Adventfic Day 14 - Snowed In

[silkendreammaid]

Title:  Snowed In
Author: silkendreammaid  

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Torchwood or the characters within.
Rating: PG13 
Warning: Language
Characters:  Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness

Note: Written for the 2011 Advent Challenge. Prompt #10 taken from the 2011 prompt list.
Author’s Note: Fourteenth in the series that started in Cold … very short but I’m trying to catch up as much as I can this afternoon

Summary:   December is starting off unseasonably cold. Torchwood has one dead alien and another one missing. There’s also the sudden disappearance of Cardiff’s rats.  

In this chapter Tosh and Ianto make plans

 

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Snowed In
 

“Well, that’s something you don’t see every day.” 

Tosh looked up from her terminal at Ianto’s bland observation and blinked. 

“What…?” she blinked again. “Is that…?” 

“Yes. It is snow.” Ianto ran a hand through his hair. “It’s going to be a bugger to clean this up.” 

Tosh stood and walked around her desk to join him looking out over the Hub. Snow was piling up around the rift manipulator. She looked up to the cavern’s ceiling and saw what appeared to be a single dark cloud from which the snow was continually falling.  

“Snow doesn’t normally fall in straight lines like that,” she noted as she reached back and picked up a scanner. 

“No, it doesn’t,” Ianto replied. “And we’re a bit under normal cloud baselines as well.” He stepped back and studied the closest monitor. “The bedrock temperature has risen again and the air temperature in the Hub has dropped but it isn’t cold enough to support the cloud.” 

“The snow fall seems to be limited to a circle of about one point two three metres diameter. The air temperature within is about minus forty point zero seven degrees centigrade. But there’s no air movement registering. It’s as if there’s an invisible column where the cold air is.” 

“But where is that cold air coming from?” Ianto asked and he tapped at the keyboard, bringing up detailed floor plans of the Hub. 

“It’s centred on the rift manipulator,” Tosh replied pointing the scanner that way. “There are no cracks in the seals that I can find.”

“Could the perception filter be affecting what we’re seeing?” Ianto asked. 

“I don’t think so. It’s never affected anything but that slab.” 

“The bedrock is warming right under the manipulator and is possibly caused by whatever is where Jack is. And now the air above the manipulator is so cold we’re going to be snowed in – literally.” Ianto chewed at his bottom lip. He didn’t add that he could still here the echoing voices of something calling to him.  Calling to the snow. 

“I’ll concentrate on the manipulator,” Tosh decided. “Hopefully Owen has got to Jack and Gwen and will call and let us know what’s happening at that end.” 

“I’ll go down to Mainframe,” Ianto nodded. “The heat’s down there and I might be able to persuade some of her sensors to track the heat back to its origin.”  

“She does like you best,” Tosh smiled and Ianto ducked his head slightly. Tosh always claimed that he was better at handling Mainframe’s hardware while Tosh was better with the software. 

“I’ll make you coffee before I go,” he replied with a bashful grin. “That is something she will never appreciate.” 

“You and her could take over the world if she did,” Tosh laughed softly. 

“Not without you, we wouldn’t,” Ianto told her.

 

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Comments

[milady_dragon]

Well, that's not good....

[badly_knitted]

The world's first underground snowcloud, that's definitely new! Snow in the Hub can't be good though, especially if it just keeps piling up. It'll eventually start affecting their equipment.

I hope Ianto and mainframe can figure something out. The mystery deepens with every chapter!

Hope you're over your cold soon!