The Cyber Chronicles IX - Precipice

by T C Southwell

  Kole headed for the door. "I'll go and answer the message."

  When the door closed behind the hacker, Martis turned to Estrelle. "I hope this unit's not too badly damaged. We don't have any spare parts."

  "Yeah, but we can still do more for him than anyone else in this quadrant."

  Three hours later, a shuttle docked with Pathos, and two shoddily dressed men escorted a cyber into the hospital, eyeing the two cybers who guarded the door. Thestan followed, glancing around. Martis went over to examine the injured cyber, whose arms looked like they had been pushed into a meat grinder up to the elbows.

  "How did this happen?"

  One of the men said, "None of yer business."

  "Right. Get him on the table and give me access."

  The man turned to the cyber. "Booter Four, lie on the table and let this man touch you."

  The cyber obeyed, and Martis filled syringes from a selection of bottles. Kole, who had been standing by the door, walked over to the men.

  "First you have to pay. Fifty thousand, as agreed."

  The man glared at him, but dug in a pocket and pulled out a credit wafer, handing it over. "This had better be worth it. We've seen too many damned conmen pretending to be cyber techs around here."

  Kole pocketed the money. "Really? We're the real deal, I assure you. Have you heard of any real cyber techs around recently?"

  "Nah, just the usual crooks. You lot are a new bunch, though."

  "Yeah, we just came to this quadrant, heard there was a lot of work here."

  The man sneered, "Yer in the wrong place. There's lots of work for you at Hades Eleven right now."

  "Oh? Why's that?"

  "The games, dumbass. All the rich arseholes go there to enter their cybers against the beasts."

  Kole pursed his lips and nodded. "Thanks for the tip. We'll head over there as soon as your unit's fixed. How long, Martis?"

  The host tech looked up from his examination. "Two or three hours to stitch up all this damage."

  The man glared. "Any fool can stitch 'im up. What about them drugs you use if yer real techs?"

  "He'll get the drugs too, but the wounds still have to be stitched first. And if it isn't done properly, he'll have permanent nerve damage."

  "Better be a good job for fifty thousand."

  Kole gestured to a couple of chairs by the wall. "You can wait there."

  The men went over and flopped down on the chairs, scowling, and Thestan stepped closer to Kole.

  "Where's Sabre?"

  The hacker shrugged. "Around."

  "I thought he was in here?"

  "He comes and goes."

  "No one's seen him for four days."

  Kole smiled. "We didn't know you were looking for him. I can find him for you if you want."

  "No, no, I just wondered where he was, that's all."

  "Just be glad he isn't tearing up your exercise room," Estrelle said, handing Martis cotton swabs from the tray beside the table.

  "I am," Thestan averred. "I'll leave you to it, then."

  The sub-commander left, and Kole breathed a sigh of relief, wandering over to watch the techs work. Martis hooked up a drip and administered a painkiller. Estrelle studied the brow band, which was full of red lights, many of which went off when the drug took effect. Martis settled on a stool and got to work, examining the cyber's arm with an analyser before starting to stitch it, to assure himself that nothing was embedded in the wounds.

  Two hours later, he bandaged the cyber's arms, disconnected the drip and rose to his feet. "That's it. Keep the bandages dry, and no combat for a week."

  The men stood up, stretched and yawned, and the cyber followed them out. As soon as the door shut behind them, Martis turned to Kole.

  "Hades Eleven?"

  "Sounds like a reasonable bet. If whoever has Tarl has cybers, he might be there, and we have to assume he does, because Tarl's not much use to anyone else." He headed for the door. "I'll tell Thestan."

  ****

  Two days passed before Tassin was invited to dine with Tarvin. She spent the time trying to relax in her cabin or wandering around the ship in search of a transmitter. Although she appeared to have been given the run of the vessel, technical areas were sealed off by locked doors with security keypads. Judging by the view from an observation room screen, they had left Forge Prime, and she wondered where she was being taken. Erron had shown her to a dining hall where she could order food and drink, but remained taciturn. The ship seemed to be large, as yet she had not even explored all the accessible parts of it, and she was sure vast areas were sealed off behind the secure doors.

  When Erron brought her the invitation with his usual glum stoicism, she rummaged through the voluminous wardrobe and found a subdued, spinsterish outfit of dark green velvet with a high collar and long sleeves, its waistline too wide for her slender figure. While tasteful and expensive, it was anything but alluring, which was the look she wanted. She scraped back her hair into a severe bun and donned a pair of flat shoes to complete the outfit. Erron escorted her along several corridors to a tastefully furnished, dimly lighted room, where Tarvin waited at a four-place table in a dining alcove, reading a vidbook. Gossamer draperies of blue silk hung on the walls, and golden lights shone from recesses near the ceiling. He looked up when she entered and put down the book, gesturing to a cushioned, high-backed dark blue velvet chair trimmed with gold on one side of the table, close to where he sat.

  He studied her outfit. "Not what I was expecting you to wear, but nice."

  "What were you expecting?"

  "Something a little prettier, perhaps?"

  "Why would I want to be pretty?" she enquired.

  "Most women do."

  "I'm not most women."

  "That's true." He smiled, and Erron filled their glasses with ruby wine. "You're a queen."

  "Yes, I am. Do you doubt it?"

  "I am more and more convinced of it."

  "Good. Then you'll show me the proper respect for my rank and return me to my kingdom."

  "Right. The one on Omega Five." He nodded. "A backwater planet. Post holocaust, isn't it?"

  "Yes, but it's my home."

  "Of course, you miss your family, I expect. Brothers and sisters?"

  "No, I'm an only child. I have an uncle and a cousin, and my fiancé, Sabre, of course."

  Tarvin leant back, looking down at his glass. "You love him?"

  "Yes.”

  “Unfortunate.”

  “He will find me, and when he does..."

  "I'll be sorry?"

  Tassin nodded. "More than you could ever know."

  "So he's a powerful man?"

  "He’s an Overlord's friend."

  Tarvin frowned at his wine. "An easy claim to make; but even so, the chances of his finding you are slim to none, and his Overlord friend won't help him."

  "He will find me," she repeated, and wondered if that was true. Sabre might be a prisoner of Myon Two, trapped and helpless, and he might never get free. She had to find a transmitter.

  "You don't look very certain of that," Tarvin remarked. “Hardly surprising, since he’s vanished and, for all you know, he could be dead.”

  "He’s not dead, and he’ll overcome whatever has befallen him and return to Omega, then he’ll find out that I’m gone. I know it will be difficult, so it may take a while, but he’ll come for me one day."

  "I’m sure he will search for you, but when he doesn’t find you he will eventually give up."

  She sipped her wine. "I find it odd that a high king would choose to dine with a slave. Is it because I’m a queen? Don't you have any friends or courtiers? If I'm kept here against my will, I won't be good company, you know."

  "That will be a shame. I have enjoyed your company thus far."

  "Be assured, that won’t continue, so you’d be well advised to let me go."

  He shook his head. "That's not going to happen."

  "Will you buy Tarl, then? I'd feel a lot better if he
was here."

  "We are on our way to my home world, so I'm afraid not."

  Tassin fingered the selection of cutlery on the table, which included some fairly blunt knives. "What would happen if I held one of these to your throat? I think perhaps I would be taken home if I did, don't you?"

  "No, I wouldn't recommend it. You would be hurt, perhaps even killed."

  She glanced around. "Cybers?"

  "I am never without them. For a man in my position, with my disability, I have to ensure my security." He smiled. "Although I would be able to cope with you on my own, even without the benefit of legs."

  "On Omega Five, royalty are trained in the art of combat, and war."

  "Naturally, but I somehow doubt you could overpower me."

  Tassin raised her chin. "I have sparred with a cyber."

  Tarvin chuckled, his eyes sparkling. "Did you win?"

  "No more than you did, of course, but I have skills. Perhaps more than you credit me with. At least I didn’t end up with a broken back."

  "No need to be unpleasant. And it's not your skills I doubt. I'm sure they're considerable. It's your strength. You are a little on the small size to be threatening anyone, especially a trained fighter like myself." He sipped his wine. "But how did you come to spar with a cyber?"

  Again she toyed with the idea of telling him about Sabre, but discarded it. "I have one, of course. Why do you think I had a cyber tech in my employ?"

  "Ah, and I suppose he'll be searching for you now, but he won't find you, and even if he does, he's a bit outnumbered. But if you have a cyber, how were you abducted?"

  "He wasn't there, obviously."

  "Of course," Tarvin said, smiling. "You are full of surprises." He touched a keypad on the table beside his hand. "Now, let's eat, shall we?"

  Chapter Seven

  Kole banged his glass down on the bar counter and gestured for the bald bartender to refill it. Pathos had arrived at Hades Eleven four hours ago, and, after scouting the gaming arenas for Tarl, he had found this little bar tucked away around the corner from one. It appeared to be a converted storeroom, but no one had bothered to update the drab grey prison paint, although someone had added a few ornaments in the form of stuffed alien beast heads on the walls. Some of which were not too well cured, judging by the smell. Then again, it might have been the surfeit of unwashed bodies that packed the room. The patrons all appeared to be smugglers, pirates or slavers, their garb dull and functional and their faces bearded, for the most part.

  Some might have been employees of the rich playboys and moguls who visited the games to rub shoulders with riffraff and indulge in some blood sports, for there were a few men clad in fairly clean outfits. Scuffed plastic tables and chairs provided places to sit and drink, and the bar counter was made up of stacked crates all marked ‘high explosives’. He hoped they were empty. More crates provided shelving for bottles of liquor behind the counter, which two large, sweaty men clad in filthy vests and ragged trousers tended.

  Wandering around searching for, or even asking about, a cyber tech had proven fruitless and tiring, and this was probably the best place to make enquiries. Asking about Tarl seemed unlikely to get any truthful answers, however. Kole was a stranger, while Tarl's new owner was probably a regular.

  A drunken man, however, could get away with a lot more, and would be likely to make bold statements that could draw the attention of someone who might have some information. It might cause trouble, though, so he was glad he had brought a dozen enforcers with him, some of whom were positioned around the room, with more outside. In order to make the ploy believable, he had consumed a fair number of drinks, and the alcohol was taking effect, so he had to make his move soon.

  Kole turned to the stranger beside him. "Know any arseholes who go 'round kidnapping cyber techs from fellow outlaws, huh?"

  The man shook his head and moved away, taking his drink with him. Kole turned to glare around the room, swaying. "Anyone know any arseholes who go 'round kidnapping cyber techs from fellow outlaws?"

  The murmur of voices hushed, then resumed, and many men shot him scornful, scathing looks.

  "I'm lookin' for the arseholes who kidnapped my friend, a cyber tech!" Kole shouted. "An' when I find 'em, I'm gonna rip 'em a new one!"

  Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he swung around. The bartender glared at him. "Take it outside, or you'll get taken out, got it?"

  "But there's no one outside," Kole slurred.

  "Then shut it, or get booted."

  "Fine, fine, don't blow a gasket." Kole staggered over to the nearest table and leant on it, scattering glasses. "Any of you fellows know anyone who's got a cyber tech they kidnapped, huh?"

  The men recoiled with growls of anger and cries of, "Piss off!"

  Kole pushed himself away, spilling more drinks, and reeled over to another table, repeating the question as he bumped into it, slopping drinks. The patrons jumped up with shouts of anger, and Kole stumbled off again, slugging back his drink. Sprawling across another table, he stared owlishly at the men who sat around it.

  "I'm lookin' for the bastards who took my friend! 'Is name's Tarl! 'E was kidnapped!"

  Someone grabbed him from behind and hauled him off the table. "Out you go, buster."

  Kole struggled in the grip of a muscular man who trundled him towards the door. "Hey! I'm lookin' for my friend! 'Is name's Tarl Averly! I'll give five hundred thousand credits to anyone who knows who took him! Half a mill! One million to anyone who tells me where he is! I -"

  The bouncer slammed Kole into the wall beside the door. "Oops." He sniggered.

  Kole rubbed his nose. "Oi, that wasn't nice, dumbass."

  "Tough luck, ye shoulda looked where yer was goin'."

  "Piss on you, arsehole!"

  The bouncer shoved Kole out of the door, sending him staggering into the wall across the corridor, and dusted his hands. "If ye come back in, you'll be sorry, so piss off."

  Kole raised a finger, then slid down the wall to slump on the floor, bowing his head. Now he just had to wait for someone to take the bait. Half an hour passed before a pair of boots stopped in front of him. One nudged him, and he looked up. A rat-faced man scowled down at him, then squatted, eyeing him.

  "You the one looking for the cyber tech?"

  Kole nodded. "Thas right."

  "I might know, so where's the reward?"

  "Not on me, thas fersure," Kole raised a hand and fingered his nose.

  Ten enforcers emerged from the shadowy doorways and side passages up and down the corridor. They converged on the ratty man, who leapt up and tried to dive back into the bar. Thestan and another enforcer caught him and dragged him out. Kole climbed to his feet, shaking his head as it swam from the alcohol. The man tried to yell, but the enforcer clamped a hand over his mouth. Kole headed down the corridor to an empty storeroom he had rented earlier, the enforcers following with their captive. In the room, Kole turned to frown at the prisoner.

  "Tell us what you know, and we'll let you live."

  The enforcer who held the man released his face, and he spat, grimacing. "Bloody bastards."

  "Yeah, we are," Kole agreed. "So where's the cyber tech?"

  "If I had a cyber with me -"

  "Well you don't, so start talking."

  The man's eyes darted. "I want the reward, or I ain't saying nothing!"

  "Yeah I want a million credits, too." Kole thrust his face closer. "Ain't gonna happen, shithead, so spit it out or get yer head bashed in."

  "What you want him for?"

  "He's my pal, and we're gonna get him back."

  "Okay." The man looked mollified, even a little pleased. "Endrovar’s got him."

  "How do you know?"

  "He was here, at the games, boasting about his damned cyber tech. He told me all my cybers were B-grades, the bastard. I could lose money because -"

  "Where is he now?"

  The man shrugged. "How the hell should I know? His cybers got beaten up and he left, t
hat's it."

  "What's the name of his ship?"

  "Imperial. You can't miss it, bloody great monstrosity, armed to the teeth. You'll have a job, that's for sure."

  "How do you know it was Tarl, and not some conman?"

  "Because he was right about the cybers, and he had a tattoo. And Endrovar introduced him."

  Kole straightened, nodding to the enforcer. "Get rid of him."

  The enforcer dragged the scrawny man away, and Kole led the men back down the grimy corridor towards the landing pad where the shuttle was parked.

  Thestan fell into step beside him. "So how do you propose to find this ship?"

  "Much more easily than a man, and I found him."

  "Sheer luck. If this ship is heavily armed, how are we supposed to get him back?"

  Kole shot him a frown. "Aren't you supposed to be a commander? Oh right, now you're a sub-commander. But you should still know how to board a ship. We have a battle cruiser, don't we?"

  "I don't think Overlord Fairen intended -"

  "Overlord Fairen gave your ship to Sabre, to do with as he chose, so you'll do it."

  "I'd like to hear it from Sabre, then."

  Kole smiled. "An excellent idea. I'd like to see you get your head bashed in. He's still in a really shitty mood, you know. I saw what he did to your exercise room. Man, I wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of that. Your funeral, though."

  "Why didn't Sabre come with us?"

  "He's a cyber!"

  "So?"

  Kole snorted. "He doesn't like pretending to be under cyber control, and if he didn't, that would sure raise a few eyebrows, wouldn't it?"

  "I suppose so." Thestan looked uneasy. "All right, there's no need to tell him. I'll do it."

  "You sure? Because it's no problem, really. I think he's just itching to bash some enforcers. That's why he's been staying away from you lot, his self-control isn't too good these days."

  "No, there's no need to tell him."

  Kole chuckled. "Fine. Sooner or later you're going to piss him off, though, I guarantee it, and then I'll get to see you bounce of the walls like those dumbbells."