The Way Back (Champions of the Crystal Book 4)

Chapter 18.1

The next morning, Sabrina ran into Tirqwin in the small dining area aboard Khediva. She was halfway through her morning cup of tea and smiled a welcome at him as he pondered the provender menu.

"How is it going?" she asked. Khediva had not allowed her aboard the station yet, claiming the thinner atmosphere would strain her recovering body unacceptably.

"As well as we expected," he replied. "We've identified several more memory segments that are too corrupted or fragmentary to be uploaded, and deleted them. We're trying to trace the effects of that now on the remaining memories."

Sabrina nodded; she'd already sat through the lecture on how memories were like a huge, multilayered web. It made sense when she thought about it; when she remembered her old home, for instance, there were many underlying memories contained in that, memories of specific objects and their histories. Without those underlying memories, the memory of her home wouldn't make as much sense.

"The truth is," Tirqwin sighed, "we could work at this for years and not be finished. At some point we have to decide we've reached an acceptable threshold. Long-term stasis can have damaging effects on his body. We must balance those two concerns."

"We will," she said. "Tirqwin, I'm concerned about the other problem we have."

"What other problem?" he asked, puzzled.

"Ford's ship. What are you doing to see that he gets to keep it?"

"I?" Tirqwin asked, taken aback. "Nothing. Sabrina, try to understand the importance of this to Homeworld. He built that ship without my permission or knowledge, or I would have stopped him. To allow him to keep it is tantamount to licensing their Wayship technology to him, to Praxatillus. Even you cannot expect that from them."

"There's a difference between Ford and Praxatillus. From what I've gathered, Mara's taken steps to ensure that no one gets too close a look at Ford's ship, and has forbidden the use of anything resembling Wayship technology in Praxatillian construction."

"That is not enough for Homeworld."

"Tirqwin, you can't turn your back on Ford like this."

"Sabrina, that is not what this is about."

"I think it is. It's the heritage he got from you, Tirqwin, that led him to do this. It's in his blood, the way it is in yours. But he was denied the chance to fulfill that destiny, whereas you weren't. This is all he's been able to grasp of it. Don't let them take it from him."

"I have no choice, Sabrina."

"Of course you do. You haven't tried yet, Tirqwin. See if you can't get Lady Chavadanafra on your side."

He grimaced. "I would have to be very sure of my reasons before I did that."

Sabrina blew out her breath in frustration. "Tirqwin, I haven't known Ford that long, but already I can see that he has to be able to travel, to escape. It's part of who he is, how he copes."

"He can do that in a normal spacecraft."

"That's not really the point. He built that ship, Tirqwin. From scratch. It's...it's his in a way that no other vessel ever could be. It's his...his claim to his heritage, the one Homeworld denies him." Sabrina broke off, frustrated that she couldn't explain it better. "Have you asked him why he built it?"

"I do not recall."

"Then you haven't, or he didn't think you wanted to know and brushed you off with some stock answer," Sabrina said. "Make him tell you, Tirqwin. If that doesn't convince you he deserves to keep his ship, then I'll quit bugging you. Otherwise, I'm not going to give up on this. I'll call Lady Chavadanafra myself if I have to."