Yukina suppressed her smile, unwilling to stroke the man's ego any further.
"You've found quite the monster, little storm." Yukina rose from her chair. "I hope she doesn't swallow you whole."
With those words as a farewell, Yukina strode through the field, the door opening without a touch from her.
The man beside her nodded farewell to Graydon. A hood rose from his synth armor, a small disturbance field shielding his features as he followed the Emperor's Face.
"What now?" Solal asked.
"We find Kira," Graydon said.
"That's not going to be easy. She could be anywhere in the universe."
Graydon's lips spread in a wicked smile. "Nothing fun ever is."
SIX
LANDING ON THE planetwent smoothly.
It didn't take long for the passengers to disembark, Kira and Finn purposely lagging behind.
Jace paused to touch his fingers to the brim of his hat in a brief salute. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and rounded his shoulders, his stride quick as the crowd swallowed him in seconds.
"Status update," Kira said, joining the slow-moving pedestrians as they made their way off the landing pad and into the city proper.
This wasn't Kira and Jin's first visit to Zara, the capital city of Jettie. They were prepared as they stepped out of the space port, diverting around the clumps of first-timers overcome by the view.
"Elena and Odin have left theWanderer. If they kept to the timeline, they'll just be reaching the dropship," Jin whispered.
"Any problems?"
"Not yet."
One could only hope it stayed that way.
Kira took in the roofless colonnade, its columns supporting arches every third opening. Beyond those arches, visitors could glimpse the more modern architecture of the city proper.
