The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (2 page)

"Of
electromagnetic resonance," Sabre finished for him. "I'm aware of
that."

"It will
destroy our wings!"

"No. It might
do some damage, but when solar wings are deployed -"

"They use a
surge of power," Tarl finished this time. "You'll destroy their
wings..."

"Exactly."

The ship rocked
and the hum wavered. Sabre's hands raced over the console, causing
lights to flash erratically. Tarl gripped the back of Sabre's
chair, staring at the wildly fluctuating instruments.

"My god; you're
using the ship as a weapon."

"Solar wings
are now offline, damage minimal,” Sabre said. “Two of the enforcers
have lost one of theirs, I would guess."

Tarl glanced at
Tassin. "To Sabre, everything is a potential weapon; even a rusty
old tub of a ship."

"Can we escape
them?" she asked, mingled fear and hope making her heart pound.

Sabre shrugged.
"Perhaps. We're only ten light hours from the planet now."

The console
hissed. "Cyber, surrender to us, and your companions will go free.
We only -"

Tarl tapped the
console, cutting off the voice. "Don't listen to them. They're
liars."

Sabre turned to
look up at him with a slight frown. "I can make up my own
mind."

"Of course you
can! I just..."

"Wanted to make
it up for me?"

"No..." He
looked away. "You're right."

Sabre touched
the panel, and the voice continued, "...We would be willing to
grant complete amnesty to your friends if you hand yourself over
peacefully, and we guarantee that you'll be treated well."

"What do you
want with me?"

A short pause
followed, during which Tassin could imagine the commander's
confusion as he came to terms with the fact that he was speaking to
a cyber host and tried to think of a believable answer.

"The techs just
want to question you, to find out how you got free."

"To make sure
it doesn't happen again."

"I wouldn't
know. I just do as I'm ordered."

Sabre laced his
fingers. "Then contact your masters and ask them what happens to me
when they're finished."

"They would be
willing to allow you to remain free, as long as it doesn't become
public."

Tarl snorted.
"Yeah, right."

"Commander
Averly," the tinny voice said, "it's in your best interest to help
us to persuade him to comply. If he doesn't, your fate and that of
his companions is grim. We won't hesitate to destroy your ship and
all aboard if he tries another stunt like the one he just
pulled."

"Damaged your
ships badly, didn't he?"

"Let's just say
he would be wise not to try it again. You're outnumbered and
outgunned."

Tarl chortled.
"I'd say you're the one who's coming off worse at the moment."

"Only because
we've chosen not to strike back, but that will change. Bear in
mind, he doesn't really care if he dies."

"We're all in
this together," Tarl said. "And I trust him. He wouldn't let any
harm come to us, and right now, he's in charge."

"Of course he
is. There's nothing you can do to stop him, is there?"

Sabre cocked an
eyebrow at Tarl.

Tarl looked
away. "He would hand back control if I asked him to."

Sabre gave an
imperceptible nod of appreciation and agreement.

"Then I
strongly recommend that you do that," the enforcer commander said,
"and hand him over to us. He won't be harmed, and you'll all go
free. You have my word."

"No."

"Come now,
Commander, how far do you think you'll get on that desert planet
ahead? If we don't catch you, you'll die a slow and painful death
from thirst and hunger. And if we do catch you, the sentence of
death will be carried out. His companions will be imprisoned for
life, and he'll be returned to Myon Two for experiments."

"If we fall
into your hands, that's going to happen anyway. Don't think for one
moment that I believe any of your lies, Commander."

After a pause,
the tinny voice said, "Very well. Then the decision is yours,
cyber."

"I'll consider
it." Sabre touched the console, cutting the connection.

"Why did you
tell him that?" Tarl asked. "Surely you're not -"

"To buy some
time."

"Oh.
Right."

Sabre ran his
hands over the console. "We're approaching an exit vector, starting
deceleration."

The engine
noise rose to a scream again, and the swirling light in the screens
faded away, shrinking back into the pin points of stars as they
left the corridor and slowed below light speed. The process took
quite some time, and Tassin caught herself chewing her nails,
wondering if and when the battleships would attack.

The light
shields slid up, revealing battleships all around them. A flash of
light came from one, followed by the reverberating clang of a
magnetic grapple attaching to Blue Sun's hull. Tassin glanced at
Sabre, expecting him to look angry or worried, but he merely ran
his hands over the board again. The engines' scream died away, and
a grating sound ended in another clang.

"They'll soon
learn the folly of that tactic," he muttered.

"Then they'll
shoot out our engines," Tarl said.

Sabre nodded.
"Then we leave in the life pods."

A flashing
light on the console drew his attention, and he tapped it. The
panel hissed. "This is your last chance, cyber. Hand yourself over
now. If you land on that planet, the deal is off."

Sabre touched
the panel again, and new lights appeared on it, making Tarl
frown.

"All systems,
all vectors, all ships," Sabre said. "This is a universal distress
message from the cargo ship Blue Sun. We are under attack at
co-ordinates beta gamma 79-53-11. Imperative one, imperative one,
imperative one, we require urgent assistance."

Tassin leant
closer to Kole. "What's he doing?"

Kole shook his
head. "That's the... it's a distress message no one can ignore. Any
ship that hears it must come to our aid."

"What good can
they do?"

"That depends
on who they are, but it's doubtful that anyone will get it in
time."

Sabre swivelled
his chair to face them. "That's not the point. The enforcers will
think twice before destroying this ship if they know that others
will be coming here. Even they're not above the law."

The console
hissed. "I'm going to take that as a no, cyber. Prepare to be
boarded."

Tassin watched
the distant speck of the desert planet swell in the screens,
wishing there was a chance they would reach it in time. The
warships closed in, and Sabre frowned at them, then touched the
console again. The engines' deceleration scream faded away and a
soft hum replaced it. This time the vast electromagnetic wings were
visible in the darkness of normal space, lashing out like
coruscating webs of scintillating light. One struck a battleship,
engulfing it in lines of brilliant blue power that crawled over it
in eager tongues. The ship veered away, flames sprouting from its
bow as it used its thrusters. The wing stretched, clinging to it,
then snapped back into a butterfly-wing foil of light.

"That'll sure
piss them off," Kole remarked.

Bolts of red
light pulsed from the flank of the battleship on the other side,
and Blue Sun shuddered. Sabre caressed the board and the solar
wings vanished. The engines' muted hum rose to a powerful howl.
Shots flashed across their bows, three hitting the battleship on
the other side of them with bursts of fire.

Tarl laughed.
"Take that, you bastards!"

Sabre glanced
at him with a slight smile, then tapped the board again as the
battleship resumed firing. The engines' howl died away, and the
ship shuddered as laser bolts hit it. Alarms blared down the
passage.

Tarl cursed,
heading for the door. "We've got a fire."

Kole followed
him, and Tassin sank down in his chair, gazing out at the
battleships. "All this for one man."

"No. This is to
protect their secrets."

The ship
shuddered again and again, and Sabre watched the board, frowning.
"They've disabled one solar wing."

"We're not
going to make it, are we?"

"Don't give up
hope yet."

"How many more
rabbits can you pull out of the hat?"

"A few."

Sabre caressed
the panel, making the engines hum again. The remaining solar wing
lashed out in a web of fire, not striking anything this time, since
the battleships were keeping a safe distance. Blue Sun began to
spin, and Tassin looked away as the stars smeared across the
screens sickeningly. Sabre took the wing offline, and they tumbled
towards the distant planet. Tarl hurried in, clutching an orange
cylinder, took one look at the screens and swore.

"What the hell
are you doing? We can't decelerate like this!"

Sabre shrugged.
"Nor can they get a grapple on us."

"Sabre... You
can't do this. You'll get us all killed. I know... you're trained
not to lose, but this situation can't be won. Not like this."

The cyber
turned to him. "I'm not trying to commit suicide. We're at point
seven light. We can achieve a safe entry speed in seven minutes at
full-power deceleration, and we have fifteen minutes before we have
to do that. In the meantime, they can't shoot out our engines, and
if they want me alive as badly as I think they do, they have to let
us decelerate."

Tarl sagged
against the wall, averting his eyes from the screens. "Right.
Sorry."

A slight smile
tugged at Sabre's lips again. "A cyber tech apologising to a cyber?
Whatever next?"

"I wish I could
apologise to all the cybers I hurt."

"I'll just bet
you do. Guilt is a bitch, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Are we going
to make it now?" Tassin asked, in an effort to dispel the
tension.

Sabre glanced
at her. "To the planet, yes."

"Thank
goodness." She hesitated, meeting his eyes. "I should really say,
thank you."

He turned away.
"It won't be any fun down there."

"It'll be
better than being prisoners, or worse."

Sabre touched
the panel, and the smearing stars shrank back to points of light,
the planet becoming a much larger buff object. The engines howled
again while the battleships moved closer. Another great clang rang
through the ship.

Tarl cursed.
"They're going to board us, and we can't avoid it now."

"They'll never
make it in seven minutes."

Tassin, who was
the only one gazing out of the screens, gasped and recoiled.

A vast black
ship, so huge that it blotted out half the stars, appeared right in
front of Blue Sun. A ripple of force spread from it in a shockwave
that swept over them, causing the ship to veer and surge. The men
turned to stare at it. Tarl's mouth fell open, Kole's eyes grew
wide, and Sabre frowned.

Chapter Two

The vessel's
sweeping arms spanned the screens, curving inwards towards them
like a ten-legged spider. The ship's central bulk was a flattened
ovoid shaped rather like a spider's abdomen, and glittering bulbous
protuberances on its bow resembled multiple eyes. It appeared to be
unarmed, its hull and arms devoid of the bristling spikes of laser
cannons, and it gleamed like watered silk in the starlight. The
tiny lights that twinkled on its hull gave an idea of its size,
which rivalled the planet beyond it. Its presence and looming
vastness sent shivers through Tassin. She turned to Sabre, who
continued to scowl at the massive ship.

"Oh, shit,"
Tarl muttered.

"What is it?"
she demanded, alarmed.

Kole's Adam’s
apple bobbed, and he spoke in a hushed, choked voice. "An
Overlord."

Lines of green
fire spat from the ends of the enormous arms, which curved closer
around Blue Sun. The ship rocked, then steadied.

Sabre glanced
down at the console. "Zero velocity."

"We are so
dead," Tarl said.

An enforcer
battleship veered away, and red laser bolts shot across its bows
from the Overlord's hull, forcing it to stop.

Sabre said,
"We're captured."

"That's...
That's Ravian. Also known as the Spider Lord," Tarl said.

The console
hissed, and a slow, deep voice issued from it. "Your distress
message was received, Blue Sun."

Tarl leant
against the wall, shaking his head. "We are so dead."

"The enforcers
are too, if that's any consolation," Kole said.

"It's not."

A hair-fine
lance of scarlet light shot from the Overlord's bows and fixed upon
the lead enforcer, but did not appear to harm it.

"Laser
communications," Sabre explained at Tassin's puzzled look. "So no
one else can hear."

"Why do they
speak to the enforcers, and not us?"

"Overlords
always interrogate the aggressors first. We'll get our turn."

"What are
they?"

"Rulers of the
known universe. Enforcers of the laws, judges, mediators, and
executioners. There are seven of them."

"And Ravian's
one of the worst," Tarl said.

"You mean
there's only one Overlord on that ship?"

"Yeah. Each
ship is designed for its Overlord. No two are the same. Prevare's
looks like an eagle, Tobaran's is shaped like a fish."

"And the
rest?"

"I don't know.
They're rarely seen."

The needle of
red brilliance between the Overlord and the enforcer ship vanished,
and a stream of green fire engulfed it, drawing it to a docking
port in the Overlord's hull. The communication laser struck Blue
Sun’s bow, just under the screens.

"Are you a free
cyber-bio combat unit?" the deep, but somehow sexless voice
asked.

Tarl glanced at
Sabre, who said, "Yes."