nexus_crossings | (no subject)

Jack has been wandering around the streets of the plaza with a cup of coffee in his hand, his mind looks to be anywhere but on the place that he has been calling home for an unknown amount of time. He has a look of worry on his face as he takes a sip of his coffee, and eventually he makes his way towards the park. Taking a sip of his coffee that is in a take away cup.

He comes to a stop under one of the large trees, and he takes a deep breath of fresh air as he looks along the path that leads through a thicket of trees.

"Have you ever felt like you have left something unfinished?"

There is something chewing at Jack's mind from the look on his face. He takes a deep breath, and he looks over his shoulder to see if anyone will come up from behind him.

"And it can be something small, but I'm thinking about something on a bigger level. And one where lives still might be at stake."

[ ooc: Jack is played after the events of Exodus Code. Worry not about any spoilers about Big Finish: Alien's Among Us. ]

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"All the time."

Jim waves when Jack looks his way, though the gesture is a bit less energetic than usual. The captain looks troubled. Tired. He gestures to the other side of the bench Jim's been sitting on. Tucks away the data pad he'd been skimming before his friend's arrival.

"Those are the kinds of decisions that come with the chair."

"I used to have one of those chairs, and that's where my trouble still seems to lie."

Jack looks over his shoulder, knowing the voice that is addressing him; a smile appears on his face as he goes over to join him. And it has been some time since he spoke with Jim, or anyone really. He takes a seat on the bench, and he takes a deep breath.

"I haven't been back to my own universe since I arrived here, but I can't help to think of the unfinished business that I may have left behind. And it isn't to say, Earth has been left undefended. There's The Doctor, and a dear friend of mine who's taken up The Captain's Chair."

But still he feels bad for leaving everything on the shoulders of Gwen.

"Not once?"

That takes the captain a bit by surprise. He's never away from his for more than a day or two at the most. Then again, he still works and lives in his own world. The Nexus is really just a place to visit for him.

"If you trusted them to take the chair in the first place, then I'm sure they're doing fine."

"I haven't, no. I felt it would be better to let my friend take over the reigns, without me stepping on her toes."

Jack finishes off his coffee, and he leans over to put the cup on the ground besides his boot. He knew Gwen was going to restart Torchwood, after the events of The Miracle, but Jack felt it was for everyone's best interests if he had limited hands involved.

"You're right, but what brought us back together prior to this is still out there. The Three Families they were called, they were responsible for making it possible for the dead not to properly die. And to use them to drain the resources of the planet. And, no, they weren't zombies."

"Well that makes sense. You're not a zombie, after all."

Jim gestures to his friend vaguely as he talks. It's still impossible for Jim to understand how such a thing is possible, but Jack's living proof that the worlds can be more mysterious than any single person could ever hope to understand.

"Maybe you should check in on them once in a while, just in case?"

Jack blinks at the mention of not being a zombie, and he has almost forgotten his death at the hand of one of Khan's soldiers. It was one death out of many he has experienced, and somehow they all seem to blend together. He however didn't forget Khan and what happened in The Nexus that day.

"Not a zombie? Oh... You saw that."

He chuckles a little at that title. "And I'm far too fresh looking to carry the zombie mantel." Jack can't seem to help himself when it comes to a little tongue and cheek. "But you're right, maybe I should stop in to see how things are going. And maybe she'll have some leads."

"I'm not exactly a fan of loose ends. Anyway, how have things been for you since The Battle of Khan?"

"I heard about it. Communication was pretty tight for the whole operation."

Doesn't make Jim feel any better that his friend had to endure that kind of pain in the first place, but he's glad it doesn't seem to have caused any lasting damage. You know, aside from crippling night terrors and PTSD. Jim knows all too well the non physical ways this sort of thing can stick with a guy.

"Busy. The expedition continues. Occasional supply runs to Starbases and then back out into the uncharted sectors of the galaxy. Glad things here have more or less settled down."

More or less. There's some personal things going on jim's not so sure about, but really, how bad could they be?

If there were any lasting problems, Jack is tight lipped, but death is a long time friend of Harkness. Living forever, living through history, and seeing the horrors and wonders all at once have left him sometimes feeling numb. The feeling of coming back is where the horror begins, with the feeling of being drug over broken glass.

"Hey, if you ever need a hand, I'd be more than willing to put on one of your uniforms and go on a mission. I've got plenty experience with how things work out there in space."

Jack offers with a smile forming on his face. It isn't that he wants to leave Gwen to deal with everything on Earth, but the yearning for the stars will never fade.

The offer makes the captain double take. He'd nearly brushed it off like he usually does, but this time Jim offers a smile instead. Grateful. Jack's been out there before and knows what he's doing. It's good to know that if the going ever got to be too rough, there are people in the Nexus he can rely on for backup.

"I'll keep that in mind. What's your specialty?"

"I don't exactly have an actual specialty," Jack tells Jim, with a raise of an eyebrow. "Do I need one? How about a specialty on alien relations." There might be a little hidden innuendo in Jack's wording. "And I do have some engineering knowledge, and I do have plenty of military training."

He pushes his greatcoat aside to show the holster that is housing a .45 Glock that has since replaced his old revolver.

"In other words, I'm a bit of a jack of all trades."

"How long have you been waiting to use that line on me?"

Jim can't help the chuckle he gives, even if he's inwardly groaning at the same time. He walked right into that one.

"...Mmm. Lets see here. I've been waiting since we've started this conversation to lay the perfect trap for you."

Jack laughs in turn, and going for cringe worthy is something he does best. But back to a far more serious conversation. He takes in a deep breath, and he looks down to his boots. And he is starting to rethink his place, and if it really is going out there with Jim to explore a different universe.

"I know I should be getting back to my friend, Gwen, and not going out there. I mean I want to, but there is something I told an old friend about mine. I'm being responsible. Or at least I'm trying to, and running from my responsibilities isn't exactly being that."