a_time_slip | To-Do list

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To-Do list - justprompts

(After this)

1) debrief admiral
2) Notify the families
3) Submit letter of resignation
4) Return to the hotel room and rest for a few hours

It was well past midnight when Janie arrived at headquarters, interrupting the nap of the night guard, and setting off the many sensors. She held what was left of an agent in her arms, the legs dangling on one end, and a head on the other.

"Cheray Ashi. Age 32, rank, Lieutenant. Mother of three. She was killed serving for the Alpha Team and should be posthumously decorated for extreme bravery in service. I've tucked the report in her pocket."

As gently as she could, Janie laid the woman on one of the cots that was always available in headquarters. "I need to notify the families. Don't tell me I have to send someone else. They were my responsibility."

Her uniform dirty, body injured, and her hair a mess, Janie teleported to the location of the first family. Protocol dictated she be in full uniform, accompanied by several other officers but she knew that would come later. These families deserved to know before the story leaked out to the press.

She shed no tears, only moved on to the other eleven families, letting them all know someone would come by properly a little later. All of them were told how brave their relatives were and thankful they were told. She hugged significant others, comforted parents, and promised to stay in touch.

Janie spent several hours on the task, no sleep or rest, and no food. The only thing keeping her from collapsing to the ground and losing consciousness was the list she'd written out the moment she realized there were no survivors.

Upon returning to headquarters, she noted it was much busier.

"She's returned!" someone called. Ignoring that, Janie walked over to where she laid Ashi. The body was gone.

The body. All that was left of her team, and it was gone. Their last moments would stay in her memories for years. She realized she was crying.

"I'm turning my resignation in. Effective today." Janie's words didn't seem to make it out of her mouth, and a flurry of medics surrounded her. Some expressed shock at the baby bump, others managed to get her to a bed in medbay. "I quit." she repeated, as an injection was shot into her arm. "The m-"

Sleep came quickly, almost like death.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"When you said 'gone'.. okay..if Giovan's left the agency, he could still have sent an assassin.. this guy had supernatural powers?"

He shouldn't know that. Phoenix clears his throat, slighty embarrassed. "They uhm, wouldn't let me read the official report -- so I stole a copy."

"Lynn ran him through with a sword. Twice." She spoke in almost a whisper, for only Phoenix to hear. "It's not his style to send someone that powerful after me. The walls were bleeding, Phoenix"

"Lynn.. Huh?" Excuse him for a second. "Lynn killed Cattivo? Fuck." He does however keep his voice very low. "Gods.. what the fuck happened?"

He's mentally going through a list of beings who might be capable of manifesting blood through inorganic objects.

"She said she wanted to protect me. He would come by and pick fights, or visit her and... tell her things. He knocked me out that night and when I came to, Lynn had stabbed him" Janie went quiet, thinking of how traumatized Lynn had been. "He'd been sending assassins, but they were usually alien demons. They weren't that powerful."

"So Cattivo's head?" Huh. Good. "Is Lynn okay?... Sweetheart.. why? You should talk to me.. I could have helped."

He's not sure how exactly, but a problem shared is a problem that two people can keep an eye on. Right?

"She's fine, other than a few nightmares. Phoenix, you would have- you know how you react. He would relish in that, and twist the story then go tell others how I set him up. He's got enough friends in The Agency that they'd believe him over what I say."

She felt sick to her stomach after speaking, but she couldn't let Phoenix see her like that, so she stared straight ahead and waited for the feeling to pass.

He can see she's right. Phoenix would have half-killed Giovan, again. He really needs to reign in his temper.

"Okay. Look.. I'll..." He wipes a hand through his hair in frustration. "I'll give you my word I won't go charging in that way again - it just pushes you away. But you just try and talk to me? I'll listen, properly, we'll work something out, yeah?"

He can see how weak she is, and doesn't understand quite why. "Is there anything you didn't put in that report?" Phoenix asks, a little suspiciously.

"I should have waited to notify the families." she lied "Phoenix, don't worry about a thing. Whatever did this won't get the chance again because I'm not running any more missions. Even if I wasn't resigning, The Agency won't let me in the field again in this condition."

Janie plastered a smile on her face.

That seems to settle Phoenix a little, he's been wanting Janie to resign for months now.

He forces his own smile and takes her hand, still concerned. "How's the baby? Do you need me to take care of Lynn?"

With the current shortage of trained staff, Janie's retirement was highly unlikely, but for the time being, she was blissfully unaware of the situation.

"The baby is fine. Protocol states that I should have divulged the health condition, I'm not sure if I'll be reprimanded for that or not. Lynn's with my Father right now... I don't want to move her just yet."

"No.. no, that's good. She's probably better off with Robert. Just let me know if he needs a break, I can handle both kids for a couple of days, she's always great."

He really. REALLY. Wishes Janie would ask for stuff, just occasionally. "How long you gonna be here? Any idea?"

"She misses Sam. We- it's my fault, Phoenix. I told her not to tell anyone what was going on and we stopped talking to our friends. I'm sorry."

It was in Janie's nature to be self-reliant, and she didn't want to appear weak in front of Phoenix. She was 594 years old, not a youngster of eighty-four anymore. "I don't know. Do you think they'll let me go now?"

"You can tell me, honey. You can always tell me.. you know I'd never make judgements on you. Your friends and family are your strength." He picks up her hand, and kisses her knuckles. Phoenix knows how hard it is... even when he goes to Drakus, or Ylaia with something he can't handle on his own.

"I dunno, I could ask.. but you're weak, you need the rest." In his own capacity as healer, he'd say she needs several days, at least.

"You're right, Phoenix." And there's that mostly false grin of hers again.

"I'm not that weak... the energy drain wasn't that bad."

"It was enough to kill a mortal." Is out of his mouth before he can check himself.

"..Sorry. Look, I'll see what I can find on the ICTD database, see what kind of life form can do what he did. There's plenty there to go on."

"If this guy wants to find me, he will." Janie said, beginning to shut Phoenix out again "So don't waste your time on it. I'll take care of it myself..."

"Honey.." Phoenix can't help a sigh. "If The Agency doesn't have the data, there's other organisations that might. Ain't gonna hurt none to pool our resources."

"It's not as if I can stop you." She was annoyed, but for no good reason. "Why did he leave me there? He could have done anything."

Phoenix decides on just quietly searching the databases and not arguing the point.

"Guess he couldn't kill you. Not many entities like that would be dumb enough to take an agent away. They'd have several organisations out after their blood."

Many of the Galactic agencies and policing forces affiliated with each other, do tend to look after their own. "Wish Id' fucking been there." Phoenix mutters, irritated himself now.

"I'm not sure it's possible for me to come back if I was burned to a cinder." That had crossed her mind, even though deep down she knew she would survive. She always managed to pull through, no matter what happened.

"No. The mission shouldn't have even been run... the resources are probably a myth. There are more important things going on right now."

"I was talking about the energy drain." Phoenix frowns at Janie, was that in the report?

"Damn shame. Those resources are fabled. Would have been such a boon to The Agency."

"Right. Right. That wouldn't come close to killing me." It wasn't in the report. The only detail she'd given about the death of the agents and the lack of bodies was that they were 'destroyed'.

"They're fabled, but any team could have run that, barring complications. You shouldn't have been there, I shouldn't have been there."

"Riiight." Short of interrogating Janie, which she doesn't need right now, all Phoenix can do is accept her word for it. "Can't remember that being mentioned in the report. D'you think he was using tech?"

"No-one should have been there.. Did they have any information on supernatural creatures native to Fasni?" He can't help it, Phoenix is in professional mode, trying to get as much as he can, so he can go away and do the research.

"I forgot." she lied "I'm not sure how he did it... Giovan had most of the information in his files. I think they're still being decrypted."

"Forgot?" Huh. He's known Janie so long, Phoenix still can't quite tell when she's lying with certainty. But he does get the imrpoession she;'s not telling the exact truth. "Okay... guess it must have messed with your head."

And the more Giovan is mentioned, the more Phoenix is convinced the bastard had something to do with it. "It's my bet he set this up before he was killed. It's be easy for him to hide that kind of information, do a deal. Where are the files now? Disappeared with him? Or here at The Agency?"

To-Do list - justprompts

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