The Cyber Chronicles VII - Sabre (4 page)

"But he can
find out!"

Fairen gazed
at her pensively. "He won't be willing to help. He will agree to do
so, but how much effort do you think he'll put into it? And while
he's pretending to help, Sabre suffers on that ship."

"What else can
we do?"

"Unfortunately, our options are limited."

Tassin stepped
forward. "Fairen, you have unlimited power. Use it, please. Sabre
saved your life twice. Surely that counts for something?"

He frowned.
"Of course it does. Why do you think I'm here?"

Tarl touched
Tassin's elbow and whispered, "Hey, cool it. Remember who you're
talking to."

She nodded,
bowing her head as she struggled to control her emotions. "I'm
sorry, My Lord."

He waved a
slender hand. "I understand your anguish. I share it. What would
you have me do?"

"Send out
ships to search for the enforcers. Put a bounty on their heads.
Order every planet to report them if they stop to refuel or pass
through their territory."

"There are
thousands of enforcer ships. How would they know it was the right
one?"

"Then order
them to board and search every enforcer ship they find."

He sighed,
shaking his head. "That would spark conflicts. Myon Two is a
powerful world. Few would be willing to take on enforcers. And even
if they did do it, how would they tell him apart from the cybers
every enforcer ship carries?"

"The lights on
his brow band are different from a normal cyber."

"That's a very
small difference for an untrained man to spot. The enforcers will
lie; tell them his brow band is malfunctioning. It won't work."

"What about
the bracelet you gave him?" she asked.

"If he's still
wearing it. They might have removed it. They've already succeeded
in stopping the signal, and, since they can't deactivate it, they
must have broken it. They know what it is, so they won't take the
chance that Sabre activated it."

"There must be
something you can do!"

Fairen nodded,
turning to the man with gold embroidery on his sleeves who stood in
the shadows. "Commander Shrain, has the Trykon ship undocked?"

"Yes, My
Lord."

"Translocate
to Myon Two."

"Yes, My
Lord." Shrain consulted his com-link. "Ship is in translocation
configuration, generators charged. Translocating in thirty
seconds."

Fairen gazed
into space, his expression grim, but pensive. "This will be the
first time an Overlord has visited Myon Two."

****

President
Niare glanced around in irritation as the com-link on his desk
beeped, his knife and fork poised over his half eaten lunch. He
hated to be interrupted during a meal, especially when it was
buttered benja wings and sweet fetar cream with jem berries.
Setting down his utensils, he took a sip of musky red wine and
glared at the com-link, wishing he could ignore it and continue to
enjoy his lunch. His office was the envy of every other politician
on the planet, and quite a few tycoons. Onyx-framed vidcom screens
lined his sleek golden vrywood desk, and a matching two
metre-square one on the opposite wall came in handy for
teleconferences. Plush, wine red, cross-woven carpeting
complemented the fawn veer-hide curtains, which framed the floor to
ceiling tinted windows that gave a panoramic view of the capital
city's vast, glittering splendour. Air-car traffic shot past in
fifteen levels of cross lanes, sleek fun cars on the topmost five
levels and ponderous commercial freight trucks at the bottom, with
public transport in the middle. Wiping crumbs and a smear of sweet
sauce from his double chin, he keyed the com-link.

"What the hell
is it? I'm eating my lunch. I said no interruptions."

"Sir, this is
Admiral Menaar. An Overlord has appeared in Myon Two space, just
beyond the outer traffic markers. The ship is moving towards the
planet."

Niare stared
at the com-link in stunned silence for several moments.

"Sir? Are you
there?" the voice from the com-link demanded.

"Yes." Niare’s
voice emerged as a squeak, and he swallowed hard, his heart
pounding. "Which Overlord is it?"

"The Scorpion
Lord."

"Oh, god. What
does he want?"

"No
communications have taken place yet. He's moving into orbit. The
disruption to traffic is terrible."

"Bugger the
traffic. Prepare my personal shuttle."

"Yes,
sir."

President
Niare stood up, his mind reeling with shock and terror at the
prospect of meeting an Overlord, especially the Red Death, most
feared of all. What did he want? He ran a hand over the fine head
of regrown brown hair he had had implanted when his original hair
had fallen out many years ago. One of the myriad benefits of cyber
technology was the advanced cloning science Myon Two possessed,
which allowed the wealthy to replace ageing or malfunctioning body
parts. He went to the gleaming black dim wood door, which slid
open. His secretary looked up in surprise.

"Get in here,"
Niare ordered. "I have to change into my state clothes in a
hurry."

The vapid,
gangly man's eyebrows shot up. "There's no dignitary visiting on my
schedule, sir."

"This
dignitary doesn't need an appointment, Frem."

Frem bristled.
"All dignitaries need an appointment to see the president of Myon
Two, sir."

"Yeah? Well
you tell that to Overlord Fairen, how about that?"

Frem paled,
his Adam’s apple bobbing, and rose to hurry into Niare's office.
"We'll have to prepare an official welcome. A state dinner, and
invite all the planetary leaders. When does he arrive?"

Niare shook
his head. "He's already here. Forget about all that crap, Overlords
never leave their ships. I'll be summoned as soon as his ship docks
into orbit, which it's doing even as we speak, so get a move
on."

Frem trotted
into the walk-in vrywood wardrobe, recessed lighting brightening at
his entry. He grabbed a white silk shirt, a royal blue jacket,
matching trousers, a black and gold tie, black shoes and a belt.
Niare shucked his grey jacket and pale blue shirt, revealing a
hirsute torso that had benefited from far too many formal afternoon
luncheons and the rich gourmet delicacies to be found at political
functions and fund raisers. Even cyber technology could not prevent
the penalties of excess, although his heart had been replaced twice
and his liver once already. Even now, however, cyber sci-techs were
working on a way to splice the cyber gene that prevented weight
gain to normal human DNA. Frem helped him don the new outfit with
shaking hands. He had barely fastened the shirt's zip tabs when the
com-link beeped, and he rushed over to it.

"President
Niare's office."

"This is
Admiral Menaar. The president's shuttle is ready, and we've
received a message from the Scorpion Ship, demanding his immediate
presence."

"He's on his
way."

Niare's
stomach squirmed as Frem hurried back to help him with his tie,
knotting it as the president made for the door.

"Good luck,
sir," Frem said.

Niare shot him
a sickly smile and trotted to the lift, where his escort
waited.

Chapter Three

Fairen tapped
his toe, then sighed and turned to Tassin. "If you wish to stay,
you'll have to wear a disguise. I don't want him to see you. And
you must remain silent."

She nodded.
"As you wish, My Lord."

Fairen flicked
his fingers, and an aide ran off and returned a few minutes later
with two hooded cloaks. Tassin and Tarl donned them, pulling up the
hoods to hide their faces in shadow.

Fairen glanced
at Shrain. "Where is he?"

"His shuttle
is docking, My Lord."

"About
time."

Fairen picked
up a veiled hood and put it on, adjusting the voice distorter in
front of his mouth. The already subdued lighting in the
cathedral-like chamber dimmed further, causing the shadows to
thicken and hide much of its details. Soft lights glowed behind the
thin crimson curtains that hung beside the walls at regular
intervals, and the four pedestal-mounted torches around Fairen's
dais burst into flames. Their flickering light, combined with the
ruddy glow, gave the room a hellish ambience that the light from
the pale planet in the screens only dispelled a little. This was,
she surmised, to add to Fairen's sinister air, which she hardly
thought needed augmenting. Minutes crawled past, and Fairen tapped
his fingers on the arm of his throne.

At last the
doors opened, and four guards ushered in a portly man with bushy
sideburns and darting brown eyes, whose pale brow gleamed with
nervous sweat. Tassin almost pitied him as the soldiers guided him
to the front of the dais to face Fairen's hooded presence.
President Niare bowed low, straightening hesitantly, as if unsure
of whether he was allowed to stand in an Overlord's presence.

"Overlord
Fairen, you do us a great honour. The people of Myon Two rejoice at
your unexpected and welcome visit."

"Do they?"
Fairen's deep, distorted voice was menacing, and made even Tassin
shiver.

"Of course, My
Lord."

"Then they are
fools, President Niare. Overlords don't pay friendly visits to
peaceful planets. We appear where there is conflict and
lawlessness."

"We are a
peaceful planet, My Lord." Niare gulped, his eyes darting
again.

"On the
surface; but you harbour criminals in your midst."

"Criminals, My
Lord?"

"One of your
enforcer factions has broken an edict laid down by myself and
Overlord Ravian just a few months ago."

Niare looked
horrified. "There must be some mistake, My Lord. No one would
dare!"

"I don't make
mistakes."

"No, no, of
course not. Someone has lied to you, My Lord."

"No one lies
to me." Fairen stood up and walked closer. Niare looked like he
wanted to run. "Including you."

"I would never
do such a thing, My Lord."

Fairen started
to pull off his right glove. "No, you won't."

Niare watched
Fairen's hands like a trapped rabbit. "Wha - what are you going to
do?"

"I have a
question."

"Ask anything,
My Lord. I will tell the truth, I swear."

Fairen
stretched his hand out towards Niare, who leant back, his bulging
eyes fixed on the young Overlord's slender appendage. "There is a
cyber who has been freed from his control unit. You know about
this, don't you?"

"Y-yes, My
Lord."

"I forbade
Myon Two enforcers to hunt and capture him."

"Yes, yes, you
did."

"But they
have."

Niare paled
even further, his skin almost turning grey, and his eyes widened.
"Impossible, My Lord. No enforcer would break an Overlord's
edict."

"Are you
calling me a liar?"

"No!" Niare's
voice cracked, and he coughed. "No, My Lord. But... Who told you
this?"

"No one. I
gave the free cyber a distress beacon, should he ever need my aid.
That beacon was activated just a few hours ago."

"That doesn't
mean -"

"I have
witnesses. Two enforcer ships took him, one of which was destroyed
by the warship he was aboard when he was attacked. These are facts,
and not in dispute."

"I know
nothing about this, I swear!"

Fairen lowered
his hand. "There is no need to swear. You will find out who did
this, then you will order them to give me the name and location of
the ship that took him. If they return him to me unharmed, they
will be punished reasonably. If he is harmed, they will be
similarly tortured. If he is dead, they will forfeit their
lives."

Niare nodded,
but his eyes were filled with doubt. "I'll do my utmost, My Lord,
but it'll take time. Certain factions are secretive, and
communicating with them will be hard."

Fairen
returned to his throne, settled upon it and pulled his glove back
on. "You have two days."

"That's not
enough time, My Lord. It could take weeks, even months."

"It will take
two days, President Niare. I won't threaten your life, because that
will mean nothing to your rebel factions."

"Then... what
will you do?"

Fairen raised
his head to gaze at the pale planet in the screens. "Do you know
why I'm called the Red Death?"

"You - you
destroy worlds, My Lord."

"I've
destroyed more worlds that any other Overlord." He gestured. "This
ship is a planet killer. The main guns will disintegrate a world in
less than two hours. It's impervious to attacks from lesser ships,
even great fleets of them. Only another Overlord could destroy it,
and that, they will never do."

Niare gulped.
"Surely we have done nothing to deserve your wrath, My Lord. The
life of one man -"

"There are
only a few reasons for destroying a world," Fairen interrupted. "If
there is an incurable, deadly plague that is being spread to other
worlds, or if they're attacking other planets and inciting others
to war, or producing illegal drugs that cause much death and
suffering. An Overlord will order them to stop. They can obey and
live, or disobey and be destroyed. Most of my peers are more
lenient than I. They will spend time and effort persuading such a
recalcitrant people to obey, and sometimes they succeed."

Fairen leant
forward. "I don't believe in wasting my time. You will inform your
rebel factions that they have two days to give me the name and
location of that ship. If they do not, they are guilty of
disobeying an Overlord."

Fairen turned
his head towards Commander Shrain, who stood in the shadows beside
the dais. "Put the ship into attack formation, Commander. There is
your target." Fairen gestured to the pale globe.