No life meant no ships. Without a ship, she was stuck here unless Pallas was kind enough to return Kira to hers.
After the way she'd just stormed off, she was betting that was no longer an option. If it ever was.
This was why no one had attempted to stop her. Because there was nowhere for her to go.
Kira hated to admit it, but she was well and truly fucked.
A knocking sound came from the J1N's anti gravs, interrupting Kira's pity party. He stopped beside her, listing slightly to one side with his 'eye' pointing up at the sky.
"What is wrong with you?" she demanded, not certain if that question was aimed at him or herself.
The urge to scream crawled up her throat. The impulse growing with the drone's silence.
So, she let it out. Tipping her face to the hazy sky and sinking her rage into the primal sound that ripped free of her.
Again. And then again.
Until calm settled over her and she felt like she could think again.
"They wouldn't strand themselves here," Kira said.
Pallas might have a way off through his ability, but the rest didn't have that cheat. That meant there was a ship around here somewhere.
Kira just needed to find it.
"J1N, scan the terrain for metals commonly used in Tuann or Consortium ships," Kira ordered.
"Scanning."
Kira squinted at the terrain as she waited, paying close attention to anything that didn't belong. Any shape that looked artificial in nature.
"The number of data points is too great."
"Narrow it down to one or two materials," Kira ordered impatiently.
"Alright," the J1N responded, its tone almost sulky if Kira didn't know better. "Still does not compute."
"Never mind," Kira said as she caught sight of something at the base of two hills. "I think I found what I'm looking for."
She bounded down steps half buried in sand, striding across the landscape.
The sun was beginning to rise as Kira neared her destination. A dim orb whose rays of light barely made a difference. The gloom just a few shades brighter than it was at night.
The gap between Kira and the J1N widened as she increased her pace in excitement as a ship's outline took shape exactly where she'd expected it to be.
The ship was a forlorn figure in the austere landscape. Its running lights offering a tiny respite against the lackluster dawn. It was the same class as the Wanderer. Though the design was different. Not from any planet in the Consortium. Nor the Haldeel either from what she could tell. It looked like a bastardized version of a Tuann ship. The guns mounted on either wing making its design more aggressive than the Tuann typically favored. They tended to hide their claws, preferring to conceal their weapons in nondescript areas to make it difficult to determine their threat level.
This ship had its claws on the outside. Practically shouting that it wasn't to be fucked with.
Curious, Kira touched a wing, trailing her fingers over the metal and finding it cool to the touch. Inert. Another difference. The metal in Tuann ships felt alive. Her touch should have woken a reaction. A shimmer of colors to announce the ship's awareness of her presence.
"What are you?" Kira murmured, studying the ship in its entirety.
Tuann designed but Consortium made. Outfitted for a fight and just begging to be stolen.
"Jin was so right. Piracy really is fun."
Though technically she considered this closer to pure theft than piracy.
"Piracy is banned in all known territories of space,” the J1N said from above her.
"Then it's a good thing we're not in any of those territories."
She was pretty sure.
"My programing does not allow me to participate in a known felony. Should you continue on this course, I will be forced to take action."
That got Kira’s attention as she eyed the drone carefully.
Given the amount of firepower she and Jin had installed, that was a serious threat. To make matters worse, she couldn't do anything that would cause harm to Jin's original body.
"J1N, what are the rules on salvaging ships?"
There was a brief pause. "These vary based on the government enforcing them."
"Yes, they do, but a common theme throughout Haldeel, Tuann, and human space is that an abandoned ship is up for grabs by whoever chooses to salvage it."
As a former salvager, Kira was familiar with all of the laws governing the recovery of abandoned and dead ships. Although most humans focused on Tsavitee ships, there had been the odd one here and there who would target the Consortium's relics. She'd wanted to know the rules just in case.