2.15.2

Demands of Duty

“What was it?!” Romo implored from where he stood over her.

“A cone. It should have been a stun at worst!” She pleaded, as much with him, as she did herself, and Dell. “It got out of hand! With everything…!”

She blundered through words and readjusted her legs to gently lift Dell’s head into her lap.

Romo scanned the courtyard to assess what she could not before he scowled at her.

“You got him?”

“Yes!” She assured. Though her eyes didn’t leave the technician.

Agent Romo stormed off to the last invader. The young brunette woman under Tenya’s rifle. The chief straddled over the operative, with her muzzle well aimed.

“Not her,” Romo said coldly. “She’s the last one.”

The implication she remained their best hope at finding where the children would be taken settled after his short order.

An incensed interrogator claimed his target.

Finally, the survivors gathered, with the battle over.

On the surface of the Sanctuary, stood only eight Guardians. A handful of children. Seven, saved at the last second from the pods. The Aldebaran’s ground team, and their new ward.

All at the center of a courtyard beleaguered with bodies. White polymer, including that of the woman that dispatched Eames into their temporary service. A dark-painted mixed gear display of S.O. corpses. The pale grey tunic of a Channeler uniform.

And Dell.

Astrid’s world pinned to the man’s long face, and the briefest flutter of energy and consciousness that dwelled within still.

She finally hit one of her own people with her power. Her channeling lost control, even for a moment, and this… This would be her punishment?

Elsewhere, Tenya dragged their new prisoner to her feet. The young woman sported a busted lip. But upon seeing her allies and her ship gone, the girl fell silent and morose.

Anders coordinated quickly with the Guardians, those that remained, that they return the kids below to join the others until they could clean up the upper level. Then he and Romo converged where Astrid knelt.

Shaely relayed a message through the line that the parked Aldebaran would await their arrival, and that Ishioka stood on standby. But Astrid missed it, along with the notification given that they had a man down.

“We need to get to Keeper Karsten,” Anders told her.

“We need to get Dell to Ishioka,” she countered.

“We will. Romo can handle it.”

“It’s my fault. It should be me.”

“Specialist Hale.” Anders sternly demanded her attention. She lifted her gaze to find an officer bear down on her. “Anyone can take our man, and our prisoner, to the ship. But the Keeper should be debriefed by the commanding officer and our Channeler specialist. Do you understand?”

Duly, he called her to duty. And with measured care, Astrid helped Dell into Romo’s hold.

The courtyard, cleared of Mercedes natives save the dead, transformed into a quiet and scarred place.

Tenya and their S.O. captive, Romo, with Dell slung over his shoulders, Anders, and Astrid, all parted for the Administration building adjacent to the vault yard. And within, they split. Two of the ground team to seek Keeper Karsten, and two to the Aldebaran, with bodies in tow.

One Guardian maintained watch over Karsten’s office when Anders and Astrid arrived. A balding man of some age, he gave a start until he spotted the Service insignia over the officer’s breast.

“Is it over?” The man asked, still visibly shaken.

“Yes,” Anders told him. “It’s over.”

Astrid’s heart and mind, still on Dell and the others, struggled to participate in the short exchange required to assure the guard they restored order.

Not until her feet numbly walked into an office no more finely decorated than her own Keeper’s, did Astrid force herself to attention.

The man within, presumably Keeper Karsten, looked haggard. Though she expected no less under the day’s events. Tables and a nearby bookcase looked disheveled and out of place, which Astrid suspected to mean they’d blocked the door previously.

“Keeper Karsten?” Anders asked anyway. “I’m Lieutenant-Commander Reeves, with the Aldebaran.”

“Oh, thank the stars!” the man shook hands with the officer. And Astrid forced herself to partake in the formalities.

“Keeper,” she spoke the title with meaning. “Astrid Hale, sir. Thank you for reaching out.”

“Thank you for getting here in time! How did you manage that?”

“We were already on the way,” Anders explained. “I’m afraid yours isn’t the first Sanctuary attacked. Have you been in contact with the others?”

“No, we don’t regularly interact.” Karsten shook his head. But his eyes again fell on the specialist. “You’re truly a Channeler then?”

After the battle, Astrid grew tired of proving it. She hoped a nod would suffice.

“Endra and Lorelei also endured assaults like this one,” she informed him.

“How did you know they’d come here next?” Thick grey brows nestled together with his inquiry.

“Your demographic,” Anders explained shortly.

Astrid, anxious to reach their point, pressed on. “Keeper, if you needed, could you contact the other Sanctuaries?”

“It is quite unusual, but I suppose… There is an oversight office on Earth, but they are not often inclined to put us in contact with one another. It will take some digging.”

“Raphael is the closest. See if you they would consider sending their children here.”

“You think that’s a good idea?” The man continued to waffle, still half sheltered behind his desk. His nervousness unsettled the Channeler. That she could feel his fear so clearly.

Perhaps he wouldn’t be the best candidate to pull Raphael in. Or maybe, Astrid brooded to herself, she judged him too harshly that he presented himself so timid when his charges took the brunt of the terror. She currently lacked the will to temper herself, even if that were the case.

“The structural design of your Sanctuary gave us an advantage,” Anders asserted. “There is a greater chance of resistance here. And the group that did this is less likely to return to a previous strike point than to try elsewhere. It stands to reason Raphael might be the next target. It’s close, compared to the others.

“Besides,” the soldier continued. “You’ll need to replenish your men. You don’t have enough Guardians left to protect this place. Better to pool your resources.”

Keeper Karsten’s face fell, mortified by the news. “I… I see.”

“Mercedes fared far better than Endra and Lorelei,” Anders attempted to bolster the Keeper. “But it was not without cost. You’ll need to see to it yourself. Catalogue your dead and compile a list of your missing. We’ll need it for our mission.”

“Oh… Oh.” The Keeper repeated himself and looked about the room, as if he sought someone he could assign the task in his stead.

Discouraged by the man’s reluctance, Astrid pressed him.

“Are you sure you can handle this, Keeper? Or should you invite Raphael’s Keeper to help you?”

“Yes… yes, I might do that.”

“Of course, these are all suggestions,” Anders balanced the lack of faith that colored Astrid’s tone. Still, he looked to her, and upon finding distaste plain in her expression, he amended, “It’s advice given from experience, however. I assure you.”