There were only a handful of people Kira had ever been willing to lean on in tough times. Just three, in fact. One of whom was no longer as trustworthy as she'd once been.
Graydon was different though.
He'd become as important as Jin. Her bond with him cherished every bit as much.
It was strange how someone she'd known for such a short time could become as interwoven into the pattern of her soul as Graydon was.
But he had.
She thanked every higher entity out there that her mountain had withstood every test she'd put him through to remain by her side. Not many would have bothered.
After a moment, Kira straightened, patting Graydon's chest before stepping away. She caught Lathan watching them with an unreadable look on his face.
"Let's get moving," Brie called before starting down the hill.
Her trajectory led them away from the Vega and toward a clearing beside a set of trees that were growing in the ship's shadow.
"Where are you taking us?" Kira asked.
Brie nodded at the trees. "Our camp is set up over there."
"And that’s where Odin is?"
That seemed odd. It wasn't exactly the Sye's style. Odin wasn't a lover of nature. Or the cold.
"We'll get to that. But first—there's someone you should meet."
Kira stopped. "I'm here to find the All Father. Not sightsee."
"Why not do both?"
Brie increased her pace, putting distance between them. Kira almost lost track of her white shrouded figure in the snowy landscape.
"Why would your friend pick a place they knew would hurt you as their base?" Graydon asked as they worked their way carefully down the icy hill.
Kira nodded at the Vega. "I'm guessing that's why."
Before it had gone down, the Vega was best-in-class. It's mainframe and computing systems the most advanced the Consortium had to offer. Access to its systems would cut down considerably on the time needed to sift through the mountain of data Odin faced.
"I'm more curious about how I was kept in the dark with regards to Rothchild salvaging the Vega," Kira said.
Jin had to have known. Yet he didn't tell her.
She'd thought they didn't keep secrets from each other. At least not this sort. Turns out she may have been wrong.
"He could have been trying to protect you," Graydon pointed out.
"I've no doubt about that."
He'd done a lot of that since Rothchild, it seemed. Grateful as she was, she wished she hadn't given him reason to feel the need.
Graydon and Kira stayed quiet as they descended the hill and crossed a short distance to a clearing. Temporary structures dotted the area. Hard sided tents on top of rudimentary weather proof surfaces meant to protect against the snow beneath. Mobile campers that looked like they'd seen better days were parked next to them.
A large tent to the other side acted as the place's dining facility if the smells wafting from it were anything to go by.
Kira's stomach threatened to turn at the noxious odors. Humans and Tuann didn't share the same taste buds. Some things that humans loved to eat tasted awful to a Tuann.
Graydon and Lathan had similarly repulsed looks on their faces as they followed Kira to the bonfire crackling in the center of the clearing.
