"You think they'll name it after us?" someone asked.
There was a guffaw from another. "Why would they do that?"
"Well, we'll be the first to explore it. Sounds only fitting it gets our name."
Kira shook her head as the commander said, "I'll make sure to request that in my report to the higher-ups. Get me eyes on it and then get to the ship."
A chorus of yes, sirs answered him.
The commander nodded at Kira. "You have a go for this mission, Captain. Let's see what your Curs can do."
Kira grinned. "Sir, yes, sir. Sunshine, Bayside, you are go for release. Bring me back some space dust."
The scene spun, chaos and pain all around before going dark. A cry of grief and pain split the air.
When Graydon opened his eyes again, he was back where he began, racing through a field, panic and desperation beating at him, a small hand clasped in his.
TWENTY-SIX
"A loop," Graydon said softly. "How is she doing this?"
Jin's intangible presence brushed against him. "Technique she picked up in the camps. Hard for someone to find the secrets you're hiding when you shred your memories and force them to repeat."
In front of them, they reached the spot where the boy fell, his hand leaving Kira's.
"You need to find the thing she doesn't want you to see," Jin said urgently. "Right now, you're an enemy combatant. She'll dredge up the most painful memory she can find and relive it over and over again."
"Why would she do that?" Graydon asked as the memory spun. Rain poured down, indistinct figures standing at attention holding rifles.
Jin's unease emanated from him. Graydon got the sense this memory was a touchy one.
"Double-edged sword," Jin said, sounding strained. "The Tsavitee don't feel; not like we do. Overwhelm them with emotions they have no reference for, and you have a powerful weapon against them."
"She rattles their cages until they'll do anything to escape," Graydon finished for him.
"If their minds don't burn out first," Jin agreed.
The boy dropped his weapon and was dragged out of formation as the others whispered of their escape plans.
Graydon tried to see the faces of those standing around Kira and failed. Their features were cast in shadow and out of focus.
"That isn't possible." Graydon backed away and moved down the line. None of them had faces.
Theuhva nashould have pulled complete memories from Kira. You couldn't hide from the Trial of the Broken.
"That's not what you should be focusing on." Jin's flinch was barely perceptible as they finished whipping the boy until his back was raw and bloody before dragging him away.
Graydon stopped in front of Kira. To the unobservant, her expression would seem flat. Uncaring. Not the woman he knew, as she watched a boy beaten in front of her. She'd told him about this memory. About watching a boy whipped until there was barely any skin on his back.
Fire flashed in her eyes, there and gone in an instant.
"There you are," he said.
Hatred burned deep inside her, only to be replaced by something else. Determination.
"What about him?" someone asked.
"There's no choice; we have to leave him. Breaking him out of the isolation cells would take too much time."
