The Cyber Chronicles VII - Sabre (9 page)

"But how can
we be punished for following orders? Surely the guilty ones are the
men who gave us the order to capture the rogue cyber?"

"I am not
going to debate this with you. You knew you were disobeying me when
you captured him."

Tarl stepped
forward. "And I didn't come here to argue with you, either."

Grundel turned
his attention to the ex-cyber tech again. "So you're resorting to
violence, as he would." He nodded at Sabre.

"He's not the
one threatening you, is he? That just shows how little you know
about him."

Grundel eyed
Sabre, who sighed, folded his arms and leant against the wall. "I'm
sure he finds it fascinating that you, a cyber technician and a
free man, would want to harm another on his behalf."

"Why don't you
ask him?"

Grundel shook
his head. "I'm not interested in the inner workings of a cyber
host's mind."

"You should
be. You would find it amazingly similar to a free man's."

"Who are you
trying to fool, him or yourself? Or perhaps both? You'd do anything
to prove your stupid theory, even to the extent of convincing that
poor dolt he could ever pass for human."

Tarl punched
Grundel on the chin and sent him staggering back into the officers
behind him, who caught and steadied him. Tarl grimaced and wrung
his hand, cursing. Grundel rubbed his jaw, then advanced on Tarl,
raising his fists. Tarl did the same, and the two squared off,
eyeing each other. Grundel took a swing at Tarl, hit him on the
cheek and knocked him sideways. He ducked under Grundel's next
swing and punched him in the solar plexus. Grundel doubled over
with a coughing grunt. Tarl followed up his advantage, punching
Grundel in the ribs. Grundel kicked him in the shin, making him
grunt and hop.

Sabre watched
the fight with growing amusement, marvelling at their ineptitude.
Clearly the cyber techs possessed some rudimentary fighting skills,
probably learnt as a pastime, but neither could be called a
fighter. They did manage to inflict bruises on each other, and a
well-aimed blow from Tarl bloodied Grundel's nose. The rest of the
officers moved back to give the combatants more room, and they
continued to circle and punch.

A touch on his
elbow made him glance around at Tassin as she slipped her arm
through his, gazing at the fight with amazement.

"I was told
there was a fight here, but I thought it was you."

"A logical
conclusion, but wrong, for a change."

"What on earth
is Tarl doing?"

"Fighting?"

She snorted.
"I meant, why is he fighting that man?"

"That's the
cyber tech from the enforcer ship. Tarl wants to beat him up for
injuring me."

"How noble of
him. Who's winning?"

Sabre
shrugged. "Neither, at the moment."

Tassin winced
as Grundel landed a hefty blow on Tarl's chin, sending him reeling
back. Grundel followed it up with two punches to Tarl's midriff,
doubling him over. Tarl gaped for air, and Grundel hit him on the
side of the head, spinning him around, then kicked him, sending him
staggering into the wall.

Sabre sighed.
"Now Tarl's losing."

Grundel kicked
Tarl’s leg, buckling it, and he went down on one knee. Fairen
turned his head towards Sabre, his silent question obvious. Grundel
kicked Tarl in the face, sending him sprawling, and then booted him
in the ribs. Tarl tried to get up, but Grundel kicked him again,
knocking him flat. Sabre pushed himself away from the wall,
slipping from Tassin's grasp. Grundel was intent on his fallen foe,
kicking him again and again as Tarl curled into a defensive
ball.

Sabre closed
the gap in a few strides, and Grundel whipped around as the
officers behind him shouted a warning. Grundel's face went slack
with terror as Sabre grabbed him under the arms, lifted him and
hurled him against the wall. His knees buckled when his feet hit
the floor, and he sprawled. The cyber bent and gripped his neck,
dragged him back to his feet and pinned him to the wall. Sabre
thrust his face close to the technician's.

"It's not nice
to kick a man when he's down."

Grundel
choked, clawing at Sabre's fingers, his face reddening. Sabre
watched him for a moment, then released him and stepped back.
Grundel slumped to the floor, clasped his neck and gasped. Tarl sat
up, rubbed his ribs and scowled at Grundel. Sabre approached and
held out his hand. The ex-tech hesitated before he took it, and
Sabre pulled him to his feet and gave him a slap on the back that
made him cough and stagger.

"You're a
lousy fighter, Tarl. You should spar with me; I'll teach you a few
tricks."

"Thanks, but
no thanks."

Sabre
shrugged, smiling. "I've never seen anything so pathetic."

"Hey, I'm not
a trained fighter, okay?"

"Neither is
he."

"He got
lucky."

"Yeah, right."
Sabre chuckled. "It was amusing, anyway."

Tarl glared at
Grundel. "I haven't finished with him yet."

The
ex-technician headed back into the fray. Sabre turned in surprise,
caught Tarl's arm and yanked him back. "I think you've had
enough."

"Well he
hasn't."

Sabre glanced
at Grundel, who sneered at Tarl, the expression vanishing when he
noticed Sabre’s attention. Tarl tried to jerk free of Sabre's grip,
but the cyber hung on, shaking his head.

"You're both
pathetic fighters, but he's better than you."

"I don't care.
I got in a few good hits, and I'm going to get in a few more before
I'm finished with him."

"What are you
trying to prove?"

"Nothing."
Tarl hesitated. "Okay, maybe this is something I wish you'd do, but
I know you won't. Why don't you want revenge? You should."

"He's just a
man. I killed one like him, but not for what his kind did to me. He
hurt Tassin."

"Why didn't
you do it for yourself?"

Sabre frowned.
"I don't matter."

Tarl groaned,
shaking his head. "Of course you bloody matter. You have every
right to take revenge."

"Are you
trying to turn him into a psychopath?" Grundel demanded.

"You stay out
of it!" Tarl tried to jerk free of Sabre again and failed, turning
to him. "Why don't you matter, huh? Tell me."

"I just don't,
okay? What good would it do? Do you think it would make me feel
better to be as cruel and sadistic as him?"

Tarl stared at
him. "Do you think I'm cruel and sadistic to want to hurt him for
what he did to you?"

"No. I don't
know. Did you enjoy it?"

"Hell yeah! He
deserved it!"

Sabre nodded.
"Good. I'm glad you did, but I wouldn't have."

"What if he'd
done what he did to you, to Tassin? Would you have wanted to hurt
him then?"

"I'd have
killed him then, like I killed Previd."

"So why won't
you do it for yourself? Why is your suffering unimportant?"

Sabre
shrugged. "It always has been."

"Ha!" Tarl
barked, looking furious. "That's your conditioning! Dig deeper.
Find the rage and hatred you've been bottling up for years."

Grundel asked,
"Are you insane? What the hell are you trying to do?"

"Give him back
some of his pride. The pride you and your kind took away by
enslaving and humiliating him all his life. By teaching him that he
was nothing but a biological machine to be used, whose feelings
didn't count. This is what you did to him. He doesn't even think he
deserves the right to take revenge." Tarl turned to Sabre and gave
him a shove. "You hate me for being an ex-cyber tech. Don't you
hate him, too?"

"Yeah, I
do."

"You're always
shoving me around. Why don't you shove him around a bit? It might
make you feel better."

Sabre released
Tarl's wrist and gripped his collar, yanked him closer and glared
into his eyes. "Because I would kill him. And that wouldn't make me
feel good at all."

Tarl's fury
appeared to drain away, and he nodded, looking ashamed. "Okay.
You're right, damn you. I just wanted you to stick up for yourself
for once. But I guess it's hard to control yourself."

"I'm not a
vengeful man. I discovered recently that I can shove you around,
because I like you. You can goad me till you're blue in the face,
and I can just bounce you off a wall. You taught me that. But
there's a line I mustn't cross, because then I'll become the thing
I hate most of all... a killer." Sabre released Tarl and tugged his
rumpled jacket straight. "And that, I'm not."

"But you are,"
Grundel sneered. "One day, when you find that the life you want as
a man will never be, all that rage and hatred is going to come out,
and you'll kill."

Sabre turned
to face him. "If that happens, I'll be sure to travel to Myon Two
and do it where it will do the most good."

Grundel
blanched, and Tarl charged the portly man and sent him sprawling.
Straddling him, Tarl rained blows on Grundel's face. The technician
raised his arms, and Tarl punched him in the ribs several times.
When he was satisfied that Grundel had had enough, he rose and
glanced at Sabre, who gazed at Grundel with something akin to pity
in his eyes. Most of the spectators looked satisfied and some
appeared dispassionate, but no one else showed the slightest
compassion for Grundel's plight.

Approaching
Sabre, Tarl asked, "Why is it that you're the only person here who
pities that bastard, even after what he did to you?"

"Because I
know what that feels like."

"Most of us
do, but we don't pity him. He deserved it."

"Then you have
harder hearts than I do."

Tarl nodded.
"So it would seem, bud. You're a better man than any of us
here."

Sabre shrugged
headed for the door. "I think we've had enough amusement at
Grundel's expense for today."

Chapter Six

Fairen's
veiled presence filled his audience chamber with forbidding as he
turned his head to study Reliant's assembled crew. Fairen had
foregone the fiery torches and subdued lighting, and Tassin assumed
this was because the session was to mete out justice and
punishment, not intimidate a confession out of someone who might be
a criminal. She, Tarl and Sabre stood beside the dais, not far from
Commander Shrain. Tarl sported a black eye and swollen cheek, but
seemed quite proud of them. Grundel's battered face bore testament
to his beating, and Tarl sneered at him at every opportunity. The
animosity between the two techs surprised Tassin somewhat, and
seemed to puzzle Sabre.

"Today you
will be judged." Fairen's deep, distorted voice boomed across the
room with chilling dispassion. "If there is one amongst you who
feels himself innocent of the charge of disobeying my decree, come
forward now."

A fat, bald
man in a white uniform and two younger, similarly clad men came to
the front of the assembled crew and bowed. The bald man said, "I'm
the chief engineer, My Lord, and these are my assistants. We knew
nothing about the order to capture the rogue cyber."

Fairen rose
and approached the edge of the dais, removed his right glove and
stretched his hand out. "Come closer."

The three men
approached and knelt, bowing their heads.

Fairen sighed.
"Stand up."

They obeyed,
looking nervous, and Fairen held his hand up to each of them in
turn, then returned to his throne and settled upon it. "These three
are innocent of the charge. Remove them."

Two guards
escorted the engineers out, and silence fell. Fairen surveyed the
group again. "The rest of you are guilty. The penalty for
disobeying an Overlord is death. However, I said I would only
punish you as much as you harmed Sabre, if I found him alive.
Although you tried to hide him from me, that stands. I consider
thirty lashes with a laser whip each to be a just punishment for
the injury and pain you caused him. Let the sentence be carried
out, then release them."

Commander
Shrain gestured to the guards, who herded the enforcers out. As the
door slid shut behind them, Fairen removed his hood and rubbed his
face, looking tired.

"When they're
released, I'll take you to Omega Five, Sabre."

"Thank you, My
Lord."

Fairen stood
up. "Call me by my name."

Sabre smiled
and inclined his head, looking a little embarrassed, and Tassin
shot him a teasing smile. Tarl elbowed him with a grin, and Sabre
gave him a shove that sent him staggering sideways. Fairen laughed
and stepped down from the dais.

"Lunchtime, I
think."

***

Tassin gazed
at the peaceful blue and white globe in the screens with a smile, a
deep sense of homecoming warming her heart. The Scorpion Ship had
completed its translocation mere moments before, achieving in a few
seconds what she and Sabre had been trying to do for months. She
stood beside Fairen in his private lounge, sipping a mild-flavoured
drink, and Sabre leant against the bulkhead next to a screen, also
armed with a fruit drink. Fairen had invited them to join him for
refreshments before they left the ship, and Tarl sat on a stool at
the refreshment counter, clearly ill at ease.

"Home, at
last." She sighed.

"This time
nothing will stand in your way," Fairen said.

"Thank you, My
Lord, for all you've done for us."

"You are
welcome. I'm glad you're returning to your home, where I hope
you'll be happy, but I'm sad to see you go."

"Come with
us." She looked away when he raised his brows. "For a visit."

"I cannot
leave my ship."

"Why not? You
can do as you please, surely?"

"It's
considered dangerous."

She shook her
head. "There's nothing dangerous on Omega. Not in Arlin, and
besides, Sabre will protect you."