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aviv_b_artworkTITLE: Chapter 93 - Honors
AUTHOR: Aviv_b
RATING: Chapter 93- G/PG
CHARACTERS: Ianto, Jack, Team Torchwood
DISCLAIMER: Not mine; Aunty B's and RTD's
WORDS: ~ 3750
SUMMARY: Heroes of the Invasion are honored by King William. The Torchwood team attends the opening of the The Heroes of the Invasion Museum. Owen struggles to cope with Kimiyo's death.
Title is from: Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them. Aristotle
Ianto's Journey begins here: http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/1972.html
All Chapter are linked.
While numerous medals and honors had been bestowed on military and government officials following the Invasion, awards to civilians had never before been given much public emphasis. But now, a huge publicity event around the awards was planned. The last hour of the ceremony was to be televised on BBC1 causing much consternation to normal television viewers. The preemption of The Eastenders – The Grandchildren’s’ Stories caused an unprecedented outcry.
“Disgraceful misuse of authority,” the Daily Blather railed. Flixx News London was hardly better, their morning headline reading, “Give Us Eastenders Or Give Us Death.”
The King sighed as he looked the papers over. “Its only four years and already people have forgotten,” he said to his Ministers. “Do they think we’re never going to be invaded again? Do they not understand what the success of the Invasion would have meant for the entire nation, let alone the planet?”
The Ministers didn’t bother to reply. They knew William was just venting…the criticism over the ceremony and the awarding of a posthumous knighthood had intensified in the weeks leading up to today.
“Well best get ready. I can’t wait to see what the press has to say after the ceremony.” William left his breakfast half finished; his appetite having disappeared after seeing the blog report from The Royal Flush web site. “The monarchy once again shows how useless and out of touch it is,” he muttered. “Yes, yes we wouldn’t want to ruin everyone’s daytime television watching for something as insignificant as recognizing those who saved our nation. Probably a good thing I didn’t hold it during the evening as originally planned…I can just imagine what would have been said if I had pushed Britain’s Got Talent off the air.”
At the hotel, the Torchwood Team was having a surprisingly similar conversation.
‘I really don’t why the King insisted on this being televised. Does it make any difference to those of us receiving the recognition?’
“It makes sense though,” Gwen said. “I think he wants people to know that he appreciates the contributions of regular citizens. It’s sad that giving up programming for one hour is creating such a fuss.”
“I think the real problem is that people just don’t want to think about it,” Rhys offered. “If they aren’t reminded about it, it’s much easier to push it to the back of your brain and pretend that it never happened.”
‘Or that it was years ago, so nothing to worry about.’
“What worries me,” Jack frowned, “is that everyone seems to think that this will never happen again.”
Rhys froze with his fork halfway to his mouth. “Oi, what are you saying? Is there going to be another invasion?”
“I didn’t say that. I’m just speculating.”
“Right. Jack you said ‘will never happen’ not ‘could happen.’ Sounds like you know something.”
Jack continued to deny knowing anything, but his words clearly belied that. Ianto felt them like a cold stone on his heart. ‘Not again,’ he thought. ‘Please, not in my lifetime at least. Can’t we just have a few quiet years for ourselves?’
Gwen noticed that Ianto had stopped eating and was staring off into space.
“Ianto are you OK?” Ianto startled as his thoughts were brought back to the present.
‘I’m fine. Just thinking.’ When pressed he continued, ‘Do you think the people will ever know the truth about Canary Wharf? That was really the first attack by aliens.’
“Doubtful,” Jack said frowning. “And no,” he said looking pointedly at Rhys, “I don’t know whether the public ever finds out. But I think it would have to be at least a generation or two before anything sealed under the Secrets Act comes out. There are still files from World War II that haven’t been unsealed.”
As they continued to talk Jack noticed how little breakfast Ianto had eaten. “You better eat something, Ianto. You don’t want to faint in front of the King let alone a televised audience of, oh, at least a couple of dozen people.”
Ianto smiled but Jack could sense how upset the conversation had made him. “I think we’ll just head back to the room for a bit,” Jack told Gwen and Rhys. We’ll see you all at the reception afterwards, OK.”
As Ianto and Jack walked away, Gwen took Rhys hands in hers. “I hope we and our children and our children’s children never have to deal with an alien threat. But by gods, if we do, there’s no excuse for us not being ready the next time around.”
Back in their room, Jack was sitting on a sofa listening to Ianto retch up the little bit of breakfast he had eaten. Ianto came out of the bathroom looking grey.
“Come here,” Jack said motioning Ianto over to the sofa. “What’s bothering you and don’t you dare say nothing.”
Ianto sat down on the sofa and put his head on Jack’s shoulder. ‘I know you can’t say, but all I can think about is if there’s another invasion during my lifetime, I hope I go like Johnny. A quick, painless heart attack would be fine by me.’
Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Shhh, Ianto don’t say that,“ Jack whispered as he pulled Ianto into an embrace.
‘I’m serious Jack, I don’t want to go through this for the third time. I don’t want to see my family or anyone’s family suffer.’
Jack thought about this for a few moments. He knew he shouldn’t, but what harm could it do, really. “Ianto, I think there won’t be another invasion for a long time, hundreds of years in fact. OK? I’m just speculating of course…”
Ianto turned and kissed Jack. ‘Thank you,’ he pushed out. Ianto got up to wash his face as they needed to be leaving for the palace.
‘And he really doesn’t need to know that the planet will be in almost total ruins when that happens. Between global warming and that small nuclear war, most of the population will have chosen to travel through the galaxy to new homes on new worlds. But of those who stayed behind…’ Jack cut his thoughts off abruptly as he heard Ianto heading back into the sitting area.
“Ready?”
‘Yeah, let’s go then.’
***
The whole investiture took several hours, only the last hour being broadcast. Prior to broadcast, almost one hundred civilians were awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal, a decoration for civilian bravery. Included in that group were Gwen, Tosh and Owen. Several hundred more were awarded to the survivors of civilians who had perished while defending the nation. Owen was in tears as he accepted the Medal in Kimiyo’s honor. Every ordinary civilian citied at the museum for extraordinary action protecting the state and crown (or their families if deceased) received this medal. Recipients and family members came not only from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India (as part of the Commonwealth of Nations).
Finally, the televised portion of the ceremony began. The King made a stirring speech about the importance of service to King and Country and Planet Earth.
Ianto’s presentation was first. The King briefly spoke of Ianto’s survival of the terrorist attack at Canary Wharf, his many years working for Torchwood protecting the planet, and his sacrifice in protecting his life during the invasion. Ianto was awarded the George Cross, the highest level of recognition for a civilian. The King then inducted Ianto as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, for special service to the King. As Ianto knelt for the Accolade, the traditional sword taps on the shoulder, he glanced up to see the King wink at him. As he stood back up he was shocked when William told the gathering that Ianto had been a great friend to his grandmother and that he considered Ianto a member of his family.
The next presentation was for Aaron. The King briefly but poignantly described Aaron’s sacrifice allowing him to escape to safety. “What can I give a man who saved my life? As I stand before you today, I am certain of one thing. If not for the sacrifice of Lt. Colonel Aaron Hamilton of the Royal Marines, I would not be here to address you today. This knighthood is a symbolic act of personal gratitude. He has no children to establish titles on, nor any descendants to honor him. It’s my small way of assuring that his name is not lost to history. And though he was retired from active service, Aaron Hamilton never stopped being a soldier. His last words as he saluted me were, ‘For King and Country.’ Therefore his honors are those befitting an officer of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom.”
Aaron was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded for valor in the face of the enemy. He was also invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Noble Order of the Bath. Ianto was given his medallion and cross as well as presented with the Elizabethan Cross as the next of kin of a member of the Armed Services killed in an act of war or a terrorist attack.
(Victoria Cross, The Most noble Order of the Bath, Knights Gran Cross, Elizabeth Cross)
Finally, Jack and Mickey were brought forward to receive their honors. Both were awarded the George Cross, the highest award granted to a civilian, and Jack was additionally honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross. The King explained, “While Captain Harkness is not an official member of the British Air Force, his multi-year quest across space and time to destroy the Toclafane certainly qualifies as an act of valour, courage and devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy. Additionally he is hereby declared to be an Air Officer of the Royal Air Force and awarded the honorary rank of Air Commodore.
While this last award was not as controversial as Aaron’s Knighthood, the attendees were taken by surprise as the King had only discussed it the week before with his closest advisors. William was determined that Jack’s award not be tainted by criticism prior to its announcement. He caught a glimpse of a UN official who looked extremely unhappy about this final honor conferred on Jack. ‘You may have to bow to political pressure,’ William thought, ‘but as King, I don’t. It’s about time someone acknowledged that without Jack Harkness, mankind could have well been wiped out.’
The reception that followed was very low key. The Torchwood Team admired Jack and Ianto’s medals. “So Ianto,” Owen asked “what are you going to do with Aaron’s honors and awards?”
‘All of our medals are going on display at the museum…with one exception,’ Ianto answered as he looked around the room in search of something. He apparently spotted what he was looking for waving to someone across the room. It was Stephen.
“I thought I’d never find you in this crowd. Well done, both of you,” he told Jack and Ianto. Ianto stepped closer to Stephen and pinned the Elizabeth Cross on his lapel.
‘As his closest relation, that should be yours.’ Stephen was stunned. He fingered the pin and then hugged Ianto.
“This mean so much to me Ianto, you just can’t imagine,” his voice breaking with emotion. Ianto just smiled, as he had a very good idea how important it was to Stephen to be included in the honors for Aaron.
By the time the reception had finished there was just enough time for the team to proceed over to the museum. There had been rumors that there would be protesters outside during the opening ceremonies, but when they arrived, they were no where to be seen. It wasn’t until afterwards that the team learned that the police decided to cordon off the block around the Museum and kept the protesters confined to a small area where they couldn’t be seen or heard by the guests. Some of the neighbors weren’t thrilled by all the security but most were proud to have been an acquaintance if not a friend of Aaron and Ianto.
There were more speeches including one from the Prime Minister as well as Ianto and Jack. Gwen and Tosh were recognized for their assistance in compiling information on civilian casualties and Owen received a special citation from the Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom for his research on non-officer heroes of the Invasion.
Stephen, Jonathan and the other members of the board were introduced and Stephen said a few words about the history of the family home and how his father, the late Brigadier, would have approved of the idea of making the home into a museum honoring service and sacrifice to the nation.
A crowd of several hundred slowly wound their way through the museum. Aaron and Ianto’s home was certainly large by any standards, but as a museum the space was tight and visitors were guided through the museum along a defined path leading to the final exhibits in what was formerly Ianto’s and Aaron’s bedroom and Aaron’s study. The team made their way at the head of the visitors through the rooms. Jonathan and Stephen stayed at the main entrance to greet the as various dignitaries that were expected to visit throughout the day.
The team made their way through the rooms depicting the history of Torchwood and UNIT and then into the space devoted to the heroism of ordinary citizens. There were some amazing stories including PC Andy’s solo fight to protect the Cardiff police headquarters and its critical communications center. In addition to his coat, pictures of Andy before and after the Invasion were displayed including one with his wife and baby son. Gwen pulled out a small camera and discretely took pictures to give to Andy.
They skipped the multimedia presentation and made there way to the section covering the involvement of the military, Torchwood and UNIT in defending the United Kingdom and the world. At the display of Torchwood heroes, Gwen laughed when she saw the picture of a much younger self along with Rhys, Owen and Tosh.
"Oi, who is that sexy young woman in the black leather pants?” she joked.
Tosh sighed. “Didn’t Ianto take that picture when Jack first went off with the Doctor?” An awkward silence followed.
‘Yeah, it was at my 25th birthday party that Gwen and Rhys had at their house. I can’t remember, but I think I had already decided to go to London at that point and I wanted a picture of you guys to put on my desk.’
“A lot’s happened since then. But here we are, all back together again in Cardiff. Just like old times,” Jack said trying to lighten the mood.
The next area was in honor of other Torchwood casualties around the world. Most of the space was devoted to Delhi and Osaka where Torchwood sustained the greatest casualties. Owen hadn’t said a word the entire time they had walked through the museum. But when he saw the picture of Kimiyo he whispered her name and began to cry. As the team went to comfort him, Ianto pulled Jack away to the displays of UNIT and military casualties.
‘I don’t think he wants to interact with us right now.’
“You mean me, don’t you.”
‘He’s just beginning to come to terms with her death. Tosh says he’s only started to talk about her in the last few months. So just like the UN, he needs to blame someone…’
“Like me.” Ianto nodded in agreement.
They waited for the rest of the team and then made their way to the last two rooms. Ianto had seen everything here except his own exhibit. Jack’s exhibit was carefully arranged with pictures that made him look like he had aged over the years, including one that was made especially for the exhibit where he looked almost completely gray.
“Jack, you really are dying your hair now,” Rhys said unable to stifle his surprise.
“Uh not really…” he said dropping his voice to a whisper. “I had my hair dyed for the picture – I should be….what almost seventy by now.”
“A very well preserved seventy,” Mickey snarked. “You’d almost think he spent his retirement funds on plastic surgery.”
“That’s my story and I’m sticking to it,” Jack retorted smiling.
They made their way over to Mickey’s display. “Hey, look at this picture of Mickey looking very dashing in his younger years at Torchwood One.” Mickey smiled at Jack’s teasing.
“And look,” Tosh said excitedly. “There’s Mickey and all of us just a couple of months before the invasion. The picture was of the original team members still at Cardiff, along with Mickey, Ricky and Penny.” Tosh captured the picture on her cell phone to take back to Torchwood Three.
“Oh…there’s one of Mickey and Rose Tyler,” Jack said. “And the Doctor,” he added sadly.
Ianto put his arm around Jack’s shoulder. ‘While we were expressly forbidden to mention any of the details of Canary Wharf or the Doctor, I wanted to make sure they weren’t forgotten.’
“Thank you, Ianto,” Jack whispered.
General McGregor’s display got a quick look by the team. His distinguished military career was portrayed as well as his devotion to his wife, daughter and two grandchildren.
As he approached the case Ianto felt panicked until he felt Jack discretely squeeze his hand.
“I hear the next exhibit is quite interesting,” Jack whispered. Ianto rolled his eyes exactly as Jack knew he would.
When they reached his exhibit, Ianto smiled. His display was titled, “An Ordinary Man Living in Extraordinary Times.” And unlike the other major honorees, his story, much like Gwen’s emphasized his very typical working class Welsh upbringing, and his desire to go to college in London. From there it followed the very unique elements of Ianto’s life. Recruitment by Torchwood on a dare, surviving the Terrorist Attack at Canary Wharf, recovering from his injuries and dealing with his loss of speech, joining Torchwood Three, moving to Torchwood One, traveling around the world training Torchwood and UNIT field teams with Aaron, returning to London just in time for the Toclafane Invasion, it was all there. The display then covered his key role in preparing for the invasion, protecting the King and testifying before the UN Security Council during its investigations. The finally piece of the exhibit discussed Ianto’s determination to have a space for remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives to protect the United Kingdom from the Toclafane.
‘I was so worried that this would make me into some type of larger than life persona. I know you had a hand in this,’ he told Jack.
“Well we all did really. Gwen and Tosh and even David and Stephen all took part in planning your exhibit. We knew you’d never want to be thought of as a heroic figure, though you are of course. So we agreed that the message of your display should be that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when necessity calls. Though personally,” Jack said lowering his voice a bit, “I have never doubted that you are a very, very extraordinary person in every aspect of your being.”
‘Why do I get the feeling that you are going to be interesting in only one area of my awesomeness as soon as we get back to the hotel,’ Ianto snarked.
“And you can read minds as well. Just amazing.”
They made their way to the final room with Aaron’s display. Ianto was glad he had viewed it ahead of time. Still, it was very emotional for him especially when everyone fussed about the new collage.
‘I made one for Aaron, Jack made one for me, but who will ever get to make one for Jack?’ he thought sadly.
“Hey,” Jack said, “are you OK?”
Ianto nodded but Jack could tell that he very upset.
They had all planned on going out to dinner together, but Ianto was exhausted and Owen was almost numb and Gwen had a feeling that the evening would end in tears, an argument or both.
“I think Rhys, Tosh, Owen and me are going to go out for a few drinks. Anyone want to join us?” Mickey decided that a few drinks with his old team would be nice and opted to go with them.
Jonathan and Stephen had rejoined the group and everyone knew that Stephen wouldn’t go into a pub or restaurant bar. ‘Clever Gwen,’ Ianto thought.
‘Well, Stephen doesn’t drink, so would you mind if we just went to dinner with him and Jonathan?’
Gwen very deftly apologized for not remembering about Stephen and Ianto assured her that it was not a problem.
‘Hey, it’s fine we’ll see you back in Cardiff in a few days. And it will give our poker and pizza club a chance for a little reunion.’
Everyone knew that a potentially disastrous evening had narrowly been avoided. Everyone except Owen who was so lost in his own thoughts that he seemed barely aware of what had just transpired.
Gwen went over and hugged Ianto goodbye. “You’re the best,” she whispered to him. ‘You too,” he said pushing out hard with his thoughts. Gwen looked at Ianto in surprise. He smiled and nodded.
Jack shook hands with Mickey and told the others that he and Ianto would see them back in Cardiff. He hugged and kissed Gwen and Tosh and slapped Rhys on the back. When he walked over to Owen, he saw that Owen wasn’t really processing events and just looked at him in bewilderment. Jack started to reach out to him, but Owen didn’t seem to notice. Finally, Jack grabbed Owen, hugged him tightly and kissed him on the forehead. As Jack walked away, Owen blinked a few times and seemed to come back to himself.
Oi. Did I just get kissed by Jack Harkness?” Owen asked in disbelief as he touched his forehead. Tosh couldn’t help it, the emotion of the day overwhelmed her and she began to laugh. To their surprise, Owen began to laugh along with her. “Does anyone have some weevil spray? I need to be able to defend myself against Ianto.” Like giggles in church, the laughter proved contagious and soon Rhys, Gwen and Mickey were laughing as well.
As they left to find a pub, Owen felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his soul.
Jack stood with his lover and his friends and watched the group exit the museum. He too felt immeasurably lighter and freer than he had in a long, long time.
Chapter 94 here: http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/56337.html
