Kira set the board down and climbed on, adopting the rest stance. She settled her weight more firmly. The board snapped to life, its engines purring as the antigravs kicked online, allowing her to rise until she hovered a foot above the ground.
"Where you choose to distribute your weight determines where the board goes."
She shifted, demonstrating the different positions and what they did. Back, forward, up, down. Even flipping the tail end out, so she curved around them.
Joule looked fascinated, eager to get started.
At her gesture, the rest broke away to try their hand at what Kira had demonstrated.
Watching Joule make his first attempt was like watching a baby bird try to leave the nest—tentative, slightly awkward, even as he caught on quick.
The other three were already showing off, putting the boards through their paces as they sought to impress each other.
Graydon joined her as she observed them. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Teaching novices to fly is the highlight of my day," she said in a snarky voice.
His smile deepened. "I thought you might enjoy it."
He was right. She had. It had felt good and clean. Simple in a way she'd forgotten. Two things that were in short supply with her current mission.
Graydon left her side as Wren stepped onto the balcony.
"You'll be separated into groups based on the tools you've chosen. I expect you to acquit yourself well during this exercise."
Names were called, and the initiates shuffled as they joined their patrols.
Kira wasn't surprised to find herself in the same group as Graydon. The man was a bad penny who kept finding his way into her orbit.
The four she'd taught and Raider rounded out the group with Aeron joining them at the last second. Kira was interested to note Devon's face shut down as soon as the other boy got near. Whatever had happened between them, the two were no longer friends.
Blue ended up on a different patrol led by Maida, who seemed amused as the other woman chattered excitedly at her.
"I forgot that about you," Raider said, settling beside Kira as she fiddled with the settings of her board. "You always were a good teacher."
Kira paused. "Praise? From you?" She cocked her head. "How hungover are you?"
Raider folded his hands behind his head. "I'll admit it took me a while to see beyond my anger, but now that I do, a few things have started to become clear."
Kira changed another setting, not liking the sound of this.
Raider was a good soldier. Smart and intuitive. His biggest weakness had always been that he let his emotions cloud the clarity of his judgment.
If he was being truthful, he'd picked a hell of a time to fix his issue.
"Sometimes, with people we've known a long time, there is all this baggage. It makes it so we can't see them clearly." Raider's gaze was direct, no hint of the fatigue she'd expect in someone who'd spent half the night drinking. "I'd forgotten how focused you are when on a mission. How much you're willing to sacrifice for its success."
"Raider—"
He sat up, his hand landing on her shoulder. He squeezed, the pressure this side of painful. "You forget they weren't only yours to protect."
Kira stood frozen as he leaned closer. It wasn't anger she saw in his eyes. It was determination. All the things she'd worked to prevent unraveling all at once.
"I don't know what you're trying to protect me from, but it must scare the crap out of you if you're willing to burn not only me but also Blue." He glanced at the other woman who looked positively gleeful as she studied the device the Tuann would soon regret giving her.
He patted her shoulder before leveraging himself to his feet. He paused to stare at her thoughtfully. "It's good to see you've gotten better at lying. I think your performance yesterday might have worked on anyone else."
Kira blinked dumbly up at him, her mind racing. She needed a lie to steer him away from this road he'd gone down. Something that would disabuse him of his observations.
