Kira gave her a small, reassuring smile—at least one thing had gone right.
"Jin, I could use a little help," Kira said, her voice utterly calm, no hint of stress in it.
"Of course, you can, but I'm a little busy right now," he said. "Someone has to push this thing to where it won't endanger the station or human lives."
"You gonna be done soon?"
"A few minutes." There was a brief crackle of silence. "Are you in immediate danger?"
"Not immediate," Kira said. At least not yet.
She didn't bother explaining her predicament. If Jin had taken it upon himself to redirect the sailboat, it meant it carried the potential to cause significant harm to the station, resulting in a high loss of life. She knew he'd drop what he was doing if he got one whiff of how dire her situation was. To him, their friendship trumped everything else. She couldn't risk so many others paying the price.
She hung there, sifting through different scenarios and discarding them all. Alone, she could have escaped this situation pretty easily. The boy complicated matters. Dropping him wasn't an option either.
She shifted her grip on the boy, bringing him closer and wrapping her legs around him. The pipe creaked above her, giving a small bit.
The boy bobbed, his shirt tearing slightly. Only her legs and luck kept him from falling.
Kira's pulse pounded, adrenaline flooding her system. It had been a long time since she felt like this. Like she was balancing on a precarious wire and the one thing keeping her from falling was her peculiar set of skills and dumb luck.
The boy clutched at her thigh but otherwise didn't make a sound. He didn't move. For someone so young, he was incredibly poised.
Shouts and the sound of people running came from above. Kira craned her neck as the girl was jerked away from the edge and several men peered over it.
Relief leaped in her as the pipe in her hand bent a little more.
"Down here," she called.
The men rearranged themselves, two disappearing as the other wormed his way over the edge. Kira caught a glimpse of movement and then hands as the other men lowered their friend.
She was afraid to move as he shifted closer, reaching his hand out to the boy she still clasped between her legs.
The pipe bent a little further.
"Give me your hand," Kira told the boy. "Reach up and back."
He did as she instructed. She strained as she reached for him, her fingers barely touching his. She yanked him up, letting go and catching him before he could fall.
The man above them shouted in the same strange language the boy had used on the craft, the urgency and fear in it unmistakable.
Kira took a breath, the boy's hand secure in hers.
"I'm going to toss you up to him," she told him.
He nodded once, the only sign of his terror his rapid gasps and wide eyes.
She craned her head to see the man. "Ready?"
He stared at her, his gaze narrowed and searching, before he grunted. Kira would take that as a yes.
This would need to be quick. The pipe was seconds and one forceful movement from snapping.
She closed her eyes and breathed out. Now.
Her grip changed as she jackknifed, using every ounce of strength and leverage to swing the boy up to his companion.
The pipe snapped as she completed the swing and let go of the boy. She dropped. The man grabbed the boy, his gaze going from his to hers as she fell.
Well. At least she'd managed to save the boy.
"You selfish, insufferable woman. I can’t believe you," Jin snarled.
Kira didn't answer as gravity pulled her down.
"I'm right under you. Brace and don't screw this up," Jin called.
Kira steadied herself as best she could, keeping her body loose.
Jin zipped past and into her hood, the material wrapping around him as he slowed her descent, the pull of the material against her neck and shoulders nearly strangling her.
Somehow the hoodie held as Kira thrashed to find a more comfortable position, one that didn’t leave her feeling like she was about to die of asphyxiation.
She didn't get a chance to protest as they started to ascend back toward the platform she’d fallen from, Jin muttering deprecations against her intelligence the entire time.
"Why didn't you tell me how much danger you were in?"
"You had more important things to worry about."
They cleared the edge of the platform. Jin set her down on it, shooting out from her hood to turn a baleful eye on her.
She ignored him, grabbing her hood and pulling it up over her hair. The precaution was probably pointless, but the comforting action helped to quell some of the remaining adrenaline turning her system into a cocktail of chemicals.
Kira ignored Jin’s snarl as she took in the rest of those on the platform. Several people had gathered in a circle around the two children, talking furiously. It sounded like they were in the midst of an argument, but she wasn’t sure. They broke off mid-sentence at her arrival, their expressions shocked.
Under the hood, her lips quirked. Somehow, surprising people never got old.
Jin rose to hover near her shoulder as the men assembled themselves protectively in front of the children, facing her with granite-hard expressions.
One of the men barked a command in his language, his tone strident. It was clear he expected compliance.
"You know what he's saying?" Kira asked Jin softly, not taking her attention from the men. The air crackled with danger, the tension thick and cloying.
Three more people ran onto the platform to join the handful who were already there.
"No, but that's synth armor they're wearing."
Jin didn't have to warn her to proceed with caution. There was only one race known for using that type of armor. It had a distinctive appearance and chemical makeup—not the type of thing Jin was likely to mistake.
Tiny ridges ran along the different interlinking plates. The armor molded over their powerful physiques, making their already muscular bodies even more intimidating. They practically screamed threat.
This version was a subdued copper with some type of symbol stamped on the front.
"They're wizards?" she asked, feeling a small curiosity despite the dangerous turn the situation had taken.
"Wizard is the derogatory term," Jin lectured. "They prefer to be called Tuann."
She'd never seen a wizard in person. Few people had.
They were a reclusive bunch and tended to keep to their corner of the galaxy, rarely leaving their territories. Most called them wizards due to persistent rumors comparing them to the myth of old. They were said to be capable of mysterious magic, possessing abilities that defied explanation. Kira didn’t know how much she believed in the rumors and thought it was more likely their technology was simply more advanced than humanity’s, giving the appearance of magic.
Whether they were capable of magic or not, didn’t matter at the moment. Just the fact they were standing on this station meant they were probably on some type of diplomatic mission. Hurting them would be unwise and make staying unnoticed impossible.
"How long until station security gets here?" Kira murmured.
"Minutes."
She sighed. That wasn't good either. She'd prefer to be long gone before they arrived.
A torrent of words came from the man.