"I agree." Brie's smile looked strange with her goggles covering the upper half of her face. "Especially given the predicament the Consortium has just put us in by breaking the treaty."
Though there wasn’t any detectable bitterness in Brie’s words, there was something. A note of sharpness that made sense when you considered where they were standing. A ship whose crew’s lives had bought an alliance that led to peace. Not to mention the civilian population Rothchild had lost in the same encounter.
Kira was still dealing with her own sense of betrayal over the Consortium’s shortsightedness. She couldn't imagine how much worse it was for Rothchild's citizens whose moon was a reminder every time they looked up at the sky.
"My father was one of the miners stationed on the moon during the blast."
Kira slowed and then stopped; her gaze trained on the back of Brie’s head.
"He was my hero," Brie said into the silence. "Every day he would call home and tell me a story to put me to bed."
The love Brie had for her father was perceptible even all these years later.
"He told me about the Phoenix too."
Suddenly, Kira was aware of how very alone she was with a stranger on what could be considered the other’s home ground.
"Such stories that made the Phoenix seem almost mythological."
Kira shifted her hand closer to the hilt of the akieri, watching the other woman with a focused intensity.
Brie’s gaze followed Kira’s movements, a wry smile appearing. "You needn't worry, Phoenix. You’re not the one I hold responsible for his death."
"Why not? I do."
Even knowing that was survivor's guilt talking, Kira sometimes found it hard to move past the self-blame.
"Did you know several of the miners managed to get one last call out before the moon went up?" Brie put her back to the wall, sliding down into a sitting position.
"No, I didn't."
That hadn't been in any of the reports. Most of the information she and Jin had gathered had to do with the military's movements. Before and after. They hadn't paid much attention to the miners' side. They were considered inconsequential. There was no way they would have known in advance of the meeting with the Haldeel. Nor would they have been privy to the Curs' presence.
In Kira and Jin's minds, they were civilians who'd gotten caught up in the crossfire.
"I didn't receive it until afterward, but he called us. My mom and me. He said that something bad was happening and that he had the opportunity to get out but that he and the rest had chosen to stay." Brie tugged off the goggles and set them in her lap. "He told me there was something important that only he could do. That he was sorry but that he was fighting for me and my mom and everyone else. That the Phoenix was too and we had to support her or there was no way she'd win."
Kira's eyes felt tight. "He was a hero then."
"That was my dad. My hero." The smile that formed lit up Brie's features. "The rest of the Consortium may have forgotten his name. But I remember. Rothchild remembers."
They would always remember, she seemed to say.
"As they should," Kira agreed.
She remembered them too. Maybe not all of their names. But what they'd done.
She couldn't have saved Rothchild without their sacrifice. Even with her burst.
Without them to flood the mine shafts with smaralta, Kira could never have done enough damage to the Tsavitee fleet. Because of their actions, Brie was able to live through her childhood to become a woman her father would have been proud of.
Brie dashed a hand over her face, wiping away any dampness that might have fallen from her eyes. Kira pretended not to see as Brie nodded at the hallway to her left. "That'll lead you to the All Father's den. Stay to the left and you should be fine."
Kira glanced in the direction she indicated but didn't move. "What was his name? Your father."
It felt important that she learn it.
"John."
Kira nodded as she moved toward the corridor. "I'll be sure to remember it the next time I toast the departed."
Kira knew she was getting close when she started having to step over thick wires and ducts running down the passageway like roots from a tree. The air grew progressively cooler the further she went. Not quite freezing but colder than humans or Tuann generally preferred.
A few minutes later she pushed past a curtain of low hanging wires and into a room that had been transformed from its former incarnation.
An ergonomic chair meant for virtual reality junkies sat in the middle of the space. Its unique design was meant to continuously stimulate the muscles on a human's body while allowing the occupant to remain fully emmeshed in a simulated reality. They were a necessary feature to prevent muscle atrophy.
Kira had heard hackers liked to use them also, but this was her first time seeing it.
Above the chair were countless screens, their positioning reminding Kira of a tree's canopy. Wires extended from each like branches, interconnecting everything.
It looked chaotic and mad. Exactly like a modern day Yggdrasil.
In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil was the world tree. Its roots and branches ran throughout the different planes of existence. Looking at the Frankenstein monster in front of her, Kira could almost believe it.
No wonder Odin always seemed to know everything. This set up would allow the hacker to extend their tentacles into all kinds of systems.
"You're not supposed to be here," a voice said from the surrounding darkness.
"I know. There's been a change of plans."
There was a startled silence before a large figure swam through the gloom. A second later it converged into a person.
Kira spotted the vivid green of Odin's eye as her friend stepped out of the shadows. A patch covered the other. An earring glinted in one ear. It served to announce that Odin was in their feminine aspect today.
"What kind of change?" Odin asked.
The J1N plowed into a set of low hanging wires. They wrapped around its body, hindering its forward momentum. Despite that, the drone didn't stop. There was a crack before debris rained down from above.
"That kind."
Odin's frown held a hint of accusation. "What did you do to Jin?"
"That thing isn't Jin."
"How is that possible?"
Kira dug her thumbnail into the pad of her pointer finger to steady herself. "A few things happened after you took your leave from the Quorum."
At Odin’s imperious glance, Kira ran through the sequence of events that had happened since they’d seen each other last. "Elise orchestrated an attack on the adva ka. We all nearly died. Jin's existence as a soul bound was exposed in the process. The Tuann put him on trial. We survived only for a hidden enemy to inject Elena with an isotope that allowed the Tsavitee to teleport her to their home world. One of Jin's spawn went with her. He hitched a ride with it."
Odin stared, her expression growing more horrified with every sentence.
"I really hope you're close," Kira finished, unable to keep her desperation out of those last words.
"I am."
Kira’s breath left her in a whoosh of relief. Thank all the Gods that existed.
"But I'm not there yet."