Solal nodded at the bank of cryopods and their inhabitants. "What about them?"
Elena's gaze flitted from one face to another. "You can't leave them behind. They're of my mother. That makes them my siblings."
Solal looked over her head at Raider as Amila moved to tend to Finn's wound.
The oshota's face was dangerously pale from blood loss. If they didn't get him to a healer soon, he might not make it.
Raider stared at the six unconscious children; his expression shuttered.
"Someone will need to take responsibility for them," Graydon said.
Elena scowled. "What does that mean?"
Raider knew. Graydon could see that from the way the human rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the unconscious children. He understood the same way Graydon did that they couldn’t release these children into the universe without someone there to guide them.
Elena tugged at Raider’s arm, her expression pleading. "Dad?"
Raider nodded, his gaze finding Graydon's. "I'll do it."
"Are you sure?"
It would be less complicated for everyone if the children disappeared.
He'd made a promise to Kira though. And his own conscience wouldn't allow him to order their elimination. Not without knowing whether they could be more than their masters made them.
That was what the lu-ong had offered the Tuann all those years ago. A chance at something different. It would be hypocritical now to judge these children for being in the same position they’d once been. Weapons and monsters—but not because of a choice they made.
Graydon wanted to hear Raider’s answer. Whether the human would prove worthy of the woman Devon had just carried out of the shadows and set beside Jin's cryopod.
Raider's gaze lingered on his former lover. "They might not be mine the same way Elena is, but Elise wanted them. She thought them worth saving. That's enough for me."
Good answer.
With that, Graydon gave his people a nod.
Solal and Devon headed for the cryopods as Amila lifted Finn, supporting the majority of his weight as they hobbled toward the rest. The oshota too proud to let anybody carry him.
Pallas knelt beside Jin with a look of wonder. "Little brother, I can’t tell you how good it is to see your face again."
Graydon pretended not to notice the emotion on the other man's face as he reverently cupped the top of the boy’s head.
A moment passed before Pallas rose. "Take care of them."
Lathan headed toward them, the body of a woman carried over his shoulder.
"As if I would ever do anything else," Graydon said with some amusement.
Pallas took the body from Lathan, holding the woman against his chest.
Graydon didn’t understand the flash of anger and disgust in the other man’s face. Especially when compared to the gentle way he handled her.
"Lathan will remain with you. You'll have need of him," Pallas said.
"And where will you be?"
A void of black yawned beneath Pallas's feet. "I have business to take care of."
The rift swallowed Pallas and the woman, leaving no evidence of their passage.
"Will he be alright?" Graydon asked Lathan.
The wanderer's face remained calm as he moved over to help Solal and Devon lay out the children. "He will grieve. And then he will kill."
Graydon glanced at the spot where Pallas had just been. "How very Tuann."
Lathan's smile was soft. "Yes."
There was a commotion as his oshota found a boy lying on the ground, just returning to consciousness. A general who looked confused as he took in the semi-destroyed state of the room.
"What happened?" the boy asked.
Raider whipped up his rifle, aiming it at the youth’s head. Graydon's oshota unsheathed their en-blades to point them at the boy.
Elena threw herself between them and the general, her hands held out placatingly. "Don't hurt him. He's with me."
"Not you too," Raider groaned, his rifle lowering slightly.
Elena looked puzzled for a moment before her face brightened. "Auntie is working with them, isn’t she?"
The general held still, aware that his continued existence hinged on Elena’s actions.
Smart. Maybe he could be of some use after all.
Graydon prowled toward him, stopping just out of reach. "You’re in luck. I’m going to offer you a choice. I suggest you consider it carefully."
The general’s gaze lifted to Graydon’s, a question in them.
"You may come with us—or stay here."
If he chose the second, he would die before the words finished leaving his mouth. Graydon wouldn’t risk leaving behind a liability. He was already being magnanimous enough in offering him this opportunity. One that was only possible due to the vow Kira had made to Aeron.