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

Chapter 16.1

Scotty swore as a burst of energy hit the ground centimeters from his boot, and he put on a burst of speed. Mara had vanished into the trees at the bottom of the valley, where a thin trickle of water represented what was probably a small river in the rainy season, but he was doing a great job at drawing fire higher up on the hillside. He was pretty sure Mara was monitoring him enough that he wouldn't get killed, but he needed things to look realistic, and he didn't want her using energy defending him.

Skidding to a stop beside a large boulder, he unslung the portable proton launcher and checked the power readouts. He had enough for two more shots, he thought; he'd better make them count. So far he'd only taken one Kyan out that he could tell, and just wounding them didn't seem to slow them down much. This time he let their first volley of shots go unanswered, trying to get a firm count of how many he was facing. At least four, he thought, settling the launcher into a crevice in the boulder's side and activating the automatic targeting. It was just as fuzzy as it had been the last time he'd tried it, so he switched it off and looked at the manual sighting screen on his helmet's display. He only had a moment to aim when a Kyan stood to fire at him, and he had to duck immediately to avoid its shot, so he couldn't see how accurate he'd been.

Unfortunately its aim had been true, and the launcher exploded, sending Scotty flying in an uncontrolled slide down the hill. He tried to get his hands and feet under him and only succeeded in a clumsy somersault before he hit a tree, which burst into flames just above his head as he caught it to stop his slide. Shaking his head to clear it, he crawled past the tree into what cover the others could offer, grateful that his suit and helmet had survived intact, protecting him from a pretty thorough skinning and serious head injury, not to mention the volley of shots still coming his way. He quickly checked his remaining weaponry; his rifle was banged up but looked intact.

Holy shit, did everything just float? Scotty looked quickly around him. Sure enough, the branches, rocks, and even a thin layer of dirt were moving slowly upward. His suit's readouts blinked out for a moment, and then the gravity indicator began flashing an alarm. He was heavy enough that his feet remained on the ground, though his boots appeared to sink because the soil was moving upward.

His suit's readouts began to fluctuate wildly, and he instinctively looked up at what he could see of the sky. His jaw dropped.

Mara nearly ran into him, grabbing his shoulder to steady herself as she crouched beside him. Her disguise flickered and then vanished as they looked at each other.

"Is that what I think it is?" he demanded.

"Yes," she panted. "They have opened a Way near our orbit. A very large one. Scotty, I require all my energy to hold Praxatillus in its orbit and keep us out of the Way threshold. You must deal with the Kyan on your own."

Scotty stared at the huge, black, swirling area above their heads, lit by flashes and flares of energy, and swallowed hard. "I got it, Mara," he said with a confidence he didn't feel. "You keep the planet safe, and I'll keep you safe."

"Miah keep you, cousin," she said, then closed her eyes and concentrated.

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Sabrina doubled over with a cry of pain she couldn't stifle, bringing the group to a halt. Seuréa stumbled, catching herself before she could slide back down the hill, staring up at the sky. "Oh," she whispered, her eyes round.

Evis followed her gaze. "What is that?"

Sabrina panted, trying to catch her breath, and looked up. "Oh, my God," she breathed. "A Way. The Kyan have opened a Way!"

"What does that mean?" Cynthia asked.

"It's a Way, like Khediva uses. But bigger," Sabrina gasped.

"They're bringing more ships through?" Kendara asked, alarmed.

"I don't think so." Sabrina doubled over as a second contraction took hold.

Seuréa's lips trembled. "It wants to swallow us."

"Us?" Ranja asked.

"The planet." The Inheritor looked up. "It's messing up our gravity. Our orbit is deforming. I must help Mother!" She closed her eyes.

Cynthia looked at Merith. "We've got to stop her contractions. Do you have anything for that?"

"I have a limited number of doses," Merith said, digging in her pack. "But if this has been brought on by the Crystal or the Way, I do not think they will be effective."

Sabrina let out a sob. "I can't have this baby on the mountainside! Do something!"

Merith pressed a hypospray against her neck. "Here. Rutha, Cynthia, steady her. Ranja, help me carry the Inheritor. We need to hurry. She might be better off underground."

Rutha and Cynthia each laid one of Sabrina's arms across their shoulders, taking her weight, and moved forward as best they could, while Ranja and Merith did the same for Seuréa.

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"What the hell?" Sastarn yelped as the flyer bucked upward, like it had been snatched by a tractor beam. "These readings don't make sense!"

Ford leaned forward again to look, then frowned and touched a button, making the roof above his head transparent. He stared in shock at the massive Way opening above them, unable to speak for a few moments. "Sastarn, set us down. Now!"

Sastarn wrestled with the controls. "I don't think I can, sir. It's barely responding."

"What is it?" Lyrabeth asked, stunned.

"It's a Way. In our orbit, it looks like." Ford strained to make it out in the dim light.

"Our fleet!" Lyrabeth gasped.

Ford wished he had access to an orbital scan. "Yes. And us, too, if Mother can't stop it."

"What would happen to a planet in a Way?" Stecklan asked after a moment.

Ford shook his head. "Nothing good. We've no shielding against the massive stresses. We'll probably break apart and lose our atmosphere. Not necessarily in that order."

"Brace yourselves!" Stecklan yelled. Ford just had time to turn his head to see the side of a hill approaching before the flyer plowed into it, burying itself in dirt.

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"What's happening?" Baldaran shouted, straining to make himself heard over the clatter of everything in the facility shaking.

"It is a Way opened in our immediate space. A massive one," Mukryilla responded after studying the scan. "It appears the Kyan have decided to destroy us, since they cannot conquer us."

"The fleet?"

"Several ships have already been pulled in," she reported. "I do not believe the others will be able to escape, either."

"The Wayships will be able to navigate," Baldaran said, "but what of ours?"

Mukryilla shook her head. "I do not know."

A nearby tech said, "Commander, Darkene's orbit will take it across the Way's threshold in less than an hour."

"Evacuate," she snapped.

"Their ships may not be able to resist the gravitational pull," Baldaran pointed out.

"They will have a better chance of survival aboard ships than on a moon that will almost certainly break up," Mukryilla replied. "Your Majesty, I believe we should make an announcement and tell our citizens to either launch in spaceworthy ships or go underground. They may be able to survive longer there if we cannot avoid being pulled into the Way."

Baldaran nodded. "I will do so immediately. What is the status of our communications satellites?"

"Orbital Platform Four is being pulled out of orbit," someone called, in what Baldaran knew would probably be the first in a long list of their losses to the Way.

"Quickly, sir," Mukryilla urged. "The satellites will not keep station for long with this kind of disruption."