Himoto's eyes were dark pools as he turned to her, his feelings and thoughts carefully hidden. "Rear Admiral Skarsdale, if you please."
Jace stepped out from behind the shipping containers, several humans in the uniform of station security flanking him. He walked toward Kira after a long look at Himoto.
He handed her a thin tablet, the memo already pulled up.
Himoto explained as she read. "You never formalized your retirement. It gave us room to recall you to service. Your orders are included in that packet as well."
Kira felt a dull horror at his words. Jin drifted lower so he could read over her shoulder.
"Is he right?" she asked.
Jin had made a point of studying all the laws and regulations of the Consortium. It was easier to circumvent the system when you knew exactly what loopholes to employ.
"Yes."
The tablet dropped to her side as she glared at the ground. Damn it. What was the use of knowing every law and regulation out there if they got caught in the damn loopholes?
Jace's gaze was unsympathetic when she looked up, his face hard and closed. He probably thought she was getting her just desserts. She couldn't really blame him given the manner of their parting, but still, a wild feeling surged in her chest as the sense of being trapped closed in all around her.
It'd been a long time since she got that feeling. It used to be, anytime she stepped foot on a ship or space station she had to beat it back. Now, she was better, except she was struck by the urge to lash out until this nasty feeling in her chest was gone.
Seeing he had her right where he wanted her, Himoto said, "Kira won't be going anywhere without our say so."
The threat was clear. If Graydon continued to push to have the alliance dissolved, then Himoto would make it so his people never got their hands on her. She would feel more comforted by that if she didn't know Centcom would do anything to preserve the alliance.
Where the Haldeel were slightly condescending to the younger humans, they at least were helpful—there when they were most needed and willing to let humanity's best and brightest into their territories where they could study at places of learning and interact on a regular basis.
The Tuann, by contrast, seemed to want nothing to do with humans. They had only interfered under the most extreme circumstances during the war when the threat of casualties on their side were almost nonexistent or when the Tsavitee had strayed too closely to their borders. They didn't have time for humanity, and they made their disdain perfectly clear.
At least that's what Kira had picked up the rare times she was in port.
Unfortunately, the Tuann military were virtually unbeatable, and they were one of the few races to have held the Tsavitee off for longer than humans had been in space.
"You would risk war with the Tuann," Graydon said, a silky threat in his voice.
Himoto's smile was humorless. "I guess that depends on you."
Graydon looked at him carefully, as if Himoto had suddenly transformed from a gentle bunny into a spitting snake.
Kira was familiar with the feeling. Himoto possessed the rare gift of getting people to see him as almost harmless, while he manipulated them onto the path he wanted. He'd done it to her enough times in the past she could sometimes see the signs coming. Unfortunately, this wasn’t one of them.
Seeing he had Graydon's attention, Himoto said, "Now, let's go somewhere we can all talk and you can tell us exactly what you see in Kira's future and what it will mean for her."
Though the words were polite, his expression indicated he wasn't going to bend on this point.
Graydon inclined his head, just the slightest bit, his gaze flicking to Kira's in a penetrating stare before he turned away, snapping orders at his people.
"Kira," Himoto said expectantly.
Kira hesitated, the inescapable feeling her life was about to be changed irrevocably yet again, swamping her.
She glanced at theWanderer. "If you're really planning to let them take me, I could use some things from my ship."
Himoto watched her, his gaze assessing. "Of course."
Kira turned toward the airlock with a sense of relief.
"I'll accompany you. I would like to see the inside of the place you called home," he said idly.
