Sorry. I'm back, please forget my temporary escape?
Elena and Kira would be lucky if they weren't locked up after this stunt. Forget any chance of attending the quorum.
"As much as this has really thrown a wrench in everything, I kind of understand where she's coming from." At Kira's look, Jin got defensive. "Don't tell me if Himoto or Jace came up with a plan to rescue Elise that you wouldn't insert yourself into the mission."
"That's different."
"Oh? Because you're you?"
Kira scowled. "She's a kid."
"Physically she's older than we were when we staged our escape from the camp," Jin pointed out. "Developmentally, you were only a few years older than her when you started fighting in the war."
Because of Raider's contribution to her genetics, Elena matured at a faster rate than either Kira or Jin. She looked like the thirteen-year-old she biologically was. By contrast, Kira was ninety-two and still looked to be, at most, in her mid-twenties. As near as Kira and Jin could figure it out, once a Tuann reached physical adulthood, their aging stagnated.
One example of this was Harlow who despite being nearly two thousand years old, didn't look any older than his mid to late thirties.
Kira and Jin would have been Elena's equivalent age when they were forty or fifty—right around the time they rebelled against the camp’s masters.
It was anyone's guess whether Elena would have a lifespan closer to a human's or a Tuann's. As the first of her kind that Kira knew of, Elena’s existence raised a lot of questions but not a lot of answers.
They couldn’t risk a scientist becoming aware of her and using the information for their own experiments.
Their best source of information was on the planet shrinking in their rear view.
"Elise didn't entrust us with her daughter so we could put her in danger," Kira argued.
"I would say Elise didn't do a very good job of entrusting us with anything."
There was a bitterness in Jin's words that Kira understood.
After Rothchild, it had taken far too long to find Elena. Nearly four years passed before Jin caught whispers about her existence.
Kira only knew the barest of details of that time. Enough to know their niece's earliest years hadn't been sweet and easy. The person Elise left her daughter to was long since gone, either dead in the war or for having abandoned Elena.
Jin bore the brunt of finding her a new home, knowing it was far too dangerous to have her with them while Kira was in her coma. Even after Kira recovered, they had only been able to manage short, periodic visits.
It was no wonder Elena wanted a family. In a way, she was much more restrained than either Kira or Jin at that age.
"I don't want Elena to go through what we did," Kira said. "She deserves to have the adults in her life protect her."
It was why they had placed her with that guardian—so Elena would have a place to grow up where she'd be safe and loved. Where she didn't have to fight every second for survival or have her personality twisted by forces outside her control.
The stakes of the game Kira and Jin were playing were harsh. Here, death would be far preferable to capture. To the Tsavitee, Elena would be a priceless treasure—the culmination of years of experimentation, fallen into their lap by chance.
"Elena is far too much like us and her parents to sit idly on the sidelines for long. You need to figure out how to handle that aspect of her or you risk having more events like today in your future," Jin said seriously.
Much as Kira wanted to deny it, Jin had a point.
Her expression turned mournful. "When did we start raising a rebellious teenager?"
Jin bobbed in front of her. "I blame you for this. Being raised by the Phoenix—of course she'd be a little hardheaded and rash."
"Me? You're the one who told her bedtime stories about the Curs and their exploits," Kira accused as she turned to the console, her hands flying as she initiated a system check.
The ride through the atmosphere had been bumpier than normal. Probably courtesy of the golden lights getting too close for comfort.
It was best to know the extent of the damage here, where they could still signal for help, then out there where there could be millions of miles between them and the nearest source of assistance.
