True.
Kira glanced in the direction of the curtain wall. "Too bad we already used Blue's device."
"Actually—" Blue trailed off.
"Don't leave us in suspense, Blue," Raider ordered.
"Kira's suggestion isn't entirely without merit."
Raider frowned. "I thought those were the only rods."
"Okay. Don't be mad, Kira," Blue started.
Why was it that whenever Blue used that statement it always preceded something that was definitely going to make Kira upset?
"I maybe made a few modifications to Jin's spawn."
The low rumble that issued from Kira's throat had caution spreading across Raider's face. His gaze moved from her face to her hands, noting the shadow of violet symbols.
"Easy," Raider warned.
Kira struggled to contain her anger, the thought of Blue damaging Jin’s spawn almost too much to manage.
"They're okay. Obviously," Blue rushed to add. "I was very careful in my modifications. I would have passed it by Jin, but he didn't answer any of my calls. Given what we were up to tonight, I thought it best to act and ask for permission later."
"You made the right choice," Kira forced herself to say.
It was growing increasingly difficult to separate the cache of Jin's spawn from Jin himself in her mind. A part of her viewing them as an extension of her friend.
Except they weren't Jin. And never would be.
"You sure?" Blue asked, sounding uncertain.
She probably didn't understand why Kira was so upset. To her, the spawn were an intriguing puzzle her friend had made for her to play with. She didn't realize that they and the J1N drone that had once housed Jin's soul were all Kira had left of him at the moment.
"Uh huh," Kira said in a stilted voice. She pinched the bridge of her nose, suppressing the tide of emotion threatening to sweep her away. "The modifications you made. They'll get us in?"
"The theory works the same. Though the window they create will be much smaller."
Raider squeezed Kira's arm in support before focusing on the conversation. "Big enough for a person to drop through?"
"In theory."
"It could work," Raider said with a glance at Kira.
"Alright," she agreed. "Where do you need us to go?"
They followed Blue's directions into the bowels of the Hold, descending several levels until they were on the floor above where they suspected Aeron was being held.
"This is the place," Raider said after they slipped into the room Blue had identified. He cast a probing glance at the bare walls and floor. "Does it seem a bit odd to you that this place was left unguarded. Careless, don't you think?"
Kira did.
The entire journey felt too easy. Their path suspiciously free of obstacles. Except that one patrol in the beginning and another on a different level, they hadn't encountered any problems.
"Think it's a trap?" Raider asked, his line of thought mirroring Kira's.
"We'll find out soon enough. Blue, how much longer?"
