The Cyber Chronicles VI - Warrior Breed (10 page)

Sabre stepped
out of the pod and glared at the crowd of beasts, not sure if he
wanted to thank them or kill them. They had tried to help, but it
would have been disastrous if their attempt had worked. They cooed
and whickered. The quadrupeds' ears twitched and the birds'
shrivelled throat pouches swelled and deflated.

Kernan came to
his side. "They're disappointed that it didn't work on you and the
others. They think you'll die now."

"If we don't
get off this planet, we will."

"They're glad
you beat the metal monster that kills them. They hate the metal
alien, too."

"Why don't
they just stay away from her?"

Kernan
shrugged. "I can't speak to them."

Sabre glanced
around as Tassin slipped her hand into his, then he bent and picked
up the bag of crystals he had removed from the two pods.

"Time to
go."

Sabre led the
way through the forest towards the alien ship. A half hour walk
brought them to the defence array. The herd of quadrupeds stayed
several hundred metres away, but the grey birds followed a few
metres behind, hooting. Pog stood immobile next to one of the
posts, and came to life as they approached, straightening with a
metallic creak.

Sabre stopped
in front of him. "Your mother must lower the defence array."

The silver
poles shimmered in unison and slid into the earth.

"So, they're
part of the ship," Tarl observed. "I wonder why they had to be
deployed underground."

"Probably to
prevent feedback," Sabre commented, gazing at the ovoid for a
moment before turning to Pog again. "Has Asys prepared an
environment for us within herself?"

"Yes. You will
dwell in her womb while you are with her. She asks that you do not
interfere with her in any way."

"How will I
communicate with her?"

"Through
me."

"Good. How
long can she provide us with air?"

"Indefinitely,
but food and water she cannot provide."

Sabre nodded.
"We've brought our own."

"Then we are
ready." Pog turned to the ovoid.

The black ship
turned silver, shot with brilliant rainbow hues, and expanded.
Sabre stepped back in surprise as her size increased twofold, the
ground grating under her belly. Her shining flanks sprouted a row
of nubs that grew rapidly, curved down onto the ground and ran
across it like streams of quicksilver that split and rejoined in an
intricate pattern. The flowing silver formed a pair of filigree
wings that spread across the grass like a butterfly's. The lines
that comprised them glinted and shimmered with bright hues. Sabre
turned to watch the sliver streams flow away into the distance,
dwindling to delicate trickles. He calculated that Asys' wings were
over a kilometre long when she raised the drooping silver nets with
ponderous majesty. The metamorphosis from slug-like simplicity to a
complex winged creature took only a few minutes. The grey birds
flew away, hooting.

Tarl gaped at
Asys; Tassin clung to Sabre's hand, her eyes wide.

"She's a
metamorph," Sabre marvelled.

"A what?"
Tassin shot him a puzzled look.

"A metamorph.
She changes shape."

"Oh,
right."

An opening
appeared under one wing and widened until it was large enough for
them to pass through.

Pog walked
over to it and gestured. "Enter."

Sabre hefted
the bag of crystals and approached the dark entrance. Tarl and
Kernan followed, carrying the bags of food, while Tassin stayed
close to Sabre.

He stopped
beside Pog. "We require light."

"You will wait
while my mother forms light-producing elements. She is weak."

Sabre opened
the bag and took out a glowing power crystal. "I will allow her one
crystal now."

"Push it into
her skin."

The cyber
stepped closer to Asys and pressed the point of the crystal into
her silvery skin. It sank in with little resistance, vanishing.

"The power is
good. More concentrated than aprilan crystals," Pog commented.
"Asys is pleased."

Ripples of
bright silver swept over Asys in rapid patterns, reminding Sabre of
a squid. When the patterns faded, the alien ship glowed. The dark
interior filled with soft blue light. Although Pog lacked
expression, he managed to give the impression of smugness.

"Light, as you
desired."

Sabre
hesitated. "What about heat?"

"That will be
provided."

"And
gravity?"

"As you wish.
All these things need power."

Sabre nodded
and stepped through the round doorway into a smooth ovoid room with
a concave floor. Pog entered behind him, barely fitting through the
door, and Tarl and Kernan followed, looking nervous. The room was
about ten metres long and five metres high; a small space in such a
large ship. The door irised shut behind Kernan, who glanced back at
it with a doubtful expression, then turned to study the room. Sabre
noticed that shivers ran through the floor wherever he stepped, and
Pog became immobile just inside the door.

Sabre turned
to the others. "Okay, let's sit down. I don't think Asys enjoys us
moving around."

"Asys finds
your movements irritating," Pog agreed.

Sabre sank
down cross-legged, and the others followed his example, sitting in
a circle. He glanced at Pog.

"I need to see
outside."

"For that,
Asys needs more power."

Sabre took a
power crystal from the bag. "How many to take off as well?"

"Three."

Sabre pushed
the crystal into the floor, then two more. The light brightened,
and a metal finger sprouted from the roof, extended down and curved
towards Sabre. The end broadened and flattened, giving off
flickering light that gradually formed a fuzzy two-tone picture. It
sharpened and took on colour until it became a clear view of the
world outside, falling rapidly away. Tarl and Kernan moved closer
to peer into the screen-like aperture as they passed through a
layer of clouds. The purple sky faded to black, and stars appeared
in it.

"Asys rejoices
to be back in her home," Pog commented.

"Tell her to
head for the suns."

"Asys does not
wish to go close to the suns; they are dangerous."

"If she wants
to escape this anomaly, she'll have to."

"How
close?"

"Between
them."

Pog was silent
for several seconds. "That is dangerous."

"It's the only
way out."

"Asys
understands. She requires more power."

Sabre thrust
the last two crystals into the floor. The twin blue giants appeared
in the screen, swelling rapidly. Tassin slid her arms around
Sabre's waist, and he held her close. The suns filled the screen,
too brilliant to look at, and the room's temperature rose as Asys
drew closer to their intense heat.

"Asys is in
pain," Pog rumbled. "This will cause her considerable damage."

"She must pass
through the exact mid-point between those suns," Sabre said.

"Asys will run
out of power two light seconds past that point. If this is not an
exit, we will all perish then."

"It must be
the exact mid-point."

"Help
her."

Sabre glanced
at the robot, raising his brows. "How?"

"Asys asks
that you bond with her, to share your knowledge. She is
afraid."

"How?"

"You
agree?"

"I'll do
whatever it takes."

A finger of
metal sprouted from beneath the screen and clamped onto the control
unit. The cyber flared electric blue and emitted a jamming signal
to prevent access. Sabre gritted his teeth, swearing, and Tassin
drew back in alarm.

"Asys, don't
try to access the cyber!"

"Frightened..." Pog rumbled.

"Wait! Stop
for a moment."

The finger of
metal released the brow band and sank back, shimmering. Sabre
looked inward at the streams of data flowing through his mind,
trying to communicate his need to the hostile supercomputer.

"There are
only three minutes remaining," Pog informed him.

"Damn it,
communicate with the ship!" Sabre ordered the cyber. "Do it
now!"

Several tense
moments passed, then the blue light faded and Sabre relaxed. "Okay,
Asys, you have access."

The metal
finger clamped onto the brow band. Sabre would have reeled at the
sudden influx of alien data, but the bond with the ship prevented
him. At his prompting, the cyber plotted an exact course to the
centre of the blue giants’ orbit, and Asys adjusted her trajectory
to match it.

The two
communicated in pure maths and graphics, the only truly universal
languages. The heat in the chamber became stifling, and sweat ran
down Tassin's face. Tarl and Kernan stripped off their jackets and
shirts, mopping their brows. Sabre closed his eyes, concentrating
on the streams of data in his mind. They shot towards a graphical
representation of the two suns at several hundred times the speed
of light. Asys' course wavered as the solar winds, electromagnetic
fields and intense gravity of the two giants buffeted her. Sabre
wondered what form of propulsion she used. Clearly she was not a
solar sailor, since they were flying into the solar winds, yet no
other form of propulsion had been evident on the planet.

"Spinner wings
reduced by forty per cent," Pog mourned. "Outer skin integrity
decaying."

Sabre opened
his eyes to look at the screen. The suns had moved off it, and it
showed only blackness as they headed for the invisible point where
a hole had been torn in space. The light grew dimmer and the
temperature rose. Sabre tried to sort through the jumble of data
streaming through his brain, part cyber, part alien, most of it
beyond his ability to discern due to its garbled nature. Asys was
filled with pain and panic. Her thoughts dominated the cyber,
utterly overwhelming its lesser psyche, which could not cope with
the presence of such an advanced and oddly emotional machine
intelligence.

Sabre wondered
if Asys really was a machine. Just because she was a metal-based
life form did not necessarily mean she was. It seemed to him that
she possessed all the traits and emotions of an intelligent
biological species unknown to the cyber. He tried to project
soothing, calming emotions to her, since she could not understand
his thoughts. Sabre was keenly aware of Tassin clinging to him,
shaking with terror and gasping in the heat. He longed to offer her
more comfort than his arm around her, but Asys needed him more, and
their survival depended on her.

The silver
ship's course remained correct. Even the intense buffeting did not
force her from it, and he realised that Asys was an amazingly
powerful space faring entity. Any normal ship would not have been
able to maintain a stable course under such extreme conditions.

"Asys will
start to die in approximately four minutes," Pog stated.

Sabre glanced
inwards at the graphics. "Come on Asys, you can do it. Only a few
more seconds."

"Asys
suffers."

"Asys is
strong and brave; she can do it."

"She requires
more power."

"Three more
seconds, Pog. Two, one, now."

A star field
filled the aperture, and Sabre slumped. "We did it. We're out."

The
temperature dropped, and everyone sagged with relief.

"Asys requires
more power."

Sabre tried to
shake his head. "Tell her to release me."

"Asys will
start to die in less than three minutes."

"Tell her to
release me."

After several
tense moments that spoke volumes of reluctance, the metal finger
released the brow band and sank back into the bottom of the screen.
Sabre rubbed his neck.

"Asys will die
in two and a half minutes," Pog insisted.

Sabre pulled a
laser power pack from his belt and pushed it into the floor. "How
long does that give us?"

Pog paused.
"Strange food. Unpleasant, but nourishing. Two hours at cruising
speed."

"Tell Asys to
find food."

"Already she
seeks it."

Sabre turned
to Tassin. "Are you okay?"

She nodded,
easing her hold on him. "I thought we were going to die."

"It was a
close call."

Tassin glanced
around at the glowing walls. "What happens now?"

"Asys will
find food, then take us to an inhabited world."

"Could she
take us to Omega Five?"

Sabre repeated
the question to Pog, who appeared to ponder it.

"Asys does not
know that planet. Is it close by?"

"No, it's on
the Outer Rim."

"The agreement
was transport to the nearest inhabited world."

"Yes, it
was."

"Asys will
honour the agreement."

Sabre glanced
at Tassin. "I guess you have your answer."

She sighed,
leaning against him. "Yes."

He brushed the
damp hair from her brow, glancing at Tarl and Kernan. "I suggest we
all get some rest."

A touch on
Sabre's shoulder woke him, and he opened his eyes and sat up,
pulling free of Tassin's hand. A quick glance around the room
assured him there was no danger, and he turned to her with raised
brows.

"What?"

"It's Kernan.
You have to stop him."

Sabre glanced
at the mercenary, who ate a piece of bark while Tarl argued with
him in a hushed tone. The men stopped and looked at Sabre, Kernan's
brow furrowing.

Sabre sighed
and rubbed his face. "Kernan, put it away. We're going to need that
to synthesise food for you."

Kernan shook
his head. "I'm bloody hungry."

"Have some
rations."

"That only
makes me hungrier."

"You've got to
keep some of that."

"I need to
eat!"

"And when it's
finished, you'll starve."