The Cyber Chronicles VI - Warrior Breed (12 page)

The man with
the brow band said, "He has some sort of metallic reinforcing on
his bones, Marek, and his head band appears to be sophisticated.
I've never encountered anything like it, but who would go to such
lengths to strengthen such a weakling? He should have been
strangled at birth."

Sabre eyed the
man with the brow band. "You have bio scanners?"

"Amongst other
things."

"So what will
it take to see your commander?"

Hallel
shrugged. "You'll have to get past us."

Marek smirked
and cracked his knuckles. "I want him."

Sabre turned
his attention to Marek. "Do I have to fight you all together, or
one at a time?"

Marek
guffawed. "You're mine, little man."

Sabre held up
a hand as Marek stepped forward. "Is this to the death?"

Hallel tilted
his head. "Do you really think you could kill him?"

"Easily."

Hallel grinned
and stepped back. "Then do it."

Marek took a
step closer. "I'm going to snap your neck, little man."

"That's
impossible, I'm afraid."

Marek growled
and lunged at Sabre, his huge hands reaching for the cyber's
throat. Sabre leapt high and kicked Marek in the face with a crunch
of breaking bone. The cyber performed a graceful backflip, powered
by his contact with the huge warrior, and landed like a cat. Marek
flew backwards two metres and sprawled on his back with a terrific
crash, sliding along the floor with a scrape of armour on steel. He
twitched for a moment, then lay still, his face crushed. A stunned
silence fell as the four Trykons stared at their dead comrade, then
Hallel turned to Sabre, frowning.

"How the hell
did you do that?"

Sabre
shrugged. "I was bred for it. Now do I get to meet your
commander?"

"No. You get
to meet our third sub-lieutenant."

"Do I have to
do the same thing to him?"

"That's up to
him. You've only killed a soldier in unarmed combat, which doesn't
get you many privileges."

"And if I kill
your lieutenant, I meet the commander?" Sabre asked.

"Perhaps.
Marek was taken by surprise. That won't happen again."

"A warrior
should never underestimate his opponent."

"Marek was a
hothead, but he was a good fighter." Hallel's eyes slid past Sabre
to Tarl, Kernan and Tassin. "What about these? They have no
enhancements. What are they?"

"They're my
servants, and non-combatants, but they have lasers that they'll use
to defend themselves. They're also under my protection."

"A bold claim.
It remains to be seen if you can protect them. One lucky blow
doesn't give you much status."

Sabre glanced
at the other three Trykons. "So how many of you do I have to kill
to get a lot of status?"

"That's for
the sub-lieutenant to decide."

"Let's go
then." Sabre's attention was drawn inwards as the scanner
information reappeared in his mind, and moments later, the warrior
with the jammer on his shoulder turned to Hallel.

"He's scanning
again, using a frequency I can't jam."

"Then find
someone who can." Hallel eyed Sabre. "You're full of surprises,
aren't you?"

"More than you
can imagine."

Hallel grunted
and swung away, leading them down the corridor in the direction in
which they had been heading. The other three Trykons fell in behind
Kernan and Tarl, two of them carrying Marek's corpse. Tassin looked
pale but determined, and Sabre wished he could offer her some
reassurance. Tarl was right, however. Once he had gained sufficient
status amongst the Trykons, he would be able to do as he wanted.
Hallel turned into the doorway from which Marek and the other
warrior had emerged and led them deeper into the ship.

They passed
several warriors along the way, all of whom had some sort of
cybernetic augmentation in the form of robotic limbs, sensory
enhancements or built-in weaponry, sometimes all three. They
carried swords in scabbards buckled to their belts or across their
backs, and a few had daggers strapped to their thighs as well.
Their armour was varied, as was what little cloth they wore,
bearing no shred of uniformity. They stared at the intruders with
amusement, and some even stopped to chuckle and make scathing
comments as the quartet walked past.

Hallel led
them to a door that slid open, and they entered a room where three
men sat in front of a console, monitoring a bank of screens and
tapping keys. A huge man stood at the back, his folded arms bulging
with tattooed muscles. His shaven head bore a narrow strip of ash
blond hair down the centre with black snake tattoos on either side
of it. A small vertical scanner jutted above his left ear and a
broad strap crossed his bare chest from shoulder to waist,
supporting a double-handed broadsword at an angle on his back. Pale
scars too numerous to count webbed his skin, and both his hands
were robotic.

Hallel stopped
beside him. "Third Lieutenant Dovan. I brought the intruders."

The man's cold
grey eyes slid over the quartet, and the nostrils of his broken
nose flared with disdain. "Why? You should have killed them. What
happened to your comrade, and why didn't you jettison his
corpse?"

"The intruder
with the brow band killed him, Lieutenant. I brought his body for
you to examine."

The lieutenant
glared at Sabre, then stepped closer to Marek's corpse, which the
men had dumped on the floor, and studied it. "I see no sign of
combat on the stranger."

"He killed
Marek with one blow."

"He's smaller
than my twelve-year-old son. How could he?"

"He did. I
witnessed it, so did they." Hallel nodded at the three warriors who
accompanied them. "He has cyber enhancements."

Jovan snorted.
"That's a waste. And the ones with weakling weapons?"

"His servants,
under his protection, he claims."

"Take them to
the combat room and kill them. Keep the female for sport. We return
to the battle as soon as we've completed our repairs; you'll be
needed. And get rid of that corpse."

Hallel bowed
his head and headed for the door, the group following him. They
trooped through the ship, receiving many more amused looks from the
warriors they encountered, and paused to stuff Marek's body into a
disposal chute. They arrived in a fair-sized grey room whose walls
bore the dents, scrapes and stains of many battles. Ragged banners,
dented armour and well-worn weapons also adorned them, trophies
from victorious encounters, Sabre guessed.

Hallel turned
to the three warriors. "Who wants him?"

The man with
the jammer on his shoulder stepped forward the quickest. "I
do."

Hallel nodded.
"He's all yours, Partek."

Partek smiled,
revealing a mouthful of broken teeth, and detached the heavy
jammer, handing it to his comrade. Tarl drew Tassin over to the
wall and stood in front of her. Kernan joined them, looking sour.
Partek cracked his knuckles and leered, then drew a long dagger
from a sheath on his thigh.

Tassin's heart
chilled with anguish, then pounded with rage. Pushing Tarl aside,
she stepped forward. "That's not fair! Sabre's unarmed!"

Hallel turned
to face her, looking surprised. She cursed the fact that he could
not understand her, and was astonished when he spoke in her
language, with a thick accent. "Be silent, woman. This doesn't
concern you."

"Yes it does.
You're supposed to be warriors, yet you show yourselves to be
cowards by using a weapon against an unarmed man."

"He's free to
arm himself if he wishes. No one's stopping him. Now be quiet, or
I'll silence you."

Tassin looked
at Sabre. "Use a weapon."

His tired, wry
smile tore her heart. "I don't need one. You should know that by
now."

"Against a
monster like him?"

"He's only a
human."

"A very large
one."

"It makes
little difference."

She shook her
head. "Don't take risks. We're all depending on you."

Hallel stepped
towards her, scowling. "I said be quiet!"

Tassin
realised her peril as Tarl yanked her back and drew his laser,
pointing it at Hallel, who stopped, his brow furrowed.

"You'll be the
next to die, little man. That, I promise. Keep her quiet, or you'll
be the first."

"Touch either
of them and you die, Hallel," Sabre said.

Hallel swung
around. "Empty threats don't scare me, especially from a midget.
Sabre." He spat. "A pretentious name for a weakling."

Sabre glanced
at Tassin. "You've only seen me use my full abilities against other
cybers, and they can handle it. Believe me, this isn't a
problem."

Tassin shot
Hallel a killing look, jerked her arm from Tarl's grip and swung
away. Much as she wanted to, she knew that if she continued her
protests it would only spark a conflict between Sabre and Hallel,
which she did not want and he did not need.

"When you've
quite finished squabbling with your doxy, I'd like to get on with
this," Partek said.

Sabre turned
to him. "In a hurry to die?"

"Eager to kill
you."

Sabre spread
his hands. "So what are you waiting for?"

A slow smile
stretched Partek's mutilated features, and he lunged, his right
hand lashing out in a dagger stroke aimed to disembowel the cyber.
Sabre skipped back and leapt into a forward handspring. His boots
slammed into Partek's chest and sent him staggering backwards.
Sabre landed on his feet and followed, giving Partek no time to
recover. His fist cracked into Partek's jaw with a sickening crunch
and a spray of blood, staggering the big man again. Partek snarled
and stabbed at Sabre, missing as the cyber spun aside, moving
faster than Tassin's eyes could follow.

His movements
flowed as he used the momentum of his spin to power the lash of a
leg, smashing it into Partek's shin. The bone shattered with a
sharp report, and Partek reeled, his arms wind milling as he tried
to stay on his feet. His broken leg buckled sickeningly. Sabre
continued to spin, bringing one arm down in a blur of motion on
Partek's wrist. Again the bone broke with a crunch, and the dagger
skittered away across the floor.

Partek
sprawled with a crash of armour, roaring with pain and rage. Sabre
walked over to him and kicked him in the head, and he went limp.
The cyber looked at Hallel.

"Must I kill
him too?" He lifted a foot and held it poised over Partek's
head.

Hallel
shrugged. "Up to you."

Sabre lowered
his foot and stepped back. "So who's next?"

Tassin let out
her pent breath, her heart buoyant with relief.

Tarl shot her
a tight smile. "There was no need to worry. They're only men."

"I've seen him
fight normal men before. He never beat them this easily."

"Then he
wasn't using his full strength."

"And now he
is, right?"

Tarl inclined
his head. "Almost."

"He fought a
big man on Omega, and almost lost."

"What was his
bio-status?"

"I don't
know."

Tarl frowned
at his boots. "Had he been in many prior conflicts?"

"Yes."

"Then it was
probably quite low."

Tassin chewed
her lip. "I suppose so."

"One of the
few drawbacks cybers have is that they use up their energy very
quickly, and if they're not eating cyber rations it takes a little
while for them to recover."

Hallel turned
to his two remaining comrades. "I claim him."

They frowned,
looking resentful. Hallel drew the massive sword that was strapped
across his back, hefted it and smiled at Sabre, who waited,
relaxed.

"Now would be
a good time to choose a weapon, little man. You're well trained,
I'll give you that, but against me you stand no chance. I'm the
best warrior in my group."

Sabre's lips
twitched in a slight, cold smile. "I could crush your skull with
one hand."

Hallel
snorted. "Your hand isn't big enough."

"Let's get on
with it."

"You choose to
fight me unarmed?"

"Yes."

"Then you
insult me."

Sabre
shrugged. "That's not my intention."

Hallel swung
the sword in a complex pattern that sliced the air with supreme
skill. He lunged, his weapon slashing the air where Sabre had been
standing an instant before. The cyber spun, and his right arm
lashed out at the back of Hallel's head. The big warrior ducked,
turned swiftly, and stabbed the sword at Sabre's gut. The cyber
dropped backwards, catching himself on his hands, and kicked
upwards with one leg, hitting Hallel's wrist.

The sword spun
away, and again there was a sharp crack as the warrior's bones
snapped. Hallel grunted, staggering back, then yanked a dagger from
its thigh strap with his left hand and charged Sabre with a growl
of rage. The cyber skipped aside and kicked Hallel in the back,
sending him stumbling into the wall. He swung around, his eyes
glinting with fury, a trickle of blood running from one nostril as
a result of his collision. His comrades muttered, scowling, and
Tassin found that her fingernails were hurting her palms and opened
her hands.

Hallel calmed
himself with an obvious effort, showing that his training was
better than Partek's. Hefting the dagger, he circled Sabre, who
turned to face him. Hallel feinted, and Sabre stepped back, his
eyes narrowing. The big warrior turned and circled the other way,
feinting again and again, his lips drawn back in a fierce snarl,
revealing several steel-capped teeth. Sabre's brows drew together
in a frown of annoyance, or perhaps concentration. Tassin deduced
that he disliked Hallel's new tactics.

Tarl leant
closer and whispered, "Sabre was toying with him, now he's trying
to make Sabre attack, taking away his defensive advantage."