Post by Ianto Jones on Oct 10, 2008 11:26:13 GMT -4
Outside the government, beyond the police. Fighting for the future on behalf of the human race. The twenty-first century is when everything changes, and Torchwood is ready.
When Torchwood One, London, was destroyed, the bases in Glasgow and Cardiff became independent; working on their own with the occasional collaboration, they managed to scavenge more alien technology than ever before and even stop the threat of invasion once or twice. Torchwood Two in Glasgow expanded, trebling its workforce while Cardiff’s Torchwood One worked harder than ever before, the team growing more capable with every item they found. But with great success came great loss. For Torchwood One, they had to go through the painfully slow process of gaining permission to rebuild. For Torchwood Two, that meant a fire raging through the office, meaning a total renovation had to be done. And for Torchwood Three, it meant the lives of two of its family-like team.
From the ashes of devastation and loss, Torchwood is rebuilding itself. But the twenty-first century is already here…is Torchwood ready?
Torchwood One had a hard time getting permission to reopen after the devastation of the infamous Battle of Canary Wharf. However, it is now underway, thanks to the hard work of the new director, and staff are moving back in to Torchwood Tower. Of the twenty-seven people to survive the battle, twenty have jumped at the opportunity to return to work, while five new people have also been recruited. Torchwood One isn’t the super-headquarters it once was, but the director feels that it is gaining the ground it once lost, as well as recovering lost data and files. It will never be as large an organisation as it once was, but Torchwood One is getting there; there are even rumours flying around that it is planning to take away the independence of the smaller branches in Glasgow and Cardiff and be the ultimate headquarters again. However, it is not likely that Torchwoods Two and Three are going to be too happy about this; they like their independence, especially after everything they’ve been through since Torchwood One allowed Cybermen to live on Earth. Despite this, Torchwood One is unperturbed; while it is getting on its feet again, the main mission of the staff working there is to find a loophole that will allow them control again. After all, London is the capital city, therefore it should be the place with the most power, right?
Torchwood Two doesn’t agree. After a fire of unknown causes raged through the small office that serves as a base for Archie and his two subordinates, the team there has worked hard to refurbish the building again. Although it is not particularly plush or upmarket, it serves well for them; they are a small workforce, and therefore do not need great offices to work in. However, they like being independent; Archie had worked below Torchwood One for years and finally gaining the right to be his own boss completely is something that he is not going to give up without a fight. He’ll team up with Torchwood Three in Cardiff if he has to; they might be Welsh, but at least they’re an outpost like he is.
Torchwood Three is still reeling from the shock of losing two of its family members. However, life must go on, and Captain Jack Harkness has asked his two friends from his time-travelling days, Mickey Smith and Martha Jones, to join the team. The Rift is still causing trouble for them at the Hub, but there is a greater problem playing on Torchwood Three’s mind; Torchwood One’s reopening. Not only does the London branch have a different, less friendly, attitude towards any aliens it might pick up, it was their fault that hundreds of people got converted into Cybermen a few years ago; they allowed the creatures into the homes of everyone in London, becoming aides in the invasion, and that is something that Captain Jack finds hard to forgive. There is no way that he is going to relinquish the independence he has for London; his team and the Glaswegians will work together if necessary to make sure that each branch of Torchwood can remain free.
There are even rumours that Torchwood Four, missing for so long, is going to reappear now that there are hostilities between the branches of an organisation that was once united.
For the ordinary people of these three cities, not much has changed. Torchwood is seen out and about more – still under cover as a ‘Special Ops’ branch of the police where necessary – but they know nothing of the rift that has grown between London and the rest. However, trouble is brewing; who knows what might happen.
Dreadful things have come to pass, but life must go on.
The end is where we start from.