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

Chapter 21.2

I have contact! Mara thought. And coordinates, I believe. Though Khediva seems dubious about their accuracy.

Ford didn't have to do any calculations to realize that there was no possibility of creating an intercepting Way at the coordinates, which were past the rim of the galaxy. There was a limit to how far a matrix could be from the Way's inception point. Perhaps if they had some way to transmit the coordinates to Homeworld, they would be useful, but he couldn't think of anything in the current situation.

Sabrina's strength was fading; she was approaching the point where she was going to have to let their Way collapse. She wasn't sure she would be able to form another Way, but she thought, What happens if you open a Way into a Way? It's certainly a big enough target.

Ford was taken aback. I have no idea. I don't think anyone's ever tried. We'd have to put the inception point pretty close to keep it away from Darkene. He was beginning to doubt they would be able to save the moon, but he was pretty sure there hadn't been enough time to completely evacuate it, so they had to keep trying. Let the Way go. Take a minute to heal yourself while I think about it.

Sabrina withdrew a little, trying to comply, but she was exhausted. Even without the Way draining her, she was at her limit. Ford debated internally for a moment before giving her his full attention, helping her sort out some of the worst imbalances her body was struggling with.

Can we see about the baby? Please?

They would both concentrate better without the worry, Ford told himself. He let go of Seuréa's hand and reached for Lily, who was nursing weakly and having trouble staying awake. It took an amazingly small amount of energy from the Crystal to give her nursing more vigor, and Sabrina gave their daughter a quick scan, looking for anything threatening in her condition.

She's fine. She's just going to need a little extra care for a while, Ford assured her. I think you're actually in worse shape. I wish you could rest.

If I rest, we'll all be dead, Sabrina retorted. We have to try again. This time I won't drop it in the middle.

You better not, he thought. Mother's too weak to catch it again. I'm not going to bother with the details this time; this doesn't have to be a normal Way. Inception point coordinates are critical but I don't care how you form the rest of it, as long as it hangs together.

Right, she thought. It's got to be easier the second time.

I hope so. Ford did some quick calculating and then pictured the coordinates for her. Right there, straight in. I think that's our best chance to kill it.

Mara chimed in. I'm going to push along the path of your Way. The Wayships can't break out; they need help. And I can't maintain this connection much longer without killing Scotty.

Sabrina ruthlessly ignored the comment, not allowing herself to be distracted. It was, after all, what Scotty would have told her to do.

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Scotty held grimly on to consciousness, in case Mara needed him. The pain was approaching unbearable levels, but he could feel that it was productive. He was dimly aware that Mara had somehow used his genetic similarities to Tirqwin to establish a connection between them, almost like the effect Earth scientists called "spooky action at a distance." He couldn't see how it helped, other than letting them say good-bye, but he figured that was worth it.

"Get ready," Mara whispered in his ear.

"Where're we goin'?" he muttered.

He felt her smile against his cheek. "Khediva."

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Sabrina felt Ford pause, taken aback as he began to realize what his mother's plan was. Survival of anything in the massive Way wasn't something he felt confident of, though he was hopeful. His main goal had to be the billions of lives at stake in Praxatillus' immediate vicinity, including his newborn daughter.

Don't argue with her, Sabrina thought. She's been doing this since before you were born. And there's no time.

He sent a wordless acknowledgement and went back to his calculations. Go. Now!

Sabrina pushed with all her might, forming the rush of energy into the complex structure of a Way threshold and pushing through the barrier of space/time. This was much rougher than the first one, since this Way plunged into the larger one almost immediately. Sabrina and Ford quickly lost any control they had begun with, focusing merely on pushing the energy as far along the path as they could and not caring about its structural integrity.

Godspeed, Sabrina thought as she felt Mara and Scotty hurtle away from the planet.