Kira didn't try to be quiet as she pelted after Jin, the need for distance and speed outweighing the desire for subtlety.
She was lost within minutes as he led her through a maze of rooms, through halls and courtyards, and over more than one sloped roof.
Her legs burned as she followed, sprinting toward a garden retaining wall, running up it and grabbing the top. She pulled herself up, dashing along it as Jin took another shortcut.
Reaching the end of the wall, she leaped off it, trusting him to warn her of danger. She landed, turning her forward momentum into a roll.
She found her feet again before sprinting down a stone walkway sheltered by an arboretum covered in pale, silvery flowers.
Jin paused at a set of doors leading to a glass-covered conservatory before moving inside. Kira cautiously followed.
It was a greenhouse, similar to what she'd come across on Graydon's ship. The darkness inside, coupled with the vines crawling up the walls and the overgrown trees and plants, shielded her from the outside, while giving her a 360-degree view.
"Where are we?" Kira asked, catching her breath as he made a circuit of the room.
"A little spot I discovered. From what I can tell, it's mostly abandoned. I've only ever seen one person visit, and that person wasn’t a warrior. We should be safe enough for now," Jin said.
Kira spied a change of clothes on one of the workbenches tucked to the side. She headed over to them, shrugging out of the rags of her dress. Much as she loved the dress, she needed attire more suitable for fighting.
"How far are we from the Nexus?" Her voice was muffled as she pulled the shirt over her head. Her head popped out of the collar.
"Not far as I fly. It'll take longer for you given your big body."
Kira rolled her eyes before pulling on her pants.
"Why?" he asked, suspicion threading through his voice.
"Because that's where we need to go. If they intend to bring down the defense network, the Nexus is the best place to do it from," she said.
It was time to go on the offensive. Enough running around the Citadel searching for Graydon. There were too many buildings. They'd never find him in time.
If they wanted a chance at stopping the Tsavitee attack, they needed to go straight to the source.
Jin let out a gusty wheeze. "Why is it your asks are never easy?"
"Face it, if they were, you'd get bored."
He'd probably end up destroying half of civilization as a result.
"You keep telling yourself that, Kira. Somehow, I don't think it's me in danger of boredom," he muttered, trailing behind her as she left the glass building.
*
Finding the Nexus waseasy. Not a single patrol hindered their progress.
The lack of security made her anxious. If she’d been in charge of security, she would have sealed the Nexus—the military command hub of the Citadel—first.
This didn’t make sense, Kira thought as they approached the unguarded door to the Nexus. Its large frame reached for the ceiling high above. There were no signs of the Luathans anywhere.
Roderick might have been lazy and slightly dumb, but even he couldn’t have been this inept. Right?
“What do you want to do?” Jin asked, no happier at the ease of their passage than her.
“I don’t think we have a choice, do you?”
His silence was answer enough.
Kira pushed the heavy door open a crack and peered through. Inside was as deserted as the hallway.
