"

There was more crackle and some words exchanged then a female voice came over the speaker.

"_Hello! I'm Jacqueline, I do speak English. Where are you from?"_

"We are from Cardiff but at the moment we are somewhere around India," Owen answered the Frenchwoman. "Did you have contact with other countries?"

"_Yes, we had contact with Moscow, Munich, Prague, New York, Naples, Rome, Düsseldorf, Brussels, Skopje, Istanbul and Sofia," Jacqueline informed him. "We are Marseille."_

"Did you have any word from the UK?" asked Gwen desperately.

"_Not yet, no, I'm sorry."_

"That's ok," Toshiko assured her but sounded worried and disappointed as well. Maybe since they were directly under Saxon, they were a bit more cautious about contacting other countries; it didn't mean that everyone there is lost.

They exchanged a bit more information, talking about plans of what to do and how to try and fight the invaders. There wasn't much of a plan yet. The countries and their citizens were still trying to pick up the pieces after the horror of the last two days. The Torchwood team found out that ten per cent of the Earth's population was massacred, towns were decimated, but people where already starting to form groups of resistance and trying to make plans of fighting back. It made Owen proud of being someone who had fought on daily basis to keep these people safe.

The television crackled to live again and the picture gradually cleared to show the smiling face of Harold Saxon. Everyone left what they were doing and gathered as near as possible to the TV to see the transmission in anticipation of what fate will it bring them. Only the very sick who couldn't move stayed away. Harold Saxon smiled some more and stretched his hands in greeting, as if to embrace his whole population of admirers.

"_Greetings again Earthlings,_"he began. _"I have a message for you. There is this little girl called Martha Jones, who is really an inconvenience. She is going to try and flee my country. I will offer life -long immunity from work camps and killing, to you and your family for whoever gives her to me." _He turned around as if he had finished and would order the camera off, when he visibly remembered something and the small picture of the dark skinned young woman was replaced by three pictures of the current Torchwood team, Owen Harper- enemy number two, Toshiko Sato- enemy number three and Gwen Cooper-enemy number four. "_Oh, and a good service place with a nice salary for whoever give these three to me. Your Lord and Master! Over and out!_"

The screen once again became blank only holding the occasional static.

"So we are public enemies now," Owen said and started to look nervous around them wondering if everyone was going to sell them Saxon.

"Relax, Owen, I don't think we are in danger here," Toshiko said and looked around herself. Commander Kewada nodded and started to fiddle with the radio again trying to find if there was any resistance group in Tokyo or Benign.

"He didn't say anything about Ianto," Gwen pointed worried suddenly remembering that there were only three photos on the screen. "Do you think he was killed or captured?"

"Maybe they just forgot about him," Owen said with hope. "He is easy to overlook. You forgot to put him in your list with Torchwood employees when you tried to leave yourself something to remember."

Gwen opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it again. Owen knew that it wasn't fair on Ianto, but right now that was the better option. They could only hope until they receive any news from Wales.


End file.
