Dazed and Confused - Jack/Open -

[president laura roslin]

Laura Roslin was not happy.

She didn't know where she was. She didn't know why she was here. The ones who had been sucked into this hell-hole with her obviously had no idea who she was or where she came from. They'd never even heard of the 12 Colonies of Kobol.

She sat in a corner of the cafeteria, resting her head in her hands as she tried to think. What the frak was she going to do? The fleet, wherever the hell they were, were without a President. Baltar would probably step up and take Zarek as his Vice President and run the fleet into the ground, even against Bill's orders. Just frakken great. Rubbing her temples, Laura glanced up and across the cafeteria at the others.

She had heard whispers of Earth among their talk in the short amount of time she'd been there since her arrival, and that had intrigued Laura. In fact, it appeared to be where most of them were from - Earth. The location she was trying to lead her fleet. Could these people help? She certainly hoped so - but getting back to the fleet would be the problem. Getting them the information to get to Earth would be a major issue, especially since Laura still had no idea where the frak she was.

And now she was getting a headache.

Tugging her fingers through her hair, she returned to her previous position of her head in her hands. Captain Thrace was there with her, so that left her with a little hope that Lee, Bill, or even Tigh would appear at any moment. Perhaps whisk her back home too. She'd give anything to be on the Galactica in that moment rather than stuck in this place - where apparently, her rank did not even matter. While it was a slight relief to not have to worry about Presidental duties, it was still installed in her system and her mind still continued to function as if she were President. A President without a fleet to control.

Frak me.

On a positive note, the effects of being dragged into this place had worn off, and Laura was finally able to think clearly. Not that it did any good, really - her thoughts were jumbled, confusing, and hard to decipher even for her. Her brain was trying to think of too many things at once, and she just couldn't cope. Letting out a groan, she rested her head against the cool surface of the table, not caring who saw her. If she wasn't President, then surely she could afford to act the way she wanted without having to worry.

If only for a moment.

[captain jack harkness]

Jack was pacing around the fourth tower as well as some areas. He was bored out of his mind and needed something to do. He wasn’t use to not having anything to do and it was a feeling he did not like at all. He had found a quiet place and tried to reverse whatever the Doctor had done to his vortex manipulator in hopes of getting out of here and back where he was needed and belonged. He knew that the 21st century was when it all happened, where he needed to be stop what was going to happen from happening… This was not something he seen or knew about happening. Something had gone wrong… maybe this was the work of the rift.

He had seen the rift grab people up and toss them into another place… it fit all this correctly well besides for the fact that some of the people seemed from other places and times… almost another reality. Jack knew some hours had passed because his watch still worked but the time was not something that they had settled on or even talked about since they been here. Everyone was still going their own way and doing their own thing…. If they were going to make it out of this they needed to come together and work as one… To get something in order and taken care of and first off they needed a leader.

So that is why Jack appeared in the mess hall again or whatever it was called. And there was the one person he needed to talk to. He pulled out from his pocket a bottle of pain relievers that he had stumbled across and sat them down on the table right in front of the female’s head loud enough to get her attention but not enough to startle her. ”Laura or whatever your name is… We need to get something worked out and you are just the person I need for the job so time to pull yourself together.” Jack said giving the order in a pretty much military tone as he could. There was no way that Jack was going to show any other version of himself yet in front of this women.

”Look your Cylons or whatever they are called sound just like the Delaks I have battled in my lifetime. We both can say that we have enemies alike out there from where we are but they are not here from what I am able to tell. I don’t know what dangers are waiting for us beyond the areas we know of. What I do know is that this group of people need a leader to pull everyone together. To get things organized and in to give orders that everyone can agree on. Seeing how you most likely have the best and most knowledge in that area… its your turn to step up and do what you were brought into this life to do.” Jack said keeping the same tone. He was half waiting to be shot or worse… but he didn’t care.

[president laura roslin]

She should have known he'd find her sooner or later. The exact person she did not want to see, and had no desire to talk to. She didn't look up at the sound of footsteps, but the rattle of pills in a bottle caught her attention and she lifted her head. The words blurred in front of her face and she pulled her glasses out of her pocket, shoving them on her face as she sat up.

She regarded him over the tops of her glasses as she grabbed the apparent painkillers, arching an eyebrow as he spoke. So he wanted her to be the leader? She still had yet to fully determine if he was a cylon or not. Laura didn't appreciate the military tone he appeared to be using with her, either. She barely put up with that tone from Admiral Adama.

"Let's get something straight, Mr. Harkness - address me with my title. Addressing me as Laura one more time will most likely find you out the nearest window, since they appear to have no airlocks here, and I am without a gun or other blunt object I could cause you extreme harm with." She stated after a moment, shifting into presidental mode now and fixing him with a glare she normally reserved for Baltar or Zarek.

"In response to your suggestion - I highly doubt you need a leader. Everyone is here for some reason, and there are people here to lead us. I see no reason for me to take over that job." She continued, crossing her legs beneath the table and leaning back in her chair, adjusting the jacket of her suit as her glasses slid a bit further down her nose. "In case you have not noticed - as I doubt you have - people arr being recruited for jobs, mostly the military and science fields. They obviously have a plan for us and I see no need to worry about it unless it becomes clear they intend to harm us."

"Thirdly, my cylons would probably eat your 'Daleks' alive with a bowl of nails as a side-dish. There is no doubt in my mind that there is nothing worse than a cylon in any universe, no matter which universe it happens to be." Laura glanced away, across the cafeteria again. Part of her wondered if there were any such creatures on the form of Earth most of these people seemed to come from. She hoped not, or she'd be leading her fleet to death.

"Besides," She dragged her gaze back over to look at Jack without interest. "I already have a fleet to lead."

[captain jack harkness]

His blue eyes watched as she took out her glasses then went about to check out the bottle. He had found a small medical kit in one of the rooms and had been sitting the bottle down in front of people as he ran into them. From the looks of her she was still feeling the affects of whatever caused them to end up here. He was pretty sure it was the rift or something like the rift that caused this but he wasn’t about to say so. The last time he tried to talk this out with someone they went all scientific on him and he couldn’t get them to even put into thought that he might be right about this. So he went back to with holding information.

A deep sigh was given as she told him to address her by the title she told him earlier and winced when she called him Mister. There was a playful smirk given as she suggested what she would do to him. ”Look its Captain, Captain Jack or Harkness. I am not a mister. Secondly no matter what you do to me won’t cause any last harm or damage. I was chained up for a year and tortured with all the ways you can think of and then some. I had my skin peeled off slowly and left to bleed to death afterwards… That is just one of things they did to me, so whatever you can think of to do to me, I had worse.” He told her in a rather serious tone. Jack still had nightmares for The Year That Never Was…. The Master still haunted him….

”Look these people need someone right now to help them, to show them strength and that things are going to be okay. Clearly you have been in a spot like this before as have I but I don’t do the whole politics thing. These people need someone to lead them. Sure whatever you say maybe correct but what if we are just some project…. An experiment by someone or something… If we are going to need to get out of here then we need to make sure we are all on the same page.” He went on to explain, trying to convince her. He was trying his best to make sure that everyone was doing okay but also trying to find out their strengths and weakness…. To know what good they were and what kind of jobs they had before coming here. Clearly this women before him was a leader and he was trying to convince to go back to that postion. The last thing he needed here was someone without hope, without a purpose because without those things then people would start to fade away and give up.

Jack had dropped the military tone and gone back to his normal one... the same one he lead his people with. ”Well I have you know I am neither of those things…. I should say my group does. Torchwood is a secret organisation , he organization is separate from the government, outside the police, and beyond the United Nations… So once again I am left to wonder where I fit into all of this, where my place is.” Normally he wouldn’t say those things to anyone but he was trying to get her to think of him as a friend, someone she could work with. He needed someone on the inside, someone people could trust so he could find out more and she was his choice. ”By the time we find out if they are here to harm us or whatever danger is out there… it will be too late to do anything. We need to get prepare ourselves and be ready for anything.” Jack reminded her and hoped that would connect with her on some level.

Jack had to laugh when she said her cylons would eat his Daleks. ”Look I seen these Daleks take out Cybermen and much more.. They creatures are a powerful race bent on universal conquest and domination, utterly without pity, compassion or remorse. Various storylines portray them as having had every emotion removed except hate, leaving them with a desire to purge the Universe of all non-Dalek life. They have a single mechanical eyestalk mounted on a rotating dome, an exterminator arm containing an energy weapon and a telescopic manipulator arm, which is usually tipped by an appendage resembling a sink plunger. Daleks have been be able to use their plungers to interface with technology, crush a man's skull by suction, measure the intelligence of a subject, and extract information from a man's mind. Dalek casings are made of a bonded polycarbide material dubbed "dalekanium" and there is no real way of stopping them. I tried and they killed me a couple of times….” Jack’s eyes showed real fear in them as he talked about the Daleks hoping that would explain something to her, to show how dangers they were. He could spend a very long time talking about them.

”Look with all respect…” He trailed off, placing his hands on the table and leaned forward. ”Your fleet is not here, my team is not here.. All we have in the here and now is those around us… We have to deal with what is here now and worry about the rest when we are back we have come from.”

[president laura roslin]

Captain? Just what the frak made him a Captain? Did he pilot a viper? Was he a CAG? Then again, she doubted he even knew what a viper was. It was probably a self-proclaimed title, only for show and nothing more. That thought irratated her even more.

She arched a slender eyebrow. "Well, as unfortunate as that sounds, I can assure I have the capabilities to cause you further harm." She folded her arms across her chest. Well, here she didn't have the capabilities. Back on the Galactica, it would have been a simple order and she would have seen him thrown out into space - probably with a twisted smile on her face. The way he talked . . . . Laura was still certain there was something 'cylon-ish' about him.

Laura laughed. "You don't know anything about me, Captain, so how could you possibly know if I've been in that position before or not? For your information and future reference, however, I have. I watched my homeworlds be destroyed, and 42 government officials in front of me die so that I - the Secretary of Frakken Education - could take over. For the past several months I have been installing hope and faith into a group of around 38,000 civilians scattered aross ships in a fleet trying to find a frakken home. I do not need to worry about whoever is here, because I need to worry about getting back to them. They are my priority, not you, or anyone else here because it seems to me they can handle themselves just frakken fine." She snapped. She sincerely hoped this would not turn into a screaming match like the ones she often held with Zarek and other members of the Quorum, and Adama on occasion. She didn't need it right then - she had enough stress.

What the frak was a Torchwood? Laura honestly didn't rightly care - all of what he said was going in one ear and out the other as she processed the information. He was nothing but a hinderance, an annoyance to her. One she didn't need. A bitter smile came to her face. "I once questioned what my place in life was too - turns out it wasn't very pleasant. So why don't you suck it up and stick around long enough to find out just what exactly your place is?" It couldn't be worse than hers - the whole dying leader thing. Hopefully that would be postponed for the time being until she could figure a way back to the fleet. Then again, perhaps if her cancer stayed away like it was now and she figured out how to get to earth from the people here . . . well, maybe the scrolls of Pythia could be changed. Or at least her role in them.

"My fleet is somewhere, and undoubtably, they need me more than anyone here does, considering when I left I was in the middle of elections against the most insufferable man imaginable. He and his Vice President would run the fleet into the ground straight to hell if I'm not there to stop him." She continued, sitting a bit straighter now with a look of pure loating and hatred on her face.

Now he was off on some tangent about Daleks - whatever those were. The only part she really paid attention to was when he said 'they killed me a few times.' Laura sincerely hoped to the Gods he was talking figuratively instead of literally - otherwise there was a cylon sitting at a table in front of her. Her posture changed almost instantly - one of defense, power, and attitude. "Cylons are creatures who's sole intent is to kill and destroy every human that remains alive from their initial attack on my homeworld, where they sucessfully killed millions of people on each of 12 planets. Currently, they are stalking my fleet in hopes of wiping us out completely. There are two types - Centerions who are bulky metal things with a single eye that flashes red and have guns built into their system. They are programmed to kill. The other kind, however," Her gaze hardened on him. "Appear human, which is why they're such a danger to our fleet. They look, think, and act like we do and it's very hard to tell them apart from a normal human, except there are several copies of each. One of them managed to infiltrate our military and attempted to kill the Admiral of the fleet. Several others have been found, but not all." She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table as she studied him, fixating her gaze on him once more.

"Frankly, I'm concerned you're a cylon yourself."

[captain jack harkness]

There had been a time where Jack served in the RAF but his name much like his title was something that he took. There had been a time when he was part of the Time Agency and had a rank back then but right now, he was Captain Jack Harkness and no one needed to know more than. His real name was tucked away and forgot about. With all he been through in his life, all those years he had lived then he had more than earned his rank. No one would ever take that away from him and if he had too, the name would be dropped and another picked up. He never wanted that to happen… he just wanted to be Captain Jack Harkness leader of Torchwood, lover to Ianto Jones… defender of Earth.

”You have nothing on The Master… so whatever harm you can do is nothing compared to him.” He didn’t know she had come from a space ship or anything like that. Neither of them had taken the time to get to know each other all that well just what they shared from butting heads with each other. Jack was a human well from the fact he came back from the dead. But he wasn’t sure what happened… all he knew was that Rose look into the heart of the TARDIS… brought him back from the dead and then he was left by the Doctor… When he caught up the Doctor again it was explained that he was a fixed point in time… that he was wrong.

There was a slight smile when he heard her laugh, well that was a good sign right? He stood there listening to her, wishing that Gwen was around… she would have been much better at this. Then again she might slap him from being so stupid. ”Your right, I know nothing about you and you know nothing about me. So lets just end all of that right now because we keep butting heads like this nothing will get solved or we won’t get to know each other better.” Jack said doing his best to keep from losing his cool but it was a battle that was getting harder and harder to win. ”What I do know is that they are not here and you are. Where ever we are, that life you know is far far away. This is another reality from what I can tell… so you need to work pass that and help the people here. Seriously whatever happened to mankind that we don’t want to help those around us?” Jack having lost his cool at the end part of what he was saying, wondering if she could really sit by and do nothing. Jack knew he couldn’t sit by and do nothing but from what he could tell, he was the outcast here and that people didn’t trust him at all.

”I seen what happens when we die… its nothing. There is nothing they’re waiting for us… I did more times than I can count and I really do mean that. Each time I have sucked it up as you say and kept moving forward. My place in this world is fixed point in time. I belong in the 21st Century because that is when it all happens… As for who I am, I am Captain Jack Harkness leader of Torchwood and defender of Earth…. I am one of the Doctor’s children… his companion.” Jack went on to say when she told him to find out what his place was. Jack already knew and he truly wished the Doctor were here. Maybe he could get this woman to see what was in front of her instead of focusing on the life she had.


”Your fleet is not here! What is here is people needing someone to pull them together… to give them strength and sense of purpose they need to move forward. So we can find a way to get you back to your place and time…. To that fleet of yours.” Jack said, finally losing his cool and yelling a bit at first been then calming down towards the end.


Jack stood there and listened to her rant on about Cylons and they sounded as dangerous as the Daleks. ”When they still the Earth along with twenty six other planets to make a weapons... wipe out vase amount of human life while doing so, call me. Until they we both have enemies out there that are beyond dangerous, that are hard to stop but whatever they are, they are not here. Told her, hoping they could drop this whole argument about who had the worse enemy out there. When she went on to tell him that she concerned that he was a cylon, his eyes narrowed slightly. ”Oh you can trust me I am not one of those. I maybe be thousands of years old but I am not a cylon seeing how they don’t even exist from where I am from.” Jack stared at her as he told her that, the truth all of it was true.

[president laura roslin]

Laura would admit she had a tendency to lose her cool rather easily, especially with people like the man sitting before her. As of right then, however, she was managing to keep it in check. She wasn't yelling or screaming - yet - and was trying to rationally speak to him. Apparently, that wasn't working because he felt the need to nearly scream at her.

Something she did not take lightly.

"I know people who can torture you in the worst possible ways." She stated quietly, looking away now. There was Kara - who was convienently there with her - as well as a few members of the black market she could probably ask Lee to get a hold of. If she was back with her fleet. Gods damn it all to hell and back she needed to be back there, not stuck in this joint.

"I have no desire to know you any more than I already do, Captain Harkness." She continued, tracing an invisible pattern across the table top with her finger absentmindedly as she stared him down, green eyes sparked with more than just anger and rage that she was keeping well hidden below the surface - it would come out soon, however, if this man kept frakking with her. She was not one to be frakked with.

"There is no such thing as alternate realities." She frowned at him. Sure, there was that holographic game they'd had when she was little, but that didn't count as an alternate reality. There were a lot of things Laura believed in, but that was not one of them. There was her reality, and whatever the frak this place was. That was it.

"I've died before, too. I've seen what happens when we die, too - just because cylons like you don't experience anything, doesn't mean we humans don't. The other side is quite beautiful." She mused, leaning back in her chair again. The things were hardly comfortable, but would probably serve as a mildly good weapon should she need to use it to fend off Jack - who still had not proved he wasn't a cylon. She wasn't just trusting his word. That would be pointless, as any cylon could lie to her face. They were programmed for it.

Laura froze for a moment when he mentioned earth. So he was from there too? He was the only one she'd talked to so far that had mentioned it directly to her face. She'd seen a promising young scientist - anthropologist or something, she was - that had come from earth that she'd been meaning to talk to, but perhaps Jack would be easier to get to at the moment. If she could talk him out of giving up where the frak earth was.

"There are only three ways for you to really prove to me you are a cylon, you know. One, you die and don't ressurect. Two, I cut your chest cavity open and make sure you're not filled with wires. Three, your spine glows red when you have sexual intercourse. I assure you, the only one I'd be willing to see or partake in is the first." She told him, tapping her fingers against the table now, slightly amused.

She didn't say anything as he continued to yell, pointedly ignoring anything he had to say. No matter what he said about her fleet, it was still her fleet and she was going to get back to them to protect them. Bill could only last so long - not to mention he'd be under the pressure of the Quorom and Baltar and Zarek. That wasn't going to turn out pretty. Not pretty at all.

"As of this moment, I'm going to ignore the fact that you still might be a cylon." She leaned forward again, eying him cautiously. "I'm also going to ignore the fact that you were just yelling at me - which, by the way, don't ever do again unless you'd like me to rip your tongue out and wrap it around your head." Laura continued, brushing back hair from her eyes, a plan formulating in her mind.

"You're right." She gave a cheshire cat grin. "We don't know each other well enough. So, tell me Captain Harkness. Tell me more about Earth. Where is it? What's it like?" She asked, changing the subject quickly. She was a woman on a mission, not to be deterred.

[captain jack harkness]

Yelling and screaming were not something Jack did often or all that much. Sure he got angry but it wasn’t that often that he raised his voice but mostly changed his tone. He knew what his problem was and that he was taking it out the wrong person. He wasn’t on his time, let alone reality or world… he was without Ianto… the Doctor, heck he would even settle for Captain John Hart right now, anyone that he knew…. But those three were the ones he could take comfort in whether is was the loving comfort of Ianto or the beating the crap out of John…. All Jack needed was someone to tell him that it was going to be okay and that is where the Doctor came in, the man who could make Jack stronger than what he tried to be.

Jack’s thoughts were broken by the sound of Laura’s voice as she spoke of torturing him. Sure he acted like he didn’t care but that was just his training kicking in and years of all he had gone through making him tough but deep down, he was scared. He wasn’t as strong as he led people to believe. ”Sounds rather interesting.” He said in a calm, cool voice. One thing that bothered him the most about this was how Laura managed to have someone she knows here with her…. How he was in the same building as Ianto but is lover wasn’t here. It wasn’t far to Jack and it just added to the pile which had him about to burst…. Well he already did when he walked in here and started in on her.

”Oh I am sure I can change your mind about that. I tend to grow on people rather well.” Jack said more flirting than being smart but mostly trying his best to play nice for now. His blue eyes watching her hand as she moved her fingers across the table and that had him wondering if it was her way of helping her to relax or if she was just that bored. Either way, Jack knew he could help her out with both of those areas rather well. ”Trust me, there is and if my friend The Doctor was here… he could explain it better than I ever could. The Doctor is a rather amazing man… I bet he could get us all out of here with his TARDIS… all the while getting us answers. There would be a lot of running but that is something you come to love and find fun when your with the Doctor.” Jack’s voice carried admiration, love and a softness that was only reserved for when he was talking about his Doctor…

”I keep telling you I am not a cylon…” He said quietly, trailing off knowing it was becoming a battle he could not win with her and so far he couldn’t figure out a way to prove it to her. His eyes watched as she leaned back wondering if she was finding all of those comforting, which was something he would be concerned about if she was or if she was just trying to get comfortable. Jack had yet to sit down in the chair but was still leaning over it, his arms coming to rest on the top of the chair. Jack wasn’t sure what she was talking about when she said the other side was beautiful… all he’s even seen when he died was the blackness... the dark and cold…. Maybe whatever happened to him took all that away and just left that emptiness.

Finally she spoke of ways to prove that he wasn’t a cylon and he raised a brow at those. ”I see…” Jack glanced around the room pretty much empty now well besides the two people leaving. He wondered if he scared everyone away or if they were just finished her. ”Fine either give me a knife or let me show you the best night of your life.” Jack said flirting with her towards the end. Jack knew he was a great lover after all you don’t live over a thousand years without picking some rather nice tricks and become a really good lay. ”The first would never work, told you I can’t die and trust me.. It’s painful to die and its not something I rather do again.” He said being serious, Jack didn’t want to die… it felt like part of him was lost each time he was killed.

When he seen the grin she gave him, he tensed up, becoming rather nervous. He knew no one grinned like that unless they were up to something. ”Which part do you want to know about? Let’s see I buried under ten feet under for two thousand years... nothing special about that… been in England during the second world war…. Lived in Cardiff for almost 200 years while I waited to find the Doctor so he could tell me what was wrong with me… or I can tell you about the current time I lived in. The 21st Century.” He told her without giving away too much information about him but only enough to prove the point he had been around for a very long time.

Jack finally sat down in the chair looking over at her before pulling out his cell phone. He turned it on and of course there was no signal but he had some videos of Cardiff in the 21st Century, some video of his team messing around… Ianto and Gwen.. Things that he recorded before he had run off with the Doctor leaving them behind. "I'm sorry about the yelling.... I lost my partner and I am worried about him because he is all I truly have at the end of the day, the one that keeps me going." Jack sighed deeply and looked down at the table, trying to hide the hurt in his eyes but slide the phone across the table. "Hit the OK button to play the videos... it will give you a better idea than me talking about it." Little did he know that Gwen had recorded a video of him and Ianto goofing and another of them cuddled up on the sofa sound asleep curled up into each other.

[president laura roslin]

Gods she probably would have killed for a glass of ambrosia in that moment. That usually did the trick of getting rid of any headache she had, and it would probably calm her nerves enough to where she could try and get a bit of sleep, perhaps. No doubt sheer exhaustion would hit her soon, as one of the side effects from being dragged here.

He was talking about a doctor now - Laura, frankly, despised any and all doctors. They had been the ones to tell her she wouldn't live. Tell her the cancer was going to end her life. Well, there she was, still alive - no thanks to a half cylon child, but still alive. Part of her wondered if this made her half-cylon as well. Not in so many terms, but if she had the blood running through her body, keeping her cancer at bay, then she was something different.

Laura blinked, half stunned at his words. She'd known he'd been flirting with her, and she'd pointedly been ignoring it for obvious reasons. "As I said, I will be ignoring the fact that you are probably a cylon or the time being. I can have Kara Thrace ensure if you are human or not at a later date in time." She stated firmly. She had no desire to give him a knife - in case he was a cylon; that, and she didn't have one on her - and had no desire to do anything beyond talking with him either. Yeah frakken right.

"I know how painful it is to die, Captain. I've been there." She repeated quietly, suddenly remembering her time in sickbay. It was all a hazy dream the more she tried to remember it. She remembered ordering to terminate Sharon's baby - the very baby that had saved her life - and frequent visits from several people including the Commander, Colonel, Lee, and even Kara. They'd all thought she was going to die, and she'd been prepared to.

But she hadn't.

He ranted on about earth, however, and suddenly held her undivided attention. Something about a place called England and Cardriff. And a second world war - did they fight a lot on earth, then? War was only natural, though - the Colonies had seen their fair share of them, especially with cylons. Not to mention various civil wars that broke out on a planet every hundred years or so.

"Just . . . tell me about earth itself. What does it look like? What are the people like? Where exactly is earth in the universe? Does it have a specific solar system or something?" Laura inquired now, interested. Earth was the place she was going to evenually lead her fleet to, so she wanted to know all about it. Earth was the one hope her civilians held onto. If she could figure out where it was from this man and cut the journey in half, it'd be all the better.

Then again, what if this was planned by the Gods? What if she was meant to be sucked into whatever place this was, talk to this man, and somehow find a way back to her fleet to lead them to Earth? What is all part of their plans, and had they planned it all along? Laura figured they'd at least have the decency to inform their prophet of these things.

He talked about his partner and she gave a half smile. The one that kept him going - the same way the people of her fleet did. They were her reason to keep going - that, and Bill. Whether she liked it or not, he was the reason she got out of bed in the morning, for the sheer reason that she knew he could not run the fleet alone. And wheher she wanted it or not, she had devloped more personal feelings for him rather than just the normal feelings that there should have been between a military and government leader.

But now was not the time to dwell on it.

Laura took the . . . device that was handed to her and replaced her glasses. She sat inspecting the device in her hand for a moment, realizing it was a cellphone far behind in technology than the technology on the planets. their cell phones hadn't been at all like this in several years. This was the sort of technology they had on earth? Well, they were going to be surprised when she came rolling in with her fleet and their FTL drives and all sorts of equipment that these people had probably only begun to develop.

"Please, go ahead and keep talking about this earth. I can multi-task." She mused and pressed the button he had indicated, eyes flickering between him and the video now playing on the cell phone in her hand. They were shaky, but she could still see the videos - she assumed one of them was about this England or Cadriff or whatever that he kept talking about, and then there were a few with people in it - mostly a man, every once in a while joined by a woman. Curiousity got the better of her.

"Who are this man and woman? Friends of yours?"

[captain jack harkness]

Besides having those around him that he knew, Jack could use a shot of a strong alcohol. Hyper Vodka would do it but he knew he would have to go back to around the 51st century for some of that and he doubted any of that would be around here. His eyes glanced over at the machines that was suppose to produce anything they desired and he started to wonder if they could mix him up a hyper vodka... maybe just one or two…. He didn’t need to go down the road of having for of them again and ending up blacking out for the rest of the day and not remembering what he did.

When he had seen the expression she showed when he talked about the Doctor, Jack shook his head and chuckled a bit. ”He’s not a actual Doctor… its his name. He is a Time Lord…. It’s along story. But he has a ship that can take us anywhere; it’s called the TARDIS… I know he could figure out a way to get us out of here.” He had so much faith and trust in the Time Lord… as well as love. Jack wanted to believe the Doctor would show up and save the day because he wasn’t sure what to do when it came down to it. Maybe some sleep and talking with the others would give him an idea. Jack tapped the leather wrist strap on his left wrist and looked down at it. ”If I could fix this thing then I could teleport us out of here but trying to figure out what is wrong with it will take time. Hard to fix 51st century technology without the right tools.” He told her, not sure why he was being open but maybe it would help to change her mind.

Jack could tell she was stunned by what he said, maybe it was because he thought it would be easier, maybe he wasn’t use to people turning him down that he was surprised that she was stunned. ”Sounds like a date then.” He said in a cool tone with a wink. Jack was in a more playful mood at the moment having gone back to his usual self and finally starting to relax around her. Jack was glad she didn’t go off and find a knife to give him. The last thing he wanted was to die again and show her more reason that she could be right about him even though he knew the truth about himself. ”Not every way a person can die is painful but there are more painful than non painful ways…” He said quietly, his head hanging a little. Not proud of the fact, he killed himself a few times because he couldn’t take things anymore and though maybe it would be just the one time he wouldn’t come back.

As he talked about all centuries and time he had been on earth, it wasn’t a surprise to him when she showed interest in the war part. She seemed like she was a lady shaped and made out of war. ”Earthlings have seen their share of wars.. Where I come from we just entered another war... in two different countries. All because one group attacked America… Earthlings won’t learn how to look past their differences until a couple more centuries pass… Just because I call them Earthlings doesn’t make me one of those things you keep trying to tell me that I am… I wasn’t born or raised on Earth.” Jack told her, hoping that it would make sense. He shifted a little in the seat, wishing Ianto were here to make some of his famous coffee… Jack hadn’t found another person who could make coffee or tea as good as his partner.

He wished he knew was behind this… to find someone who could explain all of this to him… All this felt like being a prisoner and that wasn’t something he could stand or like at all. Jack glanced around wondering if there was a way to get outside… maybe he could figure a way to get outside and find out where they were. It would give him a better idea and help him to figure something out better. He missed the fresh air… the wind on his face. He found himself missing the smells around Cardiff… The pizza, fish and chips… the smell of the water by the docks. Oh man what he would do for a decent slice of pizza or even some fish and chips. He wasn’t all that hungry but the though of those foods and the smell had his stomach rumbling a bit. When noticed the noise, his cheeks had a slight blush to them and he looked away nervously.

He was glad when he took the cell phone. ”Best cell phone from the 21st Century… He trailed off and opened up his Vortex Manipulator and glanced down at the small device before turning it so she could see. ”Nothing close to what he have in the 51st century though… He closed the wrist strap back up before looking down at the table, wondering what he could tell her about Earth. ”Where I come from, its 2009. People are just starting to use other means to fuel their vehicles with non fossil fuels… Fast Food Chains just about everywhere you turn… mostly thanks to the Americans and their fast food mentality. My group keeps England and sometimes the world safe from alien threats… There have been a couple of those but by and large the world really doesn’t know about aliens let alone believe in them. There are no human robots running around. The only robots around are either toys or help with manufacturing process… He trailed off, finding this harder than it should be. Jack wasn’t really good at opening up and talking like this not even to Ianto. God the secrets he kept from Ianto, never shared with him the darkest or even the lightest of those sercets.

”The man is Ianto, my partner as many would call it. Gay marriage is subject on its on. In American is not widely accepted let. Over in Europe, its more accepted and the couples are even allowed to get married or have rights. But there are still people who are racist… they come in many forms. The women is Gwen, she is married and really great people person. She used to be a cop until my team stumbled into her life and she wouldn’t give in until we let her in on the team. Heck, I even gave her something that knocked her out and wiped her memory of the last two days… She still found us. Ianto pretty much the same, he wouldn’t take a no and even helped me capture something. He makes a mean cup of coffee. Both are all that is left of my team…” He trailed off with a sigh, still having a bit guilty for what happened to Tosh and Owen.

”I miss Gwen finding the wrong times to show up at the hub.. She caught Ianto and I in the act one time… Asked her to play naked hide and seek with us but she turned me down after Ianto told her I cheat.” Jack laughed at the memory and how red Gwen’s face had been. Jack looked up at Laura and gave a slight tilt of his head before looking back down at the table again, trying to think about something while he waited to her what she had to say. He was half waiting for her to call him a cylon again.

[president laura roslin]

Who went by the name 'the doctor'? It sounded like something out of one of the mystery books she liked to read, like some criminal that took the persona of a doctor in order to murder helpless victims and pass them off as surgical accidents.

She had clearly put too much thought into the books she had recently been borrowing from Bill.

"Well, since he is not here with his . . . machine that you mentioned, and we are apparently on some sort of island in the middle of a vast ocean, we are not getting out of here anytime soon." She stated, glancing out the windows of the cafeteria for a moment. The vast oceans reminded her of Picon and Aquaria - she'd visited them both while campaining with Richard for his Presidency, but hadn't stayed very long. Both were covered in large amounts of water, both saltwater and fresh.

"No, let me rephrase that." She held up a hand, shaking her head, hair tumbling over her shoulders as she turned her attention back toward him. "I do not wish to go on any date with you, but thank you for the offer." She replied slowly. "No offense, of course. You're just not my type." She added with a half smirk of her own. She didn't really even have a type - but if she did, Harkness would not be it. Most assured.

She gave a shakey little laugh. "When you're dying of cancer in a sickbay bed and lapse into a seizure and all of this other nonsense that comes with it, come and talk to me about painful deaths." Laura responded unhappily. That had hurt - she'd never experienced such pain, but she'd managed to keep it hidden most of the time. She hadn't wanted anyone fussing over her just because she'd been in pain. Then again, the painkillers Cottle had drugged her with to make it easier on her had helped but only slightly. It had still been hard to breath, hard to sleep, hard to even more or function properly. And it had hurt.

"So, you have differet countries on Earth? I'm going to assume that England and America are two of them." She continued to listen as he spoke of war. "It's in human nature to fight, so I'm not surprised to hear there's war, even there. Where I come from, there's civil wars that break out on a planet every hundred years or so for the most silly of reasons. It's like they find any excuse to fight. I think Caprica's the only one who hasnt had to deal with it - then again, Caprica's the capital of the Colonies and they have all the government and politics there, so I wouldn't expect them to break out into a full on war - only verbal wards between politicians. Even those can get pretty nasty." She made a slight face, remembering just how nasty politicians could be behind closed doors. They were backstabbers, people who would do anything in the world to get wht they wanted.

Laura had never considered herself one of them - not until Wally had told her to her face on Colonial Day. That had felt like a slap, but Laura had known then she was turning into a backstabber even moreso when thoughts of stealing the election she was in at that very moment had come to her mind a few days ago. She'd been intending to propose the idea to Colonel Tigh - who hated Baltar just as much as she did. Adama wouldn't have been able to see things her way, and telling him would have been a monsterous mistake.

"Our only war is with the cylons anymore." She said faintly, more to herself than to Jack before the sound of his stomach rumbling caught her attention. "Sorry, how rude of me. Please, go get something to eat if you'd like. Don't stay here on my account." She told him, turning her attention back to the little phone in her hands, focusing on the screen again. She was starting to get hunry herself, but she doubted they had any food she was used to eating here - sure, they had synthesizers she had heard about, but it wouldn't be the same.

"Perhaps if I ever do lead my fleet to earth, they can find a way to use our fuel - it's called Tyllium, and lasts quite a lot longer than any fossil fuel could. My Colonies used up the last of those a long time ago. Fast Food Chains are - well, were - quite popular." She mused. "Would they consider me an alien, since we look like you? Just because we happen to have technology that vasted outranks yours, even in the future, doesn't mean we're 'aliens'." She said, half amused by the thought. They weren't aliens - however, the cylons were another story. "And I'd keep an eye on any sort of robots, especially if they start to gain minds of their own. Cylons starts out as our own creations, made to make our lives easier, but they rebelled against us and started the first cylon war. Now we're in another war against them, and it's not pretty.The last thing Earth wants to do is follow in our footsteps."

All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.

Gods damned scrolls and their predicting. Laura wanted to so desperately break the chain the scrolls made, with history repeating iself, with everything happening begin. She couldn't imagine another person like herself, dying, saddled with the burden Laura now carried.

Laura only half listened to Jack as he rambled on about his partners, closing the cell phone a moment later. "Well, they both sound like wonderful people." She passed the phone back over to them and removed her glasses, studying him again. "I should hope you are able to return to them soon, as I hope I am able to return to my fleet."

[captain jack harkness]

Whatever issues there were between Jack and Laura they seemed to have vanished for now. They seemed to talking without yelling each other or trying to out do each other. It was as civilized as it could be. Now that things are getting settled and calm down, Jack was starting to feel exhausted, he wasn’t sure if it was because of the travel with shouldn’t have affected him like it did or if he was just truly tired. Either way, maybe he would excuse himself in a while and try to find a way to get rested up without the nightmares haunting him.

At least with Laura like the female doctor slash scientist he meant earlier, she was willing to believe him and hear him out. Instead of telling him those things were not real or could not happen. ”It would be nice to go for a swim…. Maybe catch some fish or find some fresh food to eat. I don’t know about you but I could use some fresh air.” Jack said, not even sure if there was a way of this place… Maybe he could shoot or break one of the windows. Jack knew if he couldn’t get outside, he might just end up going crazy. ”The ocean reminds me of home… back on Boeshane Peninsula… Earth has oceans too but nothing like the ones back home.” He explained to her.

”Couldn’t make it a true date here anyways.. No movie theatre… no live theatre… great places for a dinner... Doubt I could even get flowers here. Haven’t been on a date….” He trailed off trying to remember when the last time he had been on a date. His right hand coming up to run through his short brown hair before he spoke again… ”I can remember when, to be honest.” Jack had gone out to a few places with Ianto but they never called or though of those times as dates. It was just them getting out of the hub for a while. ”Besides that is what they all say but soon or later they change their minds.” Jack flashed a playful grin. He was just playing around sure he found her attractive and wouldn’t mind a one night with her but he couldn’t see things going on more than that or even having the chance to be more.

”Sounds rather painful.. Try being buried twenty feet deep in the ground. About two thousand years before there was even a city built upon the very spot that you are buried… No one having a way coming to rescue you or knowing you are there…Can’t breath because every breath is a mouth or nose full of dirt… Nothing but the darkness and the all the weigh of the dirt upon you and each time you come back to life… only to die a few moments later because there is no way to breath…” He trailed off and his body giving a bit of shiver. Even though his brother did that to him, it still felt like he owed his brother much more for what had happened. ”I deserved that though. My brother had every right to do that to me…” He said sadly, not even looking up at her…

Jack wasn’t trying out doing her; it wasn’t often that he could talk to someone this openly or like this. She was different. Maybe because she had been there before and he could relate to her. He was thankful for when the conversation had moved back to Earth. ”There are quite a few countries… Each one as different as the next as far as culture and langue goes. There are some amazing places to see though.” He told her, wondering if he would ever get out to the countryside with Ianto again for a little escape away from the city. ”Even though I lived on Earth for as long as I did… I guess deep down I am still that man from the 51st century. At the point in time war isn’t something that happens all that much or often. Everyone got along well. Sure there were criminals, crimes and bad things like that but everyone got along well. Heck… sex pretty much became like a handshake when I was growing up…”

”Politics is huge on Earth… some many governments keeping secrets from other countries… and even the American president doesn’t know what is truly going on in England. Its all a game… being popular and knowing how to play the game.” Politics were not something Jack liked or cared to be part of. He had been in too many arguments with government officials. When Laura told him to get something to each and that he didn’t have to stay here, he just shook his head. ”Not hungry…” He told her, knowing his body was telling another story. He just wasn’t in the mood to eat or even think about it. He allowed her attention to go back to phone and in that moment, he took the moment to rub his eyes. ”I never heard of Caprica before… in all the traveling I have done through out time and space.” He wasn’t sure how she would take that but he was hoping she could tell him a little about it sometime.


”I am sure they can find a way to get that fuel made into something useful they could use or even find away to make it. Might take sometime because technology is something that is always growing and changing back on Earth.” Each century Jack had spent in Earth, it took him sometime to get use to how little tech there was and how simple it was. ”There not my favorite, the food tends to lose taste and quality.” Jack tended to avoid eating fast food when he could but often times it was all him and his team had to eat. The rift had become so active in the past few years that it really kept them busy. ”As for robots go… in my life time, I never seen or one go nuts like that.. Well besides the Daleks but they are these tiny mutants that hide within a metal body. With all I seen…. People here would think I was crazy and would want to lock me up.” He joked slightly towards the end. There was too much that he seen and done in the thousands of years he had been around.

He was pretty sure that Earth wouldn’t make that mistake… not after what the Cybermen did. England wasn’t all that big into robot making after what happened. A nod of his head was given she said they sounded like wonderful people. ”Only pick the best for my team.. Still haven’t replaced the two we lost.” Jack took his cell phone and tucked it back into the pocket of his jacket. Before looking back at her then he glanced around again. ”Hope the same for you. How about we try to bust out for some fresh air?’

[president laura roslin]

Fresh air. That was something Laura hadn't had in ages. She had long since grown used to the fact that all she would see was the color of battlestar gray. She would be held to the ground with artificial gravity, and be able to see under artificial light. The system on Cloud 9 that was made to imitate the outdoors didn't count, because it was truly not fresh air. It was simply more artifical life. It was nice, but still, not the same.

She rolled her eyes at his flirting, but said nothing. She hadn't been on a date on a while either. Not since . . . well, Sean Ellison. Adar hardly counted - that was just a simple affair that had been a mistake to be a part of. She was gad she didn't have to worry about it. Being President, and being with the fleet made it to where se could start over, ignore everything in her past that had been terrible, awful, or bad, and look instead to the future, where things were a bit more hopeful than they had once been.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." She tried her best to sound sincere, even if that was hard to believe. Either way, he seemed visibly shakened by it, so she did the only thing she could think of - apologize. "It sounds very unpleasant, and I hope it doesn't happen to you again." She continued quietly, tapping her fingers silently against the table again. Usually she had a pen in her hand or something to mess with - it was a habit she had built.

She gave a half smile. Earth did sound rather wonderful, even with the different countries he spoke of. There were no countries on the Colonies, but the Colonies themselves each had different culture - they all spoke the same general language, but each had an accent or dialect. Then there was Old Gemenese as a dead language, and sometimes remanents of Tauronese could be heard - she half wondered if the Admiral could speak it. He was from Tauron, aftr all.

"Politics are a major part on our Colonies, although, we have one president for twelve planets, and an entire cabinet of secretaries that extends pretty far down. Plus a Quorum of delegates with a representative from each Colony - it's quite an extensive government. One I told myself I was going to get out of, but never did." The last part of her words were bitter, full of resentment. Then again, if she had managed to convince herself to get out, she wouldn't have been President. Hell, if she hadn't gone to the Galactica decommissioning ceremony, she woudn't be President, considering Adar was terminating her employment after she returned.

"Caprica is the capital of the 12 Colonies, and one of the more richer ones because of that. In addition to Caprica, there's Aerilon, Aquaria, Canceron, Gemenon, Leonis, Libran, Picon, Sagittaron, Scorpia, Tauron, and Virgon. Each are very different from each other in culture and religion, as well as climate, weather, and terrain. They're all quite beautiful though - I travelled to most of them when I was campaigning with the former President." She mused. She did miss the beaches and the plains and farms and oceans - just everything about the Colonies she missed. She'd never see them again, either.

Laura sighed softly at that thought, staring at a spot on the table now rather than looking at Harkness as she reflected back. She would never see any part of her homeworld again - new hope had been installed in her for Earth, but what would happen if she could not get back to her fleet? What would happen if they couldn't find earth? They'd be stuck on ships forever, and eventually, they'd end up dead. They couldn't fight off the cylons forever. Then again, if they went to earth, no doubt that the cylons would track them and effectively destroy that too.

She laughed. "I don't really want locked up because we broke rules by breaking out." Laura said. She'd spent enough time Galactica's brig."Find a legal way for us to get out later, perhaps, after I get some rest and perhaps attempt to try some of the food here, then I may take you upon that offer."

[captain jack harkness]

The memories of the wind blowing past him, through his hair and making the tail of his jacket flap. The city looking so small below him, the people tiny as they walked below as he stood on top of the tallest is building in Cardiff on the edge. His blue eyes just staring ahead enjoying the feel of the moment, lost within that moment. What he would do to be on top of the building, knowing that he was in charge of the city… that everything below was his to keep safe. Recalling how much the city had changed and stayed the same over the ages he had spent in there. Almost two hundred years spent trying to find the Doctor, waiting for him to show up all the while working for Torchwood which was in charge of tracking down that very man until he took control of Torchwood and change the mission of Torchwood into something else.

To Jack, it didn’t matter of the person blue or even a dog. It if had a zip code… address then the changes were good that he would end up flirting or sleeping with them. Then again because he was born in the 51st century body produces more highly evolved pheromones, which make them more sexually attractive than baseline Humans. Making him hard to resist to most, the more active he was the more of those pheromones his body released. It wasn’t something that he could help, it just the way he was born. Jack wondered if this woman was truly not interested or if it was the situation they were in and the stress from it… Either way time would tell.

”I deserved it…. My brother had every right to do that to me. There is nothing to be sorry about.” Jack didn’t care for when others took pity on him or seen him as weak… Not after he came this far. He might have been a coward and con man on point but the Doctor made him want to be a better man so he was trying his hardest to be that stronger man… to be the hero for once. ”With my life, its hard to say what is going to happen from one moment to the next. Maybe I should have taken the Doctor up on the offer to travel with him again and I wouldn’t be in this spot but I couldn’t leave my team... It was the responsible thing to do. The Year That Never Was, made me realize that.” He told her, spacing out a bit as he talked. He couldn’t help it… that time still haunted him very much and he started to wonder how Martha and her family were doing…

”On Earth… if you are from a different country visiting or moved there… you are thought of as an alien. So you wouldn’t be alone being called an alien there.” Even though Jack lived in the United Kingdom… he spoke with an American accent. He stood up and walked over to one of the windows. His arms coming behind his wrist resting against his lower back in pretty much a military stance as he stood there listing to her talk about her place, her home. There a slight nod of his head now and then to her words. ”Sounds interesting… and like it would be worth a visit. In all my traveling, I never heard of those places or anything close to it.” Jack wondered if there were places still out there waiting to be discovered, waiting to be seen. He been to one side of the universe and back and though he had been to all the places between but maybe along the way he never got the chance to see those places she spoke of… even he wondered if they were real or something made up to make him believe her story.


”I haven’t seen any signs of anyone else here but us. I don’t know how to play by the rules anyways. I’ll find away for us to get out there besides there is nothing anyone can do to me that hasn’t been done yet.” Jack knew he couldn’t be stuck inside for long; he would end up going stir crazy because of it. That and he needed to keep himself busy… he couldn’t stand down time like this and not having anything to do. ”Never been one to do anything legal in my life, if I wanted to do it then I would do. Once I requested four hyper vodkas as my last meal, ended up sleeping with my executioners that night. Nice couple, they stayed in touch for a while. But that was back when I was normal and could die.” He took a deep breath and wondered why Rose had chose he felt like he was worth bringing back to life and giving him this gift or curse… he wasn’t sure what it was but he knew he was going to make his life something worth while to make up for it.