Chương 30: The research department

Kellen followed Casper and Gunther to the research department with a clear mind. He had pushed all the worries about the Saturn Guild having plans for him since he left the front lines to the back of his mind, and was planning to forget about it. It was in the past, like Kellen's time on the front lines.

Casper didn't hesitate at the door to the research department, knocking before he entered. This was the floor he had been nervous about Kellen asking questions, before he had a better understanding of Kellen's character. From the last time Kellen had been in here the tone had changed drastically. Before, the civilians and the Espers had been reserved, quiet and busy with their work. Now, when they saw the two Guides with their Esper shadow, they offered awkward smiles. Some even offered Kellen a handshake while one of them called towards an office that had been dark before, but now was lit up from the bright lights inside.

"Boss, the new Field Guide is here!" Lots of shuffling and loud noises could be heard from the inside the office before the door opened. The shadow filling the doorway was quite intimidating until they stepped into the light. She had to be around 6'5 with huge shoulders, huge thighs and long, vibrant red hair. She had deep blue eyes and a splattering of freckles across her cheeks. In any other context, Kellen would have assumed she was some kind of professional athlete. But she wore a cross between civilian clothing and Esper clothing, all of which was covered with a white lab coat.

"Ah, the Captain's little Guide. Kellen Woods, correct?" She offered her hand and Kellen took it, giving it a firm shake. Her eyes watched him intently, probing the Guide for his true intentions. He smiled. He liked researchers for this exact reason.

"You're Dr. Maeve Lyons, correct? I've read several of your papers on flora and fauna that grow around stabilized gates. Very interesting stuff." He told her with a smile and she blinked, her face a picture of shock.

"You...know my work?" She seemed surprised and Kellen nodded.

"Of course! Anyone worth their salt keeps up to date on all the new theories, especially if it can save lives. I've even put some of your theories into practice. In fact, your theory on the strangler vine and how its excreted fluid could be used in healing capacities has helped me when I was stranded on a scout mission and trying to extract venom from a wound." I told her, enthusiastic, until she didn't say anything for a moment. Kellen felt dread fill his guts. Had he overstepped? Was that the wrong thing to say? She blinked again, before a smile broke across her face.

"How much did you need to use before you countered the venom?" She asked and relief flooded Kellen's body. He took a moment to think back to the moment.

"I think it was about a tablespoon, but I can't remember clearly. The venom impaired me, of course, but it did prove to be useful. I meant to send in my findings, but then I was accepted into Guiding Center B and it must have slipped my mind. I would love to look into whether it's just an antivenom of it it has other healing properties to it the way you suggested." Kellen froze, realising that he was speaking quite fast and the room had grown quiet. He glanced behind him to see Gunther's shoulders shaking as he turned his face away to cover his laughter, and Casper was also fighting a smile. Dr. Lyons was still staring at Kellen before she pulled him in for a hug.

"Most of the team calls me Boss, but you can call me Maeve, Kellen. I worried you were going to be some floozy, but I am so excited that someone like minded has joined the team. Let me know if you need anything, or if you want a sneak peak at anything we're working on. I won't tell Captain Thatcher." She pulled away and winked, her blue eyes sparkling and Kellen grinned at her in return.

"Thank you. It's an honour to work with you Maeve." He glanced around the room at the other scientists and researchers. "And the rest of you as well, of course." That brought a couple of awkward laughs from the team.

"We're a blended team here, Kellen. Lots of the scientists are civilians, while a few Espers are kicking around here and there. You don't have to be stiff around us, since the normal rules don't apply down here." She gestured to her body. "As I'm sure you noticed, my powers are related to the manipulation of cells at a microscopic level." She joked, and Kellen nodded. He had a feeling her powers were similar to Hill's. More like cousins than immediate family.

"A healthy mind and a healthy body are one in the same." He said, pulling up his own shirt to show off his body since the Guide uniform covered most of it. She gave a wicked grin.

"I'm glad you understand." She glanced around the room at the members who were here. "Most of the civilians have only interacted with the fluffy Guides in the Guild, so they are going to be unsure in how to treat a Guide like you, no offense Lieutenant Casper." Casper inclined his head at her call out, a small smile on his lips.

"None taken. Some of the Guides are, indeed, fluffy." He responded seriously and she laughed. She turned back to Kellen. Now that she had confirmed they had a kind of bond, her hand was gripping onto Kellen's forearm. It wasn't a tight grip, and was well intentioned.

"Yeah, so you might get some strange looks, but everyone's nice here. I hear you'll be running the field training for the Guides? Let me know if you have any questions since the last couple of teachers ended up getting hurt." She slid a look towards Gunther who swung his head away, not making eye contact. Kellen coughed, embarrassed now that Gunther had told him the truth about the situation.

"I should be fine. If I end up more injured here then on the front line, that's a bad reflection on me." Maeve gave him a curious look.

"How long were you on the front lines? And were you with a guild?" She made a face. "Sorry, I should keep up with the latest news, but we kinda isolate ourselves here. Plus, I don't watch t.v., and the gossip we have here isn't about people per se." She seemed embarrassed at her words while that alone made Kellen laugh.

"It's no worry. I don't mind talking about it. I was a freelance Field Guide and no, I wasn't affiliated with a single Guild. I was for hire. I did do a lot of work for the Saturn Guild, but I took anything I could get. Nemesis, Peach, F.D.R. I even did a couple of jobs for the D.E.C. I was there up until seven months ago, and I was there for seven years." Her eyes widened and she glanced at the two who came with him. When they confirmed, she gasped, clearly surprised.

"Seven years? And you aren't missing a limb?" She demanded and Kellen laughed again. Her eyes looked over him, and began to glow the faint orange colour of her powers which only made Kellen laugh harder.

"I have exceptional luck, as far as I know." Gunther snorted, throwing his long silver hair over his shoulder.

"The man is practically unkillable. He's rolled out of situations with only a couple of scrapes and bruises where I would have expected someone to be severely injured. I've only seen him in a cast once, and because of that he was in high demand. His rates were reasonable as well." Kellen's grin at Gunther's words was slightly malicious and he winked at Maeve.

"My hazard pay was expensive, which is where most people overlooked. That's where I got everyone." She laughed at the little Guide.

"Good. I'm glad to find out we have a good Guide joining us this time. I'd like to pick your mind sometime when you have a moment about a couple of things I was curious about." Kellen felt the excitement to discuss his experiences on the front line fill him, before he froze. He glanced at the two who came with him to the department.

"I thank you guys for showing me here, but I think I can find my way back now. You need to drop those results off to Taylor, and I'm sure you have better stuff to do then keep an eye on me Gunther." Casper seemed concerned and was going to speak up when Gunther snorted, cutting him off.

"Yeah, I don't want to die because Rhys got upset I left his little muscle boy all alone, but if you think you're going to be fine..." He trailed off and Kellen smiled, ignoring what he called him.

"I know you're going to be bored out of your mind when we star talking, since you always used to zone out when I had briefings with you, Hill and the Captain, so yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you later or tomorrow, Casper." Casper nodded before giving a slight bow to Maeve and turning around. Gunther hung around for a second longer before pulling Kellen in to vigorously rub his hair, releasing him and heading out with a wave.

Nothing happened for a minute while they waited for the two Lieutenants to be out of hearing range, before the scientists descended on Kellen. They were introducing themselves, their research, and asking him a bunch of questions about his real life experience when it came to their research. At first Kellen felt overwhelmed, before he realised he was really enjoying himself talking to these inquisitive minds. They had a fairly basic understanding of Guides, one of which was that Guides were always hungry. So they made sure that Kellen wasn't by giving him their favourite snacks that they had hidden away at their desks. In fact, It was Maeve who admitted that the snack drawers started because they heard Guides had weak bodies and always needed to eat because of the toll their powers took on their bodies. Kellen didn't have the heart to correct them, since they weren't exactly wrong, and it benefitted him. One thing he did tell them was that Guides didn't like to inconvenience others so they were less likely to ask for a snack. If they put out a snack bowl, however, Guides who passed through were likely to take one on their way through.

Once the scientists were through with him, Maeve gave him a more in depth tour of the labs and offices. She introduced him to the other scientists who were tucked behind locked doors and doors Kellen didn't have access to so that no one would be spooked if they ran into each other in the hallways. She hadn't been lying when she said that most of the people working here were civilians, and Kellen was the only Guide in the department. Any Espers down here had specific Guides who had the clearance to come and go.

Maeve showed Kellen the discrete Guide rooms dotted around the offices. She wiggled her eyebrows at him, and Kellen laughed, unable to imagine pulling the Captain into any of these locations. Out in the field, it was common to have small huts set up for Esper and Guide privacy in case an Esper needed a 'ahem' quick guiding session. But that wasn't the case in cities. Kellen told Maeve that if it ever got to that, they'd just go up to one of their apartments rather than bother the poor researchers. She laughed loudly at that.

Some of the areas she wasn't allowed to show him because either they were working on something top secret, it was dangerous, or we didn't have the proper equipment on where it wouldn't be dangerous to interact with whatever was behind the door.

When we finished the tour and ended back in the main office, Kellen thanked Maeve sincerely for her time, but he now needed to get to work. He had some time before the end of the day and wanted to get started on that outline he'd promised Casper. She understood, but also let him know that if he needed anything he was more than welcome in her office. She brought him over to the office they'd cleared out for him before leaving him alone to work.

Finally, Kellen had a moment alone where he could look over the office he had been given. They hadn't had a chance to yesterday since they didn't have the keys. He turned the key in the door and swung it open, greeted with the space he was going to call his.

It was smaller than the office he had in the Guiding Center, and that suited him just fine. The desks all seemed to be in the same position here, where whoever was sitting at the desk had clear view of the door. Against the left hand wall was a two seater couch with a small side table pressed in between the couch and door, and across from it was a huge, empty bookcase. He'd have to bring some of his books down from his apartment to fill the space, or order some of the books he had online in as hardcovers. The desk itself had a couple of drawers, and he found a set of keys in the top drawer telling him that some of them could lock. The top drawer was also stocked with paper, pens, pencils, and other basic office supplies. Taking advantage of that, Kellen began writing out his outline on the paper provided for the training course. He was so focused once he'd sat down that he was startled when someone knocked on the door.

"Time to head out Kellen! Good work today!" Maeve called through the door and Kellen blinked. Fuck. How had the time passed by so quickly? He checked the clock in the room and cursed. It was five pm already. Putting the outline into the top drawer, he kept the keys for locking the drawers there as well. Getting up, he stretched before leaving his office. Pleased that he had a little space to carve out as his own, Kellen stepped out of his office and locked it again before waving at the others who were packing up.

"Have a good night you guys." He called as he left and headed for the regular elevators. He took it to the top floor before making his way to the second set passed the glass windows into the gym. He paused when he heard someone calling his name.

"Kellen!" He turned and was tackled by Gwen. She stepped back and Kellen got a good look at her. She had a guild t-shirt on, and it clung to her, covered in sweat. Her hair was pulled into a high pony, with the long strands pulled into a braid. "Good, I got to see you before you left for the day. Here!" She thrust her fist in his direction, and surprised, Kellen held out his hand in response. She dropped a shiny piece of sea glass into his hand. It had swirling colours of blue and yellow in it, and it looked like she had polished it until it shined. She grinned triumphantly, proud of what she had found.

"It's very pretty Gwen, thank you. Where did you find this?" He asked and she puffed up.

"Last night we were out by the lake after having a few drinks. It's your gift for becoming A Class. I had one of my friends polish it for me. The yellow is for the Captain, and the blue is for you." She nodded as if that made perfect sense and Kellen felt his cheeks heat.

"Awe, that's disgustingly sweet of you. What are you planning?" Kellen asked, narrowing his eyes. She stuck her tongue out at him in response, before turning and running for back to the gym.

"I don't get caught, unlike someone! I'm glad you like it!" She called over her shoulder. Kellen shook his head as he watched her go, before heading back towards his new home, his sister's gift burning a small hole in his hand.