Kira could tell there would be no saving that person.
No one else besides the children was present.
"Come on. We have to go."
Neither child moved.
Kira scowled at them. Time was of the essence. She didn’t have time to console them or win their trust. She reached around the boy and plucked the girl up. She sensed she was the key to getting the other one to cooperate. Kira held the girl to her chest as the boy babbled at her in a strange language, his voice high-pitched and angry.
It didn't take speaking the language to know what he was saying, to know he was demanding she put the girl down.
Kira didn't listen, heading to the front of the cabin and out the door, the boy trailing after her, the panic in his voice clear.
The girl clutched at her, fear making her cling harder, her knuckles turning white where she gripped Kira's shirt.
Kira patted her shoulder in wordless sympathy, even as she looked for a way to safety. Jumping onto one of the terraces would be impossible with two children clinging like limpets to her.
"Jin, anything?" she called.
"This engine is dead. There's no saving it. It's not capable of anything but a crash-landing," he said. The chip embedded behind her ear made it seem like he was speaking directly into it.
Kira fought the desire to curse, knowing the children would probably panic more at the sight of her frustration.
Crash-landing the craft on one of the terraces was too risky. It might work, but it also might explode on impact, killing them and innocent bystanders. Their best bet was to jump.
She looked around, noticing they’d drifted away from the terraces. Far below several platforms stretched, linked to the terraces above by a series of walkways.
They were remnants of the station’s past, some of the few that hadn’t been deconstructed when the war ended. Fleet ships might have once landed on those same platforms for repair or to offload supplies before taking off through the retractable dome above.
She exhaled heavily. One of them would have to work.
"What about the platform below us at three o'clock?" she asked.
"That jump is nearly fifty yards and at least a twenty-meter drop," he argued.
"You got a better idea?"
A small growl filled her ear. That was a no.
"Give me time to get on the outside. I may be able to nudge this thing's death spiral, so it takes you directly over it," Jin said. "You won't have much time. Drop one of the kids onto it first; otherwise, you'll never make it."
Kira grinned.
"So much for going unnoticed," he muttered as he maneuvered into position.
Kira ignored the comment, knowing he didn't really mean it. Neither one of them were the type to regret saving a pair of children.
She crouched and looked the boy in the eye. "Can you understand me?"
He seemed hesitant, his nod slow, the suspicion in his gaze slightly dimmed.
Kira felt a sense of relief at the fact he could speak her language. Explaining what she needed of him and the girl would have been much more difficult otherwise.
"I have to throw one of you off," she told him.
He started shaking his head before she finished. She set the girl down and kneeled in front of him, making sure he could see her eyes. She needed him to trust her.
"I can’t make this jump holding both of you. One of us needs to go first. I'll drop one onto the platform and then jump with the other one."
Timing was crucial. The platform was a good size but it wasn’t huge. The sailboat was drifting faster than she’d like while attempting this maneuver. If she missed her window during the second jump, she and the other child would fall to their deaths as the ship opened the distance between it and safety.
He glanced at the platform, his solemn frown out of place in a face so young.
"She goes first." His accent made his words almost lyrical.
Kira hesitated. She'd planned to drop the boy first, then jump with the girl. He was heavier, and his size might slow her.
His stubborn expression told her he wasn't budging on this point. They'd lose valuable time if she continued to press.
She nodded, feeling resigned. In his place, she'd probably do the same.
"Alright, we're moving into position now, Jin," Kira said out loud, holding the boy's gaze as she did so.
Brief curiosity filled his face, but he remained quiet, watching as she took the girl and moved to the edge.
"Commencing maneuver. Brace for impact."
Kira gestured for the boy to take a knee, doing the same and huddling around the girl.
The craft jolted. For a long scary second, Kira wasn't sure Jin's tactic had worked, then they began a slow glide toward the platform.
Adrenaline coursed through Kira. She took the girl's hands and dangled her over the side, watching carefully for her moment. Timing was everything.
For a long second, she worried about what would happen to the girl once she landed. She didn't have the training Kira did. She didn't know how to land properly, and while broken bones were preferable to death, it bothered her to be the cause.
Briefly, she considered softening the girl's landing, tapping into some of her innate abilities. It wouldn't take much, a simple rearranging of the density of the air molecules between the girl and the platform.
One thing stopped her. She hadn't used that power in all the time since she'd left the service. It was chancy; the power unpredictable. Furthermore, it could take a toll that cost her and the boy their lives. It also might bring Kira to the attention of people she had spent the time since the war avoiding.
The platform loomed closer. Twenty meters. Ten. The boy leaned over the edge, his words frantic as he barked instructions.
Kira ignored it all, waiting, her breathing slowing as she concentrated.
There.
She tossed the girl, aiming carefully. The girl plummeted.
Kira didn't wait to see if she landed. The ship was already picking up momentum as it glided over the platform. Delaying would mean death. She vaulted to her feet as she grabbed the boy up and powered for the opposite side of the sailboat. She hit the edge and leaped, the platform racing by under her.
She dropped. This landing was going to be brutal. She flipped midair, curling around the boy.
Together they hit. Pain from the impact shot through Kira's body. She didn't have time to be grateful before they rolled. The station careened around them. The edge dropped from under them. Kira's hand shot out, grasping at anything in reach, desperation lending her strength.
The sharp edges from the underside of the platform cut into her skin, ripping it open.
She caught a pipe, holding on with all her strength as they came to an abrupt stop. Her shoulder wrenched in protest as the boy slipped out of her grip. She clutched at him desperately, barely catching his shirt.
He stayed quiet as they dangled there, his back to her as he stared at the very long drop beneath them, only the thin fabric of his shirt standing between it and him.
"Don't move," Kira told him. "Don't breathe."
He remained very still, the only sign he'd heard and understood.
Kira looked around, noting their position. The edge of the platform was nearly a meter above them. Looked like swinging him to safety was out.
A small, white-blond head appeared above them, the little girl peering down with eyes of the deepest blue.