The Cyber Chronicles VI - Warrior Breed (33 page)

"We're in a
public corridor. And when I woke up, we were in a hospital." He
glanced around as a Trykon warrior rounded the corner and marched
past, nodding.

Tassin rubbed
her brow and cursed her stupidity.

"Come on."
Sabre led the way down the corridor to their cabin, where he pulled
her into a warm embrace as soon as the door closed. She clung to
him, happy to be back in the security of his arms, where she felt
so safe. He stroked her hair and laid his cheek on the top of her
head in his odd tender way that she craved so much. After a minute
she pulled away and led him over to the sofa, pushed him down on it
and climbed onto his lap, slipping an arm around his neck.

Sabre smiled
and brushed aside the hair that fell over her face. She studied the
new lights in the brow band.

“
So no more flashing red lights in your head?”

“
Nope.”

“
That’s good.” She kissed him, and he lay back, holding her on
his chest. Her hands found their way inside his tunic and explored
his flanks, sliding over his skin. She raised her head to study
him. “I thought I'd lost you, and I've realised that it could
happen at any time." She swallowed a lump. "I’m
afraid..."

He raised his
brows. "You, afraid? I thought you were a fearless warrior
queen?"

“
There’s only one thing I’m afraid of, and that’s losing
you.”

His smile
faded, and he lifted a hand to cup her face. “Maybe we’ll get
through it. We’ve made some pretty amazing friends along the way,
so it’s getting harder for Cybercorp to hunt me. And we’re almost
home.”

"I hope so.”
She sighed. “Tell me more about what happened on the star ship."
She traced the contours of his chest while he related the tale, and
when he finished, she asked, "So you don't know anything about
these Gwaran?"

"No. Just that
they’re full of light when they’re alive."

"And now your
skin glows in the light. So they made you more like a Gwaran?"

He shrugged,
idly stroking her arm. "I guess so. She also said she would break
the walls in my mind, and that I couldn't do it on my own."

"Do you feel
any different?"

"No, she said
it would take time." His hand slid up to her shoulder and traced
the line of her collar bone.

"How
long?"

"She didn't
say." His fingers reached the base of her throat and found the
little hollow there, a slight frown tugging at his brows. He
snatched his hand away, and Tassin found herself alone on the sofa,
which surprised her, since she had been lying on top of him.

He headed for
the bathroom. "Time for that shower."

When Sabre
emerged half an hour later, she had poured a soft drink and ordered
a hot meal from the auto-chef machine. His camouflage trousers and
vest were clean and pressed, evidently laundered by the automated
clothes cleaner in the washroom while he showered. After the meal,
Sabre announced that he was going to the bridge to check on the
ship's progress. As he turned to leave, an alarm whooped, and he
hesitated, turning to Tassin as she jumped up.

An explosion
ripped through the wall beside her, lifted her off her feet and
slammed her into the opposite wall with stunning force. Fire swept
across the room, igniting the sofa. Sabre had been flung out of the
door, and ran back in. She struggled to breathe, her chest aching.
Thick black smoke poured from the sofa, making her cough. The fire
leapt high between her and Sabre, making her cower from its
heat.

Sabre raised
his arms to shield his face. "Tassin!"

Tassin tried
to answer, but the smoke choked her and she curled up, coughing.
Sabre leapt through the flames and reached her in two strides,
falling to his knees. The skin of his arms glowed, and the brow
band flashed as it scanned her.

"Are you
okay?"

When she
nodded, he scooped her up and turned to the wall of fire, which now
reached the ceiling. Tassin wound her arms around his neck and
buried her face in the side of it while she struggled to breathe.
Sabre hesitated, then his arms tightened and he ran at the flames,
leaping through them in an instant of searing heat. Tassin cried
out as her skin burnt and fire danced in her hair.

Sabre sprinted
through the door and lowered her to the floor, patting out the
flames in her hair while she writhed and yelped. He crouched over
her, blocking the heat that emanated from the burning cabin, and
examined her red, painful arms. Picking her up again, he kicked
down the door of the nearest cabin and strode through it to the
washroom, placed her in the shower and switched it on. Tassin
gasped when the cold water hit her burnt skin, but it soothed the
pain. Sabre crouched beside her again, channelling water onto the
worst burns.

"You're okay.
It's not too bad. First and second degree only."

She nodded,
gazing at him. "What about you?"

"I seem to be
okay."

"You jumped
through the fire twice."

"I'm all
right."

"What
happened?" she asked.

"We're being
attacked."

"By whom?"

He shook his
head. "I don't know. Have your arms stopped burning?"

"Yes,
almost."

"Okay, a
little longer, then." As he channelled more water over her reddened
skin, another explosion shook the ship. Switching off the shower,
he swept her up and sprinted for the bridge, shoving aside anyone
foolish enough to get in his way. Atrel swung around when Sabre
entered the bridge, his expression grim.

"The pirates
have returned with some friends."

Sabre
deposited Tassin on a chair and straightened to study the five
ships in the screens. Two were as large as Nemesis, the other three
a little smaller.

"Attack the
nearest destroyer. Hit her with everything we've got."

"But the
others -"

"Do it. Any
guns that can’t be brought to bear on that destroyer, you can use
on the others."

Atrel relayed
the order, and all of Nemesis' lasers targeted one of the
destroyers, causing plumes of weird fire to burst from her hull.
The other ships stepped up their attacks, and Nemesis shuddered as
explosions tore through her, making Tassin's stomach knot with
dread. The pirate destroyer tried to evade Nemesis' weapons, debris
drifting from her. Beams of orange light spat from the second
destroyer, strafing Nemesis' flank.

"We can't win
this battle," Sabre muttered. "We're outnumbered and outgunned. Why
did we drop below light speed?"

"We had to
make a course change."

"Get us back
into a corridor, or we're doomed."

"Flee,
Commander?"

"Yes, Atrel. I
want to live, even if you don't, and if we stay here, we all die.
These guys aren't fighting for honour or pride. They just want to
kill us. Get us into a corridor. I don't care which one."

Atrel nodded
and relayed the order, which brought unhappy looks from the
officers. Then the main engines fired, and the stars moved more
rapidly across the screens. Nemesis' lasers continued to pound the
enemy destroyer, which was partly on fire now, the atmosphere that
leaked from her hull sustaining the flames. Tassin had no doubt
that Nemesis was also badly damaged, and, if not for Sabre's
rescue, she would be dead.

"Approaching
corridor," an officer stated.

"Damage
report," Sabre said.

"Decks twelve
to fourteen badly damaged. Atmosphere vented. Fires on deck ten and
fifteen. One main engine damaged, five thrusters non-functional,
one laser destroyed."

"How many
dead?"

"Estimated
seventy-four."

"Entering
corridor," another officer announced. "Deploying solar wings."

"Enemy ships
are breaking off their attack," Vior said. "Commander, we only have
fuel for fifteen hours of flight, then we're adrift."

"What corridor
are we in?"

"UFG746-289-48"

Sabre nodded.
"There's an E-class planet ten hours ahead, half a light hour from
the corridor. There's an outpost on it. We'll land there for
repairs and fuel."

Atrel swung
around. "That's Ragel Nine. It's a hellhole."

"It's
inhabited, and the only one we can reach."

"Inhabited by
Spraylanders."

"Better than
being adrift."

"The ship
might be too damaged to land."

"Send crews
out to inspect the damage and make what repairs they can. I want
the ship able to land by the time we get there. And keep us on the
edge of the corridor. I don't want us to pick up too much speed, or
we won't have enough fuel for the deceleration." Sabre turned to
Tassin. "Let's get you to the medics."

Scooping her
up once more, he headed down the corridor. She clung to him,
shivering. "I think I can walk."

"No need, you
weigh nothing."

"Thank you for
saving me."

He glanced at
her with a slight smile. "Any time."

In the
hospital, non-com medics rushed around tending to wounded warriors
who littered the blood-smeared floor and sprawled on the beds.
Sabre placed Tassin on a vacant chair and dug in a medicine
cabinet, returning with a tube of salve and bandages.

"The medics
are all busy, so you'll have to settle for me. Hold out your
arms."

"I'd rather
you did it, anyway."

"This might
hurt. Do you want a painkiller?"

Tassin nodded,
chewing her lip while he found an ampoule and a syringe and gave
her the injection. Then he smeared the ointment on her burns and
bandaged them.

"I hope Tarl
and Kernan are all right," she said.

He looked
vague as he consulted the scanners. "I can't find Kernan, but
Tarl's alive. He seems to be in trouble, though."

"How can you
tell them apart from the others?"

"I've flagged
their life signs." He stood up. "I should go and help Tarl, I
guess. Stay here."

"Be
careful."

Sabre loped
down the corridor in the direction of Tarl's cabin, which was close
to his. When he reached it, he found a crowd of warriors and
non-coms fighting a blaze that roared through a hole in the floor.
Going to the edge, he glanced down into a gaping chasm five decks
deep. The explosion had vaporised the floors and a portion of the
walls, but pressure doors had sealed the area off, keeping the
atmosphere intact. An inferno raged at the bottom of the pit, and
the fire-fighters poured foam onto it with little effect. On the
far side of the chasm, Tarl clung to a tiny section of floor, his
back pressed to a bulkhead that, Sabre knew from the schematics
that appeared in his mind, lined the ship’s hull. The heat and
smoke rising from the conflagration made the technician cower,
covering his nose and mouth.

Sabre measured
the distance between them, then glanced around for other possible
routes. The ceiling had been vaporised, and only two beams remained
intact. The walls were gone, leaving beams running across the
chasm, but too far away to be of any use. Blood ran down the side
of Tarl's face from his hair, and his clothes were shredded and
charred. The fumes and heat were taking their toll, and he looked
ready to pass out. Sabre swung away, shoving men from his path.

"Stand aside!
Clear a path!"

They moved
aside, looking puzzled as he strode down the corridor for about two
metres, which the cyber estimated to be a sufficient distance. As
soon as the scrolling figures in his mind turned green he pivoted,
steeling himself for what was to come. He sprinted towards the
chasm, the warriors shouting in dismay when they realised his
intent. Sabre kicked off from the edge of the gap and sailed across
it, the heat engulfing him like a blast furnace from below. His
feet hit the floor beside Tarl, and he threw out his hands to
prevent himself from crashing into the wall. The floor creaked, but
held.

Tarl looked up
with watering eyes, soot streaking his sweaty face. "Are you bloody
mad?" The fire's roar forced him to shout.

Sabre crouched
beside him. "Possibly. Are you hurt?"

"Just burns
and scrapes. What the hell are you going to do?"

"Get you out
of here."

"You can't,
the jump's too far, even for you."

Sabre glanced
at the far side, and a red light flashed in his mind. Without a run
up, and carrying Tarl, it was too far in the cyber's estimation.
The cyber had been wrong before, however, and Sabre had exceeded
the standards a few times.

"We're going
to make it," he yelled.

"You don't
have a hope in hell if you intend to try to take me with you. Maybe
on your own you could do it. Get out of here. Don't be a bloody
idiot."

"I didn't come
here to leave without you, now climb on my back."

"No." Tarl
coughed. "That'll kill us both."

"Don't force
me to knock you out first. You'll just make it harder."

"Why are you
doing this? You hate me."

"Because I
can."

Tarl shook his
head. "You can't, so don't kill yourself trying."

"I don't
intend to kill myself."

"You can't
make that jump!"

Sabre gripped
the front of Tarl's jacket and yanked him closer, glaring into his
eyes. "You'll do as I damn well say! Now!"

Tarl spread
his hands. "Okay, okay. But think about this. If you don't make
that jump, Tassin will be left alone amongst the Trykons. How long
do you think she'll last?"

"I have no
intention of letting that happen."

"You can't -"
Tarl broke off as Sabre's grip tightened, choking him. "Okay!"

Sabre released
him and turned away, balancing precariously on the edge of the
ledge. Tarl wound his arms around the cyber's neck, and Sabre
lifted him off the floor, pulling his legs around so they clasped
his waist.