Mican walked towards them! Farley tried to reach with his telepathy, and it didn’t go anywhere. It hurt! He tried harder and nearly fell! Ella held him up, away from that poison dust!

Did you think you could control it? I let you think that. Your friends do not know where you are. This world’s mines are automated. They won’t find you for a very long time.

Mican jerked the necklace off Ella and threw it on the black glass. They were underground in a black glass room with no openings. The necklace shattered into fine dust!

Then he just walked out. They tried to follow him and bounced off. Fell.

Some of the shattered necklace dust absorbed into Farley’s wrist. Ella brushed it off but it stuck to her hand. Absorbed into her, as if she were Zheien!

Farley put his hand on it. Smiled. Before she could stop him, he smoothed his hand over all of it and it was gone.

“Love, we don’t know what that will do to you—”

He tried reaching with his telepathy and a white flash startled them. Farley cried!

Ella pulled him against her.

And Mican laughed.

“I love you, Farley. If we have to die tonight, I’m glad we’re together.”

“I love you, Ella. We only step into Elohaia. The 6th will send someone else. We have to have hope, Ella.” He gave a sigh and shivered. Another shiver. Ella rubbed his arms.

Shivers became rhythmic. She looked at his face, lit by light that somehow came from black glass walls. His ears and the tip of his nose were white. The rest of him was gray. He’s going into regen. In this cold, he’ll die fast.

“What is this place? I never saw a building with one empty room, and open to the sky like that! Oh, that must be Mican’s ship. He’s running something like a vaporizer. What’s he trying to get? Vaporizer progs analyze things, and they can port it to alt storage. Sand is vanishing, and there’s black obsidian left, like when ships used to leave it in spaceports, and we still see melted sand obsidian in old spaceports.

“Oh, he makes me mad! I wish his engine would just fall out!”

Pirad startled me. Now, Becky!

I looked his ship over. It wasn’t smooth. There was a line splitting it in half. He was capturing a ship when they broke his containment. He barely got a containment around his ship to hold the halves together. He was just outside of D’sharr, and it was a ship repair facility. A very expensive repair.

I reached, and swapped his ship for his ship after it split but before the repair!

Suddenly, his engine sound changed from smooth clicking to snapping. Vibration began.

What are you doing? I’ll kill you!

A crack formed in the side of his gray metal ship! It grew wider.

Stop it! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill--

The crack was just wide enough. The engine fell out and the black obsidian cracked, too! A crack spread until the room Ella and Farley were in—the glass wall cracked! Boom! His ship fell! Black obsidian cracked, and engine and ship fell through!

Ella pulled Farley back. But, the wall slid down and was smooth. A panel behind Ella in the floor slid open.

The other walls wavered. Ella pulled her husband into the space and a ramp slid them down! It wasn’t a steep slope, just enough that her jeans slid, and it made a wide spiral.

There was another glass panel. On the other side of it, Mican stared at Ella with his eyes black. “I’ll—kill you—” Pinned by half his ship. On top of half his body.

Then, I lost him.

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“No! I can’t see him—”

“He is dead!”

“Then, can they go get them?”

Pirad fell on the floor. I sat up. He didn’t move.

Another Pirad went to him. Moaned.

“Please, we’ve got to help Ella and Farley! They’re on—”

“Do not speak. We are fighting a larger battle than this! Do not speak of anything outside this chamber!”

Tom’s 3rd clone and his wife came. “Oh, Sis. It’s been hours! You think they’ll come tell us when—”

I looked to where Pirad and his clone were. Empty floor?

I got up. “Where’s Pirad?”

We were in a large room with beds. Not beds, tables. All empty.

The next room had Wasa Mai, Fa, Tom, Nathanhai, Galar, Micansen, Keris Pon, and the other 7 members of Council. I ran to them.

Tom’s 3rd clone stopped me! “Becky, nae touch any of them! They are in stasis.”

“Stasis? No!”

Then I thought about how I got rid of the other terminals. Pirad had green cylinders.

All I have to do is bring Pirad back! I reached with my mind. Sound like rain. Why can’t it be quiet?

A gasp. “Sis, what’s happening?”

“Ejis nae! Becky, stop! Stop!”

That’s me. Sweat-powder.

But, Pirad waved for a cylinder. Held it against Tom’s head, my Tom, oh, it has to work!

And, clink! Clink! Two buttons in the cylinder! Then Pirad did his healing. Flash!

He went to Fa.

Tom staggered to me. “Becky.”

I hugged him. Can’t stop now. I shuddered. He’s shaking, he shouldn’t be on his feet!

Tom 3rd dragged us onto a table. “Lie still, Ba! Becky, stop!”

But my sweat went drip! Drip! Drip! Like faster rain.

Clink! Clink! Fa’s terminals. Pirad’s flash!

I have to last! Tom tried to figure out what I’m doing, to help, but he can’t see it.

Pirad’s got the cylinder. Clink! Clink! Flash! Nathanhai sat up.

“Nathan! Oh!” Yelena sobbed.

Again. Clink! Clink! Flash!

Wasa Mai walked in here. Grabbed my arm. “Becky. What do you here?”

Tom 3 put him on a table. “My liege, she is saving our Council! I—”

Micansen almost fell on him. “My liege! My brother is going to kill us! He put terminals in Galar, and he put them in me! Except—I can think!”

Tom 3 put him on the next table. “Bahie, rest. Pirad removed your terminals.”

Keris Pos came. “Not Pirad, Becky! How is an Earthan sweating like a Zheien?”

Wasa Mai came off the table. “Becky, listen to me! You must stop, you cannot survive—”

But I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving these men to die. And women. Our Council serves in pairs! I kept on. And, one by one, they got up.

One was the Elder from Lidara. “Mic, what happened?”

“Who dared put terminals in an Elder?”

“Mican, of course! I dared to disagree with him! He sent me to Lidara as a weapon. But, I had Tessite jewelry from my slaver. When I dressed her, she taunted me by putting a Tessite tiara on me. My terminals malfunctioned! So I trained her with her own slaver herbs. She suddenly demanded I dress as a soldier. And, our soldiers wear helmets. I had mine made of Tessite.

“But, when we married—what happened? I feel so foolish!”

Tom begged me to stop. “Who else is down here, Tom? I can’t see the red any more, I don’t know who to save! Who’s next?”

“My love, you saved them all!”

I wasn’t hearing the drips any more.

“Ella. And Farley.”

Milly’s voice. “Can’t you send someone to look? They’re on Esta Faho!”

Ry’nao’s voice! “I have a Team.”

Tom carried me in there. “Where is Pirad?”

Ry’nao looked up. “Tom. Here is a bed for you.” He waved, and Tom put me on it. “Is Becky ill?”

“She is dying!” He fell on me!

They put him beside me, and his heartbeats—usually I heard ‘em.

“Kirnonos, can you help her?”

A cold hand, not as cold as they should be.

“I have not anything left! We defeated them, but all of us are exhausted!”

Tom wept.