Waymakers (Champions of the Crystal Book 9)

Chapter 17.1

Sabrina and Ford woke only when Ranja came to knock on their door and tell them breakfast was waiting and they were on the verge of being late for the mission briefing. They managed to behave normally for Lily and the household, except for hugging Lily a little longer than usual when they left her in the nursery.

No one apart from Ranja, Liara, and their bodyguards were supposed to know this was not a routine trip to Dansestari, but it was apparent that some tale was circulating among the staff. Since this was meant to be a public journey, they were taking the flyer, and the heads of departments met them in the front hall for the ceremonial goodbye, which was normally brief. This morning, there was an anxious undertone, as if everyone was aware it might be the last. And Cynthia, who was not a head of department, managed to station herself on their route to the roof so she could hug Sabrina goodbye. Ford noticed several heads ducking around corners, hinting at a much larger audience.

When at last they reached the roof, Sastarn was waiting for them, his customary smile subdued. He waited until they were airborne to speak, clearing his throat. "I request to go with you."

There was a pause. Then Ford said, "To Dansestari? You already are."

"On the mission. Whatever it is. I want to go."

Sabrina sighed. "What have you heard?"

"Only that you're off on an assignment, possibly with the Wayfarers. Surely you can use an extra hand. You know I'm good in a fight."

"There will be no fighting," Ford said firmly. "We are observers and diplomats."

Sastarn snorted. "I've heard that one before. Come on, sir. Unless you're taking a squad with you, I won't be superfluous. And I won't get in your way. I can pilot or co-pilot."

Ford chuckled. "You actually can't, in this case. You may make your case to Commander Rigeon, Sastarn. She's determining assignments, and we have no authority to do so."

It's not a bad idea, Sabrina thought.

No, I'd actually like to have him along. He's good in risky situations, and he has only one agenda, our safety. But we have to play by the rules here. We'll be on a Wayship where we have no jurisdiction. Qadr isn't Khediva, where you can hold dinner parties if you want.

Surely Malvarak isn't going to make trouble over one extra person.

We don't know that. And it isn't just him, but the whole Wayfarer Council.

Sabrina sighed. "We can get you to the briefing. After that, it's out of our hands."

"Thank you, ma'am."

They were silent for the rest of the flight. Sastarn landed in the area restricted to the royal family, which was conveniently near the main subterranean entrance to Praxatillus Control. They passed through the checkpoints, the corridors becoming more crowded as they neared the main conference room. At the door, one of Rigeon's aides was checking names against a list. He frowned when he didn't find Sastarn's.

"Ask the Commander if she will permit our chauffeur to accompany us," Sabrina instructed him.

"Yes, ma'am." He lifted his comlink, but then lowered it as Rigeon herself arrived. "Commander," he said, saluting. "The Heirs wish to bring their chauffeur in."

Rigeon frowned at Sastarn. "Why?"

Sastarn straightened. "I volunteer to go with the Prince and Princess."

"What do you know about their assignment?" Rigeon demanded.

"Nothing. But I want to go. I'm good in a fight; I was with the Prince during the occupation."

Rigeon sighed. "I remember. Very well. You may come in and hear the mission, and then you may decide if you really wish to volunteer."

They went inside, finding Scotty and Aurora, the Wayfarers, and every high-ranking military officer in Praxatillus' service. Terel and Marvan moved to the wall with the other bodyguards, too tense to sit, and Sastarn went with them after a wave to Scotty. Only Baldaran and Mara were missing. Baldaran arrived a minute later, but they were all seated and waiting by the time Mara joined them, with Seuréa in tow.

Baldaran stood. "Thank you all for your time this morning, when we all have so much to do. We will keep this as short as possible. First, I wish to thank Subcommander Devon for suggesting we remove the Kyan arrival point in the Allyrian system. Now that we know they need their own material to travel here, we will be diligent about removing those entry points when we find them. All Kyan equipment and material left on Lillavani have been collected and ejected into the Allyrian sun. We are preparing to move the captured Kyan ship out of Deltarr's orbit as well. The Avestaran government has been notified of the need to destroy any Kyan debris left in their system. So we may hope that any reinforcements will have to arrive in either the Reissian Empire or the Homeworld system, where we will be prepared for them.

"I now turn this briefing over to Commander Rigeon, who will cover the Reissian campaign."

Rigeon stood and activated a control on the table surface. A holographic map of the Reissian Empire appeared. "We plan to make our first strike on Kuath. Although it is not technically part of the Reissian Empire, it is close enough to draw their attention. Plus, we have a fairly extensive network of contacts there from our years attempting to liberate the population from the Kyan parasites and gathering intelligence. We will take it swiftly with overwhelming force, then use it as a base for a further strike into Reissian territory, their colony on Pderth. It is heavily armed and will be far more of a challenge. The Guardian will be with us, however, and will disable a large part of their fleet, causing them to call for reinforcements. This will, we believe, catch the attention of the Kyan and hopefully draw some of their forces from Homeworld's system. The fleet is already en route to the rendezvous point with our allies, and the Guardian will take the rest of us to meet them after this briefing. We will make any needed refinements en route. While I am off planet, Senior Subcommander Sheeren will be in command of the planetary defenses, with Subcommander Stecklan as second in command." She nodded to a tall, caramel-skinned man at the back of the room, then to Asnefer. "I now invite Asnefer aïé Shahina to present the Wayfarer plan."

Asnefer stood. "Using the phase shift devices we built for the relief of Avestar, we will travel out of phase to the Homeworld system. Once there, Miah will shift the Wayshipyard into our phase to be towed to the Praxera system. She will then shift into this phase to distract the Kyan forces while we make our escape. Malvarak aïé Qadr will be responsible for transporting her and Koran."

She sat back down. A moment later, Baldaran asked, "Is there any hope of help from Homeworld?"

Asnefer shook her head. "The defensive systems were automated. We do not believe they were activated before they destroyed their communications. If they have not been activated by now, it is likely they cannot be."

Rigeon asked, "What is the plan to ensure Miah escapes safely? The Kyan were able to sense phase shifts in our last encounter with them."

Asnefer gave a wry smile. "In our experience, Miah is quite capable of escaping without any assistance from us."

So we're on our own, Ford thought, appalled.

Mara said, "I will of course be in touch with Miah through the Great Crystal and provide any assistance required, though I agree she has escaped many dangerous situations without any." She glanced at Sabrina with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Not on our own, Sabrina thought, feeling calmer.

Yes, but how are we going to ensure our escape? We were so focused on the Wayshipyard piece, we didn't really get to the exit strategy. Ford was chagrined he hadn't realized it before. Can you move an entire Wayship between systems?

I think so. Given an adrenaline rush, possibly all the way home.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Sabrina tuned back into the briefing and was surprised to find it wrapping up. Rigeon was reviewing emergency frequencies and rendezvous points for the Reissian campaign. "Any other points of discussion?" she asked.

No one spoke. Rigeon gave a crisp nod. "Then good luck to all."