Kol nodded, sitting down next to Kiri and taking a sip from his own juice. A moment later, he placed one arm around her shoulders, hugging Kiri to him. "Well, you're safe now, and as far as I'm concerned, you deserve as much protection as anyone else on this ship does, because you're a member of the family on this ship."<br/><br/>He paused, then smiled, his large hand gently stroking Kiri's hair. "Honestly, I think you'd rather stick around with this motley lot, because, well, even if we're not the best people to know, we at least try to take care of one another, right?"<br/><br/>The ship shook slightly, faint echoes of the ammunition feeders loading more cluster shells into the autocannons squealing down the halls of the ship, the crew standing ready, tense but alert for anything, even as Kol moved his hand lower, gently cupping Kiri's cheek. "Nothing to fear, right?"