Kira frowned at what she saw.
The ship itself looked unharmed for the most part. A few scratches on the hull, but nothing that would affect its integrity. The power readings also looked good. No overloads anywhere she could see, nor any sign of damage to the engine.
For having escaped a planet protected by the pinnacle of Tuann technology, they were remarkably intact. Unnaturally so.
"I'm getting some weird readings around the cargo bay. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?" Kira didn't look away from the console as she tried to understand how they'd come out unscathed.
At least two of those golden lights had struck the ship. There should be more damage than this.
Jin hovered over Kira’s shoulder. "I came through the pipes we use to offload our waste. I was nowhere near that area."
Kira extended the parameters of her search, pausing when she noticed two major spikes in that area coinciding with the timing of the lights hitting them.
Kira tapped her finger, thoughtfully.
She stood abruptly. "Come with me."
Jin bobbed along behind her as she strode off the bridge. "What about my shower? I need to get this stench off me."
"You don't have a nose, which means you have no sense of smell. If I'm willing to put up with it, you certainly can."
Jin moaned but didn't argue further. "Where are we going?"
"To see if we have a stowaway."
Jin abruptly stopped. In the next second, he darted in front, spinning so his 'eye' faced her. "Impossible. My scanners would have picked them up."
Kira didn't stop walking, forcing Jin to drift backward.
They rounded a corner only to find their passage blocked. A tall Tuann stood in the middle of the corridor, his hand wrapped around the neck of a much smaller figure. The Tuann held the person up in front of him, his victim’s toes barely brushing the floor.
Kira shot Jin a look that saidsee. "Those same scanners that continually fail to detect Graydon or any oshota?"
Jin lowered several inches, his tone sulky. "I suppose you're never going to let me forget this."
Kira glanced at the two figures in front of her. "You suppose right."
The figure in Finn’s grasp lifted a hand in a halfhearted wave. "I'm guessing you have a lot to say right about now."
"You've got that right,” Kira said grimly
"Have the oaf put me down, and we can discuss."
Kira glanced at Finn to see one very unhappy oshota. Something told her he wasn’t in the listening mood. Considering recent events, she didn't blame him.
As her accepted oshota, it was his duty to protect her from all dangers. Something that became exceedingly difficult when Kira went off on her own.
Unsurprisingly, Finn didn’t loosen his grip, Odin dangling like a scolded cat.
An eye patch covered one of Odin’s eyes, the other a green so brilliant that it looked like an emerald. No glint of an earring could be seen, signifying Odin was in his masculine persona. His features a little less feminine than the last time she'd seen him.
The change was subtle. The line of his jaw a little sharper, his nose and cheekbones a little blunter. Even with these changes, his face had a certain androgyny to it. Not female but not male either, rather a perfect blend of both.
Odin came from a rare race that had minor shape-shifting capabilities. They didn't experience gender in the same way humans did. For them, there were three possible genders: masculine, feminine, and thesye—which as near as Kira understood meant all and none. It was a sort of nongender that refused definition.
For as long as Kira had known him, Odin had flipped through the three forms according to whim. She'd once asked him how he decided between the three. He'd told her that the spirit knew and the body followed.
When Finn's expression didn't relent, Kira focused on Odin. "Something tells me you're on your own."
