She listened, determining the source before silently ghosting toward it.
The chamber she’d fallen into wasn’t big, about the size of theWanderer’scargo bay, but it connected to several chambers of similar size via narrow, claustrophobia inducing tunnels.
Like the shaft, the tunnels were covered in more of those secretions.Kira tried not to think too closely about what was getting on her clothes as she forced her way through.
Jin’s scorpion wiggled out from its hiding spot in her clothes.It perched on her shoulder to watch its surroundings with interest.
Kira frowned at it but left it alone.
A few seconds later she pushed into a twin of the chamber she’d left.
“You look like crap, Roddy,” Kira said.
Roderick’s smile was shaky.“Roake’s heir.I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“That makes one of us.”Kira crossed the room to squat in front of him.“You’re supposed to be on Titan.What happened?”
Roderick’s leg didn’t look right.Kira was betting it was broken.Something had also stabbed him in the abdomen at some point.Luckily, his synth armor had instituted first aid, sealing off the wound to ensure he didn’t die from blood loss.Eventually, he would require medical attention but for now he was stable enough.
“Luatha business,” Roderick said, trying and failing to sound lighthearted.“You know how it is.”
“I do indeed,” Kira agreed.
The words “need to know” had been emblazoned on every aspect of her existence for longer than she could remember.They were the forty-three’s life blood and the ironclad motto of the major Houses.
They were also the words Kira hated most.
“Need to know”—she’d decided she did.And he was going to tell her.
One way or another.
“I’m afraid, Roddy, we’ve reached the phase in our relationship where that argument no longer carries weight.I want to know why Liara sent you.Why you disobeyed my orders.How you got here.And lastly, what—or who—did this to you?”
“Is that all?”Roderick asked with a wry slant to his lips.
His humor surprised her, but she didn’t let that show.
“For starters,” Kira said.
“What happens if I refuse?”
“I wouldn’t recommend that, Roddy.You’re injured and vulnerable in a place you’re not supposed to be.Right now, I’m trying to determine if you’re someone I need to kill.Please don’t force my hand.I’d prefer not to have to explain your death to my cousin.”
“You think you could kill me?”
“I know I could, Roddy.”
The cuff and her lack ofkiwould only slow her down a little.
Roderick must have believed her—or he decided that this whole “need to know” was as stupid as she did—because it only took him a moment to give in.“That enclave of wanderers.It’s not what you thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“After the attack on Ta Da’an, Liara decided we needed a better intelligence network.She reached out to several wanderer enclaves she thought she could trust and asked if any of them would like a sponsorship.In return, they would gather information and pass it along.”
“The Houses distrust the wanderers.Why would she work with them?”
Any information they passed along would be suspect.
