The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord

by T C Southwell

  Ramadaus turned to face her, but addressed Fairen. "You intend to allow her to stay?"

  "Yes."

  "Sethar won't like it."

  "This is my ship. I decide who stays and who leaves."

  Ramadaus shrugged and clasped his hands.

  Fairen tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, then sighed. "Commander. Request the presence of Overlord Sethar, and hold the prisoner until he arrives."

  "Yes, My Lord."

  Tassin took another step forward, casting a wary glance at Ramadaus. "There's a young man on that ship she can't control completely. I think he's gifted too. He says she hurts his head."

  Ramadaus said, "According to you, every mythical power is on that damned rusty tub."

  "Commander, belay my last order," Fairen said, then faced Tassin. "Tell me more."

  "I don't know much more. She forces him to help her, but he's able to defy her while the others aren't. He recites his love for her like a liturgy, and rubs his head a lot. He appears to be mad, but he's very clever."

  "He could be a freditch," Fairen murmured.

  "What's that?"

  "An empath who's able to block intrusive thoughts, like those a control telepath uses. I must meet him. What's his name?"

  "Pryan."

  Fairen turned his head to address the wall. "Commander, are my men still aboard the scavenger vessel?"

  "Yes, My Lord. They're trying to get the girl out of the brig. No one knows what the locking codes on the door are."

  "Good, bring me the young man called Pryan as well."

  Tassin glanced at the cyber. "Sabre, what's the unlock code for the brig?"

  "Alpha, seven, delta, twelve."

  Fairen asked, "Did you get that, Commander?"

  "Yes, My Lord."

  "When you have them aboard, bring me the young man first."

  "Yes, My Lord."

  Several tense minutes passed before two guards half-dragged Pryan in. Ramadaus retreated into the shadows, almost invisible in the gloom. Pryan fell to his knees when the guards released him, stared at Fairen with white-ringed eyes and held out his hands in a pleading gesture. Tassin went to him and placed her bandaged hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at her, dread on his face.

  "It's all right,” she said. “No one's going to hurt you."

  He gripped her hand, making her wince, and his mouth worked.

  "Pryan," Fairen said.

  Pryan cowered, bowing his head.

  "You are not here to be judged. Stand up."

  Pryan obeyed like a puppet controlled by an idiot, his legs and arms flapping. Fairen rose and stepped down to stop beside the terrified youth, who gaped at him and tried to retreat. Tassin held him in place.

  "There's no need to be afraid," Fairen said, but his deep, distorted voice was not comforting, and Pryan looked ready to pass out from terror.

  "Pryan," Tassin murmured, "can you sense the emotions of others?"

  "No!" He jerked away from her, shaking his head, then rubbed it. "No, I wouldn't. I can't!"

  "It's all right; no one will punish you if you can. Tell the truth."

  "I can't, I swear!"

  "This is a waste of time," Ramadaus said from the shadows.

  Pryan cast him a wide-eyed look. "Oh, god."

  Tassin gripped his shoulders and shook him, wincing as her ribs protested. "Pryan, look at me. Pryan!"

  He met her gaze, his eyes filled with desperate pleading. "I can't do anything, I swear!"

  "We need your help. Can you block Trina's power?"

  "No... Can't. We all love Trina; we all -"

  Tassin shook him again, and he cringed. "Do you want to be free of her?" she demanded. "Do you want your ship back? Avenge Riana's death?"

  He nodded, his face twisting. "She killed Riana!"

  "Then tell the truth."

  He hesitated, casting Fairen a sidelong glance, and leant closer to whisper, "I feel people, but only if I want to."

  "And Trina can't control you, can she?"

  "She hurts my head." He rubbed his brow. "Hurts bad unless I do as she says."

  Fairen nodded. "He's a freditch."

  "I'm innocent!" Pryan wailed. "Please, Lord! I've done nothing!"

  Ramadaus emerged from the shadows. "So, two myths on one ship. Whatever next?"

  Tassin frowned at him, then shook the cowering young man once more to get his attention. "Pryan. Can you stop Trina from trying to control Overlord Fairen while he reads her?"

  "No!" Pryan shook his head, his eyes widening even more. "No, he mustn't! She'll hurt him bad! She can..."

  "What? She can what?"

  "Drive him mad."

  "Can you stop her?"

  "How?"

  Ramadaus snorted. "This is pointless, Fairen. He needs years of training before he can protect someone else from a meerin."

  "He's right," Pryan agreed, nodding.

  Tassin sighed in exasperation. "Won’t you take my word for it, Lord Fairen? Pryan can tell you what she did to him, as well. Aren't witnesses enough for you to judge her?"

  Fairen turned away. "Do you have any idea how rare a control telepath is?"

  "No."

  "They're supposed to be a myth. Only one other has been documented, and those who studied him were not certain of what he was."

  "It doesn't matter whether or not she is what you say,” Tassin said. “She's evil. She made Kernan kill Pryan's sister."

  "That's hearsay. Perhaps she only asked him to, or perhaps he did it on his own. Either way, the matter is too petty for me to bother with. But if she is a control telepath, that's a different story. She must be studied, and, in order to do that, we need a freditch, another mental power so rare as to be legendary."

  "You're not going to execute her?"

  Fairen shook his head. "Not if she's meerin."

  "But -"

  "Rest assured, we can control her with drugs, and Sabre will be released. But if she's drugged, I can't read her." He turned to Pryan. "I want you to do something for me."

  "Y-yes, My Lord, anything."

  "I'm going to try to read you, and I want you to block me. Can you do that?"

  Pryan shivered and rubbed his arms. "No?” He shuffled his feet. “I - I'll try."

  "Good." Fairen pulled off his right glove, and Pryan watched him, chewing his lip. Fairen held his hand towards Pryan, several inches from his brow. Pryan gulped and froze, his thin shoulders hunched. Fairen moved his hand closer, then closer still, stepping forward finally to touch Pryan's brow. Several tense moments passed, then he removed his hand and stepped back.

  "Nothing. He's a strong blocker, but a weak empath, I think." He pulled on his glove. "Pryan. What you just did to stop me from reading you, do you think you could do that to this girl? Could you stop her from reaching into my mind?"

  Pryan looked pensive, then nodded. "I think so."

  Fairen swung away. "Good. Commander, send in the prisoner."

  "At once, My Lord."

  Ramadaus said, "This is risky."

  "Life is risky."

  "If the boy fails..."

  "I have you."

  Pryan fidgeted and mumbled while they waited for Trina, rubbing his head, his eyes darting. Tassin pitied him, and hoped he could help Fairen. Evidently the girl was far more dangerous to an empath, judging by Ramadaus’ concern. Pryan quailed when four guards entered, dragging a flushed, defiant Trina who struggled and kicked out at them. Her eyes glittered when she spotted Tassin, and she tossed back her tangled hair and raised her chin to glower at Fairen.

  "Damned Overlord scum!"

  "Charming," Ramadaus murmured.

  Fury shone in Trina’s eyes as the guards marched her up to Fairen, and her mouth twisted in a bitter sneer. "Are you going to read me, Overlord scum? Are you going to judge me? What gives you the right? Where were you and your laws when my mother was beaten to death?"

  "Well, no need to ask why she hates Overlords," Ramadaus commented.

  Faire
n turned to Pryan. "I'll not waste my breath explaining the role of Overlords to her. Do what you must, let's get this over with."

  "You have no right!" Trina shrieked. "Touch me, and you'll regret it!"

  Fairen raised a hand to his brow, rubbing it. "Already I can sense her."

  Ramadaus nodded. "I also. She is indeed powerful."

  "Yes, I am!" Trina shouted. "Let me go, or pay the price!"

  Pryan rubbed the side of his head, frowning, then shot Fairen a guilty look and approached Trina, who glared at him.

  "What do you want, wimp?" she snarled.

  Pryan's thin face twisted. "Revenge."

  "Don't touch me!"

  Pryan recoiled as if she had slapped him, clasped his brow and grimaced. Fairen pulled off his right glove and held out his hand towards her. Trina’s mouth twisted, and the young Overlord swayed, then Pryan stepped forward and clasped her brow, closing his eyes. She shrieked and struggled, trying to jerk her head free, but Pryan held onto her.

  Fairen stepped closer, and she spat at him, then turned to Pryan. The youth groaned, bowing his head. Tassin realised that in this situation, Trina focussed all her power on one man at a time, probably to maximise its effectiveness. Pryan held her for several moments, his face twisted with pain, then collapsed. Fairen lowered his hand and stepped back as Trina glared at the guard beside her, who turned and punched his comrade, knocking him senseless. Another guard gripped his temples and fell to his knees, his lips drawn back in a snarl of pain.

  Tassin glanced at the guards around the walls, who stood frozen, their faces blank. Trina had taken control of everyone in the room, except for the Overlords, Sabre and herself.

  Fairen clasped his hands. "So, you are indeed a meerin, girl."

  "Calling me names won't save you, you Overlord shit!" Trina shouted at him, her brows knotted.

  To Tassin's surprise, Fairen pulled off his hood. His eyes glowed in the light of the floating orbs. Ramadaus sauntered closer, and Trina shot him a calculating, wary look.

  Fairen's lips curled in a faint smile. "No, your gift doesn't work on us, I'm afraid."

  "Are you neutered as well as depraved?"

  "Neither. We are Overlords."

  "Empaths!" Trina jeered. "Your power is nothing compared to mine! Pryan is more powerful than you!"

  "It's not a matter of power, but of training. You have a lot of raw talent, but you're not too bright, are you?"

  Trina's scowl deepened, and Fairen swayed again, then stretched out his hand. Tassin held her breath. The young Overlord's brows drew together, and his eyes narrowed.

  "You are a killer. A sociopath. I find no redeeming qualities in you. I judge you to be guilty, and sentence you to death after you have been studied."

  "I'm not a rat to be poked and drugged, and none of your henchmen will kill me!" Trina turned to the nearest guard, who recoiled. His hand crept towards the weapon in his belt, his expression agonised as he fought her control. Tassin opened her mouth to shout a warning. Sabre sprinted past her and punched the guard, sending him rolling across the floor, unconscious. Trina's eyes widened, and she gave a yelp of dismay and alarm as the cyber's arm whipped around her throat.

  "No! Sabre, help me!"

  Fairen stepped closer, his eyes roaming her taut, fearful face. "He can't. He's not listening. I had such hopes for you." He sighed, shaking his head. "How galling, to find a control telepath, and have to destroy them. It was always surmised that a meerin would be too dangerous to imprison and study. I had hoped it might be possible, but now I see it's not." He glanced at the guards, some of whom frowned and rubbed their heads, their movements slow and unco-ordinated. "You are indeed powerful, Trina. Too powerful. Even with drugs, the risk is too great."

  "Get on with it," Ramadaus said. "She's strong."

  Fairen nodded. "Such a waste."

  "What are you going to do?" Trina demanded.

  "Regrettably, you must die." Fairen turned away when her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to protest. "Sabre, kill her."

  Tassin winced and looked away as the cyber's hands moved in a swift twisting movement. There was a pop, and Trina's corpse slumped to the floor, twitching. Tassin raised a hand to her mouth, bile stinging her throat. The soldiers moved again as if released from a spell, and many sagged with relief and clasped their brows. Even Fairen, when he sat on his throne, looked paler than usual, and rubbed the side of his head.

  Sabre turned his head when Ramadaus stopped beside him. The older Overlord addressed Fairen. "Lucky for you that you have a cyber."

  "It would seem so."

  "You have to admit, they have their merits."

  "That was never in dispute, but whether or not it's ethical to control men with machines is."

  Ramadaus looked down at Trina's body. "A waste indeed. I wonder if such as she are born thus, or made."

  "A combination of the two, I think."

  Tassin lowered her hand and swallowed hard. "She was the daughter of a slave prostitute on Endroad. Perhaps it was necessity."

  "Survival is the instigation of all evolution," Ramadaus agreed. "Unfortunately, it often manifests in those who are so traumatised by the circumstances that led to their unusual development that they are beyond help, and unable to function in society."

  Fairen signalled to his men, who removed Trina's corpse. Tassin went over to Pryan and knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder.

  "But we still have one myth who appears to be reasonably normal," Ramadaus said. "I claim him as my apprentice."

  She glanced up. "You're going to make Pryan an Overlord?"

  "If he chooses, and if he's suitable."

  Tassin looked at the thin youth, who groaned and opened his eyes, raising a hand to his head, then sat up with a surprised expression. "No pain." He glanced around. "Where's Trina?"

  "Dead," Tassin supplied.

  "Good." He shot Fairen a guilty look. "I failed. Sorry."

  Fairen waved a hand. "No matter."

  Pryan stood up. "How did you... control her?"

  "All empaths have the ability to draw a person's attention with the power of their thoughts, if they make an effort. We can be very annoying like that; very distracting. She was controlling all my guards, and trying to control me. But Ramadaus was able to distract her sufficiently to prevent her, coupled with the fact that, as a fellow psy-power, I was able to partially negate her ability, simply because I knew what she was doing."

  "But why...?" Tassin shook her head, confused. "It took her four days to influence Tarl and Sabre, but only a moment to control your men."

  "She was being subtle, for her own reasons, I suppose. You were lucky she had a gender bias, or perhaps unlucky. The reason for that is something I would have liked to know, for it was documented in the other one as well, but no one has found out why."

  Tassin rose to her feet. "I'd like to know how it was possible for those sand runners to capture and beat her when she could have controlled them."

  "Sand runners?"

  Tassin explained, and Fairen looked thoughtful. "The only way that could have happened is if she was surprised and knocked unconscious, then drugged."

  "That could be it. She looked dazed when we rescued her. Why couldn't you have drugged her too?"

  "It would have been pointless. She was so talented that she would have had to be heavily sedated, and then we couldn't have studied her. I was hoping it would only require a small amount of a psy-inhibitor, but that wouldn't have worked."

  Ramadaus approached Pryan, who turned to stare at him with wide eyes. Fairen laced his fingers and sat back, watching him.

  "Pryan," Ramadaus said, "I wish to read you."

  Pryan licked his lips. "You're going to judge me? What have I done?"

  "Nothing. I just want to know you better."

  "But... if you don't like what you find, what will you do? Kill me like Trina?"

  "Only if you're a sociopathic killer."

  Pryan shook his head. "I - I don't know i
f I'd like that."

  Fairen laughed, revealing perfect white teeth. "You've met your match, Ramadaus. Someone you can't read without his permission. How frustrating. Perhaps if you got to know him a little better as a person first, it might help. The hood and the voice distorter are unnerving, I'm sure. If he's going to be your apprentice, you'll have to reveal yourself to him, anyway."

  "He might not be suitable."

  "True. Life's full of these little risks."

  "Which you revel in."

  "They make me feel alive."

  Pryan gaped at Fairen. "An apprentice? To be an Overlord?"

  "That's right."

  "I... but I'm just a -"

  "You've got a talent so rare it's a myth, and so valuable that all our peers will be envious of Ramadaus having such an apprentice."

  "Really? Wow." Pryan looked excited. "I... all right, but... not you." He shook his head at Ramadaus. "Fairen may read me. And - and if he likes me, I'll be his apprentice."

  Fairen chuckled again, but shook his head. "I'm too young to be your mentor. But you may choose any of the older Overlords."

  "I don't know them."

  "Then you'll have to meet them."

  "But can I stay with you until then?"

  Fairen glanced at Ramadaus and shrugged. "You may."

  "Shouldn't someone explain to him what the life of an Overlord is like?" Tassin asked.

  "He'll find out. He has six months to decide, then, if he chooses to become one of us, his training will begin. Then there's no turning back."

  Pryan nodded. "I'll do it. You may read me, Overlord Fairen."

  Tassin was surprised by how Pryan's confidence burgeoned in leaps and bounds. He drew himself up and raised his head, flicking back the lock of truant hair. She glanced at Sabre, who had returned to the right-hand side of Fairen's dais and taken up the resting stance of a cyber on guard. Fairen nodded and rose, removing his right glove as he stepped down from the dais. Pryan licked his lips, looking nervous, but stood still as the young Overlord approached him and held out his hand. Fairen closed his eyes, and for several minutes tense silence fell.

  He lowered his hand and opened his eyes. "He's suitable."

  Pryan slumped with a sigh, grinning. "I've never done anything bad."

  "It's not just that. It's the quality of your mind that counts as well, the way you think, your emotional stability. In order to one day judge others impartially, you have to be unbiased and free of any emotional baggage that could affect your reasoning. Apart from a lingering hatred of the one who killed your sister and the trauma associated with her attempt to bend you to her will, you're okay." Fairen pulled on his glove. "Since you've chosen to become an apprentice, you'll have to leave your old life behind. If there are any personal possessions you would like to keep, I'll have them brought over from your ship."