Kira hunkered over Odin, strengthening her body with ki as much as she could.
The air screamed as the cannon prepared to fire.
An explosion ripped the Tsavitee ship apart, sending its pieces careening into the trees beside it.
Graydon faltered.
Kira lifted off Odin. "Did that really just happen?"
They looked at each other.
"We have incoming," Brie called as the sound of a ship's engine reached them.
A second later the branches in the trees rustled as the backwash from the engines buffeted them.
"Hold your fire," Kira instructed Brie. "I recognize that ship."
A hatch on the ship's side opened and Pallas stuck his head out of it. "Well, look at that. Someone needed my help, after all."
Kira glanced at Brie. "I thought you said he left."
"He did." Brie's face showed confusion as the ship went to land in the only part of the clearing that hadn't received damage from the Tsavitee ship. "At least, we thought he did."
"Don't blame yourself too much. He's good at things like that."
Odin got up off the ground, knocking the snow and dirt loose from her pants. "I, for one, am glad for his timing."
Kira was too. For once.
As Brie and Odin started for the ship, Kira paused next to Graydon.
She couldn't forget how he had placed himself directly in front of the cannon's path to protect her.
Seeing her expression, Graydon's eyes warmed. "Words are unnecessary between us."
"Next time—don't throw yourself in front of certain death."
He would have handled that situation differently if he wasn't so intent on protecting Kira. Rather than adopting a defensive posture, he would have tried to take down the ship.
Kira rose onto her tiptoes, pressing a kiss against Graydon's lips. "Thank you, my love."
She appreciated the gesture even if she would have preferred him to protect himself first in a situation like that.
Graydon's hand slid around her hip as he tugged her into him more fully. Their kiss lasted only a short time before he let her go, nudging her toward the ship as the wail of a Tsavitee tracker came from the trees behind them.
"It's time for us to leave this place, coli," Graydon announced, facing the source of those sounds. "You go first. I'll be right behind you."
Kira didn't argue, knowing time was of the essence.
Brie and Odin had reached Pallas's ship, the latter having already gone inside by the time Kira got there.
"What are you doing?" Kira asked. "Go in."
Brie shook her head. "I can't abandon my unit. I have to go back."
Pallas jerked his head at the tree line as the first wave of the Tsavitee hunting party broke through the forest's edge. "I fear that would be a truly terrible idea."
Graydon stood between the Tsavitee and the ship. The air around him glimmered and sparked, ki manifesting as he pulled heavily on his reserves.
