They found three separate teams planting explosives in the major tunnels leading to the Crystal Chamber; Sabrina told them the invasion had started and encouraged them to work as quickly as possible. Darice pitched in on the last tunnel, where they were furthest behind, while Sabrina gave in to her nerves and called Rayland. He said that the Reissians had set the Royal Residence on fire after snipers had taken out one of their landers with a few lucky shots. The shield had been retracted to below ground above Giandrah. Homeworld had lost one of their battle cruisers and several small fighters; Shahina had taken out one of the Reissian battleships. Scotty and Mara's ship was hard to track, weaving in and out behind the Reissian lines, but so far it appeared undamaged. The Reissians were having a hard time maintaining their aim in the disrupted space, but it also meant that the Praxatillian and Homeworld ships were having a hard time targeting the Reissians as well.
Sabrina told him about the Miahns and the Crystal, and he paused. "I should be there," he said. "I am one of the stronger remaining Miahns. I will call Subcommander Mukryilla to return and take charge here, and I will be there shortly."
"Be careful. We're mining the tunnels to collapse them if the Reissians get this far."
"A good idea. I'll let you know when I am nearby."
Sabrina and Darice returned to the Crystal Chamber. The space battle was even more stomach-churning to watch than before; the starfield rippled as if it were a flag in a strong breeze. She wondered how Scotty could possibly pilot in it.
It was not long before Darice's comlink pinged. Sabrina recognized Leran's voice. "Giandrah, they've broken through, they're headed downward from the Residence—"
The transmission ended abruptly in static. Sabrina bit her lip and looked at Selémahs. They were supposed to get married in a few hours.
"Come on," Sabrina called to the militia. "Let's get our perimeter defenses set. We'll fall back and collapse the tunnel if we have to."
"This way," Darice said, "if they're coming from the Residence."
"You, and you," Sabrina said, pointing at random, "go guard the other two tunnels. Let me know immediately if you hear or see anything. Oh, and Commander Rayland is on his way from Control. Make sure he gets here."
Everyone scattered in grim silence, except the motionless Miahns. Darice raised her comlink and said, "Control, this is Darice. We have word that the Reissians are en route from the Residence. Can you confirm?"
"Confirmed," came Mukryilla's strained voice. "A squad's on their heels. We've blown up part of the Residence to block the tunnel entrance. There may be anywhere from a dozen to thirty Reissians, but they will be the last from that direction. Do you need further reinforcement?"
"I think we can handle this," Darice replied. "I'll report back when it's over."
"Miah's blessing," Mukryilla said, then signed off.
Sabrina knelt and took Prince Zav's blaster; he didn't need it right now, she reasoned, and she did. Darice frowned but didn't stop her.
"It's a good thing," Darice said, "that you didn't move into the Residence, my lady. They won't have found anything there."
"It doesn't sound like Mara will be able to live there either after tonight," Sabrina replied. "When we rebuild, we'll have to make it a little less conspicuous."
They moved into the tunnel. The first line of defense was just around a corner; the Reissians wouldn't have time to spot them before coming into range. Others were carving out niches in the walls to cram themselves into, and the rest were using the rubble to make rock piles for cover.
"You shouldn't be out here, my lady," Darice said. "They don't need us. Fall back behind the explosives line."
Sabrina said, "Good luck, everybody. There are more of us behind them, so we've got them trapped. If we have to blow the tunnel we'll be trapping our own people too, so let's not let any of the Reissians get that far." She paused. "I applaud your bravery. I know you can do it. For Praxatillus."
"For Praxatillus!" a few voices echoed her.
"For Praxatillus and the Regent!" Deniranié yelled, thrusting a fist into the air. The tunnel rang with an answering shout as Sabrina and Darice turned back toward the Crystal Chamber. They had barely reached it when they heard the firing begin, and they took up positions on either side of the entrance. Sabrina decided it was as good a place for a last stand as any.
The firing faded away in a surprisingly short time into interrogative shouts, followed by a whoop of triumph. Sabrina looked at Darice, and they both tensed, their aim trained on the tunnel, as a figure skidded to a halt in front of them.
"Ma'am, it's over, we did it!" Deniranié said. "They didn't have any cover, either from us or from the ones behind them. We got every last one of the bastards."
"Good work," Sabrina said, stepping out of the doorway. "Any casualties on our side?"
"Yes, I don't know how many yet," she replied, sobering.
The others began filing in; some of them helping wounded comrades, others congratulating each other. Sabrina gasped in delight when she recognized Leran near the end of the procession. "Lord Leran! I thought you'd been killed. Thank God."
He smiled somberly at her. "I had to duck to avoid incoming fire. I dropped my comlink, and it got blasted. I'm sorry if it distressed you." He looked past her. "Is Selémahs—"
"She's fine, she's with the others. Thanks for coming to our assistance."
"It was our pleasure." His lips tightened. "The Residence is a shambles. It withstood a hundred years of Xoentrol attacks, and the Reissians destroyed it in a night." He sighed. "But the Xoentrols knew something of the power of the Crystal, and they didn't want to damage it. These idiots don't care."
Sabrina looked blankly at him, and he said, "We're directly below the Residence here. It was built on top of the main cavern to help protect it."
"Oh," Sabrina said. "I wondered why they seemed to be picking on the Residence particularly, when the Queen isn't even living there."
Leran was looking past her again, concerned at the pale, sweating faces of the Miahns. "I should join them," he said. "If you will accept command of the militia?"
"Yes," Sabrina said. "Rayland is on his way too."
"Good," Leran said. He went and squeezed into the ring as near to Selémahs as he could, concentrating until his expression took on the trancelike quality of the others.
"Darice?" Sabrina called, looking around.
"Here, ma'am," Darice replied. "Control says the Reissians are close to breaking through."
"Which tunnel?"
"They don't seem to have mapped out the tunnels," Darice said. "They're trying to burn through the rock at about a sixty degree angle. It's destabilizing the whole cavern system."
Sabrina looked around at the huge Crystal Chamber.
"This cavern's reinforced," Darice said. "I don't think it's in danger of collapse. But I think we should warn our perimeter people, maybe pull them back a little."
Sabrina nodded, then looked up in alarm. "Darice! My father's on his way from Control. Is the destabilization going to affect that route?"
"Probably," Darice said, looking grim. "I'll go have a quick look. Oh!"
Sabrina looked over her shoulder at the Crystal; the image above it suddenly seemed to twist, shuddering; then it went all blurry and dazzlingly light before fading out. Some of the Miahns fainted.
"What was that?" Sabrina cried.
Nobody had an answer. Sabrina said, "Darice, I'm coming with you."
Darice didn't argue. They jogged down the corridor together in silence for a while; then Darice said, "What do you think that was, my lady? Is—is the Guardian all right?"
"Transference hasn't started. She must be alive," Sabrina said. "I hope that means my brother is too."
They turned a corner and saw a handlight bobbing slowly ahead. Sabrina called, "Father?"
"Sabrina!" Rayland replied. "What are you doing out here?"
"The tunnels are destabilizing!" Sabrina called. "Hurry! The Reissians are coming through the rock."
Darice's comlink pinged. After a moment, she called out, "Subcommander Mukryilla says that something has happened to the Reissian fleet—to all but the ships closest to ours. It's as if space folded in around them. There's so much spatial disruption it's hard to tell. But she thinks if we can fight off the ones already on the ground, that will be it."
"Way to go, Mara," Sabrina murmured. Rayland called, "Excellent. Get back to Giandrah—I'll be there momentarily."
Before Sabrina could reply, the tunnel began shaking violently. Darice shouted, "It's the Reissians!"
Sabrina yelled, "Tell the militia to blow the tunnel entrance to Giandrah, quick! We'll have to try to get through to Control; we can't risk—"
The wall behind them blew out in an explosion of rock and energy. Darice and Sabrina were thrown to the ground and showered with debris. They lay stunned for a moment, until Rayland reached them. Darice, stirred into action by his voice, stumbled upright, and Sabrina tried to pull herself up. Rayland helped her to her feet. "Come," he said, "we must try to get to Control and collapse the tunnel behind us. They must not be allowed to reach there."
The rocks glowed red with heat, but they were cooling rapidly, Sabrina saw. "How will they get troops down that?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter. We must go!" Rayland insisted.
They began jogging down the corridor. Sabrina said, "If they can drill through the rock like that, then will collapsing the tunnel stop them?"
A faint, echoing shout made them turn to look behind. It grew progressively louder, ending in a triumphant ululation as a handful of Reissians in combat armor slid down the newly drilled passage into the debris-strewn tunnel.
"Run!" Darice gasped, shoving Sabrina behind her and whipping out her blaster.
Sabrina ignored her, drawing her own blaster and joining Darice's fire. Behind her she heard Rayland calling for reinforcements from Control. A moment later the tunnel shook, and a billow of dust emerged from beyond the Reissians. Sabrina sighed in relief that the way to Giandrah, at least, was blocked.
A volley of shots made Darice and Sabrina duck back around a corner; they heard more war cries as more Reissians slid down the tunnel. "Retreat," Darice said. "We just have to slow them down until our backup arrives."
"Mukryilla is sending three squads," Rayland said. He had a weapon too, Sabrina saw. "Let's see if we can make a barricade."
He blasted the ceiling; several chunks of rock fell, but before he could finish the job, a Reissian appeared around the corner. Rayland ducked swiftly as he fired; the Reissian staggered back, the left side of his armor smoking. Darice finished him off, and Rayland and Sabrina sprinted down the corridor.
At last they reached a branching of the passage. Darice led them to the left; Rayland got off a shot at the ceiling of the right turning, trying to collapse it in hopes it would draw the Reissians off their trail. It seemed to work; they heard no pursuit and stopped to catch their breath.
"Where does the other tunnel lead?" Sabrina panted in a whisper.
"The Ministries offices," Darice replied.
"Those sustained heavy damage," Rayland said. "They may be trapped."
They listened to the distant noises of battle, trying to pick out the closer sounds. Rayland made a silent gesture to move on, and they carefully got to their feet, trying not to make any noise as they crept around the next turning. There they paused and listened again.
An ear-splitting shriek made them all jump as half a dozen Reissians leaped out of the darkness. One grabbed Darice before she could get off a shot; Sabrina was afraid to try shooting around the bodyguard, so she targeted a Reissian beside him. At this range, even she couldn't miss; the Reissian crumpled over as Darice freed herself with a vicious kick. Sabrina fired at, and missed, two more Reissians in the dim light behind Darice. Too many of them! she thought frantically.
Rayland had dropped one opponent, but another had jumped him. Sabrina fired at the attacker, but managed only to graze his back. She was afraid to try any closer for fear of hitting Rayland, and before she could jump into the struggle she had to turn and fire at another Reissian running at her.
Rayland cried out, a terrible, animal sound of pain; Sabrina whirled in horror and saw her father slump back against the wall. The Reissian who had attacked him drew back, and she saw a massive, cruelly serrated knife in his hand, dripping with Rayland's blood. She screamed and took an involuntary step backward.
Darice shouted something; Sabrina didn't take it in, staring in mesmerized revulsion at the reddened knife as the Reissian advanced. She raised her blaster; her hand shook. She thought the Reissian was laughing behind his helmet.
She fired; the shot hit him off-center in mid-torso. Aiming at his helmet, she tried again. It shattered, and she pumped a second shot straight into his face. He staggered forward another step; the knife came within inches of her as he toppled over.
"Commander!" Darice gasped. She was kneeling beside Rayland; the other Reissians were all sprawled on the ground. Sabrina stared blankly at the Praxatillians in uniform standing behind the pile of bodies.
"Father...Father, no," Sabrina said brokenly. She dropped the blaster and stumbled to his side, dropping to her knees. The knife had torn a huge, deep gash across his chest; blood bubbled from it at an alarming rate. Darice tore off her uniform jacket, turned it inside out, and pressed it against the wound.
"Let's get him to Control," Darice said, regaining some of her composure. She took one of Rayland's arms. "You there, get his feet, and hurry!"
One of the soldiers came forward and gently took Rayland's legs as Sabrina looped his other arm around her shoulders. Together they lifted him as gently as they could; he didn't quite stifle a moan of pain.
"Father, hang on, just hang on," Sabrina pleaded as they staggered forward.