Challenge 868 - Process and procedure
Jun. 8th, 2025 09:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
m_findlowTitle: Process and procedure
Character: Gwen, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 300 words
Length: 300 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 868 - Code at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
torchwood100
torchwood100Summary: Gwen learns that there's a lot to know about Torchwood. A triple drabble.
‘There's so many rules and procedures,’ Gwen observed, eyeing off a stack of files and an even larger screen full of folders and file trees that she had to work her way through. ‘I thought the police were strict on policy.’
‘That's Torchwood for you,’ Ianto said, sounding apologetic. ‘It can't all be about the sexy running after aliens with guns. Mostly it's paperwork.’ Then he frowned. ‘If people around here ever bothered to keep up with it,’ he added. ‘Owen's got a six week backlog and if he doesn't get his arse into gear soon, we'll be needing to refresh ourselves on the policy covering what to do when your leader goes rogue and starts killing employees.’
‘And have you ever needed to?’ Gwen asked it as a joke.
He paused for a moment. ‘We haven't had to invoke that one since the Millennium. But it happens more often than you think. Go back to the files from 1941 if you want a good example.’
Gwen decided to change the subject, finding Ianto's nonchalance a little unsettling. flipping through a large manual, skipping over the wordy introduction and stopping on one of its earliest pages. She flipped the book around and pointed. ‘What's a Code Zero incursion?’ Ianto's expression darkened and he went disturbingly silent. ‘Well?’ she said, persisting for an answer.
‘That's as bad as it gets. That's what caused the destruction of Torchwood One.
‘Oh,’ she said, blushing with embarrassment at having accidentally brought up a sensitive subject. Ianto never seemed to talk about it.
‘A full hostile alien incursion of our facilities with intent to kill and take control,’ he said, trying to sound calm. He pushed the book back at her. ‘Read it, learn it, and hope to God you never have to invoke it.’
‘There's so many rules and procedures,’ Gwen observed, eyeing off a stack of files and an even larger screen full of folders and file trees that she had to work her way through. ‘I thought the police were strict on policy.’
‘That's Torchwood for you,’ Ianto said, sounding apologetic. ‘It can't all be about the sexy running after aliens with guns. Mostly it's paperwork.’ Then he frowned. ‘If people around here ever bothered to keep up with it,’ he added. ‘Owen's got a six week backlog and if he doesn't get his arse into gear soon, we'll be needing to refresh ourselves on the policy covering what to do when your leader goes rogue and starts killing employees.’
‘And have you ever needed to?’ Gwen asked it as a joke.
He paused for a moment. ‘We haven't had to invoke that one since the Millennium. But it happens more often than you think. Go back to the files from 1941 if you want a good example.’
Gwen decided to change the subject, finding Ianto's nonchalance a little unsettling. flipping through a large manual, skipping over the wordy introduction and stopping on one of its earliest pages. She flipped the book around and pointed. ‘What's a Code Zero incursion?’ Ianto's expression darkened and he went disturbingly silent. ‘Well?’ she said, persisting for an answer.
‘That's as bad as it gets. That's what caused the destruction of Torchwood One.
‘Oh,’ she said, blushing with embarrassment at having accidentally brought up a sensitive subject. Ianto never seemed to talk about it.
‘A full hostile alien incursion of our facilities with intent to kill and take control,’ he said, trying to sound calm. He pushed the book back at her. ‘Read it, learn it, and hope to God you never have to invoke it.’
no subject
Date: 2025-06-08 11:47 am (UTC)