The Cyber Chronicles VIII - Scorpion Lord (31 page)

Sabre smiled.
"Sorry. Didn't you try that on Vorn?"

"He evaded
me."

"Ah, right.
But you have to learn that punching something hurts."

"Only if it's
as hard as you."

The cyber
nodded. "True. That was a good punch. You'd have knocked the wind
out of a normal man."

"Really?"

"Definitely."

"Try that
throat hold on me again, like you did before."

Sabre
straightened, and Fairen followed him to the middle of the room,
where he circled the young Overlord, who stood ready, his arms at
his sides. Fairen must have practised a lot, Sabre mused, to learn
all that he had in such a short time. As he passed behind the boy,
his arm flashed around Fairen's neck, using just enough force to
pin him without hurting him. Fairen grabbed his arm and heaved the
cyber over his shoulder, sending him crashing onto the padded
matting. Sabre laughed, rolling to his feet.

"Very
good."

"But you let
me, like Vorn. You could have countered it."

"I'm being a
normal man. It would have worked on one."

"I want to
fight like a cyber."

Sabre eyed the
boy. "You can't do that. You're not strong enough."

"As much as I
can, then. I'm stronger than I was. I've been working out every
day."

"Even
so..."

"Come on,
teach me something Vorn won't," Fairen pleaded. "He's way too
concerned about me. He lets me win all the time, and I want to
lose. I want to know how good or bad I really am."

"Then you need
to spar with a soldier. Even the most highly trained fighter has no
chance of even landing a punch on a cyber."

"Give me
something to aspire to. Show me how bad I am, then I'll try harder
to improve."

"You're doing
great."

Fairen
frowned. "Don't feed me platitudes. Fight me."

"You might get
hurt."

"I don't
care."

"Do you even
know what it's like to get hurt?” Sabre asked. “Have you ever had
so much as a bruise?"

"How could I,
when everyone treats me like I'm made of glass?"

"It's not
fun."

"Please?"

Sabre sighed
and rubbed his brow. "I never thought I'd meet a man who wanted a
cyber to beat him up, and when I do, he's a boy."

"I'm almost
fifteen!"

"I don't care.
I'm not going to risk it."

"Just counter
the shoulder throw. What harm can that do?"

"I could break
your neck."

Fairen glared
at Sabre, who rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. "Okay, fine,
if you really want to know how useless a man is against a cyber,
I'll show you. But don't blame me if you get a few bruises in the
process."

Fairen
grinned. "I won't."

"And I hope
there aren't any hidden dart guns in here ready to kill me the
instant I lay a hand on you."

"No, not even
surveillance."

"Good. Then
prepare to be humiliated."

The boy took
up a fighting stance, his hands spread. Sabre walked around him,
and Fairen turned to face him. The cyber lunged and the boy tried
to spring aside, but Sabre grabbed Fairen's wrist and twisted his
arm behind his back. He swept the boy's legs out from under him and
sent him crashing face down on the mat. Pinning his arm without
twisting it too much, Sabre placed a knee on Fairen's back and
leant forward.

"How was
that?"

Fairen
groaned, "Humiliating enough."

"Good." Sabre
released him and rose to his feet.

Fairen jumped
up, rubbing the side of his face, then leapt at Sabre, aiming a
kick at his gut. The cyber stepped aside, grabbed the boy’s ankle
and yanked, sending him crashing onto his back. He bent him in half
and held him down with his knees pressed to his cheeks.

"Happy
now?"

Fairen smiled.
"Not yet."

Sabre chuckled
and released him. Fairen bounced up again, flushed with excitement
and exertion. His hand stole up to rub his back, which undoubtedly
smarted. The boy bounced and lunged, his fist flashing towards
Sabre's face. The cyber swayed aside and grabbed Fairen's wrist,
yanked him off his feet and sent him rolling across the mat. Fairen
picked himself up again, grinning and rubbing his shoulder. Sabre
walked over to a rack of staffs and selected one, tossing it to
Fairen.

"Try to hit
me."

"Okay." The
young Overlord hefted the staff, twirling it.

"Every time I
touch you, I could kill you."

Fairen
charged, swinging the staff high. Sabre dropped into a forward
roll, leapt up beside the boy and tapped him on the solar plexus.
The boy spun, swinging the staff. Sabre ducked under it and lunged
in to tap Fairen on the cheek. Fairen jabbed the staff at him, and
Sabre jumped back. He turned and ran up the wall, somersaulted over
the boy and landed behind him, tapping him on the back of the head.
Fairen spun, sweeping the staff around. Sabre leapt into a backward
flick-flack, bouncing up on the other side of the room. Walking
back to the boy, he tilted his head.

"Had
enough?"

"No."

The cyber
chuckled. "Well I have, for now."

"When you can
take this away from me, we'll stop." He brandished the staff.

"Okay."

Sabre lunged,
and the boy stepped back, raising the staff, then realised that his
hand was empty. The cyber tapped the staff on the floor, grinning,
and Fairen laughed.

"That was
amazing."

"You did well.
Against a fighter your own age, you might win. You'd beat an
untrained man, and probably give even a trained fighter a few
bruises."

The boy's grin
widened, and he rubbed his shoulder again. "I think I have a few
bruises now."

Sabre shook
his head. "Don't expect me to apologise. You asked for it."

"I don't. I
enjoyed it. I wish Vorn would fight me like that, but he won't. He
keeps on about 'owner risk too great' or some rubbish."

"Good. When
you're good enough and big enough to handle it, he'll spar with
you."

"Why can't he
do what you just did?"

"You're his
owner. He won't risk harming you."

Fairen headed
for the door. "So an owner can't order his cyber to harm him?"

Sabre fell
into step beside him. "No."

When they
returned to Fairen's private rooms, Shrain was waiting. Fairen went
over to the counter to pour a fruit juice, and the commander
bowed.

"My Lord,
there’s a distress signal from Thayta Three."

Fairen shook
his head. "Not now, I'm busy."

"It is urgent,
My Lord."

"What's the
problem?"

"Corsairs are
attacking them."

Fairen
grimaced. "They're on the Rim. It's too far, and I have ships in
tow."

"No other
Overlord can respond."

"They can't
all be so busy."

"You're the
least busy, My Lord."

Fairen sipped
his drink. "I said I'm too busy, Shrain."

"How long will
it take?" Sabre asked.

Fairen glanced
at him. "If I translocate, not long, but I'll have to release the
enforcers."

"What corridor
are we in?"

The Overlord
smiled. "We're not in a corridor. We're using a tunnel drive."

"So we have
nine hours before they can get to Myon Two. Plenty of time to for
you to deal with a few Corsairs."

Fairen looked
pensive. "All right." He addressed Shrain. "Release the enforcers;
order them to return to Myon Two. Their commanders will remain
here."

Shrain bowed.
"Very good, My Lord."

The young
Overlord turned to Sabre. "You'd better go and warn your friends
about the translocation. The ship will announce it, but it can be
disturbing, especially a long jump, which this will be."

Sabre drained
his glass. "Okay."

"Sabre."

The cyber
stopped in the act of swinging away, turning to face the boy
again.

Fairen sighed.
"I was towing the enforcers so we could spend some time together.
Now we'll be at Myon Two in just a couple of hours."

"We will spend
some time together, I promise. When this is all over, and Tassin
knows I'm safe."

Fairen nodded.
"I hope so."

"Translocation
in two minutes," Shrain announced.

Sabre trotted
along the corridor to the suite where Kole and company resided.
Dull booms and distant groans echoed through the ship as it assumed
translocation formation. The trio looked alarmed when he came in,
turning to him with wide eyes.

"What the
hell's going on?" Kole demanded.

Scorpio's
husky voice announced, "Translocation in thirty seconds."

"We're
translocating," Sabre said. "It's going to be weird. You'd better
sit down."

Estrelle
gasped and plonked herself down on the couch, grabbing Martis' hand
when he sat beside her. Kole frowned and sank down on the other
couch, and Sabre settled on the arm.

"What's it
going to be like?" Estrelle asked.

"Weird."

"How
weird?"

The ship said,
"Translocating."

A stasis field
gripped Sabre in a suffocating embrace, cutting off his air as the
room filled with white light. He squinted, experiencing a vague
floating and spinning sensation, immobilised as if he was trapped
in thick jelly. The feeling lasted a few seconds, then vanished.
Estrelle gasped, swaying, and Martis looked like he wanted to be
sick.

Sabre smiled
at Estrelle. "That weird."

Kole stared
ahead with wide eyes. "Wow. That was amazing." He turned to Sabre.
"Where are we now?"

"The Rim.
Thayta Three."

"Why are we
here?"

"Corsairs are
attacking them."

"Wow. Can we
go see what's happening?"

Sabre stood
up. "I'll ask Fairen. Come on."

The cyber led
them to the door of the command centre, where he told them to wait,
entering alone. Fairen stood gazing out of the massive screens, and
turned to smile at Sabre.

"Are they all
right?"

"They want to
see the battle."

"What battle?
Oh." He pulled a face. "All right, I guess. Hand me the hood, will
you?"

Sabre obliged.
"You wouldn't have to wear this if you would just trust them. I
do."

He pulled the
hood on, adjusting the voice distorter before covering his face
with the veils. "Old habits die hard."

Fairen
signalled to the guards, who ushered the trio in. The three
approached Sabre, looking a little nervous, and Fairen nodded to
them before turning to regard the screens again, ignoring their
awkward bows. A pale, pearly planet hung in space, gilded by a
minor yellow star. Three golden moons orbited it, and ships darted
like silver minnows between them, strafing space with lines of blue
fire. Dark, boxy ships moved more slowly amongst them, pulsing red
flashes of scorching light.

"Why haven't
they stopped fighting?" Estrelle whispered.

"They're
Corsairs," Sabre said.

Fairen turned
his head and nodded to Shrain, who stood in the shadows. The
commander murmured into his com-link, and dull booms and deep
groans echoed through the ship as the Red Death spread its vast
arms, going into attack formation. Several Corsairs broke off and
headed away, the silver defenders chasing after them. Streams of
blue fire shot from the Scorpion Ship, vaporising every Corsair it
touched, and it did not miss. In seconds, dozens of enemy ships
simply vanished, leaving clouds of spreading debris. Shrain glanced
up from his com-link.

"Unknown enemy
ship, My Lord."

"Where?"

"Off our
starboard bow. It's big." Shrain frowned at the com-link. "It's
just emerging from behind a moon."

"How big?"

"It's not a
ship... It has only manoeuvring thrusters. They must have towed it
here. It's some sort of battle station."

"So this was a
trap for an Overlord," Fairen remarked.

"It would seem
so, My Lord."

"How brave of
them."

"The rest of
the Corsair ships have been destroyed, and the battle station is
arming a weapon." Shrain tapped the box, his eyes darting over the
screen. "It's a plasma gun."

"Let me see
it."

The image on
one of the screens changed to show a bright golden moon with a
glinting silver orb emerging from behind it. The orb was made up of
countless struts that formed a lattice that supported five long
curving arms, the tips glowing red. A tiny, glittering sphere
nestled at the centre of the filigree orb. Lines of blue fire
streamed from the Scorpion Ship to strike the lattice, making parts
of it glow.

"Turn the
ship," Fairen ordered.

The image in
the screen moved sideways as the Red Death turned to face the
battle station, which moved onto the other three main screens.
Sabre could imagine what it must look like to the pilots of the
defender ships, to see the massive Scorpion Ship turning to face an
enemy, its huge main arms spreading to pour laser light at it.

"The lattice
is too thin," he said, frowning. "Your lasers can't destroy it.
Target the sphere at the centre."

Shrain glanced
up at him, nodded and tapped his com-link. The barrage of laser
light swept inwards towards the sphere, which blazed, shedding
beams of blue light.

"Mirror
shielding, My Lord," Shrain said.

Fairen nodded.
"Main gun."

More dull
booms and deep, distant groans echoed through the ship, joining the
sounds of the still-spreading arms. Sabre tried to imagine what the
defenders outside must be seeing now. The tail gun, normally
stretched out behind the ship, was curving over it, just like the
tail of a scorpion.

Shrain frowned
at the com-link's tiny screen. "My Lord, the enemy's plasma weapon
is almost armed."

"Arm the main
gun."

"Six minutes
to firing, My Lord. They're going to fire first."