Elena pursed her mouth as she considered. "Like fizzy bubbles in my middle. Nice, but it gets itchy after a while."
That was different than Kira's feeling. It could be because of Elena's non-traditional heritage. She wasn't full Tuann, whereas Kira was.
Kira shrugged off the questions, putting them aside for later. Even if she wanted to, she wasn't likely to get answers now. Only a Tuann who understood the Mea'Ave far better than Kira would have an answer.
From above, the sound of knocking came. Almost like something was hitting the sides of the air vents.
Kira and Elena looked up.
Cautiously, Kira unlocked her safety harness, wanting to be free to move in the event of danger.
Before she could do more than touch the release button, a grate popped open, and a ball rolled out.
Elena caught it before the object could hit the deck, peering at it in puzzlement.
"Uncle Jin, where did you come from?"
Jin re-oriented himself, his antigravs whirring as he lifted himself out of Elena's palm. "A place no one should have the misfortune of venturing."
A foul stench invaded the air. Upon closer examination, Kira could see small specks of matter stuck to his shell.
With a grimace, Kira covered her nose. She had a feeling she knew what avenue he'd taken to get here.
"Darling child of my sister, do you know what hells I had to travel? What horrors I've seen?" Jin asked with a false sense of calm that did nothing to hide the brewing storm.
Elena looked like she was about to throw up as she held the hands that had touched Jin as far away from her body as she could. "I think I have some idea."
A sense of menace came from Jin as he crept toward Elena. "No, my dear, who is in the most trouble she's ever been in during her short life, you don't, but you will."
At that, Jin swooped toward Elena, evading her hands as she tried to bat him away. He rubbed his sides along her face and torso, ignoring the wails of dismay and the flailing. He was merciless as he smeared the matter on his shell all over Elena.
"Auntie! Help!"
Kira shook her head. Not a chance in hell. Kira knew better than to get in the way of Jin's revenge. Not unless she wanted to fend off the same attacks.
"Oh no, you're on your own for this one."
"Auntie!" Elena screeched in protest.
"Let this be a lesson, my dear." Jin finally backed away from Elena. "If you're going to steal the ship, at least give your Uncle Jin a heads up so he can be on it when you do."
"Or she could not steal the ship at all. That'd solve all our problems."
Elena bolted out of her seat, making a beeline in the direction of the ship's pitifully small passenger level—and the enzyme shower that waited there.
In her absence, Jin threw himself at Kira, only for her to dodge away. After guessing how he got into the ship, Kira wasn't going to let him touch her. No way; no how.
"Kira," Jin started.
"You stay away from me." Kira pointed at him. "While you're at it, go get cleaned up."
"You forget there's only one enzyme shower on this ship, and the brat is currently in it."
Kira grimaced. Maybe she had been a little hasty denying her niece aid earlier.
"This is a cluster fuck of epic proportions." Kira could feel a headache coming on, its origins residing in her niece and this entire situation.
"We've become a cliché; we're runaways from home," Jin whimpered.
"Technically, the Wanderer is our home."
It was hard to be considered a runaway when you were standing on the bridge of said home.
"You know what I mean."
Sadly, Kira did.
Current events were so far outside her plans that it was a little concerning. What was supposed to be a quick jaunt—out and back before anyone knew she was gone—had turned into a situation spiraling out of Kira's control.
Nowhere in her plans had there been an impromptu trip off-planet.
Now, not only did Harlow and Graydon know about Elena, they knew about the existence of the forty-three as well.
On top of that, Kira's hope to use the quorum as a chance to search for Elise in Haldeel space was gone.
They could try to return, but Kira was pretty sure the planet's defenses would shred them before they even got through the upper atmosphere.
Even if she could land, what would she say to Harlow?
Sorry. I'm back, please forget my temporary escape?
Elena and Kira would be lucky if they weren't locked up after this stunt. Forget any chance of attending the quorum.
"As much as this has really thrown a wrench in everything, I kind of understand where she's coming from." At Kira's look, Jin got defensive. "Don't tell me if Himoto or Jace came up with a plan to rescue Elise that you wouldn't insert yourself into the mission."
"That's different."
"Oh? Because you're you?"
Kira scowled. "She's a kid."
"Physically she's older than we were when we staged our escape from the camp," Jin pointed out. "Developmentally, you were only a few years older than her when you started fighting in the war."
Because of Raider's contribution to her genetics, Elena matured at a faster rate than either Kira or Jin. She looked like the thirteen-year-old she biologically was. By contrast, Kira was ninety-two and still looked to be, at most, in her mid-twenties. As near as Kira and Jin could figure it out, once a Tuann reached physical adulthood, their aging stagnated.
One example of this was Harlow who despite being nearly two thousand years old, didn't look any older than his mid to late thirties.
Kira and Jin would have been Elena's equivalent age when they were forty or fifty—right around the time they rebelled against the camp’s masters.
It was anyone's guess whether Elena would have a lifespan closer to a human's or a Tuann's. As the first of her kind that Kira knew of, Elena’s existence raised a lot of questions but not a lot of answers.
They couldn’t risk a scientist becoming aware of her and using the information for their own experiments.
Their best source of information was on the planet shrinking in their rear view.
"Elise didn't entrust us with her daughter so we could put her in danger," Kira argued.
"I would say Elise didn't do a very good job of entrusting us with anything."
There was a bitterness in Jin's words that Kira understood.
After Rothchild, it had taken far too long to find Elena. Nearly four years passed before Jin caught whispers about her existence.
Kira only knew the barest of details of that time. Enough to know their niece's earliest years hadn't been sweet and easy. The person Elise left her daughter to was long since gone, either dead in the war or for having abandoned Elena.
Jin bore the brunt of finding her a new home, knowing it was far too dangerous to have her with them while Kira was in her coma. Even after Kira recovered, they had only been able to manage short, periodic visits.
It was no wonder Elena wanted a family. In a way, she was much more restrained than either Kira or Jin at that age.
"I don't want Elena to go through what we did," Kira said. "She deserves to have the adults in her life protect her."
It was why they had placed her with that guardian—so Elena would have a place to grow up where she'd be safe and loved. Where she didn't have to fight every second for survival or have her personality twisted by forces outside her control.