"Enough," Makon said, his voice holding a bite.
Raider and Jin fell silent, neither seeming afraid. Impressive, since Graydon knew how intimidating the marshal could be.
"What is that thing doing in our home?" Makon asked.
"Where Kira goes; I go. The end," Jin said. "Now, can we get back to saving her?"
Graydon stifled his smile, for once in agreement with the machine.
Jin spun toward him, his voice turning serious. "I practically forced her to come here with the understanding you would protect her. I had to endure her feelings of betrayal. If you can't keep her safe, I'll be more than happy to take her back."
Any common ground Graydon had found with Jin vanished at those words, leaving Graydon to bare his teeth at the pest. He'd like to see him try.
Jin chortled, unintimidated.
Harlow shifted, the small gesture calling their attention like a magnet. "No one is taking her anywhere, and his presence can be addressed at a better time. Right now, extricating her from her own mind takes priority."
Graydon agreed whole-heartedly.
"Tell me about this memory," Graydon said, buying himself time to think.
Raider glanced at Jin. "I don't know why she would be lost in it. This was an early battle. One of the few we won."
Jin floated next to Kira's bubble, seemingly ignoring the rest of them. An illusion, Graydon knew. The drone was a threat. Sooner or later he would need to be addressed. But not now.
"And you?" Graydon asked.
The drone was too quiet. There was more to this story.
"Kira's right," Jin grumbled. "You see too much. It makes you dangerous."
"I suspect the same could be said of you."
Jin might play at the fool. His utter ridiculousness was a shield used to keep others underestimating the drone. The façade hid a deceptively dangerous being.
"What happened there?" Harlow asked.
"We were tasked with safeguarding a planet evacuation," Jin started.
"By the time we arrived, the Tsavitee were already on the ground. They had set up an angel class destroyer in orbit and were picking off any ship that made it into the air. Kira led a strike team to take it down. Successfully, I might add," Raider said with a glance at Jin.
"But not before we lost over a dozen ships," Jin said calmly. "She'd spent time on Atlas. It was her home for a short time after the camp. She knew people there, and she had a lot of friends on those ships."
Dismay crossed Raider's expression. "I didn't know that."
"You wouldn't; she never told you. It was our first engagement as a team. She wanted you to focus on the success of the mission rather than what had been lost. It doesn't mean she didn't feel every one of those losses," Jin said.
"Our family has always been protectors," Harlow mused, staring up at his niece. "Our sense of responsibility is overdeveloped. It's why we've long been tasked with the leadership of this House."
"Kira is a chip off the old block then," Jin said.
"How do we get her out? As memories go, this is a gentle one," Raider said.
Jin answered before Graydon could. "You want to use her link to Raider to gain access to her mind."
Raider's face was puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
"Tuann form mental connections to the people they care about," Jin explained. "It's how they preserve their sanity. The more connections they have, the more stable they are. Deprive them of their connections, and they slowly wither and fade."
"How do you know that?" Makon asked.
Jin snorted. "Please. I know that woman better than I know myself. I've always suspected she needs an emotional connection with others. Our self-imposed exile confirmed it." He focused on Graydon. "It's a good idea, but I'm the better option. My connection with her is stronger. More developed."
For once, there was no hint of laughter or teasing in the drone.
"You're a machine," Makon said. "You won't be able to meld with her mind."
Jin's voice was cool. "You shouldn't judge either Kira or me by your definition of what's possible. People in Kira's vicinity have a way of exceeding your expectations."
"You're not a person," Indya pointed out.
Jin sniffed in insult. "I've never allowed myself to be limited by small minds lacking in imagination. I'm not going to start now."
He started toward Kira. "Are you in or are you out?"
Graydon didn't have to think twice. If the drone said he could do it, Graydon would risk everything to ensure she survived. "I'm up for anything you are, machine."
Jin cackled. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."
Graydon stopped inches from the bubble. "The marshal is right. Our technology doesn't always coexist well with the human's. It could destroy you and me in the attempt."
History was littered with stories of those who'd fallen afoul of the memory pools. They were both taking their lives in their hands by doing this.
"I'm willing to take the risk," Jin said. "Better to try and fail than live with the consequences."
"Strange to find myself agreeing with a machine," Graydon returned.
Jin rotated toward him. "Graydon, this has to work. If she destroys Devon's mind, you'll never convince her to stay. Any progress you've made will be over. She'll cut and run so fast you'll never find her."
Graydon had no doubt Jin spoke true. Kira would blame herself, despite her sharing no fault in matters.
"Then we'd better make sure we don't fail," Graydon said.
Graydon lifted his hand, praying to the Mea'Ave and ki around them that this would work. His connection with her was fragile. New. Yet it was stronger than it should be for what could be considered a blink of an eye for many Tuann. If allowed to grow, Graydon knew their connection would blossom into something they would write about for ages.
Kira cared. Even when she shouldn't. Even when it would have been easier to walk away. You just had to look at her actions when she'd saved Devon and the lu-ong. Neither scenario had promised her any benefit. Any Tuann he knew would have let things play out with no risk to themselves.
Not Kira.
It was the thing he liked best about her. She threw herself into danger because it was the right thing to do. It was noble and stupid. He’d prefer the woman didn't take such risks.
He refused to lose her now.
Graydon closed his eyes, drifting into a trance. The brightness of Kira's soul obliterated everything else in the room. It burned white-hot, full of an incandescent passion. Beautiful and deadly, overshadowing everything else.
This was why people were drawn to her. Why her humans had gone to such lengths to protect her and why the human at his side had followed her to Roake despite strong opposition.
She was an inferno with the power to destroy or protect.
Graydon had seen few souls as pure as Kira's. It made him crave her, tempting him to linger and let its strength settle his own.
With the ease of long practice, he pushed its intensity back, surprised to find the bright shadow of Jin in his mind's map when Kira's impact faded.
As one, they both stepped into the water's currents.