The Cyber Chronicles IX - Precipice (16 page)

One man glanced
at his timepiece and shrugged, and they left. Tarl turned to Kole,
lowering his voice to a rasping whisper.

"Am I glad to
see you! What are you doing here? How did you -?"

"We don't have
a lot of time. We're here for you, and Sabre does need your help.
According to Martis, he overloaded on stress or something. Oh,
yeah, Martis is a host researcher from Myon Two. Don't worry," Kole
added when Tarl looked alarmed. "He's on our side. Long story. Can
you wake Sabre up?"

Tarl gazed down
at the cyber. "What happened?"

Martis leant
closer. "His brain block failed, and he overloaded on emotional
stress because of Tassin's disappearance. He seems to have
withdrawn into a catatonic state. He's accessing his memories, but
he's not listening to us."

Tarl felt for
the pulse in Sabre's neck. "He's in a semi cold sleep."

"Yeah."

"I don't have
the equipment to do a brain analysis here, or much of anything
else, for that matter. Endrovar’s only managed to get some drugs so
far."

Kole said, "We
were hoping the sound of your voice would be enough to bring him
out of it. If he knows we've found you, he'll know we'll find
Tassin too. Then he can figure out how to get you off this
ship."

"He can't hear
me if he's not listening."

"Then make him
listen. You can do that, can't you?"

Tarl shook his
head. "Not without the right equipment."

"We have all
the equipment you need on our ship."

"Endrovar will
never let me leave."

"If you tell me
what to do," Martis said, "I'll do it when we get back to
Pathos."

Tarl glared at
him. "I'm not letting some amateur do anything this dangerous to
Sabre."

"I'm a host
researcher, not a damned -"

"Hey, guys,
let's save the pissing contest for later, huh?" Kole said. "What
can we do, Tarl?"

"Without
equipment? Nothing."

"Then we have
to get you off this ship now."

"Like I said
-"

"Yeah, well, we
need a plan."

"That's going
to be tricky."

"Come on, Tarl,
you can think of something, can't you?" Kole urged.

"Why don't you
come up with something?"

"Hey, I found
you, and that's my bit. Time for someone else to do a bit of the
thinking around here."

"Maybe we could
clamp him under the table," Martis suggested.

Kole shot him a
scornful look. "That's the dumbest idea I ever heard."

"Did you come
here in your own shuttle?" Tarl asked.

"Yeah."

"Did you bring
any men with you?"

Kole nodded.
"Four cybers hidden aboard."

"Okay, I might
have a plan, but you'll have to be prepared for some fireworks
right afterwards." Tarl turned to a cabinet and opened it, selected
a bottle and filled a syringe. "I'm going to give him a powerful
convulsant. It will send him into convulsions, and it's going to
look spectacularly alarming. It'll take about ten minutes to take
affect once I inject him, so you must be at the docking port when
it does.

"When he goes
into convulsions, ask them to call me. Make it seem like life or
death, like he's going to go berserk and kill people. There's a
chance they'll let me come to the docking port, then we pile into
the shuttle and get the hell out of here. Endrovar will attack you,
so get your ship out of here as soon as the shuttle docks." He
glanced at Kole. "Think you can manage that?"

"Yeah, I think
so." He consulted his flashy gold watch. "It must have taken us
seven or eight minutes to get here from the dock, so the timing
should be almost perfect."

"Good. Sabre
will convulse for about ten or fifteen minutes, then he'll
metabolise it, so act terrified when he starts, so they send for me
right away."

"I can do
that."

Martis chewed
his lip. "It won't harm Sabre?"

"I wouldn't do
anything that will harm him,” Tarl said. “He might get a few
bruises, that's all."

"No chance it
will wake him up?" Kole enquired.

"No, he won't
even be aware of it, in the state he's in."

Martis asked,
"Can't you give me a hint about what you think might work, in case
we don't get you off this ship? We need Sabre if we're going to
free you."

Tarl shook his
head. "Giving you a hint would be even worse than telling you. I
won't risk it."

"Then how will
we free you if this doesn't succeed?"

"This will work
if you do your parts right, and, if not, you have cybers."

Martis raised
his brows. "Board this ship?"

"Don't be an
arsehole, Kole will figure it out." Tarl glanced at the hacker.
"Are you ready?"

Kole looked at
his watch again. "Wait. All right... now."

Tarl pushed the
needle into the vein in Sabre's elbow, muttering, "Sorry, bud."

Kole yanked the
sheet up to the cyber's neck, and Martis pushed the button that
retracted the table's legs. Kole towed it towards the door, which
opened to reveal the soldiers who waited outside.

The hacker
brushed past them, grumbling, "Bloody useless arsehole, wasting our
time. Come on, we're in a hurry to get back to our ship. Your
so-called cyber tech's about as much use as hair on the end of my
willy, and almost as annoying."

The men
chuckled and led the way back through the huge ship. Kole checked
his watch in the lift. Five minutes had already passed. One of the
soldiers peered at Sabre.

"So what's
wrong with him?"

"Some sort of
brain buggering virus or something."

The man
recoiled. "Is it contagious?"

"How the hell
should I know? Do I look like cyber tech to you?"

"What did Tarl
say?"

"He didn't
know, but he couldn't fix him either."

As they
approached the docking port, Kole slowed, glancing at his watch
again. Two minutes remained before the convulsions would begin, and
at the speed they were moving they would be aboard by then. He
stopped and bent to study Sabre's face. The soldiers came back,
frowning.

"What's the
problem?" one asked.

"I don't
know... Something's not right, though," Kole said.

"I thought you
were in a hurry?"

"Yeah, well
that tech of yours gave him a jab, and it looks like it's doing
something weird. If it's going to cause a problem, your guy had
better be able to fix it. This is a valuable piece of equipment,
you know."

The man stepped
closer, scrutinising Sabre. "I don't see anything odd."

"And how much
do you know about bloody cybers?"

"Nothing, I
guess."

Kole glanced at
his watch and continued towards the docking port. "Maybe I was
imagining it."

As they entered
the staging area, Sabre's spine arched and the brow band filled
with red lights. The stretcher wobbled, and Kole grabbed the edge
of it. Martis tried to steady the other side.

"Bloody hell!"
Kole yelled. "Get that tech of yours down here right now! He's
going berserk!"

Sabre remained
rigid for a second, then flopped about. Kole pretended to be
knocked down, and Martis yelped in alarm as the stretcher swayed,
almost tipping Sabre off.

"Get your
tech!" Kole bellowed at the gaping soldiers. "Now!"

The men glanced
at each other, looking alarmed, but reluctant. "He's not allowed
-"

"Goddammit! Get
him now, or this will turn into a bloodbath! This bastard could
kill us all! Move it!" Kole shouted as he jumped up and grabbed the
edge of the wobbling stretcher. Sabre writhed and thrashed, and
Kole leant on it, dipping one side. Sabre rolled off, and Martis
shot Kole a horrified look. Kole stepped back as Sabre lashed out
with flaccid arms, his eyes open to reveal the whites. Foam oozed
from his mouth, adding to his horrific aspect. One of the soldiers
went over to a com-link on the wall and touched it.

"Tarl, get down
to the docking port now. We have a problem with this cyber."

Kole tried to
pick Sabre up, and Martis went to help him, struggling to hold onto
the writhing cyber.

Kole scowled at
the soldiers. "Give us a hand."

The men glanced
at each other again, and one said, "Not if he's going to turn
violent."

"He's not at
that stage yet, so help us!"

The man came
over, while the other remained by the com-link, frowning at them.
With the soldier’s help, Kole and Martis lifted the cyber onto the
stretcher, which wobbled and swayed. Kole cursed, wondering what
was taking Tarl so long. Relief washed through him as the cyber
tech trotted into view down the corridor.

"Cybers, to
me!" Kole yelled.

Four cybers
emerged from the shuttle, and the hacker pointed at the soldier who
stood by the com-link. "Two and Three, take him, One and Four, get
him." Kole indicated the soldier beside the stretcher.

The man at the
com-link made a stab for the send key, but the cybers were upon him
in a flash, gripped his arms and twisted them behind his back until
his joints popped and he yelled in pain. The other soldier ran, but
the cybers overtook him in three strides and bore him to the
floor.

Kole dragged
the stretcher into the shuttle. Martis tried to hold Sabre down as
he writhed. Tarl sprinted in at their heels, adding his weight to
Martis' efforts.

Kole yelled,
"Cybers, bring them aboard! Close the port! Pilot, ready to
undock!"

The cybers
dragged the soldiers in, one hitting the docking door control.
Imperial's hull door slid shut. If the hull door was left open when
the shuttle undocked, alarms would sound and pressure doors would
close to seal off the dock. The shuttle door closed and the craft
moved away as the pilot unclamped and activated the thrusters. Kole
joined Martis and Tarl, alarmed by Sabre's contortions. His lips
drew back and foam dribbled down his cheeks.

"Tarl, you sure
he's okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be
fine. That went well. No alarms raised, and no one left to raise
them." He jerked his head at the soldiers.

"Yup, we might
even get away without a shoot-out."

Martis cursed
as Sabre's flailing hand hit him in the face, grabbed it and tried
to pin it down. The stretcher wobbled, foiling Kole’s attempts to
clamp it to the bulkhead.

"Cyber Two, get
over here and hold this," he ordered.

A cyber gripped
the edge of the stretcher, steadying it while Kole secured it. Tarl
leant over Sabre and held him down, his expression despondent.

By the time the
shuttle docked with Pathos, Sabre's convulsions had stopped. Kole
hoped Thestan was not waiting in the dock to ambush them with more
questions and demands to speak to Sabre. Tarl wiped the foam off
the cyber's face just before the shuttle doors opened. Only four
soldiers hung around in the dock, to Kole’s relief. He unclamped
the stretcher and dragged it out, pushing one man aside when he
stepped closer to peer at Sabre.

"Get out of the
bloody way!"

Martis got
behind the stretcher and pushed it along the corridor, the three
men running with it. The enforcers stared after them with obvious
confusion, then the cybers emerged with their captives, distracting
them.

Kole yanked the
stretcher into the hospital, digging in his heels as it raced
across the room. Estrelle jumped up in alarm, but the three men
stopped it before it hit the wall, and slumped, panting.

Tarl glanced
around at the equipment and smiled. "You've got it all. Bloody
marvellous."

Kole went over
to the com-unit. "Thestan, we've got Tarl. Get us the hell out of
here before they start shooting."

"Right,"
Thestan's tinny voice replied.

Kole sagged
against the wall. "We did it."

Tarl pushed the
stretcher to the centre of the room and deployed the legs, yanking
the sheet off. "Time to get you back on your feet, bud."

Estrelle stood
up. "You must be Tarl. I'm Estrelle."

The cyber tech
nodded at her. "Right."

"What are you
going to do?" Martis asked.

"I'm going to
wake him up."

Tarl positioned
the brain scanner around Sabre's head, plugged the access cable
into the brow band's port and sat down in front of the analyser to
study the data that scrolled up the screen.

Kole rubbed the
back of his neck. "Tarl, where's Tassin?"

"Huh? Oh, she's
on Imperial."

"What? Shit!"
Kole turned to the com-unit. "Thestan, get us out of range, but
don't lose Imperial."

"Range?"
Thestan sounded puzzled. "Lasers don't have -"

"Get us behind
a moon or something, damn it!"

"Okay... What's
going on?"

"Just do
it."

Kole locked the
door and joined Martis behind Tarl, watching data scroll up the
screen. Tarl frowned at it, typing in various status commands.

"Everything's
pretty much normal. His brain block failed?"

"Yeah," Martis
said.

"What caused
it, and how did he react?"

"It happened
when he heard that Tassin was gone. At first he seemed to go into
shock. He was unresponsive for a little while, then he was - seemed
okay. But then he got really really angry. He wrecked the exercise
room after we came aboard Pathos. We figured he was venting -"

"What did he
say?"

"That he didn't
want the feelings, and he couldn't cope with them," Estrelle
said.

"Then Kole said
that he didn't have to help find Tassin," Martis added, "and Sabre
just... went to sleep."

"He became
passive just before that?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Tarl
tapped on the keyboard again. "He's put himself into a deep state
of withdrawal; his own little world of memories."

"Yeah, we
figured that much, but how do we get him out of it?"