"I'd prefer it, yes."
"Fine," Kira bit out. "Graydon, how would you feel about risking life and limb on a potential suicide mission? I promise it will be chock full of death defying thrills and if we're very unlucky we'll come face-to-face with the monsters of Tuann legend."
"You always give me the sweetest of gifts, coli. It would be my honor to battle at your side in this most deadly of courtships. I wouldn't miss it for anything."
Three hours later Kira stood in the quarters Jace had assigned her on the CSS Reliance, his flagship, her gaze trained on the rogue planet as it retreated in the distance.
A chiming sound came from the J1N.
"There is an incoming call," the drone announced.
Kira leaned her wrist against the window. "Right on time."
"Shall I answer it?"
An angry exhale came from Kira. "Yes."
Pallas's silky tone flooded the room. "Dearest sister, methinks someone isn't where they promised to be."
"Is that so?" Kira asked as Graydon's reflection appeared in the window next to her.
"I thought we had an agreement."
"We did. No more."
"Oh?" Pallas purred.
"Yes."
Graydon's arms came around her, tugging her back into his chest as he held her.
"Don't be foolish, little sister. You know there's nowhere you can go that I won't find you."
"Maybe," Kira agreed. "But I wouldn't recommend you trying. The next time I see you I plan to kill you."
Leaving this way was the last bit of mercy she had to offer her brother. So, she hoped he took her warning seriously.
Because the next time they met, one of them would die.
"You've disabled my ship," Pallas announced a moment later with a mixture of admiration and frustration. "And you're using a Tuann disrupter field like the ones used in their prisons to prevent me from using alternate means of travel. Well done, little sister."
Kira didn't say anything as he seethed.
"This won't keep me forever," he spat.
"No, it won't."
There was a loud crash from Pallas's side. "Why are you doing this?"
"I know you were on Rothchild's moon before the blast."
A defeated sigh came over the line. "Kira."
Kira glared at her reflection, hating the gleam of wet on her cheeks. "Did you kill my friends?"
There was another sigh. "It's not that simple, heasa."
"It is, actually. Very simple."
"Turn off this trap. This isn't the way to do this."
"Did. You. Kill. My. Friends?"
Symbols appeared on Kira's face and arm, her primus struggling to rise by the last word.
Graydon's arms tightened around her, his voice crooning in her ear. "Shh."
"Yes," Pallas admitted.
Kira folded forward, Graydon's grip on her the only thing that kept her from collapsing as an ugly, hurt sound left her throat. "Shut it down, Jin."
"Who?" the J1N asked dumbly.
"Turn it off!" Kira screamed, lunging at the drone.
Graydon stopped her, turning her into his chest as Kira broke down. "I've got you, cheva nier. Let it all out."
Tears clouded her vision as she buried her face in Graydon's chest and let herself grieve.
Elena - Tsavitee Planet
"It's not fair that I have to play pretend while you get to go do all the fun things," Elena grumbled, trailing behind the other children.
She wanted to be out sabotaging Tsavitee weapons systems and creating havoc wherever she wandered. Not chumming it up with a bunch of children who'd made it quite clear how much they disliked her this morning when she reported for training to find a flaw in her gravity harness. If she hadn't spotted the issue, she would have been subjected to gravity harsh enough that the bones in her legs would have snapped.
Assholes. Vicious, conniving assholes.
"Keep up, new girl," Fyr growled from the front of the pack.
"Yeah, yeah," Elena muttered under her breath, jogging to catch up with the rest.
Fyr signaled for the group to exercise caution as they spread out through the subterranean cavern they'd been tasked with exploring today. Elena took her time, putting distance between her and the others so she could carry on her conversation with Uncle Jin without discovery.
"As we've been over already, you're responsible for maintaining our cover," Uncle Jin said patiently. "Your presence will be missed. Mine won't. I'm the obvious choice."
Elena side stepped an obvious trap.
"Damn it," Elena cursed as one foot slipped off the rock, splashing into the shallow pool next to her.
"What's wrong?" Uncle Jin demanded.
"Nothing. I misjudged a step. That's all."
Elena made a face at the feel of cold wetness that was now oozing into her sock through the boot. Walking around in wet footwear was the absolute worst. Nor was their instructor, an unfamiliar general who looked less than thrilled at the thought of babysitting them, likely to let her switch out her boots and socks.
Elena lowered her foot back to the ground, careful about paying more attention to her surroundings this time.
At first glance, the cavern seemed straightforward. The passage they were in was several hundred feet wide with a large number of underground lakes that Elena could tell were much deeper than they appeared. Moss grew on cave walls, entirely covering them in some places.
Tunnels branched off the main system, making this place into a giant maze that would be easy to get lost in.
The occasional oculus, a fancy term for a hole in the ceiling, created pretty shafts of light to illuminate their surroundings.
"You have to be careful," Uncle Jin warned.
"I'm aware."
Taking her frustration out on her uncle wasn't fair, but it was difficult to control her emotions when this was the third time in as many days that he'd left her behind. When he woke up, she thought they'd be a team. The raven and the lu-ong. Besties forever. Combating Tsavitee and taking names. Busting free together. Equal partners. Just like him and Auntie.
So far, though, all she was doing was tagging along after the children while she tried not to die.
The only interesting thing that had happened was the fact they hadn't lost any of the children after the ranking battles. Everyone was still present and accounted for.
"I feel like you're taking all the risks and I'm reaping the rewards," Elena complained. "I want to help too."
"You are helping. You're the face. I'm the brawn."
Elena wandered over to another section of the cavern. "Is that how it works between you and Auntie?"
"Of course, it is. She's played decoy so many times by now that she's an old hand at it."
"Really?"
Elena was only half paying attention as movement across the cavern caught her attention.
"Now I know how Kira feels when I'm being difficult," Uncle Jin muttered under his breath.
"Rude," Elena said distractedly, her eyes on Fyr as he ducked down a shaft that branched off the main cave.
Strange. They'd already been warned about doing that. Something a teacher's pet like him couldn't have forgotten.