Kira's mouth opened in preparation for shooting Blue's theory down. She paused when she caught Finn looking at them with something approaching alarm.
His expression smoothed into one of hard implacability in the next instant, leaving Kira questioning whether she had seen what she thought she had.
She shook herself, bringing her attention to Blue who hadn't noticed Kira’s distraction.
"You're saying you think the wizards are the basis for myths of elves and fairies and the like," Kira guessed.
Blue nearly buzzed with enthusiasm. "I do. I think their history with humans goes back much further than anyone has guessed."
Kira hummed. "The Tuann are an ancient race, I suppose it's not outside the realm of possibility."
Kira rubbed a finger along her chin. Her knowledge of mythology was shaky. Such matters hadn't seemed as important as ones that might directly affect her survival. Kira seemed to remember stories of monstrous creatures whose only desire was to prey on humanity.
Take Blue's theory one step further and consider the Tsavitee. A race humans often compared to the demons of one of their main religions.
Perhaps the Tuann weren't the only ones who'd visited past Earth.
It opened up a whole world of possibilities that no one had likely considered.
"If you think about it, it makes sense," Blue pressed, her words passionate. "They could have come to Earth and stayed long enough to leave some of their influence behind."
"For what purpose? Why not conquer us?" Humanity, at that point in history, would have still been slinging rocks and sticks at each other. They wouldn't have put up much of a fight.
"I don't know," Blue confessed. "And we never will if we don't ask the questions."
Kira shook her head. So that's what this was about. As interesting as Blue's theory was, its real purpose wasn't determining if the Tuann had once visited Earth. All she wanted was an excuse to get closer to the world gate's technology.
Blue was a good soldier. Smart. Dedicated. She contained a curiosity that far surpassed most. She had a genius-level intellect and could extrapolate concepts Kira could never dream of. Once she got her teeth into something, it was damn hard getting her to leave it.
Kira had forgotten how much Blue tended to fixate.
She'd do anything—justify anything—if it served her purpose.
Kira sat up, dusting off her arms, and shook her head, unable to hide her disappointment. "A thousand different things on this planet, and you're focused on the one thing they've refused you.”
Blue leaned forward. "Do you know what a gate like that could do for us if the Tsavitee come back? Forget ships. We could be anywhere nearly instantly. Entire planets evacuated before they even hit the atmosphere. The ability to send reinforcements without worrying they'll be shot down before they ever touch down."
"So now you don't want just one gate; you want many," Kira observed.
"Why are you fighting me on this?" Blue asked, sounding exasperated. "You, more than anyone, understand what we're up against.”
"I could ask you why you’re fighting so hard for this," Kira shot back.
The Cur closed her mouth mutinously.
It wasn't hard to guess. Blue was here to absorb as much information about Tuann technology as she could. This joint training operation was another name for spying.
Kira was okay with that. She'd been prepared for it.
What the Tuann didn't understand was that humanity was at a constant disadvantage. They were the underdog of the galactic stage. It meant they sometimes had to get creative.
Kira had written a book full of tactics exactly like this one.
What she had a problem with was when they pushed beyond the set boundaries. When they ignored common sense and common decency in their pursuit of progress at all costs.
She'd seen too many victims strewn on that path. Been the victim one too many times to somebody else's ambition. It hurt to see Blue espousing those same ideals.
"It's easy for you to say that," Blue accused. "You're not the one who is going to be on the front lines of the next war. You've made that quite clear."
