"Ah." That explained it.
He cocked his head, fury deepening in his expression as his voice lowered ominously, sinking a wealth of fury into his words. "I’ve got it. Perhaps because you attacked the Luathans and freed their prisoners."
"I take it she didn't get the chance to warn you about the Tsavitee attack under way," Kira guessed.
This could complicate things.
Graydon let loose a sound dangerously close to a growl, a low rumble warning people to escape before the cold grip of death came for them.
Kira stayed where she was, fascinated in spite of herself, at the way his eyes darkened as he visibly battled for control.
"I have proof," Kira offered when it looked like he might give in to his urge to throttle her.
"That would be lovely," he said through gritted teeth. "But first, we need to get you out of here. If the Luathans catch you here, they'll execute you."
He didn't give her time to argue, forcibly marching her toward the door.
"But—"
Graydon ignored her protest.
She craned her neck to look at Jin. "A little warning would have been nice."
"I didn't sense his approach. He somehow fooled my sensors."
Kira stared at the side of Graydon's face. It would have been handy to know how the Tuann kept doing that.
"We can't leave," Kira said, struggling to escape Graydon's grip. It wasn't easy, especially since she didn't want to risk hurting him or further escalating the situation.
After an aborted movement, she gave up. His fingers were like bands of steel, tight and unbending unless she planned on breaking them.
"Graydon, listen to me. There is a Tsavitee warship waiting outside the system. Someone is trying to bring down the defense network so they can land." Kira fought to slow his progress, desperation tinging her voice. "Unless we do something, people are going to die."
He turned to her, his nostrils flared. "Do you understand what they'll do to you if they catch you in here?"
Kira stared at him. It dawned on her he might be furious for reasons that hadn't occurred to her. That maybe it wasn't as simple as him assuming she'd betrayed him.
"Does that matter, if we can save them?" she asked. It was the only response she could think of.
She was no martyr. She had no intention of sacrificing herself for the Tuann. She'd seen too many people die, carried their souls on her own. She wouldn't dishonor them by throwing her life away recklessly.
Those same souls would rip her apart when she met them in the afterlife if she didn't try everything in her power to stop this, not when they'd sacrificed their lives on similar causes.
Eternity stretched between them as he studied her.
"Show me your proof."
Relief fluttered in her chest.
He was giving her a chance. That was all. She'd have to make it count.
"Jin."
Jin played the recording without any further prompting.
Kira took the time to study Graydon as he watched it. His expression remained closed, giving her no hint to his thoughts beyond a slight tightening along his jaw.
"You're here to see if the defense network has been tampered with," he said flatly.
She nodded. "Close enough."
He released a frustrated breath. "That is an excellent plan. Truly."
She sensed sarcasm in that statement as he pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at her.
"You have no clue how it works. It takes talent along with years of training to handle the stress it places on the mind."
Kira's lips firmed.
He nodded at Jin. "Your drone can handle a hundred tetrabytes of information at a time, right?"
"Two hundred," Jin boasted.
"The melding sends double that every second. Even if you'd succeeded in not killing yourself within seconds, you would have activated the secondary defenses."
Kira frowned pensively before shrugging. "I'd have figured something out. If nothing else, we would have waited for the traitors to show themselves. Killing them would have worked just as well."
"Yes, and you would have been executed immediately after. Brilliant plan," he snarled.
"I would have stopped the attack. I count that as a win." She gave him a thin smile. "You seem to think I'm easy to kill. I'm not."
"This is a true statement," Jin agreed. "She's like a cockroach, only hardier."
Graydon didn't react to that statement, never taking his attention off Kira as he scowled at her.
"A hundred different ways to address this and you chose the most dangerous," he muttered.
"Also, a trait of hers," Jin pointed out. "You get used to it."
"Are you going to help or continue to poke holes in this plan?" Kira asked Graydon, lifting her chin.
He curled his lip. "Follow me."
Graydon approached the octagon, stopping on the first step and going no further. He raised his hand, his forehead creasing with strain.
Before him a field of stars came into view, some dull and faded, others bright and almost blinding.
"Woah," she said, looking around her in awe.
The stars zoomed by as Graydon played with it.
"There, that's the Tsavitee ship," Kira said, pointing.
It was barely noticeable, an easily overlooked blip if she hadn't suspected its presence.
"It's heading toward the planet," Kira said.
Probably the only reason they caught it.
Graydon muttered several unfavorable curses.
"What about the defense network?" Jin asked urgently. "Can you tell if it's been tampered with?"
"No, I don't have access."
"Not even as the Emperor's Face?" Jin asked.
"Every House maintains their section of the defense network. Their codes vary. Under normal circumstances I could demand access, but there is little chance of that, given what you've done."
It was a dig at Kira. One she ignored, focused as she was on studying Graydon's motions and the stars in front of her.
The technology was cerebral based, relying on the strength of the mind controlling it. Fascinating. There must be some type of mechanism to prevent just anybody from accessing it. Maybe it was programmed to recognize brain patterns or the DNA of those coded into it.
The planet's spirit pulsed under her, its strength sending lancing pain through her head.
Graydon made several small motions and the starfield faded, a schematic taking its place.
"Is this one of the schematics for the defense net?" she asked.
He studied it with a resigned expression. "Yes, I asked to be shown the last thing accessed and this was what was pulled up."
"They wouldn't have something like that up unless they were doing a system or weapons check," Jin said, drifting closer to the hologram.
"Stay out of the octagon," Graydon warned. "You're as likely to be fried as her."
Jin backed up several feet. "Of course. My bad."
"I doubt they would have done a systems check so close to the ceremony. Not with so many high ranking Luathans here," he said, returning to their conversation.
Which meant this was probably the work of their enemy.
He stepped from the platform, slight beads of sweat dotting his forehead.