"Let's put this to a vote," Ryan announced calmly.
As an emperor's Face, Graydon had gotten used to reading people at a glance. Deciphering their motives and agenda in an instant.
This Ryan, though. He wasn't so easy to see through.
"Alexander, what's your opinion?" Ryan asked.
Alexander glanced in Selene's direction. "My decision was made months ago. The forty three face a new paradigm. I am willing to see where Kira's path leads us."
"Marie," Ryan said.
"Against."
"Cole."
"I have no opinion one way or the other at this time. I reserve my vote."
After that, Ryan didn't call out anymore names, allowing the forty three to cast their vote on their own time.
Graydon took careful note of the voices, storing them in his memory in the event he ever came across one of them again.
The forty three were a cunning bunch, but they were fools if they thought Graydon wouldn't be able to recognize them off the little information they'd given him. He'd always been a patient hunter. A year or a thousand, he'd find them if he ever desired to.
"You know my thoughts," Selene said. "I support Kira's stance."
"Thea, you're the last one," Ryan said.
The woman from earlier blew a raspberry. "Ah, what the hell. I'm in favor of Kira. Who doesn't love a good war?"
Of everyone, her choice surprised Graydon the most. From her actions, he'd assumed she and Kira didn't get along. Since their arrival, she'd been combative and aggressive, not even sparing her other siblings. It was almost like she was hoping for a fight and didn't care who she had to make angry to get it.
"That is eighteen for. Fifteen against and ten abstaining at this time," Ryan announced.
"Ah, ah, our would be leader hasn't shared his thoughts on the matter." Thea shook her finger at Ryan, her smile a touch sharp given her playful manner.
"I counted myself among the abstains," Ryan responded. "For now, I'm willing to see how this plays out."
Thea made a disappointed sound. "As cagey as always, brother."
"She can't go alone," one of the faceless shadows said. "She will need monitoring."
"Pallas will be responsible for that," Ryan announced.
Lazy amusement appeared on Pallas's face. "It’s my pleasure. I live to wrangle the most troublesome of our siblings."
Graydon's eyes narrowed as Pallas's gaze landed on him.
A secretive smile twisted Pallas's lips. "In fact, I'm looking forward to it."
Kira
Kira's anger propelled her out of the colosseum, accompanying her through the hall she'd arrived in, and past a second set of wide doors through which a dull sky beckoned.
Her footsteps drummed a staccato beat against the sands, keeping rhythm with the anger pulsing in her veins.
Insufferable bastards. The pure audacity.
After ninety-two odd years, you'd think they'd learn a few things. Like the fact she was loyal down to the very bedrock of her soul. She'd never abandon anyone she cared about to the Tsavitee's mercy.
How dare they? Who did they think they were?
A group of forty three idiots. That's who. Fucking morons if they thought they were going to control her.
Kira stepped into a barren vista. The sky hazy and low hanging. A gray film lying over it. Likely the reason for the poor air quality.
There was a taste on the wind that made her throat burn.
Too long exposed to whatever was contaminating the atmosphere and she'd suffer side effects. But not for a little while though.
She had time to figure out her next move.
First up on the agenda—finding a way off this planet.
Kira didn't hold out much hope for that though. She'd suspected it before but the atmosphere and her surroundings confirmed it. This planet had been long abandoned.
The rocky terrain surrounding the oubliette was barren of any signs of life. There were mountains in the far distance. Their color drab and lackluster. There was nothing else but ravines and boulders between her and them. The structure behind her was the only evidence that a civilization had once existed here.
No life meant no ships. Without a ship, she was stuck here unless Pallas was kind enough to return Kira to hers.
After the way she'd just stormed off, she was betting that was no longer an option. If it ever was.
This was why no one had attempted to stop her. Because there was nowhere for her to go.
Kira hated to admit it, but she was well and truly fucked.
A knocking sound came from the J1N's anti gravs, interrupting Kira's pity party. He stopped beside her, listing slightly to one side with his 'eye' pointing up at the sky.
"What is wrong with you?" she demanded, not certain if that question was aimed at him or herself.
The urge to scream crawled up her throat. The impulse growing with the drone's silence.
So, she let it out. Tipping her face to the hazy sky and sinking her rage into the primal sound that ripped free of her.
Again. And then again.
Until calm settled over her and she felt like she could think again.
"They wouldn't strand themselves here," Kira said.
Pallas might have a way off through his ability, but the rest didn't have that cheat. That meant there was a ship around here somewhere.
Kira just needed to find it.
"J1N, scan the terrain for metals commonly used in Tuann or Consortium ships," Kira ordered.
"Scanning."
Kira squinted at the terrain as she waited, paying close attention to anything that didn't belong. Any shape that looked artificial in nature.
"The number of data points is too great."
"Narrow it down to one or two materials," Kira ordered impatiently.
"Alright," the J1N responded, its tone almost sulky if Kira didn't know better. "Still does not compute."
"Never mind," Kira said as she caught sight of something at the base of two hills. "I think I found what I'm looking for."
She bounded down steps half buried in sand, striding across the landscape.
The sun was beginning to rise as Kira neared her destination. A dim orb whose rays of light barely made a difference. The gloom just a few shades brighter than it was at night.
The gap between Kira and the J1N widened as she increased her pace in excitement as a ship's outline took shape exactly where she'd expected it to be.
The ship was a forlorn figure in the austere landscape. Its running lights offering a tiny respite against the lackluster dawn. It was the same class as the Wanderer. Though the design was different. Not from any planet in the Consortium. Nor the Haldeel either from what she could tell. It looked like a bastardized version of a Tuann ship. The guns mounted on either wing making its design more aggressive than the Tuann typically favored. They tended to hide their claws, preferring to conceal their weapons in nondescript areas to make it difficult to determine their threat level.