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?"
"Not long. They're close."
"Why aren't they already here?" Raider griped.
"Well, excuse me for not being perfect," Blue retorted. "You know, this isn't as easy as it looks. Jin's spawn aren't exactly user friendly."
Raider rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, enough with the complaining. Just get here."
"Doing my best," Blue sang.
While the two argued, Kira moved to keep a look out. She eased open the door they'd used to enter and peered through the crack.
Adrenaline jolted through her at the sight of a group of oshota in the matte black of the emperor making their way down the hallway. A few split off to check the empty rooms they passed.
As quietly as she'd opened it, Kira shut the door again.
"What is it?" Raider asked, seeing her expression.
