Sentinels, Emily Foster [the rosie project TXT] 📗

was sat with her arms folded, the back of her chair flickering between small orange flames and clear moving water.
Tension hung in the air as those that could see them watched the doors behind the two empty chairs, one of which was completely plain, the other a whirl of moving metallic red.
“How long do they think this can wait?” Energy said after a long moment, cutting the silence with his sharp voice.
“Be calm,” Time replied, lifting his head from his sleep, “We all know how they can be.”
Energy grunted in frustration and slammed a fist on the table, “This is important!”
“He is right, Time,” Elements added, “We need them here now. Surely Logic can get them here sooner than this.”
Time sighed and lent forward lazily resting his arms on the tabletop, “Yes, Elements, she probably could. But she hasn’t so why get yourself worked up about it.”
Elements exhaled forcefully and shook her head before looking away, “This is ridiculous! We need to deal with this quickly!”
“Do we have to?” Life asked in her motherly tone, “Is there really any harm in them arriving here?”
The whirling red door slammed open making everyone’s heads turn and Kos sauntered in, features dark. Vidya following close behind, nodding her head in greeting to the others in the room. The room was silent as they watched Kos drop into her chair, one leg hanging over the arm, grinning at Life.
“There is harm,” she said simply, her grin fading, glancing sideways as Vidya took her seat gracefully beside her, “Because they destroy everything they find.”
“So do you,” Life replied lightly, making Kos pout.
“I only destroy what needs to be destroyed,” she replied before folding her arms across her chest defensively.
Life scowled, “That is a lie and everyone here knows it.”
Kos just smiled darkly.
Vidya interrupting before Life had a chance to answer, “Light, you called this Council,” she said, leaning forward on the table, eager to understand what was happening, “What information do you have?”
All eyes fell on Light as he paused a moment to get his story in the right order before speaking, “As you all know, the humans are advancing faster than we originally thought and now they’ve designed and built a boat that is heading this way. Apparently, they wish to explore and conquer the last unknown.”
Elements scoffed, “Impossible, the Kulician straits are impassable, I made sure of that a long time ago.”
Energy shook his head, “Some of them have come to manipulate energy in similar ways to my agents. Not as well, it’s rudimentary and very basic but given a few centuries it will be on par. They call them Kastas.”
Light nodded in agreement, “They’re using that to cut through the water.”
Death frowned, “Can’t you stop that?” she asked Energy who shook his head.
“Not from so far away,” he replied, “None of us can affect the humans directly save for Dreams and yourself.”
Death sighed and thought for moment, “I could just kill them?” she suggested, looking to Light. As the caller of the Council, he was acting leader.
Before Logic could answer, Kos leant forward in her chair both hands on the table, “That’s too easy!” she yelled, then quieted her voice to continue, “Those humans used to worship us, if we just kill them then the rest will call it a shipwreck and in a couple of years the next generation will try it. I say we remind them who we are,” she grinned with a vicious excitement.
Light regarded Chaos for a moment then flicked his gaze to Vidya who had sat in quiet contemplation since her first question. The Sentinel of Logic was the obvious choice for well thought out opinions and ideas. Everyone went to her for advice.
Knowing she was being watched, Vidya pursed her lips, a pause for thought before she spoke, “The ends seem to be the same no matter what the means. Our existence will be known whether we show it or not.”
“I’m not cowering in a hole until a human finds me,” Kos muttered under her breath. Elements and couple of the other Sentinels nodded along with her.
“We are their Creators,” Dark mumbled for the first time, still playing with his hair, not looking like he was even paying attention to the discussion, “They should hide from us.”
Life scowled at him disapprovingly, “Now that is a little harsh! Why can’t we just co-exist?” she asked desperately.
“Even I have to admit there are few humans that have that ability,” Light replied reluctantly.
“Perhaps if we give them a chance-”
“We’ve watched them grow and evolve and they have had plenty of chances. They cannot co-exist even with each other!” Kos slammed her hand on the table, “They believe themselves to be the most powerful beings on this world and they need reminding of their place!”
The other Sentinels shuffled in their places at the sudden outburst, save for Vidya who gently reached across and placed her hand upon Kos’. Chaos exhaled and leant back against her chair.
After a second of cautious silence passed, Light took a deep breath as he looked around at the expression of his companions, checking them, “So that’s decided then? We make ourselves known. Is everyone agreed?”
A chorus of approval circled the room, save for Life who remained silent, her back against her chair and shaking her head. At the response, Light nodded to himself then looked at Kos.
“Would you like to make the introductions?” he asked, gaining a couple of wary looks from the others.
Kos smirked and her eyes closed, “That depends. Free rein?”
Light glanced at Vidya who exhaled but gave no objection, “Half an hour from when they land,” he replied, giving her a warning look.
Teeth flashed and smoke replaced her in her seat. Everyone’s gazed fell on Vidya.
“The worst that can happen is the humans die,” she replied, giving a casual shrug, “But I don’t think she wants that. She wants to instil panic.”
“Oh well that’s fine then,” Life said sarcastically, standing and leaving through her door.
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Publication Date: 09-21-2011

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