1.14.1

Motives Unmasked

Astrid came to, jostled within steady arms. The hum of the ship and its crew rolled over her senses like a blanket, familiar now.

“The Aldebaran?”

“Yes.” Karth’s assured her. “You passed out. We’re taking you to Doctor Ishioka.”

Her teal eyes flitted open to the amber glow of passing lights overhead.

“Rue?”

“She’s fine. She and a few of the others are securing the men who attacked you for interrogation.”

“They were… ‘Static Opposition’,” she named as memory returned through the fog. “We have to tell Captain.”

“We heard the whole thing. Please relax. We need to make sure you’re okay.”

A whooshing of doors sounded the entrance to the Med Lab, and the commander gently deposited Astrid onto one of the exam tables.

Doctor Ishioka immediately went to work, and Astrid found herself the subject of vision checks and reflex assessments.

“Look here,” Doctor Ishioka instructed, then waved her hand over Astrid’s face to the other side. “And here.”

It was then Astrid realized Anders and Tenya followed, both looking harried.

“What happened down there? What did you do?” Anders drew to her side. “Are you alright?”

The doctor expertly detached armor plates and set them on the table beside Astrid, one at a time, to get to the body shielded beneath. A well-practiced manner that reminded her Ishioka served soldiers specifically.

“I don’t know what happened. They were going to shoot Rue and I just...”

“Where did you get the energy?” Karth asked.

Astrid scowled. “I don’t know. I was… a little tired after draining the armory.”

“Based on these readings, I’d say yourself.” Doctor Ishioka pointed to the numbers gathered through her previous examinations, each glowing in her monitor screen. “Your vitals are comparatively weak. If you can drain life energy in others, you can do so to yourself.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Anders scowled and looked to the doctor.

“Extremely.”

“Let’s not make that a party trick, okay?” Tenya’s voice, softer than usual, caught Astrid’s attention.

“You look worried,” Astrid lamented.

“We were.”

“Are.” Anders crossed his arms.

Astrid looked down to her hands, especially pale. Hands that committed supernatural atrocities beyond her control. “Did I kill anyone?”

“No,” Karth answered. “But you could have. And it would have been justified.”

“I could have,” she repeated. But the words did not feel empowering. It was a warning. A step closer to the inevitable.

The doors to the Lab opened once more, and Astrid’s company parted to make room for Captain London.

He came to stand beside the commander, and though he too looked concerned, he maintained a composure that brought Astrid further from her haze.

“How is our Specialist, Yui?”

Though the first time Astrid heard the Doctor’s first name, Ishioka didn’t miss a beat at the address.

“The fact she’s awake bodes well. As long as these numbers come up in the next few hours, I’ll be satisfied she’ll be fit for duty again tomorrow.”

“The mission,” Astrid cut in, eager for resolution. She looked to the captain, hopeful. “Did we get what we needed?”

“Yes.” Captain London nodded. “Romo and Dell confirmed the weapon you recovered is of the same make. Benson is in fact dealing in large orders to a group. At the rate he and his man offered, likely a growing army.”

“The Static Opposition,” Astrid blurted. “They named themselves ‘Static’, Captain! One of the men, at the end, he said, ‘you’re one of them’. This is about my people!”

The man’s face darkened, and behind his shoulders, many of the crewmen exchanged anxious glances.

A pregnant pause hushed the room, until Captain London broke it.

“I need to speak to our Specialist. Alone, please.”

With an apologetic smile, Tenya squeezed Astrid’s shoulder and left behind Karth.

Anders lingered. Fern eyes seemed reluctant to leave. But when the captain turned his face to the lieutenant directly, Anders submitted to trail after the others.

“You may stay, Yui,” the captain nodded to where Doctor Ishioka gathered her supplies. The woman then returned to her files and typed away, as if part of the room itself.

When the captain’s dark brown gaze returned to the Channeler, Astrid felt a weight settle between them. The man kept his stance, unyielding, but his weathered eyes said all they needed to.

“You already knew.”

“I’d hoped I was wrong.”

Astrid frowned. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?!”

“Because being wrong still afforded you the chance to change things for your people, and you never needed to know. And if correct… your people deserve a chance to face it yourselves. For what it’s worth, I am sorry it has come to this.”

“Why? Why are they after us?” Astrid’s fists clenched. “My people aren’t warriors! They can’t defend themselves, not against this!”

London’s face fell grave.

“I’m afraid, several months ago, one of your Sanctuaries went rogue. We can’t even tell what happened because the damage left behind was so absolute. We’ve… had difficulty locating any survivors. And witnesses were too traumatized to give accounts.”

Something in Astrid’s throat caught to imagine a whole Sanctuary of innocents, gone.

“Whether the Guardians squeezed too hard, or the Channelers grew too rebellious, we still don’t know. But many bystanders were injured or outright killed. Inevitably, the families of the those lost sought to place blame. I’m afraid most of it landed on the backs of your people.”

“Even if it were true, that’s enough? To get that many people against us? Benson says they can supply dozens of people each month for years!”

“As you’ve been sheltered in a Sanctuary yourself you have not been privy to the steadily growing conflict. Every generation, new Channelers are born. More, and more. And as you know, each one takes another life.

“Siblings that blame their Channeler brothers and sisters for the death of their mothers, Guardians who feel the Channelers are granted too much freedom, anyone touched by loss in disasters like that at the fallen Sanctuary, or anyone who fears what your existence means for our civilization… there is a large pool of people that are convinced your kind are dangerous beyond redemption.

“To injured parties, your presence leaves death in its wake. To them, the possibility that you are not yet done exacting casualties is intolerable. Some question how much death would be acceptable before your people must be stopped.”

“You mean slaughtered!”

“Perhaps the Static Opposition only wishes to impose harsher institutions. But if stricter regulation leads to what happened at Sanctuary Argos, then violence is all but inevitable.

“Your people will be forced to fight, and the S.O. will use that resistance as further justification.”

“Sanctuary Argos.” Astrid’s lips repeated the name in disbelief. “That’s where it happened? The fallen Sanctuary?”

At her tone, the captain nodded solemnly. “I’m afraid so. Did you have friends there?”

Astrid felt a clawing at the back of her eyes. A sting of pain.

Months. Months went by with no word from Gi. She’d prepared herself that perhaps he’d lost interest. But never that he’d gone completely. That he could be dead. Her oldest and dearest friend.

“One.”

“I’m sorry.”

Astrid closed her eyes. In her grief, she reverted to familiar meditation. Anything to steady the wave of emotion that rippled through her. But beneath her skin, her body shook.

“What… what do we do now?”

“Romo is conducting interrogations as we speak. When he’s gathered as much information as he can, we’ll turn the men over to authorities.”

“And Benson?”

“Benson’s on our radar now. But he is not the cause, nor result of this problem. He’ll be dealt with, in time. If we out him now, we tip our hand. Better that we merely monitor the situation until we discover from where his resources hail, and to whom they benefit. Naming the enemy is not enough. Now we must find them.”

Astrid lost herself in the ache of her heart. The overwhelming weight of all they learned.

Behind her, the clacking of the keyboard finally ceased as Doctor Ishioka completed her brief.

“Astrid.”

Captain London spoke her name, personal, intent, and Astrid opened her misted eyes.

“People were once afraid of nuclear power. Archers afraid of gunpowder, ancient blacksmiths wary of the lightness of steel. Humans have been afraid of submarines, of flight, airplanes, and spaceships.

“Right now,” he paused with feeling, “is a moment rooted in fear. And instead of seeking reason, these hostiles seek absolute solution. They want to ignore this. This question of what it could mean, what good your existence could affect.

“I needed a Channeler. But I chose you because the first Channeler to stand against them matters more than all those that would follow. A person of integrity is necessary to turn public opinion to our side. By your will or not, your life in obscurity is over. I need you to stand with us. Openly, unapologetically, and without reservation. To submit yourself to the scrutiny of Earthen Military Service and all those that support it.

“This conflict will determine the future of Channelers with or without your involvement. Would you not rather have a hand in deciding their fate?”

For Gi, Astrid thought. For Maya, and Finn, and Terrell. Kids like Opal, Harlowe, and Zeke. All the children still confined in Sanctuary Endra, in all Sanctuaries. She could not abandon them when they might next be on the list of victims.

“Of course.”

It was an odd sort of grimace, to see London simultaneously pleased yet remorseful.

“Thank you. Then I shall leave you to rest. I ask that you remain here, so Doctor Ishioka can monitor you. When you are feeling better, we will reconvene on our next assignment. If you wish, I can send one of the others to keep you company.”

“No,” Astrid answered, numbly. “I think I would prefer some time alone.”

“I understand.”

The captain nodded to the doctor and departed in his usual unflappable nature.

“By the way, Specialist Hale,” he added at the door. “You conducted yourself very well on Penelope Station. For what it’s worth. Which, at the moment, may seem very little, I’m afraid. But I have never been more certain in my selection.”