Kira glanced at him but didn't respond. She grabbed the earbuds she'd removed earlier and stuck them into her ears, tuning him out. She didn't want to talk. She wanted to run.
Baran’s expression was frustrated as she faced forward and picked up the pace. He fell back several steps when it became clear Kira had no intention of engaging him.
She did another ten minutes at that pace, one a few notches below a sprint. She finally slowed and stepped off the track, ignoring the people around her as she sat and worked through her stretches.
A pair of feet stepped into her view. Kira held the stretch for several more seconds before she sat back and looked up.
Jace stood in front of her, Raider steps behind him.
Nova and Maverick lurked several mats over, one eye on the Tuann as they performed their own stretches.
"Do you need help?" Jace asked as Kira reclined and raised her leg straight up, grabbing her calf and gently pulling it toward her.
"No."
Jace didn't listen, pushing her leg toward her. "Resist," he said, changing his grip and gently pulling it away from her.
With a grunt Kira did.
"I see your social skills haven't gotten any better." Raider glanced at her two guards where they did their own stretching yards away.
Kira didn't respond as she raised her other leg so Jace could help her with it.
"It’ll be hard to convince them to relinquish their claim on you if you never talk to them," Jace said.
Kira grunted. He didn't care about that. He cared about the ships and Kira's ability to convince the Tuann to part with them. Beyond that, she was on her own.
"They're not the right people," she said. She'd listened when they spoke. Her House had laid claim to her. The mark on her wrist seemed to declare her origins for her. Until someone from her House said she was free to go, it didn't matter how convincing or persuasive she was.
"Graydon has a powerful voice among his people," Jace said. "It wouldn't hurt to get him on your side."
She fixed him with a dark scowl. She disliked getting close to people because of what they could do for her.
Jace seemed to understand. "Just try to be a little friendlier. Don't antagonize just because you can."
She didn't do that.
"You're wasting your time," Raider said. "She can't help it. She's worse than a territorial porcupine."
"Why are you here, Raider?" Kira asked, abruptly tired of the not-so-veiled hostility.
He shrugged. "No idea. For some reason, Himoto and Jace thought I might have a mitigating influence on you."
"Guess they didn't get the memo that you hate my guts," Kira shot back.
His smile was thin and failed to reach his eyes. "All of us from the old days hate you, even Blue. She's feeling nostalgic right now, but pretty soon she's going to remember who you are and what you've done. She's going to remember you're the reason all our friends are dead."
Each word was like a blow, merciless as they landed. Kira's mask slammed down as ugly emotions threatened to surge to the surface.
Raider crouched, keeping his words soft, almost gentle-sounding. "Do what you're here to do. It'll make everyone's life much easier."
He let her see inside him, dropping all pretense and masks. He really did hate her. There was loathing in his eyes. She didn't let him see how much that glimpse affected her, locking her feelings away to be examined at another time. If she'd ever thought they might forgive her, that naivety was gone now, washed away by the deep currents of loathing buffeting her.
It was easy to see Jace agreed. He didn't take Raider to task for speaking that way to a commanding officer or warn him to keep his mouth shut. No, he let Raider say his piece, even as he helped Kira stretch, keeping his movements gentle but firm.
She glanced up at him and almost wished she hadn't. His face was blank and emotionless, as if he wasn't even there.
Raider didn't say anything else, standing and walking away. Jace finished with her left leg in the next second.
