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m_findlowTitle: New world order
Fandom: Torchwood
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Word Count: 900 words
Characters/Pairings: Ianto
Author notes: Written for Challenge #009 - Atavistic at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
vocab_drabbles
vocab_drabblesSummary: Ianto has something important to say to his inter-agency colleagues.
Ianto took to the podium and cleared his throat as he brought the lectern's microphone to the appropriate height.
‘Good afternoon. My name is Ianto Jones. For those of you who aren't yet aware, I'm the new head of the Torchwood Institute's global operations. I've been asked to address this forum to provide an update on Torchwood operations, but given recent events and my new position, today you will not be not be getting your usual quarterly briefing.’
There was a mixture of reactions to his words, from relief that they wouldn't be subjected to one or Jack's drab information sessions, carefully curated to provide no useful information whatsoever, to concern about what would instead take its place. Ianto thought they had a right to be worried. He was about to set down a marker. Jack had been right. The twenty-first century was when everything would change.
‘Some of you have no doubt seen me before or spoken with me over the phone in my capacity as general administration officer. Again, for the benefit of those in the room who haven't, I joined Torchwood in 2003; three years at head office in London, and the remainder at Torchwood Three in Cardiff. All up over ten years experience and an eye for detail which is why I've been given the newly created global director posting.’
‘Some of you think Torchwood is a joke. Some of you think we're rogue. Some of you,’ Ianto paused, casting an eye across the room, ‘think that we'd be better off shut down. Some of you even think I'm here to give a sugar coated speech about mutual respect and cooperation. All of you would be wrong. I'm here to deliver Torchwood's ten year plan. I could give you our one hundred year plan, since I'm still going to be around then, but none of you will, so I doubt very much you care about that.’
Ianto flipped pages on the lectern not because he needed to but because it stretched out the uncomfortable pause for his audience. And they thought Jack was abrasive.
‘We're going back to basics. Scrap all the politics and all the weaponising of alien tech. This place was established to protect the planet from alien threats, which in turn means that anything that isn’t a threat likewise needs our protection. Remember, humans can be primitive and atavistic too. We fear what we don’t understand, and it’s easier to hold onto power by simply treading over what we don’t understand and stomping it into submission, than it is to try and understand that which makes us all different proves that we’re all the same.’
‘Now, I know that some of you will be used to dealing with the way Torchwood operated in London, and some of you will also be used to - if not always happy with – the way Torchwood operated in Cardiff when Jack Harkness was in charge. Be advised that we will be adopting the Harkness approach to things, with some modifications. Queen Victoria may not have gotten things quite perfect when she set up this organisation, but its overarching principles remain the same. We’ve done some terrible things over the years that I’m not proud of, but we can’t change history. However, we will defend this planet until our dying breath, and we will pursue the understanding of alien technology that passes through the rift, but we will not, repeat, will not, subject any sentient life forms to experimentation, interrogation or torture. Furthermore, should we discover that any of our allied agencies are doing anything similar - yes, we know that you sometimes stumble across things you shouldn't and keep them hidden from us – know that as the ultimate authority on such matters, given to us by His Majesty the King, we will deal with such infringements harshly. You may have thought Torchwood to be a pushover, or even found dealing with Captain Jack Harkness to be a pain in the arse, but let me tell you - or perhaps let Jack tell you from his own personal experience - that you will not enjoy dealing with me if you are unable to agree to these basic premises.’
There was an awkward vibe filtering around the room and he scanned each one of them in turn, most of them avoiding eye contact with him. Even Jack appeared tense. This was the make or break moment. He’d made them uncomfortable, and that was the point. They hadn’t taken Jack seriously and that had nearly cost the planet its entire continued existence. Some of them knew Ianto as the peaceful, diplomatic one. If they thought they were going to be dealing with a pacifist, they had just been given a rude awakening. Torchwood was more important than science, or the military, and most definitely trumped politics of any sort. Their task was the single most important on planet Earth and he intended to see it done.
‘Torchwood,’ he reiterated, ‘will be making the continued safety and survival of the people of this planet its primary function. We are each of us given one lifetime in which to do the greatest good for this world. That’s what I intend to do. The question is, what do you intend to do?’
He didn’t thank them for their attention; he simply walked away from the podium, shoes clicking across the stage as he exited to stunned silence.
Ianto took to the podium and cleared his throat as he brought the lectern's microphone to the appropriate height.
‘Good afternoon. My name is Ianto Jones. For those of you who aren't yet aware, I'm the new head of the Torchwood Institute's global operations. I've been asked to address this forum to provide an update on Torchwood operations, but given recent events and my new position, today you will not be not be getting your usual quarterly briefing.’
There was a mixture of reactions to his words, from relief that they wouldn't be subjected to one or Jack's drab information sessions, carefully curated to provide no useful information whatsoever, to concern about what would instead take its place. Ianto thought they had a right to be worried. He was about to set down a marker. Jack had been right. The twenty-first century was when everything would change.
‘Some of you have no doubt seen me before or spoken with me over the phone in my capacity as general administration officer. Again, for the benefit of those in the room who haven't, I joined Torchwood in 2003; three years at head office in London, and the remainder at Torchwood Three in Cardiff. All up over ten years experience and an eye for detail which is why I've been given the newly created global director posting.’
‘Some of you think Torchwood is a joke. Some of you think we're rogue. Some of you,’ Ianto paused, casting an eye across the room, ‘think that we'd be better off shut down. Some of you even think I'm here to give a sugar coated speech about mutual respect and cooperation. All of you would be wrong. I'm here to deliver Torchwood's ten year plan. I could give you our one hundred year plan, since I'm still going to be around then, but none of you will, so I doubt very much you care about that.’
Ianto flipped pages on the lectern not because he needed to but because it stretched out the uncomfortable pause for his audience. And they thought Jack was abrasive.
‘We're going back to basics. Scrap all the politics and all the weaponising of alien tech. This place was established to protect the planet from alien threats, which in turn means that anything that isn’t a threat likewise needs our protection. Remember, humans can be primitive and atavistic too. We fear what we don’t understand, and it’s easier to hold onto power by simply treading over what we don’t understand and stomping it into submission, than it is to try and understand that which makes us all different proves that we’re all the same.’
‘Now, I know that some of you will be used to dealing with the way Torchwood operated in London, and some of you will also be used to - if not always happy with – the way Torchwood operated in Cardiff when Jack Harkness was in charge. Be advised that we will be adopting the Harkness approach to things, with some modifications. Queen Victoria may not have gotten things quite perfect when she set up this organisation, but its overarching principles remain the same. We’ve done some terrible things over the years that I’m not proud of, but we can’t change history. However, we will defend this planet until our dying breath, and we will pursue the understanding of alien technology that passes through the rift, but we will not, repeat, will not, subject any sentient life forms to experimentation, interrogation or torture. Furthermore, should we discover that any of our allied agencies are doing anything similar - yes, we know that you sometimes stumble across things you shouldn't and keep them hidden from us – know that as the ultimate authority on such matters, given to us by His Majesty the King, we will deal with such infringements harshly. You may have thought Torchwood to be a pushover, or even found dealing with Captain Jack Harkness to be a pain in the arse, but let me tell you - or perhaps let Jack tell you from his own personal experience - that you will not enjoy dealing with me if you are unable to agree to these basic premises.’
There was an awkward vibe filtering around the room and he scanned each one of them in turn, most of them avoiding eye contact with him. Even Jack appeared tense. This was the make or break moment. He’d made them uncomfortable, and that was the point. They hadn’t taken Jack seriously and that had nearly cost the planet its entire continued existence. Some of them knew Ianto as the peaceful, diplomatic one. If they thought they were going to be dealing with a pacifist, they had just been given a rude awakening. Torchwood was more important than science, or the military, and most definitely trumped politics of any sort. Their task was the single most important on planet Earth and he intended to see it done.
‘Torchwood,’ he reiterated, ‘will be making the continued safety and survival of the people of this planet its primary function. We are each of us given one lifetime in which to do the greatest good for this world. That’s what I intend to do. The question is, what do you intend to do?’
He didn’t thank them for their attention; he simply walked away from the podium, shoes clicking across the stage as he exited to stunned silence.
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Date: 2023-01-07 08:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-07 10:17 am (UTC)