Fandom: Torchwood

Characters: Tosh, Owen, Ianto

Author: m_findlow

Rating: PG

Length: 1,055 words

Content notes: Spoilers for episode 2.2 - Sleeper

Author notes: Written for Challenge 243 - Amnesty and Challenge 10 - Communication

Summary: The team are cut off in their hour of greatest need.

Tosh felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. Somehow the aliens had managed to cut off the fibre optic communications lines that fed the city. She wasn't even sure how they'd managed to do that. One second she'd been talking to Jack and then a huge feedback surge burst into her earpiece. It sounded like a bomb had gone off. She only hoped that Jack and Gwen were okay.

Just how many of them were there, excluding Beth, she wondered. Surely not more than five. God, how had this escalated so suddenly? Twenty four hours ago Beth had been just a normal woman going about her life, and now it turned out she wasn't human at all. She was an alien hiding in plain sight, her memories repressed until... Until what, exactly? What was it they were planning? What did they want?

'What's going on out there?' Owen asked. 'Why's my computer not working? I thought we had backup generators?'

Tosh wasn't sure if now was the right time to lecture Owen on the difference between not having any internet connection and his computer not having power. Systems were still online, but now it was like they were trapped in a bubble, unable to extract new information from the outside world. And more importantly, not able to get information out to help Jack and Gwen, assuming they were still alive.

'I can't get them on the phone, or the Bluetooth,' Ianto informed her.

'I know,' she said, trying to diagnose the situation, which was challenging at best, since her servers wouldn't talk to those outside that faced the underlying problem. 'They've cut telecommunications, somehow. Just keep trying. You never know, we might get lucky.'

Lucky, she thought with no small amount of mirth. If they really had been planning this invasion for years, then they clearly had a strategy in mind. Was this their goal, or just phase one of some larger and more elaborate plan? Jack had told them was this was some kind of advance team, sent to infiltrate before the eventual takeover, but what did they want take over? The people, or just the planet's resources?

'We don't even know where they were headed,' Owen said, interrupting her train of thought as her fingers danced across the keyboard. 'I'm pretty sure they wouldn't still be hanging around the hospital, but if everything went to shit, who knows. Beth could have murdered them by now.'

Tosh didn't think so. She was pretty sure they'd managed at least to remove Beth from whatever communications network the others were using. Just not enough to deactivate the control unit in her arm and to eliminate her base programming, Tosh despaired.

'It's no use, Ianto,' she sighed. 'They've brought down the entire telephone network.' She saw her own worried look mirrored in his expression. 'What are they after?' she asked aloud. 'What would you target if you were invading another world?' Perhaps it wasn't the best use of their time, given the circumstances, but they were flying blind right now. All they could do was speculate and try to stay one step ahead of the game in the hopes that they could somehow offer assistance to their friends.

'That depends on whether you intend to enslave or to destroy,' Ianto replied.

'Well, aren't you just a bundle of half glass empty,' Owen mocked.

'Just saying.'

'Okay,' Tosh said, taking control. 'They've taken out communication lines and Patrick Grainger. That means no way of sending out for help and no one to coordinate a response internally. They want the city isolated.'

'That won't work for long,' Owen said. 'Not like they're stopping people moving around.'

'Presumably that means their plan won't take long to execute,' Ianto surmised. 'Whatever it is.'

'What about biological attacks?' Tosh offered. 'Break into a facility and set live viruses loose? That wouldn't take much time. Break open a few canisters of some of the world's most deadly bacteria and viral strains, and we could be facing a global pandemic.' Just saying it made a chill run down her spine. 'Are there any medical facilities or research labs within the city limits that house those sorts of viral strains?'

Ianto was at his computer, tapping into their database. 'Nothing unless you count a few samples of malaria.'

'Too slow and not enough impact,' Owen added. 'Might as well go around sneezing on people. If they want us dead they'll have to come up with something better than that.'

Tosh tugged off her glasses and threw them on the desk. 'Then I dont know!' she said, her frustration brimming over. 'We need to know what's going on out there with Jack and Gwen.' She stood up and began working her way towards the door. They needed to be out on the streets, not stuck in here.

'You must be able to hook something up,' Owen suggested.

Tosh twirled in annoyance. 'No, I can't just hook something up. The entire telephone network is down.'

'What about a mobile connection?'

She tried desperately to keep her rising temper in check. 'The entire telephone network is down.' How much plainer could she be?

'Mobiles, landlines, tin cans with bits of string,' Ianto clarified. 'Everything. Absolutely everything. No phones. Phones all broken. Hello? Anyone there? No, because the phones aren't working.'

Thank you, Tosh wanted to say, appreciative of the backup. At least Ianto got it. In here they were isolated and ineffective

'What about we try-' Owen began

Tosh cut him off. They needed to go, not just sit around here and wait for the world to end. She gripped the edge of the desk hard. 'There is no way of getting in touch with Jack. No way.'

'Tosh, Owen, can you hear me?'

What the? Jack's voice was emanating from somewhere. Or was she imagining things? As she cast a glance sideways, she saw the clunky old communications panel that had been a feature of the hub longer than anyone could remember. Jack had such a penchant for old things, but she didn't even think it still worked. Oh my God, Tosh realised, seeing the CB radio. Radio! Why hadn't she thought of that? Thank God Jack had.

She rushed over and grabbed it. It wasn't much, but at least now they were back in business.