Tirqwin closed his eyes as Seuréa began to cry. His mind reached out for Khediva, and she sent him a rush of comforting warmth. The ground began to tremble, and he tried to remember what Shariara's Transference had been like. This seemed to be a more orderly process; they were not at war, and there were more Miahns available to assist. Mara's death did not seem to have been a cataclysmic event, perhaps because she was so far away when it happened, in a place that interfered with her ability to access the Crystal. His heart ached at the thought of his wife dying so far away, alone—for he did not believe that Sabrina and Scotty would have survived Mara. Niavar was not himself, and might never be again. Tirqwin was bone weary at the thought of the search and struggle ahead. He did not want this new life.
We will do what is necessary, as we have always done, Khediva reminded him. It could have been worse, Tirqwin. At least you were spared feeling the link sever.
But I would have gotten to say good-bye, he thought. He tried to remember what his last words to her had been. Something about not taking foolish risks. He hoped she had seen through the annoyance to the love behind his fear.
There was a pulse of light he could see even through his eyelids, and he opened them, blinking, as someone cried out. Seuréa's cries escalated into shrieks.
"Wait!" someone called. "This is not—"
The Crystal hummed with energy, causing everyone in the cavern to shield their faces as the ground tremors grew in intensity. Then it washed the far walls of the vast cavern with waves of light, coruscating from the uppermost points up to the distant ceiling. Just when Tirqwin thought he could stand no more of the relentless press of energy, it began to subside.
He could hear Seuréa growing hoarse as she screamed and moved toward the sound instinctively, just in time to see Imari faint. Leran and Selémahs caught her, and Aurora gently lifted Seuréa into her arms.
"What is happening?" Tirqwin demanded.
Kashmia wiped tears from her eyes with a tremulous smile. "Transference has ceased. It didn't happen. Mother is alive!"
Tirqwin stared at her in astonishment, afraid to believe. But as he looked around, he saw the joy on the faces of his children and the others. Khediva? He thought, at a loss.
A wave of unaccustomed emotion flooded their link. I think you got your miracle, Tirqwin.
——————————
"We've only got a few more minutes," Bendei said.
"Understood. I'll go get Lieutenant Devon. You work on cleanup," Danask said.
"Don't waste charges," Bendei warned her. "Get as big a heap together as you can before you blow it."
"Right. I'll start with the biggest chunk. I'm heading that way anyhow." Danask set off toward the crater behind the house, glancing back over her shoulder. Wilmik looked forlornly after her, having been firmly instructed to stay with their injured teammates. She waved to him, then began to run.
She had worried from the beginning that the body count on this mission would be mostly civilian. As she reached her destination, she could see she was partly right. Four bodies lay sprawled around the rim of the crater, as if something had exploded. Her suit was no longer giving her reliable data, but she didn't think they were all dead.
She reached the Queen first, relieved to see that she was still breathing. As she checked for a pulse, she heard someone approaching and brought her blaster to bear.
"I'm here—oh, shit!" Cynthia breathed, surveying the site. Her breath caught in her throat when she identified Sabrina's still form. "Jesus. I'm too late!"
"The Queen's alive," Danask offered.
Cynthia knelt beside Mara and examined her. "What happened?"
"I don't know. They were like this when I got here. I haven't checked on the others yet."
Cynthia moved down to Scotty, who was closest. "I think he's breathing. Not much, though." She pulled a hypospray from her medkit and administered it. Scotty's body responded with a jerk, and his color improved.
"No visible wounds," she murmured to herself, finally turning to Sabrina's body. Her fingers moved gently over the cooling skin, probing for some sign of life.
"Hey," Danask called. "I think this might be the prince. He's conscious."
Cynthia looked up and saw Danask assisting the stranger to sit up. "What happened here?" she demanded.
He frowned, confused, and his features seemed to blur. "I...I don't know. I'm just so tired."
Danask hauled him to his feet. "Help her."
"Help who? And why should I?" His tone was petulant.
"I know you healed Wilmik, half-assed job that it was. You can heal her. Come on!" Danask ordered, pulling him forward.
"I don't know how," he complained.
Cynthia bit her lip, blinking back tears. "I think it's too late. She's already dead."
"But it hasn't been for long, has it?" Danask said.
"Long enough. I wouldn't try to resuscitate her on Earth," Cynthia said.
"Just try," Danask said. "She's only here because of you," she added to the confused man beside her. "She's dead because she wanted to help you. Do something!"
"Leave me alone!"
"Not until you try!"
With an indignant huff, he dropped to his knees and put his hands on her face. Then he frowned. "I know her, don't I?"
"She's your friend," Cynthia said softly. "Mine too."
"Then I'll try."
As he concentrated, Danask laid a hand on Cynthia's shoulder and whispered, "I'm going to take care of the crystal. Make him keep at it. He can do it."
Cynthia nodded. As Danask moved off, Cynthia heard a faint groan nearby and went to check on her two living patients. Scotty's hand was twitching. "Don' do it," he muttered thickly.
"Scotty," she said softly. "Can you hear me?"
"Mom?"
Cynthia laid a hand on his shoulder. "No, it's Cynthia. Do you know me?"
He struggled to open his eyes. "Yeah. Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. I'm just glad you're alive," she smiled.
"Mara?"
"Alive. I can't say much more than that, I'm afraid."
Scotty smiled, then grimaced. "Sabrina's dead, isn't she?"
"Well," Cynthia said, clearing her throat, "there seems to be some dispute about that."
"That guy...he said he used her energy to save Mara. He used me to finish."
"You're just lucky he left you some."
Scotty groaned again and tried to roll over.
"Stop that," Cynthia said, holding him in place. "You need to rest. There's nothing you need to do right now. Danask's here; she's doing the commando stuff."
"Check on Mara. Gotta keep her alive."
"Okay, I'll go check on her. Relax. I'm the doctor, remember?"
Cynthia crept over to where the Queen lay and, in a burst of optimism, tried her scanner again. It still wasn't working. She checked respiration and pulse, then surveyed the contents of her medkit with trepidation. She was afraid to try medication without a better idea of what might be wrong, as long as the Queen appeared stable.
"I know you're tired," Cynthia said gently, "but I wish you'd let me know you're in there."
One violet eye opened at half-mast, wandering for a moment before locking onto Cynthia.
"Your Majesty? Can you hear me?"
A strangled croak answered her; Mara's mouth was trying to form words, but only half of it seemed to be working. Cynthia let out a sigh. "I think you've had a stroke, ma'am. Just rest. We're getting out of here in a minute, and we can get you some treatment." She desperately hoped this advanced civilization was better at dealing with this kind of attack than Earth was.
"Is she awake?" Scotty demanded. Cynthia turned to find him crawling toward her.
"How did you translate 'relax' into 'crawl over a bunch of rocks'?" Cynthia retorted.
"How is she?" Scotty insisted, struggling the last meter.
"I think she's had a stroke. She's conscious, but I can't assess her mental condition."
Scotty was appalled, but quickly rearranged his expression when he realized Mara was looking at him. "Hey," he said softly. "Don't you worry. We'll get you fixed up in no time back home."
Mara made another sound that was indecipherable to Cynthia, but Scotty seemed to get it. "I think they stopped. I think you got back in time," he said. "Seuréa will be okay."
Mara's left hand twitched, then lifted a few inches. Scotty took it gently. After a moment, he said, "Tirqwin's gonna have my head when we get home. I've done it this time. You can't even talk him around, and I won't have Sabrina to hide behind." His smile trembled, then dissolved into tears.
Mara squeezed his hand until his fingers threatened to break. Cynthia rubbed his back, looking away and struggling for composure.
"I'm okay," he gasped out. "Sorry. I know she—I know she chose this." He gulped. "It was her gift to Seuréa."
A tear trickled out of Mara's open eye.
"Your Majesty!"
Cynthia whirled around at the new voice, but it wasn't directed at Mara. Scotty growled, "Malvarak. Damn him—"
"Ssh. Stay put!" Cynthia said, moving off a bit before standing up. "Hey! Stop that!"
"Was this your idea? I should have expected that!" Malvarak snapped. "Why is he wasting his energy on this ridiculous attempt?"
"Don't you touch him!" Cynthia barked, hurrying forward. "Let him be!"
"Rid yourself of the idea that you have any authority here," Malvarak sneered.
Cynthia nearly tripped over Scotty's blaster, and she reached down to pick it up before thinking about it. "This stops here," she said, fury in her voice. "You've done enough."
"This is only the beginning," Malvarak retorted.
"Not if I can help it."
"What, you think a blaster will stop me? His Majesty will not let you harm his most faithful friend."
"His most faithful friend is lying at his feet," Cynthia said.
"A pity," Malvarak said, "but unavoidable. I'm sure it was a noble death. Just what she always wanted."
Cynthia pointed the weapon at him. Her arm shook slightly, but it was with anger, not fear.
Malvarak turned away from her, bending over Ford. "Your Majesty," he said gently, "come rest yourself. There is a nice crystal nearby that will refresh you."
"But—but I'm not done," he said vaguely. "It won't last unless I finish."
"There's no need for you to finish," Malvarak said.
"Yes, there is," Cynthia said. "Don't you remember her? Don't you remember how you loved her? How kind she was, how patient with you? This man is trying to fool you. He wants you to do something you will regret. You want to save her; you know you do."
"Yes," he said. "I want to save her."
"You can do so in a moment. But first you must rest," Malvarak coaxed.
Cynthia fired. Her shot went wild, passing a clear foot over Malvarak's left shoulder. She tried to correct her aim, but the next one was even further off. Malvarak began to laugh.
A soft whomping sound startled them, and then the ground seemed to heave upward and then fall. The chunk of crystal vanished beneath a cloud of dirt.
"Let's go!" Danask shouted, heaving Scotty to his feet. Together they struggled to lift Mara. "Doctor Grayson, we've got to go!"
Malvarak's face contorted in anger, and he started forward. Cynthia fired at him again and got lucky, striking his leg. As he fell, she dodged past him and grabbed Sabrina. "Help me!" she shouted at a dazed Ford.
"Doctor!" Danask yelled again. "A fission bomb is about to go off six meters beneath your feet! Come on!"
"Holy shit," Cynthia gasped, getting her hands under Sabrina's shoulders and starting to drag her. Ford lifted Sabrina's feet and trotted along, saying, "I have to keep touching her. I haven't finished. She'll die if I stop now."
"In a minute," Cynthia assured him, breaking into a stumbling run.
On the com, Danask called, "Bendei, I blew the first one! Let 'em rip!"
"I see that. How far are you?"
"We're on our way. Just blow them!"
"Right."
"What the hell?" Cynthia panted.
"To get rid of the resonance, we have to use nuclear fission. We fitted the house and all the crystal we could find with shaped depth charges to move them underground, and then a fission device to destroy them. It's pretty dirty, I'm afraid; we'll have to do some serious radiation therapy when we get out of here."
"I hate you, Scotty Devon," Cynthia grumbled.
A series of distant blasts nearly deafened them. Ford cried out and fell to his knees, forcing Cynthia to stop. He kept his grasp on Sabrina's ankles, but only barely. "I could use some help here!" Cynthia called.
"Wilmik!" Danask cried to the figure on the hill above.
"I couldn't wait anymore," he said, arriving out of breath, but with a grin. "Are you okay?"
"Help Doctor Grayson," she said. "Let's go!"