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Description
ext. lot - later

Stephen is walking around the lot, weaving in and out of the buildings. They're all large sheds, some large enough for a small plane to go inside. All look pretty deserted. There are signs of damage from bombs on some, nothing too major, but still a deterrent to any who might try to squat there. It's odd, however, that such obvious storage hangars would be left completely out in the open. The Germans should target them.

Stephen comes to one of the buildings. It's a smaller shed with only one door. He stops before the door and pulls out the key from the envelope. He looks at the key for a moment, deciding. Finally, he unlocks the door. He tries to look inside, but it's too dark to see anything. He takes a deep breath and goes in.

int. Torchwood 1

Stephen steps in and the door shuts behind him. The lights come on as he turns around to look at the door. There's no one behind him. The door shut on its own. Stephan turns back around nervously.

The inside of the shed is surprising. It's furnished with desks and file cabinets and other equipment. It's basically a hub, set up much like the military installments he's used to. There are some unusual pieces of machinery, however. One of these is a two foot tall metal box, shaped like diamond. It has wheels on the bottom. It looks quiet. Stephan walks over to it. He sees a pair of buttons on the top, one green, one blue. He pushes the green one.

Suddenly the little unit starts whirring, beeping and moving. It drives around the desks with ease, making strange sounds. As it starts, Stephan jumps back, bumping into a desk with a long board with buttons, nobs, and stops on it. He pushes a sequence and it starts beeping loudly, lights blinking. He jumps again as an alarm starts, a red light blinking up above him. Something starts charging, making a loud rumbling sound. Stephan ducks in the nick of time to miss a blue sheet of light that runs horizontally across the room. It goes back and forth, blanketing the area, missing Stephan who is face down on the floor.

On the other side of the room in a corner, EVIE NORMAN comes up out of the floor on an elevator. The light hits her and encircles her. She has a pad with buttons on it, which she rapidly types on. The light shuts off, the sounds turn off. Only the little vehicle keeps moving.

voce

Welcome, Miss Norman.

Evie walks over to the desk with the long board and starts working with it. Its lights stop blinking. She sees Stephan on the floor and quickly takes a gun from her belt.

EVie

(yelling)

Who the hell are you?

STEPHAN

(frantic)

Who am I? Who are you?

EVIE

I asked first.

STEPHAN

No one's supposed to be here!

EVIE

I work here.

STEPHAN

(urgently)

So do I!

Evie falters a bit.

EVIE

Are you the Captain?

STEPHAN

Which one? Morgan or Sparrow?

EVIE

(raising the gun)

Are you the captain or do I get to shoot you?

STEPHAN

(quickly)

I am Captain Stephan Broom. I'm here for Torchwood.

Evie rolls her eyes and puts the gun back.

EVIE

That's all you had to say.

STEPHAN

(tentatively)

Can I get up now?

EVIE

Oh, yeah. Sorry.

Stephan stands up slowly looking around. The vehicle is still moving. It turns the corner and goes past him. He steps quickly out of its way. Evie is still tapping on the board.

STEPHAN

What is that thing?

EVIE

What thing?

STEPHAN

(pointing at the vehicle)

That.

EVIE

Oh. That's C.A.T.I.

STEPHAN

C.A.T.I.?

EVIE

Coffee And Tea Ingenue.

STEPHAN

Ingenue?

EVIE

(whispering)

She's a bit of a prima donna.

C.A.T.I. pops open at the point of the diamond to show a spigot and shelves of cups. Two mechanical arms pull a cup up and hold it under the spigot as the coffee runs into it. Then the arms put the cup on a desk. She runs on to the next desk.

STEPHAN

It's a coffee maker.

C.A.T.I. turns around and "looks" at him. One of the mechanical arms raises with one "finger" up. It flips him the bird. Stephan stares, astonished.

EVIE

She doesn't like that word.

STEPHAN

Got it.

Stephan exhales to steady himself and turns to look at Evie. She finishes with the board and looks at him expectantly. He smiles and holds his hand out.

STEPHAN

Hi. Pleasure to meet you.

EVIE

(shaking his hand; speaking dryly)

I'm sure. Evie Norman, communications officer.

STEPHAN

Ah. Um, Stephan Broom, uh, whatever I'm supposed to be.

EVIE

You don't make a very good first impression.

STEPHAN

I know. Uh, what was all that, exactly?

EVIE

You tripped against the board, setting off the alarm sequence because it wasn't unlocked. That set off the body scan, which didn't find you, ironically enough. Most people aren't that fast. So I came up and turned it all off.

STEPHAN

That much I guessed. But what is it?

EVIE

We don't really know. Nobs found it at a crash site on the coast. It uses tonal vibrations to communicate to receptors withing a five mile radius, ten if we boost it with a generator. The vibrations are then converted into colors, sequences of which communicate a message to all points. It has a password set on it to avoid tampering.

STEPHAN

So, it's an electric piano? Basically.

EVIE

We call it a Hopscotch.

STEPHAN

(confused)

Why do you call it a hopscotch?

EVIE

Because that's what we call it.

STEPHAN

That doesn't make any sense.

EVIE

It doesn't have to make sense.

STEPHAN

(sighing)

Never mind. So, do you know what I'm doing here? Or am just here for the laughs?

EVIE

We were told that our new director would be here. I can only assume that's you, although I have to admit I expected someone more-

STEPHAN

Impressive.

EVIE

Competent. You're pretty slow on the uptake.

STEPHAN

You'll forgive me. I've never seen a coffee maker on wheels before.

C.A.T.I. rumbles at him.

STEPHAN

(quickly)

Not that that's a bad thing. I am very impressed.

C.A.T.I. chirps at him approvingly and continues her rounds.

EVIE

(under her breath)

Alien technology and he's impressed by the coffee maker.

STEPHAN

Okay. When do I start work?

EVIE

Come on. The meeting's in the briefing room.

She leads him over to the elevator. He stands next to her as it descends.