2.21.1

Clue Uncovered

“You said she told you they were still open?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Ramsey answered numbly. “As far as I knew, she never left.”

“And she was still sending you messages to that affect?”

“Yes.”

Astrid met the eyes of her lieutenant-commander and witnessed the same conclusions piece themselves together.

“If you’ll excuse us.” Anders rose to his feet. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Ramsey nodded in compliance, then as soon as the trio wandered off for some distance the man buried his head in grasping hands, his shoulders hunched.

The three trekked to the far side of the room to rasp to one another in rapid fire words.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Anders looked to his companions.

“Everything he’s saying tracks,” Astrid spoke quickly. “It’s all true. His sister’s health, what happened to their mother, where she went to the school. He’s not hiding anything. The only thing he didn’t know was the condition of the Academy.”

“She told him they moved back in,” Tenya noted. “Not that they’d relocated. And nothing about the Sanctuary.”

“It’s perfect,” Astrid rushed to whisper. “It’s already isolated, already fitted for the housing and care of students. They’d have all the tools they’d need to facilitate experiments on Channelers, and no one from the colony would go looking.”

They dared not say more in the company of potentially prying ears. But like a racing heartbeat, Astrid now longed to rush back to the ship and deliver, with certainty, their first best lead on where the children may be held.

“Let’s wrap this up and get back,” Anders agreed.

But when they returned to the older Owens, the man stood, once again on his feet.

“Your questions. You’re investigating this ‘Static Opposition’, aren’t you?”

With great effort, Astrid resisted the urge to once again give away too much in a look.

“Among other things.” Anders answered tactfully. “Our Task Force deals with a larger initiative. But it puts us at odds with the S.O. on the regular.”

Ramsey, his cheeks flushed, took a quick breath before he extended, “If my CO allows, do you think yours would grant me a transfer?”

“You want to come with us?”

“I need to get my sister into care, first. But after that, yes. I need to know. I need to see what they’re doing. Maybe I can help. If my sister has in any way done the things you describe-- Please, it’s my responsibility. I’ve served under Colonel Randolf on the Castor for almost three years now. He’ll understand.”

“Do you have any field experience?” Anders replied.

Ramsey hesitated. “I’m certified, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“You on the warfare track or staff specialty?” Tenya cut in.

“Excuse me?”

“We don’t need another staff officer. What we need is another body for the Strike Team,” the woman pressed. “High risk ops. It’s not open to just anyone.”

“What my chief means is that it’s not our call,” Anders reiterated. “Submit your request if you wish, but there will be a thorough review of your skills and files before our captain will make a decision.”

“I understand.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking.” The specialist felt compelled to intercede. “You have no idea what we’re doing, do you?”

The man glanced over Astrid’s uniform, as though he sought the proper way to address her.

“You’ve just said. High risk strike teams. Opposing the Static Opposition. How it affects me personally means nothing outside of that. The rest is above my paygrade.”

“Practical. I like it,” Tenya assessed.

Anders, however, reserved judgement. And instead gestured to the hall behind them.

“Come on, we’ll take you to where we’re holding your sister. If you can get any more information out of her, if would go a long way to helping us. After we complete the paperwork, you can submit whatever requests you wish.”

~~~

The team lingered behind to watch a tearful, and eventually vengeful, reunion between siblings.

Romo remained in the room, to best observe the exchange and look for any nuances that would reveal more about the relationship. Or if they truly were no more than siblings, rather than allies to a cause.

“You really going to bring this to the captain?” Tenya asked from outside the window where the trio watched.

“Why not? You said so yourself, we need the bodies.” Anders, too, peered within to watch the siblings chat.

At first, all seemed okay. Ramsey rushed to his sister, braced her face between his hands, and asked a slew of questions about her wellbeing. But upon realizing her brother intended to have her interred rather than released, Ava lost her composure.

A lot of gesturing followed, then raised voices. Until the two shouted back and forth over blame and family history that, frankly, Astrid felt intrusive to witness.

“I know it’s selfish,” the specialist confessed. “But whenever someone talks of a Channeler sibling…”

“You wonder if it was you?” Anders finished.

Astrid nodded somberly. “Stupid, self-absorbed idea. There’s hundreds like me. Thousands by now. But somewhere out there I’ve left a family just like this.”

She watched Ramsey gesture animatedly to his sister. He plead for reason, he bartered on their bond, and she leveraged the same against him.

“How do you think the rest of the crew will take his request?” Astrid wondered aloud. “With the way trust is these days?”

“Everything requires context,” Tenya reasoned. Though she, too, looked apprehensive. “She’s all bent out of shape about losing family but left big bro out her plans? They’re not close. Probably because he doesn’t feel the same.”

Anders inclined his head to the ensuing yelling match. “With his sister in a facility and an organization like the S.O. out there, twisting families up like this? His interest could be real.”

Inside, Romo leaned back against the far wall. His dark eyes pinned to every twitch of body language.

“We could use someone with their personal history on our side,” Anders continued after a thought. “If it’s legitimate, he could lend some rationale to our position. Maybe talk some of the others down. A sibling of a Channeler that doesn’t want to blame Channelers? We need more of those.”

“We’re still a man down after Karth,” Tenya submitted. “And Rue.”

Names that filled Astrid with more remorse. How many times would she need to be reminded how much harm a single Channeler could do?