The Haunted Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 5)

Chapter 5.4

Scotty blinked when he walked into the main briefing room in Praxatillus Control and recognized several detailed images of his home planet on the wallscreens. "Do we really think she'll be that obvious?" he asked nobody in particular.

Mukryilla looked up and smiled in relief. "Good to have you back, Lieutenant."

"Tell me you're not focused exclusively on Earth," Scotty said in reply. "Sabrina's way too devious for that."

"Sabrina in possession of all her faculties is considerably more devious than that," Mukryilla agreed. "But Her Majesty thinks that is not the case."

"I don't know. She got Ford out from under Homeworld's noses, didn't she?"

"From the reports, it may well have been the other way around," she said, handing him a pad. "Based on what the orderlies have said, we conjecture that the prince is probably incapacitated, at least on a short term basis, and that your sister is making the decisions. Given the tenor of her conversations with Her Majesty, we are presuming she is not thinking very clearly. Her priority is almost certainly getting the prince to safety, and since she cannot come here, her instinct will be to return to the only other home she has."

"I guess," Scotty sighed, finishing his reading and tossing the pad onto the conference table as he took a seat. "I have to tell you, I hate trying to get into her head like this."

"If you don't wish to be associated with this operation, tell me. I will have you reassigned out-system," Mukryilla offered.

"No. You guys need me. And I want to know for myself that she's safe. I just don't particularly want to hunt her down like a criminal."

"No one is accusing her of criminal actions," Mukryilla assured him. "But she is sick, and she and the prince pose a danger to themselves and others without treatment."

Scotty grinned wryly. "A good three-quarters of my brain just shouted, 'Bullshit!' It wouldn't be the first time someone accused Sabrina of needing treatment." He sobered. "I can remember a little of our time on Allyria, after we got back from Pharo. We were sick, yeah. We needed treatment, sure. But we were not a danger to anybody, even ourselves."

"You did not have to deal with someone who is, for most purposes, a reincarnation of the last Pharon emperor."

"No, but Sabrina learned all she needed to know about handling royalty a long time ago. I don't think a spoiled emperor can be much worse than a spoiled Guardian and Heir."

Mukryilla gave an exasperated sigh. "This is not something I can change, Scotty. If you wish to protest this search, then you should speak to Her Majesty. If you are just making noise to appease your conscience, we will stop now and get to the practical details of this operation."

"Yes, ma'am," Scotty replied. "This is the way I see it. I go to Earth, hitting all Sabrina's former places of residence and known associates, the way any good skiptracer would, stopping at McDonald's a few times along the way. I either find evidence that she's been there, or I don't. If she isn't there, we resign ourselves to a galaxy-wide search, the scope of which is entirely beyond our resources. If she is there, I track her down and tell her the jig's up, at which point she'll either admit it's a fair cop or try to ditch me, which she's irritatingly good at."

"Scotty," Mukryilla said, "you are always incomprehensible when you're annoyed."

"Just getting back into that ole Earth vernacular," he drawled. "Anyway, I assume you're not going to do anything unwise like tell me to use terminal force to accomplish my mission."

"I don't think anyone is that unwise, Scotty. Our priority is the well-being of your sister and the prince. They are not to be harmed, only retrieved. I would recommend you limit personal contact if possible, so as to minimize your own contamination."