She made a tsking sound, irritation getting to her. "You'd think he'd realize I don't speak their language by now."
"They are acting strangely, considering you saved the children," Jin agreed, sounding distracted.
"They’re asking what House you serve," a youthful voice sounded nearby. The boy shrugged off his protector when the man tried to hush him, his gaze resolutely glued to Kira.
Kira was silent as she studied him. Now they were getting somewhere.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she finally said.
"We want your affiliation, aza." This came from the first man who’d spoken.
Ah. He probably wanted to confirm she wasn’t a threat to the children.
"No affiliation. I'm a salvager," Kira said.
She recognized him. He was the one who'd leaned over the platform to rescue the boy. Despite the fact he was the one acting as the group's voice, she doubted he was in charge.
No, that was the man standing next to the boy, his clear gaze on hers. He was older and more experienced than the rest, although Kira couldn't pinpoint what about him made her think that.
All of the people before her appeared around the same age. They were similar looking, taller than the average human, with the same white blondish hair of the boy and girl. The one with dark hair was the man in charge.
Their features were fierce but beautiful, each a work of art in their own way. They were heavily muscled and tall, more so than most humans.
These were warriors of some kind. Guards, Kira thought. Of the little boy and girl? What sort of children required an escort of eight?
The speaker glanced at the one in charge. They exchanged a weighted look.
Kira waited. The men stood between her and her way off this platform. While she didn't think they really meant her any harm, it paid to be careful in her line of work. That same mentality bled into the rest of her life as well.
A gust of wind from a passing craft yanked her hood off. She grimaced but didn't fuss with it, her entire focus locked on the children and their guards.
The speaker stepped up. "It seems we must thank you for the safety of the children."
Kira didn't respond. She didn't need or want thanks. She'd only done what was necessary.
He held his hand out, his expression thawing, so he seemed almost bashfully friendly. "We're sorry for our suspicion. It is a job hazard as humans would say."
Kira could understand that. She faced similar reactions herself, sometimes acting before her brain had caught up with her body, even so many years after the life that had built the muscle memory.
She raised her hand to shake his.
His gaze dropped, the smile on his face freezing. He grabbed her arm and yanked.
She reacted without thought, turning her shoulder into him and kicking out with one leg as she grabbed his shouldar and jerked him to her. She used her hip as leverage to throw him as she twisted her hand out of his grasp.
He stumbled forward with a sharp cry.
"Kira!" Jin warned.
Kira grunted, grabbing the collar of the man's armor before he could pitch over the edge.
The guards who had started rushing her slid to a sharp stop at a shout from their leader.
Kira didn't take her eyes off them as she kept the other man suspended in the air, only his feet touching the platform and her grip keeping him from plunging over the edge.
The moment stretched out as Kira considered the warriors in front of her. They waited, their gazes going from her to their comrade. They seemed torn, wanting to hurt her but also not wanting her to drop their ally.
Every one of them had their hand at their hip and seemed poised to attack. Her eyes narrowed. The station didn't allow projectile weapons on it, but she was willing to bet they had some type of blade style weapon hidden in their armor.
Of course, they did. They wouldn't be very good guards if they couldn't protect their charges.
Another craft raced past them, the force of its passage stirring the air. Kira didn't flinch, her gaze locked on her enemy.
This was quite the stalemate she'd landed in. She couldn't let her attacker fall, else his companions would be on her before she'd taken two steps. She couldn't pull him from the edge either for the same reason.
What to do?
This right here, was why she never liked coming to O'Riley Station. It was always something.
There was a clamor as men and women wearing the distinctive uniforms of station security—blue and black, with their ranks emblazoned on their sleeves in gold—assembled along the platform, laser rifles pointed at all those present.
"Now they show up," Jin muttered, echoing Kira's thoughts.
"Can we go over the edge?"
"No, my reserves are too low after saving you."
She gave him a sidelong look.
"I didn't say you were heavy," he defended.
No, he'd just insinuated it.
A man in the station's uniform stepped forward, shadowed by his aide, a woman who looked calm and efficient. Recognition flashed across his face at the sight of Kira.
"Captain Forrest, it's been a long time," he said.
CHAPTER THREE
Kira remained motionless as she studied the people in front of her, the rest of the station noise fading into the background. A hand grasped her sleeve and pulled it slowly up. She gave the man she held a no-nonsense stare as he pushed the sleeve up even further to peer at her forearm.
Brave move from someone whose life she quite literally held in her hands.
Then again, maybe he had a reason for his bravery. Kira might have figured out a way to escape his people, but station security? Unlikely. Not when they controlled every feed on the station. There must be hundreds of cameras between her and her ship. Making it back undetected was impossible.
Kira sighed. She yanked the speaker up, dumping him on the ground at her feet. She might as well save her strength, none of them were going anywhere now.
"Spitzy, I'd kind of hoped to never see you again," she said.
His smile was brief and failed to reach his eyes. "I'm sure you did."
He didn't wait for her to respond, his attention shifting to the others. "Commander Liont, what seems to be the problem here?"
The man Kira had pegged as their leader glanced at Spitzy, his face an expressionless mask.
Spitzy waited a long moment. When no answer was forthcoming, he sighed. "Alright, how about all of you accompany us while we get this sorted out?"
It was not a request.
Liont made a sharp gesture at his men. Their tense postures relaxed as they straightened, the threat they'd presented downgrading from serious to simply alert. They stood down as station security assumed command.
Spitzy lifted his eyebrows at Kira. "You too, Captain."
She had no choice but to comply. Those laser rifles might not puncture the space station's metal hull, but they would do considerable damage to living flesh.
"In and out, my ass," she told Jin as she sidestepped the man she'd dumped at her feet and moved toward Spitzy.
"This isn't my fault. No one told you to perform feats of heroism. You did that all on your own," Jin griped as he trailed her.
Spitzy pulled out a pair of laser cuffs and held them up.
"You're kidding, right?" Kira asked.