Kira's gaze flew to the items scattered across the floor, taking a closer look and noticing what she'd missed before. For instance, the volley ball sized sphere laying on its side. The camera lens Jin used as his 'eye' pointing at them.
The bottom had been opened and his hardware pulled out. The J1N's wires were exposed, trailing out of the main body like guts that had been left to rot in the sun.
The calm Kira had achieved popped like a balloon. Hysteria and anger jeopardized her control over the primus as it rolled in her mind. Its presence expanded, pushing against the thin barriers she'd just re-established.
"Blue, I said get him mobile. Not take him apart," Kira barked.
Rationally, Kira knew this wasn't Jin. This wasn't her nightmare and he hadn't been broken and disassembled. That though this was his body, the real Jin was somewhere else. Somewhere safe. Or at least safe-ish.
Blue jerked up. Her work goggles still covered her face, the lenses magnifying her eyes to the point they seemed bug-like.
Catching Kira's expression, Blue yanked the goggles off her face, leaving her hair disheveled. "Wait, no. I can see how this looks bad, but I promise I'm not doing anything unnecessary or gratuitous."
She twisted back to the J1N, scrambling to reassemble a few parts before plugging a cord into her tablet.
"See—this is what I'm talking about." Blue pointed at a particular stream of code. "Jin made it so you can't remotely hack his body. I have to be hardwired in if I want to access the J1N's original programing."
Kira calmed a little. "Why do you want the original?"
"I figured it'd be easier to get the drone up and running that way. While the J1N is considered obsolete nowadays, it was pretty advanced in its time. Replicating Jin is impossible with the limited time and resources I have. But the J1N is a different story. It already has a series of commands built into its source code. I just need to get them working."
"You realize the J1N was originally tasked as our jailer. Its purpose was to oversee and punish."
Resurrecting its previous incarnation was maybe not the best idea.
Blue's excitement faded, awkwardness showing as she glanced at the J1N. "Oh."
Yeah. Oh.
"I could overwrite that part." Blue's enthusiasm grew as she latched onto that idea. "At the very least I can section off those commands so it's not a problem."
Kira's confidence didn't match Blue's. Her doubt showed.
There wasn't a lot of room for error here. As Blue had already mentioned, this wasn’t exactly her field of expertise. The J1N from Kira's memories was dangerous. A demon of her childhood. The thought that Blue planned to resurrect any part of that monster was disturbing.
"I can do this, Nixxy. I promise. The J1N won't be a danger to us, and when Jin comes back, he'll be as good as new."
Kira thawed, her body loosening a little. "Are you sure you can do this?"
As much as she wanted the J1N up and running, she didn't want to compromise Jin's body either.
Blue's nod was fervent. "I know I said I couldn't before, but I can. I want to."
Shouting from the bridge interrupted their conversation.
"You said Raider was busy?" Kira asked with a glance in that direction.
"Centcom called."
"You mean Jace?"
Kira was already heading to the bridge before Blue had time to reply. The tension that greeted her arrival was like a fist to the face. Thick enough that she could have cut it with a knife. Raider's expression was set in a scowl as he glared at a hologram of Rear Admiral Jace Skarsdale. Raider’s jaw ticked. His arms were folded across his chest and his feet spread in a closed off posture that announced his intransigence.
Whatever the two were discussing, it hadn't gone over well with Raider.
"Phoenix. As I live and breathe," Jace drawled. "So good of you to join us."
"If it isn't my old friend. I didn't know you'd called."
Kira hadn't realized her ship could receive communications from such a vast distance. Last she was aware, her ship’s communication range was limited to those in the same solar system as her. Without a relay satellite, she shouldn’t have been able to receive anything. The closest one of those was light years away. Well outside of Tuann space.
Another upgrade of Harlow’s, she assumed. From Raider’s expression, she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.
Jace didn't look bad for a man who'd inherited the mantle of their mentor. Along with his many responsibilities. The grief and exhaustion evident the last time she'd seen him had faded; replaced by a few fine lines Kira wasn't sure had been there before.
"Where's Jin? I wanted to say my hellos," Jace said, looking beyond her to the empty air over her shoulder.
"We're having a few issues with our engine. I'll let him know you called though." Kira's smile remained easy, not giving anything away as she changed the subject. "To what do we owe this honor? I didn't expect to hear from you."
Jace had his hands full. War was coming now that the Consortium had broken their alliance with the Haldeel and Tuann.
Whether the Consortium believed it or not. It was only a matter of time.
Having assumed Himoto's old command, Jace and his fleet were the ones who’d be on the front line when the inevitable happened and the Tsavitee finally attacked. He'd know that. He should be using this time to prepare.
"I'm recalling Raider and Blue," Jace announced.
"Is that so?" Kira asked, her stomach sinking.
"I'm afraid so."
Kira squeezed the ends of the towel still around her neck. "That's regrettable. I thought you'd want to maintain at least some semblance of contact with the Tuann given everything that's happened."
Jace's sigh was heavy. "That's exactly why I need them. The Tsavitee just attacked a major mining camp. We lost hundreds along with access to a primary source of material we need for our engines. There were also incursions near Epsilon and Rosetta. People are terrified and want something done."
"Guess they shouldn't have ended the alliance then."
Kira had little sympathy for idiots. Their Consortium was the one who landed them in this situation.
"It might not have mattered. I'm getting reports that Osiris was hit too. The Haldeel's royals are mustering forces as we speak."
Kira stilled. "The Tsavitee have never gone after Haldeel territory before."
It was one of the reasons a treaty with them had been so attractive to the Consortium. Being under their umbrella had meant protection. Understandable given that the Haldeel were technologically superior to every race Kira knew. The Tuann and Tsavitee included.
If that had changed and the Tsavitee no longer feared their retaliation, Kira didn’t know what that meant for the rest of the galaxy.
"You see now why people are so scared. I need my best at my back for when we deploy."
"I understand where you're coming from, but ultimately, two people won't make much of a difference to your success or failure," Kira tried.