There was no point hiding it when Odin could find out for himself.
"Pallas."
Odin rounded the chair. "You brought that lunatic here? Does he know about me?"
"He most certainly does," Pallas announced, pushing through the wire curtain and sauntering into the room. "Calling me a lunatic before we've ever formally met. Tsk. Tsk. I'm wounded."
Weapons dropped from the ceiling and shot out from the walls, swiveling to point at Pallas.
He squinted at a couple. "Are those Haldeel dalies? Nice. I didn't think anyone in Consortium territory could get them since they're banned for civilian use. You must have had to smuggle them in. Who's your contact?"
Odin backed away, ensuring Kira was between him and Pallas.
"What are you doing here, Pallas? I don't remember inviting you," Kira said.
"I find it incredibly hurtful how you continue to exclude me from important conversations, but I'll get back to you on that later." He bared his teeth at Odin in a way that was more aggressive than friendly. "Let's just say I was taking a stroll and happened upon you two by accident."
Bullshit.
There was no such thing as coincidental with Pallas. Every move was calculated. Planned with meticulous precision.
Pallas might have been the forty three's blunt instrument, but he was a cunning one.
"I don't see lover boy." Pallas made a show of looking around. "Did you not trust him enough either?"
"Graydon's here too?" Odin asked, scandalized.
"Yes, he's here," Kira admitted wearily. "I didn't have much of a choice. He is my ally. You've met him before, remember?"
"That was different," Odin practically hissed.
Kira disagreed.
Odin’s eyes flared. "If you're going to insist on bringing guests, I'll have to reconsider allowing you access to my stronghold."
"Like you had a choice. Jin tracked you down ages ago."
Odin's laugh was sharp. "Do you think he could have done that if I hadn't let him? Jin's good but he's not that good. It suited my purposes to let him keep an eye on me."
Kira wondered if that was true. The basic tenet of counter intelligence was controlling what your opponent knew. There was a possibility that Odin had allowed Yggdrasil's location to get out to keep them from figuring out other, more sensitive, information.
"From what I hear, it's more than that," Kira drawled. "Jin was the one who gave you an introduction to Diesel. You never would have been able to lay a hand on this ship otherwise."
Odin dismissed her words with a wave of the hand. "A minor thing. He didn't know why I needed it until later."
Doubtful. Jin wouldn’t have vouched for Odin without knowing all the details.
Pallas's husky chuckle had the hairs on the back of Kira's neck rising.
"Don't," Kira warned.
Odin's skills and knowledge were vital to her mission. If Pallas jeopardized that, they were going to have a problem. Of the violent sort.
Pallas was motionless. A predator locked on his prey. Long seconds passed before his attention shifted slowly to Kira.
There was emptiness behind his eyes. His expression flat. Cruel.
"Of course, little sister." A smile bloomed. As warm and personable as his former coldness. "I promise not to spook your little Sye. Upon my honor."
Pallas didn't have honor. At least not a version Kira understood.
"Oh dear, your Sye looks uncomfortable," Pallas crooned, watching Odin. "I should wait outside while you finish your business."
Kira and Odin watched Pallas leave.
"That man is scary," Odin announced when they were sure they were alone.
"I'm aware."
He never let her forget it.
"How close is your ship?" Odin asked, shifting focus. "I'm assuming you're planning to rendezvous with them on Rothchild."
"To be honest, I expected them to beat us here."
Odin's face was serious. "Want me to take a look to see if they're in the system or nearby?"
Kira nodded. "If you could."
He took a seat, leaning back in it until it was reclined. His hands moved over the arms of the chair, tapping on a few controls until a soft glow rimmed his head. A sign that a neural net was active.
"I can confirm they're not in the system or any of the surrounding space."
"How far out do your scans extend?" Kira asked.
"Pretty far. If they're not showing up, it means they're still more than two days out."
Disappointment moved through Kira. "That's less than ideal."
Odin shut down the neural net and returned the chair to its original position. "I tried hailing them but I got no response."
Odin's equipment likely wasn't much worse than Jace's. If the rear admiral could contact her in the deep of space, Odin should have had no trouble either.
"It's a long way between here and Ta Sa'Riel," Odin pointed out. "Anything could have happened."
"Wren and Finn are with Raider. Between those three, they should be able to handle anything that comes their way."
Kira wouldn't let Odin make her believe otherwise.
"They just got delayed. That's all."
"If you say so."
"I do," Kira confirmed with a nod. "Worse case—if they don't show up in the next couple of days, I’ll go looking for them."
"I have a ship you can borrow. It just needs to return from its smuggling run."
Kira arched an eyebrow at her friend. "Pallas was right? You’re a smuggler?"
"Running Yggdrasil takes a lot of funds. Not to mention, it's dangerous out there right now. A lot of people just want a little reassurance in the event the Tsavitee come knocking."
"I can understand that," Kira said softly.
The J1N circling in one continuous slow loop made Kira sigh with frustration.
"While I wait, do you think there's anything you can do about that?" Kira nodded at the J1N.
"I take it you want its personality to resemble Jin's?"
"At this point I'd settle for it being able to fly in a straight line."
Odin's snicker held amusement. "I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks." Kira glared at the drone. "Blue did what she could, but as you can see, it didn't really help."
Kira was hoping the occasions where Odin had hacked Jin's system to leave him a 'present' might come in handy now.
"That's probably because Jin left an imprint to prevent anyone from tampering with his physical form," Odin explained. "No worries, I should be able to bypass that."
Kira looked at him. "You sound certain."
"I've had a lot of time to consider Jin and his situation," Odin told Kira. "Jin being on the home world isn't good. If the Osiri find out he's there, they'll take him apart until they figure out the secret that has eluded them for so long."
"The Osiri?" Kira asked.
"The masters' true name. No one ever uses that word though." A bitter smile tilted Odin's lips. "That would be considered an invitation for a long and painful death at their hands."
"Why are they so obsessed with the creation of a soul bound?"
Odin shook his head. "I don't know. Most of what they do doesn't make sense to me. The soul bound are just one in a long list."
"Is there anything you can tell me about them?"