by T. A. White
The flash of guilt on Elena's face confirmed she'd been the one responsible.
"If you'd been anyone else, we wouldn't be having this conversation because I would have already cut ties with you," Kira told her.
Elena winced but didn't speak.
"Those were private. They were never meant to be seen by him."
Jin had verified that the video files meant for Raider were the only ones Elena had accessed. A relief since there were other recordings on her ship that held the potential to hurt Elena.
What had started as a genuine attempt to reach out had evolved into a type of therapy for Kira when her demons felt overwhelming. Some of those recordings had been intended for Elise—and not all of them were kind.
"I know," Elena said, sounding lost.
"Then why did you send them?"
Elena ducked her head, her eyes glossy.
Kira steeled herself. She couldn't let her niece's pain keep her from doing what was right. Elena had stepped over the line. Kira let her get away with a lot to make up for the fact that she couldn't be there all the time, but she'd be doing her niece a disservice in the long run if she didn't address this here and now.
"Deep inside, you carry a pain that never fully goes away," Elena finally said, reaching up to fiddle with MinMin where he clung to her shirt. The silver turtle lifted its head, knocking it against Elena's fingers. "When I look at the sperm donor, I see the same pain. I know Mother has a lot to do with that. I thought if I could make him understand, you could both heal."
Kira felt herself softening. In a perfect world, Elise would have been able to give her daughter everything they hadn't had growing up. A family. Warmth. Love. Security.
Instead, Elise and Elena's fates had been twisted. Elena had to rely on Kira—a pale imitation of the real thing.
It was natural for Elena to wish for a reconciliation between Kira and the father she'd always yearned for.
Kira reached out, dragging her niece into a hug, ignoring Elena as she wiggled and squirmed in her embrace. Kira rested her chin on the top of Elena's head. "Sometimes I forget you're just a sprout who still doesn't know anything."
In response, Elena planted her hand on Kira's face and shoved.
Her attempt was largely unsuccessful, only managing to dislodge Kira partially.
"I'm not feeling the love right now, child of my sister," Kira said in an injured tone. "Is it that you think you're too old for my hugs?"
Kira let out a gusty sigh and faked wiping a tear on Elena's hair.
"Your armor is uncomfortable," Elena complained, using both arms to try to push Kira away. "Let go."
Kira held firm, her expression the picture of hurt. "You must bear with it. Soon this time will pass and you will wish you hadn't been so stingy."
"Auntie, we both know you only give out hugs when you're being tricky." By now, Elena had managed to put a couple of inches between them, using her whole body to fight free.
Kira fought her smile. It seemed her niece could see through her.
"Alas, woe is me. Even my own niece doesn't love me anymore," Kira continued in a sad voice.
"I get it. I get it. I was wrong. I won't do it again," Elena yelled.
Kira pulled her in for another hug, being sure to smoosh Elena's face in the process. She dropped one final kiss onto her niece's hair and then stepped back.
"If you understand, don't let it happen again in the future," Kira said, the facade of sadness dropping from her in an instant.
Elena smoothed her hair, grumbling as she trailed Kira out of the bay.
"Did you have to be so annoying?" Elena asked.
"I have more of those hugs in me. Want to experience them?"
Elena's eyes widened. "I just remembered. Wren got me a seat in the stands. I'd better get over there before the race's start."
"Wise choice," Kira waited for her niece to scamper off toward Auralyn. The oshota dipped her head toward Kira before the two disappeared toward the audience entrance.
Only then did Kira step into the tunnel, heading toward the race’s start line where her waveboard and the rest of her pit crew, such as they were, waited.
The transition from tunnel to track was seamless, her eyes adjusting quickly. The starting area teemed with bodies as the competitors conducted last-minute checks.
Kira skirted the edge of the crowd as she headed for her team's designated area.
Though it was only a semifinal, you wouldn't know it by the crowd in the stands. Today, the number of spectators wearing synth armor had nearly doubled from her previous race with Roake and Luatha dominating. Despite that, Kira caught the synth armor of numerous other Houses and knew news of her participation in the races had spread.
No doubt, the other Houses were here to investigate this strange child of Roake and Luatha and see how she measured up to their own offspring.
"This is quite the crowd," Kira said as her gaze caught on familiar faces.
Liara, Roderick beside her, watched Kira with a focused intensity.
"You don't know the half of it," Jin said over the comms. "Look to your right and up."
Kira followed his direction, scanning but not finding anything that stood out to her. She didn't have Jin's abilities to parse thousands of pieces of information in a single second or a camera for eyes that enabled him to blow up even the smallest of images for study.
"Not yet. Keep going," Jin said without prompting.
Kira looked up and up. Past the common spectator stands to the private boxes. Unlike the one she'd stood in last night, these were on a whole other level. Several of them hovered several feet above the top of the stands.
"Is that a royal?" Kira asked.
"It would seem so."
"What is one of them doing here?"
Haldeel royals were different than human royals. They weren't decided by birth but rather by achievement. The tests to join were rigorous and quite dangerous. Assassination attempts and sabotage were considered par for the course and not illegal. It was a vicious fight to the top, and one not many humans knew about.
Most humans assumed the Haldeel weren't violent, and this was true for most aspects of their society. They relied on technology to gain an advantage over their enemies. However, succession and social advancement was as bloody as any struggle of the same on old Earth. The Haldeel were just a little more civilized about it.
They'd stab you in the back with a smile while thanking you for being their stepping-stone to the next level.
It was a dichotomy that had always fascinated Himoto, who likened it to the power struggles in the ancient empires as families fought for supremacy.
As a result, the royal family was not related to each other by blood, but by shared experiences.
Humans assumed because of that they would be easily divided.
Surprisingly, that wasn’t so. The Haldeel empire was tens of thousands of years old. They would never have lasted that long with a system that had such obvious flaws.
To be honest, Kira hadn't thought she'd see one of them until the finals. While it was normal for the royals to watch the events of the quorum, they usually only made their presence known for the latter half when the stakes were higher.
Even more concerning was the presence of Graydon and Yukina in the royal's box. The royal in question was keeping a low profile. From where Kira stood, she couldn't see their face.
"I don't know, but you have more pressing concerns right now," Jin responded.
At his words, Kira headed in his direction.
Finn's large body was easy to spot even with the number of people between them. It was only when there was a brief lull in the crowd that Kira saw what Jin meant.
Odin bent over the monitors, making last-minute adjustments to her board.
Kira's pace sped up as she made a beeline for him.
Odin’s eyes narrowed as he looked up.
His features were more feminine than the last time she'd seen him. Gone was the shadow along h
is jawline.
Kira's gaze moved to his ear, catching the twinkle of a green stone.
Odin had assumed the female persona again.
Kira was a little surprised. While the hacker rarely stayed the same gender for long, Odin typically tried to stay consistent during a mission.
It made it so much easier to slip through the nets of law enforcement when they were looking for one gender while Odin became the other.
The transformation was so thorough that even scanning Odin’s DNA wouldn’t expose the deception.
It was a useful talent, but only if no one ever suspected. It made Odin as slippery as an eel and was one of the reasons Kira had so much trouble tracking the changeling that first time.
Finn watched Odin with suspicion, likely picking up the same change Kira had but not knowing what it meant.
"If you kill me, everyone will see. The Haldeel will arrest you, and you'll lose this race,” Odin said as soon as she arrived.
"Do you think I give a shit about this race?"
"Probably not, but you might change your mind after what I tell you."
Kira narrowed her eyes at Odin. "I'm waiting."
"The Tsavitee have something planned for the race. I want to know what, and the only way to learn that is by competing."
Finn glanced at Kira. "We should inform Graydon."
"And say what? Hello sir, this person wanted by half the universe says they think the Tsavitee are here and plotting?” Scorn filled Odin’s expression. “Do you think they'd believe that?"
Finn's jaw flexed. "It will be our fault if something goes wrong."
"It's more likely you'll scare them off. Then what? It could be years before we draw them out again," Odin argued.
Finn ignored Odin, his eyes never leaving Kira’s.
She gave him a sharp nod. "Do it. Inform Graydon."
Odin made a rude sound. "What happened to 'at all costs'?"
"I made a promise,” Kira said, reaching for patience. “Also, it will only benefit us in the long run to have Graydon in our corner.”
"They could be monitoring our communications," Odin said sulkily as Finn touched his arm to open a channel.
A humorless smile came from Finn. "Not these."
"Being cocky will only lead to destruction,” Odin said.
Jin snickered. "Oh ho, someone gets a little touchy when they're overruled."
Odin regarded the drone with a flat stare. "Careful Tin Can, or we'll revisit exactly how touchy I can be."
Jin spun toward Kira. "Why is this menace here? We already know we can't trust her."
"Odin is here because she has a unique set of skills that no one else can replicate,” Kira forced herself to say.
"And also because you need someone with a pulse to act as the controller since the officials won't recognize a pile of nuts and bolts as advanced enough to trust with someone's safety," Odin added in a chipper voice.
"Shows what you know. I don't have a single nut or bolt in my body. I'm way too advanced for that," Jin sniffed.
While the two were arguing, Finn moved closer. "Graydon said that without more concrete information, the race officials won't delay the semifinals."
"Told you," Odin sang.
"He will, however, deploy his oshota to keep an eye on the crowd," Finn finished in a cool voice.
"It's already done," Kira warned when it looked like Odin was going to argue. "And don't think we're not going to have a conversation about Elena later."
Odin's mouth snapped closed. "Fine. Do you want to know about your competitors?"
Kira made a gesture to continue. Data scrolled across Kira’s optics. Names were attached to photos, along with their finish times during the qualifying races, and their preferred tactics.
Kira scanned the files quickly, sorting them into those who might present a threat and the non-threats. Unlike last time, there were quite a few strong contenders.
"Most of the field aren't much better than trash," Odin said. "Their skills are mediocre, but they could be annoying if they banded together."
And because of Kira’s actions in the last race she was probably first on their list to target.
"From the information I gathered, these three will likely be the ones to cause the most trouble on this section of the race."
Images formed in front of Kira's right eye courtesy of the small lens Odin had given her. Unlike other lens computers Kira had tried, the images on this were crisp.
"Do you see them?" Odin asked.
"Yes."
"Good. The one on the left is the former disciple of the current champion. There was some type of falling out, but I couldn’t find out over what."
"I'm surprised. Is the great Allfather slipping?" Jin taunted.
"Should I tell you a story then?" Odin teased. "I don't mind, but I thought you wanted to stay focused. My mistake. I didn't realize you were such a glutton for gossip."
"You shape-changing bastard," Jin hissed.
Finn's gaze met Kira's for a brief second.
"Don't suppose you could do anything about those two?" she asked.
If she had to listen to endless arguments during the race today, it would drive her crazy. No one wanted a homicidal Kira on a waveboard.
Finn’s smile held menace. "It would be my pleasure."
Kira immersed herself in studying the dossiers, not paying any attention even after the loud crash and subsequent grumblings of the other two.
"There won't be any further issues," Finn informed Kira happily.
She paused on two dossiers she found interesting. "Devon and Raider are in this race?"
Odin sent a sulky expression toward Jin. "See what you did? You ruined my big reveal."
"Maybe next time you shouldn't get so distracted," Jin retorted.
Finn coughed. The two retreated to opposite sides of the table.
Kira flipped through the rest of the dossiers, only finding one other of interest. The one Devon had said used the same technique as her. Moonbeam.
The only image included in the file was one where the racer’s face was hidden by a mask similar to the one Kira used.
As she finished up, Raider joined them. Like Kira, he wore flight armor—though his wasn’t as advanced as hers.
He cut a fine figure in it. He had a sort of roguish appeal. A little bit dangerous and a lot dashing. He had the sort of charm that made him easy to love, even as you kind of hated him too.
He flicked a look at Kira. "This is who you've chosen to work with? Are you being serious right now?"
"Odin has her uses," Kira said.
Raider scoffed. "That changeling tried to kill us."
Odin held up a finger that was slightly longer and slenderer than a human's. "Point of fact—I did no such thing. If I'd wanted you dead, you wouldn't still be breathing."
Kira knew enough about Odin's methods to guess she was probably speaking the truth. It was the biggest reason Kira had let her live, even going so far as to stage the other's death to help her escape from those who'd held her leash.
"There were mitigating circumstances," Kira revealed.
Raider shot her a disbelieving stare. “She was working with the enemy.”
"You don't know anything, kithiw." Menace rolled off Odin as she glared at Raider from the brim of the cap she wore to shield her face.
Raider didn't back down, if anything looking even more murderous.
Kithiw was a term the Tsavitee used for humans. Extremely derogatory, as most Tsavitee terms for outsiders were, it translated to fodder/food, something Kira had always found interesting given the way the Tsavitee divided their ranks and the fact half of them couldn't even operate without someone controlling them.
Kira caught Raider's arm, preventing him from stepping any closer. "Not everything is as it seems."
The tension in his arm under her hand remained for several long seconds before he relaxed and shrugged her off. "I hope you know what you're doing."
Raider didn't wai
t for a response, walking away without another word.
Odin busied herself with removing the cables attached to the waveboard, pretending not to notice Kira’s stare.
"Using that word was a mistake," Kira said softly.
It was a trigger for any human who'd fought in the war.
Odin’s hands slowed. "I know."
"Don't let it happen again." With her warning, Kira let the matter go, knowing Raider's accusation was a trigger for Odin as well.
In some ways, Odin was very like Kira.
The changeling’s early life was controlled by people who only sought to use her. Kira's interference had saved her from that fate, but it didn't save the rest of those Odin cared about.
Everything Odin did now was in service to one goal—freeing those left behind.
Odin finished the preparations and handed the board to Kira.
"There aren't going to be any issues like last time, are there?" Kira asked.
"Not unless the Tin Can made a lot of useless upgrades again."
"Good." Kira set the board on the ground, stepping on it and activating the drive chain.
She listened to its throaty rumble with satisfaction.
While the drive chain in the board she'd used in her last race was still intact, the rest of the board had been pretty thoroughly destroyed.
It had necessitated Odin finding her a new one. From the sound of its engines, it looked like Odin had gone above and beyond.
"Is this a Blair class 500?" Kira asked.
"It's the 503." Odin leaned a hip against the table, her expression one of satisfaction.
"Those just came out. They're still pretty rare."
Odin lifted a shoulder. "I have my ways."
There was never any doubt of that.
Odin straightened and moved behind the monitors. “The race is starting. You’d better get out there.”
Kira nodded. "Jin, you're point. Finn is support, and Odin can help as needed."
"Roger that."
Not wasting time, Kira pointed her board toward the starting line where her fellow opponents were beginning to gather. The friendly banter died down as anticipation and nerves took hold.
Beneath it all, excitement bubbled.
