The emperor was a scatter bomb just waiting to go off. If he was harmed or killed while in Kira’s vicinity, the consequences would be far reaching and devastating.
It was possible they would use Raider’s presence as an excuse to go after the Consortium while also casting House Roake’s loyalty into doubt.
Kira had to play this situation right.
“Very well. I’ll leave this matter in your hands,” Torvald murmured after a tension fraught moment.
Kira hooked an arm over her seat. “You never did answer my question about what you wanted and why you’re on this ship.”
“Several reasons,” Torvald murmured with an amused glint in his eye.
Kira tilted her head. “I’m listening.”
“I hoped to confirm something with my own two eyes.”
Kira straightened in her seat. “And did you.”
Torvald finally looked at Jin. “I’m still unsure, but the answer is getting closer.”
“What’s your other reason?” she asked, trying not to read more into that than she had to.
His words could mean a lot of things. It didn’t necessarily have to do with Jin being his son or a soul bound.
“I had planned to ask you to look out for Devon during the adva ka.“ Torvald’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Something tells me I don’t have to.”
With that he prowled toward the hatch as Raider raised his eyebrows at Kira in question.
Kira froze in the act of shaking her head at Raider as Torvald turned back one final time. “I suggest you be careful. I do not want to see my Storm upset further.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Finn stirred. “You handled him well.”
Why didn’t it feel like that then?
Dismissing the emperor and his schemes from her mind, Kira jerked her chin at the hatch in a signal to get moving. “Let’s go. We have our own welcome party to prepare.”
Kira took in the tilted wreckage of the Wanderer. The ship lay half on its side, the skyward wing shorn clean off. Jagged pieces of metal were all that remained. Tears and holes littered the body of the ship. Smoke wafted from the engines.
Kira set her hand against the hull. “Thank you for protecting us. I’m sorry I couldn’t do the same.”
Sorrow moved through her as she gave the ship one last regretful pat.
It hurt to see the Wanderer like this. Battered and broken.
To her, it was more than just a ship. It was her home. A place that had provided shelter and solace in her dark times.
Raider dropped to the ground from the open airlock.
The crash had compromised the landing ramp, necessitating them finding alternate ways off the ship.
Not that it was hard given the many holes in her hull.
Raider adjusted the gloves of his armor as he joined her and Finn. “You can always repair the ship.”
“Once something is broken, it will never be the same,” Kira said without looking at him.
It didn’t matter how hard you tried. The pieces could never be glued together in exactly the same way. There was always a trace of the original break.
