Way of No Return (Champions of the Crystal Book 8)

Chapter 5.2

Docking with a Wayship was tricky under most circumstances; when it was powered down, it was a delicate task that required Ford's full concentration. Getting the airlock open without power took him a long time; Scotty finally sent Stecklan down to help. Between them, they forced the hatch open; then Scotty joined them.

"Stecklan, we need somebody to stay in the cockpit and make sure the umbilical doesn't detach," Scotty said. "I'll bring him back alive, I promise."

"I suppose I wouldn't be much use on a Wayship," Stecklan said regretfully. He had traveled aboard Khediva briefly, en route from Fiersai to Outpost Seven, but Ford and Scotty were both far more familiar with the Wayship. "Good luck."

"We'll be in touch," Scotty said. He waited for Stecklan to clear the umbilical before entering the airlock. "Will this thing cycle without power?"

"It's designed to, at least once, but I'd rather not trust it," Ford said. "The umbilical's pressurized, so we don't need to cycle the airlock, just force the inner hatch open."

"Could we run a power feed from our ship?"

"I doubt it, at least not without a converter. I don't want to take the time right now," Ford said. He hesitated, then added, "Scotty, we need to acknowledge the possibility that Khediva may be dead."

Scotty made a strangled sound. "I'm not believing it until I see it."

"You didn't see Father. If Khediva suffered the same damage, she may not have survived without immediate treatment. And there's no chance of getting help from Homeworld." Ford took a breath to steady himself. "If Khediva died, leaving Father on the brink of death, I don't think Mother will have fared any better."

Scotty cleared his throat. "We always knew if one of them died, all three might. You think that's why we haven't heard from Mara? But we know she isn't dead—there's been no sign of Transference."

"Yes, that gives me hope." But Ford didn't sound hopeful as he released the manual opening mechanism on the inner hatch.

They both pushed on the lever, and the hatch reluctantly slid open. Scotty caught a whiff of stale air and said, "Helmets on—life support's not operating."

They sealed their lightweight environmental suits, then hurried down the corridor to the control deck, which was completely dark save for the lights on their helmets and suit shoulders. "Realspace engines are shut down," Scotty said. "Can you restart them?"

"Yes," Ford said. "It will take me a few minutes, though. Are you okay to check the brain core?"

Scotty swallowed. If Khediva really was dead, he didn't want to be the one to find out. But he didn't know how to manually restart the engines, and they had to ascertain Khediva's status as quickly as possible. "Yeah."

Scotty made his way through the dark, silent corridors, finding them eerily unfamiliar. He tried not to think about what would happen if Khediva were dead, but his mind refused to focus on anything else, spinning out one tragic scenario after another.

The Wayship seemed bigger in the dark, and he moved carefully as he approached the small room that housed Khediva's brain. It, too, was dark and still. Fear squeezed his heart, and he went forward and laid one hand on the dark globe. It was intact, but there were no sparks to indicate brain activity.

"C'mon, Khediva, c'mon," he murmured. "You're too tough to die this quietly. Gimme a sign."

He thought he saw a faint flicker, which could have been his imagination. In desperation, he ripped one glove off and laid his bare hand on the globe, ignoring the cold that prickled at his skin. "Khediva, come on!" he urged.