Facets of Revolution (The Firebird Chronicles, #4)

by T.A. White

“And on that note, it’s time I take my leave.” Call it cowardice. Survival instinct or what have you, but Kira felt a very real need to skedaddle before Alexander found a way to place the blame for this mess at Kira’s feet.

She, for one, was going to get while the getting was good.

Kira’s mentor and father figure had always said the only thing that separated two forces was which side of the battle line they stood on.

“I did warn you,” Graydon said. “Thanks. It really makes my day to have you tell me I told you so.” “Happy to be of assistance.”

People underestimated how reassuring it could be simply to have a companion when you faced your greatest fear. Not to have them fix the problem but rather hold your hand through the worst of it.

“Are you lost?” Kira drawled. “If I am, will you give me directions?”

The military was one giant game of chicken. Flinch and you were out.

Her friend didn’t know it, but he’d met his match in his daughter. Something Kira was looking forward to him discovering. On his own. When she was far away.

Stranger still was the idea that she was standing face-to-face with the man Graydon had sworn his allegiance to. It felt uncomfortably like meeting her significant other’s parents for the first time. Except this parent was the leader of an entire race.

“Welcome aboard the Wanderer. I am Jin and I will be your pilot today. Please note that the ride may be a tad bumpy. Seats are interspersed throughout the ship for your comfort but will do jack shit to save you should we crash.” The ship’s engines growled to life. A faint jolt came as the station’s docking beam retracted. “Ah—I would like to remind those who forced their way onto our ship that we are not liable for any mental or physical distress that you may experience during the journey. Barf bags are located in the latrines. Thank you and please don’t die.”

The Wanderer was equipped with several handy air locks. Perfect for tossing an overgrown male behemoth out of them. The only trick was getting him there.

“What happened to ‘not a scratch?’” “I improvised.”

“This should be good,” Raider muttered. “He looks like he has a stick up his ass. Your perfect mark.”

“I thought not accepting that promotion to Centcom all those years ago meant I’d never have to deal with zealous idiots. I guess I was wrong.” Raider arched his eyebrows at her. “What idiot wanted to promote you to Centcom?” “Himoto along with two other admirals.” Raider shook his head. “Thank any god that might exist you didn’t accept. Centcom would have been nothing but chaos with the Phoenix in its ranks.”

Alexander’s lips twisted. “My youngest sister may have been ignorant of her origins but the same can’t be said of the rest of us. The forty-three have been watching you. We are not impressed by what we’ve seen.”

“Only Kira isn’t skilled at caring for living creatures. As a result, J1N was given the programming to act as Kira’s mental health support drone.” Humiliating. That’s what this was. Absolutely humiliating. Jin gasped for breath. “I can’t. This is too much. Ahahahahaha. Stop. I can’t breathe.” Kira gritted her teeth. “You don’t have lungs.”

“I suggest you get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for you.” “Oh?” Kira asked curiously. “Your seon’yer deals with his emotions through an abundance of training and you’ve made him quite unsettled of late.“ Kira caught her flinch as Makon slid her a look.

Kira was coming to understand that if you gave the Tuann an inch they’d take the whole solar system.

“I agree with our seon’yer,“ Ziva chimed in with a serious expression that looked almost comical on her young face. “We can’t overlook this chance to obtain allies for our future endeavors. We have to get to them while they are young and build trust for later.” “Right. That’s not what I meant at all,” Kira said, knowing it was a lost cause from the growing determination on the faces of the girls.

“What did you teach those children?” he asked her. “I don’t even know at this point.”

“I don’t know whether to be relieved or worried,” Harlow confessed. Worried. Always worried when it came to a reasonable Kira. Graydon kept that thought to himself. This way it would be so much more fun later when Harlow and the rest came to the inevitable conclusion they’d never had control of the situation in the first place.

When Finn moved to follow her, she shook her head at him. “Stay and chat. I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on.” A sour look appeared on his face. “You get into trouble when I’m not within arm’s length.” Kira walked toward the open windows. “I get into trouble when you’re around too.”

Kira wasn’t so naïve as to think that knowledge would have given her complete respite from the overwhelming guilt she’d felt at surviving Rothchild, but it might have taken the edge off. Maybe reduced it from a ten to a nine point nine.

Kira found it mildly insulting that Boden regarded Finn as more of a threat than her. She’d worked hard to earn a reputation as a terror. How disappointing that years of effort meant nothing in Tuann society. Perhaps it was time she start again—this time among the Tuann.

In the same position, Kira wasn’t sure she would have risked poking the beast further. Who was she kidding? She probably would have taken a giant stick and whacked him on the head with it.

Kira supposed that was her cue for a dramatic entrance. She wrapped her legs around the branch of the tree, falling sideways and letting gravity claim her until she was hanging upside down. “Hello,” she said. The Tuann screeched and leapt sideways, ki scorching the air.

“Be careful,” Kira warned. “Don’t worry, Grandma. I know the drill.” “If that was the case, I wouldn’t have had to bail you out of the brig so many times.” “You’re forgetting half the time you were in the cell right next to me.”

“It’s a tragedy what growing up in such conditions did to you,” the person who’d spoken said with fake sympathy. Kira looked up at Alexander before pointing at the idiot in front of them. “Is he talking to me or you?” It was important to know in order to allocate the appropriate energy needed to deal with them. If Alexander was their intended target, he could bear the brunt of the effort.

Selene’s hand dropped as her shields dissolved. “Are you two done?” Kira nodded as Alexander did the same. “You two are no better than children,” Selene scolded. “She means you, right?” Kira asked Alexander. He glared. “No, it’s you. It’s always you.”

“They also fight each other for sport.” “Oh no. Not that,” Kira said in a deadpan voice as the rest of them turned back to their group.

“Fine, but you’re the bait though. I’ll be the hammer.” Kira scowled. “Why do I have to be bait.” “Your plan. Your dirty job.”

But now, her ears were ringing with a high-pitched and annoying buzz that usually only happened after she got a little too close to something that exploded. Or when Jin decided to sing those Haldeel arias.

Pallas caught Kira, grabbing her cheeks and smooshing them together as he pressed his face against hers. “Don’t tell me you’re still sore about that time I almost killed you.” Kira drove her elbow into his side, biting back a whimper as pain lanced her arm from the hard impact with armor. “Multiple times,” Jin shouted, lifting so he could see Pallas better. Pallas’s grip eased as he got a thoughtful look on his face. “Oh yeah, you might be right.” See, this was why Kira hated him. The man couldn’t even bother to remember how many times he almost killed her.