ataraxionlogs | (no subject)

CHARACTERS: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Todd
LOCATION: Jack and Ianto's room (007)
WARNINGS: Violence
SUMMARY: Todd chooses the wrong victim, thereby pissing off the victim's immortal boyfriend. Oops.

Something was on the loose in the ship, and it was attacking people. It had taken very little time for Jack and Ianto to agree that they couldn't leave this one alone. There were plenty of capable people on the ship, including the Doctor himself, but every little bit helped, and to be frank, their adrenaline was pumping. The long, slow days on the ship had been pleasant in some respects, but neither of them could deny that they longed for weevil hunts in the night and rift alerts that threw them for loops. So they were out their room and half way to the lift before Ianto realized that in their rush, he'd left his communicator.

"Wait a tic," he said to Jack, "I'll just go fetch it." Jogging back around the corner and down the hallway, Ianto reached their doorway and looked down to run his tattoo over the lock. It was for that reason that he didn't see the figure hidden in the nook next door.

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It had not been his most brilliant plan, nor his most cunning, and certainly not the most efficient, but it was the best possible one for the moment. It had been almost too difficult to restrain himself from taking more than just a taste of each of the humans' strength, but it was working. Each feeding brought about new strength, and he could feel the blaze of his hunger waning. Such small feedings would, however, not be able to sustain him for quite as long, but it was important that he did not kill too many members of this herd, that the fictional animal he had created was not regarded as much more than a somewhat-dangerous pest.

Unfortunately, that left him collecting from more kine than he cared to expose himself to. It was not the most desirable position to be in, roaming the halls like this, but it was a necessary risk.

From his hiding spot, Guide carefully leveled his stunner at the human in the doorway. This one would mark his last feeding for this cycle, assuming that he would not have to heal sometime in the next fifty days or so. He aimed at Ianto's back and, without hesitation, pulled the stun gun's trigger.

Ianto barely had time to feel the impact before the effects of the stunner jolted through him. There was no convulsing, no theatrics; he didn't even have time to yell. Soundlessly, he fell to the ground unconscious in the open doorway.

Time was of the essence. Guide bent down and rolled the human onto his back, then brought down his hand onto the human's chest. The barbs lining his feeding slit tore through the jumpsuit and dug into the skin below, delivering a small dose of his feeding enzyme.

The temptation to drain this one until he had nothing left was incredible. Guide could feel the human's heartbeat as the enzyme strengthened it, although he doubted that this one would have needed the extra strength that the enzyme provided. This one was in good health, well beyond normal Pegasus fare. Had the circumstances been different, he might have just taken Ianto's life then and there.

When he had taken that little extra bit of strength from the human, he dragged his body back into the room. It was better to keep up this illusion that some animal was crawling about the vents, rather than a carefully timed shot and a limp body blocking the door. The less that the rest of the Tranquility suspected a passenger, the better.

What the other had probably not counted on, however, was the fact that Jack was down the hall. And it had been way too long for Ianto to only be grabbing his communicator. So he stopped holding the lift and went after him, back to their room, lifting his wrist to key open the door, a smile spreading on his face as he opened the door to ask Ianto what was taking him so long.

A smile that quickly fell from his face as he took in the scene of someone hunched over Ianto's body on the ground. His insides filled with such a shock and rage - if he had harmed Ianto in any way... "Get the hell away from him!!" he said, his gun hand immediately flying to his holster.

Caught. Trapped. Backed into a corner. Guide bared his teeth and hissed in surprise, reflexively held his arms before his chest in defense. Even with the extra strength provided by the feedings, a well-placed shot from a gun would likely be beyond his healing capabilities. It couldn't be risked.

"I found him like this," he lied without hesitation. "He was lying halfway in the hall and halfway in this room. The blood from his wound is still fresh. Whatever creature attacked him is likely still nearby, so I brought him inside in case it came back."

Hissing at him. Definitely wasn't the action of an innocent. Jack was immediately torn between trying to shoot the offender and the fact that he didn't know whether Ianto was alive or dead at that moment. And the other was too close to Ianto for his tastes. Way too close.

Jack edged closer to Ianto, not taking his eyes off of the intruder as he did, not until he bent down and put a hand to Ianto's neck to feel for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief, presenting a moment of weakness because he'd been so scared that that had been it, that he'd lost him again just like that...

Guide was not so relieved. Of course this human had a companion! Of course there was a witness to the feeding! And of course the companion was suspicious of the Wraith! He bit back the urge to growl - not at any one particular person, but at this mistake. Had he really grown this desperate, that he could not even carry out a simple plan effectively?

A pang of hunger, sharp and hot, answered the question for him. Yes, he really had been that desperate. He'd had the choice of either feeding regularly and immediately attracting attention, or to starve himself to buy a little more time. He'd starved, and now he could no longer stand it. These light feedings took the edge off his hunger, but they could not satisfy him.

This other human needed to be removed from the issue. The hunger was still strong. His casual lie would likely not hold water for very long. There were no wise choices available, merely ones that bought him a bit of extra time.

Jack Harkness had to die.

Guide reached out with his off hand and shoved the human back, away from his prey. He then stood again, and went after Jack like the devil after sin.

Edited 2012-02-16 04:03 (UTC)

Jack's worry had let his guard down, which made him an easier target than he might otherwise have been. His gun, still in its holster, was pretty much useless against the attack, and this creature, whatever he was he was stronger than Jack. And he'd had a leg up on the fight with the element of surprise.

Jack tried to fight him off but he was at the wrong angle, he couldn't get a grip on him, he couldn't tear himself away, and his mind was half on Ianto lying there on the floor and how at least if he got attacked he could keep the attack away from him. Not the most logical line of thought but then again slightly panicked as he was, it was the best Jack could come up with spur of the moment. At least he wouldn't stay dead. Not that this other knew that fact.