Trials of Conviction, page 18
Shit.
"You two—go strap yourselves in," Raider ordered Devon and Joule.
"We can help," Joule argued.
"Go!" Raider pointed. To Wren, "How soon can your people get here?"
Wren shook his head grimly. "Not soon enough."
"Looks like it'll be a fight after all," Talon murmured.
Finn arched an eyebrow at him. "You did say you thought you were getting flabby."
Talon's chuckle made Raider shake his head. They were as crazy as the Curs. No wonder Kira and Finn got on so well.
"Wait a minute. They're human,” Blue called.
Their comms beeped, announcing an incoming hail.
"I don't believe it," Blue said, a stunned look on her face as she looked over her shoulder at Raider. "It's Jace. Those are his ships."
"Put it through," Raider ordered.
Blue tapped a button.
Jace's face appeared on one of the displays. "This is the CSS Reliance, hailing the Wanderer. Phoenix, if you're there—answer me."
Thank the God Raider no longer believed in.
"Jace, it's me. We hear you loud and clear," Raider said. "You sure are a sight for sore eyes."
He'd certainly earned his call sign of White Knight all over again today. Raider had never been so grateful for the other's tendency to appear just in the nick of time.
"What can I say—I got tired of waiting for you two to report for duty. Good thing I came. Looks like you've gotten into a little bit of trouble," Jace drawled. "Shall I handle it for you?"
"Be my guest," Raider said.
If his friend wanted to do a little cleanup, who was he to stop him?
"How did you even find us?"
Raider didn't know if it was Kira's paranoia infecting him, but Jace's arrival felt convenient. A little too convenient.
On the screen, one of Jace's ships fell behind as the other three took the lead, opening fire on the Tsavitee fleet as they scrambled several of their single manned fighters. Waveboards included.
The ship in the rear made its way toward the Wanderer. It set up a flanking position that would allow it to protect the smaller ship from any further weapons fire.
"Himoto," Jace confessed. "He tagged Kira's ship when she was on O'Riley. He was afraid of her trying to slip away unannounced. We've been tracking you since you left Tuann territory."
The Tuann—not to mention Kira—weren't going to be happy when they learned about that. Except for a few carefully selected planets that they'd allowed humans to find out about, they were careful to keep any further information—including the number of planets under their control and their location—out of human hands.
Raider cast a look at the Tuann around him, noting the stony expressions on Wren and Finn's faces.
He was certain neither had expected Roake's technicians to miss that when they were retrofitting Kira's ship. He had to hand it to his fellow humans. They could be cunning when they needed to be.
Talon's expression remained easy and laid back. The topic seeming to be of little concern to him.
"Where is Kira by the way?" Jace asked, scanning the air behind Raider in confusion.
He knew as well as Raider did that it would take a life altering event for her to allow someone besides herself to take command of her bridge during a crisis like this.
"There was a small hiccup. We got separated."
Raider didn't go into details, not wanting to share exactly how that had happened. It seemed his time among the Tuann had changed him. He now knew that there were some things best kept to himself.
Raider blamed Kira. That woman had a way of corrupting people.
"Sounds like you've had quite the journey," Jace said, not seeming too surprised about Kira having wandered off.
Then again, there was precedent.
"I look forward to hearing the details." Jace gestured to someone off screen. "There's room in my ship's docking bay. We can talk more once you're on board."
Raider's hesitation showed on his face. "About that—"
"Don't test me," Jace warned. "I don't care what you and Kira were up to. It's time to come back into the fold."
Raider kept his expression under rigid control, allowing none of the frustration eating at him to slip through.
Jace's expression held a warning as he reached forward. "I expect to see you soon."
The communication cut off before Raider acknowledged the order.
"Fuck!" Raider punched a wall, the momentary pain as the skin on his knuckles split clearing his head a little.
He ran a hand over the back of his head. "I was hoping that would go a little better."
He'd banked on Jace's history with Kira. One that predated even Raider's own. They'd come up the ranks side-by-side. If not for Jace's ambition, he might have had a chance with Kira. Instead, he'd chosen power, unwilling to play second fiddle to someone else.
That had always been the difference between him and Raider. Raider had never cared what position he filled as long as he could be with the woman he loved and respected. Second-in-command. Last. It didn't matter to him.
He'd have laid himself beneath his woman's feet if that's what it took.
"Will he be open to negotiation?" Wren asked.
"Unlikely."
"We could always tell him the truth," Blue volunteered.
"Not an option," Raider said at the same time as both Wren and Finn gave an emphatic, "No."
"This is Jace we're talking about. Not some faceless commander. He'll understand if we tell him about Elena and what she is to you," Blue argued.
Raider leveled a serious look on her. "It's nonnegotiable."
And not just because of paranoia either.
There was no certainty that him knowing about Elena would make a difference. Considering his mentor was Himoto, a man who had always chosen the greater good over the self-interests of even his closest confidants, there was a real chance Jace wouldn't care about what they had to share.
Raider didn't want to risk it.
"We just received the docking coordinates. Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it soon," Talon drawled.
Raider stared at the view of space, thinking. Worst case scenario—Jace impounded the Wanderer and reassigned Raider and Blue to the Curs in preparation for deployment. Chances were that he'd allow Wren and the rest to continue on their way afterward.
Of course, they'd lose valuable time. And if Jace found out about the prisoner they had on board all bets were off.
That brought him to the real problem.
Finn was good, but there was no guarantee he'd be able to locate Kira on Rothchild. He didn't know what signs Kira might have left for them to find and follow.
Raider did.
Finn and the rest also weren't prepared for the nuisance that was Odin.
Raider was part of the team originally tasked with hunting that criminal. They would have caught Odin too if not for Kira's sabotage.
Something Raider was still sore about.
"How soon until your people can arrive?" Raider asked Wren.
"An hour. Two at most."
Raider nodded. "Okay then."
"Okay then?" Blue asked in an outraged voice that betrayed her upset. "What does that mean?"
Wren's gaze was steady. He nodded once. As if to say it was already done.
Appreciation rumbled through Raider. He and his father-in-law seemed to share the same mind when it came to this. Maybe there was hope for them after all.
Raider focused on Blue. "It means that if Jace becomes a problem, they'll be there to get us out. By force, if necessary."
Blue sputtered. "That's—"
"Mutiny. I know," Raider agreed grimly. "I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that."
Twelve
Kira – Haldeel Abandoned Planet
An hour later Kira slammed her hands down on the console in frustration. "Why isn't this working?"
Since sitting down, she'd gotten nowhere. Every attempt to penetrate the computer system in charge of the ship's controls—things like piloting, navigation, and life support—had been rejected. It left her stuck firmly at square one with no path forward.
She didn't think this was a problem of time either. One hour. Two. It would make no difference. She could try for the next five days and be no better off.
"You won't be able to access that. Pallas thought you might try so he locked the system down before he left."
Kira's hands clenched, her only reaction to the unexpected intrusion as she shot the J1N a narrow eyed look. "Seriously? No warning at all that we're about to have company?"
The J1N spun, his 'eye' ending up pointing somewhere in the vicinity of the ceiling. "The owner of the ship has returned. This can no longer be classified as a salvage operation. I cannot be of any further service to you."
Kira slumped in her chair. "Don't worry—you were never 'of service.'"
"What's wrong with your friend?" the intruder asked, venturing further into the room.
Kira leaned her head against the chair. "Where should I start?"
The question was rhetorical, giving her time to think. Kira never expected to see the wanderer she'd met during the adva ka again. As helpful as he'd been, he wasn't high on her list of people to keep track of.
But maybe that was her antisocial nature coming out to play.
"I guess Pallas really is your seon'yer," she observed.
The wanderer ventured further into the room. Unlike the last time they'd met, there was no hood with weird shadows to obscure his features. Like all Tuann, he looked deceptively young. His ears pointed and his age somewhere in his early twenty’s human-wise. Older than Devon but not by much.
He had white blond hair that was short except for two braided locks that hung near his temple. His hazel eyes were striking against his darker skin tone. The contrast made his appearance memorable.
Kira now understood why he'd chosen to use a cloak and hood during the adva ka. His face was the type you didn’t forget. For someone like him who drifted along the edges of society, that could be dangerous.
It was better to keep a low profile until he had the power and strength to protect himself.
His armor was of Tuann origin. It had been repaired so many times throughout the years that it looked like a patchwork quilt. The result of being on his own in a violent universe with no House to protect him or proper resources with which to fix his armor.
Still, she could see the care that had gone into maintaining it. Likely hours of intense work to get his welds perfect.
"You doubted me?"
Kira shrugged, restlessly swiveling the chair back and forth. "Don't take it personally. My history with Pallas makes it hard to see him as any sort of mentor."
Unless he was teaching someone how to be the most extreme and crazy person in any room they walked into. Pallas would be perfect for that.
There was a trill from the hallway. A second later a creature the size of a small cat glided into the room. It landed on the wanderer’s shoulder, hooking its claws into the collar of his armor and hugging his neck with its tail. From its perch, it regarded Kira through eyes the color of gemstones.
"Hello, little one," Kira greeted with a soft smile.
A series of whistles came from the lenacht. A greeting.
In Tuann, lenacht meant blessing. The Mea'Ave's blessing. They were born only once in a great while, for the purpose of going out into the universe. A seed, ferried by their chosen guardian. In this case the man in front of her.
He would convey the lenacht to a destination of its choosing where it would then take root to become a new Mea'Ave. The source of the Tuann's strength.
Strangely, Kira was a quasi-god parent to the lenacht. If the wanderer fell or was unable to continue in his duties for some reason, Kira would be the one to step in and pick up his mantle.
"The last time I saw you, you had just turned yourself into millions of sparkling lights before diving into his body," Kira said conversationally.
At least, that’s what had seemed to happen.
Currently, the lenacht was a lot more solid-looking. Crimson danced along its paws and the horns on its head. The rest of its body was a whitish blue. Its lower half similar to a lu-ong's with no back paws. Just a serpent-like tail that it thrapped against the wanderer's chest in happiness.
The wanderer cupped the lenacht's body, shifting it higher on his shoulder to a position that was more stable. "Using me as a temporary host after its birth was necessary for it to gather strength. As long as it is in a healthy state, it will remain in this form."
The lenacht nuzzled the wanderer's cheek.
"It's Lathan." At her questioning look, he added, "My name. I'm assuming you didn't know."
"I didn't ask."
Mostly because she didn't care. He seemed like a nice enough person. Or as nice as someone apprenticed to Pallas and fighting for survival could be. But Kira's attention span was finite. Particularly in times of crisis. She only had so much to spare for people and things that didn't directly affect her or her goals.
That's just how it was.
To say nothing of the fact that names held a certain significance. Attaching a name to a person meant you knew them on some level. It made it more real when something bad happened to them.
Kira had more realness in her life right now than she could handle. She wasn't looking to add to it.
"No, I suppose you didn't," Lathan agreed, showing no offense at her rejection.
Well, well. Wasn't he just the understanding sort?
Lathan patted the lenacht absentmindedly. "I didn't expect to see you here so soon. I thought the meeting would take longer."
Kira’s body tensed. "You know about the forty three?"
His status as Pallas's yer'se was just barely within the realm of possibility. Just barely. She could picture Pallas picking up an apprentice from some back alley somewhere and taking him for his own.
To apprise him of matters pertaining to the forty three? No. Nuh uh.
If true, it would make Pallas the biggest hypocrite alive. All the shit he'd given her. The threats if she ever told the Curs about them. Then for him to turn around and bring a stranger to their super-secret meeting.
She'd kill him. Maybe not in reality. But in her head. Over and over again. In increasingly creative ways.
"Enough to not understand why you’re here, trying to steal this ship, rather than with your adoptive family."
Kira relaxed, lounging in the captain's chair as if it was her own. "Let's just say, my relationship with the forty three is a little complicated. We have history."
A long, fucked up history similar to that which biological siblings might have shared.
"You're angry with them," Lathan guessed, moving closer.
"You could say that."
She was also disappointed and hurt.
For some reason, she kept hoping that the forty three would act like the siblings they named themselves as. And every time they did something like this, she was reminded of how vast the chasm between them really was.
Kira was aware she wasn't being entirely rational or fair. After all, she still hadn't apprised them of Jin's predicament or what it could mean for Kira.
Maybe it would have mattered. Maybe it wouldn't have.
Damn it, Elena alone should have been enough to compel them to action. She shouldn't have to drag Jin's name into this to get them to see reason.
"Pallas advises me not to allow emotion to blind myself to reality," Lathan said.
She gave him a sardonic smile. "Does he now?"
How very ironic.
"How did you two meet, anyway?" Kira asked, curious.
"Is that relevant?"
"Not really."
Whatever the story was, it didn't seem like Lathan wanted to share. Kira's gaze dropped to the lenacht curled around his neck. Its wings fluttered at her attention. "Aren't you supposed to be finding this little one a home?"
"Lenacht roam until they find a place suitable for their needs. That could take decades. A century or more in some cases."
"I see," Kira said, staring at the lenacht.
It wasn't lost on her that she felt significantly better. Its very presence doing the same thing her garden oasis had. Offering her respite and healing simply by existing.
No wonder the Tsavitee's masters had wanted to get their hands on one. They were a valuable panacea that the masters would wish to exploit for their own purposes.
There was a clatter from under one of the consoles.
Kira and Lathan looked over to find the J1N caught underneath, struggling to find its way out despite the opening right next to him.
"Are you sure he's okay?" Lathan asked.
"Internal glitches. Nothing to worry about."
Lathan didn't look like he believed that lie as Kira fished the J1N out from under the console, tossing him into the air.
The J1N dropped, almost hitting the ground before his anti gravs caught him.
"Ah, good. You've introduced yourselves to one another already," Pallas said, striding into the room. "That saves us time."
An incomprehensible series of squawks, bleats, and oddly the grinding of gears, issued from the J1N a second before a shrill alarm started.
"Enemy detected. Kill on sight authorized."
The J1N's primary weapons whined as they charged in preparation to fire.
Pallas gave the drone an incredulous look. "Is he seriously targeting me?"
Kira lunged out of her chair. "Don't you dare. J1N, abort. Abort now! Authorization not granted!"
The siren's wail almost drowned out Kira's words.
"Do not hurt him, Pallas," Kira shouted just as the J1N fired its primary laser.
Pallas thrust a hand forward, a sheet of black ki blocking the laser in midair. A bang shook the room.
Kira snatched the J1N out of the air, maintaining her grip on it despite its struggles as she backed away.
Fury tightened Pallas's features as he reached slowly for the sword on his back.
"I wouldn't," Graydon said, holding his en-blade to Pallas's neck. "It would be a shame if I had to kill you right after the agreement your siblings and I just made."
