Kira quirked an eyebrow. "Define fun."
"Kill anyone?"
"A few here and there."
Talon snickered as he moved further into the room. "Sounds like a good time to me."
Shepperd and Bechler finally lowered their weapons, but they remained standing where they were, keeping plenty of distance between them and Aeron.
Odin plonked a device the size of a fist on the table. "Can we get down to business now? There's a lot of ground to cover and we don't have a great amount of time."
Shepperd gestured at Odin with his gun. "Who is this?"
"I'm the All Father," Odin announced with grave importance.
Shepperd squinted at him before turning to Jace. "Who is this?"
Jace's face was unhappy as he stared at Odin. "That's not what is important."
"No, it's not," Odin agreed.
Shepperd gave the room a disbelieving look. "Somebody please explain to me what's going on?"
Bechler nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't mind that either. We're in the midst of preparing for deployment. What is so important that you called us away from our duties?"
Hollis moved closer to the table, still careful to give Aeron a wide berth. "He has a point, Admiral Skarsdale."
Aeron lifted a lip in disdain, dismissing the humans as he focused on Kira. "What took you so long?"
"I had to deal with a few of your friends. It delayed me."
Aeron grudgingly moved toward the table, not seeming to care when the humans scattered like mice before a feline. He grabbed a chair directly across from Kira, the one that had belonged to Shepperd, and took a seat in it.
"They must not have been my very close friends. Otherwise, you'd be dead," Aeron said with a humorless smile.
"I highly doubt that," Kira murmured.
Shepperd gestured sharply at Aeron. "I'm not sitting at a table with one of them."
Hollis and Bechler's harsh silence showed they agreed.
While they were distracted, Joule shot Kira a quick glance that showed the discipline he was exercising in not throwing himself at her in welcome. Devon was more reserved, giving her a nod in greeting.
Graydon leaned over to Kira, still watching Jace and his fellow humans. "How much longer do they plan to do this?"
Shepperd glared at the emperor's Face. "I'm sorry. Are we keeping you from something?"
Graydon's smile was vaguely contemptuous. "As long as you realize."
Shepperd spun back to Jace. "What are the Tuann doing here again? The only good thing about breaking that alliance is not having to put up with their bullshit any longer. And could somebody please explain what a general is doing on this base!"
"He's here to answer a question that has been plaguing the human race since the last war," Odin declared, touching the sides of the device he'd placed on the table. Shepperd and the other two humans went silent as a star map formed.
Hollis drew closer. "What are we looking at here?"
Odin's smile was small, as if he'd been expecting this question. "When the Phoenix woke from her coma after the contribution she made to the Falling, she didn't retreat from society to go live the lonely life of a salvager and nurse her mental and physical scars."
Hollis frowned and glanced in Kira's direction. "I hadn't heard you were in a coma."
