The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (31 page)

Chapter Twenty

Two hours after
Sabre left, Tassin went in search of Trina, her mind made up. She
had spent the time trying to think of another way out of the
situation, reluctant to put Sabre through the ordeal of cyber
control again, but had failed. There was no other way.

Tassin found
Trina relaxing in the dining room, surrounded by her fawning
entourage, who vied for her attention like love sick schoolboys.
All except Sabre, who frowned into a cup of coffee.

Trina glared at
Tassin. "What do you want?"

"I want you to
release Sabre and Tarl. Give Pryan back his ship, and let him go
too. What you're doing to them is wrong."

Trina snorted.
"You think you can make demands? I have control, not you."

"In fact, you
can let Kernan and Kaylar go as well, while you're at it."

"Go back to
your cabin, or I'll have you thrown in the brig."

Tassin leant
against the edge of the door, her heart pounding. "No."

"You'll do as I
say!"

Kernan stood
up. "Go to your cabin, Tassin."

She shook her
head. "You know what she's doing is wrong. You've been with her the
longest; surely you've found a way to defy her control since she
made you kill Riana?"

He winced. "We
don't want to hurt you, any more than I wanted to hurt Riana, but
she wouldn't obey Trina either."

"Is that a
threat?"

"If it will
make you do as she tells you."

"I don't think
she's going to let me go, anyway. I might tell people about her.
Someone might decide to stop her reign of terror. She can't risk
it. She's going to make you kill me too." Tassin glared at Trina.
"You should have left her with the sand runners. I wish I hadn't
saved her now."

"You didn't!"
Trina said. "Sabre did!"

"It was my
idea, but yes, we couldn't have pulled it off without Sabre, and
for his reward, you enslave him."

"I love
him!"

"This isn't
love," Tassin said. "You don't know what love is, but it certainly
isn't this."

"I know all
about love. My mother taught me! You do as you're told, and you get
loved, you disobey, and you get killed."

Tassin shook
her head, quelling a spurt of pity. "That's slavery. That's what
your mother was, a slave, and you know it."

"Yes, she was a
slave, and she taught me how to get what I want. Only I'm better at
it than she ever was. She used her beauty; it made men do what she
wanted, but when it faded, so did her power. Mine never will!"

"Let them
go."

The girl's
scowl deepened. "Kernan, get rid of her."

He nodded.
"I'll lock her in her cabin. She won't upset you again,
sweetheart."

"No! I said get
rid of her!"

He almost
cowered, bowing his head. "No, please."

"Do it!"

Kernan headed
for Tassin, who drew the dagger from her belt and brandished it. He
smashed it from her hand with a brutal blow, making her yelp. She
fought the urge to run. He must attack her in Sabre's presence. She
noticed Trina shoot the cyber a calculating glance. Kernan grabbed
her wrist and tried to drag her out. She struggled, kicking his
shins. He swore and twisted her arm behind her back so she could
not kick him, and she gasped in pain. Several red lights flashed on
Sabre's brow band, and Tassin decided that the time had come. She
had to spark the cyber's takeover before Kernan thought to silence
her.

"Cyber! Protect
me! I order you!"

The control
unit sparkled with red lights, and Sabre stiffened. His face
twisted and his hands flashed up to grip the band. Trina jumped up
in alarm as he slid to the floor. His eyes rolled up, and he went
limp. The control unit blazed red for a moment longer, then the
diagonal line of seven red lights flashed and turned green one by
one. When all of them were green, his eyes opened. Kernan gaped at
him, then shot Trina a horrified look and released Tassin, backing
away.

Sabre rolled to
his feet and reached Tassin's side in a couple of strides. His
punch sent Kernan crashing into the wall to slide senseless down
it. Swinging back to Tassin, Sabre stared through her, turning his
head towards Kaylar, who rose slowly, his eyes wide. Tarl grimaced
and bowed his head, spreading his hands on the table.

Tassin pointed
at Trina. "Lock her in the brig."

The girl shook
her head. "No! Sabre, stop! Kill her!"

"There is no
more Sabre," Tassin said. "You're talking to a machine, one that I
own! Sabre's gone. He sacrificed himself so the cyber could save
me, because of what you did to him."

Trina retreated
as the cyber walked around the table, her face chalk pale. "Kaylar!
Help me!"

The red-haired
man stepped into Sabre's path, his face stiff with dread. The cyber
smashed him aside, sending him sprawling.

"Tarl!" Trina
shrieked.

Tarl rose to do
battle, picked up a chair and swung it at Sabre, who ducked and
grabbed it. He wrenched it from Tarl's grip, hurled it aside and
gave him a shove that sent him rolling over the table to land with
a thud on the other side. Tarl jumped up as Sabre reached Trina and
grabbed her wrist, making her shriek. Yanking his laser from his
pocket, Tarl pointed it at Tassin.

"Stop, or she
dies!"

The cyber swung
around, releasing Trina. The brow band flashed, and he yanked up
the end of the table and hurled it at Tarl. The ex-technician went
down under it with a grunt, the laser bolt hitting the ceiling.
Tassin headed for the door as the cyber went after Tarl. Sabre
flipped the table off him and wrenched the weapon from his
hand.

"Don't kill
anyone!" Tassin yelled as she darted after Trina, who fled,
shouting for Pryan.

Sabre overtook
her in the corridor. He caught the fleeing girl and lifted her off
her feet in a throat hold that made her gurgle and claw at his arm.
Pryan appeared in a doorway, his eyes widening in horror at the
scene, then he shook his head and bolted. Sabre dragged the
struggling girl to the barred cell in the ship's stern and flung
her into it, locking the door. Trina shook back her tangled hair
and glared at Tassin through the bars.

"Kernan will
release me! He'll kill you both!"

Tassin raised
her brows. "Kill a cyber? I don't think so." She turned to Sabre.
"How can we prevent the crew from releasing her?"

"Change the
codes in the door lock."

"Do it."

The brow band
filled with electric blue light for a moment. "Done."

"Pryan will
find a way to let me out!" Trina shouted.

Tassin
shrugged. "Even if he does, what are you going to do? I'm protected
by a killing machine."

Trina slumped.
"What are you going to do with me?"

"Be glad I'm
not going to flush you out of an airlock, like you planned to do to
me. Perhaps I'll hand you over to the authorities when we reach
Toron. What do they do with people like you?"

"I'll be
executed!"

"It's probably
what you deserve. You can't be allowed to keep doing this to
people."

"I won't, I
swear! Just let me go!"

Tassin sighed.
"I don't believe you. Having a power like yours is too much of a
temptation."

"Please!"

Tassin turned
to Sabre. "What is she?"

"A human
female."

She rolled her
eyes. "I mean what's the power she has?"

"Unknown."

Tassin faced
Trina again. "Well, whatever it is, it doesn't work on machines.
Release the rest of the men."

"No!"

Kaylar ran in,
followed by Tarl. "Tassin, let her go."

"No."

"You can't do
this."

"I do believe I
just did."

Kaylar went to
the door and tapped a code into the lock, which buzzed, and a red
light flashed. "He's changed the codes."

"Kaylar, do
something," Trina said, her eyes overflowing.

"I wish I
could, my love. We'll think of something, I promise. We won't let
anything bad happen to you."

Tassin snorted
and walked away down the corridor, Sabre following. They passed
Kernan standing in the dining room doorway, rubbing his head. He
glared at them before heading in the direction of the brig,
doubtless to join Tarl and Kaylar comforting Trina.

Returning to
her cabin, Tassin sat on the bunk, her heart heavy. Sabre took up a
guard stance beside the door, staring over her head. She longed to
call him from his dark prison under the cyber's control, but could
not. Even after Trina was handed over to the authorities, when
would it be safe for him to free himself? Would he try to free
Trina? Would her control only end with her death?

An alarm
brayed, jerking her from her reverie, and she glanced up at Sabre.
"What's that?"

"Proximity
alarm."

"Another ship?
Are we being attacked?"

"A large ship
has captured this vessel in a Voltron grappler field."

Tassin jumped
up. "What ship? Why didn't you warn me earlier?"

"Its
configuration appears to be that of an Overlord vessel. It only
came into scanner range a moment ago, just after the alarm
sounded."

"Which
Overlord?"

The brow band
flashed. "Ramadaus."

"Oh, god...."
Tassin yelped as her bones tingled, then everything went dark and
intense cold gripped her. The world spun, and she was weightless.
Solid ground hit her feet, and she sprawled on a smooth floor. She
clung to it as her head swam and her skin crawled in the aftermath
of her translocation. As the spinning slowed, she shook back her
hair and raised her head. She lay on an expanse of silvery marble
that stretched away to the perimeter of a vast room. A row of four
massive oval screens gave various views of star-sprinkled space. In
one, a tubby, rust-streaked ship hung in the grip of snaking beams
of green light.

Gleaming gold
framed the screens, and tendrils of it spread across the expanse of
silver wall in a filigree pattern, forming swirling designs much
like those on the Moth Ship's hull. Cloth-of-gold curtains
interrupted the monotony of silver and gold decorations, hanging
from the ceiling in an orgy of opulence to form precious pools on
the floor. The curtains were back-lighted, and glowed with soft
radiance. Dozens of immobile soldiers in silver and gold uniforms
stood beside the walls, their hands resting upon the hilts of the
small silver weapons holstered on their belts.

A graceful
throne with a high, ornamental back formed from fine golden wires
studded with diamonds stood on a shallow dais in front of the
screens. Behind it, a console sparkled, and a row of small, glowing
screens were filled with scrolling data. To her right was a ring of
seven silver circles, and close to her left, a sweeping, fluted
counter curved out from the wall. A selection of bottles and
glasses were visible through the translucent material, which might
have been a pale yellow cloudy crystal.

A hooded
Overlord stood a few feet away, facing her. "I apologise for the
rudeness of my interception," he said in a hard, sexless voice.

Tassin sat up.
"Ramadaus."

"How perceptive
of you."

"Where's Sabre?
What have you done with him?"

"He's been
translocated to a secure cell. Did you really think he could elude
me?"

She glared at
him. "Why did you bring me here?"

"You're my
insurance. As long as I have you, he can do nothing."

"Why can't you
just leave him the hell alone?"

"He's a danger,
not only to society, but to Myon Two. He proves that cyber hosts
are sentient beings, and this will undermine Cybercorp. It could
even start a war."

She shook her
head. "We just want to be left alone to live out our lives in peace
and obscurity. How can that threaten anyone?"

"It's not going
to happen. I know about Ravian's plans for him. She doesn't see how
much trouble it could cause; she only sees the advantages he could
give her."

"Is it the
trouble that bothers you, or that she'd have something you don't?"
she enquired.

"I have
cybers."

"Not like
him."

"He's an
abomination."

Tassin rose to
her feet, her legs rubbery, and leant against the refreshment
counter. "I love him. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Your pain is
regrettable, but I wouldn't assume he feels anything for you, since
he doesn't know what emotions are. Besides, the fate of one person
counts for little when weighed against the destruction of
societies." He strolled closer. "But I'm curious. How can an
intelligent woman like you care about something like him?"

"Easily. He's
the gentlest, most caring man I've ever met, and, I have no doubt,
ever will."

"He's a
simpleton. Granted, he has an exceptional brain, genetically
engineered to provide the cyber with an excellent data storage
facility, but that which you and Fairen perceive as purity or
gentleness is nothing more than vacuous inexperience. Given time,
he'll develop all the less desirable traits that other men
possess."

"So you admit
he's a man?"

Ramadaus turned
to the refreshment counter and poured two pale amber beverages,
placing one in front of her. "He was never meant to be a man, and
freeing him from cyber control has made him more of a monster than
a man, but in some respects, yes, he is."

Tassin picked
up the drink and gulped it, coughing and gasping as the alcohol
stung her throat. "He's not a monster. He's not even -"

Ramadaus raised
a hand and turned his head. "Commander, what is the status of the
cyber?"

"He's assumed a
resting pose in the cell, My Lord," a disembodied voice
replied.

"He's not
trying to escape?"

"No, My
Lord."