Crystal Escape by Doug J. Cooper

Author:Doug J. Cooper [Cooper, Doug J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2018-07-17T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Cheryl, standing between Juice and MacMac, shifted her attention back to Lazura and focused on closing the deal. She wasn’t convinced the alien intelligence could be trusted in the long term, but she did believe Lazura would honor the agreement until they reached Aurora. That bought her stability for now.

But if Criss didn’t show up by the time they reached the platform, all would be lost. They’d have no leverage with Lazura, leaving her free to exert her will unchecked. And that did not bode well for anyone on Vivo or Aurora.

“I accept,” said Lazura. “I leave behind the hostages and my archive in exchange for a working starhub, the platform fuel-stacks, and a commitment from Criss’s leadership that I have a free passage home.”

“How long before we reach Aurora?” asked MacMac, massaging his neck.

“With the drive pods acting up, we still have two days.”

He looked at Cheryl. “We need to speak with the guests. After what they just witnessed, we’ll need to calm them and ease them into their new reality.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” said Lazura, who turned and made for the same door she’d used for her entrance. Letting Hejmo and Mondo get ahead of her, she turned back. “If I decide you’re using my synbods against me, there will be repercussions. My punishments are horrific. You have been warned.”

When Lazura left the room, Cheryl felt her knees go weak. She’d used every bit of her inner strength to face down a brilliant, ruthless being with little more than her poker face and bravado to back up her confidence and determination.

Criss, where are you?

She did believe that if Criss wasn’t on Aurora, Sid would be. If the positions were reversed, if Sid had been kidnapped, she’d be able to track Vivo, identify the platform as a logical action point, and get to it one way or another. Sid was so resourceful that she counted on him being there.

This train of thought highlighted a weakness in her agreement with Lazura. While she and Juice could form a leadership majority and restrain Criss with a command, no one had control over Sid. He alone decided whether he would pursue Lazura or let her go.

Shrugging, she accepted that she couldn’t resolve that issue on her own. She also acknowledged that she couldn’t just sit quietly and wait for two days.

Passive gets you killed. Her lieutenant at Fleet Academy used to say that. Twenty years later, the phrase still sounded inane, but it guided her thinking nevertheless.

She had to keep active, to keep pushing to better their chances. To that end, her new goal was to get a link line outside the dome. It was on the list of chores Criss had left with Chase and Justin, and when she’d first heard it, she’d considered it a high-risk, low-benefit task.

She still thought it a big gamble, but if it was the reason they hadn’t heard from Criss, then it became a high-benefit task and worth the risk. She couldn’t do it alone, though.

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