The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (11 page)

Several moments
passed before Sabre's legs buckled. He fell to his knees and sat
back on his haunches, where he remained for another few moments
before keeling over backwards onto the polished floor. The cyber
band blazed red, then his eyes closed and the tension left him.

Ravian went
over to gaze down at him. He stirred something within her that she
had not thought she would ever feel. She knew why Tassin loved him,
and it was not just because of his good looks or the graceful way
he moved. She had met handsomer men, entertainment stars who were
idolised by millions but left her cold. Sabre had a unique quality
she had never encountered before. She had seen a few cybers, but
they possessed only the physical attributes. Their blank gazes and
clipped, emotionless voices repelled her. She found his gentle
character and soft-spoken intelligence, combined with an undeniable
animal magnetism, irresistible.

Ravian turned
to the officer who awaited her orders. "Take him to a maximum
security cell and monitor him. Notify me as soon as he wakes
up."

"Yes, My
Lord."

Ravian poured
another glass of wine as two more crewmen entered with a
hover-stretcher and lifted Sabre onto it. Sipping the heady
muskiness of a wine that few could afford, she gazed out at the
star field, pondering the lonely existence an Overlord was forced
to endure. She had not been given a choice when the scouts had
selected her. Their instruments could detect an empath, and they
had torn her from the bosom of her family. Fairen had been a kindly
old man, but she had hated him. At just fifteen years old, she had
been introduced to a life of regimen and discipline, any hope of
being normal stripped away and replaced with the cold comfort of
limitless power.

Worst of all,
the possibility of ever finding love had been lost to her. In
Sabre, she had found a companion her power neither intimidated nor
seduced. The only obstacle was his love for Tassin, but, from his
reaction to her plans, it was stronger than she had thought. If he
did not get over it, she might have to arrange an unfortunate
accident for the girl.

Tassin leant
over Kole's shoulder, trying to read the tiny writing on the
screen. "Did you do it?"

"Give me
another minute, okay?"

Tassin
straightened, glancing at Tarl, who sat in the command seat,
looking bored. They remained in the spot where Ravian had left
them, waiting for Kole to finish hacking into the universal
planetary database. Already he had been at it for over an hour, and
she was growing impatient.

"There!" Kole
tapped a key and sat back, beaming. "Damn, I'm good."

"You're great.
Now can I contact a planetary leader?"

"Certainly,
Your Majesty."

Tarl glanced
up, opening his mouth, but Tassin shot him a frown and he closed it
again, looking astounded.

Kole turned to
her. "I had to crack fifteen passwords and hack through four levels
of government firewalls. I think I deserve something for that."

"Like
what?"

"A kiss." He
tapped his cheek. "Right here."

Tassin snorted,
rolling her eyes, but he folded his arms and looked at her
expectantly. Realising that he was serious, she sighed and leant
down to kiss his cheek. He turned his head so her lips landed on
his mouth instead, and she recoiled. He chuckled and turned back to
his keyboard.

"That was a low
trick," she muttered, annoyed.

"Oh come on, it
was a bit of fun. Jeeze, lighten up."

"Lighten
up?"

"Yeah, don't be
so serious." He tapped the screen. "How about this guy? Premier
Nirris of Vaiga Seven."

"Why him?"

"Why not? He's
within transmitter range, and he looks okay."

"All
right."

Tarl tapped
some buttons on his console, and then turned to her. "Speak when I
say so, and remember to say premier, not queen."

"Right."

"Okay, go." He
touched the keypad.

Tassin said,
"This is Premier Alrade of Omega Five requesting a... to speak to
Premier Nirris of Vaiga Seven."

"One moment
please," a male voice replied.

After few
seconds, a gruff voice said, "This is Premier Nirris. How may I
help you?"

"I wish to
contact an Overlord, but I don't have the frequency."

A pregnant
pause followed, then the voice said, "Omega Five. Isn't that a
restricted planet?"

"Does that mean
I don't have the right to contact an Overlord?"

"Not as far as
I know." Silence fell again, lasting longer this time. "Your
identity checks out. Why weren't you given the frequency when you
were elected?"

Kole made
frantic hand signals that Tassin could not interpret, so she
ignored him. "I am away from my home world, and my assistants seem
to have misplaced it."

"Assistants." A
soft snort issued from the speaker. "I understand. It's -" He
reeled off a string of numbers that meant nothing to her, and Tarl
tapped them into a keyboard.

"Thank you,
Premier Nirris," she said.

"A pleasure.
Good luck."

Tarl touched
his keyboard and slumped, and Kole whistled softly. "That was
close."

"What was
close?"

"He believed
you."

"What were you
trying to make me say?" she asked.

"Something
believable."

"I thought it
was believable."

Kole nodded.
"Luckily for you, so did he."

"Shall we get
on with it?"

Tarl studied
the numbers on his screen. "It's a sideband frequency so high that
it's at the top end of my transmitters' capability, but we can do
it."

Kole said, "You
do realise that you’re asking for the help of an Overlord, one of
the seven invincible, legendary and mysterious tyrants who run the
universe and settle interplanetary disputes, stop global wars and
destroy planets. Then you'll have to try to explain your very petty
situation when one replies. That's going to be fun."

Tassin sighed.
"Well, we can only try."

"I think it's a
waste of time."

Tarl made some
adjustments on his console. "Are you ready?"

Tassin drew
herself up. "Yes."

"Go."

"This is
Premier Tassin Alrade of Omega Five requesting the aid of an
Overlord."

Tarl touched
his keyboard. "Now we wait."

"How long?"

He shrugged.
"Beats the hell out of me. I -"

The speaker
hissed. "This is Overlord Fairen. State the nature of your
difficulty."

"Bloody hell,"
Kole muttered.

Tassin
swallowed hard, and Tarl glanced at her. "Now comes the tricky
bit." He touched his keyboard. "Go."

"Overlord
Fairen, thank you for responding. I... One of my subjects - people,
has been taken against his will by an Overlord, and I was hoping
you could help me to find him."

A long, tense
silence followed, then the console hissed and the deep, sexless
voice spoke again. "This concerns only one man?"

"Yes, but an
Overlord has taken him prisoner, so I can't find him. All I ask is
the location of the Overlord so I can try to free him."

"From an
Overlord?"

"Yes. Surely
Overlords can't go around kidnapping people?"

"Usually we
don't. Why was your subject taken?"

"He's... I'm
not really sure, My Lord. Can you help me?"

"It is not a
question of can I, but will I. This is a petty matter."

Her heart sank.
"But it concerns the conduct of an Overlord. Surely that makes it
important?"

"We do as we
see fit. I am sure this Overlord had a good reason for taking your
subject."

Tassin shook
her head. "No, he didn't. I fear for my subject’s life."

"An Overlord
will not harm an innocent, but if he is guilty of a crime he will
be judged."

"He has
committed no crime."

"Then you had
better give me a better explanation, or I will not help you."

Tassin slumped,
biting her lip, and decided that only the truth would help her now.
"The man was kidnapped because he is a free cyber, My Lord, the
only one of his kind."

"I see. Who is
the Overlord?"

"Ravian."

Another short,
hissing silence fell, then Fairen said, "Overlord Ravian is
currently in Velta Sector, between the Presbus Cloud and the
Travalan Belt, co-ordinates… XR399-257-75. But knowing his
whereabouts will not help you, Premier Alrade. I am curious,
however, and I will journey there to speak to him."

"Thank you,
Overlord Fairen."

"I did not
offer to speak on your behalf."

"For Overlord
Ravian's location."

"It will do you
no good."

Tassin opened
her mouth to reply, but the channel went dead, and Tarl shook his
head. "He's gone."

Kole whistled
again. "Wow. I didn't think he'd even listen to you after you told
him what it was about."

Tassin said,
"Well, let's go to... Velta Sector."

"That's a good
ten-hour journey," Tarl muttered, typing the co-ordinates on his
keyboard. "There's a corridor two light hours from here, but it
doesn't take us all the way."

"Let's hurry
then."

Ravian frowned
at the massive crimson star ship that had appeared off the Spider
Ship’s port bow five minutes earlier. The six jointed, laser-tipped
stanchions along its flanks curved forward, bracketing
triple-jointed arms that housed two of the most potent
planet-killer laser cannons in the known universe. The segmented
tail that stretched out behind it, however, held a super-heated
plasma gun, capable of destroying a planet with a single discharge.
Hundreds of thousands of tiny, twinkling lights gave an indication
of its size, if its looming bulk was not sufficient. It spanned
almost a hundred and fifty kilometres of space, quite a bit larger
than the Spider Ship.

The Scorpion
Lord struck fear into the hearts of even his peers, who knew better
than to go up against him. The guards at the door swept aside the
white silk, and she smiled as she rose to meet the slender
fourteen-year-old boy who entered. His bright blue eyes swept over
her, and his answering smile relieved the usual solemnity of his
narrow, intelligent face. His cropped black hair gleamed in the
warm light of her private quarters. He wore a black tunic and
trousers edged with silver, and a tinge of pink flushed his pale
cheeks at her warm greeting.

Ravian stopped
a pace away and folded her hands. She knew better than to try to
touch Fairen. "You've grown."

He nodded. "Two
centimetres."

"And you've got
more handsome, which I didn't think was possible. How are you?"

His looked
away. "Fine."

"Good. Sit,
have something to eat." She gestured to the cluster of white sofas
around an ebony coffee table with a spread of finger food on it,
prepared for his visit.

Fairen sank
down on a couch, edging away when she sat beside him. "Thanks, not
hungry."

"It's so good
to see you. I've missed you."

"We've only met
once before."

"It left a
lasting impression. If only you were twelve years older." She
sighed. "What brings you here?"

"I received a
call for help from a planetary leader."

"And you need
my help?"

"No. It was
about you."

"Oh?" She
raised her brows.

"She claims you
kidnapped one of her subjects."

"Ah. Does she
have a name?"

"Tassin
Alrade."

"And she
claimed to be a planetary leader?"

He nodded. "Her
identity checked out, and she had the frequency."

"I see." Ravian
leant over him to select a pastry.

"Did you kidnap
him?"

"No. I'm
keeping him safe from his enemies."

"So he's with
you of his own free will?"

"He's a bit
reluctant,” she admitted, “but it's for his own good."

"Since when do
we concern ourselves with individuals?"

"Since I
decided to."

Fairen gazed at
her in a puzzled manner. "Why would you do that?"

"I like
him."

"I would like
to speak to him."

"You can't at
the moment, he's... indisposed."

"Then I'd like
to see him."

"Why?"

He shrugged.
"Curiosity. He's a free cyber, isn't he?"

"News travels
fast, I see." She nibbled the pastry. "He looks just like any other
cyber."

"Why is he
indisposed?"

"He tried to
leave, so I had to sedate him."

He frowned.
"That's not ethical."

"Ramadaus has
sworn to kill him."

"Ramadaus is
involved in this too? How many Overlords does it take to worry
about a single man?"

"Quite a few,
by the looks of it,” she said. “Why are you involved?"

"Premier Alrade
claims that you kidnapped him, and it sounds like you did.
Overlords don't do that."

She sipped her
wine. "We do as we please."

"We don't break
the law. Unless he's committed a crime you can't hold him, and if
he has you must punish him."

"I'm saving his
life."

"It's his
choice to live or die, not yours."

Ravian moved
away, miffed. "You're going to lecture me now? How old are you
again?"

"My age has
nothing to do with it. I know the law."

"Do you also
know loneliness?"

He averted his
eyes. "Yes. But if you want a companion, choose a willing one."

"There's
nothing you can do about it, so you're wasting your time."

Fairen sighed.
"Do you remember why I've got a reputation as a hothead?"

"Of course, you
get away with murder because you're so young, and there's no one to
replace you."

"I've just
destroyed two planets."

"Why?" she
asked.