But Jin would come through this intact, even if Graydon had to crawl into the abyss itself to drag him out. He would come home to Kira.
Graydon touched the bonds he shared with his oshota to send a wave of reassurance down them. They hadn't been thrilled at the idea of separation, but they were professionals and used to acting unilaterally when needed. As a Face, there were often situations where Graydon had to be flexible. His oshota too.
Snagging the blanket Wren had dropped off earlier, Graydon draped it over Kira's spent body. At a thought from him, Graydon's synth armor covered his body, flexing as he rose and padded toward the hatch.
He opened it to find Raider waiting in the hallway. Graydon stepped outside, closing the hatch behind him to give Kira privacy.
"How is she?" Raider asked.
Graydon acknowledged Finn's presence at the cross section of hallways. "She's resting."
Graydon didn't want her disturbed. To maintain the delicate balance with her primus, Kira needed sleep and fuel. Access to a planet's Mea'Ave would be best. If they were on Ta Sa'Riel, she'd be put into a deep slumber and taken to a nexus, a place where the planet's soul and its surface intersected. Where reality could bend until it felt like you could reach out and grasp the Mea'Ave itself.
"Is there something else?" Graydon asked when Raider stayed quiet.
The human was acting unusual. Almost as if he was uncomfortable.
"Wren told me a little about what it means to fade." Raider's hands clenched and then relaxed.
How very kind of Wren. Though, it didn't seem to have the effect Kira's seon'yer no doubt hoped.
Raider avoided Graydon's eyes. "I should ask her to sit this one out."
"That would be the honorable thing."
But he knew—and Graydon knew—that Raider didn't always follow the righteous path.
"I'm not going to do that," Raider said.
No, Graydon hadn't imagined he would. Not with Elena in danger. A father would do a lot for his offspring. As they should. No sacrifice was too great when it came to your young. The fact Raider understood that was a point in his favor.
That still didn't lessen Graydon's rage.
"Kira wouldn't listen anyway," Raider ground out as Graydon swept past him.
Graydon stopped, amazed at the human's audacity. "We both know it wouldn't have mattered. You would have asked this of her regardless."
In Raider's desperation, he'd latched onto Kira as his best chance of getting his daughter back. Even if Kira were the type to walk away, he would have found a way to justify pulling her back in.
"I'm a selfish man, human. Three hundred years. That's how long I’ve waited for someone like Kira. If you think I'll lose her now that I've just found her, you're a fool. This will not be a suicide mission no matter what you or Kira have planned. She will walk away from this."
Jin. Elena. Even Elise. Graydon would save them if he could. He'd do everything in his power to get them out of there. But he wouldn't sacrifice Kira to do it. She'd done enough of that on her own.
"I'll hold you to that," Raider said softly as Graydon walked away.
Graydon didn't respond as he passed Finn with a nod to make his way over to where Talon leaned against the wall, munching on a piece of fruit. It was a virt, a staple of space travel for centuries because of how well it kept and the number of essential nutrients it provided.
The fruit was also a favorite among their people. Its sweet taste contained a hint of sour.
"I'm surprised Finn managed to convince you to leave your bar," Graydon said.
Talon took a giant bite out of the virt, juice squirting onto his hand. He licked it off. "I have my reasons."
"They must be rather important. If I recall, you swore you'd never pick up an en-blade again."
Talon had been a contemporary of Graydon's parents. He'd been the one to inform him of their deaths.
When Graydon was aiming to become an oshota himself, Talon offered some much needed advice. He’d always thought it a shame how the other man had exiled himself to that bar and refused to let anyone drag him out of it.
