It made perfect sense. The channel Elena was using wouldn't have reached the station from the planet, especially with the interference from the bombardment and the signal blockers that were standard procedure for the Tsavitee when they launched an attack.
“You did say we could go sightseeing,” Elena finally offered.
Elena knew this wasn’t what she’d intended. Trust her niece to take a mile when she’d been offered an inch.
It was a trait she’d inherited from Jin and Kira, both of whom were known to twist the meaning of words to find a loophole when it suited them.
“Not on Almaluk.” Kira pinched the bridge of her nose.
"She's here?" Raider asked. "Let me talk to her."
“Why not? You know how hard it is to find this place at any other time,” Elena argued. “Besides, Wren and Devon were interested in seeing theWanderer.”
Kira bet they were.
She twisted away as Raider tried to reach for her ear.
"Stop that. You know my comms are embedded in my ear canal," Kira snapped.
"Are you with the sperm donor?" Elena asked, brightening. "Hi, sperm donor."
Kira rolled her eyes but passed on the message.
"Why is Uncle Jin being so quiet?" Elena asked.
Kira caught her breath against the unexpected stab of pain.
"Auntie?"
Kira stared unseeing down the corridor as the words to explain clogged her throat.
"Auntie, what aren't you telling me?"
Kira knew she needed to say something. Continued silence would only exacerbate Elena's fears.
Her niece was surprisingly sensitive. Hiding things rarely worked with her.
"If you're not explaining, that means something happened," Elena said slowly. "You're in a secure section of the facility. One of the perpetrators was caught yesterday."
"How do you know that?"
Elena ignored Kira's question, intent on following the logic. "You'd only be interested if that person was someone important to you. My mother. Judging by the fact you haven't mentioned her and Uncle is now missing, I can only assume Mother did something and took Uncle Jin."
Kira wanted to bang her head against the wall. Damn Jin for teaching Elena that trick.
"Auntie?"
Kira rubbed her head. "Yes."
Elena was quiet for several seconds. "Is it really my mother?"
"I don't know."
There was a moment of silence where Kira thought she’d lost the connection.
"It doesn't matter either way," Elena said finally. "If you have a choice between Mother and Uncle Jin, you need to save Uncle Jin."
Kira glanced at Raider before ducking her head, not wanting him to see her expression.
