The Cyber Chronicles 05: Overlord

by T C Southwell

"No, it was also mine."

  Ramadaus turned to Sabre, contemplating him, then took off his head covering and veils, folded them and tucked them away in his robe. Removing his gloves, he stepped closer to study the cyber, paying particular attention to the brow band.

  "How was he freed?"

  "I have not asked him."

  Ramadaus faced Sabre and repeated the question.

  "Impact at terminal velocity," Sabre replied.

  Ramadaus glanced at Ravian. "He still speaks like a cyber."

  "That has not been my experience."

  Ramadaus turned to Sabre again. "What do you want from your freedom?"

  "Mostly to be left in peace to enjoy it."

  "Don't you long for the destruction of Myon Two?"

  "I'd like the suffering of cyber hosts to end."

  Ramadaus cocked a brow at Ravian. "So, the resemblance to a cyber ends. You allow him to bear arms in my presence; this disturbs me."

  "He's no threat to you."

  "Atrashka assures me that he's dangerous."

  "Atrashka wants my order overturned."

  Ramadaus addressed Sabre. "How were you tortured on Myon Two?"

  "Exhaustive combat practice, electric shocks to speed up my reactions, painful immunisation regimens, sensory deprivation, the inability to use my own body, obviously, and I was cut open to fit the barrinium plating without anaesthetic."

  The Overlord walked around Sabre, then stopped before him again and glanced at Ravian. "He offends me. You're correct; this one is not a machine. But the abilities of a cyber should not belong to a fallible man with emotions and unpredictable reactions."

  "We have the power to destroy worlds, yet we are human, too," Ravian said.

  "We've been trained, and we have not been psychologically traumatised, as he has."

  "You're not here to decide his fate. I have already done that. This meeting is a courtesy, nothing more."

  "I don't support your order. Some pain is necessary to train cybers."

  Ravian tilted her head. "I had already deduced that. You wanted to speak to him, and now you have."

  "He's an abomination, and I believe that if you threatened him or his freedom, he would kill you."

  "I disagree, and it's not your concern."

  "Actually, it is. You have no apprentice, and neither do I. Of the seven, only the two oldest have apprentices. You could not be replaced, and that concerns all of us."

  Ravian frowned. "Since I have no intention of threatening him, he has no reason to attack me, even if he would, which I don't believe. Your concern is unfounded."

  "By Atrashka's account he's a psychopath, incapable of human emotions or obedience to our laws. He will kill without compunction if he feels threatened, and, since he's paranoid, the threat could be imagined. He should be destroyed."

  "Atrashka will do and say anything to overturn my order, or, failing that, kill Sabre. He's the one who's paranoid, and threatened by the existence of a free cyber, yet Sabre had no wish to harm him when they met. You haven't even done him the courtesy of reading him."

  Ramadaus snorted. "I'm not a fool. You have no precautions in place. Even now we're in danger."

  "I disagree."

  "Of course you do. You're a young, romantic girl, and he's a handsome man with the added attraction of being lethal."

  A faint flush suffused Ravian's creamy cheeks. "Now you go too far. I took precautions until I had established that he was not a threat. Do you question my judgement?"

  "Yes."

  "Then our meeting is over."

  Ramadaus nodded and swung away, replacing his hood and veil as he stalked to the door, where the officer who waited there drew the silk aside. Ravian scowled at the door after the cloth had closed behind him for several moments, then turned to Sabre.

  "That was unpleasant."

  The cyber shrugged. "Like Atrashka, he finds me offensive. I don't blame him. I find myself offensive."

  "They dislike the notion of a man possessing your abilities. That's why, I suspect, cybers were made as they are in the first place."

  Ravian turned to gaze out of the screens as the gold and silver ship was encased in a sheath of white fire. With a shimmer, it vanished. "I fear that I've put you in greater danger, Sabre. I cannot protect you from him."

  "He's going to try to kill me, isn't he?"

  "He has reached his judgement."

  "Great." He sighed, rubbing his brow. "Maybe I should just flush myself out of an airlock and save him the trouble."

  "No. You're safe as long as you remain on this ship."

  "I can't stay here."

  "Why not?"

  He shook his head. "Tassin wants to go home, and she won't go without me."

  "Even if she knows you'll be in danger?"

  "I've been in danger since I was freed."

  "From enforcers. He's an Overlord."

  "It's not fair to expect her to give up her life and her dreams."

  Ravian looked sad. "It's not right that you should die. I suspect that would crush her dreams anyway, since you're a large part of them."

  "At least she would be able to return to her life on Omega Five."

  "Why don't you ask her what she wants? Perhaps she'll agree to return to her home and leave you here under my protection. Knowing that you're safe and free might be enough for her, and you would be able to communicate with each other."

  "What use would I be to you if I'm unable to leave this ship?" he asked.

  "You would be my companion and friend. And you would be able to leave it for short excursions. Ramadaus isn't all-seeing. He relies on his spies just as I do. But you cannot return to Omega Five; he surely knows about it."

  Sabre nodded. "May I go?"

  Ravian inclined her head. "Of course."

  Sabre headed for the exit, where an aide drew aside the silk curtains.

  "Oh, wonderful." Tassin jumped up from the couch where she had been sitting beside Sabre in his quarters. She swung away, frowning. In his absence, she had showered and washed her hair, which was loose about her shoulders. She still wore the pretty grey trouser suit Tarl had given her, although it had evidently been laundered.

  "So now we've got rid of the enforcers and replaced them with an Overlord. Can things get any worse?" she asked.

  Sabre lowered his gaze to his shiny wrist guards, wishing he had been able to change before speaking to her, but she had been waiting for him when he returned.

  She faced him. "What are we going to do?"

  "I don't know."

  "Don't think I'm going back to Omega Five without you. It's not going to happen."

  Sabre glanced up at her. "You'd stay here?"

  "I'm staying with you."

  "Could you be happy here? Wouldn't you miss your home; your friends and family?"

  "Not as much as I'd miss you."

  He frowned at the wrist guards again, fiddling with a dagger.

  She sat beside him and placed a hand on his arm. "Would you miss me too?"

  "Yes."

  "Then let's go home. Surely we can get there without this Ramadaus finding us, and once you're there, you'll be safe."

  He shook his head. "I don't think the restrictions will stop an Overlord, and he'll find out where I am."

  "Then we'll deal with that when we have to. Do you want to stay here?"

  "No."

  Tassin moved closer, making him uncomfortably aware of her presence. "Good. Kole has summoned Striker. She'll be here within a few days, and then he'll be returning to Ferrinon. Tarl still wants to come with us. Ask Ravian for a ship to take us home. Perhaps Overlord Ramadaus will think twice about attacking one of Ravian's ships. Ask him for a small one we can hide in the forest, and then if Ramadaus does find you, we can flee."

  "All right." Sabre tensed as Tassin twined her arms around his neck and hugged him, laying her cheek on his shoulder with a sigh. He patted her back. "Are you upset about something?"

  "Yes. In all the time we've bee
n together, you haven't held me even once. You say you care about me, but you don't show it."

  "Ah. Well... it's not really in my nature, I suppose."

  "I know; which is why we have to change that."

  "We do?"

  "Yes." She released his neck and slid her arms around his chest, snuggling closer. "You can start any time about now."

  "Right." He put his arms around her.

  Sabre found her proximity disconcerting and the intimacy alien, even, in a way, unwelcome. On another level, it was enjoyable, but the nagging, hated voice in the back of his mind shouted that he was just a broken killing machine, and this was wrong. All his training urged him to push her away and return to his familiar solitary state of being, but he could not. A flashing amber proximity alert prickled in the back of his mind, and it should not be there, since she was his owner. A proximity alert was for a stranger’s approach, and contact would be a red proximity violation.

  Sabre tried to analyse the strange feelings her closeness evoked, identifying embarrassment and nervousness, but unable to name the warmth in his chest. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back against the couch to gain a little distance. Proximity alert, the amber words warned, over and over again. For several minutes Tassin remained still, and the tension leaked out of him. He became aware that she had raised her head, and opened his eyes.

  Tassin smiled, squirmed onto his lap and slipped her arms around his neck, causing a fresh wave of tension and awkwardness to engulf him. The urge to escape grew stronger, but now it had become a lot more difficult. She trailed her fingers along the edge of his jaw and the bridge of his nose, her eyes following her hand. Sabre sat frozen with embarrassment, not knowing what to do.

  The moment, though awkward, was precious. Not since he had been taken from Omega Five on that terrible night had he felt the special warmth her affection brought, and he realised that in some strange way he craved it. Tassin hugged his neck again and buried her face in the side of it. After several moments, driven by some inexplicable desire, he turned his head and breathed in the perfume of her hair, his enhanced sense of smell picking up every nuance of it. A glowing green analysis appeared in the back of his mind, listing the perfume's ingredients. He tried to ignore it, hating the reminder of what he was. He stroked her sleek, cool hair, enjoying its softness.

  "Stay with me tonight," she whispered.

  "What? No."

  "We could just hold each other, like this."

  "No."

  "Why not?" she demanded. "We spent many nights together in that cave, when you were hurt."

  "That was because you were cold."

  She raised her head and gazed at him. "Don't you like this?"

  He hesitated. "Yes."

  "So what's the problem?"

  He looked away. "It's... strange."

  "So it's time you got used to it." She stroked his cheek. "Please."

  "It's not right."

  "Of course it is."

  "I'm not comfortable with the idea."

  She sighed and snuggled close to him again. "All right."

  Sabre closed his eyes and tried to relax, but moments later the cyber flashed a warning in his mind, and he raised his head as a crewman entered the room.

  "Overlord Ravian wishes to see you, cyber."

  Tassin slid off his lap, glaring at the crewman. Sabre rose and headed for the door. The man led him to Ravian's private quarters, where he found the Overlord seated on a couch, a selection of finger food on the table before her. She wore a form-hugging gown of white silk, and her hair was teased into curls that cascaded over her shoulders. He wondered why the women he knew seemed to be getting prettier. She smiled, patting the space beside her, and he went over to sit there.

  "Have you reached a decision yet?" she enquired.

  "Yes. We're returning to Omega Five."

  "That's not a good idea. Ramadaus will find you."

  "If you give me a ship, I'll be able to escape him."

  "No." She picked up a glass of wine and sipped it. "Even a battle cruiser couldn't escape him. I want you to stay here, and I think your companions should return to Omega Five without you."

  "That's not what we want."

  "But it will be better for all of you. Besides, you've accepted my employ, and I require you to remain here as my companion."

  "You said I could stay on Omega Five until you needed me," Sabre said.

  "In light of the danger that Ramadaus poses to you, I've changed my mind."

  "Then I resign."

  A slight frown wrinkled Ravian's brow. "Another bad idea. I've done a lot for you already, and I'm doing this for your sake, too. Let Tassin return to her home, and stay here where you're safe. If you leave my employ I will no longer protect you."

  "I'll take my chances."

  "No. I have decided. Your friends are being escorted off my ship even as we speak. I'm doing this for your sake. You'll all be better off."

  Sabre knew that hers was the wiser plan, but did not care. Tassin had gone through too much hardship and danger to free him for an Overlord who had done almost nothing for him to usurp her. Besides which, he wanted to stay with Tassin, even if he did not understand why. It was important, somehow.

  "You can't force me to do this."

  "Oh, but I can. I have the power."

  "You'll have to keep me prisoner, then I'll be neither companion nor spy for you." He stood up. "I'll leave with my friends."

  "No, you won't."

  Tassin looked up as a crewman entered her rooms, annoyed by his disregard for her privacy. Fortunately, she sat on the couch in the lounge, waiting for Sabre to return, and had not been asleep or bathing.

  He said, "Overlord Ravian has given permission for you and your friends to leave."

  "Where's Sabre?"

  "With the Overlord."

  She stood up, puzzled. "He'll be joining us on the ship?"

  "I have no knowledge of that." He gestured to the door. "Please follow me."

  Tassin went into the bedroom and bundled up her old clothes. Tarl and Kole waited in the corridor with another crewman, yawning and knuckling their eyes.

  Tarl turned to her. "Do you know what's going on?"

  "Only that we've been asked to leave."

  "Where's Sabre?"

  "With the Overlord, apparently."

  The crewman beside Tassin gestured. "This way."

  "We'll wait for Sabre," Kole said.

  "You'll follow me."

  Kole scowled, then shrugged and obeyed. Tassin and Tarl trailed him along the labyrinth of silk-hung corridors to the docking port, where they boarded Blue Sun. After a fruitless search for Sabre, they returned to the portal, but the Spider Ship’s outer hatch was closed.

  "He's kidnapped Sabre!" Tassin's disbelief warred with her outrage, and she banged on the thick steel door, her fist making only dull thuds.

  Tarl headed for the bridge. "I'd better close the door before they undock us."

  Tassin followed him. "No, don't. Sabre's still on that ship."

  "I must, or we'll all be sucked out when they release the docking clamps."

  "We can't leave Sabre there. We've got to get him back!"

  "How?" Tarl sat in the command chair and ran his hands over the console. "We can't do anything against an Overlord. No one can."

  "We've got to find a way to get him back!"

  "Impossible."

  "Don't say that!"

  "Sorry." Tarl touched a keypad as Blue Sun lurched. "We're undocked."

  Tassin gripped the back of his chair and stared out at the vast Spider Ship as it drifted away, her heart filled with rage and anguish. "Why is he doing this? What does he want with Sabre?"

  Tarl shook his head. "I have no idea, but he's released the enforcers."

  "What does that mean?"

  Tarl swore as one of the great ship's vast arms swept past only a few metres away. "Bloody hell, that was close."

  "What's he doing? Why has be released the
enforcers?"

  "How the hell should I know? Unless he preparing to -"

  White fire engulfed the black ship, forcing them to squint as it flared to blinding brilliance. With a shimmer, the Spider Ship vanished, its parting photon shockwave making Blue Sun roll and veer.

  "Where did he go?" Tassin cried, swinging around to glare at Tarl.

  He gaped at the empty screens. "Bugger me sideways."

  "What? What happened to him?"

  "He's translocated," Kole said from the back of the bridge.

  She faced him. "What does that mean?"

  "Like your sword did. He's gone."

  Tassin turned to stare out at the blackness, where the enforcer ships regrouped and moved away. "We have to find him."

  "Impossible," Tarl said.

  "No! It can't be impossible. There must be a way. You've got... things! Scanners!"

  "That's why he dumped the enforcers," Tarl said, running his hands over the console. "He couldn't translocate with them in tow. They'd have been incinerated."

  "Tarl! Use the scanners, find him!"

  "He's way out of range."

  "We have to do something," she said.

  "Like what?"

  "I don't know!"

  Tarl sighed, watching the enforcers move away. "I wish there was something we could do."

  "There must be! Someone must know how to find an Overlord."

  "Sure. Another Overlord."

  "Then we must contact one."

  Kole snorted. "Easier said than done. Only planetary leaders have a way of doing that."

  "I'm a planetary leader. My kingdom is the largest on Omega Five. Doesn't that make me a planetary leader?"

  "Usually they're elected, but in your case, I guess so."

  "Then I must contact an Overlord. How do I do that?"

  Kole shrugged. "Contact another planetary leader, I guess."

  "All right, let's do that."

  Tarl shook his head. "They're not just going to tell you. You'll need proof of who you are."

  "How do I get that?"

  "You'd need to be on the universal planetary database," Kole replied.

  "But I'm not, so that really doesn't help, does it?"

  "It's the only way." He cocked his head. "I could arrange it."

  She turned to him, her heart filling with hope. "Would you?"

  He smiled. "Now you need me again, hey?"