"I want to save everyone."
"I know. And you're right to want that. So do I. But sometimes it's just not possible." Tassin looked up as a shadow fell on them.
Tarl stood over them, frowning. "What the hell are you two arguing about?"
Tassin glanced at Sabre, afraid that Tarl's intrusion would anger him, but he merely turned his head away. She grabbed at the straw of moral support Tarl offered.
"Maybe you can help."
He squatted. "Glad to. What's the problem?"
She explained it, and he looked thoughtful.
"This after he wanted to rip my head off for shooting those buggers?"
"That's not helping," she said.
"Yeah, okay. Hey bud." He patted Sabre's shoulder. "Don't get mad, okay? You were right. But that's not the problem, I know. That was a shitty situation, and saving that poor girl was morally right but strategically wrong. I acted on impulse. Take some pressure off yourself before you crack. We need you. I know you're not going to want to hear this, but you've got to try to think like the cyber did."
"Tarl!" Tassin glared at him. "He's trying to learn to be human."
"I know. Sorry, but it's what he knows best, and it'll get him through this. Sabre, what would the cyber have done in that situation?"
"Obeyed its owner."
"Did Tassin give you an order?"
"Yes. When I looked at her, she shook her head. I knew what she meant. The cyber would have stopped you from shooting the Corsairs, but I didn't."
"Because you wanted to save the girl."
Sabre nodded. "A weak emotion. Pity."
"Because you're human."
"And Tassin isn't?"
"I pitied her too," Tassin said. "It was horrible. I wanted to save her, but I didn't want to risk getting the rest of us killed."
"A sensible tactical decision, even if based on a misconception," Tarl commented.
"What misconception?" She frowned at him.
"You weren't sure Sabre could kill all of them. I knew he could, but I didn’t think further than that." Tarl clasped Sabre's shoulder again. "There's nothing wrong with you; except, of course, you're human. This is a very bad situation for you to be in at this stage. It's tough for all of us, but it must be hell for you, when you’re still trying to figure yourself out. Take it a step at a time, and don't blame yourself for shit that goes wrong. It's not your fault, okay? I messed up, and now those women who died in the gas are on my conscience. That was what you were trying to avoid, wasn't it, bud? If the decision had been yours, that girl's death would have been on your conscience, and you're not ready for shit like that. Hell, that's a lot to handle for someone who's only been out in the real world for, what, less than eighteen months?"
"Thirteen months, three days and four hours," Sabre supplied.
"Right. So when it comes to dealing with shit like that, you’re just not ready."
"When you drew your laser, I hesitated. I just... I'm trained to deal with combat situations, but deciding to let them kill the girl was hard. I couldn't prevent you from trying to save her, even though I knew you were wrong. Somehow, that was worse than doing nothing.”
“That's a tough one for anyone, bud. I couldn't do it," Tarl said.
"You're not a soldier."
Tarl smiled. "You may know a hundred ways to kill a man with one hand, and you have the courage to put yourself in danger, but you're not heartless. This is." He tapped the control unit. "This little monster has no conscience whatsoever. But you're not it, and it's not you. They didn't train you to have no pity. They didn't care what you thought; a computer controlled you. You think you've inherited some of the cyber's dispassion, but what you've got is cyber programming. You’ve got reams and reams of situational mandates, trained responses and operational strategies, all utterly logical, and some of them go against your feelings, right?"
Sabre inclined his head. "Yeah. It's confusing."
"Of course it is. You’re still automatically referring to the cyber’s programming, but your heart tells you something completely different. I pretty much let my heart rule me, which leads to mess ups. Tassin's the only one qualified to make those kinds of decisions. She's been trained since childhood to disregard her feelings. Or at least manage them."
"A warrior queen." Sabre smiled.
Tarl rose to his feet. "I do have a complaint about your choice of hiding places, though. There are no facilities, and we could be stuck here for a while."
Sabre glanced at the huddle of women. "I didn't think of that."
"No, a cyber wouldn't."
Tassin frowned. "Cybers need to use the facilities as much as we do."
"Actually they don't. They generally keep liquid intake to a minimum, and most of that is excreted as perspiration."
"Sabre doesn't sweat any more than me."
"Not until he has to fight someone."
"Oh. I see."
Sabre stood up. "We can move to a cabin, there's one next door. I chose this room because it's bigger." He looked vague for a moment. "The Corsairs aren't coming this way yet."
"Good." Tarl turned to the women and announced, "We're going next door, where there's a bathroom."
Smiles and nods greeted his proclamation, and he led them to the door. Sabre would have followed, but Tassin caught his sleeve. “Stay here a while and talk to me.”
As Tarl closed the door, she sat down again, patting the floor beside her. "Come here."
He obeyed, looking confused. "So, what's the problem?"
"There's no problem. I just..." She turned to him and slipped her arms around his chest, his armour digging into her. "There's a possibility we might not get out of this alive. This may be all the time we have together."
"We'll get out of it."
"I hope so." She sighed, some of the tension leaving her.
Sabre stroked her hair. "I could get used to this."
"I'm glad. Let's hope we get the chance."
For a while silence reigned, then Tassin raised her head and he averted his eyes. She smiled. "You're so shy, it's cute."
He snorted and smiled. "This is hardly the time or place for a cuddle."
"We may never get another chance. What are the odds?"
"Slim."
"I can't think of anything I'd rather do with my last few minutes of life than to hold you."
"I'm going to get us out of this," he said.
"Or die trying. Promise me you won't leave me behind for them to torture?"
He closed his eyes, and she knew he hated the idea of being her executioner. "I won't let them hurt you."
"Good. At least it'll be quick and painless."
"Don't talk about that. I don't want to think about it. We're going to get through this."
Tassin transferred her hold to his neck and pressed her cheek to his, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. The poignancy of the moment filled her heart with sorrow. He held her gently, and she pressed close to him, her arms tightening.
When she drew back, he lay down with a sigh, staring at the roof. His action was a deliberate attempt to put distance between them again, she sensed, and it hurt her even though she knew the reason for it. He met her gaze with eyes like chips of silver, a slight smile curling his lips. Unable to resist, she leant on his chest and stroked his cheek. She noticed a new light flashing on the control unit, and wondered what it meant. It probably had a lot to do with his tension, she surmised.
"What does that flashing amber light mean?"
He looked puzzled. "It's a new one?"
"I think so. It just started flashing now."
"Ah. It's the proximity alert I told you about. You're too close for the cyber's comfort."
"You're not thinking of how to snap my neck are you?" she teased.
"No. Nothing could be further from my mind."
"Good." She propped her chin on her hands. "So how do you feel?"
"Embarrassed, I think."
“Why?”
“Well, you’r
e very… very close, and… uh… it’s… weird?”
“Just how many amber lights are flashing in your mind right now?” she asked.
“Uh… only one.”
“And if I was a stranger?”
“None, because you wouldn’t be lying on my chest.” He paused, then asked, “Don’t you find it weird, me having things like proximity alerts?”
“A little, but I’m getting used to it. Just like you’re getting used to affection, right?”
“Trying to. You don’t have to deal with the flashing lights.” He pushed her away and sat up in a swift motion. "Shit! They're coming fast!"
Cold dread washed away her happiness. "Oh, god."
"Get up!" Sabre hauled her to her feet, pulling on his gloves as he strode to the door. He took her hand to tow her into the corridor, bursting through the next door into a cramped cabin full of women.
Tarl stood up, his expression grim. "What is it?"
"A group of twenty coming this way. The rest are moving towards their ship, preparing to leave, I think. Something must have spooked them."
"Someone answered our call?"
"Possibly. They've sent a battle group to find out what happened to the ones in the hold."
"Okay, so we sit tight. Maybe they won't have time to search the ship for us."
Sabre nodded, glancing at the group of terrified women. "Let's hope so. They've just entered the corridor outside, everyone keep quiet."
Chapter Twelve
Overlord Ravian frowned at the boxy, dull grey ship that was docked with the sleek intergalactic liner like a leech on a fish. Corsair vessels were crudely built and functional; the aliens wasted no effort on aesthetics. Many were pirated freighters that had been converted into warships. Solar wing generators budded from its sides in dark, lopsided protrusions, and a row of square, blackened heat engine openings ran along its stern, used for normal flight between planets and corridors. Laser cannons sprouted from its sides in clusters of glittering spikes, and tiny windows glowed with dull orange light.
By contrast, the Traverian ship, four times the size of the Corsair vessel, had graceful lines. Its swept-back solar wing generators resembled the fins of a predatory fish and its normal-space engines were a cluster of ovoid openings in a bulbous tail section. The liner's age showed in the streaks of dust and micro-meteorite pits on its hull, yet it retained most of its original grace.
Since it was extremely difficult to attack a ship in a photon corridor, the Corsairs had attacked the liner while she was crossing from one to another. This meant that she had been travelling at sub light, and, since she was unarmed, an easy target. All the ships were still travelling at just under light speed, but in the vastness of interstellar space they could do so for years without encountering a solar system. There was a solar system a few days’ travel ahead, however. The liner's name, emblazoned in dark blue just in front of her standard space engines, appeared to be Triumphant, or something similar, but dust and meteor scars partially obscured the letters.
The ships were in a slow spin, probably started when the liner's captain had tried to evade the Corsair's attempt to attach a boarding tube. Tiny flames sprouted from the row of square thrusters on the alien ship's left side, slowing it. The spin would be unnoticeable aboard the liner, whose artificial gravity would remain constant, and only someone who looked out of a window would be aware of it. Magnetic grapplers clung to the liner's sleek hull, holding it to the Corsair with massive, glinting metallic cables. Distant stars glittered beyond the ships, which drifted in deep space.
Ravian's commander stood at her side, holding a com-link.
"They've seen us," he said. "They're retreating. Do you wish to destroy them, My Lord?"
"No. Let them go. We did not condone the invasion of their territory. We have no quarrel with them. Are there any survivors on the liner?"
He glanced down at the box’s screen. "A few scattered throughout the ship, and a group near the cargo hold. Scanners indicate a band of Corsairs close to them, possibly hunting them."
"Fire a few shots close to their ship to hurry them up."
"Yes, My Lord." Commander Korlin tapped the box, and four bolts of red light shot from one of the massive arms just visible at the edge of the screens, streaking past within a few metres of the Corsair ship. He studied the box and shook his head. "No reaction."
"Is there a cyber on board?"
"Yes, My Lord, there is one with the group."
Ravian nodded. "Of course, he’s keeping them safe. Are the Corsairs leaving now?"
"No, My Lord. The aliens near the cargo hold haven’t moved."
"Fire four more shots. Closer."
"Yes, My Lord." The commander tapped the box, and another four streaks of ruby light shot past the alien ship, less than a metre away this time.
****
Sabre turned from the door's access panel, the electric blue light in the control unit fading. "It's locked."
"See if you can reroute the external cameras to the vidimage monitor," Tarl said. "Let's see who's scaring them off."
Sabre's brow band filled with blue light once more, and a few moments later, a vista of stars appeared on the vidimage screen in the cabin’s lounge.
Tarl shook his head. "Try another camera."
Two more views of stars followed, then the screen filled with the vast form of the black Spider Ship.
"Ravian," Tarl whispered.
Sabre nodded. "So, he came."
"No wonder they're running for their lives."
"He isn't attacking them."
Tarl frowned at the image. "Why not?"
"Maybe because he doesn't have to?"
"They just butchered everyone on this ship except us. Why did he come if he's not going to destroy them?"
Sabre shrugged. "You'd have to ask him."
Tarl muttered an oath as a second ship shimmered into being beyond Ravian's, a gold and silver moth-shaped vessel with vast filigree wings. "Ramadaus!"
Tassin groaned, "Oh, no."
"I didn't think even one Overlord would show up, never mind two," Sabre said.
"He's not exactly friendly."
"He must have heard our call too. But Ravian's here..." Tarl shook his head in confusion.
"Ravian can't stop him from taking me," Sabre pointed out.
****
Ravian turned away from the gleaming ship in her screens, glancing at Commander Korlin, who averted his eyes. Stepping down from her dais, she walked to one of the pale circles on the floor.
"Request contact."
The commander tapped on his com-link, and, after a few moments, the shaft of golden light engulfed her, a second forming on the circle beside her. Ramadaus appeared in it, turning to smile at her.
"Ravian, how strange to meet you here."
"Why strange, Ramadaus? You know I protect the free cyber."
"Even after Fairen put an end to your little tryst with him? You should choose your companions from amongst the willing, dear girl."
"What are you doing here?"
"You know perfectly well. I'm here to execute him."
"Fairen opposes you in that little venture, too."
"Fairen should stop poking his nose in where it doesn't belong," Ramadaus said.
"I agree. But in this, he's with me."
"I don't see him."
Ravian turned to Korlin. "Request contact with Fairen."
"What do you imagine he's going to do?" Ramadaus enquired.
"I don't know. He's an unpredictable little tyke, isn't he? You're just as wary of him as the rest of us."
The commander cleared his throat. "Request denied, My Lord."
Ramadaus smiled. "Very unpredictable."
"The Corsair ship is undocking, My Lord," Korlin said.
"Apparently two Overlords are enough to panic them into abandoning their men," Ramadaus commented.
"Do you intend to destroy them?"
"No. I have no quarrel with them, and I'm not here
to rescue anyone."
Ravian turned to her commander again. "Find a ship and order them here to pick up the survivors."
"Yes, My Lord."
Ramadaus raised his brows. "So, you don't intend to kidnap him again?"
"No."
"You're afraid of Fairen."
"Afraid?" She snorted. "No, I only admit that he's right. You should, too."
"I don't allow my peers to govern my decisions."
"Neither do I. But I do listen to them," she said.
"Then listen to me, and don't try to interfere with my judgement."
"You're making a mistake."
Ramadaus shook his head. "He's an abomination."
"You have not read him."
"I don't have to."
"My lord, look!" Korlin exclaimed.
Ravian turned to gaze out of the screens, and Ramadaus looked in a different direction, where the screens aboard his ship were. The crimson Scorpion Ship moved with majestic splendour between Ravian's ship and Ramadaus', so close that its curved stanchions almost brushed theirs.
"He's too close," Ravian said. "Take evasive action."
"Yes, My Lord."
"What is that bloody idiot doing?" Ramadaus demanded.
"Interfering again." Ravian smiled.
The Scorpion Ship halted, and a beam of green light engulfed the Corsair ship, preventing its departure.
"What is he doing?" Ravian asked.
"If I know Fairen, he's going to judge them." Ramadaus frowned. "Foolish boy, he puts himself in grave danger."
"We've got to stop him."
"How?"
****
Fairen smiled at his commander. "That's got them riled. Bring me the Corsair leader."
"We have no way of knowing which one is the leader, My Lord."
Fairen gave a grunt of annoyance. "Then just bring me one of them. I don't care which."
"My lord, they are dangerous."
"Do as I say."
"Yes, My Lord." Commander Shrain glanced down at his com-link as it beeped. "Overlord Ravian is requesting contact again."
"Denied."
The Cyber Chronicles 05: Overlord Page 13
