The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (23 page)

"You can't take
on five Corsairs in your condition."

"Do I have a
choice?"

Tarl shook his
head, scowling. "I guess not. What's your bio-status?"

"You don't want
to know."

"Yeah, I do,
actually."

"Thirty-two per
cent."

"Bugger me.
That's impossible."

"For a cyber."
Sabre raised his head. "Stop at the corner. The docking port is
just past it."

"What are you
going to do?"

"Three are
guarding the door; the other two are inside, probably trying to
figure out the controls." He retched again. "Corsairs are warriors;
they can't resist a challenge. If I kill the three outside, the
other two will come out to fight."

"What about the
four behind us?"

"They're still
two hundred metres away."

Tarl stopped
beside the corner, where Sabre sank to the floor and closed his
eyes. Tarl squatted next to him as the women moved away.

"You could pass
out at any moment."

"Then you'll
have to do it."

"Right. Don't
pass out."

Sabre doubled
over and gulped. "I have a few more minutes. Whatever happens, stay
here."

"Right."

The cyber put
down his lasers and pulled off his steel mesh gloves, flexing his
hands. "They've got a scanner. They know we're here."

"How do you
know?"

"Because
they're coming. Hang onto Tassin for me."

"Okay."

Sabre picked up
the lasers and checked the charges. One was at a quarter, the other
almost empty. "Bugger."

Tarl moved back
along the wall to a tense looking Tassin and gripped her arm. She
frowned at him and tried to jerk free, but he held on, wagging a
finger at her. Sabre edged along the wall until he was right at the
corner and raised his weapons.

Tassin held her
breath while he waited, her heart pounding. It leapt into her
throat when Sabre dropped and rolled out into the open, firing. A
single pop came from around the corner. Sabre grunted, fired a
final shot, and then slumped. Tassin gasped and tried to jump up,
but Tarl's iron grip held her down.

"Let me go!"
she said. "He's hurt!"

"Maybe, but he
told me to keep you here."

"Not if he's
hurt! He needs help!"

"There are two
more Corsairs on the shuttle. Do you want to die?"

Tassin tried to
pry his fingers off her arm. "If he dies, so do we!"

"I think he's
playing dead."

"I think he's
passed out! Let me go!"

"Wait." Tarl
drew his laser from his pocket. "They've got to come into sight to
reach him."

Tassin gazed at
Sabre, horrified by the red stain that spread over his shin. "He's
been hit."

"I know. Stay
still and shut up."

A shadow fell
on Sabre, then two Corsairs came into view, approaching him warily,
their weapons trained on him. They snarled and hissed, moving
closer. One prodded Sabre with his foot. The cyber rolled over,
jerked up his lasers and fired two shots. The aliens collapsed, one
writhing and raising his weapon. Sabre fired again, but only a dim
red beam hit the wounded Corsair, who aimed at Sabre's chest. The
cyber leapt up and charged the Corsair. Kicking the weapon from his
fist, Sabre gripped his head and twisted. The alien's neck snapped
with a dull crack, and Sabre dropped the body. Crouching, he used
the Corsair's tunic to rub the red stain on his shin.

Tarl jumped up
and ran to him. "We need water. Get on the shuttle!"

Sabre tried to
rise to his feet, but his knees buckled. Tarl stuffed his laser
into his pocket and picked Sabre up. Staggering through the docking
port, he dumped the cyber on a chair and turned as the women ran
into the shuttle. Four Corsairs came into view, firing. Missiles
hit the edge of the docking port with dull pings. A few flew past
to hit the opposite side of the shuttle, and a woman screamed and
staggered.

Tarl dashed
back to the door and tapped the access panel, cursing. "I don't
know the bloody code!" The door slid shut with a soft hiss, and
Tarl stared at it in disbelief. "I didn't do that."

"Help me!"
Tassin shouted, kneeling at Sabre's feet. "I need water!
Quick!"

Tarl swung
around. "Where's the bathroom, or kitchen?"

"I don't
know!"

The woman who
had been hit writhed and jerked on the floor, foaming at the mouth.
Tarl jumped over her and vanished through a door, returning a
moment later with a cup of water. Tassin snatched it from him and
poured it on Sabre's leg, a red pool forming around his foot. He
groaned, and the lasers fell from his lax hands.

"Sabre!" Tassin
rose and bent over him, fumbling with the helmet's clasps. "How do
you get this damned thing off?"

"Let me." Tarl
unclipped it and pulled it off.

Sabre's eyes
were closed, and sweat sheened his unnaturally pale skin. She
patted his cheek, her brow creased with worry.

"He's out,"
Tarl muttered. "Let's get the hell out of here. I hope I can fly
this thing."

Tassin
staggered as the shuttle jerked, turning to Tarl in alarm.

He looked
puzzled. "We're undocking."

"Who's doing
it?"

"It must be
remote control. They're recalling it from Fairen's ship."

"Good." Tassin
turned back to Sabre. "Can you help him?"

Tarl sank down
on a chair, shaking his head. "I don't have any drugs. We'll have
to wait until we get to Fairen's ship."

Tassin sat
beside Sabre, holding his hand. "He'll be all right?"

"Yeah."

She found a
cloth and wiped the sweat from his brow, glancing at the surviving
women. "Four out of fifteen."

"We're lucky to
be alive," Tarl said.

****

Fairen turned
to Ramadaus, smiling. "They made it."

Ramadaus
inclined his head and raised his glass. "Good for them. You intend
to bring them on board?"

"Yes. They may
need medical attention."

"Are you a
rescue ship now?"

"I do as I
please."

"Indeed you
do."

Ravian's
com-link beeped, and she pulled it from the hidden pocket in her
robe. "Yes, Commander?"

"The ship you
ordered here has arrived."

"Tell them to
wait."

"Yes, My
Lord."

Fairen headed
for the door. "I'm going to see if Sabre's all right."

"Are you going
to sit at his bedside and mop his brow?" Ramadaus sniped.

Fairen swung
around, opening his mouth to retort, and Ravian raised her hands.
"Enough, Ramadaus. Go, Fairen, I will join you soon."

The boy shot
Ramadaus a final glare and marched out, his guards hurrying after
him. Ravian turned to Ramadaus and sank down on the couch beside
him.

"He's young, be
patient with him."

"He's making a
fool of himself, and a mockery of us."

"Rubbish.
There's nothing wrong with showing compassion. Have you forgotten
that he's only fourteen years old?"

Ramadaus sighed
and sipped his drink. "He shouldn't have been made an Overlord at
such a young age."

"But he is one,
and we must respect that. Don't forget his wild tendencies. It's
not a good idea to anger him."

"How could I
forget his wild tendencies when we've just had such a wonderful
example of them? As for angering him, must we all tip-toe around
him for fear of him throwing a tantrum?"

She smiled.
"Considering the power he wields, I would say yes. He's found a
real live hero, and for a lonely boy, that's a big deal. He's never
known his father, and for ten years he's lived the life of an
Overlord, alone, protected and obeyed, but with no friends; no one
to look up to. I think Sabre will be a very good influence on him
if he stays a little while. All of us will be better off if Fairen
learns a little self-control. Perhaps then he won't lash out and
destroy entire worlds because one of their inhabitants angered
him."

"I disagree.
Becoming attached to a psychopath will make him worse. In his
gratitude and hero worship, he may grant that abomination's wish
and decree the end of all cybers."

Ravian
considered that. "No, I don't think so. For all his wild
tendencies, Fairen is a champion of the law; he's been studying it
for most of his life. His lack of a mentor has meant that the
database has been his only source of knowledge. He won't go against
its teachings."

"Do you really
believe he would deny a request from the thing that saved his
life?"

"Yes, I do. At
worst, he will judge Atrashka and base his decision on that, but he
won't do something so drastic just because Sabre asks him to."

"I hope you're
right."

****

The shuttle
doors slid open, and several white-suited men rushed in and herded
the women out. Black-uniformed guards hustled them away as the men
came to Sabre's side and examined him. Convulsions racked the
cyber, who writhed and twitched, his breath coming in stertorous
gasps.

Tarl pulled a
doctor aside. "I need premine, diazolan and tremilin in large
doses. Do you have it?"

The man nodded.
"Who are you?"

"A cyber
technician. I can help him if you get me those drugs."

The doctor
turned to his helpers. "Get him on the floater and take him to the
hospital. Order those drugs immediately."

"He was shot in
the leg," Tassin said.

Tarl nodded.
"That needs a promelix compress to neutralise the acid. We washed
it off with water, but -"

"We know what
to do," the doctor said a little testily.

"No, you
don't," Tarl snapped. "He's a cyber. He reacts to certain
DNA-activating medications."

"We don't use
DNA-activating -"

"Exactly. I
need to use your lab to manufacture some."

The doctor
frowned. "What for?"

"He's in shock
from a double dose of Corsair venom, and his system is severely
depleted." Tarl followed the floating bed, which the medics guided
down a corridor. "His last bio-status was only thirty-two per cent.
I don't know what it is now, but it can only be worse. At
twenty-five per cent his organs will start to fail. I have to give
him DNA-activating drugs to stimulate his inactive regeneration
genes to counter the cumulative effect of the venom, which has been
increased by a second dose during the post-convulsive phase of the
first."

The doctor
looked dazed, and Tassin sympathised, finding Tarl's spiel to be
sheer gibberish.

"Could he
die?"

"No, but
without immediate supportive treatment his system will be
permanently damaged."

The doctor
nodded. "You'll have access to our lab, of course. Overlord Fairen
has ordered the best possible treatment for him."

"Do you have
any equipment that can be used to interface with the control
unit?"

"I'll order the
techs to rig something up for you."

"I need that as
soon as possible."

They entered a
long white room lined with cubicles that housed strange, gleaming
equipment, each with a sliding partition that could be closed for
privacy. The floor resembled a sheet of white glass, as spotlessly
clean as the sleek walls and ultra-modern equipment. More
white-suited people, many of whom wore masks and strange
instruments on their faces, strode about on mysterious errands.
Another floating bed occupied a cubicle, and a man lay upon it, two
white-suited medics attending him. Tassin wrinkled her nose at the
odd, astringent smell. The atmosphere was hushed, and, as they
followed Sabre's floating transport into a cubicle, she spied the
reason for it. An Overlord waited for them, his arms folded and
veils concealing his face. She wondered if it was Ravian, but he
looked smaller.

Tarl hesitated
when he saw him, then continued to issue orders to the doctor who
walked at his side. As soon as the floating stretcher stopped, the
medics pushed needles into Sabre's wrists and set up bags of clear
fluid, attaching them with tubes. They wheeled a squat machine with
a flat screen on top of it to his bedside and stuck sensors to his
chest and neck. The screen came to life, showing a jagged line, and
a rapid beeping came from it.

A medic said,
"Heart rate, a hundred and forty, blood pressure, one forty over
one twenty. Temperature... one hundred and twelve."

Tarl nodded.
"He's okay."

The doctor
turned to frown at him. "He should be dead."

"He's a
cyber."

Sabre's back
arched, and his lips pulled back in a grimace. Tremors ran through
him, causing his arms to hammer on the steel surface.

"I need that
tremilin, now!" Tarl said.

Another medic
handed him a syringe and a vial, and he injected the side of
Sabre's neck.

The doctor
looked shocked. "You sure you know what you're doing? That's enough
to kill a man."

"Yeah, I know.
Give me the premine."

Tassin moved
out of the way as a medic brushed past her to hand Tarl another
syringe and phial, which he filled and injected into Sabre's leg.
Tarl administered a third injection into Sabre's drip, then glanced
up at the monitor.

"Heart rate,
one hundred and eighty, blood pressure, one fifty over one forty,
temperature, one hundred and ten," a medic intoned.

"He's getting
worse," the doctor who stood beside Tarl commented.

"No, he's
starting to fight back."

"We did none of
this the last time he was exposed to the venom, just treated the
skin lesions and gave him fluids."

Tarl nodded.
"Which was sufficient for one dose, but two full-strength doses, so
close together, are bad even for him. The first dose will have done
some harm, and I'm trying to undo that as well. Where's that cyber
interface equipment?"