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

Chapter 9: The Relief of Avestar

Cynthia blinked, startled, as the door to the stasis cabinet opened. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Didn't it work?"

Ford gave her a weary smile. "It worked. You've been in stasis for about nine days."

Beside him, Lien grinned at her. "See? You don't feel a thing."

"Wow." Cynthia stepped carefully out of the cabinet. Now that she looked closely, she could see the days etched on Ford's face, along with a hint of stubble. "So where are we now?"

"Approaching Avestar, where my sister lives," Ford said. "It's under siege, but we're emerging into normal space behind the nearest planet in the system to get an idea of how the forces are positioned. Then we'll decide what to do next. We pulled you out now because there is a chance we could all be killed when we emerge, and it seemed better to let you face death than die in stasis."

Cynthia personally disagreed, but she knew better than to say so. "Thank you. What can I do to help?"

Ford shrugged. "Probably nothing." He turned and headed for the control deck.

Lien said, "Usually it's best to stay out of the way, do what you're told, and don't ask too many questions."

"How many is too many?" she wondered.

He gave a quiet huff of laughter. "I usually get one answer. After that it's all orders and glares."

"How does Sabrina put up with that?" Cynthia muttered to herself, but Lien shook his head.

"The princess is usually right there with him. They're linked, you know, so he doesn't have to explain anything to her. It's true that she's more patient with the questions, but if things are really bad she'll snap orders just like he does. I think the main difference is she feels bad about it later and will be really nice to you for a while. Not that she isn't normally," he added quickly. "Um, I'm really not supposed to talk about them like this."

Cynthia smiled. "Don't worry. I've known Sabrina since she was a little girl. I'm pretty sure you're not going to shock me."

"I bet you have some good stories," Lien said encouragingly.

"Absolutely. Someday we should trade outrageous Sabrina stories," Cynthia said. "But right now I'd rather go see what's happening."

"Me too," Lien said, setting off for the control deck. Cynthia followed him, and they arrived just as the Wayship emerged into normal space, causing the Earthwoman to grab the wall and swallow hard against the momentary nausea. Lien took her arm to steady her. "Stand still for a moment. It will pass."

"Thanks," Cynthia said. "I'd forgotten what that felt like."

They stood in the doorway while Tirqwin and Ford worked at the consoles. After a moment, Khediva said quietly, "The population of the planet has dropped by approximately 2.5 percent since our last visit."

"Two point five percent!" Ford echoed in dismay. "That's 125 million people! What happened? Did they land ground troops?"

"I do not believe so," Khediva said slowly. "Though I show no large zones of destruction such as orbital weapons would have left. If ground troops managed to kill so many, there should be signs of recent mass burials or cremations, and I do not see that on the scans either. There are some Reissian life signs on the planet, but only a few thousand, mostly concentrated in the oligarchical palaces."

"Anthalon?" Tirqwin asked urgently.

"Yes, there as well. I do not perceive any Miahn life signs there, however. Probably the palaces were evacuated before the Reissians occupied them."