"Well, you're a matched set. The Air Force is looking for both of you," Cynthia announced as Sabrina and Ford emerged from hiding in the hall closet.
"That wasn't the Air Force," Sabrina said. "At least, not anymore."
"How do you know? Who was it?" Cynthia felt she had so many questions she couldn't possibly ask them all. "Sabrina, what the hell is happening?"
"Look, all of what I've told you is true. But it's...more complicated than that. And I don't think you'll believe the truth."
"I'd settle for a good, believable lie about now," Cynthia snapped. "Who was just here, if he's not Air Force?"
Sabrina took a deep breath. "Cynthia, we're going to go now, and hopefully people will stop bothering you. Please avoid saying anything about us to anyone if you can help it."
"Wait just a damn minute!" Cynthia crossed her arms and pinned her friend with a glare. "You are not going anywhere until you tell me what you've gotten me into."
"I don't have time," Sabrina said. "Ford, go pack!" She gave him a push, but he merely stepped out of her reach and looked mulish.
"Make time," Cynthia demanded.
"Look, if you get into any trouble, just contact the man who was just here. You can trust him to help you clear up anything with the government."
"Who is he?"
Sabrina heaved a sigh. "He's Scotty."
"Scotty. Your brother Scotty? No way. For starters, he was a blond."
"He...had an accident some years ago. They had to do a lot of reconstructive work. He decided to change his look completely when they got done," Sabrina hedged.
"I don't believe this."
Sabrina threw up her hands. "I knew you wouldn't! Cynthia, if we don't go now, there'll be trouble. I'm sorry about this, but I'd rather not complicate your life any further than I have already. Please—"
There was a sudden displacement of air in the room, and the three of them gaped at Malvarak, who was surveying the scene with a faintly predatory air. "Good afternoon," he said. "Ah, the lady of the house, I presume."
Cynthia's mouth opened and closed without managing to make any sound. Sabrina's alarm escalated into panic, and she said, "Malvarak, go away! I have enough problems! Khediva's in-system; aren't you afraid they'll catch you?"
Malvarak laughed. "You have such quaint ideas, Sabrina. I told you, you should really write fiction. No Wayship is a threat to me while I'm saturated with Pharon resonance; you should know that. Besides, I've merely come to rescue His Majesty from this backwater before its inhabitants disturb his leisure, or your well-meaning friends do something rash. Your Majesty, I'm prepared to take you somewhere more to your liking, if you are quite ready to depart."
Ford grimaced, looking uncertainly at Sabrina. "I like it here."
"We can't stay," Sabrina told him reluctantly. "But I'm not going anywhere with him."
"Your Majesty," Malvarak said, "I understand that you may be reluctant to force your companion to leave her home. But she cannot grasp all the ramifications of your remaining here, I'm sorry to say. You, with your knowledge of galactic politics, are better equipped to make decisions about which worlds are safe for you. The Pharon have, regrettably, so many enemies about. This world is undefended, and you are tired, no doubt. Let me take you somewhere safe."
"Ford, no, please," Sabrina pleaded, taking his arm. "Let's go under our own power. We can find somewhere on our own. Please!"
In the tense pause that followed, Cynthia blinked firmly and said, "Excuse me, who are you and how did you get into my house?"
"I am his kinsman. And Sabrina's too, by an adoption and marriage," Malvarak added, grinning at Sabrina.
"He's no friend to us!" Sabrina added.
"Stop it! I can't think!" Ford said, rubbing at his temples. "We must leave. We will go aboard my ship. But we will bring him with us as an adviser."
"Ford, no—" Sabrina protested.
"Stop it, Kesta!" Ford barked. "I have spoken."
"Cynthia—" Sabrina began, turning to her friend in desperation. She was cut off as she, Ford, and Malvarak vanished.
Cynthia blinked again, then concentrated on breathing. She was not, she resolved, going to have a hysterical fit about this appearing and disappearing thing. Out of thin air or otherwise. She had to help Sabrina, who was obviously no longer in control of the situation.
Well, she could at least satisfy her curiosity about one impossibility. Unclenching her fist, she smoothed out the crumpled card with the phone number on it.
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"Scotty," Khediva said, "your satellite number is being accessed. Do you want me to beam it through?"
"Yes," Scotty said, looking at Tirqwin in surprise.
"Hello?" came a breathless voice over the speakers.
"To whom am I speaking?" Scotty said in his best formal voice.
"This is Cynthia Grayson. I was given this number in regard to Sabrina Devon. I have something to report. But I don't want to do it over the phone."
"I'll be right there," Scotty said. When the transmission closed, he said, "Khediva, put me down where you picked me up from."
"The Pharon dissonance is lessening," Khediva reported. "Whatever caused it has apparently gone."
"Yeah, and two guesses who it was," Scotty grumbled. "I'm betting Cynthia might have a clue."
"Scotty," Aurora said, "may I go with you? It might—"
"No. She'll be less intimidated if it's just me. I'll be back in a minute or two."
Aurora and Tirqwin exchanged glances as Scotty vanished.
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Cynthia willed her hands to stop shaking as she answered the door. "Please come in," she said, proud of how even her voice remained. Her eyes swept over the man in front of her, trying to make him fit the image of the fourteen-year-old boy she'd known. She wasn't having much luck.
Obviously, he wasn't going to admit to being Scotty, if their earlier encounter was anything to go by. She needed to take control of this interview from the beginning. "So," she said, as her visitor settled himself on the couch, "how come you don't have a psychotic in tow? I gather it's all the rage in outer space these days, if your sister is any example."
Scotty opened his mouth, closed it, and then grinned sheepishly. "Hey, Cynthia."
Cynthia fell back in her chair. "So it's true. You're Scotty Devon."
"I'm afraid so. Did Sabrina tell you that?"
"Among other things. I decided if I could verify one of her claims, I could decide how seriously to take the others."
"And this isn't the answer you hoped for," he concluded. "I can't blame you for that. Still," he grinned, "glad to see you didn't turn out to be a mad scientist after all. That time you blew up the chemistry set in our garage still ranks right up there in my list of childhood disasters."
"I had help," Cynthia retorted. "I am a scientist, and until today I fully believed I was not the least bit mad."
"Before you go trying on straitjackets, tell me what happened here. I need to know if they left with anybody."
"Yes. And you are probably the one person on the planet who will believe that he appeared in my living room out of nowhere."
"Yep. Tall, thin, dark haired, looked like he's had a rough life?"
"Yes. Sabrina called him a name. It started with an M. I'm afraid I wasn't at my most observant, or I would remember it."
"Malvarak."
"That could be it. Sabrina didn't want to go with him. Ford seemed confused, and then he went positively dictatorial."
"Yeah, that probably set him back weeks. Malvarak probably is carrying around a chunk of Pharon crystal just for that purpose," Scotty mused.
"What is Pharon crystal? And—"
Scotty blinked. "Oh, sorry. Um, not your problem, Cynthia. Really, you don't want to know."
"That's what Sabrina kept saying. It's beginning to piss me off. The whole story, right now, or I won't tell you where they went."
"You know?" Scotty exclaimed. "Tell me, quick!"
"Not until you explain things. And not the edited-for-television version this time!" Cynthia demanded.
"We'd be here a couple weeks if I started at the beginning. And I really have to catch up to them, Cynthia. I'm sorry. I'll try to stop by when it's over and explain—"
"No way." She folded her arms and glared. "My terms are non-negotiable. And I'm sure you don't want me calling your Aunt Euphrasia and mentioning you dropped by."
Scotty glared back, then suddenly laughed. "You know, even though it's damn inconvenient, I'm glad you haven't changed, Cynthia. How about we talk and run? If you feel up to a little trip to outer space, that is."
Cynthia's eyebrows shot up. "You'll take me along? Really? Isn't this top secret or something?"
"I don't work for the Air Force anymore. At least, not the U.S. one. And let's just say my superiors are inclined to cut me some slack. Sabrina and I are the only Earth people they know, and we're pretty useful. They'll be glad to have you aboard. But I'm warning you, this is almost certainly going to get very nasty."
"Good thing I'm a doctor then," Cynthia replied, standing up. "Do I need to pack?"
"If you can do it in five minutes."
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Tirqwin and Aurora stared in astonishment as Scotty materialized on Khediva's control deck with Cynthia in tow, a duffel slung over her left shoulder. She looked around in amazement, then waited expectantly.
"Hey guys, I recruited us some help," Scotty said. "Doctor Cynthia Grayson, meet Tirqwin—he's the, um, pilot of the Wayship we're on, for lack of a better term. The Ship's name is Khediva, and you should ask her permission to come aboard. And this," he finished with pride, "is Aurora ya Daroun nar Ruschar."
Cynthia nodded in greeting to Tirqwin and Aurora and looked around uncertainly as she said, "Wayship, permission to come aboard?"
"Permission granted, though the First Ship knows I shudder to think what a third human will bring us!"
"Khediva, be nice," Scotty said. "Cynthia's much more like Sabrina than me."
"I do not know whether I find that comforting," Khediva complained.
"Now," Scotty said, "where did they go? I'll start filling you in while we're underway."
Cynthia licked her lips nervously. "Um. Well, I didn't get a specific location. Malvarak had someplace in mind, I think. But Ford said they would go in his ship, and I'm not sure if Sabrina was able to convince him to go anywhere else after they left."
Scotty shook his head. "Remind me not to play poker with you. Are you sure there's nothing else?"
"No. But I might be able to shed some light on their states of mind for you. I know I can help," Cynthia said. "Look. I've been as straight with you as you've been with me. My friend is in trouble, and she needs help. All this time she's been missing, I haven't been able to do a damn thing about it. Now I can. Let me try."
Scotty glanced at Tirqwin, who shrugged. "If she can at least tell us what is going on in their minds, that may be helpful," he said. "Mara may be able to give us some ideas about their location by scanning for places that are inaccessible to her now."
"Right," Scotty said. "So assuming Malvarak picked this place, where do we think he'll go? Somewhere Praxatillus doesn't have any influence. Or Homeworld, for that matter."
Khediva said, "I believe that Malvarak's ship is still in-system. He must have taken his supply of Pharon crystal with him; I can get a vague scan. If a nonsensitive could go collect data from the ship's systems, that might help us trace where his contacts are."
Scotty grinned at Cynthia. "I hate to break this to you, Doc, but you are the only nonsensitive aboard. So you've just volunteered. C'mon, let's get you kitted up, and don't worry, I'll talk you through everything."