She turned and picked up a little more speed, reaching deep for reserves she hadn't had to tap in a while. She tried to keep in shape on the ship, but there was only so much you could do on something that was little more than two thousand square feet.
Her endurance wasn't what it had once been, but she'd wager it was better than most peoples’.
Shouts from in front caused her to slide to a stop. Station security poured toward her.
She was trapped. The station's security in front, a wizard in back and a wizard above.
Kira stilled as she examined her options.
The man slowed to a walk when he saw she was cornered. He wasn't even breathing hard.
Satisfaction appeared on his face. He thought he'd won.
Well, when you were trapped on three sides, there was only one choice. Kira walked toward the terrace, hopping up to stand on the railing, her balance precarious. It was sturdier than its thin frame suggested, barely wobbling under her weight.
Alarm appeared on the wizard's face. "Stop. We won't hurt you."
Security approached at a dead run.
The wizard held out his hand, a demand in his expression. "Come," he ordered in accented standard.
Kira gave him a slight smile. She'd never really been one for orders. Probably why she was no longer in the space force.
She leaned back, spreading her arms and letting gravity take her. Her balance passed the point of no return.
The wizard lunged for her, making a desperate grab, his expression incredulous. Kira couldn't help her small chuckle at the sight, before she turned her attention to surviving the fall.
The three linked supply hovercars she'd spotted earlier rushed by under her along their invisible track. She tucked her knees to her chest and flipped, her landing precise.
She stood and grinned.
There was a thud several cars behind her. She turned, the sight wiping the smile off her face. The man straightened, a glare aimed her way.
Kira gritted her teeth. It seemed he didn't plan on being so easily shaken. That was okay. They'd see how long he could keep up out here where the footing was unstable and a single mistake would mean your death.
Kira turned and leaped sideways, grabbing hold of a fast-moving hovercraft as it arrowed in the opposite direction. She pulled herself onto its top and stood, her attention focused behind her as the wizard found his own hovercraft.
"Jin is never going to believe this," she muttered to herself.
Two people crazy enough to play leapfrog with moving pieces. He was going to lose his shit when he found out.
She leaped off her car, letting gravity pull her down as she turned to fall head first in a smooth dive. She flipped, landing on one car to run two steps to the side and leap straight into the air again, vaulting from craft to craft, the wizard in relentless pursuit.
Kira remained focused, knowing he wasn't the only one courting death in this crazy hopscotch involving hovercraft, sailboats and air gondolas. Soon she lost herself in the sheer joy of the challenge, cutting through the air with a dancer's grace. It felt like flying, the gravity of the station less than a normal planet's but more than being out in the great expanse.
The adrenaline and fear of capture, coupled with the feeling of pushing her body as far as it would go, glorying when it rose to the challenge, all combined to make her feel powerful and alive.
She slid to a stop on top of one of the long trams as it glided toward the other side of the station, cutting through the honeycomb halfway through its journey.
She looked up, expecting the Tuann to be far behind her with no hope of catching up. No one had ever stayed with her for this long.
Surprise shot through her. His furious face looked down from twenty feet above her and a hundred yards off. She calculated his likely path and grimaced. He'd catch her in the next three jumps.
From here on out, the footing became scarce as they neared the middle of the atrium. Most craft tended to stay close to the terraces, content to move from point to point and avoid the sometimes-tricky air currents in the center. It left her few choices, none of them getting her the distance she needed away from her erstwhile shadow.
She considered her next move. She could always let him catch her, ask him what he wanted and why he was after her. It was what a civilized person would do.
Her smile was dark when it came. No one had ever considered her civilized, not even when she bowed to humanity's will and served on the front lines in the worst war of their long history, a war where more people died than lived.
