"One, you're not stealing me," Kira said. "No one is. I am choosing to do this. Two, my parents have shown me that being decent means doing the right thing. Even if it hurts. They'll understand. I'm…I'm sure of that. Three, we're wasting time."

She grabbed her pack and began loading it. Not too much. They'd have to travel light. A spare shirt and jeans, spare socks, underwear, first aid pack, water bottle, the box of spare ammunition…

Kira noticed Jason's eyes widening as he watched her strap on her shoulder holster. "Do you really think we'll need that?" he asked. "It won't do any good against the personal defense screens anyone from the ship would have."

Kira shook her head at him, fighting down qualms at the idea of having to shoot at other people instead of targets. "Your mother isn't why we might need this. The downside of having me along is that some of my mother's enemies might recognize me, and if they do, they'll come after me."

"You mean…real gun fights and stuff?"

"Not if I can help it. The pistol is if I fail to avoid situations where I need it."

"Oh. Um…I'm going to need clothes they can't track."

"Yeah," Kira said, looking Jason over and for the first time noticing that both his belt buckle and chest insignia were missing. At least he'd had the sense to leave those behind. "You'd need something that looked like you belonged here, anyway. There aren't any clothes here that would fit you, though. Oh, wait." She dug in her closet, surfacing with an old Mage robe. "Father let me have this." Kira spun around, facing away from him. "Get all your clothes off and get those robes on! Hurry!"

It seemed to take a ridiculously long time before Jason spoke again. "How does it look?"

She turned to see, nodding. "Yes. Once we get among people, keep the hood up and your face hidden inside it. We'll have to find you common clothes because Mages attract too much attention sometimes and some of the symbols on those robes identify them as my father's. Any other Mages will be certain to notice that. But this will do to get us started."

Kira scooped all of her Tiae Crown coins into her wallet, wishing that she had more. Her knife, a sailor's knife like her mother's, went into the sheath at her belt. Her good outdoor coat. Not fancy, but tough and warm. She spotted an old neck chain in her drawer, made of woven steel by a new workshop wanting to impress Kira's mother. "Can you put that drive thing on a necklace?"

"It's got a loop, yeah."

Kira passed him the necklace so he could thread the drive onto it, screw the clasp closed tight, then pull it over his head.

What else? "I need to tell my parents what's going on. They need to know. I'll leave a note."