“You’re back early. What was it about? Do you want a coffee?”

“Mhm,” Aureus replied while placing his cap on the counter, shrugging out of his dress coat, the sound of his medals clinking together faintly in the kitchen.

“The Colonel…” he paused as if looking for words. “There was a breach.”

“A breach.” Andi repeated flatly, turning away from the counter and towards her husband.

“The storm last night… The generator flickered for a moment and the grid went down in Sector 27. I read the report the Colonel filed. It wasn’t good.”

“The stables? They went after the horses?”

“No, they still showed no interest in the animals.” Andi glanced towards the window, the sun brightening her face.

“How many?” she asked.

“Two. Sergeant Ezno and that kid who cleaned the stalls. Sheldon.”

“This isn’t supposed to be happening anymore, Aur. What did they want you for?”

“I had to sign the paperwork to re-route the oxygen from 27 to Med-Bay.”

There was a long pause.

“What of the horses?”

“What of them? There was nothing I could do, Andi. You know the policy. We just don’t have the manpower to take over the sector. It’s not how it was before.”

“All of them?”

“There are no signs of life from Sector 27 anymore.”