![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
m_findlowTitle: Guided by the light
Fandom: Torchwood
Jack tried not to fidget in the uncomfortable chair as he faced the panel of three executives. This was an unusual assignment for them. They typically prevented the escalation of war, negotiated resource sharing treaties, and managed asylum policies. Dealing with large corporates was outside their normal experience, but they'd been asked specifically to handle this. So far, he couldn't tell if they'd been at all persuasive. Judging by the body language across the table, they weren't overly convinced. Why would they? They wanted to build a massive new, very lucrative, hyperspace transit lane and Polaris just happened to be in the way.
'Polaris is an uninhabited star system,' their chief executive replied. 'We've already gone through a public notice period of several decades and we'd yet to receive any compelling evidence that the star represents any significant scientific or geological purpose. Its removal is to reduce the risk of any transient gravitational issues that could be caused when it collapses into a black hole.'
Jack checked again the notes Ianto had silently passed to him. 'Polaris isn't going to die for another hundred and fifteen millennia. Even then, the black hole caused by its collapse will have such a weak pull at that distance that it's unlikely to ever have any impact on a hyperspace lane. We calculated point zero two of a degree natural bend at the closest point. Not enough to divert the course of any ship travelling at hyperspeed.'
The executive on Jack's left tipped his head sideways. 'Considering the cost, we believe it fair to consider the long term impact. We have a duty to our shareholders.'
'What about cultural significance?' Jack asked. 'Did you consider that before proposing to stick a superhighway right through that sector of space? Where are those impact studies?'
'Can I just say something?' Ianto asked, already on his feet and adjusting his tie in a bout of slight nervousness. Jack's hand moved to stop him and then halted midway as if he didn't really want to prevent his husband from speaking out and breaking protocol.
'We were on an aid mission two years ago, not far from here. At the time this area of the galaxy was under threat from terrorist cells looking to destabilise the peace between the handful of planets here. We didn't have to come. It wasn't our fight. Our home is billions of light years away in a galaxy that doesn't even know the rest of the universe exists. But we came to help nonetheless.
During that time, I was aboard a ship that was under attack. A bomb had been planted that destroyed it and all of her crew. I myself was knocked unconscious by the blast, and only survived because the crew found me and put me in one of the only undamaged life pods, ejecting it out into space before the integrity of the hull was completely compromised. That ship ended up imploding and killing them. I woke up on that pod, alone, injured and drifting in a debris field with only a few days of oxygen and limited fuel. In the mass of debris, I was an insignificant speck. Any ship who saw it would have rightly assumed that no one survived. No one would be searching for survivors. My only hope of being found was to get away from it, in the hope that someone might spot the life pod once it was far enough away, but even so it was a long shot. I had no idea which way to go or where the nearest inhabited star might be. When I looked out from that tiny viewport all I saw was the endless vastness of space.
Then I saw it. Polaris. The people from my planet call it the North Star. It is the single most recognisable point in the sky, which has been used to navigate the world for thousands of years. They say that if you're lost, following the North Star will always guide you home. I had no idea which way my home planet was, even if I'd had enough fuel and life support to make it there, but something told me just to lock course with Polaris and head that way. So that's what I did. I don't know how long I was out there, losing blood and drifting in and out of consciousness, but they found me. My husband knew that I would look for the only familiar star and head towards it. If not for that, I wouldn't be standing here today, asking you to consider how many other lives have been saved by following the light of that star.'
Jack capitalised on his partner's momentum. 'We have the signatures of a hundred and twelve local planets who oppose the destruction of Polaris. A hundred and twelve local populations who, like me, have seen Polaris as a God, as a beacon of hope, or just a bright light in the sky helping to guide their way home. And that's not to mention the thousands of planets like our home that can still see that star as the brightest thing in the night sky. It's more than just some inconvenience impeding the construction of a shiny new transit lane.'
'A hundred and twelve, you say?'
'All planets who had no idea what you'd been planning. Some were exceedingly angry when they heard. Your shareholders should know that.'
The panel looked annoyed, but they were obligated to revisit plans now that it had been brought to their attention. 'We will review your submission materials and let you know our response within the moon cycle. We appreciate that this could become politically sensitive. The Shadow Proclamation don't usually interfere with corporate affairs.'
'They made a special request. That should tell you how they'll view any decision to proceed.'
They stood, bowed and left the room without rising to Jack's baited comment.
'Did we do enough?' Ianto asked.
Jack shrugged. 'I dunno, but we did our best.'
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG.
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 136 - The North Star at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly
fandomweeklySummary: The Shadow Proclamation have tasked Jack and Ianto with a sensitive local issue.
Jack tried not to fidget in the uncomfortable chair as he faced the panel of three executives. This was an unusual assignment for them. They typically prevented the escalation of war, negotiated resource sharing treaties, and managed asylum policies. Dealing with large corporates was outside their normal experience, but they'd been asked specifically to handle this. So far, he couldn't tell if they'd been at all persuasive. Judging by the body language across the table, they weren't overly convinced. Why would they? They wanted to build a massive new, very lucrative, hyperspace transit lane and Polaris just happened to be in the way.
'Polaris is an uninhabited star system,' their chief executive replied. 'We've already gone through a public notice period of several decades and we'd yet to receive any compelling evidence that the star represents any significant scientific or geological purpose. Its removal is to reduce the risk of any transient gravitational issues that could be caused when it collapses into a black hole.'
Jack checked again the notes Ianto had silently passed to him. 'Polaris isn't going to die for another hundred and fifteen millennia. Even then, the black hole caused by its collapse will have such a weak pull at that distance that it's unlikely to ever have any impact on a hyperspace lane. We calculated point zero two of a degree natural bend at the closest point. Not enough to divert the course of any ship travelling at hyperspeed.'
The executive on Jack's left tipped his head sideways. 'Considering the cost, we believe it fair to consider the long term impact. We have a duty to our shareholders.'
'What about cultural significance?' Jack asked. 'Did you consider that before proposing to stick a superhighway right through that sector of space? Where are those impact studies?'
'Can I just say something?' Ianto asked, already on his feet and adjusting his tie in a bout of slight nervousness. Jack's hand moved to stop him and then halted midway as if he didn't really want to prevent his husband from speaking out and breaking protocol.
'We were on an aid mission two years ago, not far from here. At the time this area of the galaxy was under threat from terrorist cells looking to destabilise the peace between the handful of planets here. We didn't have to come. It wasn't our fight. Our home is billions of light years away in a galaxy that doesn't even know the rest of the universe exists. But we came to help nonetheless.
During that time, I was aboard a ship that was under attack. A bomb had been planted that destroyed it and all of her crew. I myself was knocked unconscious by the blast, and only survived because the crew found me and put me in one of the only undamaged life pods, ejecting it out into space before the integrity of the hull was completely compromised. That ship ended up imploding and killing them. I woke up on that pod, alone, injured and drifting in a debris field with only a few days of oxygen and limited fuel. In the mass of debris, I was an insignificant speck. Any ship who saw it would have rightly assumed that no one survived. No one would be searching for survivors. My only hope of being found was to get away from it, in the hope that someone might spot the life pod once it was far enough away, but even so it was a long shot. I had no idea which way to go or where the nearest inhabited star might be. When I looked out from that tiny viewport all I saw was the endless vastness of space.
Then I saw it. Polaris. The people from my planet call it the North Star. It is the single most recognisable point in the sky, which has been used to navigate the world for thousands of years. They say that if you're lost, following the North Star will always guide you home. I had no idea which way my home planet was, even if I'd had enough fuel and life support to make it there, but something told me just to lock course with Polaris and head that way. So that's what I did. I don't know how long I was out there, losing blood and drifting in and out of consciousness, but they found me. My husband knew that I would look for the only familiar star and head towards it. If not for that, I wouldn't be standing here today, asking you to consider how many other lives have been saved by following the light of that star.'
Jack capitalised on his partner's momentum. 'We have the signatures of a hundred and twelve local planets who oppose the destruction of Polaris. A hundred and twelve local populations who, like me, have seen Polaris as a God, as a beacon of hope, or just a bright light in the sky helping to guide their way home. And that's not to mention the thousands of planets like our home that can still see that star as the brightest thing in the night sky. It's more than just some inconvenience impeding the construction of a shiny new transit lane.'
'A hundred and twelve, you say?'
'All planets who had no idea what you'd been planning. Some were exceedingly angry when they heard. Your shareholders should know that.'
The panel looked annoyed, but they were obligated to revisit plans now that it had been brought to their attention. 'We will review your submission materials and let you know our response within the moon cycle. We appreciate that this could become politically sensitive. The Shadow Proclamation don't usually interfere with corporate affairs.'
'They made a special request. That should tell you how they'll view any decision to proceed.'
They stood, bowed and left the room without rising to Jack's baited comment.
'Did we do enough?' Ianto asked.
Jack shrugged. 'I dunno, but we did our best.'
