Kira didn't interrupt as he paused.
"Not all who wander chose that fate willingly. They're the ones who were targeted by superiors." Pallas gave her a sly look. "I'm sure you can relate to that."
He was talking about the issues Kira had faced when she served Centcom. Not all of her superior officers had appreciated someone who looked as young as she did showing them up. It had led to several problems and given her a reputation as a troublemaker.
"Others were cast out because they walked to the beat of a different drum. They were pushed out. Then there are those from fallen houses. Your little friend, the one Selene seems so fascinated by, can tell you about that. It’s why he’s so desperate to become Overlord. The rest are born into the wandering life. They're never given a chance to become something else."
"There's always the adva ka," Kira pointed out, playing devil's advocate.
"Without training or resources?" Pallas gave her a look that said he didn't expect her to be this foolish. "No one can overcome those obstacles."
"Lathan did."
"Because he had me," Pallas snarled in a rare show of emotion. "I trained him. Picked him up off the streets and molded him into the warrior he wished to be."
He really did care for his yer'se, Kira realized. And the rest of the wanderers too, she suspected.
"But most of all, the forty three desire a home after all these years. You can understand that. Can't you, Kira?" Pallas said with a scorn that rendered her momentarily silent.
"Yeah, I can understand that," she said in a tired voice.
Who better to empathize than her? A person who'd found and lost more than one home. Kira would never begrudge another the chance to make their own.
"I'm so glad. I would hate for us to become enemies in truth."
"Me too," Kira confessed as the darkness swallowed Pallas's figure.
The shadows next to her stirred as Graydon dropped the synth armor's camouflage to join her.
"I thought I asked you to wait," Kira said.
"I got bored. And you were taking too long."
Kira's snicker was tired. "You held off longer than I thought you would. I was sure you'd follow as soon as I was out of sight."
"Yes, my restraint was admirable. Such forbearance deserves a reward, don't you think?"
Kira shook her head and changed the subject. "How much do you want to bet that they'll use this opportunity to establish their own house?
"I'd say it's a foregone conclusion."
Kira examined his features. "Is Pallas right? Was this the emperor's plan all along?"
Graydon's gaze was steady. "Torvald's methods are often multi-layered with a far reaching view to the future. While the rest of us look three or four steps ahead, he's already at a hundred."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"In this instance, yes, Pallas's theory is one outcome Torvald was hoping to achieve."
"You say that like there were other things he wanted to accomplish."
The enigmatic expression on Graydon's face drove Kira a little crazy as he offered her a closed mouthed smile. "For that, you would have to ask the emperor himself."
Kira eyed Graydon askance. "That's it? That's all you're giving me?"
He slid an arm around her back, bringing her body flush against his. "I wouldn't be a proper Face if I gave all of my emperor's secrets away."
Kira rested her weight against the length of his body, fiddling with the scale like pattern of his synth armor. "Not even if I ask nicely?"
His head dipped toward hers, until his lips were just shy of hers. "I could be convinced."
"Oh?" Her breath caught as her mouth brushed his.
"Sure." His smile held a wicked edge. "As soon as you give up all yours."
Kira moved back to glare. "We both know you're too good a Face to ever reveal the secrets entrusted to you by the emperor."
Graydon let go of Kira. "You can't blame me for trying."
She snorted. "No, I suppose I can't."
Especially when she was the one who started this game.
Elena - Tsavitee Planet
Uncle Jin!
Elena lurched upright, her hand moving automatically to the bicep the lu-ong spawn had been wrapped around before her fight.
"No, no, no, no," she chanted, finding nothing there.
He had to be somewhere. He couldn't just be gone.
The probable concussion she had made the room swim in a disturbing manner as she looked frantically around, finding no signs of her uncle.
Elena had been brought to some kind of utilitarian hospital room. The sinister looking equipment gathered around the edges sent a trickle of trepidation down her spine.
It was no mystery what usually happened in places like this. Elena had heard the stories. The things that had gone on here only ever referenced in passing. As if whatever had happened was too painful to mention. The other kids did warn Elena, though. That if she was ever to find herself in a room like this—she should run and not look back.
The murmur of voices from outside had Elena throwing the sheet that covered her to the side. She slipped to the ground.
They'd taken her boots, she noted as her sock clad feet touched the floor. How very helpful of them. It would make sneaking around so much easier.
Elena crept to the doorway, arriving just in time to hear Ajix speak.
"Targeting the girl will do nothing for you in the end. The level of skill she displayed during her fight was impressive. It bought her second place despite you putting her out of commission."
Elena was careful as she peeked around the corner to see who Ajix was speaking to.
Fyr stood next to the larger general with an angry expression. "You know what that means."
"The youngest of your cohort will be claimed as the Osiri's newest experimental subject."
"And you're okay with that?" Fyr burst out.
"Being claimed isn't an automatic death sentence," Ajix said calmly. "There is a possibility that Saros will survive."
"Not a very good one. And even if she does, she won't be the same. You know what they do to them. Death is preferable."
"I warned you against getting attached. We cannot protect everyone."
Fyr sent a resentful glare in the direction of Elena's room. She ducked around the corner, hugging the wall as her heart pounded.
Did he see her? Please say he didn't.
Elena wasn't sure what would happen if Ajix and Fyr caught her eavesdropping, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't end well for her.
Elena waited. The moments dragged on. Each more fear filled than the last.
Finally, Fyr spoke, putting her out of her misery. "I'm aware of my limits, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to throw Saros away for a stranger. You've traded her life for that outsider’s."
"I know what I've done. I'll have to live with that," Ajix responded. "But this is the collective's desire. Sacrifices must sometimes be made for the sake of our goals. It's a regrettable fact that we must all accept."
The ugly sound Fyr made had Elena flinching.