As planned, they separated. Graydon circled to the right; Kira to the left.
She didn't have to go far before she spotted a reaper. As dumb as they were big, reapers were typically used as shock troops. The first choice when the Tsavitee had a difficult target they wanted to obtain and expected heavy casualties.
Humans liked to refer to them as demons, due to how closely they resembled illustrations in old religious texts.
This reaper stomped the ground, pawing at it like an angry bull.
Kira followed its line of sight, noting the flash of muzzle fire from a mound of dirt a hundred yards away as a human laid down suppressive fire. There was movement next to the human as someone popped up to lob a pulse grenade at the clump of Tsavitee who were trying to get close.
Odin's escorts, Kira was guessing.
If they were there, Odin was too. Probably crouched out of sight while they tried to hold out.
Having ascertained the situation, Kira snapped the akieri into its sword form. Then she waited for the signal she and Graydon had agreed on.
She didn't wait long. A wail of pain came from the forest to her right. It was followed by a loud crack and then the sound of trees falling.
Kira slipped from her hiding spot, staying low as she crept closer.
Those firing on Odin and the rest paused, turning to see what happened.
The reaper was no different.
Taking advantage of Graydon's distraction, Kira sliced the tendons in the reaper's ankles. He fell forward, crying out in pain. Before he could figure out what had happened, Kira was there. Her sword cutting across his throat, leaving him to choke on his own blood.
"Hello, there," Kira crooned with a smile when the Tsavitee glanced at her.
She was moving before they could recover, slaughtering them before they could bring their weapons to bear.
A shot sounded, a second before the last Tsavitee could be dealt with.
It dropped to the ground, dead.
Kira nudged it. That was a pretty decent shot. Unnecessary but appreciated nonetheless.
She waved in Brie's direction as a thank you, knowing the other woman probably still had her scope trained on her.
Graydon glided out of the trees, sending her a nod. "That's all of them."
A shot impacted the tree next to Graydon. He stopped, glancing from the hole to Odin's companions.
"I suggest they don't do that again," Graydon warned.
Hearing the unspoken threat in his voice, Kira hurried to stop the humans from doing anything stupid. "Hey, Odin. It's me. I saw you were in a spot of trouble and figured you could use the assist."
"Kira?”
There was a commotion on Odin's side.
"Wait," a human snapped. "Don't go out there. It could be a trap."
"The moment the Tsavitee are able to reliably impersonate the Phoenix is the day you can kiss the future of your race goodbye," Odin said, slapping the person's hand away.
Sensing the danger had passed, Kira stepped out of the cover of the trees.
"About time you showed up," Odin growled.
Before either of the humans could stop him, the Sye strode toward Kira. To her relief, he was carrying the J1N.
"You brought him."
"Of course, I did," Odin said, seeming offended.
"Does he work?"
Odin lifted his hand and let go of the J1N. "You tell me."
The J1N remained floating, its 'eye' pointed at Kira.
"Where have you been, Nixxy?" the drone asked. "We've been looking all over for you."
Kira released the breath she'd been unconsciously holding and nodded. "Good."
That would do.
Odin looked back as the humans crawled out from behind their natural barricade, the earring at her ear glinting. The humans, a man and a woman, both dressed in clothes meant to blend with the snow, made their way cautiously toward them.
"Where'd you two come from?" the woman asked, her face suspicious.
Kira wasn't sure she appreciated the other's hostile tone.
"It doesn't matter where she came from," Odin said impatiently. "Show a little appreciation. She just saved your ass."
The woman rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else.
Odin gave Kira a look as if to say "see what I have to deal with."
The two humans weren't so bad. A little trigger happy. A touch aggressive. But all within the realm of acceptability.
They were on edge and afraid. Young enough that this was likely their first dust up with the Tsavitee. No amount of training could truly prepare you for the first time your life was on the line.
A surplus of adrenaline was probably swimming through their systems, making them more reactionary than they would have been otherwise.
Still, they were obviously skilled. They'd managed to hold out against at least fifteen Tsavitee and still protect their primary target.
Not bad.
A rustle came from the trees. The humans acted like scalded cats as they trained their weapons on the sound's source.
"Whoa." Kira held up a hand. "She's with us."
Brie stepped out of the trees, her expression blank.
The woman lowered her rifle. "Don't scare us like that. We almost shot you."
"That's why I announced my presence before stepping out, Sykes." Brie's expression was warm as she nodded a greeting at the other man. "Alvarez."
Alvarez propped his rifle on his shoulder, the tip pointed in the air. "You got tapped for this too?"
"I volunteered."
Sykes made a face. "Crazy."
Brie didn't seem offended, patting the other woman on the shoulder. "Rothchild always pays its debts. You know that."
"Here, here," Alvarez said.
Sykes sent a pointed glance at Kira. "Let's just try to avoid blowing up any moons on this trip, shall we?"
"Unless you think it's necessary," Alvarez cut in.
Sykes shook her head in disbelief.
Kira ignored their antics. "How much further?"
"Less than a mile," Brie answered.
"Alright then, let's get this show on the road," Kira instructed. "Alvarez, Sykes—you take point with Brie since you three know where we're going. Graydon and I will bring up the rear. Odin you're in the middle."
In the most protected position.
"What about me?" the J1N asked.
Kira's sigh was impatient. "As always, you're on overwatch."
The real Jin wouldn't have needed her to explain this to him. He would have already been up there performing his duties.
"Woohoo," the J1N cried as he zipped toward the treetops.
Kira's eyebrow twitched as she watched him go. Was it too late to leave him behind?
Odin patted Kira's shoulder in sympathy as she started after the rest. "Just a little longer."
Graydon stopped beside Kira. "Everything good?"
"Just dandy." Kira slapped the back of her hand against Graydon's abs. "Let's get moving before they leave us behind."
His chuckle followed her. "As if that's possible."
Kira bit back her smile, not wanting to feed his ego.