The Shattered Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 7)

Chapter 21.1

Scotty was directing refugees out to the shuttle pad after a brief conversation with Amoret. When Mara and Kendara joined him, he said, "This shuttle's almost full. We don't have any pilots here except me and Stecklan—is he good to go?"

Mara shook her head. "I do not think he should fly. How quickly can you be back?"

"Not very," Scotty said. "But if I go up there, I can grab Sastarn to fly us back down, and he can take the next load."

Mara smiled. "I have a better idea." She gestured, and Sastarn appeared, grabbing at the wall to steady himself. "My apologies, Pilot Sastarn. But we have need of your services."

"Yes, ma'am!" he replied, saluting.

"We've got a shuttle full of refugees out there," Scotty said. "Take 'em up to the ship, and be careful. We might have some early-stage infected folks."

"Yes, sir," Sastarn replied crisply.

Scotty grinned at the effect Mara's presence was having on his smart aleck friend. "Take Danask with you—she'll sense trouble before it starts, I hope. And she can take command of the ship while you come back down. She's out there with Amoret now."

"What about the other shuttle?" Sastarn asked.

Scotty looked at Mara. "It'd go faster if I went and got the other shuttle and used that for the second load. I think that's all we'll need."

"I agree," Mara said. "Do you want someone to go with you?"

"I got my gun. If you put me on the shuttle, I'll be fine by myself," he replied.

"I expect to see you shortly, Captain. Do not put me to the trouble of rescuing you twice in one day," Mara said, not quite hiding her grin.

Scotty grinned back. "Yes, ma'am."

Mara transported him, then turned back to Sastarn. "Please proceed, Pilot."

He saluted and turned to go out to the pad, but a shout from within the embassy made him hesitate. It was followed shortly by more shouting, making Mara turn and frown.

"Ma'am?" Sastarn asked.

"Go ahead, Pilot. If you do not hear from us in a reasonable amount of time, proceed to Praxatillus."

"Yes, ma'am," he said reluctantly, heading for the shuttle.

Mara and Kendara went upstairs toward the noise, which quickly subsided into an ominous quiet. Lyrabeth and the two security techs were packing up what they thought should be secured; others were waiting to be evacuated. There was no reason for this unusual quiet. Mara extended her awareness to check on Malvarak; he was where she had left him.

As they reached the top of the stairs, they heard the shuttle lift off outside and paused to listen as it climbed out of weapons range. With a satisfied nod, Mara led the way to the security office, only to find it empty. They then proceeded to the employee dining hall and found themselves at the back of a crowd.

"What is happening?" Mara demanded, making everyone turn. After a moment, they parted to let her go forward. She stopped when she saw what they had all been looking at: Ricar had Lyrabeth in an awkward grip, holding a knife to her throat. Kendara laid a hand on her blaster, but Mara held up a hand to stop her from drawing it.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked angrily, but Ricar did not reply.

Rondnel, one of the security techs, said, "We were packing up the secure office and he just came in and grabbed her! Then he dragged her in here. He won't talk."

"I don't think he can," Radeth said.

Wilmik said, "He's not doing this of his own accord."

"I know that," Mara replied. "But it is difficult to negotiate a hostage release when the hostage taker has no method of communicating."