Trials of Conviction, page 30
"Who is it?" the Tsavitee called from out of sight.
Elena's egg donor scanned the nook carefully. Her forehead furrowing then relaxing as her gaze landed on the air duct where Elena was hiding. She crouched in front of it, hooking one finger over the top. "You should have known better than to come here."
Elise tugged on the cover, freezing at the sight of Elena's terrified face.
"Yo," Uncle Jin said in greeting.
An explosive bang shattered the silence.
Elise twisted to stare up at the pressurized steam venting from the crack along the top third of the cannister.
"It looks like the sound we heard was the cannister. Probably the first sign of a de-pressurization," Elise said, pushing the air vent closed and rising. "You should punish whoever is responsible for maintaining them. A mistake like this could affect your work."
Elena held her breath, her body flashing between hot and cold. Please. Please. Please.
"I see," the Tsavitee said finally.
There was rustle of movement as Elise rose and stepped out of the nook. Then the sound of her footsteps as she walked back toward the stairs leading down to the pool.
"Aren't you coming?" Elise asked after a moment.
"Of course, my dear," the Tsavitee murmured, finally moving away from Elena's hiding place. "I have a new set of specimens to break in."
Neither Elena nor Jin moved, waiting until they were absolutely sure that Elise and the Tsavitee were gone.
"You are in so much trouble, favored child of my heart," Uncle Jin hissed as the spawn welded the air duct shut. "The most trouble you've ever been in your entire life."
"Wasn't that what you said last time?"
The spawn reared back, looking like a snake about to strike. "It's incredible, isn't it? How every time you manage to top yourself."
Elena pursed her lips, wanting to argue but unable to.
If she tried, Uncle Jin's spawn might actually bite her. She kind of thought she deserved it this time. Not that she’d ever admit it to him.
"Let's go." Uncle Jin slithered past her into the air duct. "If they discover you're gone, it won't matter what I just did."
It took effort but eventually Elena got herself pointed in the right direction. "How did you do that by the way?"
The arrogance on the lu-ong’s face was impressive given he was composed of inorganic matter.
That's one of the things Elena liked best about her Uncle Jin. His exterior never mattered. No matter what form he took, his soul and personality shone through, eclipsing all else.
"While you were sleeping, I maybe did a little tinkering and spawned a few more of myself."
Elena crawled forward another few inches on her belly before she was forced to stop and rest. "No wonder Auntie gets so upset with you sometimes."
"Your aunt has a propensity for overthinking things. She's a worrier."
Elena thought Auntie might have a good reason to be, if this was the kind of behavior she was forced to deal with.
"Hop to, little girl," Uncle Jin ordered, glancing back at Elena.
Elena wiggled forward again in the narrow space. "This isn't as easy as it looks."
It was quite exhausting, actually.
"I imagine not. Maybe next time keep your nose out of adult business," Uncle Jin said with zero sympathy as he led the way. "That was a real surprise you gave me, Elena mine. I almost had a heart attack. Who knew the first thing I'd see when I came to was your face hitting the business end of a staff?"
They reached an intersection where the ducts crossed. Uncle Jin headed to the left. Elena squirmed after him.
"You don't have a heart, Uncle Jin."
The lu-ong looked back Elena. "Don't get cheeky with me, young lady."
Elena almost giggled, the familiar scolding tone washing away the last of the fear lingering from her encounter with the strange Tsavitee.
"We're here," Uncle Jin announced.
He hopped up onto the duct covering. From outside, there were several tinks as the fastenings dropped to the ground.
"You're using ki," Elena said in surprise.
She would have noticed earlier when he was holding the duct cover in place if not for how preoccupied she was with the possibility of being discovered.
The ki running through the lu-ong spawn was faint. Barely perceptible. Something she never would have noticed on Ta Sa'Riel due to the ki rich environment. Probably not even on a human or Haldeel planet where the ki density was considerably less but still present on some level.
It was this place. There was something critical that felt off. Wrong even.
It made Elena sensitive to things she might not have noticed otherwise.
"Does Auntie know?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Uncle Jin said as he lowered the cover to the ground. "Let's go."
Elena frowned at her uncle but didn't argue, sliding out of the air duct after him. She went head first, catching herself with her hands before her face got up close and personal with the floor.
Uncle Jin put the duct cover back into place before hopping onto her shoulder.
"Where were you when I woke up? I was worried," Elena asked.
Just a little though since Uncle Jin was so awesome.
"We’re in a dangerous situation. As tempting as it is to wait for your Aunt to arrive, we can’t rely on her finding us in time. The thing that we need most is information. I left to do a little reconnaissance."
Elena followed her uncle’s directions through the halls, winding her way back to the room.
"That said, I didn’t leave you unattended. Didn’t you see the spawn I left behind?" Uncle Jin asked.
Elena shook her head. "I didn’t notice anything."
Uncle Jin’s sign was resigned. "I realized that when it notified me that you’d left the room without acknowledging it. Next time do me a favor and take a look around you before you do something reckless."
That was a little harsh. Elena preferred to think of it as her being impetuous rather than reckless. Success often necessitated risk.
"Find any ships for us to steal?" Elena asked, changing the subject.
The lu-ong swatted Elena with its tail. "Don't even think about it. You're not high-jacking another ship."
"Why not? I'm awfully good at it."
"I'm aware," Uncle Jin said dryly. "But if you recall, the only reason the Wanderer made it off Ta Sa'Riel last time was because of your aunt’s piloting skills. I guarantee you that the Tsavitee's anti-aerial defense network is no worse than the Tuann's."
"I'm not worried. I have you."
"Sweet, but the answer is still no."
They reached a set of hallways that Elena recognized from her previous passage through them.
"We might not have time to wait for Auntie," Elena whispered, afraid of drawing attention now that they were near their destination. "I overheard the generals talking. Their spies are due to check in. They might have discovered something."
If that happened, Elena would be in danger.
The lu-ong tensed against Elena's neck. "Someone's coming."
Elena darted toward the other side of the hallway as the sound of footsteps came from behind her. She rounded the corner just as the owner of those footsteps turned theirs.
Fleeing as quickly and quietly as she could, she followed Uncle Jin's terse instructions.
There! Up ahead. Her room. Just a little further.
Elena dashed toward it, sliding inside with seconds to spare.
She flew toward the bed, throwing herself into it and pulling the sheet over her body.
Elena had barely settled herself when Fyr appeared in the doorway.
"You're awake," he said, surprised.
"Where's Ajix?" Elena asked, trying to control the heavy breathing that was a result of her sudden activity.
"He had other business to attend."
"What kind of business?"
"The kind you don't ask questions about."
"Ah. Right." Elena gave a sage nod. "The whole asking invites death thing."
Fyr's eyes narrowed. "You've grown bold. Did my staff knock your senses loose?"
Elena closed her mouth. Maybe pushing him wasn't such a great idea.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught something small crawling up the sheets. It looked like a lady bug, its carapace the same salmon blush color as Uncle Jin's spawn.
Elena made a choked sound as it reached her arm and crawled up it.
This must be the spawn Uncle Jin had left for her. No wonder she hadn’t noticed it. It was tiny.
Elena went as still as a statue, checking on Fyr out of the corner of her eye. To her relief, she found him not paying any attention to her as he searched the room for her boots. Taking advantage of his distraction, she tilted her head down to allow her shoulder length hair to sweep forward to cover the lady bug's presence as it climbed up her neck.
"Almost there," Uncle Jin whispered in a tiny voice.
The lady bug made its way toward her ear, crawling into the canal once it reached it.
Elena's boots hitting the bed startled her. She jumped, staring at the boots like she'd never seen them before.
While she was distracted, the lady bug finally lodged itself against her ear drum.
Seeing Elena wasn't moving, Fyr gestured at her boots. "Aren't you going to wear them?"
Elena slowly reached for them. "Of course."
Grabbing the boots, she stuffed her feet into them one-by-one.
"Testing, testing. One. Two. Three," Uncle Jin said, sounding like he was right next to her. "There we go. Now, we can talk freely."
At least he could, anyway.
"Let's go," Fyr said impatiently.
The blankets shifted as the lu-ong spawn slithered under the hem of Elena's shirt, hitching a ride. He wound up her back to her shoulder and then down her right arm where he curled around her bicep.
"Don't worry, Elena. I’m here," Uncle Jin said.
Fyr gave Elena a suspicious look. "Why are you smiling?"
Elena hopped down from the bed. "Just happy to be alive, I guess."
"And that's how you're going to stay," Uncle Jin exclaimed.
The makings of another smile tugged at Elena's lips before she controlled her expression. It wouldn't do to seem too happy in the current situation. Fyr might actually start to think that she'd lost her mind.
Fyr shook his head, striding out of the room with a disgusted mutter.
"What a rude bastard," Uncle Jin grumbled. "Don't worry, Elena. You could take him if you had to."
I know, Uncle Jin, Elena answered silently, hurrying to catch up.
"You don't like me," Elena called at Fyr's back.
"I barely know you."
Elena walked beside Fyr, her hands clasped behind her. "Is it because of the other children? Are you afraid my presence means bad things for them?"
Aunt Kira used to always say that Aunt Selene had the best poker-face she'd ever seen. To most, she was inscrutable.
It made her hard to read and led some to believe she was incapable of emotion.
That wasn't the case. Elena's aunt felt deeply. Sometimes too much so. She was just better at hiding her feelings.
As a result, Elena had gotten good at reading the micro expressions of others.
It was why she noticed the faint flex of Fyr's forearms. The way the muscles in his back and shoulders tightened before he forced them to relax.
"What would you know about that?" he asked.
Elena lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. "Just a little."
Fyr stopped to face her. "You pulled your last blow."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Is this a game to you?"
Elena scowled. "Of course not."
What kind of person would dare play with life-and-death stakes?
Fyr resumed walking. "You certainly act like it."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Fyr said dismissively. "You're right, new girl. Your presence here threatens our survival. For you to live, one of us must die. Stop trying to be friends with us. If you want to survive, you'll have to do it on your own."
Fyr didn't say anything else after that, ignoring every attempt by Elena to strike up a conversation. Even when they reached the crèche, he remained stubbornly silent, disappearing into his room and leaving her standing alone in the common area.
"He has a point," Uncle Jin said softly. "These children don't have the luxury of caring about others when they can barely keep themselves alive."
"You're not like that. Aunt Kira isn't either."
"Your aunt's a strange bird. No one else in the universe would have come back for me in the circumstances she did. They would have taken the escape the forty three offered. It's why I'd die for her. Why she'd die for me too. But you can't judge others by those standards."
Elena glanced at Fyr's room.
The conversation she'd overheard made her think Fyr wasn't so simple. He was protective of his companions. If he wasn't, he wouldn't care about Elena's presence.
Like Uncle Jin said, caring was a luxury. For Fyr to go to such lengths, it pointed to a strength similar to her auntie’s.
Maybe that was why she didn't hate him the way she should.
With a heavy heart, Elena headed for her quarters.
Pulling open the door, she froze.
"Hello, child," Elise said calmly from her seat on Elena's cot. "I think you have some explaining to do."
Kira - Rothchild
Kira rolled onto her back, burrowing deeper into the covers as she fought the tug of sleep. Not quite willing to start her day, she cracked her eyelids, coming a little more awake as she spotted Graydon's fully dressed form leaning over her.
"What time is it?" she asked around a yawn.
She stretched, her joints popping as she blinked the drowsiness out of her eyes.
It felt early. Much too early to be up and about.
"The sun is up," Graydon said, glancing out the light filtering window.
That explained it. When they'd arrived, it had been nighttime. Their circadian rhythms hadn't had time to adjust to the planet's rhythm yet.
Day was when she'd been getting her rest.
"What are you doing up? Come back to bed." Kira tugged on his arm, trying to draw him back under the sheets with her.
"I can't do that," he said.
The eyes that had just drifted closed, opened as she gave him a grumpy frown. "Why not?"
He smiled, smoothing a hand over her head. "I think there's something we need to do."
Kira's sleepiness vanished.
"Did Diesel put you up to this?"
Graydon's silence was as good as an answer.
She flopped onto her back, putting one arm behind her head as she glared at the ceiling. The bed dipped under Graydon's weight as he sat beside her.
"Fine," Kira huffed before he could say anything. "I'll go."
Graydon patted her knee. "I knew you'd agree. I'll let you get dressed."
She rolled her head to look at him. "Must be nice to have a suit of armor you can don instantly."
"You could always get one of your own."
"Is that a clever way to convince me to become your oshota?"
Graydon looked as if he was considering it. "I wouldn't mind you serving me."
Kira glared. "Who says I'd be the one serving?"
She was just as likely to become the master as the shield.
Finn had told her that to gain her own synth armor, she would first need to journey to a lu-ong hunting ground. There, she'd have to obtain a single scale from a lu-ong's chest. The endeavor could take years and often resulted in many failed attempts before a person met success.
Only the most skilled Tuann were chosen for the journey. It was the second to last step needed to be considered an oshota. The last one being finding a sword to serve.
Graydon leaned down to touch his lips to Kira’s. "Even better."
"You'd have to listen to Finn as my First."
His thumb touched the base of her throat. "I'm sure he and I could come to an acceptable arrangement. Raider, on the other hand—"
"What does he have to do with it? He's not an oshota."
"Isn't he, though?"
"He's human."
Graydon made a throaty sound that showed he didn't entirely agree.
"What do you know?" Kira asked sharply.
His smile was brief. "Your Raider is an oshota even if he doesn't carry the name. It wouldn't surprise me to learn Wren and Harlow have been grooming him for that role in future."
"Why would they do that?" Kira asked in confusion.
Graydon's gaze was soft. "They see his potential. Just like I do."
Kira was quiet. Wren she could understand. Raider's acceptance in Tuann society would only help Elena. Not hinder. Harlow, on the other hand. His motivations were more difficult to read.
A knock at the door had Graydon rising. "I'll take care of that."
Kira nodded as Graydon went to the door. She stayed where she was until he stepped outside, the door closing after him cutting off the rumble of voices.
"Guess I should get moving too," Kira said.
Running had never been in her nature, but this was one time she wouldn't have minded making an exception.
The cold felt like a slap in the face compared to the warmth of Kira's bed as she tucked her cloak more securely around her.
She never thought she'd say it, but she missed Ta Sa'Riel. It was infinitely better than this frozen ball of ice.
With a sense of resignation, Kira trudged across the hard packed snow toward where Diesel and Graydon were deep in conversation.
At her approach, Diesel glanced over in amusement. "You look miserable. I forgot how much you hate the cold."
"I don't hate it. I just prefer not to be out in it if I don't have to."
"It might help if you were dressed appropriately," he said, taking in the thin clothes she wore and the cloak that didn't look like it was doing much to ward off the cold.
"I'm fine."
The balial material her clothes were crafted from made sure of that.
"You sure?" Diesel beckoned a woman over. "At least put on gloves and a scarf."
