The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (10 page)

He looked away.
"It's... strange."

"So it's time
you got used to it." She stroked his cheek. "Please."

"It's not
right."

"Of course it
is."

"I'm not
comfortable with the idea."

She sighed and
snuggled close to him again. "All right."

Sabre closed
his eyes and tried to relax, but moments later the cyber flashed a
warning in his mind, and he raised his head as a crewman entered
the room.

"Overlord
Ravian wishes to see you, cyber."

Tassin slid off
his lap, glaring at the crewman. Sabre rose and headed for the
door. The man led him to Ravian's private quarters, where he found
the Overlord seated on a couch, a selection of finger food on the
table before her. She wore a form-hugging gown of white silk, and
her hair was teased into curls that cascaded over her shoulders. He
wondered why the women he knew seemed to be getting prettier. She
smiled, patting the space beside her, and he went over to sit
there.

"Have you
reached a decision yet?" she enquired.

"Yes. We're
returning to Omega Five."

"That's not a
good idea. Ramadaus will find you."

"If you give me
a ship, I'll be able to escape him."

"No." She
picked up a glass of wine and sipped it. "Even a battle cruiser
couldn't escape him. I want you to stay here, and I think your
companions should return to Omega Five without you."

"That's not
what we want."

"But it will be
better for all of you. Besides, you've accepted my employ, and I
require you to remain here as my companion."

"You said I
could stay on Omega Five until you needed me," Sabre said.

"In light of
the danger that Ramadaus poses to you, I've changed my mind."

"Then I
resign."

A slight frown
wrinkled Ravian's brow. "Another bad idea. I've done a lot for you
already, and I'm doing this for your sake, too. Let Tassin return
to her home, and stay here where you're safe. If you leave my
employ I will no longer protect you."

"I'll take my
chances."

"No. I have
decided. Your friends are being escorted off my ship even as we
speak. I'm doing this for your sake. You'll all be better off."

Sabre knew that
hers was the wiser plan, but did not care. Tassin had gone through
too much hardship and danger to free him for an Overlord who had
done almost nothing for him to usurp her. Besides which, he wanted
to stay with Tassin, even if he did not understand why. It was
important, somehow.

"You can't
force me to do this."

"Oh, but I can.
I have the power."

"You'll have to
keep me prisoner, then I'll be neither companion nor spy for you."
He stood up. "I'll leave with my friends."

"No, you
won't."

Tassin looked
up as a crewman entered her rooms, annoyed by his disregard for her
privacy. Fortunately, she sat on the couch in the lounge, waiting
for Sabre to return, and had not been asleep or bathing.

He said,
"Overlord Ravian has given permission for you and your friends to
leave."

"Where's
Sabre?"

"With the
Overlord."

She stood up,
puzzled. "He'll be joining us on the ship?"

"I have no
knowledge of that." He gestured to the door. "Please follow
me."

Tassin went
into the bedroom and bundled up her old clothes. Tarl and Kole
waited in the corridor with another crewman, yawning and knuckling
their eyes.

Tarl turned to
her. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Only that
we've been asked to leave."

"Where's
Sabre?"

"With the
Overlord, apparently."

The crewman
beside Tassin gestured. "This way."

"We'll wait for
Sabre," Kole said.

"You'll follow
me."

Kole scowled,
then shrugged and obeyed. Tassin and Tarl trailed him along the
labyrinth of silk-hung corridors to the docking port, where they
boarded Blue Sun. After a fruitless search for Sabre, they returned
to the portal, but the Spider Ship’s outer hatch was closed.

"He's kidnapped
Sabre!" Tassin's disbelief warred with her outrage, and she banged
on the thick steel door, her fist making only dull thuds.

Tarl headed for
the bridge. "I'd better close the door before they undock us."

Tassin followed
him. "No, don't. Sabre's still on that ship."

"I must, or
we'll all be sucked out when they release the docking clamps."

"We can't leave
Sabre there. We've got to get him back!"

"How?" Tarl sat
in the command chair and ran his hands over the console. "We can't
do anything against an Overlord. No one can."

"We've got to
find a way to get him back!"

"Impossible."

"Don't say
that!"

"Sorry." Tarl
touched a keypad as Blue Sun lurched. "We're undocked."

Tassin gripped
the back of his chair and stared out at the vast Spider Ship as it
drifted away, her heart filled with rage and anguish. "Why is he
doing this? What does he want with Sabre?"

Tarl shook his
head. "I have no idea, but he's released the enforcers."

"What does that
mean?"

Tarl swore as
one of the great ship's vast arms swept past only a few metres
away. "Bloody hell, that was close."

"What's he
doing? Why has be released the enforcers?"

"How the hell
should I know? Unless he preparing to -"

White fire
engulfed the black ship, forcing them to squint as it flared to
blinding brilliance. With a shimmer, the Spider Ship vanished, its
parting photon shockwave making Blue Sun roll and veer.

"Where did he
go?" Tassin cried, swinging around to glare at Tarl.

He gaped at the
empty screens. "Bugger me sideways."

"What? What
happened to him?"

"He's
translocated," Kole said from the back of the bridge.

She faced him.
"What does that mean?"

"Like your
sword did. He's gone."

Tassin turned
to stare out at the blackness, where the enforcer ships regrouped
and moved away. "We have to find him."

"Impossible,"
Tarl said.

"No! It can't
be impossible. There must be a way. You've got... things!
Scanners!"

"That's why he
dumped the enforcers," Tarl said, running his hands over the
console. "He couldn't translocate with them in tow. They'd have
been incinerated."

"Tarl! Use the
scanners, find him!"

"He's way out
of range."

"We have to do
something," she said.

"Like
what?"

"I don't
know!"

Tarl sighed,
watching the enforcers move away. "I wish there was something we
could do."

"There must be!
Someone must know how to find an Overlord."

"Sure. Another
Overlord."

"Then we must
contact one."

Kole snorted.
"Easier said than done. Only planetary leaders have a way of doing
that."

"I'm a
planetary leader. My kingdom is the largest on Omega Five. Doesn't
that make me a planetary leader?"

"Usually
they're elected, but in your case, I guess so."

"Then I must
contact an Overlord. How do I do that?"

Kole shrugged.
"Contact another planetary leader, I guess."

"All right,
let's do that."

Tarl shook his
head. "They're not just going to tell you. You'll need proof of who
you are."

"How do I get
that?"

"You'd need to
be on the universal planetary database," Kole replied.

"But I'm not,
so that really doesn't help, does it?"

"It's the only
way." He cocked his head. "I could arrange it."

She turned to
him, her heart filling with hope. "Would you?"

He smiled. "Now
you need me again, hey?"

"Yes, I do. Do
you expect payment?"

His smile
faded. "No."

"Please."

"You'd do
anything for him, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

He shook his
head and went over to one of the smaller screens. "I'd rather wait
until Striker gets here; she's got better equipment."

"There's no
time to waste. He's only going to get further away."

"Wherever he's
gone, he's already there."

Tarl turned to
them. "This is all very constructive, but even if we knew where he
is, what the hell are we going to do about it?"

"A good point,"
Kole agreed.

Tassin paced in
a circle, frowning. "Surely an Overlord can't just kidnap
people?"

"For all we
know, this could be Sabre's idea. Maybe he's trying to keep you
safe," Tarl suggested.

"No. He wants
to come back to Omega Five with me. He told me so, and Sabre
doesn't lie."

"So, we're back
to square one. What do we do when, or if, we find him?"

"Where I come
from, the rulers must obey the laws too. Is it the same with the
Overlords?"

Tarl shrugged.
"I'd assume so. No one knows much about Overlords."

"So, if it is,
and we contact another Overlord, perhaps he'll help us to free
Sabre."

Kole blew out
his lips. "Now that's a long shot. Overlords don't bother with
petty things."

"This isn't
petty. This is an Overlord breaking their laws."

"The Overlords
are all equally powerful. How can one force Ravian to release
Sabre?"

"I don't know,”
Tassin said. “That's his problem, isn't it? Surely they have ways
of enforcing their rules?"

"I wouldn't
know."

"Then it's
worth a try."

Kole shook his
head. "I've got a better idea. Why don't we go back to Charon Six
and get your sword. Then you can just translocate to the Overlord's
ship, grab Sabre and go back to Omega Five, just like that." He
snapped his fingers.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I told
you."

"Ah, right."
Kole turned to the keyboard and tapped it.

Tarl looked
intrigued. "You had a sword that could translocate you?"

"Yes."

"I'd like to
see that."

"No, you
wouldn't."

Kole swung
around. "Maybe this is all a waste of time. Sabre could free
himself, you know. I can't think of anything scarier than a
pissed-off cyber."

"I'm sure
Ravian's thought of that too. He's not invincible," Tarl said.

The hacker
turned back to his keyboard with a sigh, and Tarl stared out of the
screen, which was empty now save for stars.

Chapter Seven

Sabre frowned
at the alien star field in the Spider Ship’s circular screens. "You
intend to keep me a prisoner now?"

Ravian rose and
approached him, carrying her wine glass. "No, of course not. I'm
keeping you safe. Ramadaus' threat is very real. He'll kill you if
he finds you, and if you leave this ship, he will find you. As long
as you stay with me, you're safe."

"But I don't
want to stay with you. I want my freedom."

"It's too
dangerous. I can't allow Ramadaus to kill you. Perhaps in a couple
of years, when his interest has waned, you can go and visit
Tassin."

"No." He turned
to her. "I want to go now."

"Well, you
can't. I've decided, for your best interests."

"Do you really
think your crew can stop me taking one of your auxiliary ships
without using the poison dart guns they carry?"

"No, I'm sure
they can't,” she said, “which is why, when I realised you might
make the wrong choice, I armed them with powerful sedative
darts."

"You'll have to
use them, then, and see how good my company is once the cyber has
taken over again."

"You won't stay
under its control. You'll free yourself."

He inclined his
head. "Only so I can try to escape again."

"Why do you
want to leave so much?"

"To be with
Tassin."

She sipped her
wine. "Is it that important to you? You don't even know what you
feel for her."

"No, but I feel
something for her. I don't know what it is, but it's all I have.
She's all I have. She's the only person who really cares about me.
She freed me."

"So you owe
her?"

"No."

"I feel
something for you, too," she said.

"But I don't
feel anything for you."

"Give it time,
and you will."

He nodded,
eyeing her. "Yes, in time I'll grow to hate you."

"Why? I'm
trying to help you, just as Tassin did. I want to save you from
Ramadaus."

"Because you're
not giving me a choice. You've taken away my freedom."

"For your own
good." She tilted her head. "Did Tassin really give you a choice?
Didn't she tell you that she wanted you to go back to Omega Five
with her?"

"You were
spying on us?"

She shrugged.
"I suppose you could say that. I wanted to make sure that if you
made the wrong decision I could prevent you from putting it into
action. But she made the decision for you, didn't she? Her words
swayed you."

"The difference
is I want what she wants. I don't want to do what you want."

"In time,
you'll forget about her, and want to be with me."

"No. If you
want a puppet who obeys you, get a real cyber."

She shook her
head. "They're machines, and, apart from their ability to fight,
they're useless."

"Let me
go."

"No."

"You'll have to
stop me by force then."

Ravian made a
graceful gesture, and several armed guards stepped out from behind
the silken curtains. "Then I will."

"Good. I'd
rather be unconscious if I'm going to be a prisoner, and every time
I wake up they'll have to shoot me again."

"Don't do
this..."

Sabre swung
away and strode towards the doors. The guards drew their weapons
and glanced at Ravian, for approval, he assumed. Two soldiers
fired. The darts hit Sabre in the side of the neck, and he took
three more paces, then stopped, swaying. An enervating lassitude
swept over him in an almost welcome wave, and his extremities went
numb. Red writing scrolled up in the recess of his mind, listing
the sedative’s ingredients. The cyber tried to override the
effects, dumping adrenalin into his system, which made his breath
quicken and his heart pound. Sweat popped out all over him as the
control unit started a fluid flush and put his kidneys into
overdrive. It was futile, however, as he knew it would be. The
sedative Ravian's guards used was too fast-acting even for the
cyber to counteract. Evidently Ravian’s research had been thorough,
for the cyber’s information identified the symptoms of a sedative
Myon Two had failed to immunise cybers against, one of only three.
Cybercorp had bought the patents and taken them off the market so
they could not be used against cybers.