Kira saw no evidence of controls, and no way to manipulate it. It was an octagon someone had sunk into the floor.
The presence of the Mea'Ave strengthened the closer to the octagon she got, the pressure from the planet squeezing Kira's mind under its immense weight.
"I don't suppose you caught a glimpse of how to work this thing in your snooping," Kira said, straightening from where she'd bent to take a look at the floor.
"I may have seen something of that nature," Jin said nonchalantly.
Kira's glare told him to get on with it.
He made another grumbling sound and then a hologram appeared in front of him. Liara stepped onto the floor and raised her hands, her mouth opening as she sang several low notes. The air around her shimmered before stars spun into view.
Jin's hologram faded.
"That's it? That's all you've got?"
"What else do you need?"
"I don't know—something useful."
"I can't do everything for you," he shot back. "You figured out how the Tsavitee ships worked. I have faith you can do this too."
Kira's snarl would have once made junior enlisted military members quail. Jin didn't flinch.
"You're a pain in the ass," she said.
"Then we're a matched pair."
Kira muttered about insolent scraps of junk as she studied the sunken floor.
She didn't step onto it. Not yet at least. There was a possibility of hidden traps designed to attack unauthorized users. If this had been a Tsavitee ship, she would have counted on it.
Acting rashly could trigger an alert of a breach to their system.
Kira rubbed her hands together as she considered her options. If she’d had the time and an attack wasn't imminent, she'd spend several days studying this setup, testing and probing to see its reactions.
Time was the one thing she didn't have.
She bit her lip as she considered stepping into the space and just seeing what happened.
A hard hand grabbed her arm and jerked her to a stop just as she had psyched herself up to take that final step.
Graydon's furious eyes glittered at her. "Mistake. The Mea'Ave would fry your mind as soon it realized you weren't the Overlord or her heir."
Kira looked from him to the octagon in dismay.
"Good advice," she finally said.
She let him pull her back several steps. She sighed in relief before trying to remove her arm from his grip. His hand tightened to the point of pain.
His harsh expression finally registered. There was none of the warmth or heated promise from earlier in the night. She couldn't see the resigned annoyance that had characterized their first exchanges.
Instead, she saw a glittering hardness, diamond-like, lacking any trace of emotion besides fury.
Something was wrong. She knew this look, had been on the receiving end before by those she trusted.
A tight ball formed in her stomach.
It was the type of stare you gave someone when you realized they weren't the person you thought they were, when you found out they'd betrayed you on such a fundamental level there was no hope of forgiveness.
