The Forgotten Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 6)

Chapter 11: Looking for Trouble

The ship they were taken to was larger than the Mischief, but not by much. It was far better equipped for a long voyage, however, and it took Ford, Sabrina, and Stecklan some time to sort through the piles of supplies in its hold. By the time they met in the cockpit, they were all dirty and tired.

"I still think this is the stupidest plan I've ever heard," Sabrina grumbled after running through her checklist for Stecklan's benefit.

Ford gave her a weary grin. "And that's saying something, considering some of the plans you've participated in." Then he sobered. "But the one you're hatching is even stupider, Sabrina. You might as well drop it. There is absolutely no way you're going out there as bait."

"Why not?" she demanded. "It makes more sense. You're much better at the link than I am. You'll know when you need to come in and get me. I won't be able to tell that with you—at least, not until it's probably too late."

"For one," Ford replied, "you don't still carry Pharon resonance, so you're useless as bait. Besides, I don't need you to ride to my rescue. Mother will take care of that, I'm sure."

"Not if they're messing around with Pharon crystal," Sabrina retorted. "Mara won't even be able to sense you through that, much less come to your rescue. And even if she could, she can't take the risk of getting corrupted with Pharon resonance. I can't even imagine what that might mean to the Great Crystal and to the Realm. Do you really want to put her in that position?"

Ford glared at her, but was silent. Stecklan said, "I have a suggestion."

"You don't have the resonance any more than I do," Sabrina said.

"No, but that could be remedied," Stecklan said calmly. "And it seems to me the lack of a link is actually an advantage. There's no risk I'll disable anyone by transmitting the resonance."

"The problem there," Ford said, "is that you will most likely not survive to report your findings."

"Intelligence has equipment to deal with these situations. It's merely to report to Commander Mukryilla—which I have every intention of doing anyway—and ask for a special kit. Then your only problem becomes recovering my corpse at some point."

Ford grimaced. "No thank you. It may do for a fallback plan, but I don't hold your life so lightly. No, I think our best course may be to reverse the mission instructions. Why not capture a Kyan and interrogate it instead?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "If you'd ever met one, you wouldn't say that like it's so easy."

"I didn't say it would be easy. I just said it was the best plan." He waited for them to argue with him, and smirked when it became apparent they weren't going to, although their expressions said they desperately wanted to be able to. "Well. Now that's settled, let's get underway. Would you like to copilot, Captain?"

"I'll defer to Lady Sabrina," Stecklan said, after noting her expression. "I'd rather go organize a meal—after moving all that equipment around, I'm hungry."

"An excellent idea," Ford said. "But strap in for the undocking procedure—I'm a little rusty."

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It proved a long and tiring day, and when Sabrina went to bed, she expected to fall asleep immediately. But despite her exhaustion and best efforts at emptying her mind, she couldn't seem to relax enough to sleep. At last frustration pushed her out of bed, and she wrapped a light robe around her and went in search of something warm to drink.

On her way to the ship's tiny galley, she passed Ford's room and realized that he was awake. She hesitated, then waved her hand in front of the door sensor. The door slid open with a faint hiss, too soft to catch Ford's attention as he concentrated on a screen at a small desk. His bed was untouched.