"Kira, where the hell have you been? I've been trying you forever. The security trees are lit up like the brothel district on Sarat 8," he hissed over their comms.
"I was in the service tunnels. Just got out a few minutes ago."
The service tunnels were built from a material designed to block radio and comms transmission. It was a remnant of the war when protecting the station's self-sustaining systems was paramount.
"What were you doing there?" Jin asked.
"It was the one place I could lose the Tuann," Kira said, glancing around her. Something felt off, but she didn't know what. "I'm almost to theWanderer."
"Me too."
"First one there begins the preflight checklist," Kira ordered. "I want to be off this station as soon as possible."
"You won't get an argument from me. I leave you for a few minutes and you have half the station after you. Unbelievable."
Kira allowed herself a small smile at her friend's frustration before it faded, the same feeling from before drawing her attention to the matter at hand.
She slowed to a stop and looked around. There it was again. A niggling feeling on the back of her neck warning she wasn't alone. Someone was out there, watching. Yet when she looked around, feigning a nonchalance she didn't feel, nothing. No sign of anyone else on the platform, just her and an endless number of shipping crates.
Kira continued forward, slower this time. Her footsteps silent as she advanced, hyperalert as she took in her surroundings.
Briefly she considered turning, disappearing into the service tunnels until all interest had vanished. Unfortunately, it would mean being trapped. Eventually, someone would figure out where she was. If they were persistent enough, they could arrange a thorough search until they flushed her out.
At that point she'd be stuck since her ship would likely be under surveillance and/or locked into the dock.
Given her luck, these people would be that persistent.
No, her only option was to continue on and hope her instincts were wrong. It had been years since they'd seen any action. Maybe they were getting their signals crossed after the earlier excitement.
The bulbous shape of theWandererappeared out the window port. Relief filled Kira. She was nearly home. Another hundred meters and she'd be there.
Once in the ship, no one would be able to touch her. She hadn't skimped on its security. Not even the best forced boarding specialist in the space force would be able to get on board.
Of course, that left the possibility of aerial attack, but she had a couple of tricks up her sleeve for those too.
She rounded another set of crates, the ship’s airlock in sight. She came to an abrupt stop. A man stood in front of a window with a full view of theWanderer, his head tilted as he studied it, his hands clasped behind him. His posture was military straight, as if someone had taken a straight rod and welded it to his spine. It made him seem much taller and more imposing than he already was.
"So, this is what you're calling home these days?" he called.
Kira didn't answer, her gaze moving to the shadows of the bay. Despite appearances, the man wasn't alone. There were others here, watching, waiting. For what, she didn't know.
The station security's interest in her suddenly made sense. She might want nothing to do with Centcom these days, but that didn't mean it didn't want something from her. And this man—he was the personification of Centcom.
"Have to say, it's not where I pictured you," he continued.
"What do you want?" Kira asked, her voice hard, not letting the conversational tone lull her into dropping her guard.
"Many, many things," he said, an ache in his voice.
There was sadness there, something Kira ignored. Himoto might regret having taken certain actions, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do them again if he felt it benefited humanity. No matter who got hurt along the way.
"I'm a full admiral now, did you know?" he asked, his mood shifting with lightning quickness.
Kira took a few steps closer. "I had heard."
"Your congratulations must have gotten lost in the void," he said, giving her a friendly smile. It created a spiderweb of lines around the corners of his eyes. The dark hair she remembered was mostly gray now, making him seem distinguished. The cut of it was familiar, short on the sides and a little longer on top.
"Something like that," Kira murmured, still on the lookout.
