2.6.1

Keeping On

Astrid stormed back to her people, but by the time she could see straight, Tenya’s stare showed both concern and wariness.

“Maybe we should just speak to the Keeper,” Anders stated in the direction of their Guardian escorts. “We shouldn’t rile up more people than we have to.”

“She’s been notified of your arrival. We’ll take you to her office.”

Three Guardians herded the soldiers back from the yard, while two others split off to return Terrell to his room.

Tenya trailed at the back with Astrid while Anders took lead to follow their guides.

“That was a little tense…” the chief whispered while they ducked back into the doors of the Administration building.

“He’s always been an ass,” Astrid hissed. “But I wasn’t ready for that.”

“No shit.”

Astrid shook her head. “I should’ve handled myself better.”

“You’re only human. I probably would have decked him.”

“I wanted to,” the Channeler admitted under her breath while they tread the halls several paces behind the others. “But I have to be better than that.”

“Some of that shit he said was really hurtful,” Tenya defended.

Astrid could at least take solace she wasn’t alone in her indignation. “I can’t think about that right now.”

The group turned to the Administrator’s office only to find Keeper Alethea already outside. The woman turned to the sound of boots, and her eyes checked each face before they fell on her former charge.

In contrast to Terrell, Alethea rushed to meet her.

The woman’s eyes had sunken and her face elongated. Her well-kept appearance shadowed with sudden age. But her gaze glistened when the Keeper took Astrid’s cheeks between her hands.

“Oh, Astrid. I would know that face anywhere.” All at once, the older woman seemed to crumple. “Thank the heavens you’re here.”

“I am, Keeper.” Astrid gathered herself and braced her Keeper’s wrists in her gloved hands, grounded in the touch. “We’re going to fix this.”

“Were it that simple.”

Wordlessly, Alethea pulled away and gestured to her door. “This way, please.”

“Are you alright here, Keeper?” Cole asked.

“Yes. I think I am safe in the company of these guests.”

The Guardians dismissed themselves to return to their posts, and Astrid followed Alethea into her office, with Anders and Tenya at her heel.

“Keeper, this is Anders, and Tenya, of Captain London’s crew. We’ve been granted forward command for this mission.”

Alethea nodded to each, but she kept her attention on Astrid. “You’ve been filled in?”

“Mostly. The rough numbers. That many are still injured,” Astrid acknowledged. “But some were taken? Suza said you had a list?”

The Keeper nodded and went to her desk.

“I’ve prepared one for you and Captain London. You’ll need to know who to look for. I also, for your sake, included a list of those that didn’t make it. I thought you might want to know.”

The Keeper procured from a drawer a slip of paper with names penned in elegant script. After so long in a near-paperless society, the physical copy of pen and ink reminded Astrid of the smallest details that made her origin humble, and homely. The list shook in Alethea’s grip, as though its weight were much more than that of mere parchment.

“I’m sorry…” the Keeper said when Astrid took it in her hands. “I know this must be hard.”

Astrid blinked away surprise. “No more than it must be for you.”

Her eyes swept over the directory of the missing. She couldn’t deal with the dead. Not yet.

But she did notice something in the two columns.

“The missing… they’re all children?”

Keeper Alethea nodded. “Maya and Finn are the oldest. And they were the only older teens taken. The rest were all between the ages of six and fourteen.”

“What does that mean?” Tenya inquired behind them.

But a moment of comprehension passed between Astrid and her Keeper alone.

“Suza said the instructors resisted hardest,” Astrid reminded them. “It was because they were taking the kids. Targeting them.”

“Harlowe was the only child slain. I have to assume, or at least believe, it wasn’t intended. The rest that were killed, they were older. They, for whatever reason, weren’t seen as valuable,” Alethea noted. “These assailants separated them early. This was planned, and by someone who had intimate knowledge of how we work here.”

“Or the Sanctuaries in general…” Anders contributed. “Keeper, these invaders, did they have any identifying gear? Colors, symbols?”

Alethea, forlorn, shook her head. “Nothing notable in the chaos. I’m afraid witnesses couldn’t even identify the type of ship that brought them. It was relatively small, and definitely not bearing any Colonial or Service markings. That’s all we know. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

Astrid buried a sigh and pocketed the list in her pack.

“Is there anything you can tell me about why you think this happened?” Alethea gently queried.

At the very least, the Keeper sounded less accusatory than Terrell. And reaching for any answers or comfort she could supply, Astrid looked to her commanding officer, unsure how much they could share. But he gave her a gentle nod that she could continue.

“There is a group. They call themselves ‘the Static Opposition’,” Astrid started. “We’ve dealt with them before. They’ve been stirring for a while. It’s why the captain came looking for a Channeler recruit. They’re an anti-Channeler movement. I can’t give you any details but several months ago we dealt them a heavy blow and took their leaders into custody. Things have been quiet since, but we’ve been cautiously attentive. Concerned they might reappear.”

“Anti-Channeler?” The Keeper asked. “Why? We’ve kept to ourselves, as per the arrangement with our governments.”

“The usual reasons,” Anders cut in. “Individuals have their personal aggrievances, but it all boils down to fear mostly. We don’t have any reason to assume they’re the ones involved here except that they’re the most recently identified fringe group that might attempt something like this. But don’t worry, we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

Astrid appreciated his assurances, but it did little to soothe her, or her Keeper.

“Keeper Alethea,” the Channeler tried, “I’m going to find out what happened to them. I’m sorry this happened here.”

“Should I worry about them returning?”

“I think it’s good to keep your guard up,” Anders suggested. “But it would seem they got what they came for and have no reason to return. We’ll need to keep moving if we hope to find out what they plan to do next with their prisoners.”

Alethea wrung her hands, as though she subconsciously searched for anything helpful to do with them. “What can I do in the meantime?”

For a moment, no one said anything. Words of safety and platitudes didn’t heal the wounded or return the stolen. Neither would going back to normal as if nothing happened.

“Take the others off medication,” Astrid finally proposed.

Anders looked as if he wanted to interject, but he didn’t.

“What?” Alethea gaped, equally confused.

“Give them time in the tanks until they can deal with it if you must. Cut all the power, let them rage it out in isolation, but they need to deal with it, Keeper. Whether we fail, and this force returns to finish their work, or we succeed and need more Channelers out in the world, those that remain must be prepared. They cannot be permitted to stay only victims.

“Don’t tell them more than you have to about the S.O. and those that hate us. There are good Statics, too.” Astrid gently turned her face to her companions behind her before she continued. “We don’t want to breed distrust and resentment for our Static allies.

“But the Sanctuaries only work while they are completely secure and there’s no need for Channeler fighters. If that is changing, we cannot afford to keep our students so defenseless. It’s time to stop stifling their natural abilities.”

“I don’t know…” Alethea waffled. “There’s much anger here. About what’s happened.”

“They can’t do anything about that while they’re subjugated. They’re frustrated at being helpless,” Astrid contended. “Now is the perfect time. The children are gone, your population is at an all time low… it’s the lowest risk.

“Remember that the point of sending me out here was so that others could follow,” Astrid persisted. “Just like there had to be a first Channeler to change, there has to be a first Sanctuary, too.”

“It’s happening, isn’t it?” The Keeper finally asked. “What the captain said was coming. Channelers taking their place in the world. It’s being decided now, isn’t it?”

“Thankfully, due Captain London’s prudence, we are not without paths forward,” the lieutenant-commander assured the woman. “Astrid’s work with us is making waves. We’re still in this. We just have to head off the efforts of those that oppose us.”

“I… I will see what I can do to proceed. Safely.”

“I wish we could spend more time helping you adjust, but we need to get moving on this list,” Anders expressed. “We should return and update the captain.”

Astrid nodded in understanding. It proved challenging to pull herself away from the Keeper, however. It felt so strange that her most respected mentor became a civilian to her. Albeit, a dear one, but one that needed her help, rather than the other way around.

Alethea looked to Astrid as though she were the woman’s best hope. A member of the outside, and someone who could succeed where she failed to protect Channeler children.

The burden passed from the Keeper’s shoulders to Astrid’s. And something in the specialist shifted with it.

She lived, no longer a student, internee, or child. And it never rang clearer than when Keeper Alethea grasped her hands in a desperate squeeze.

“Please, Astrid,” she said. “Bring them back.”