Jack (The Kraken's Lament)
- You may be looking for Spring-heeled Jack.
Jack was a Kadeptian lawyer and friend of Bernice Summerfield.
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
Early life[[edit] | [edit source]]
Jack was born long after the Daleks' attack on Beta Caprisis in the 2540s. (AUDIO: The Curse of Fenman) He belonged to a large family on Kadept and had a number of brothers and sisters, including Jacob and Jackson. When he was young, his mother died and he was raised by an aunt, Jacquelette, as his father, Jacques, was busy with Jacques, Jackson and Jacques' Sons. (PROSE: Adorable Illusion)
As a child, one of Jack's favourite toys was an intergalactic code breaker. (PROSE: The Slender-Fingered Cats of Bubastis) He was a "dab hand" at a process that he likened to a séance, in which he could release the memories held by an object or building and translate them to be understood. (AUDIO: Shades of Gray)
Jack was escorted around other planets by his father when he was a teenager and would use his jumping ability to frighten people. (PROSE: Adorable Illusion) Like most of his family, he became a lawyer and joined the family business, which he did some time after Jacob and Jackson had already joined. (AUDIO: The Curse of Fenman)
Escaping Atlantis[[edit] | [edit source]]
Jack was sent to Raster to meet with the Quilters and collect their bill, after which he boarded a shuttle to Zordin and briefly met Bernice Summerfield and Ruth. He was approached by Avril Fenman and agreed to keep an eye on Benny for her, taking a crystal which sank into his palm and made him forget the meeting but not their deal. (AUDIO: The Curse of Fenman) When they neared Zordin after three years of stasis, he met Benny again. (AUDIO: The Kraken's Lament) He was affected when the Epoch remapped Zordin as Atlantis, but retained his memories. (AUDIO: Judgement Day)
Weeks later, Jack called out to Benny, who had forgotten that they had met, and he told her that he was sure that she would figure out what was going on. (AUDIO: The Kraken's Lament) He visited her again after she met Leonidas and Ruth, by which time she had forgotten him, and hinted that she should dig a trench, leading her to reach the Great Leader. (AUDIO: The Temple of Questions) Later, he called her whilst she was in the Transuniversal Export building and told her to hurry to the spire and that he could remember Zordin. He also expressed his annoyance at Benny never being able to remember him. (AUDIO: Private Enemy No. 1)
In an Epoch reality which resembled Victorian London, Jack anaesthetised Benny and took Ruth to the roof of St Paul's Cathedral where he told her about the field around the solar system. He had her use a biomechanical data glove to create an interdimensional tear and pushed her into it, telling her to deactivate the field. She did so and, later, one version of her returned to London to find him, that reality's Benny and the shuttle, which was restored when the Epoch were thwarted. (AUDIO: Judgement Day)
Life on Legion[[edit] | [edit source]]
When Benny arrived on Legion and went to the White Rabbit, she found him working behind the bar. (AUDIO: Paradise Frost) He later knew exactly how Ruth took her coffee, and also reminded Benny of drunken stories she said about Peter Summerfield. He knew of Peter's temper and stopped him from destroying the bar. He later helped Peter to blow up the Vesuvius. (AUDIO: Vesuvius Falling) He accompanied Benny and Ruth to Triptic House. He suggested a séance when they found a living painting there. He later took longer to come out of the trance, but Dorian Gray helped him out of it. (AUDIO: Shades of Gray) He questioned Peter about Antonio Tulloch, and to talk about the slave pit on Bastion. He also helped Irving to buy some artefacts for a collection, to be hold at their new house. (AUDIO: Everybody Loves Irving)
In a simulation from Benny's mind, they were in a poker tournament and he told her in a drugged state about how he lost his best friend. His friend, Lara, went for a poker contest, he was deliberately trying to lose so that he could win some money, but she died. This was to get Benny to cry so that the cheater could be found. This simulation helped Benny when enemies from her memory tried to attack her. (AUDIO: Many Happy Returns)
He prepared for Advent by decorating the White Rabbit with traditional decorations such as a lobster ball and a yellow kettle. He was sent with Benny and Ruth on The Irverfield to the deliver a message to a scientist. On the way back he disembarked with them to Nemeqit to discover the meaning behind an SOS call. He was told to guard the ship, but he got bored and left it however, her got lost. He explored dome that Bel and Lud inhabited and couldn't find a generator or a toilet, suggesting that Nemeqit was supplying the power. (AUDIO: A Handful of Dust)
He went with Peter to Mortis Dock, on the day before advent, to find out why ships were disappearing. As soon as he got there, he wanted to leave. He told Peter that he was the only person that could see Antonio. He found it hilarious that Benny's middle name was Surprise. He explored the HMS Surprise where they discovered that there was zombies on the ship. He was later possessed by the ship. He was disorientated when he stopped being possessed. (AUDIO: HMS Surprise)
He lugged many boxes from the White Rabbit cellar in order to take to Benny's crater. He became agitated when he saw Antonio Tulloch. When Avril Fenman turned up, he was creeped out. He realised that he had met Avril on the shuttle to Zordin, and she had give him a job to spy on Benny. When Avril told him that she was going to take his youth when she was going to take his body, he wished he went back to Kadept. After Fenman was killed, he helped Ruth to understand that no matter what her old self did she can do what she truly wanted to do. (AUDIO: The Curse of Fenman)
He assisted Bernice Summerfield when she was on Big Dig. Shepton Rothwell asked to bring him coffee, which he didn't know how to make without a machine. He found it hilarious that Ruth became a tea lady. He was disgusted by Shepton's suggestion to Ruth that Benny and himself were in a relationship. He became paranoid and thought that Benny want to kill him. He left Benny when the Epoch arrived, she couldn't remember him. (AUDIO: Big Dig)
He was taken by the Epoch as they thought he was what was causing the temporal instabilities around Benny, and took him to their domain. He was then brainwashed to think he was an actor, called David Ames, playing himself and a character called Troy. Benny managed to undo the brainwashing to defeat them. He then used the Epoch's technology to find home. (AUDIO: In Living Memory)
Jack later became engaged to Ruth. He accompanied Benny, Peter and Ruth to Sydney in 2015 to investigate a pyramid that landed in the harbour. (PROSE: Big Bang Generation)
Appearance[[edit] | [edit source]]
Jack had long legs like a grasshopper, red eyes, a pointed chin and pointed ears. (PROSE: Big Bang Generation) He had a muscular chest (AUDIO: Judgement Day) and often described himself as being attractive. (AUDIO: The Curse of Fenman, etc.)
Personality[[edit] | [edit source]]
Witty and flamboyant, Jack remained a mysterious character in Benny's life. (AUDIO: The Kraken's Lament) His species' ability to charm without intention made the Twelfth Doctor smile. (PROSE: Big Bang Generation) He described himself as a "spur of the moment kind of guy". (PROSE: The Slender-Fingered Cats of Bubastis)
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
Contrary to some fan belief, Jack's full name is not Jack McSpringheel. Jack used this name as an alias at a casino during one story - Many Happy Returns. This misconception has been widespread enough that dedicated fans on Tumblr utilise it[1], as has the occasional fan reviewer.[2] It has also been used as the character's 'name tag' on the fan-fiction website Archive of our Own, and used in unofficial fan-created RPG sourcebook Seventh Doctor - Expanded Universe Sourcebook Vol. 1.[3]
References[[edit] | [edit source]]
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