Wayfarers (Champions of the Crystal Book 1)

Chapter 14.1

Maratobia let out a shriek as Khediva dropped sickeningly, then swerved abruptly to starboard and went into a steep climb. It was so different from the Ship's normal, nearly undetectable movement that she wondered if something else were moving Khediva; then she realized that Tirqwin was piloting on manual. She clutched at the bed where Scotty lay, and he let out a faint moan of protest at being disturbed. Haaron's stasis field flickered almost infinitesimally; Maratobia sensed it rather than saw it and turned worriedly to look.

She didn't know why Tirqwin hadn't taken her with him, she thought, angry and puzzled. She could have been much more help than Sabrina, whom anybody could see had already dealt with too much that day. And if she could only see the enemy, she could do something. She had already tried weighing Khediva in her mind, to see if she could move the Ship to safety, but while Tirqwin was hauling them about in this ridiculous way it would be far too difficult.

Another sudden turn sent Maratobia spinning away from the bed, grabbing wildly at a nearby chair and falling heavily into it. Haaron's stasis field flickered again, and the lights dimmed almost to nothing for a few breathless seconds before the power supply resumed and Khediva was wrenched into another jag of her erratic course.

"This is silly!" Maratobia fumed aloud, made angry by her fear. Tirqwin's mind still pushed her away, concentrating on the task at hand, but she slipped in past his shields just long enough for a glimpse of the situation. The enemy ship was closing rapidly, countering Tirqwin's evasive maneuvers with uncanny precision.

Well, Maratobia thought logically, if I can't move us out of danger, then I'll remove the danger. She smiled a little, then frowned in concentration, sending out her silent command.

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Sabrina peered at the small viewscreen, showing the sleek, menacing scout ship growing ever larger, although Tirqwin had told her repeatedly that watching the sensor readouts would be far more helpful. Remembering, she dragged her glance away to the sensors. The figures, incomprehensible in the elaborate vertical script, seemed to be growing smaller, but perhaps that was only her imagination.

"Mara, not now!" Tirqwin snapped aloud, drawing Sabrina's gaze to him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bright flash, but the viewscreen blanked out before she could turn to it.

"What happened?" she cried.

Tirqwin pounced on the sensor console, pushing Sabrina out of his way. "Their engines have exploded!" he exclaimed.

"What, just from following us around in a circle?" Sabrina said, amazed.

"We were not traveling a circular route," Tirqwin said with dignity, "and no, I do not believe they were exerting themselves in the slightest."

"Then what—"

"Mara!" Tirqwin said, in a tone that somehow held both irritation and admiration. "I told her not to interfere!"

Sabrina wondered if she should point out that she hadn't heard Tirqwin say any such thing to Maratobia, but decided to stay well out of it. "Can we go back now?" she asked, trying not to sound plaintive.

"I must stay here and steer the Ship out of the system while they are disabled," he said. "You go back to the Guardian and keep an eye on her!"

Sabrina turned to go, but paused as she reached the hatchway. "Tirqwin?"

"What?" he said irritably.

"We'll be able to get somewhere soon, won't we? For Haaron, I mean? Somewhere he can get treatment?"

Tirqwin frowned. "I will do my best, Sabrina. But we are terribly far out."

Sabrina went through the hatchway, blinking hard and swallowing desperately to avoid crying. She followed the way back to Tirqwin's sanctuary automatically, not even seeing most of it, thinking morose thoughts about Haaron. I want to go home, she realized.