The Cyber Chronicles IV - Cyborg

by T C Southwell

  "Then why would Ravel try to stop us getting on board?"

  "Because once I close the door, he'll have to burn his way in, and Striker is armed. With the recycling equipment, we could hold out in her for months, but he could still hand us over to the enforcers once we leave Rashid. He'd just lose out on a ship and the money."

  Sabre sighed, staring at the ceiling. "For every move, there's a counter move."

  "Basically we're in the shit no matter what we do."

  "Then you'll just have to fix the engines yourself," Tassin said.

  "Do I look like a damned engineer?"

  "You must know something, otherwise why were you watching the engineers?"

  “To make sure they didn't try to hack Striker."

  Tassin turned to Sabre, who frowned and asked, "Do I look like a damned engineer too?"

  "What should we do?"

  He considered. "At the moment, our tactical position is weak, so we should strengthen it."

  "So we should go to Striker."

  "No, we do what Ravel is planning to do to us. Take him hostage and make him order his engineers to repair Striker."

  Tassin looked dumbstruck. "That's brilliant, but what if he's not planning anything? We're only guessing that he is. He might be going to help us escape."

  Kole threw up his hands. "Oh, great, now we're going around in circles, and we're back at square one."

  "I'm just trying to be fair. You can't condemn a man for something he hasn't done yet, just because you suspect him of planning it."

  "No, let's wait until he's done it, and we're floating around in space with the rest of the trash."

  Sabre rolled onto his side, turning his back to them. "Could you two argue a bit more quietly? I'd like to get some sleep."

  Tassin sank down on the floor and buried her face in her knees.

  Kole squatted beside her. "Taking the captain hostage is the safest option, and you can apologise all you want if we're mistaken. No one will get hurt."

  Tassin raised her head, looking glum, then nodded. "All right, let's do it."

  Kole jumped up, and Sabre rolled onto his back, squinting at them. "Have we come to a decision?"

  "Yeah, we're going after the captain."

  "You want to kidnap him from his cabin?"

  "It was your idea."

  "Not kidnapping him from his cabin, that's full of pitfalls."

  Tassin looked exasperated. "Such as?"

  "Well, if he's really smart, he might be expecting us to try it, in which case we're walking into a trap."

  "Surely your scanners will detect a trap?" Tassin asked.

  "That depends on how cleverly it's set. He knows I've got scanners, and so he'll plan for that too."

  "How?"

  "Put a decoy in his bed; have his men standing by in their cabins."

  Kole turned and banged his head on the wall.

  Tassin sighed and rubbed her brow. "So what should we do?"

  "Right now, we should get some sleep. Tomorrow we go to see him."

  "That's fine for you, we're the ones who have to sleep on the floor," Kole grumbled.

  "Take the bunk then, I'll -"

  "No." Tassin scowled at Kole. "Sabre sleeps on the bed."

  "Did I ask him to give it up?"

  "You're the only one complaining around here..." Tassin trailed off, noticing Sabre turn his head towards the door, his expression distant. "What is it, Sabre?"

  "It seems that we're about to find out how treacherous the captain is. He's just left his cabin and he's heading this way with five armed men."

  "Your scanners can see his cabin?"

  He nodded. "This ship's interior walls are all plasteel, but the metal hull doesn't stop the scanners either, only stone does."

  "What should we do?"

  Sabre sat up and swung his legs off the bed, grimacing. "Let's see what he wants."

  Despite the warning, the thunderous knocking made Tassin jump, and she took a moment to calm herself before opening the door. Ravel stood there, scowling. His gaze impaled her, then flicked to Kole.

  "You, back to the bunk room."

  Tassin raised her chin. "I want him to stay here."

  "I'll just bet you do, but it's against ship's rules."

  "We'll pay extra."

  "I'm not interested in your money, missy. Ship's rules apply to everyone. If I let him stay with you, all the couples will want to be together."

  "Where's the harm in that?"

  "It leads to more fighting. We don't have cabins for everyone, and if men and women sleep together in the bunk rooms, it's bedlam."

  She shrugged. "So, we have a cabin. It's not the same."

  "They won't see it that way, or they'll all want cabins, which we don't have. I did you a huge favour kicking out one of my crew, but this is as far as I go."

  "We're only here for a few days. No one needs to know."

  Ravel stepped closer and thrust out his chin. "This is a ship, missy, there are no secrets. It's like a damned gossip convention."

  Tassin met his eyes and folded her arms. "Then we'll return to our ship, where your rules won't apply to us."

  Ravel opened his mouth, then froze as her words sank in. Whatever he had been expecting her to say, that was clearly not it. He closed his mouth and shook his head. "No."

  Tassin's eyes narrowed. "Why not? We won't be using your supplies, and we'll have comfortable quarters."

  Ravel glanced at Sabre, who sat slumped on the bed, his eyes closed. Tassin could sense the cold calculations going on in his head. He smiled and stepped aside. "All right, you have a point."

  Tassin nodded. "Good, I'll get my things."

  As she turned away, Ravel grabbed her collar and yanked her towards him, snatching the laser from his thigh holster. He had barely drawn it when Sabre crossed the room in a bound. His fist hit Ravel's arm, knocking it upwards, and the laser bolt hit the ceiling with a flash of fire and a shower of sparks. The cast on Sabre's left arm split with a sharp crack as he grabbed the front of Ravel's jacket. Jerking the captain into the cabin, he twisted the weapon from his hand and pressed it to Ravel's brow, bearing him to the ground.

  The crewmen reached for their lasers, but Sabre raised his head and said, "Drop the weapons or he dies."

  "Do it!" Ravel rasped, his eyes bulging as Sabre knelt on his chest.

  They obeyed, kicking the lasers away down the corridor. Tassin stared at the scene, a hand on her throat. Kole looked stunned. Tassin recovered first, and scowled at the prone captain.

  "That was an incredibly stupid thing to do, Ravel. Did you really think you were faster than a cyber?"

  "I thought his injuries would slow the bastard down."

  "What were you planning? To take me hostage? Steal the ship and our money?"

  He glowered at Sabre. "No."

  "Tell the truth."

  "What does it matter now?"

  "It matters to me, because I suspected it, and I want to know if I was right. Clearly your intentions were not good," Tassin said.

  "Go to hell."

  "Sabre, hurt him."

  "No!" Ravel's eyes widened as Sabre released his jacket and reached for his face. "I was going to kill you, then make Kole transfer the cyber to me."

  "You were after my cyber?"

  "Yes."

  "What makes you think Kole has the codes, or that he would comply?"

  Ravel coughed, his face reddening as Sabre's knee dug into his chest. "He must know where they are, or we'd have found them. He has command privilege, so he could do the transfer, and I figured he would once we had a gun to his head. The cyber wouldn’t have been able to protect you both at the same time."

  "That's even worse than I thought. Here I was assuming you wanted the ship..." She glanced at Sabre. "That's why you let us aboard when Kole told you we had a cyber."

  "Yeah."

  "And I suppose you thought he'd be injured in the fight with the enforcers, so I would be unprotected."

 
"Yeah."

  Kole scowled. "You bastard. You were going to kill Tassin for a stinking cyber?"

  "I'd rather have taken her alive. I could have got a bundle for her from the slave merchants on Orrisa Three, but it didn't work because of the stinking cyber."

  Tassin shot Kole a glare, then turned back to the captain. "Well, now that my stinking cyber has you at his mercy, you'll repair our ship and we'll all leave together. We'll release you on Rashid. If any of your men try anything, you'll die. Got it?"

  Ravel nodded.

  "Okay, Sabre, let him up, but keep him hostage."

  Sabre got off Ravel's chest and gripped the front of his jacket, hauling him to his feet. The captain staggered, rubbing his chest, then gave orders at the men in the corridor, sending them to find the engineers. When they left, Ravel eyed Sabre, and Tassin was struck again by his unhealthy interest.

  "If you wanted a cyber so badly, why didn't you just buy one?"

  "Do I look like I have seven hundred thousand credits?"

  "You offered to buy him."

  Ravel shrugged. "I wasn't serious, but I've always wanted one."

  "My heart bleeds for you." Tassin reached under the bed and drew out the sword, strapping it on, then brushed past Ravel and led the way down the corridor. Kole directed her through the warren of corridors to the airlock were Striker was docked, and he opened the door.

  On the ship, Sabre pushed Ravel down on a sofa in the lounge and holstered his laser. Kole flopped into the command seat with a smile and greeted Striker, who replied in her usual calm, sultry manner.

  Chapter Eleven

  Five hours later, Striker’s engines were repaired, Sabre's lasers had been returned, along with the dead cyber's armour, and they were on their way back to Rashid. Kole landed the ship at a spaceport, and Ravel was ejected with rather more force than necessary. As the door slid shut, Tassin slumped, leant against the bulkhead and closed her eyes.

  "That was horrible."

  Sabre strode away down the corridor, vanishing into his cabin. Tassin hurried after him, concerned, and found him stretched out on the bunk, nursing his arm, which the cracked cast hung off, his face twisted with pain.

  "Oh, god, Sabre, I'm sorry." She dug in his medical kit and shook two painkillers into her palm, popped them into his mouth and fetched him a glass of water. He swallowed them, grimacing.

  She sat on the bed beside him. "Are you all right?"

  "I've been better."

  "You're so good at hiding it; I forgot how much that must have hurt. You saved my life. Thank you."

  "I'd like a favour."

  "Anything."

  He closed his eyes with a sigh. "A few days of rest."

  "As long as you want, I promise."

  Kole appeared in the doorway. "Let's not be too hasty with the promises. There are landing and parking fees to pay, and we can't leave in Striker unless we get a ship clamp. Otherwise, we'll have to buy passage on a liner, and that's not cheap."

  "Then we should go back into space. That's free, isn't it?"

  "Yeah, except for the fuel to hold orbit. Oh, and if we want to leave in Striker, we're going to need more fuel."

  Tassin turned to glare at him. "Don't you dare suggest that Sabre should fight again."

  "Fine, I won't. You think of a way to make enough money to get off this shithole planet then."

  "And don't you ever call Sabre a stinking cyber again, either."

  Kole snorted and left. Tassin closed the door and returned to Sabre's side. He looked pale and gaunt, his brow sheened with sweat. His bruises had turned blue now, and mottled his chest, arms and one side of his jaw. She stroked his cheek, and he opened his eyes, looking puzzled.

  "One day soon, you'll never have to fight again," she murmured.

  "Promise?"

  Tassin nodded, her throat tight. "I promise."

  "I look forward to it."

  "If not for that bastard Manutim, we wouldn't be in this mess. He tipped off Myon Two about you and me."

  "Who's he?"

  "Your previous owner." He frowned, and Tassin shook her head. "I'm sorry; I should have said the cyber's former owner."

  "That's okay." He closed his eyes. "I'd like to rest now."

  "Of course."

  Tassin went to the bridge, where Kole sat glaring out at the dark airfield, a drink in hand. He looked up as she flopped down in the other chair.

  "How is he?"

  "In a lot of pain, but asleep, hopefully."

  He sipped his drink, swirling it to make the ice tinkle. "We can park here for a week, or get half a tank of fuel, or passage on a liner."

  "If we leave Striker here, what will happen to her?"

  "I'll put her into a high orbit. She should be able to hold it for about two weeks with the fuel she has, then she'll have to leave orbit and drift, or land on a moon."

  "I hate to suggest it, but what about selling her?"

  Kole shot her a chilly glance. "I'd get a fraction of what she's worth, and, considering that all my accounts are frozen, I'd have a problem. Already I'm going to have to change my name again and open new accounts, and that costs money."

  "We've caused you a lot of trouble, and I'm sorry."

  He sighed and sipped his drink. "It's my fault. I didn't have to get involved."

  "But I'm glad you did. I'm very grateful to you. If there's anything I can do to help, please ask."

  "We've just got to figure out a way off this rat-hole planet." He studied the golden fluid in his glass. "I know you're not going to like this, but the truth is, we only have one real asset."

  "Sabre."

  "Yeah. Like it or not, he's all we've got. We're doing this for him, so he's going to have to pull his weight."

  "Don't you think he's done enough already?"

  He shrugged. "It won't be enough until you're safe."

  "Perhaps we should contact the highest bidder for the sword and ask him to come here."

  "Unfortunately, Rashid is not a good place to be trapped. We're fairly safe from enforcers, but no honest, and especially rich, man is going to come here; it's too dangerous."

  "All right, let's buy passage to Charon."

  Kole turned and tapped on a keyboard, consulting the screen beside him. "Well, there are two freighters, a passenger ship and a private yacht going to Charon in the next few days. The freighters are cheaper, but not too safe; the liner will cost everything we have."

  "We can take a freighter."

  He tapped the keys again. "Okay, we're booked on Phoenix Voyager, tomorrow at ten."

  "Good, I'm going to get some sleep."

  "I'll join you." She raised her brows, and he added, "In my own cabin, of course."

  ****

  Tassin sighed and raised her eyes to Kole's grim countenance on the other side of the cracked green plastic table. They sat in a cramped, windowless room in cheap lodgings on Charon Six, waiting for Sabre to recover. He lay on the narrow bunk behind her, resting, as he had been for the past four days. The room had two sets of double decker bunks, and she slept in the one above Sabre while Kole used the one on the other side of the room. The table stood in the middle, with four chairs around it, and at one end was a cupboard-sized kitchen and an equally tiny bathroom. The off white walls showed years of grime, children’s scribbles and mildew, and all the fittings, Kole had assured her, was decades old. The room was deep within a towering accommodation complex honeycombed with passages and identical self-catering apartments.

  "She's a marked ship," Kole said. "I'm going to have to sell her."

  "You're very fond of her, aren't you?"

  "Yeah."

  "Don't you have a friend who would buy her officially, but let you keep her?"

  "Trevare would do it, but the enforcers will suspect him and keep following her, hoping that she'll lead them to me, and you."

  Tassin looked down at the table. "How much trouble are you in?"

  "Accessory to murder and aiding and abetting a fugitive
. They could lock me up for a few years."

  She ran her finger along the stains on the table’s surface. "Come to Omega Five, and bring Striker. You'll be safe there."

  "The enforcers will follow her."

  "But it's a restricted planet. They can't land. Is it protected?"

  Kole nodded. "There are satellites. Manutim must have used a very small ship to slip past them."

  "Striker could do it, too."

  "Yeah."

  "What would the enforcers do?"

  He shrugged. "Probably apply to the Overlords for permission to pursue us. Luckily the Overlords don't like Myon Two any more than the rest of us, so it's unlikely they'd get it. Omega's not due for declassification for another seven years."

  "So we'd be safe there?"

  "If we can get there."

  "We can, if we go in my ship, then Striker can join us later."

  "Yeah, that might work." Kole stood up. "I'm going for a walk. By the way, you have a new top bid; one million seven hundred and fifty thousand. Unfortunately, the new top bidder is on Enden Four."

  "And we can't afford to go there."

  "Nope."

  Kole vanished into the passage, and Tassin turned to gaze at Sabre. After a moment, he opened his eyes, and she looked away, her cheeks warm.

  "I thought you were asleep."

  "And you found that interesting? Was I blowing bubbles or something?"

  She giggled. "No. I just like looking at you."

  "Is that a symptom of friendship?"

  "Yes."

  "Well... I like watching you, too."

  "If only you would remember."

  He sighed. "That would be nice."

  Tassin longed to hold him, and a lump clogged her throat. His bruises had faded to pale yellow marks, barely visible, and the laser wounds had healed well, though not completely. He still wore the cast, and his elbow remained blue. He closed his eyes, and soon she realised that he was asleep again.

  ****

  Two days later, Tassin stepped out of a hired air-car and gazed at a palatial mansion, impressed. Manicured gardens stretched away all around, the verdure broken only by marble paths and polished bronze statues. Beyond it, forest clad the land to the horizon and beyond, as she knew from the three-hour trip here from the capital city. Clipped trees shaded lawn so finely mowed it looked like velvet. Fluted marble pillars framed the edifice’s gleaming brass front doors, and the sweeping roof appeared to be made from pink crystal.