The thought made Kira a little sad before she shook it off.
"While I understand Asanth's concern, a child should never have to pay for the mistakes of a parent," Kira said, holding her ground. "And they shouldn't be exiled for what they might one day do."
"How very naive of you. House Roake will have an interesting future," Torvald said with an amused glance at Kira's uncle.
Harlow gave no reaction, his expression inscrutable.
"As for House Blae's children, there are three of them." Torvald's gaze deepened. "My Face went out of his way to ensure they will be cared for by a group of wanderers who will see that they get the care and understanding they need. I assure you it is a far kinder fate than if House Asanth had taken them in."
Kira looked away in defeat.
Much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. Having seen the discrimination Joule and Ziva had dealt with in Luatha as children of a fallen House—one that hadn't betrayed anyone, at that—she could see how those children might be better off in an environment where they weren't constantly reminded of what their parents had done.
At the very least, it would give them a fighting chance to find a new path in life.
Who knew—maybe Pallas and the forty three's potential House could be a future sanctuary for them.
"What about your mission?" Torvald asked. "Has there been any progress in obtaining a location?"
Kira touched the data device she'd used to download the star map Odin had given her, projecting it for Torvald and Harlow to see. "We were able to narrow the search to this sector of space."
Torvald's brow furrowed as he nodded in thought. "That makes sense."
"What do you mean?" Kira asked.
Torvald's dragon eyes found hers. "After your talk with Graydon regarding your suspicions a few months ago, I tasked several of our historians to review the remaining records of the Tuann's flight across the galaxy."
Kira glanced at Graydon.
"While our ancestors deliberately obscured our point of origin to prevent any from searching for our previous masters, they did leave a few hints. This sector is one of the areas that came up in their research."
Anticipation and excitement rose. They were on the right track. Torvald's words confirmed it.
Kira struggled not to give in to her emotions. Even if they had a direction now, there was still a long way to go.
But this was a good lead. It was the most she'd had in years of searching.
"How do you plan to further narrow the search grid?" Torvald asked.
"We're awaiting the Wanderer's arrival. My source should be able to give us another data point once it does. We're hoping between that and what we already have, it should get us a location."
"By 'source', I assume you mean the prisoner you liberated with the help of my Face."
Kira's expression settled into bland lines as she met the emperor's gaze.
"Still unwilling to admit it, I see. That's smart of you. This way you don't have to take responsibility later." Torvald glanced at Graydon. "She's better at politics than some of the Overlords."
Graydon inclined his head. "My coli is a woman of many talents."
Harlow sat forward. "I would still like to know how you managed to get separated from your ship in the first place."
"It's a long story," Kira said tiredly.
One Kira wasn't entirely sure she wanted to share. She still felt embarrassment over how Pallas had gotten the drop on her.
Not to mention the damage it could do to her uncle's confidence in her skills.
"We have the situation under control. My source is in good hands with Wren and Finn. As soon as they arrive, we'll work on obtaining the final location."
