by T. A. White
The Tsavitee on her left moved to intercept Ayela before she could hit Kira again.
"Ignore her. She's trying to get under your skin," Lothos ordered from where he stood next to the octagon as the Tsavitee around him worked to hook up several lines.
Ayela settled back, her mouth pressed into a tight line and her eyes narrowed to slits.
"I'd say it's working." Kira's smile was nasty as the Tsavitee dragged her forward.
"Put her on her knees," Lothos said without turning around. "And if she speaks again, you may punish her."
There were hissed chuckles above her. One of them grabbed her shoulder, a blast of psychic power sending agonizing pain screeching along her nerve endings as it ripped a scream out of her.
Kira seized, her body shaking violently as they dropped her, letting her flop on the ground unhindered. The sound of their amusement a taunt above her.
Finally, her seizures slowed. Blood filled her mouth. She must have bitten her tongue at some point.
"You're supposed to wait until I've said something," Kira snarled at the two above her. To the general, she spat, "Your standard for cannon fodder has really gone down in the years since the war."
Another touch from the Tsavitee sent Kira to the ground, drool leaking out her mouth as her entire body protested the abuse.
The Tsavitee glared at her before one of them spat a glob of spit at her.
Lothos didn't even spare her a glance as he worked on melding his technology with the Tuann's. "You're right about the quality. Unfortunately, we had to grow them too quickly to replace the forces humanity decimated. Mistakes were made and it resulted in a decrease in intelligence. We'll correct the oversight in the next batch."
The Tsavitee above her didn't react to the insult. Kira couldn't tell if that was because they really were little more than obedient attack dogs, or if they truly didn't care.
Kira picked herself up off the ground, pushing herself to her knees as she glared at the general. The Tsavitee above her didn't attempt to grab her arms again.
"It seems you can learn," Lothos observed when she didn't say anything. "I had my doubts. My brothers told me you were incredibly stubborn. Almost impossible to train."
Kira held her silence. All the generals of the Tsavitee called themselves brothers. He could have been referring to any of them.
"Of course, many of them are dead by your hand, so perhaps they spoke truer than they knew," he said.
Feeling was gradually coming back into her arms and legs and the shakiness was passing.
Good.
"I will admit to being surprised to find you here. Last we knew you were dead or so close to it you didn't matter," he said. "Tell me, are you still capable of the burst?"
Kira stared at him.
"Answer me or they'll use their psions again," he said calmly.
She caught a glimpse of the Tsavitee to her left reaching for her.
"Stay and find out," she said.
He studied her, tapping his fingers against his leg in thought. "I don't think you’ll use it even if you can. Too many emotional attachments to those in this room."
Kira struggled not to react to the surprisingly on-target assessment. She didn't want him to see how close he was to the truth.
"Does it surprise you that we know your weakness?" he asked with a sly smile.
He would have been considered handsome if not for the horns and strange markings on his skin or the fact he was the enemy.
"After our last failure, we made sure to study you and your habits. You've been quiet since using the burst on Rothchild. Only using it once more during the Falling. Some might even say you've been in mourning," he said, his black eyes fixed unwaveringly on Kira's. "Tell me, how many of your friends did you kill there?"
She kept her chin lifted as she forced boredom into her expression. "There's a lot of repressed emotion in this little chat. If you're not careful, I'm going to think the generals feel something for one another."
He bared his teeth. They were those of a meat eater, pointed and sharp. The incisors longer and capable of tearing into flesh or breaking bone.
"Your death will bring much joy to the Tsavitee. The best part is when we inform her of your defeat at our hands. You know, she sometimes screams for her Phoenix."
Everything in Kira went still. Her heart clenched painfully.
"I didn't know," Kira said, her words slow. "Thank you for that. We weren't sure if she lived. I promise to visit the full measure of my vengeance on your brothers as I let them know you're the one who sent me."
It was a promise, to herself and the general. Everything she'd done for the past seven years had been aimed at finding out what had happened to Elise and if she lived. This validated all that work.
The cold-blooded monster within the general peeked out. The need to tear out her throat and bathe in her blood was easy to see. He'd done a good job hiding it until now, almost seeming refined and civilized. That's how they destroyed the first human colonies, by pretending a façade of elegance and honor. Humans had soon learned the truth about them.
She smiled. Try it, she urged.
"Lothos, it's up," one of the Tsavitee said into the quiet. This one wasn’t one of the cannon fodder. His eyes were intelligent and bright as they flicked over Kira.
A reaper—the shock troops of the Tsavitee. Dangerous and powerful and similar in form to the generals.
The general straightened, his height impressive. He would have towered over Graydon.
"Connect me to him," the general said as he turned to face the platform.
The Tsavitee rushed to obey as Kira settled to wait.
Battles were as much about moments as they were tactics and weapons. Strike too soon and you gave up the advantage, wait too long and you've lost before you could turn the tide. It wasn't her moment yet. She needed to wait.
A niggle of awareness drew a line from her to where Jin was lying inert on the ground. His thoughts busy and desperate. She didn't know what he was working on, only that it was important. She'd buy him what time she could.
She chanced a glance at Ziva, Joule, and the other children. They huddled in a group in front of the cage, the Tsavitee poking at them every once in a while and laughing when the children cried or screamed.
Joule, Ziva, and another boy, slightly older than Joule, protected the front of the group, defiantly facing down their captors.
Ziva and Joule looked devastated as their eyes caught Kira's. Shame moved through their expressions, both blaming themselves for her predicament.
She winked at them before smiling. It didn't work, their faces becoming more morose, Ziva's eyes welling up with tears.
Guess her reassurance needed work.
Kira sighed and shifted on her knees trying to relieve some of the painful pressure. This had turned into a clusterfuck of a situation.
When she assured Liara she'd be able to save the Tuann, she might have been a little overconfident in her abilities.
Right now, she had two main sources to protect. The children and the adults. At least the adults were behind a forcefield. The Tsavitee would have to open it and chance being overwhelmed by those inside before they could use them as hostages. The children weren't as protected.
It made Kira's promise complicated.
If this had been ten years ago, before Rothchild, before Epiron, she wouldn't have questioned herself. That was before she'd used the first burst, before people had died while under her protection. Before her body started destroying itself.
The general had been right about her not using the burst, but not for the reasons he thought. The burst was a wave of energy her body generated when under duress, capable of annihilating everything around her, friend and foe.
It was a powerful weapon but came at a steep cost. Using it put her close to death. Last time she'd used it she ended up in a coma for years. Her body was recovering slowly, but she was nowhere near what she'd once been.
Her huff was sad. Po
or children, their only chance of survival was a dysfunctional Tuann and a half-fried drone that may or may not come back online in time.
She inhaled sharply.
A screen formed above the platform, liquid ribbons of silver condensing to form a mirror.
A Tsavitee general peered out of it, his expression remote. He looked as young and ageless as the rest of his kind, his eyes red instead of black. The tip of his left horn was broken, the edge jagged and white.
Neron.
Interesting choice on Lothos’ part. Neron was high ranking, but he wasn't the highest. Not even in the top five, unless things had changed more than she knew.
This general had a history with her. She was the one who'd broken his horn, which was considered a bit of a status symbol in his culture. He held a wicked grudge about the whole thing, even though he'd been doing his utmost to kill her at the time.
"Lothos, why are you calling me?" he asked.
Lothos bowed his head and touched his fist to his chest. "There has been a development."
The red eyes narrowed. "What kind of development?"
Lothos stepped to the side, giving Neron a clear view of a kneeling Kira.
Neron went still. His expression hardened, becoming even more remote. At last, he relaxed into his chair. "Phoenix. Like the human myth, you have once again risen from your own ashes."
By then Lothos had backed up until he was standing behind Kira and her two captors.
Several seconds passed as the tension in the room built.
"Nothing to say to your old enemy?" Neron asked, his voice a silken menace.
Kira pretended to think. "Just a message for your masters. You can tell them I'm coming for them. I plan to keep the promise I made you the first time we met."
Hisses of displeasure came from those around her. The only ones who were silent were Neron, Lothos, and another slim figure Kira had just noticed.
The new general was young, barely out of his maturation phase from what Kira could tell.
Neron’s gaze shifted to Lothos and the two shared a long look. "You know what to do."
Lothos inclined his head. "Of course, consider it done."
Lothos looked at the two Tsavitee, his expression flat. "Kill her."
There were pleased chortles from the Tsavitee as those in the cages erupted. The Tsavitee dragged an unresisting Kira closer to the octagon, forcing her onto her knees where Neron would have a front row seat to her death.
His face was set in the same impassive lines she associated with the generals, no recognizable emotion rippling across its surface.
Kira held his gaze as the Tsavitee next to her prepared, one of them readying a laser ax, the quiet hum sizzling through the air. The other grabbed her hair, forcing her head down and exposing her neck.
This was it. Death had come for her.
The blade neared her skin as the Tsavitee lined up his stroke. Distantly she noted their feet resembled a goat's, hoof-like with no shoes.
The blade lifted. A deafening roar sounded from the cage as something threw itself against it, again and again.
Kira couldn't turn to see what.
She slipped her hand along the top of her boot, palming the finger-length blade hidden there.
Sloppy of the Tsavitee not to secure her hands.
The ax descended.
Kira grabbed the arm of the Tsavitee holding her hair. She rolled into the other Tsavitee pulling the first into the path of the descending ax.
There was a scream as blood sprayed, the blade cleaving his shoulder in two. Kira twisted, not bothering to find her feet, sinking her blade into the executioner's leg, searching for an artery.
Blood gushed. She couldn't tell if she'd hit it or not. Best to make sure.
The executioner lifted the blade again. Kira surged up, staying close to his body. His swing missed. She trapped his arm against her side and swiped her blade across his neck.
Warm blood hit her face as she held him against her, not letting his dead body fall.
Kira maneuvered him so his dead weight was between her and the rest of the Tsavitee.
"This is your only warning. Those who wish to live—run," Kira said in Tsavitee.
Neron’s image clicked off.
Kira spared one glance at it before focusing on the force in front of her. There was no going back now. The Tsavitee higher-ups knew she was alive. They'd view her as a threat and come for her before she could come for them.
She sighed and shook her head. Thoughts of future problems could wait. There was too much in the here and now to take care of.
The sound of a slow clap came as Ayela stepped from between the ranks of milling Tsavitee. The two generals stayed where they were. They might want Kira dead, but they had enough experience to know with her loose it was better to let the cannon fodder wear her down before striking.
The younger one looked stunned, his mouth agape. Lothos stared at the two dead Tsavitee with a blank expression.
"Congratulations, you've managed to survive for another minute," Ayela said sarcastically, pushing through the Tsavitee. "But you're still alone with no weapon besides that blade and you face an army.”
Pity moved across Kira's face. "That's where you and the Tsavitee always seem to go wrong. I rarely face your kind alone."
Confusion reflected on Ayela's face, before realization descended. Her mouth opened to shout orders.
She was too late.
Sound ripped through the air. “The Ride of the Valkyries” playing as Jin shot up from the ground.
Kira used the dead Tsavitee as a shield against Tsavitee fire as she dove for cover.
Jin drew a drunken path through the air as the Tsavitee turned their weapons from her to him. He returned fire, the laser gun she'd installed mowing down the dozen Tsavitee between him and Kira.
An explosion rocked the room as part of the ceiling caved in. Rope descended seconds later, several forms rappelling down them. Guns barked as those above fired into the horde.
The Curs. About damn time.
Kira abandoned her cover, tackling the Tsavitee closest to her. She buried her blade in its neck several times, leaping off it before it hit the ground. She caught another, knocking its weapon away. It fired on its allies instead.
The Tsavitee was dead in the next second.
Raider and Nova were careful to keep their lines of fire away from the hostages.
"Jin, tell me you recorded Liara’s promise," Kira shouted over the chaos.
"Of course, I did. What do you think I am? An idiot?"
Kira smiled, relieved beyond words to hear her friend—even if his voice was full of sarcasm. "Then get working on that cage and protect the Overlord and her people at all costs."
He grumbled about being given obvious orders as he made a beeline for the hostages, the song blaring. It was a little on the nose, but Kira couldn't complain given its distraction had saved her ass.
Raider burst out of the dust next to her, lifting his face shield.
"You're late," she told him.
"You're lucky we came at all. That Tuann who protects you was near frothing at the mouth when he found us. You're lucky Blue put a tracker on your ass. The other one tried to stuff us in a closet once the Tsavitee started running rampant," Raider griped.
Noor appeared beside him, removing the head of two Tsavitee in a single swing of his sword. "You are not a truthful human."
Raider rolled his eyes as he fired at several of the enemy. "Yeah, yeah. Tell it to someone who cares."
“Jace and Maverick are working on calling our ship,” Raider told her after he’d taken care of another batch of enemies.
"Jin is working on the cage. We need to protect them until he finishes," Kira said.
"You never ask for much," Raider said before turning to call out orders to his troops.
Finn appeared beside her like a ghost, his eyes glittering and blood coating the front of his armor. "We are going to have a talk when this is over."
>
Kira didn't bother acknowledging that statement.
"Protect the children," Kira told him. "They're the most vulnerable right now."
He exhaled through his nose, his eyes approaching slits before he stalked off, the other Tuann trailing behind Raider.
Kira killed anything that came near her. She searched the melee but both generals were long gone, having disappeared as soon as the ceiling came down.
Kira spotted Blue fending off three Tsavitee. Kira sprinted toward her, landing in the middle as she ducked one swing, delivering three carefully placed strikes in seconds.
"Help Jin," she ordered as soon as the other woman focused on her.
Blue's chin jerked in a nod and she hurried off.
The firefight intensified, the Tsavitee rallying enough to recover from their earlier surprise.
The Curs had shifted the tide, but the battle wasn't yet won.
She checked on the others, her gaze snagging on a Tsavitee as he crept along the wall, his blaster aimed at Raider's back.
"Raider," Kira screamed a warning. She'd never reach him in time.
He began to turn, dropping to one knee, the Tsavitee already firing.
Kira reached for the tangled, thorny vines at her center, the source of power that had once obeyed her without question. It surged forward, easier than it had in years, the power bright and hot in her mind as she threw it out from her, wrapping Raider in a protective layer.
The blast hit it and faded. The shield disappeared in the next second.
Raider fired, hitting the Tsavitee in the chest and killing him.
Kira smiled in relief as he turned to face her with a thanks on his lips. His expression shifted, horror dawning.
His rejection stung.
A sucking pain lanced through her chest in the next instant. Choked gasps did nothing to relieve it as Kira glanced down. Vague surprise filled her at the sight of a sword point sticking out of her chest.
A Tuann en-blade, she noted distantly, touching it in dismay. Red coated her fingers.
Ayela stepped around her, her expression gloating. "Guess I'm not so useless after all. I killed you, didn't I? Even the general failed to accomplish that."