The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (15 page)

The crewmen
hesitated, eyeing Sabre, then some shrugged and holstered their
weapons, returning to their task. Three continued to aim at Tassin,
however, and her stomach churned.

Sabre frowned
at the captain. "What, they don’t give a shit about you?"

"They're not
exactly a loyal crew, no, so I'm useless as a hostage."

"Or they're
bluffing."

Brodal
shrugged. "The only way you're going to find out is to kill me,
isn't it? Does your owner have the stomach to order that, I
wonder?"

Sabre drew his
other laser and fired at a box a crewman carried. It burst into
flames, and the man dropped it with a curse, rubbing his singed
hands. Several of his comrades paused to glare at the cyber before
continuing with their task.

The captain
smirked. "Try that again, and your owner dies."

Sabre glanced
at the three men who still aimed their weapons at Tassin, then
lowered his laser and stepped back, turning towards her.

"Stop!" Brodal
yelled. "Get any closer to her, and she dies."

The cyber
halted, turning to face the captain once more.

Brodal
sniggered. "Foiled again, hey? I wasn't born yesterday, you know.
Move and she dies."

Sabre
considered the situation, frustrated to find that he had walked
into a predicament from which there was no escape, since he had
made the mistake of assuming, first of all, that the crew was
friendly, and then that it valued its captain. Both should have
been safe assumptions on a luxury passenger liner, but perhaps he
should have realised that men who would steal their ship’s cargo
while it was under attack were not the sort to be loyal to their
captain, although that was not a certainty, either. Now Tassin was
exposed, and, although he could still protect her, some of the
passengers would die before they could reach cover. Worse, it would
be in vain, for there were at least twenty crewmen loading the
shuttles, and even if he killed some, the rest would escape.
Holstering his lasers, he folded his arms and watched the crew
work, considering other ways to escape the ship. Tarl cursed behind
him as he came to the same conclusion Sabre had.

Brodal looked
smug, apparently unfazed by the fact that Sabre’s plan had failed
because his crew was prepared to let the cyber kill him. "Where are
the Corsairs?" He asked Sabre, who ignored him, and the captain
drew his laser and pointed it at Tassin. "Tell him to answer
me."

She glanced at
Sabre. "Answer him."

"Fifty per cent
are guarding the life pods, thirty per cent are in the engine room,
the rest are scattered throughout the ship, hunting."

"So none are
headed this way?"

"No."

"Good." Brodal
turned to his men. "We have time to load the dramex too."

The crew
continued to load the shuttles with expensive cargo, and Sabre
waited. When the last box had been carried aboard, the captain
entered one of the shuttles. The crewmen followed, keeping Tassin
in their sights until the inner airlock doors slid shut.

She approached
Sabre. "What are we going to do now?"

"Hide."

"Hide?" Her
brows rose.

"Yes. Twelve
people have survived Corsair attacks by hiding until they
left."

Tarl glanced at
the frightened women. "There are fifteen of us. Where the hell are
we all going to hide?"

"Not together.
Some will probably be found, but some won't. It's a calculated
risk. What other option do we have?"

"Let's call
Ravian," Tassin said.

"He won't
come."

"You don't know
that,” Tarl pointed out.

"It's worth a
try," Tassin added.

Sabre shrugged.
"Fine. The nearest access point is by the door."

Tarl headed
back towards the portal, and Sabre looked around at the ring of
expectant, frightened faces. "You must find hiding places and wait
for the Corsairs to leave. It's your only chance now."

The women
looked despairing, but dispersed, quieting their weeping children.
Sabre strode to the door, where the ex-technician had removed the
cover from the access panel beside it and poked around inside.

"Stop that
before you electrocute yourself," Sabre advised.

"If we could
lock this door, it might keep the Corsairs out."

"For about ten
minutes, and then they'll know someone's hiding in here."

Tarl sighed.
"Fine, do your thing. I think you can use the intercom."

Sabre nodded.
"Yes, I just need to order the computer to patch it into the
interstellar transmitter. What's the Overlord frequency?"

"348.44."

"Won't the
computer ask for passwords or codes or something?" Tassin
asked.

"Not from a
cyber. It communicates in machine code. The ship's computer won't
be able to distinguish between a cyber's commands and its own
programmes. It was designed that way."

"I see," Tassin
murmured, but he could tell she did not really understand.

Chapter Ten

Sabre squatted
in front of the access panel, and the brow band blazed electric
blue, but without the drone. A few seconds later the control unit
went dark again, and he stood up.

"It's done. Our
co-ordinates are 749-238-QDX.”

Tarl turned to
Tassin. "Okay, do your thing." He pressed the intercom button.

"Overlord
Ravian, this is Premier Tassin Alrade. We urgently need your
assistance. Corsairs have attacked our ship. We are at co-ordinates
749-238-QDX."

Tarl took his
finger off the button, and a faint hiss came from the panel. After
a minute, Tarl shook his head. "He's not coming, I guess."

"It was a long
shot," Sabre said. "Let's find somewhere to hide."

"Where are the
Corsairs?"

"They haven't
moved, except for the hunters, who are still roaming the
corridors."

Tarl glanced
around. "Where would be a good place to hide?"

Sabre unclipped
his helmet and pulled it off, ran a hand through his cropped hair
and rubbed his face. His eyes roved the room before wandering
upwards, becoming intent, and Tassin followed his gaze, a qualm
running through her. Huge beams ran across the hold's roof where
the ship's skeleton was exposed, but they were at least seven
metres above them.

"You're not
thinking of hiding up there, are you?"

"It's the best
place in here."

"There are
better places elsewhere?"

He nodded,
studying the beams. "There are some good crawl spaces in the engine
room, but that's full of Corsairs."

"How the hell
are we going to get up there?" Tarl demanded.

Sabre's gaze
swept down the smooth walls, and he nodded towards a stack of
crates on one side, which was about three metres high. "There."

"We'll still
need a rope or something."

"Those beams
are very narrow," Tassin said. "It's hardly a hiding place."

"It is if we
knock out the lights," Sabre said. "Corsairs see well in the dark,
but not that well. And it's not an obvious place. People rarely
look up."

"I don't like
it."

Tarl said, "If
Sabre says it's the best place, you'd better believe it."

"It may be
perfect for him, but I'm good at falling off things like that."

Sabre smiled.
"This time I won't let you fall."

"If they do see
us, we'll be sitting ducks."

"If they find
us, it won't matter where we are, we'll have a problem."

"So let's find
a rope," Tarl said, glancing around.

It took ten
minutes to establish that there was no rope in the hold. Tarl
swore, and Sabre looked up at the conduits that ran around the
hold, carrying various cables. Going over to the nearest, he leapt
up and grabbed it, ripping it off the wall. It took him only a
couple of minutes to strip off the conduit, exposing the wires
within, select one and pull it out with a swift yank.

Sabre scaled
the sloping stack, helping Tassin up after him. Throwing the cable
over a beam, he climbed up it and stood on the narrow beam with the
ease of an acrobat. Tarl tied the cable loosely around Tassin's
chest under her arms, then gave Sabre a thumbs up. Sabre hauled her
up and helped her onto the beam, where she lay down and clung to it
with arms and legs, trying not to look down. The cyber untied the
cable and slid his arms under her shoulders.

"Let go. We're
going to the other bulkhead, away from the stack."

"No! I... this
is bad enough!"

"Let go,
Tassin. Trust me."

"I do... It's
just..."

"Let go."

Gritting her
teeth, she released her grip, and Sabre picked her up. She clung to
his neck, burying her face in the side of it.

"If you drop
me..."

"I won't drop
you."

Tassin kept her
eyes closed, but Sabre strode along without so much as a
wobble.

"How do you do
this?" she muttered.

"I'm part
machine, remember?"

"Were you
trained –?"

"Yeah, I was
trained."

His curt tone
made her wonder what manner of painful exercise was used to train
cybers to balance on narrow beams. It seemed as if just about
everything he did had some traumatic association. He stopped and
lowered her onto the beam so she was seated on it with her back to
the bulkhead. Once she had a firm grip on the beam, he released
her, and she wobbled.

"All right?" he
enquired.

Tassin's
stomach did its best to crawl into her mouth while her heart did a
fandango in her throat. She swallowed and opened her eyes a slit,
only to discover that she was now seven metres above the ground.
Sabre squatted in front of her, his eyes full of concern and a hint
of impatience. She longed to grab him and hang on to his reassuring
solidity, but nodded.

"I suppose so.
What about the lights?"

"I'll fix that
as soon as Tarl's up here."

Sabre rose and
walked away along the beam as if he was out on a stroll in the
park, stopping at the cable to look down at Tarl, who had tied it
around his chest. To Tassin's amazement, Sabre took hold of the
cable and hauled Tarl up with little effort, even though the
ex-technician was a big man. Tarl clambered onto the beam with
Sabre's help and stood up, wobbling precariously until Sabre
gripped his shoulders and steadied him as they walked back to
Tassin. When Tarl was settled on the beam in front of her, Sabre
returned to the cable and pulled it up, coiled it and fastened it
to the beam. He walked further along the beam, drew a laser and
shot the access panel beside the door. A flash of sparks shot from
it with a hissing crackle, and the hold plunged into darkness.

Tassin held
onto Tarl, his presence a comfort, his back pressing her to the
bulkhead. She peered into the gloom while her eyes adjusted, spying
Sabre's twinkling brow band far out on the beam, the rest of him an
indistinct shape. He walked back to her and Tarl, squatting
down.

"Now we
wait."

Ravian turned
as Fairen strode into her private rooms, a frown wrinkling her
brow. "Much as it pleases me to see you again, Fairen, I have to
wonder at the reason for your visit."

"You received
the message from Tassin Alrade?"

"Of course. Did
you come to make sure I didn't answer it?"

"Did you intend
to?"

She shrugged.
"I was considering it."

"Your feelings
for the cyber are improper."

"Contrary to
popular opinion, we're allowed to have feelings."

"Naturally,
when we find a suitable, and willing partner. But to intervene in a
Corsair attack to save a man who does not return your feelings is
foolish."

Ravian turned
to the refreshment counter and poured a drink. "He might have
returned them in time, if you hadn't interfered."

"No, he
wouldn't. I've read him, and you would have been disappointed."

"Ah, of course,
you're the ultimate empath."

Fairen shrugged
and helped himself to a fruit juice. "Yes, I am. His love for the
girl is unshakeable, even though he doesn't know it yet."

"But you told
him."

"Of course."
Fairen added ice to his glass.

"He's still
worth saving."

"I agree, but
he's a bone of contention, setting you against Ramadaus, which is
not good."

"You set
yourself against Ramadaus, too."

Fairen sipped
his drink. "I informed him of my judgement, that's all."

"You as good as
ordered him not to execute the cyber."

"I see Ramadaus
has already aired his displeasure to you."

Ravian turned
and sank down on the couch. "He thought I had involved you in our
little dispute. I disabused him of that idea."

"Good. I
wouldn't want him to think I was available for second
opinions."

"If you think
the cyber's worth saving, why don't you do it?"

"One man's life
does not warrant the intervention of an Overlord."

Ravian snorted.
"Draloy rescued Vanesh from execution when she was captured by the
Antari."

"They loved
each other."

"It doesn't
matter. Overlords have intervened for the sake of one person.
Travelan saved Pretan from -"

Fairen held up
a hand. "I know history as well as you do. Pretan was Travelan's
son. I can't prevent you from saving him, and you know it."

"As I said, I'm
considering it."

"Don't consider
it too long, or it will be too late."

"You want me to
save him, don't you?" she asked.

"I'm
impartial."

Ravian patted
the couch beside her. "Come and sit, you're making the place look
untidy." He joined her on the couch, keeping a safe distance, and
she leant closer. "What did you see when you read him?"

"Ah, now you're
curious."