Himoto let out a weary sigh. "That is always the way."
Next to Himoto, a second man appeared. Younger than Himoto, his hair was buzzed close to his skull, creating the faintest shadow. A permanently dissatisfied frown had taken up residence on his face.
Himoto gestured to the second. "I've taken the liberty of inviting Admiral John Kent to take part in this conversation."
Jace looked like he'd bitten into a lemon.
It didn't take long for Kira to guess why when the man's deep brown eyes swung her way and his lip curled. "What did you do?"
Kira lifted an eyebrow, studying him for several long seconds. It was obvious this man disliked her despite never having met her. Why? An innate dislike for aliens? Or something else?
"That's some greeting you have there. Did you skip diplomacy school while becoming an admiral?" Kira drawled.
"Your reputation precedes you, Captain Forrest."
"Heh, and that makes you an expert," Kira guessed.
Raider's snicker was low, a smile playing over his lips before he looked down, hiding it. "He does have a point."
Jin chortled beside her.
Kira gritted her teeth. "Why are you here again?"
"To make sure you don't do anything stupid, remember?" Raider taunted.
"Good luck with that," Jin muttered.
Kira ignored both of them, studying Himoto instead. His lips tightened faintly. He wasn't thrilled with the other admiral's presence. That more than anything else told her something was going on at Centcom.
Politics. Great. As if she wasn't getting her fill of them already.
Graydon caught her glance.
"This isn't going to work," she mouthed at him.
"We'll see," he mouthed back. "It'll be fun watching you struggle."
Her eyes narrowed. Definitely a little bit of revenge in this ambush.
She caught sight of Finn's carefully blank face from his position against the wall. The oshota had shadowed Kira almost since her arrival on Luatha. She'd accepted him as her shield, which made them responsible for each other in some way Kira still didn't quite understand.
Finn's eyes met hers. He'd tried to warn her during her last encounter with Graydon that things weren't over. Kira should have paid more attention.
She tuned back in as Jace was explaining the situation. "The Tuann have graciously decided to keep their word; however, there is a problem."
"What sort of problem?" Kent demanded.
"We’re happy to give you the ships," Silas spoke up. "But you will find yourself unable to leave the planet with them."
Himoto's expression remained calm as Kent's eyes narrowed. "What good are ships if you won't let them out of your system?"
"I don't think we're explaining correctly," Silas said, his forehead furrowing slightly.
"It's not that they won't let us fly them home; it's that we can't," Jace said.
Kent's severe expression didn't thaw. If anything, he seemed more frustrated than before. Himoto shifted in his chair, steepling his fingertips in front of him as a thoughtful frown settled on his face.
Kent was the opposite, aiming a look at Jace that said he thought the rear admiral was an imbecile. "Have the Tuann give you a crash course in flying one of their boats and then bring it home."
