The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (26 page)

"Not really,
especially with a broken neck."

"True. But
let's say I didn't break your neck straight away."

Fairen gripped
Sabre's arm and tried to pull it away, then tried to jab him in the
ribs with an elbow, but missed when he swayed aside. After several
minutes of futile struggle, he shook his head. "Okay, I give
up."

"Well, you
could stamp on my foot; a normal man might not be able to avoid it.
If you were stronger, you could throw me over your shoulder, or you
could smash my face with the back of your head."

Fairen tried
all three, but eventually gave up.

Sabre released
him, smiling. "You know, if you want the satisfaction of winning
occasionally, your choice of sparring partner leaves a lot to be
desired."

Fairen rubbed
his neck. "I suppose so. Let me be the aggressor."

"All right. No
slapping, pinching or biting."

The young
Overlord snorted. "I'm not a girl."

For the next
half an hour, the boy tried to punch, kick, trip and throttle
Sabre. Fairen usually ended up on his back with the cyber smiling
down at him. To Sabre's surprise, the young Overlord seemed to
enjoy it immensely, and it dawned on him that all the boy really
wanted was someone to play with. Someone whose touch did not repel
him, a father figure perhaps, but certainly someone he respected
enough not to feel belittled when he lost. In that respect, he had
chosen the right sparring partner. During the second half an hour,
Sabre allowed him to land a few glancing blows, and even let Fairen
trip him up and pounce on him, indulging him in a wrestling match
that had the boy laughing in delight.

Fairen's mirth
brought a sudden, vivid memory of dancing with a little girl on a
desert’s burning sand, and he sat up.

"What is it?"
Fairen asked.

Sabre rubbed
his brow. "A memory. They come in flashes sometimes, since Tarl
restored them."

"You lost your
memory?"

"Not exactly.
Myon Two cut me off from it when they put me back under cyber
control."

The young
Overlord frowned. "I think I will judge Atrashka. If I make my
displeasure at his actions known, he might find a way change the
way Myon Two operates of his own free will."

Sabre
contemplated the flushed, dishevelled boy, who a moment ago had
been a giggling child, and had just reclaimed his role as one of
the most dreaded judges and executioners in the universe. "I’d
appreciate that."

The door
opened, and Fairen's commander entered, accompanied by four
soldiers. He bowed low. "Forgive the interruption, My Lord. A
distress call has come in."

"Where's
Ramadaus?"

"He left an
hour ago, to answer another call."

Fairen sighed.
"Ravian left yesterday. It always seems to happen in spates. What's
the problem?"

"Ferrin Two is
reporting a tyrant raising armies to crush his neighbours. Fleets
of warships are set to invade the colony on Ferrin Three."

"Ferrin Two?
That's not in this sector."

Commander
Shrain shook his head. "No, My Lord. The call was relayed."

Fairen stood
up, trying to finger-comb his wild hair into a semblance of order.
"I have to go, Sabre. Will you come with me, or do you want to
leave now?"

The cyber rose
to his feet. "I should go. We have a long journey ahead of us
still."

Fairen nodded.
"Of course."

He started to
turn away, but Sabre gripped his elbow. "Fairen. You'll always be
welcome on Omega Five. There you can be a boy."

Fairen looked
up, his expression shuttered. "So, you understand. I thought you
might."

"I didn't at
first, but now I do."

The young
Overlord smiled and held out his hand. "I'll always count you as my
friend, Sabre."

Sabre clasped
it. "I'm glad. I'll do the same."

"Yes, you do
that." Fairen turned to Shrain. "Take Sabre and his friends to that
refugee ship Ravian summoned. Give him a transmitter, and summon
Atrashka. Tell him I intend to judge him."

"Yes, My
Lord."

Fairen strode
to the door, where the men parted for him, and one held out a robe,
which he slipped on. A crewman guided Sabre back to the quarters he
shared with Tassin, who reclined on a couch in the lounge, watching
a vidimage on the floor to ceiling screen on the far wall. She
glanced up with a smile when he entered, and Sabre went into his
room, saying over his shoulder, "Pack, we're leaving. Fairen has
been called away."

She followed,
halting in the doorway. "What's called Fairen away?"

Sabre pulled
off his tunic. "Some sort of crisis on a planet. We're being taken
to a refugee ship."

"Are you ever
going to tell me anything about him? You know what he really looks
like, don't you? You've spent so much time with him, you must."

Sabre turned to
her, dropping the tunic on his bed. He disliked keeping secrets
from her, and until now she had not asked about Fairen. "Can you
keep a secret?"

"You know I
can."

Sabre nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so. Fairen's a boy. He's only fourteen years
old."

Her eyes
widened. "A child Overlord?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"He's an
empath. They all are."

She looked
puzzled. "A what?"

"An empath. He
senses the emotions of others."

"He reads
minds?"

"Not exactly.
He only senses emotions."

Tassin shook
her head in amazement. "So that's why he hides his identity. But
why do the others do it?"

"I think it's
to perpetuate the myths about them, otherwise they'd be too normal,
too human for the masses to revere."

"So you've seen
Ravian and Ramadaus too."

"Yeah."

"And?"

Sabre shrugged.
"They're adults."

Tassin sat on
the bed. "So, you're his hero."

"I hadn't
thought of that." Sabre went into the bathroom to take a shower,
closing the door.

Chapter Seventeen

The elderly
woman raised her chin and looked down her long, narrow nose at the
group, her eyes hard when they rested upon Sabre and Tarl. Her grey
hair was pulled back under a linen head covering, and she wore a
shapeless grey robe that brushed the floor. Two women flanked her,
clad in identical drab outfits and wearing similar scornful
expressions, one middle-aged and the other young and plain. They
stood in what appeared to be a meeting chamber or congregation
space, a roomy area decorated in shades of blue, with a glowing
ceiling, dark blue floor tiles and paler walls. A few royal blue
chairs clustered around a blue-tinted glass table on a pale blue
rug in one corner.

A vidscreen at
the far end of the room showed a pretty seascape, a pair of potted
palms framed the door and a flowering creeper scaled a trellis on
one wall. For a space ship, it was well decorated, Tassin thought.
She, Sabre and Tarl had arrived mere minutes before, and a group of
hard-faced women had met them when they stepped out of Fairen's
shuttle. The four surviving passengers from the liner stood behind
her, each clutching a few personal belongings. Since they had
escaped the passenger ship with nothing, she could only surmise
that Fairen had given the women some clothes and oddments, just as
he had provided her and Tarl with new undergarments and warm black
coats.

The elderly
woman said, "I am Sister Superior Endra, and we are the Sisterhood
of Succour, en route to Infinity Prime. Men are not usually allowed
aboard our vessels, and you two will be tolerated only because
you're here at the behest of an Overlord, in particular, Overlord
Ravian. The womenfolk are welcome, but you two will be put off on
the nearest planet." She looked at Tassin. "Since the machine-man
belongs to you, you will leave with him."

Tassin shrugged
and nodded. "Fine."

"We provide
shelter and refuge for needy women," Endra went on. "All those how
come to Infinity are safe from men."

"So are there
no men on Infinity?"

"No."

"How do you
defend yourselves?"

"The Overlords
protect us."

Tassin cocked
her head. "Let me guess, Overlord Ravian in particular."

"Yes. She is
our patron."

"She?" Tassin
raised her brows.

"Rumours abound
of Ravian's true identity, but the pure-minded believe she is a
woman."

"So you don't
know for certain?"

"We are
certain."

"But you’ve
never met her, or seen her?"

"No." Endra
frowned. "And don't claim that you have. Only those who are judged
meet an Overlord."

"I wasn’t
judged, but I did meet Ravian and Fairen."

"Of course you
would claim to have, since you were aboard Fairen's ship. That does
not mean we have to believe you. Only a privileged few ever meet an
Overlord, and even fewer have ever seen one’s face."

Tassin glanced
at Sabre, who stared into space. "So it would seem."

"You and your
female companions will join our refugees. The men will be quartered
in the brig." Endra signalled, and the young woman stepped forward
and gestured to one of the two doors, then headed for it, the four
women following.

Tassin glanced
at Sabre and Tarl and shook her head. "They've done nothing
wrong."

"No, but they
will upset some of our passengers."

"Then I want to
stay with them."

"That would be
improper."

"The cyber is
my protector. Nothing improper will happen to me."

Endra frowned.
"You have no need of a protector aboard this ship. The brig is
unsuitable. There is no privacy."

"Are they to be
locked in there all the time?"

"The door will
not be locked, unless they transgress. They are required to stay
there, however. You may visit, if you choose."

"Fine."

Tarl raised a
hand. "May I ask a question?"

Endra glared at
him. "If you must."

"Oh, I think I
must. Which planet are you planning to dump us on?"

"The nearest on
our course is Endroad Four."

"Endroad Four
is a hellhole desert planet with a colony of pirates and packrats
on it."

Endra shrugged.
"That is not my concern. We were charged to take you to an
inhabited planet, and Endroad is one such."

"I don't think
Overlord Ravian would want us dumped on a world where we'll have
our throats slit within the hour."

"She did not
specify. Besides, you have a machine-man; you'll be all right."

"The cyber
isn't -"

"We'll be
fine," Tassin said. "Don't waste your breath, Tarl."

"Right."

Endra shot
Tassin a mirthless grimace that passed for a smile, and then
addressed Tarl. "Tenay will show you to your quarters."

The middle-aged
woman led Tarl and Sabre through the other door into a
blue-carpeted corridor with sleek walls and subdued, recessed
lighting, and Tassin tagged along. Tenay left them in a bare grey
cell with two hard bunks and a toilet cubicle in the corner.

Tarl sat on a
bunk and frowned at the floor. "Endroad is a shithole. We'll never
get off it."

"We have
money." Tassin sat on the bunk opposite, eyeing Sabre, who took up
a guard stance beside the door.

"That will only
get our throats cut that much quicker."

Tassin frowned
at Sabre. "Cyber, are there spying devices in this room?"

"Two cameras
and three microphones."

"Destroy
them."

Sabre went to
the far corner and leapt up to smash his fist into a tiny black
object under the ceiling, then did the same in the other corner
before going to her bunk and reaching under it to rip out a bunch
of wires. Returning to the door, he touched the panel to close it,
then sat beside her.

She smiled at
him. "Sister Superior will be cursing a blue streak about now."

He nodded.
"Yeah, but we’ve got bigger problems than spying sisters. Tarl's
right, Endroad is a bad place. It's aptly named, end of the road; a
graveyard for ships. Most that go near it are attacked and looted.
I don't think these ladies know what they're doing."

Tassin touched
the silver bracelet a crewman had snapped onto Sabre's wrist as he
was leaving Fairen's ship. "What's this?"

"A long range
distress beacon. If Ramadaus captures me, I can use it to summon
Fairen."

"That was nice
of him." She sighed, rubbing her brow. "So what are we going to do
about Endroad?"

Tarl shrugged.
"What can we do? Endra obviously has the mentality of an armadillo
and the will of a donkey. Like you said, trying to change her plan
would be a waste of breath."

"So we're going
to Endroad. How do we get off it?"

"We'll have to
see what our options are when we get there." Tarl glanced at Sabre.
"What's your bio-status up to?"

"Seventy-four
per cent."

"Great. Let's
hope the sight of you is enough to deter would-be attackers,
because you're not up to a fight."

Sabre nodded.
"This is a Jerran-94 star cruiser; we'll be at Endroad in a matter
of hours."

"Is it
armed?"

"Yes."

"Then let's
hope that when they're attacked they change their plans and take us
somewhere else."

Sabre shook his
head. "Don't wish for that. The next option is Washburn Nine."

"God, that's
even worse."

"What's
Washburn Nine like?" Tassin asked.

"It’s a swamp
world where it never stops raining, populated by a bunch of
fanatics who don't allow any technology."

"Wonderful. Do
you think we could pay Endra to take us somewhere else?"

"We could try,
but I doubt it. They seem to have enough money."

Endroad Four's
two blue moons glared down from a cloudless, star-sprinkled sky,
and Tassin glanced around with a grimace. A red-tinged, hostile
landscape of pebble-strewn sand and stunted succulents surrounded
the shuttle, illuminated by its floodlights. The sweet scent of
night flowers drifted on the wind, at odds with the bleak terrain.
The women unloaded boxes of medical supplies from the humming
shuttle, and three girls were ushered aboard.