Trials of Conviction, page 8
It was a present from one of Wren's oshota. Maksym, the man who'd appointed himself Kira's honorary big brother.
When she saw it the first time, she'd been furious. Mostly because Maksym had taken it upon himself to re-purpose the armory that had been here originally and turn it into a galley. He'd argued that her former galley was much too small to support her future crew.
Maksym had proven to be downright prescient, if her current circumstances were anything to go by.
Despite the much larger size compared to the original galley, the room felt almost crowded with all the hostility filling it.
Raider loomed over Aeron. Finn and Wren quiet presences as they stood guard at either side of the room. Their expressions cold.
Finn acknowledged Kira's arrival with a tilt of his chin. Wren's reaction was more subtle. A blink that seemed to ask what took her so long.
Seeing Kira, Aeron made to stand before Raider shoved him back into his chair.
"Is this why you broke me out of custody? For your human pet to make threats he can't back up?" Aeron snarled as Kira crossed the room to take a seat next to Graydon.
The emperor's Face was sprawled in his chair, his posture outwardly lazy. Kira caught the way his hand lingered near the hilt of his en-blade. The carefulness in his gaze as he watched Aeron intently. Like he was waiting for something to happen.
For all Graydon's apparent indolence, he was a warrior. The smallest threat would be met with decisive and explosive violence. Most probably resulting in death or maiming for the offender. In this case, Aeron.
Kira took her time answering. "It's unwise to taunt the people who hold your life in their hands."
Aeron was a lot of things but stupid wasn't one of them. He had to know Kira wouldn't side with him if Raider really wanted his life.
As if he'd read her thoughts, Aeron relaxed in his seat. The antagonism and hostility faded away to be replaced by cool calculation. Without the biting sarcasm, Aeron looked younger. Devon's age or slightly below.
Despite his appearance, Kira couldn't let herself forget who and what she was dealing with.
If Elise's words were true and the generals weren't willing partners to the Tsavitee's masters, it stood to reason that Aeron's upbringing was similar to Kira and the forty three's. He'd be trained to adapt to any situation. To manipulate and sabotage in the pursuit of his mission.
The question was if that mission aligned with Kira's goals.
As if to remind her of this, Aeron made a show of examining the room behind Kira. "I was so sure Elise would be beside you when you finally remembered I existed. Yet I don't see her. Did something happen?"
It was as if Aeron already knew the answer. His smile widening as the atmosphere in the room plummeted.
Kira's gaze moved behind Aeron. To Wren. Her seon'yer's face remained unyielding. His control over his emotions impeccable despite the topic revolving around the daughter he'd lost in the Sorrowing.
Aeron twisted to see who she was looking at. "Ah, that's right. Elise was yours, wasn't she? How was the reunion?"
Wren's gaze dropped to the general, something deadly moving in the back of his eyes. He didn't speak, simply stared.
If they hadn't needed Aeron, Kira was pretty sure he would have died right then and there.
Losing interest in Wren, Aeron faced forward. "I'm guessing she did something. What was it? Escape? Another betrayal of some kind?"
Raider leaned a hip on the table next to Aeron, staring down at the other from his higher vantage point. "Are you sure we need him?"
"If we don't, he's all yours," Kira answered, not taking her eyes off Aeron.
Something flashed across the general's face before it was gone. Ah, so he was nervous.
"You're quite the conundrum, Aeron. I haven't been able to figure you out," Kira said conversationally.
He could have run after Elise broke him out of prison. Everything Kira knew about generals said they were self-serving assholes willing to sacrifice their subordinates for their own survival. But instead of taking the opportunity Elise procured for him, he'd decided to stick around. Not helping Kira during her confrontation with Elise, but not hindering her either.
It was a surprise. Kira wasn't a fan of those. Particularly not when they involved an enemy's behavior.
It made Aeron unpredictable. An enemy who couldn't be anticipated was a dangerous one.
"You know what I want," Aeron said.
Kira tapped the table, lost in thought. "Freedom for your people."
At least that's what he'd implied. Elise had confirmed it as well.
Raider's quiet snort of disbelief said he wasn't buying it either.
"You can see why I might have trouble believing that given the history between us," Kira explained.
The generals had been a thorn in her side for years. If they weren't trying to actively kill her, they were hatching schemes to trap and enslave her. Such behavior made it difficult to build trust.
"You must need me though," Aeron stated calmly before his gaze shifted to Graydon. "What's the going punishment for treason these days? Beheading? Exile? I'd really like to know."
Graydon quirked an eyebrow at Kira. "I thought you said he was smart. I certainly can't tell it from his current actions."
"He's young, and he thinks he has the upper hand. It makes him bold."
Raider leaned over Aeron. "Kira and I have experience dealing with idiots like that. Don't we, Nixxy?"
"I suppose you're referencing the time you killed Arz," Aeron said with a cool glance. "He was a distant relative of mine."
"I could tell you how he died if you like," Raider offered.
The general didn't take his eyes off Raider as he spoke to Kira. "Mind games? Really, Phoenix? These tactics are beneath you. Stop wasting my time and tell me what you want."
Very well then.
"The Tsavitee home world. Where is it?"
Aeron's face betrayed his surprise. "Why do you need to know that?"
"Ah, ah." Raider shook his finger at him playfully. "We're the ones asking questions."
Aeron studied the room, noting the presence of those around him—along with the deafening absence of who should be. His eyes met Kira's in realization. "I was right. This is about Elise."
Kira's expression went cold.
The ship's engines cycled, the sound loud in the sudden silence. Their whine reached a crescendo and there was a slight jolt that came with the ship lifting off the ground. The motion was much smoother than it'd been before. Almost imperceptible as they arrowed toward the sky.
"Isn't this a pickle?" Aeron drawled.
Raider lost his temper at that, grabbing Aeron by the throat and squeezing. "I'm getting tired of your yapping. Answer the question. Where is the Tsavitee home world?"
"Raider," Kira warned.
Raider continued to strangle the other man with one hand. Long enough that Kira thought she'd have to physically intervene.
Graydon held a hand in front of her when she would have risen. He shook his head faintly in warning.
Aeron made a choking sound. A laugh Kira realized a second later as his face started to turn red.
He rolled his eyes up toward the human, still chuckling.
Raider flung him away. "Fucking weirdo."
Aeron bent forward, wheezing as he fought to suck in breath. "Sorry to disappoint but I don't really care what you do to me. I can't give you the answer you want. It's simply impossible."
Finn grabbed Raider before the human could throw himself at Aeron.
"Easy," Finn cautioned.
Raider shrugged out of the oshota's hold but didn't try to attack Aeron again. "Kira, let's go with my earlier suggestion. Throw him out of an airlock if he's not going to be useful."
Kira pretended to consider it. "What do you say, Aeron? The suggestion isn’t half bad."
While it would be a shame to kill Aeron after they'd gone to all this trouble, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Kira had no need for dead weight on this mission. Who knew? Maybe Raider's threat would incentivize him to stop wasting her time.
Kira wouldn't hold her breath though.
Caution finally entered Aeron's face as he saw that she wasn't kidding. "It's not that I don't want to help you. It's simply impossible."
"That's not going to work for me," Kira told him.
If he couldn't help her, she had no need for him. If she didn't let Raider kill him, she could always drop him down the deepest, darkest hole she could find. Maybe it would soften him up and allow him to see things her way.
"What about the Sye? Aren't you still working with them?" Aeron asked, referencing one of Kira's companions. The person Kira knew as Odin. Like the generals, Odin's kind was enslaved by the Tsavitee's masters. Their most trusted pets.
The Sye were a unique race that possessed minor shape changing abilities that allowed them to shift between male, female, and a third, gender neutral form that the name for their race came from. The Sye. A word that when translated roughly meant "All and none."
"Odin doesn't know how to return to your home world."
Otherwise, why would Kira have wasted all this time searching for the location? It was because Odin couldn't find their way back.
"That's why you were working as a scavenger. You were looking for star maps."
"I found them too."
Countless hours of searching. Dozens of near death escapes. But in the end, Kira located a set of intact maps that she'd hoped would lead her to the home world. The only problem—they couldn't read them.
"Let me guess—you're still having trouble."
Kira's smile was gentle. "You obviously understand our dilemma."
Aeron tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Yes, our masters do like to make things notoriously difficult." He frowned at her. "The Tuann are known for their paranoia—and their star maps."
"I'm aware."
That's why she didn't put up much of a fight when Himoto and Jace had ordered her to return to her mother's people on Ta Da'An. For a chance at their maps.
"Don't tell me. You stole Luatha's maps," Aeron guessed with a sly smile.
Wren, Finn and Graydon looked at her in surprise.
Kira maintained her composure, pretending not to see their question as she mentally cursed every one of Aeron's ancestors. She'd have preferred to keep that piece of information to herself. For safety reasons.
Her cousin, Liara, might care about her now, but that would change if she ever realized Kira was a thief. Houses considered their star maps some of their most highly guarded treasures. If they knew she'd copied them, she'd be in a world of trouble.
Graydon stirred, looking at Kira askance. "Coli, I thought we had no more secrets between us."
Kira flinched at the slightly chiding note in his voice, unable to help the way she tensed. Especially when Graydon lowered his voice to a level only meant for her.
"We will discuss the ramifications of this later."
Kira's nod was faint. She supposed that was fair.
"Lothos always did say you were a master of turning any situation to your advantage," Aeron said with a hint of admiration.
"Lothos?" Finn asked.
"The other general present during Ta Da'An's invasion," Kira answered.
Aeron nodded. "My seon'yer, as the Tuann would say."
Raider made a disgusted sound. "Adorable."
"We're not so different from the Tuann," Aeron declared, ignoring Raider's sarcasm.
"Except you're working with megalomaniacs who want to conquer the galaxy and massacre everyone in their way. Oh—and you killed our friends," Raider finished with a dark edge in his voice.
"Just like you've killed several of my brothers."
"Is Lothos the one who turned Elise?" Kira asked.
"No, that's someone else." Aeron's smile was mocking. "Someone on your side of the fence."
"What does that mean?" Raider asked with a glare.
"It means she's not responsible for Rothchild," Kira answered.
Raider’s glance held horror. "Did you ever think she was?"
"I considered it."
Just as he had. Whether subconsciously or not.
"As for Luatha's star maps—Odin is processing them and comparing them to what I've uncovered," Kira continued. "The data is massive. It's taking too long."
"That's why you need me," Aeron guessed.
Kira lifted her chin in acknowledgment.
"Why should I help you?" Aeron asked.
There was a tight feeling in her chest that made it hard to breathe. A band wrapping around her forehead as a dull headache started.
Kira passed it off as nerves and focused on Aeron. "Don't you want freedom?"
"What good is freedom if everyone I care about dies?" Aeron challenged.
Finn frowned; his gaze thoughtful as it shifted to rest on Kira.
Her gaze dropped to the table as she contemplated the pattern of the wood grain.
"Come on, Phoenix. You know what I want," Aeron hissed.
Yes, she did. The question was whether she was willing to give it to him.
"Alright, you win," Kira said, feeling like she'd been hurtling toward this outcome for decades. Every challenge she'd faced. Liberating herself and Jin from the camp. Raiding camps just like it to rescue the children she found there. All so she could arrive at this moment in time. "I'll free your young. All of them."
"Swear it. Swear it on your Mea'Ave," Aeron urged.
"Don't," Raider warned.
Kira shook her head at him. "You know I have to."
If this was the only way to save Elise, Elena, and Jin, she'd do it. She wouldn't think twice.
Even if they weren't in the mix, Kira wasn't sure she could have walked away. They were children. Innocent. The same way Jin and the rest had once been.
It was telling that Graydon made no move to stop her as Kira rose. Confirmation that she was in the right.
"I, Kira Forrest, so named Layana by my parents, daughter of House Roake and the Phoenix of the Consortium, do hereby swear on the Mea'Ave to do everything in my power to remove your young from the influence of the Tsavitee's masters. I won't stop until I'm dead—or they are."
An invisible force wrapped around Kira, squeezing once before it was gone. The universe seemed to blink, resuming a second later as if nothing had happened.
Except Kira and Aeron knew that it had. Her vow was witnessed and accepted. Whatever came next, she was committed to this course.
"You fucking idiot," Raider said with a regretful shake of his head.
Although he wouldn't have felt the Mea'Ave's presence as a human, he was acquainted with her personality. He knew that she'd never make a promise she didn't intend to keep.
Graydon leaned his chin on his fist, seeming entertained. "How very interesting this all is."
Raider ignored him. "You realize he's a general. Our enemy."
Kira did, in fact, realize that.
"It's not much different than what Jin and I have been doing anyway."
Ferreting out the camps and rescuing the children she found within. At least this time she'd have help.
Finn was the only one in the room who looked like he knew what Kira was talking about. He'd met some of the children she'd saved.
Graydon glanced at her in curiosity. "More secrets. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get to the bottom of you."
He didn't sound upset by that prospect. Instead, he seemed almost delighted.
Kira pretended she didn't hear as she focused on Aeron. "I did what you wanted. Your turn."
"About that—I don't rightly know."
Kira went very still. "What do you mean you don't know?"
"As I said before, I can't give you the answer you seek. Not because I don't want to. But because I don't know it. The location of the home world is one of the most closely guarded secrets we have. A fact I'm sure you're aware of given the difficulty you had procuring the stars maps in your possession."
He wasn't exaggerating about that. It had taken Kira years of searching. Every Tsavitee wreck she'd come across had led to one disappointment after another.
"Even we aren't trusted with that information," Aeron said.
"How is that possible?" Wren asked.
"We're each given a piece of the location. It's rare for those sent out to return. In those cases, you need at least one other key to find your way back."
Raider folded his arms over his chest and glared at the side of Aeron's face. "Like I said before. This is a giant waste of our time. Forget your promise, Kira. Let's just throw him out of the airlock."
"I agree," Wren spoke up from his position in the corner.
Finn remained silent, but Kira could tell he was in favor as well.
Graydon watched Aeron intently, giving no hint of which direction he was leaning.
For Kira's part, she was tempted to go with Raider's suggestion. She didn't like being made a fool of and right now Aeron was dangerously close to doing exactly that.
"Don't get your panties in a twist. All isn't lost," Aeron said. "I may not be able to give you an exact location, but I have been there. If your Sye and I compared notes, I'm sure we could come up with something."
Well, well, well. Would you look at that? Raider's continuous threats had yielded results. Just like always.
"You're saying you can get us to your home world," Kira re-stated, wanting there to be no doubt.
"Possibly."
Kira glanced at Raider. It was better than a no.
"Tell me you're not considering this," Raider asked with a disbelieving look. His eyes widened as he read the answer on her face. "He's a general. An enemy. Not to be trusted."
Wren and Finn's expressions had gone suspiciously blank.
"We did break him out of prison," Kira pointed out.
The whole point of this exercise was to get something useful from it.
Raider's face held stubbornness.
"If you have a better plan, I'm all ears," Kira said.
They were up against the wall, and it was time to do something crazy to shake things up.
"This probably won't work, and he'll try to betray us before the end," Raider warned.
