Finn stopped her with a hand on her arm. "And as your partner, I dislike when you exclude me."
"This was to protect you. I draw the line at letting you commit treason with me."
"You allowed Raider and Blue to come."
"They're human. Rash. Immature. As the Tuann would say. They can't be expected to make reasonable judgment calls. The same grace wouldn't have been extended to you."
"That would be more believable if the emperor's youngest Face hadn't accompanied you back."
Kira scowled, still sore that Graydon had won on that point. "I made that argument to him as well. He simply refused to listen."
If she could have talked sense into him, she would have.
"You realize passing the adva ka makes you subject to our laws. The consequences you'll face for this will be the same as mine."
"The difference is I've never been afraid to throw myself into the metaphorical fire. I'm less inclined to allow others to do the same," Kira said with a shrug.
It made her a hypocrite, but that had never bothered her.
"I will not be left out next time," Finn informed her. "I'm with you to the end—whether you agree or not."
Kira's eyes narrowed. "We'll see."
"We will indeed," Finn agreed.
Their standoff lasted only until Finn handed her the object he'd been carrying. Jin's original form. A J1N combat drone. Originally built with military use in mind for reconnaissance and tactical reinforcement on Consortium planets and outposts where bandits and pirates were a common problem.
Kira and Jin had re-purposed it to fit their needs, installing cameras so the J1N had a 360-degree view at all times. They'd added a lens to the front that looked like a large eye. An inside joke they'd taken from an old Earth show. They'd also retrofitted it with every weapon they could get their hands on, making it a true threat to their enemies.
The drone was a sphere about the size of Kira's head, capable of compressing itself to something a little larger than a softball when needed. Right now, it was in its larger form, its weight heavier than it appeared.
Finn started up the ramp, drawing Kira's attention to the man waiting a few steps outside her ship. It took a moment to recognize that surly expression.
Talon.
"What are you doing here? Don't you have a bar to tend?" Kira asked.
For once his shaggy, unkempt hair had been tamed into submission and brushed back from the sharp planes of his face. There was a watchful look in his eyes, the light amber color hard to read as he flicked his gaze from Kira to Finn.
"While you were busy, I was procuring us allies," Finn informed her.
"I don't remember agreeing to this," Kira called at his back as he strode into the belly of the ship.
"You weren't around to consult."
He did not just say that.
Her disbelieving gaze went from the spot where Finn had disappeared to Talon, his uncomfortable expression providing her with no answers.
"How did you get conscripted into this?" she asked.
Talon lifted a negligent shoulder. "I owe him."
"Do you even know what we're planning to do?"
"I don't have to. He asked and I answered."
His explanation was simple. As if that was really all that had been necessary to convince him to come on this fool's errand.
