A Way of Honor (Champions of the Crystal Book 2)

Chapter 15: Aftermath

The darkness on Khediva remained absolute. Scotty, suddenly afraid Asnefer would take advantage of her superior vision and the lack of gravity to get away, shoved the blaster at her harder, provoking a cry of pain. "Stop that, wretched child!" she hissed. "I have lost the chance to pursue Malvarak. I will now consider repairing Khediva my priority. Put that filthy thing away!"

"Can I trust you?" Scotty asked.

"High Tirqwins do not lie!" Asnefer exploded.

"Sorry," Scotty said, withdrawing the blaster. "Leran? Therenden?" he called.

"Scotty!" Therenden called, emerging from the corridor with Leran. "How—"

"C'mon, we gotta get down to the brain core," Scotty said.

"I will not take these Miahns to the brain core!" Asnefer exclaimed.

"Fine, you go yourself, then, and help Sabrina," Scotty said.

"A human!" Asnefer sniffed. "I am sure she is doing more damage than repair."

"Tell Shahina to bring us over," Scotty said.

"Gladly!" Asnefer muttered, launching herself down the corridor.

Scotty, Therenden, and Leran found themselves in Shahina's infirmary. It was much like Khediva's, only neater and a brighter blue. All three beds were occupied. Mara, on the nearest, was covered in soot; the ends of her hair were singed; and there was blood on her, in various splotches, from head to toe. Scotty paused to make sure she had a pulse; it was strong and steady. Then he and Leran moved to Rayland's bed. Scotty looked away from the stump where Rayland's right arm had been blown off above the elbow; there was so much blood on his torso that he must have sustained severe internal damage as well. It was no wonder Shahina had put him in stasis.

But it was Tirqwin's condition that dragged a ragged cry from Scotty's lips. He was barely recognizable, his back a lumpy pulp, the rest of him blasted, burned black, the skin peeled back in places. A strange, milky-white film covered him.

"Is he dead?" Scotty managed to choke out.

Shahina said, "He is going into chrysalis."

"What is that?" Therenden asked quietly, from beside Scotty.

"A healing state. He will heal within the chrysalis shell, and when he emerges he will be whole again," Shahina said. "If he emerges. He is in a critical state, and there is a chance that the chrysalis will fail."

Scotty turned reflexively to Mara, stopping as he remembered that she had been unable to help Haaron, whose injuries had been much less critical than Tirqwin's. She would not be able to help.

"The chance is not very great," Shahina said kindly. "Only eight percent of chrysalises fail."

Scotty, Therenden, and Leran watched as the white film coalesced into a hardening shell. Then Leran said, "High Ship Shahina, what is Her Majesty's condition?"

"Superficial burns, a sprained wrist, and a minimal amount of brain trauma," Shahina reported. "I believe she was overstrained in coming out of stasis into an explosion, then making the emergency transfer before she was fully conscious. She needs rest more than anything else."

"Well," Scotty said, "I guess I better get back to Khediva and—"

"No," Therenden said. "You will have your arm treated, and I will go back to Khediva and make sure all is well there."

"That," Leran added, with a wry smile, "is an order, Captain."

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Sabrina looked over at Barosh, huddling in the corner. This Protian was nothing like Usharn; it seemed to want only to be overlooked, left alone. It retained nothing of Tirqwin's mind, and its contact with Khediva had been brief and had served only to set Sabrina on the right track as far as physically connecting the globe to the pedestal.