10. Ten

Ten

The silence that answered her question dragged on for what felt like an eternity. The shadows Ryan was using to hide, deep pools of impenetrable black.

Kira waited, not taking her eyes off that spot. Her patience was rewarded when the shadows stirred. One separating from the rest as Ryan moved to their very edge. The low light allowed Kira to just barely distinguish the outline of his body while casting his features completely in darkness.

"You never told me they were so theatrical," Graydon said in a low voice.

"They’ve only gotten worse over the years. You get used to it. Eventually."

Sometimes she wondered if they’d spent the first few years after their escape watching every holovid humanity had ever created and taking notes on how to be unnecessarily mysterious.

Graydon raised his eyebrow at the stands. "I wonder where they picked that trait up. It’s not Tuann."

Kira sent him a sidelong look. "Are you certain about that?"

Because she could think of several encounters that made her question that statement.

Graydon’s lips quivered as he suppressed a smile, keeping his gaze trained on Ryan and the audience stands.

"Thank you for joining us, Kira," Ryan rumbled.

"Not like I had much of a choice."

And boy did she have a bone to pick with them about that. But first she’d see what they wanted.

Her retribution could come after.

Someone in the stands raised their hand. "Is anyone else curious as to why she has a companion? I thought this was invite only."

"Yes, Pallas. Do tell," a woman in the very back purred.

Kira looked over to where Pallas sat in the front row, his feet propped up on the railing as he cleaned the knife he’d withdrawn from his mismatched set of armor.

At the question, he looked up with a mad grin. "What can I say? I found the way he clung to Kira’s coattails simply adorable. It seemed rude to kill him after all his effort."

Bullshit. Pallas didn’t go after Graydon because of Selene and Alexander.

Thea leaned over Pallas’s shoulder from behind, hanging almost upside down. "When have manners ever stopped you from murder?"

Pallas’s knife paused. His expression blanked. He flipped the knife in his hand, shifting his grip on the hilt. He jerked his hand up and across, slashing the blade across Thea’s throat an instant later.

There was a shocked pause as everything in the room stopped.

A gurgle came from Thea, loud in the silence. The choked sound cut off, changing to a quiet giggle. Loud laughter replaced it, echoing from all over until it was difficult to know where the source originated.

Thea’s body burst into hundreds of tiny, fluttering insects that looked like a cross between a dragonfly and a praying mantis. They reformed at the back of the stands.

Pallas stabbed the dagger’s point into the stone seat next to him. "I’ve warned you about using your illusions against me."

"You’re more sensitive than usual, brother dearest," Thea drawled. "Is it because the emperor’s Face beat you at your own game? The great and powerful Pallas brought down by a mere Tuann."

Graydon lowered his head to speak into Kira’s ear, watching Pallas and Thea with fascination. "The dynamic between your siblings is an intriguing one. I can’t decide whether they love or hate each other."

"Let me know if you figure it out."

Even all these years later, she still didn’t understand the forty three.

Kira eyed Thea unhappily, less than pleased about her sister’s actions. It was almost as if she was looking to cause trouble.

No surprise there. Thea always was an agent of chaos. Happy to cause mischief wherever she roamed.

Pallas yanked the dagger out of the stone, coming to his feet with a reckless smirk. "When you put it like that, it feels like I have something to prove."

"Don’t you dare," Kira warned.

"But it would be so fun."

"That it would," Graydon agreed. His smirk anticipatory. Like he welcomed the opportunity. Was itching for it.

"Don’t encourage him," Kira hissed.

They’d be here all night.

Kira shot a look at Alexander and Selene, hoping one of the two could do something about this.

Alexander’s face was an inscrutable mask as Pallas planted his hands on the stone wall in preparation to launch himself over it. Selene looked on in concern, her body tightening as if to interfere.

Alexander set his hand on hers, stopping her.

"Calm yourselves," Ryan instructed.

In a rare display of obedience, Pallas straightened from the wall, dropping his hands to his side as he looked over in Ryan’s direction.

"We’re not here to fight. Pallas, answer the question," Ryan instructed. "Why is he here? You were told to bring her alone."

Kira checked Alexander’s expression for his reaction to the news that Pallas hadn’t been acting on his own. Rather, he’d been following orders.

Alexander gave little indication of his thoughts. Other than a faint tightening at his jaw that might signal anger, or an attack of gas, his face was as stoic as ever.

Pallas dropped into his seat, crossing his ankle over his knee as he leaned back and spread his arms over the back of the stands. "What can I say? He followed me all on his own."

There was a stir as the forty three looked at each other in surprise. Their shock discernible even without Kira and Graydon being able to see their faces.

"You’re lying," a man in the stands behind Ryan said.

Pallas twitched, his easy smile turning predatory. "I’m not actually. If you don’t believe me, I’d be happy to defend my honor through combat."

There was a scoff from the other side of the arena. "As if that would prove anything. You never lose."

"You never know. There are a few among us who might make the outcome uncertain." Pallas swept a playful look over the crowd, his gaze lingering in several places as if to make it clear who he meant.

Ryan was one. Alexander too. As for the rest, their identities were difficult to ascertain due to the shadows they were using to hide. The few who sat where the moonlight could reach them all wore masks. They had even covered themselves with cloaks to make it impossible to guess at the composition of their bodies. Whether they were lean or muscular, stocky or thickset. About the only thing Kira could tell was if they were tall or short. And even that could be misleading.

"This isn’t why we’re here. Let her have her safety blanket if it makes her feel better," a woman declared impatiently.

She was one of those in a mask, sitting in a section of the stands that faded in and out of visibility as the moon’s face was periodically covered by clouds. The mask’s silhouette was that of an etair, a surprising homage to a Tuann animal similar to that of a horse.

"Agreed," someone else said.

For once, Kira found herself in agreement with her siblings. The endless posturing was a waste of her time. They’d be here for hours if this continued.

She shot a concerned glance at the J1N, mercifully silent until now.

The drone had kept close, hovering in a position not far away. A few feet over her and Graydon’s heads.

Still, there were small signs that said something wasn’t quite right.

His unnatural silence for one. The real Jin would never have been this accommodating. He would have already completed two circuits of the room, using his night vision to betray their identities on each round.

That was if he didn’t use his anti gravs or built in weapons to fuck with them.

Kira supposed she should be relieved his ’eye’ was at least pointed close enough to the right direction to seem plausible. Even if it was slightly off kilter.

The fact no one had questioned his oddities was a relief. If she could fool the forty three, people who had studied them and knew their habits, there was a chance she could do the same to her enemies.

It was the one silver lining in this messed up situation.

"Why did you bring me here? I thought we had an agreement to stay out of each other’s way,” Kira said.

"Your current plans have left us concerned," Ryan answered.

Kira would have really liked to find that response surprising, but she didn’t. Nothing out of any of their mouths shocked her anymore.

Kira gestured for him to get on with it. No doubt whatever he planned to say would piss her right the fuck off. "Alright, let’s hear it. Might as well get this over with."

The sooner the better.

The resulting stilted silence was broken by a twitter from high in the stands.

"Going after the Tsavitee endangers us all," Ryan said.

There it was. The same old argument. Kira hadn’t cared the first time they made it. She cared even less now.

"They have our niece. Are you really asking me to leave her in their hands? Knowing what they do to people like us?"

Kira’s voice was ice cold, her tone a warning to tread very carefully.

Graydon moved closer in unspoken support. His earlier fascination had vanished as he watched the forty three with a predatory focus. As if they were potential enemies who needed to be countered.

"The daughter of a traitor. Why do we care what happens to her?" Thea corrected.

Anger swelled as the primus shifted under her skin.

Graydon’s hand on her arm steadied her. Enough for her to swallow the primus back.

Once she was calm, she spoke again. "I will not abandon Elena or Elise. Don’t you dare ask me to."

"We could force your hand," a man rumbled.

Kira snarled, the sound low and dangerous. "Try it."

She would kill them. Without an ounce of hesitation.

"Your actions affect us all, little sister," a woman murmured.

"I don’t care. I won’t walk away from them. No matter what you say."

This time Kira didn’t resist as the primus rose. She used its anger and rage, letting it peer through her eyes as her voice developed a reverberation. The sound echoing as if two people were speaking.

"This is your only warning. Stand in my way again—and I’ll treat you the way I would an enemy."

The forty three had fallen silent by the time Kira finished her threat. She moved her gaze over the stands, her primus allowing her to pinpoint the positions of her siblings.

She let them see her seriousness. For the sake of their shared history, she hoped they paid attention.

Graydon

No one spoke as Kira took her leave, stalking out of the room, seeming to take all of the oxygen with her. The hot splash of her anger receded with her absence. Like the ocean at low tide. It swept out to sea, but you knew it would return. As mighty and powerful as always.

The J1N followed her. A silent accompaniment that almost went unnoticed in the wake of her overpowering presence.

"Ahh, there she goes again," someone drawled.

"Should we drag her back? There’s enough of us. We could probably do it."

Graydon shot them a patronizing smile. "I would advise against that."

Their confidence was simply adorable. Even if they managed to get past his coli, and they might since she was a sentimental sort who would hesitate to use her full strength against them, there was still him. They were delusional if they thought he’d let them have their way.

The moment they sought to lay a hand on Kira, he’d cut that hand, and the arm attached to it, off.

"Protective," a woman observed. "I didn’t think it possible of a Face. I expected the emperor’s puppets to only be capable of that emotion when it came to him."

Graydon gave the shadows where that statement originated from a mocking bow. "There’s many things about me you’ll find different than you’d expect."

There was silence. Graydon got the sense they were studying him as carefully as they had Kira a few moments ago.

"As amusing as this has been, I suggest you get on with it while you still have my attention," Graydon suggested.

"Aren’t you supposed to be ingratiating yourself with us so you can convince us to return to the fold?" Thea drawled. "You’re awfully combative for someone who should be begging for our attention."

A humorless chuckle left Graydon as he looked the woman over. "I don’t beg."

Were the forty three really so arrogant? To assume Graydon and the Tuann would do anything for their return?

"You did it for her," someone pointed out.

"You’re not her."

Kira had shown she was worth any effort. These others couldn’t claim the same.

"The Tuann have no intentions of forcing your compliance. Return—or don’t." Graydon shook his head. "It’s up to you."

"And yet that’s exactly how you treated Kira. By backing her into a corner and forcing her hand."

The undercurrent of anger in that statement made Graydon tilt his head. So, they did care. At least a little. Enough to be indignant on her behalf.

"Kira’s situation was unique."

Truthfully speaking, Graydon had never planned to strong arm her into House Roake. That was until he’d learned the extent of her ki poisoning. Until that point, he’d intended to let her return to her ship. He’d planned to arrange several ’chance’ encounters that would highlight what she was missing by ignoring her people. He’d had no doubt she’d eventually come around to his way of thinking. He’d even looked forward to the challenge.

Her ki poisoning had changed things. There wasn’t time to gradually sway her to reason. He’d faced a choice. Circumventing her will or allowing her to die.

For Graydon, the choice was easy.

"You’re not dying—and even if you were, you’re still not her."

His coli was a force of nature. Both hurricane and a soft summer rain all wrapped into one package. The capacity for destruction existed side-by-side with a protective nature that took Graydon’s breath away.

"You love her," Selene guessed with a sense of discovery.

Someone in the shadows scoffed. "How useless."

"Not useless," Selene declared, her back straightening. "Simply an emotion we’re not overly familiar with."

Alexander shifted, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the woman beside him.

"I support Kira’s endeavors. It is my opinion we do not intervene at this junction and allow Kira room to work," Selene said, speaking loud enough that those at the back of the stands could hear.

"Surprise, surprise," Thea said snidely. "Selene siding with the prodigal daughter. Just like always."

"Kira made a valid point," Selene defended. "Elena is Elise’s daughter. That makes her ours."

"Elise is a traitor. We owe her nothing," someone called.

Selene inclined her head. "Elise, yes. Whatever her mother has done, Elena is innocent."

"Says the woman who helped Kira hide the girl’s existence from us. We still haven’t settled the account for that or the way you allowed the Tuann to discover you."

Selene maintained her poise at the threat. "The forty three aren’t here to control each other. What I do in my free time is my own choice. That includes establishing contact with my birth people."

"You endangered us all."

"How so? Elena was safe until Ryan interfered by sending her to Kira and the Tuann to pass along his little message. As for the Tuann, I told them nothing about us."

"Your actions dragged Alexander into matters."

Alexander stirred, shooting a cold look at the person responsible for that statement. "My choices are my own. You will not hold Selene responsible for them."

Thea cocked her head. "Maybe Selene isn’t the only one we should be thinking of punishing."

Alexander gave her a sharp smile. "You’re welcome to try."

The forty three quieted. Having seen replays of Alexander’s battle with the face changer, Graydon understood their caution. The man was a worthy foe that would have made for an interesting opponent.

"Pallas, how did Kira perform during your duel today?" Ryan asked, his quiet voice interrupting the growing discontent.

Pallas cracked an eye from where he was sitting with his chin on his hand. "Passable—but barely."

Selene’s scoff held derision. "You were evenly matched."

"And your partiality toward our youngest sister has always been obvious," Pallas returned.

Selene looked like she would have dearly loved to argue before thinking better of it.

"Explain," Ryan ordered.

Pallas lifted his chin off his fist, dropping his hand as he straightened. "Her reflexes are better, but her stamina is still shit. It’s not what it was at her peak. However, she is better with her soul’s breath. More adaptive. Less clumsy. Her time with the Tuann has benefited her. She’s no longer so reliant on her physical characteristics."

Graydon looked at the other man, impressed in spite of himself. Pallas’s analysis matched his own of Kira’s skills, pointing to the fact that there was more to him than just the deranged persona he presented.

"Would she survive?" one of those in a mask asked.

Pallas’s gaze turned inward, his face thoughtful. "Debatable."

The news was met with silence.

Graydon had to admit, the forty three’s control was admirable. They displayed a depth of discipline similar to those who occupied a position in their House’s higher ranks.

"Let’s put this to a vote," Ryan announced calmly.

As an emperor’s Face, Graydon had gotten used to reading people at a glance. Deciphering their motives and agenda in an instant.

This Ryan, though. He wasn’t so easy to see through.

"Alexander, what’s your opinion?" Ryan asked.

Alexander glanced in Selene’s direction. "My decision was made months ago. The forty three face a new paradigm. I am willing to see where Kira’s path leads us."

"Marie," Ryan said.

"Against."

"Cole."

"I have no opinion one way or the other at this time. I reserve my vote."

After that, Ryan didn’t call out anymore names, allowing the forty three to cast their vote on their own time.

Graydon took careful note of the voices, storing them in his memory in the event he ever came across one of them again.

The forty three were a cunning bunch, but they were fools if they thought Graydon wouldn’t be able to recognize them off the little information they’d given him. He’d always been a patient hunter. A year or a thousand, he’d find them if he ever desired to.

"You know my thoughts," Selene said. "I support Kira’s stance."

"Thea, you’re the last one," Ryan said.

The woman from earlier blew a raspberry. "Ah, what the hell. I’m in favor of Kira. Who doesn’t love a good war?"

Of everyone, her choice surprised Graydon the most. From her actions, he’d assumed she and Kira didn’t get along. Since their arrival, she’d been combative and aggressive, not even sparing her other siblings. It was almost like she was hoping for a fight and didn’t care who she had to make angry to get it.

"That is eighteen for. Fifteen against and ten abstaining at this time," Ryan announced.

"Ah, ah, our would be leader hasn’t shared his thoughts on the matter." Thea shook her finger at Ryan, her smile a touch sharp given her playful manner.

"I counted myself among the abstains," Ryan responded. "For now, I’m willing to see how this plays out."

Thea made a disappointed sound. "As cagey as always, brother."

"She can’t go alone," one of the faceless shadows said. "She will need monitoring."

"Pallas will be responsible for that," Ryan announced.

Lazy amusement appeared on Pallas’s face. "It’s my pleasure. I live to wrangle the most troublesome of our siblings."

Graydon’s eyes narrowed as Pallas’s gaze landed on him.

A secretive smile twisted Pallas’s lips. "In fact, I’m looking forward to it."

Kira

Kira’s anger propelled her out of the colosseum, accompanying her through the hall she’d arrived in, and past a second set of wide doors through which a dull sky beckoned.

Her footsteps drummed a staccato beat against the sands, keeping rhythm with the anger pulsing in her veins.

Insufferable bastards. The pure audacity.

After ninety-two odd years, you’d think they’d learn a few things. Like the fact she was loyal down to the very bedrock of her soul. She’d never abandon anyone she cared about to the Tsavitee’s mercy.

How dare they? Who did they think they were?

A group of forty three idiots. That’s who. Fucking morons if they thought they were going to control her.

Kira stepped into a barren vista. The sky hazy and low hanging. A gray film lying over it. Likely the reason for the poor air quality.

There was a taste on the wind that made her throat burn.

Too long exposed to whatever was contaminating the atmosphere and she’d suffer side effects. But not for a little while though.

She had time to figure out her next move.

First up on the agenda—finding a way off this planet.

Kira didn’t hold out much hope for that though. She’d suspected it before but the atmosphere and her surroundings confirmed it. This planet had been long abandoned.

The rocky terrain surrounding the oubliette was barren of any signs of life. There were mountains in the far distance. Their color drab and lackluster. There was nothing else but ravines and boulders between her and them. The structure behind her was the only evidence that a civilization had once existed here.

No life meant no ships. Without a ship, she was stuck here unless Pallas was kind enough to return Kira to hers.

After the way she’d just stormed off, she was betting that was no longer an option. If it ever was.

This was why no one had attempted to stop her. Because there was nowhere for her to go.

Kira hated to admit it, but she was well and truly fucked.

A knocking sound came from the J1N’s anti gravs, interrupting Kira’s pity party. He stopped beside her, listing slightly to one side with his ’eye’ pointing up at the sky.

"What is wrong with you?" she demanded, not certain if that question was aimed at him or herself.

The urge to scream crawled up her throat. The impulse growing with the drone’s silence.

So, she let it out. Tipping her face to the hazy sky and sinking her rage into the primal sound that ripped free of her.

Again. And then again.

Until calm settled over her and she felt like she could think again.

"They wouldn’t strand themselves here," Kira said.

Pallas might have a way off through his ability, but the rest didn’t have that cheat. That meant there was a ship around here somewhere.

Kira just needed to find it.

"J1N, scan the terrain for metals commonly used in Tuann or Consortium ships," Kira ordered.

"Scanning."

Kira squinted at the terrain as she waited, paying close attention to anything that didn’t belong. Any shape that looked artificial in nature.

"The number of data points is too great."

"Narrow it down to one or two materials," Kira ordered impatiently.

"Alright," the J1N responded, its tone almost sulky if Kira didn’t know better. "Still does not compute."

"Never mind," Kira said as she caught sight of something at the base of two hills. "I think I found what I’m looking for."

She bounded down steps half buried in sand, striding across the landscape.

The sun was beginning to rise as Kira neared her destination. A dim orb whose rays of light barely made a difference. The gloom just a few shades brighter than it was at night.

The gap between Kira and the J1N widened as she increased her pace in excitement as a ship’s outline took shape exactly where she’d expected it to be.

The ship was a forlorn figure in the austere landscape. Its running lights offering a tiny respite against the lackluster dawn. It was the same class as the Wanderer. Though the design was different. Not from any planet in the Consortium. Nor the Haldeel either from what she could tell. It looked like a bastardized version of a Tuann ship. The guns mounted on either wing making its design more aggressive than the Tuann typically favored. They tended to hide their claws, preferring to conceal their weapons in nondescript areas to make it difficult to determine their threat level.

This ship had its claws on the outside. Practically shouting that it wasn’t to be fucked with.

Curious, Kira touched a wing, trailing her fingers over the metal and finding it cool to the touch. Inert. Another difference. The metal in Tuann ships felt alive. Her touch should have woken a reaction. A shimmer of colors to announce the ship’s awareness of her presence.

"What are you?" Kira murmured, studying the ship in its entirety.

Tuann designed but Consortium made. Outfitted for a fight and just begging to be stolen.

"Jin was so right. Piracy really is fun."

Though technically she considered this closer to pure theft than piracy.

"Piracy is banned in all known territories of space,” the J1N said from above her.

"Then it’s a good thing we’re not in any of those territories."

She was pretty sure.

"My programing does not allow me to participate in a known felony. Should you continue on this course, I will be forced to take action."

That got Kira’s attention as she eyed the drone carefully.

Given the amount of firepower she and Jin had installed, that was a serious threat. To make matters worse, she couldn’t do anything that would cause harm to Jin’s original body.

"J1N, what are the rules on salvaging ships?"

There was a brief pause. "These vary based on the government enforcing them."

"Yes, they do, but a common theme throughout Haldeel, Tuann, and human space is that an abandoned ship is up for grabs by whoever chooses to salvage it."

As a former salvager, Kira was familiar with all of the laws governing the recovery of abandoned and dead ships. Although most humans focused on Tsavitee ships, there had been the odd one here and there who would target the Consortium’s relics. She’d wanted to know the rules just in case.

"That is correct," the J1N said after a moment.

"Do you see anyone nearby who could lay claim to this ship?"

"That would be a negative."

"Then this isn’t theft or piracy—we’re simply salvaging an abandoned ship," Kira explained.

"I see."

With a sense of victory, Kira turned to the ship’s airlock, only to find herself stymied a second later.

"Ah, crap," Kira muttered.

She didn’t recognize the security system. Given the way the ship bristled with weapons like an unfriendly hedgehog, she should have expected its owner to go the extra mile to prevent unauthorized entry.

She was a decent hacker, but this was far beyond her skills. Jin, on the other hand, would have had no problem.

That actually gave her an idea.

Kira crooked her finger at the J1N. "Come here."

The drone was sluggish to obey, drifting toward her in fits and starts. Its lens ending up facing away from her despite being pointed in the right direction to begin with.

Kira made a frustrated sound before yanking the drone into position.

"Stay there."

She opened the J1N’s access panel located at the bottom of the drone. Its leads dropped.

Normally, Jin could have wirelessly hacked the hatch, but since the J1N was a pale facsimile of him, she had to go old school.

That meant manually splicing into the system before using the J1N’s programs to trick the door into opening. And hope the ship didn’t use her for target practice in the meantime.

It didn’t take long, the ship de-pressurizing several minutes later as the hatch opened.

"That was easy," Kira muttered with a frown.

A little too easy.

Despite that, Kira wasted no time, detaching the J1N’s wires from the ship’s access panel before stuffing them back into the bottom of the drone.

"Follow me and don’t do anything stupid," Kira ordered, extending the akieri into its sword form.

She shoved the hatch fully open, pausing to scan the ship’s interior before stepping fully inside.

Her guard lowered partially when she found no one waiting for her. Not enough to dismiss the akieri entirely, but enough to lower its tip so it pointed at the ground.

"A ship after my heart," Kira said, stepping carefully as she examined her surroundings.

Its design was spartan. Much more so than the outside. The plain metal walls and floors carried no additional embellishments. As cold and intimidating as its exterior.

Kira explored until she found a room that she assumed was the bridge.

The J1N meandered through the room like a drunken bumble bee as Kira sat down in the captain’s chair, looking everything over.

She wiggled her fingers and set them on the keyboard. First—she’d commandeer this ship. Then—she’d see what she could do about picking Graydon up so they could get off this rock.

"Well then, let’s get started, shall we?"