The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (33 page)

"I shall. Now
release my ship."

Fairen drew a
com-link from the folds of his robe and held it in front of his
mouth. "Commander, withdraw."

"Yes, My Lord,"
a tinny voice replied.

A moment later,
the shafts of green light winked out, and another shudder ran
through Ramadaus' ship, accompanied by a metallic groan.

"A stroke of
good fortune for you, finding him returned to cyber control,"
Ramadaus commented as he wandered over to the refreshment counter
to pour himself a drink. "What would you have done otherwise?"

Fairen
shrugged. "I would have thought of something."

"The others
will hear about this."

"I'm sure
they'll find it most entertaining." Fairen turned and beckoned to
Tassin. "Come, we will go to my ship. You appear to require medical
attention."

Tassin nodded,
shooting Ramadaus a wary look, but he merely raised his glass and
sipped the drink under the folds of his hood. Fairen headed for the
door, and Sabre followed, supporting Tassin, who hobbled beside
him, clasped her ribs and gasped with pain. After a few strides he
picked her up, making her groan, even though he was gentle. She
wound her arms around his neck and clung to him. The young Overlord
led them to a waiting shuttle, where his men bowed and ushered him
aboard, showing Tassin to a crimson and black cabin where Sabre
placed her on the bunk.

On board the
Scorpion Ship, Tassin was whisked off to hospital. Sabre left her
to follow Fairen at his command, before she could tell him
anything. The doctors ignored her protests and gave her an
injection that brought blessed relief from the pain, but also sent
her to sleep.

Chapter Twenty One

Tassin woke
with a start, momentarily disorientated and confused. Someone
called her name, and she turned her head towards the sound. A boy,
clad in immaculately cut black clothes, stood beside her bed,
gazing down at her with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Raven
hair topped a face that possessed the peerless beauty of extreme
youth, with its perfect, creamy skin. His cheeks flushed a pale
pink as she studied him.

"What is it?"
She tried to sit up and winced, flopping back.

"Don't be
alarmed. I must ask you something."

She recognised
his voice with a spurt of surprise. "Overlord Fairen?"

"Yes." He
looked away. "I have decided to trust you with my identity."

"I... I'm
honoured." She stared at him, fascinated.

"Why won't
Sabre free himself?" he asked.

"Well... how
long have I been asleep?"

"Twelve hours.
What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing. He
did it to save me."

"From
Ramadaus?" A faint frown wrinkled his brow.

"No. From...
There's a girl, on the ship I was on. She... she has powers. I
don't know how, but she took control of Sabre, and Tarl. She
controls all the men on that ship."

He leant
closer, looking concerned. "This is important. How did she do
it?"

"With her mind.
She's like you, but stronger. That's all I know."

"Like me? Sabre
told you I'm an empath?"

"Yes."

"I see." He
straightened. "And she was going to kill you?"

"Yes. Do you
know what she is?"

"I think so,
unless she used drugs and hypnosis."

Tassin shook
her head. "She couldn't have done that to Sabre."

"No." He
glanced away. "Commander, bring me the girl on the scavenger ship
at once."

"At once, My
Lord," a voice replied from the ceiling.

"Is that safe?"
Tassin levered herself up on the pillows. "What if she does it to
you?"

"She won't." He
swung away and marched out. She glared at the door in frustration,
then slid off the bed and located her clothes in a cupboard.
Bandages strapped her ribs, lessening the pain her movements
caused, but she still gritted her teeth while she donned her
clothes. When she was dressed, she left the sterile white hospital
and hobbled along a black corridor until she met a crewman and
asked him the way to Fairen's quarters.

"Overlord
Fairen is not in his quarters. He's in the interview room, awaiting
a prisoner," he informed her.

"Right. Where's
the interview room?"

"If Overlord
Fairen had requested your presence, you would have an escort."

"I have to
speak to him. It's important."

"I will take a
message."

"No. Just tell
me where the damned interview room is."

The crewman
shook his head. "You won't be allowed in without an invitation from
Overlord Fairen."

"I'll get one.
Take me to him."

He hesitated,
then nodded and led the way down the corridor and along a maze of
passageways until he stopped in front of a door that two soldiers
guarded.

"This woman
wishes to see Overlord Fairen."

The guards eyed
Tassin, then one touched a button beside the door and it slid open.
She entered a black room whose dimensions beggared the mind, its
echoing reaches shrouded in gloom, with four huge, round,
star-filled screens in the far wall. Broad crimson columns ran up
the walls at widely spaced intervals, and scarlet curtains shrouded
flickering torches. The Scorpion Ship's design resembled the Moth
Ship's, but, while Ramadaus' décor seemed to symbolise opulence,
Fairen's appeared to betoken venom and fire. A grey-streaked black
marble floor spanned the area around a raised dais in front of the
screens. Fairen sat on a gold-patterned onyx throne, a veiled hood
hiding his face. Four more torches burnt atop slender columns at
evenly spaced intervals around the dais, incongruous, and probably
dangerous on a space ship, Tassin mused, although the Scorpion Ship
was so large that such strange accoutrements appeared quite
fitting. Sabre stood beside the dais on Fairen's right hand, dart
guns strapped to his thighs.

Fairen beckoned
to her. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Thank you for
allowing me to come."

He shrugged. "I
need to speak to you about Sabre, anyway."

"What about
him?"

"In my opinion,
his cyber should remain in my name. This will protect him if
Ramadaus captures him again. He must just relinquish control to the
cyber if this happens. Do you agree?"

Tassin gazed at
Sabre, noting the red bruises forming on his arms, legs and torso
where he had taken blows from the other cybers. "If you feel it's
necessary."

"I do. I will
give you command privilege, just in case you need it."

She inclined
her head. "That would be acceptable."

"I will also
pay you a token amount for him, making the transaction legal,
should Ramadaus try to have my claim overturned amongst our peers."
Fairen drew a gloved hand from the folds of his robe and held out a
glittering wafer.

Tassin
hesitated, then stepped up onto the dais and took it. "How much is
it?"

"One hundred
thousand credits."

"You call this
a token amount?"

"Yes."

Fairen turned
to Sabre. "Cyber. Command input, password moonlight. Command
privilege granted to Tassin Alrade."

"Password
accepted. Input voice imprint."

Fairen
signalled to Tassin, who stood tongue-tied for a moment, then
blurted, "Thank you for rescuing us from Ramadaus."

"Voice imprint
successful. Command privilege granted to Tassin Alrade," Sabre
intoned.

Fairen nodded.
"You are welcome."

"I wasn't sure
you would come. It seemed... a lot to expect from someone who
carries the weight of the known universe on his shoulders."

"And they're
such young shoulders. I know you think it, so I'll say it for you.
I'm not offended. I am young. And I keep my promises. I owe Sabre
my life. That's not something I take lightly. As for the weight of
the known universe, I'm not alone in carrying it, which is probably
just as well."

The doors
opened, and one of the guards who stood inside them announced,
"Overlord Ramadaus."

Ramadaus
stalked across the room, radiating disgruntlement.

Fairen rose and
stepped down to meet him. "Greetings, Ramadaus."

"Fairen. You
requested my presence. What's this about?" His head turned briefly
towards Tassin.

"I'm bringing a
prisoner for judgement. I might require your help."

"You?" Ramadaus
snorted. "Since when do you need my help with a judgement?"

"She might be a
control telepath. If she is, I will need you to block her while I
read her."

"Control
telepaths are a myth. But if she was, it would be too dangerous to
read her."

Fairen tilted
his head and folded his hands. "That's for me to decide."

"What makes you
think she's a meerin?"

"I have it on
good authority that she's taken control of the males on the ship
you captured."

Ramadaus turned
his head towards Tassin again. "She told you this?"

"Yes."

"What does she
know about meerin?"

"Nothing. She
only knows what happened on that ship."

Ramadaus shook
his head. "I don't like it. Meerin are extremely dangerous. If she
is one, and you read her..."

"That's why I
asked for your aid."

Ramadaus turned
to Tassin. "How long did it take her to control the men?"

"Four
days."

"Then she's
powerful." He faced Fairen again. "I won't do it. Call Sethar."

"Why
Sethar?"

"He's almost as
powerful as you, and he's older and wiser."

Fairen returned
to his throne, flexing his hands in agitation.

Tassin stepped
forward, her heart hammering. "Excuse me, but wouldn't it be better
to call Ravian? This girl seems to be able only to control
men."

Ramadaus turned
to face her, but addressed Fairen. "You intend to allow her to
stay?"

"Yes."

"Sethar won't
like it."

"This is my
ship. I decide who stays and who leaves."

Ramadaus
shrugged and clasped his hands.

Fairen tapped
his fingers on the arm of his chair, then sighed. "Commander.
Request the presence of Overlord Sethar, and hold the prisoner
until he arrives."

"Yes, My
Lord."

Tassin took
another step forward, casting a wary glance at Ramadaus. "There's a
young man on that ship she can't control completely. I think he's
gifted too. He says she hurts his head."

Ramadaus said,
"According to you, every mythical power is on that damned rusty
tub."

"Commander,
belay my last order," Fairen said, then faced Tassin. "Tell me
more."

"I don't know
much more. She forces him to help her, but he's able to defy her
while the others aren't. He recites his love for her like a
liturgy, and rubs his head a lot. He appears to be mad, but he's
very clever."

"He could be a
freditch," Fairen murmured.

"What's
that?"

"An empath
who's able to block intrusive thoughts, like those a control
telepath uses. I must meet him. What's his name?"

"Pryan."

Fairen turned
his head to address the wall. "Commander, are my men still aboard
the scavenger vessel?"

"Yes, My Lord.
They're trying to get the girl out of the brig. No one knows what
the locking codes on the door are."

"Good, bring me
the young man called Pryan as well."

Tassin glanced
at the cyber. "Sabre, what's the unlock code for the brig?"

"Alpha, seven,
delta, twelve."

Fairen asked,
"Did you get that, Commander?"

"Yes, My
Lord."

"When you have
them aboard, bring me the young man first."

"Yes, My
Lord."

Several tense
minutes passed before two guards half-dragged Pryan in. Ramadaus
retreated into the shadows, almost invisible in the gloom. Pryan
fell to his knees when the guards released him, stared at Fairen
with white-ringed eyes and held out his hands in a pleading
gesture. Tassin went to him and placed her bandaged hand on his
shoulder. He glanced up at her, dread on his face.

"It's all
right,” she said. “No one's going to hurt you."

He gripped her
hand, making her wince, and his mouth worked.

"Pryan," Fairen
said.

Pryan cowered,
bowing his head.

"You are not
here to be judged. Stand up."

Pryan obeyed
like a puppet controlled by an idiot, his legs and arms flapping.
Fairen rose and stepped down to stop beside the terrified youth,
who gaped at him and tried to retreat. Tassin held him in
place.

"There's no
need to be afraid," Fairen said, but his deep, distorted voice was
not comforting, and Pryan looked ready to pass out from terror.

"Pryan," Tassin
murmured, "can you sense the emotions of others?"

"No!" He jerked
away from her, shaking his head, then rubbed it. "No, I wouldn't. I
can't!"

"It's all
right; no one will punish you if you can. Tell the truth."

"I can't, I
swear!"

"This is a
waste of time," Ramadaus said from the shadows.

Pryan cast him
a wide-eyed look. "Oh, god."

Tassin gripped
his shoulders and shook him, wincing as her ribs protested. "Pryan,
look at me. Pryan!"

He met her
gaze, his eyes filled with desperate pleading. "I can't do
anything, I swear!"

"We need your
help. Can you block Trina's power?"

"No... Can't.
We all love Trina; we all -"

Tassin shook
him again, and he cringed. "Do you want to be free of her?" she
demanded. "Do you want your ship back? Avenge Riana's death?"

He nodded, his
face twisting. "She killed Riana!"

"Then tell the
truth."

He hesitated,
casting Fairen a sidelong glance, and leant closer to whisper, "I
feel people, but only if I want to."

"And Trina
can't control you, can she?"