She looked inside. A large, heavy casting. Packing material filled up the volume left empty inside the crate. Despite her nerves screaming for her to act as quickly as possible, Kira took a moment to study the inside of the crate, then yanked out some of the packing material on one side. "Can you fit in there?"

Jason grimaced, but squeezed himself inside, half-curled around the casting. Kira shoved a bit of the packing back inside to cushion him, then yanked out more on the other side of the casting to fit her. She ran back into the warehouse a ways with an armful of the discarded packing material, tossing it into a dark spot between two stacks of crates, then retraced her steps.

And as she stared at the Kira-sized rat's nest she had made within the crate, she hesitated, unable to move. This was quite likely a life and decision. She hadn't thought things through because there was no time for that. Did she dare trust her instincts? She wasn't her mother. She was the person who looked like her mother.

Kira glanced over at Jason, who was looking back at her, waiting for their next move. He trusted her. Should she repay that trust by leaping into the dark?

What made you decide to save Father the first time you met him? Kira had asked her mother years before.

Her mother had spoken slowly, as if wanting to make certain that Kira remembered every word. I had to make a decision, and not making a decision would've been a decision to leave him to his fate. I couldn't do that. So I decided to save him, and he followed me, I don't know why, and because we kept moving we managed to survive.

Not making a decision was making a decision not to move. A decision to fail. Kira inhaled deeply, nerved herself, and wriggled into the nest in the crate, using one hand to pull the top of the crate back into place from the inside. When she got far enough inside, Jason was able to grab the top and help her.

They matched up the nails to the holes, then pulled as well as they could from the inside. "That's not tight," Jason whispered to her frantically.

"I know!" Kira whispered back. "Shhh!"

She heard the big door nearest the crate opening, and footsteps approaching.

"This is the cargo for those swabs on the Taris. Get it moved so we can get them off our backs."

"Hey, this one's damaged." Kira waited with a sinking heart as she heard the two workers running their hands over the top of the crate.

"It's just a little loose. Pound it tight and they'll never know."