"Wren and Finn are with Raider. Between those three, they should be able to handle anything that comes their way."
Kira wouldn't let Odin make her believe otherwise.
"They just got delayed. That's all."
"If you say so."
"I do," Kira confirmed with a nod. "Worse case—if they don't show up in the next couple of days, I’ll go looking for them."
"I have a ship you can borrow. It just needs to return from its smuggling run."
Kira arched an eyebrow at her friend. "Pallas was right? You’re a smuggler?"
"Running Yggdrasil takes a lot of funds. Not to mention, it's dangerous out there right now. A lot of people just want a little reassurance in the event the Tsavitee come knocking."
"I can understand that," Kira said softly.
The J1N circling in one continuous slow loop made Kira sigh with frustration.
"While I wait, do you think there's anything you can do about that?" Kira nodded at the J1N.
"I take it you want its personality to resemble Jin's?"
"At this point I'd settle for it being able to fly in a straight line."
Odin's snicker held amusement. "I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks." Kira glared at the drone. "Blue did what she could, but as you can see, it didn't really help."
Kira was hoping the occasions where Odin had hacked Jin's system to leave him a 'present' might come in handy now.
"That's probably because Jin left an imprint to prevent anyone from tampering with his physical form," Odin explained. "No worries, I should be able to bypass that."
Kira looked at him. "You sound certain."
"I've had a lot of time to consider Jin and his situation," Odin told Kira. "Jin being on the home world isn't good. If the Osiri find out he's there, they'll take him apart until they figure out the secret that has eluded them for so long."
"The Osiri?" Kira asked.
"The masters' true name. No one ever uses that word though." A bitter smile tilted Odin's lips. "That would be considered an invitation for a long and painful death at their hands."
"Why are they so obsessed with the creation of a soul bound?"
Odin shook his head. "I don't know. Most of what they do doesn't make sense to me. The soul bound are just one in a long list."
"Is there anything you can tell me about them?"
Very few realized there was a master pulling the Tsavitee’s strings.
Among humans, she could count on one hand the number privy to that information. She doubted that had changed with her absence.
The Tuann were a little better informed.
They could thank Graydon for that. He and Harlow were the ones who put it together from clues they learned from Kira.
What Graydon knew, the emperor and his closest confidants also knew. Kira couldn't be sure about the rest of the Overlords, though.
"My theory is that they're obsessed with evolution," Odin said after considering her question. "To an almost pathological level. Any new races that draw their interest, they push until they find the limits of its evolutionary path."
Kira was quiet, wondering if that was what they had in store for humanity.
"When they have the answers they seek, they throw their broken toys to the horde. Whether those toys survive and find a place for themselves or are destroyed is up to the toy."
"What's their purpose?" Kira asked.
There had to be one. It might not make sense to Kira, but it was there.
"Who knows? Maybe to create a perfect race? Their own evolution? All I know is that they've designed evolutionary paths for hundreds of species, including my own. The Tuann were the ones they were most proud of." Odin looked over at Kira. "I'm pretty sure the soul bound are a big reason for that."
Eighteen
Odin was ordering the J1N to power down as Kira took her leave. The growing frustration in Odin’s voice when the drone failed to comply made her feel a little better about the past few days.
At least she wasn't the only one the J1N gave trouble.
Kira stepped into the corridor, scanning it for Pallas.
He wasn't far. Just a dozen feet down the corridor. Right next to an intersection, examining the wall and floor.
Kira stalked toward him. "What are you doing?"
In answer, Pallas tossed a rock he'd picked up from somewhere directly in front of him. There was a flash. Followed by a rat a tat tat as an SP4500 fired nearly three thousand rounds in the span of a second.
"Cute," Pallas drawled.