Booby trapping the waveboard wasn't Kira's preferred choice, but there was little reason to take it with her. It would just slow her down.
At least this way, it had a chance of throwing any pursuers off her trail.
"Let's get moving. They'll have noticed my landing," Kira said, walking into the forest.
They'd probably already sent a squad to investigate. She needed to be as far away as possible before they got here.
"Any sign of the others?"
"Negative. My sensors aren't picking up any of their life signs."
Kira hoped that meant the others were too far out of range and not that they were already dead. Until she had evidence to the contrary, she was choosing to believe it was the former rather than the latter.
Her best bet was continuing the mission and hoping she stumbled across them at some point.
Kira turned to the north east where she thought she'd spotted tall, needle-like structures that pointed to signs of life. Coincidentally, they were also in the vicinity of Jin's signal.
"That's where I need to go," Kira whispered.
Graydon
Blood soaked the dull, gray stone of the avenue Graydon had landed on. Tsavitee bodies were strewn over a wide area. Either dead or dying.
Graydon shielded his eyes, taking in the towering structures he found himself amongst. "Does this place feel strange to you?"
Solal yanked his en-blade out of the chest of a Tsavitee. "It does."
Craters littered the area where Graydon and his oshota had taken out a few of the cannons targeting the upper atmosphere.
"I do not like it," Solal informed him.
Graydon crouched, setting one hand on the ground. There was a sucking sensation. Discrete. Almost unnoticeable unless you had experience with something like it before.
"Their streets are covered in a material similar to seiki stone," Graydon said.
Solal frowned at the ground. "Why would they do that?"
Graydon took in the strange city in front of him with new eyes. "Because of us."
This entire place was built to obstruct his kind. The very ground meant to drain them of energy and ki, making battle more difficult.
A Tuann, unable to access their soul's breath, was vulnerable.
Solal curled a lip. "Disgusting."
"Yes," Graydon agreed, rising.
There was something more though. Something in the plants and air that left Graydon feeling like a layer of filth was coating his body. It made his skin crawl, leaving him on edge.
"We shouldn't linger," Graydon said.
He had a feeling bad things would happen to them if they did. He wasn't talking about just death either.
Amila stalked toward them, her synth armor stained with blood that hadn't been there before he'd sent her out on recon.
"Did you find them?" Graydon asked.
Amila shook her head regretfully. "There was no trace of their presence in our immediate vicinity."
