Fandomweekly Challenge 58 - Stranded

[m_findlow]

Title: Stranded
Fandom: Torchwood
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG.
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 58 - Prehistoric at fandomweekly
Summary: Jack's latest deal has gone wrong before its even begun.

'Ow,' Jack moaned, feeling something heavy sticking painfully into his side as he lay sprawled in a heap on the floor of his spacecraft. There'd been no time to react to whatever had sent him hurtling to the floor.

He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, doing a onceover on himself and the interior of his spacecraft, as had become habit. Satisfied that he was in one piece, if a little bruised, he concluded that his ship was suffering worse than him, letting off little sparks of protest. Just when he thought being parked on the surface of a planet was safer than being out in the depths of space.

Jack flipped open his vortex manipulator and frowned as it reported back its findings. 'What? That asteroid wasn't supposed to crash here for another three months!' He groaned. 'This is what you get for not booking with a travel agent.'

The choice of location hadn't been his. This was what was meant to represent essentially neutral ground in order for the deal to take place. Historically, this little scrap of primordial backwater was known simply as "Earth" and was supposedly the origination point for all human-based lifeforms. Right now it didn't look like any human on the evolutionary path could have survived here. The irony was not lost on Jack that they should choose here of all places. If there was one species these guys hated, it was humans, and Jack fit that bill nicely, even if he was several hundred millenia from the future. Whatever happened here all that time ago didn't really interest Jack. Humans were everywhere in the universe and the incredible endeavors of those first Earth-based humans and what they did to cause their proliferation across all of time and space was lost on him.

He studied his ship, running some basic diagnostics. 'Great. This is gonna take weeks to fix.' He could have just teleported somewhere else. That was the beauty of being a Time Agent with a device that could take you anywhere, after all. Or at least an ex-Time Agent, who had never given up his vortex manipulator, choosing instead to take off with it and damn the consequences. Let them send a pack of Judoon after him. He knew they as likely wouldn't bother. It had taken so long to steal this ship, a vastly superior upgrade from the last one he'd snaffled from an unwary traveler, that he wouldn't abandon it now. This baby was a class four Chula warship. Small but sturdy, and armed to the teeth. No one in their right mind was coming after him in this.

The ground beneath his feet began to shake violently again as he clutched desperately for anything to steady himself. Earthquake, he concluded, realising for the first time how it had earned its namesake. Asteroid, earthquake, what next? Tsunami? A big old crack in the ground swallowing up him and his ship whole as red hot lava incinerated them?

He ran a hand through his hair. Weeks stuck here and his fabricator was verified as out of action. He had enough water most probably, but how long would he last without food? His stomach growled in response. Not very long it turned out. He sighed, leaning across the console to peer through the small windshield. What had been a tropical paradise out there now resembled a post-Gallifrean war zone. The shockwave from the blast had stripped every tree and razed the ground with sharp fragments of rock. The sky clouded over, angry and dark, tinged with streaks of orange where the atmosphere was burning. Any hope of finding food was dashed. He consulted his vortex manipulator again. Atmosphere still breathable, if just barely. He was going to have to go out there, if for no other reason than to take stock of the external damage to his ship. Fixing that would be a priority before the fallout blanketed the planet entirely, cutting off survivable atmosphere.

It was so dusty and hazy outside that he nearly tripped over the thing, realising it was a leg or a tail of something. He squinted, trying to see through the smoke. Something large was propped up against the side of his craft. It was hulking and scaly, some kind of small dinosaur, and very, very dead. It had however, seemed to protect the panel of critical flight systems from further damage as the blast swept through.

'Never thought I'd be so glad to have a giant lizard slam into me.'

He could barely move it away it was so heavy, but glad he'd at least be able to get out of here... eventually. He cast another look at the sad, ugly creature. It would have died eventually, he supposed. He looked again, as a troubling thought entered his mind. He wasn't that desperate, was he? 'No food,' he reminded himself. Weeks to fix everything. He sighed. 'It's just meat, Jack. Probably won't taste great, but if you wanna live long enough to get off this rock...'

He retrieved a large hunting knife from his kit on board. He'd never thought he'd need a knife for anything, but warships always came prepared and now he was grateful for it. The hide of the beast was tougher than he expected and he had to put his back into it, sawing down to cut it away, but underneath that it looked just like any other animal. The flesh was sticky with blood and deep red, almost burgundy, but it was tender. He cut it into several portions, knowing that he could cannibalise part of the ship's cooling system to freeze the meat for later. Hands covered in blood, and spattered all across his t-shirt, he carried his prize back inside and sealed the hatch. For the next few weeks he'd better hope that his prehistoric barbecue skills were up to scratch and that his stomach could handle it. The things a Time Agent had to do to survive!