The Tigrens' Glory (26 page)

Kyerion blinked rapidly, trying to focus through the thick fluid that coated him.  He felt weak, but not as weak as he’d expected.  It took effort to roll over onto his back and raise his arms, but he was profoundly relieved to see that his body was strong and muscular.  He’d been worried that he’d be little more than a skeleton with skin after so many centuries.  He lowered his shaking hands to his face and wiped his eyes, then blinked a few more times, his vision clearing more with each blink.  He saw a tank above him, the door open wide, and shuddered with the knowledge that he’d spent thousands of years within its narrow confines.  He turned his head, searching for his brothers.  Right next to his tank was Kirk, and next to him was Cade.  The sight of his brothers floating in those clear, alien tubes was so horrifying that he knew he’d never erase it from his mind no matter how long he lived.

He pulled his eyes from the sight and focused on the state of his own body.  He remained on the floor for a few minutes, allowing his body to remember what it was to breathe air, to see, to feel, and to be conscious and in control.  He reached for Earth, hoping he could open his brothers’ tanks without moving from where he lay, but wasn’t surprised when it didn’t work.  He was far too weak.  He had no doubt that his power would return with his physical strength, but that would take time.

As a Druid, he recognized that a good portion of the energy he felt humming through his body was not his own, but Glory’s.  There wasn’t a lot of it, which told him more than anything else could have how weak she’d been, and what a sacrifice she’d made in sharing what little she had with him.  Without her energy, he doubted that he’d even be conscious yet. 

He took a deep breath, then rolled over onto his side using slow, controlled movements.  Another deep breath and he slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position.  He wavered there for a few moments, closing his eyes against a wave of dizziness.  He was patient, giving himself time to rest even though Glory’s warning kept echoing in his mind.  He was his brothers’ only hope, but if he wasn’t careful, he feared he’d pass out.  If that happened, his brothers would die for sure.

When the dizziness passed, he reached up and grabbed onto the top edge of the control panel below the door of his tank.  It took another few minutes of slow maneuvering before he was standing on his own two feet.  He kept one hand on the tank beside him in case he lost his balance, then slid his right foot forward along the floor rather than risk picking it up.  The tanks were close together so it took only two sliding steps to reach Kirk.  He found the manual release Glory had told him about and grasped the handle, surprised at how difficult it was to turn.  Even accounting for his own weakness, it illustrated what a miracle it had been for Glory to have worked the handle on his tank. 

Once the handle was all the way down he had to pull hard to break the seal on the door, giving him another glimpse of how difficult it must have been for Glory.  His appreciation for her courage and determination, already high, went up several more notches.  He very much looked forward to meeting her in person.

The fluid in Kirk’s tank rushed out, forcing Kyerion to back up and tighten his grip on the door so that he didn’t lose his balance.  As much as he wanted to reach in and catch his brother before he fell from the tank, he couldn’t risk it.  If he ended up on the floor with Kirk, he doubted he’d be able to work himself back up to a standing position again any time soon. 

Within a few moments of hitting the floor, Kirk began coughing to expel the fluid from his lungs.  As Kyerion watched, the blue light around them flickered.  Adrenaline flooded his body, increasing his dizziness, but he couldn’t wait for it to pass this time.  He moved toward Cade’s tank as quickly as he dared.  The light flickered again and he marked the position of the release lever on Cade’s tank.  A heartbeat later the blue lights went out, replaced with a dim reddish gloom.  His eyes didn’t respond to the change in lighting right away so when he reached for the handle on Cade’s tank he couldn’t see it at all.  Undeterred, he put his hand where he thought the handle should be.  It wasn’t there.  He fumbled a bit, just a few inches to the right and down.  There. 

He gripped the handle with both hands and pushed it down as hard as he could.  The handle creaked loudly as it swung down much more slowly than the one on Kirk’s tank.  Once it was all the way down, Kyerion pulled on it with all of his remaining strength.  He lost his balance and fell to the floor as the door swung open.  The fluid poured out of the tank, taking Cade with it. 

Kyerion could do no more than lay back and close his eyes, his heart pounding while he waited.  After several endless seconds, Cade began to cough.  Kyerion allowed himself to relax.  They were alive.  He had no idea where they were, or what they faced next, but for now, thanks to Glory, they were alive, awake, and free. 

“Kyerion?  Cade?” Kirk gasped when Cade finished coughing the fluid from his lungs. 

“We’re all free,” Kyerion said.  “How do you feel?”

“Weak,” Kirk said.  “Did the light change?  It seems darker.”

“The backup went out, just as Glory feared it would,” Kyerion said.  “I got Cade out just in time.”

“We owe Glory much,” Kirk said.

“We owe Glory
everything
,” Cade corrected in a raspy voice.

“Yes, we do,” Kyerion agreed, his eyelids falling shut against his will.  For the first time in seven thousand years, they all fell into a deep, normal, healing sleep. 

Chapter Twenty Two

Faith Falcoran stepped onto the Pinnacle’s control dais aboard the
Ugaztun
, her Rami right behind her.  She was very glad that they’d taken the time to practice with all the new equipment over the last few days, otherwise the high tech array of buttons, keys, screens and flashing lights would have completely overwhelmed her.  As it was, a healthy dose of nervousness lay just beneath the electric zing of excitement rushing through her veins. 

“Do you want to sit or stand today?” Tristan asked.

“Stand,” she replied.  “I’m too nervous to sit.”

“If you change your mind, let us know,” Gray said before leaning in to kiss her.  “And don’t worry.  The moment you begin, your nerves will fade.”

“I know they will,” Faith said.  “But thanks for the reminder.”  She turned to Tristan.  “Did Garen say anything about how Glory’s doing when you spoke with him this morning?”

“Doc put her in a healing tank,” Tristan said.  “They aren’t sure if it will heal her, but she’s alive, and stable.”

“That’s a relief,” Faith said, turning back to the screen in front of her.  She liked Glory a lot and, more than that, she felt a silent camaraderie with her.  There was something in Glory’s eyes that Faith recognized, just like she and Lariah had recognized it in each other the first time they’d met, though most people couldn’t see it.  It was that something special that said
Hi!  I’ve spent time in the hands of psychotic, sadistic, whackos!
 

Faith didn’t know what Glory’s story was, and she didn’t need to know.  She just wanted her to have the same kind of happy ending she’d gotten, and that Lariah had gotten.  She believed absolutely that Glory had her fair share of happiness coming to her.  She just had to live long enough to claim it.

“Take a moment to review the settings on your console,” Jon suggested, bringing Faith back to the moment.  “It’s possible someone changed them since last time we were here.”

“Good idea,” Faith said.  After getting a much needed kiss from both Tristan and Jon, she focused on her console while her men settled themselves at their own consoles behind her.

Today was the big day.  The day they’d all been preparing for.  In just a few minutes they would go through the jump point into the LMC, and the war against the Xanti would truly begin.   Since the Blind Sight transmission codes they’d gotten from the Narrasti only worked within a certain range, it would be up to Faith to identify and mark any and all Xanti ships beyond that.  It was a big responsibility.  Huge.  One that she would have flatly refused just a few short weeks earlier.  She smiled to herself.  Her life had changed a lot in a very short time, and she couldn’t be happier about it.

The bright red strip of mussed fur draped over her shoulder raised up and tapped tiny warm forepaws lightly against Faith’s cheek, then gave her a few popping kisses.  “Thanks, Bubbles,” she said, smiling at the
raktsasa
before giving her a quick scratch on the chin in return.  Satisfied, Bubbles settled down, purring happily.  Faith returned her attention to her console.

She’d been surprised, and thrilled, to find that the Dracons had had a console designed specifically for her.  One that took into account her complete lack of knowledge when it came to everything mechanical and scientific.  She could now mark the objects that only she could see with just a few taps of her finger on a screen or control board.  The computer translated the information she entered into location and targeting coordinates and displayed it at each viewport station around the room, as well as the Admirals’ screens behind her.  She made an adjustment to the angle of her screen, then reviewed her console settings carefully just to be sure everything was perfect.

“We’re rotating to face the jump point,” Tristan told her.  “First thing we need you to do is check the jump point coordinates and boundaries.  The computer is going by the information we got using the modified binoculars a few weeks back, so we need to be sure those numbers are accurate.”

“All right,” Faith replied, watching the jump point come into view as the
Ugaztun
moved into position and the dais rotated.  It was a huge jump point, one of the largest she’d seen so far.  She checked the computerized overlay on the screen in front of her against the jump point that only she could see through the viewport.  “The parameters are almost exact,” she said, reaching up to the display in front of her and making a small adjustment.

“Excellent,” Tristan said, watching the small change on his own display.  He saved the correction and transmitted the update.

“What’s it look like on the other side?” he asked.

Faith held up one finger while silently counting the Xanti ships on the far side of the jump point.  When she was finished she began marking them on the touch screen in front of her as she spoke.  “There are twenty-seven Xanti ships lined up in front of a Door,” she said, referring to one of the jump points made by the Xanti.  “That’s significantly fewer than I saw before.”

“Twenty seven is still a lot,” Gray said as he studied the information Faith was inputting.  “Too bad we don’t have Blind Sight.  All those Xanti ships are just sitting there waiting to jump.  I bet they don’t even have their shields up.  It’d be so easy to take them out if we could just sneak in there without them noticing us.”

“Is it possible to send a missile through a jump point?” Faith asked.

“No,” Tristan replied.  “It would need a jump drive to power its way through.”

“What about magic?” Faith asked.  “Could the Dracons send a fireball through to blow them up?”

“It’s a good idea, Faith,” Garen Dracon said, startling her.  She’d been so focused on what she was doing she hadn’t noticed that the room was filling up as the other Consuls and their Arimas arrived.  “We actually experimented with that while waiting for your return from Onddo, but it didn’t work out very well.”

“What happened?” Summer Katre asked.

“We sent a fireball into a jump point, but had no control over it once it went through.  We couldn’t see it, and we couldn’t sense it.”

“But you did succeed in pushing your magic through, right?” Faith asked, her eyes narrowed as an idea began to form in her mind.

“Yes, we did,” Garen replied, watching the petite woman who had done so much more for their people than she seemed to know.  “What are you thinking, Faith?”

“I’m wondering if you could send a weapon through a jump point using your magic.”

“Faith, you’re brilliant,” Summer said, grinning as she turned to Garen.  “All we have to do is push a missile through the jump point with magic.  The guidance system will take over once it reaches the other side, so it won’t need to be controlled.”

“Do you think it’ll work, Admiral?” Garen asked Tristan, who was grinning as widely as Summer. 

“I think it’s worth a try,” he said.  “We’ve nothing to lose but a missile.”

Garen stared at the display now showing the number and placement of Xanti ships that Faith had identified on the far side of the jump point.  He was worried.  Their combined magic was strong, but it would be up to the
Eyrie
and the
Ugaztun
to hold off the Xanti until more of their own ships could get through the jump point.  Twenty-seven to two was not good odds, especially since there were five precious Arimas in the Pinnacle.  Anything that might reduce those odds was not to be ignored.

“Faron, you and the Katres are best with Earth,” he said.  “Why don’t you try the first one?”

“With pleasure,” Faron replied, struggling with his own fear.  He’d do just about anything to reduce the danger to the five women in the Pinnacle, including their own, very pregnant, Arima.  Not to mention the Dracons, who they were sworn to safeguard at all costs.

“It’ll be all right,” Saige said softly.  Faron looked down into her green and gold eyes and felt a fresh trickle of fear dance up his spine.  The only times in his existence that he’d ever experienced true fear were when Saige or their children were in danger.

Saige placed one hand on his wrist, then gestured to Dav and Ban.  Her men were so tense they looked like they were about to snap.  She had to soothe them, and she knew of only one way to do that. 

When all three of them were huddled around her, she smiled and pressed one finger to her lips to indicate secrecy.  It wasn’t a good idea for people to know they’d most likely win something ahead of time.  Nothing was guaranteed, and an overabundance of cockiness could easily tip the scales the wrong way.