The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (9 page)

"I have already
judged him."

"This is too
petty a matter to put to the vote."

"Then leave
it," Ravian said. "There are many more important matters that
require our time and attention."

"You are
intervening in something that does not require change."

Ravian shook
her head. "In my opinion, it does."

"I will meet
this free cyber."

"You are biased
by your liking for cybers. That, in itself, is unseemly for an
Overlord. We are opposed to slavery in all its forms."

"Cyber-bio
combat units are machines."

"So Myon Two
would have us believe," she said. "But it's a lie."

"I will see for
myself. We will meet."

"As you
wish."

Ramadaus faded.
The lights winked out, and Ravian returned to the couch to sink
down beside Sabre.

"You're going
to hand me over to him?" he asked.

"No. You will
meet him here."

"How long
before he gets here?"

She shrugged,
selecting a pastry. "About an hour."

"Have two
Overlords ever fought?"

Ravian giggled.
"No."

Chapter Six

It seemed a lot
less than an hour later when a gleaming ship shimmered into being
in the circular screens of the chamber where Ravian conducted her
interviews. Ramadaus' ship was shaped like a moth with skeletal
wings made of gleaming gold and silver shafts that curved inwards
like Ravian's Spider Ship's legs, the ends tipped with powerful
weapons. Ramadaus' ship was just as immense, but far more
beautiful, patterned with swirling gold and silver striations. The
thousands of tiny, twinkling lights on its ovoid hull gave an idea
of its size, and the two black domes on its bow were, he assumed,
gigantic tinted portals.

Ravian gazed at
it. "The original Ramadaus was a woman, hence the ship," she
explained.

"So the designs
remain the same, for the purpose of continuity, to give the
illusion that Overlords live forever."

She nodded.
"Exactly."

The silken
curtains at the side of the chamber parted to admit a tall, veiled
figure clad in a sweeping black garb identical to the one Ravian
had worn earlier. Ravian turned to face Ramadaus, and Sabre assumed
a guard stance beside her from force of habit. Ramadaus’ head
turned briefly towards Sabre as he crossed the room to stop a short
distance from her dais. Ravian stepped down and met him on the same
level, a slight, inscrutable smile curving her lips.

"You reveal
yourself to him?" Ramadaus demanded.

"As I choose.
He has seen you, too."

"That was not
my choice."

"No, it was
also mine."

Ramadaus turned
to Sabre, contemplating him, then took off his head covering and
veils, folded them and tucked them away in his robe. Removing his
gloves, he stepped closer to study the cyber, paying particular
attention to the brow band.

"How was he
freed?"

"I have not
asked him."

Ramadaus faced
Sabre and repeated the question.

"Impact at
terminal velocity," Sabre replied.

Ramadaus
glanced at Ravian. "He still speaks like a cyber."

"That has not
been my experience."

Ramadaus turned
to Sabre again. "What do you want from your freedom?"

"Mostly to be
left in peace to enjoy it."

"Don't you long
for the destruction of Myon Two?"

"I'd like the
suffering of cyber hosts to end."

Ramadaus cocked
a brow at Ravian. "So, the resemblance to a cyber ends. You allow
him to bear arms in my presence; this disturbs me."

"He's no threat
to you."

"Atrashka
assures me that he's dangerous."

"Atrashka wants
my order overturned."

Ramadaus
addressed Sabre. "How were you tortured on Myon Two?"

"Exhaustive
combat practice, electric shocks to speed up my reactions, painful
immunisation regimens, sensory deprivation, the inability to use my
own body, obviously, and I was cut open to fit the barrinium
plating without anaesthetic."

The Overlord
walked around Sabre, then stopped before him again and glanced at
Ravian. "He offends me. You're correct; this one is not a machine.
But the abilities of a cyber should not belong to a fallible man
with emotions and unpredictable reactions."

"We have the
power to destroy worlds, yet we are human, too," Ravian said.

"We've been
trained, and we have not been psychologically traumatised, as he
has."

"You're not
here to decide his fate. I have already done that. This meeting is
a courtesy, nothing more."

"I don't
support your order. Some pain is necessary to train cybers."

Ravian tilted
her head. "I had already deduced that. You wanted to speak to him,
and now you have."

"He's an
abomination, and I believe that if you threatened him or his
freedom, he would kill you."

"I disagree,
and it's not your concern."

"Actually, it
is. You have no apprentice, and neither do I. Of the seven, only
the two oldest have apprentices. You could not be replaced, and
that concerns all of us."

Ravian frowned.
"Since I have no intention of threatening him, he has no reason to
attack me, even if he would, which I don't believe. Your concern is
unfounded."

"By Atrashka's
account he's a psychopath, incapable of human emotions or obedience
to our laws. He will kill without compunction if he feels
threatened, and, since he's paranoid, the threat could be imagined.
He should be destroyed."

"Atrashka will
do and say anything to overturn my order, or, failing that, kill
Sabre. He's the one who's paranoid, and threatened by the existence
of a free cyber, yet Sabre had no wish to harm him when they met.
You haven't even done him the courtesy of reading him."

Ramadaus
snorted. "I'm not a fool. You have no precautions in place. Even
now we're in danger."

"I
disagree."

"Of course you
do. You're a young, romantic girl, and he's a handsome man with the
added attraction of being lethal."

A faint flush
suffused Ravian's creamy cheeks. "Now you go too far. I took
precautions until I had established that he was not a threat. Do
you question my judgement?"

"Yes."

"Then our
meeting is over."

Ramadaus nodded
and swung away, replacing his hood and veil as he stalked to the
door, where the officer who waited there drew the silk aside.
Ravian scowled at the door after the cloth had closed behind him
for several moments, then turned to Sabre.

"That was
unpleasant."

The cyber
shrugged. "Like Atrashka, he finds me offensive. I don't blame him.
I find myself offensive."

"They dislike
the notion of a man possessing your abilities. That's why, I
suspect, cybers were made as they are in the first place."

Ravian turned
to gaze out of the screens as the gold and silver ship was encased
in a sheath of white fire. With a shimmer, it vanished. "I fear
that I've put you in greater danger, Sabre. I cannot protect you
from him."

"He's going to
try to kill me, isn't he?"

"He has reached
his judgement."

"Great." He
sighed, rubbing his brow. "Maybe I should just flush myself out of
an airlock and save him the trouble."

"No. You're
safe as long as you remain on this ship."

"I can't stay
here."

"Why not?"

He shook his
head. "Tassin wants to go home, and she won't go without me."

"Even if she
knows you'll be in danger?"

"I've been in
danger since I was freed."

"From
enforcers. He's an Overlord."

"It's not fair
to expect her to give up her life and her dreams."

Ravian looked
sad. "It's not right that you should die. I suspect that would
crush her dreams anyway, since you're a large part of them."

"At least she
would be able to return to her life on Omega Five."

"Why don't you
ask her what she wants? Perhaps she'll agree to return to her home
and leave you here under my protection. Knowing that you're safe
and free might be enough for her, and you would be able to
communicate with each other."

"What use would
I be to you if I'm unable to leave this ship?" he asked.

"You would be
my companion and friend. And you would be able to leave it for
short excursions. Ramadaus isn't all-seeing. He relies on his spies
just as I do. But you cannot return to Omega Five; he surely knows
about it."

Sabre nodded.
"May I go?"

Ravian inclined
her head. "Of course."

Sabre headed
for the exit, where an aide drew aside the silk curtains.

"Oh,
wonderful." Tassin jumped up from the couch where she had been
sitting beside Sabre in his quarters. She swung away, frowning. In
his absence, she had showered and washed her hair, which was loose
about her shoulders. She still wore the pretty grey trouser suit
Tarl had given her, although it had evidently been laundered.

"So now we've
got rid of the enforcers and replaced them with an Overlord. Can
things get any worse?" she asked.

Sabre lowered
his gaze to his shiny wrist guards, wishing he had been able to
change before speaking to her, but she had been waiting for him
when he returned.

She faced him.
"What are we going to do?"

"I don't
know."

"Don't think
I'm going back to Omega Five without you. It's not going to
happen."

Sabre glanced
up at her. "You'd stay here?"

"I'm staying
with you."

"Could you be
happy here? Wouldn't you miss your home; your friends and
family?"

"Not as much as
I'd miss you."

He frowned at
the wrist guards again, fiddling with a dagger.

She sat beside
him and placed a hand on his arm. "Would you miss me too?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go
home. Surely we can get there without this Ramadaus finding us, and
once you're there, you'll be safe."

He shook his
head. "I don't think the restrictions will stop an Overlord, and
he'll find out where I am."

"Then we'll
deal with that when we have to. Do you want to stay here?"

"No."

Tassin moved
closer, making him uncomfortably aware of her presence. "Good. Kole
has summoned Striker. She'll be here within a few days, and then
he'll be returning to Ferrinon. Tarl still wants to come with us.
Ask Ravian for a ship to take us home. Perhaps Overlord Ramadaus
will think twice about attacking one of Ravian's ships. Ask him for
a small one we can hide in the forest, and then if Ramadaus does
find you, we can flee."

"All right."
Sabre tensed as Tassin twined her arms around his neck and hugged
him, laying her cheek on his shoulder with a sigh. He patted her
back. "Are you upset about something?"

"Yes. In all
the time we've been together, you haven't held me even once. You
say you care about me, but you don't show it."

"Ah. Well...
it's not really in my nature, I suppose."

"I know; which
is why we have to change that."

"We do?"

"Yes." She
released his neck and slid her arms around his chest, snuggling
closer. "You can start any time about now."

"Right." He put
his arms around her.

Sabre found her
proximity disconcerting and the intimacy alien, even, in a way,
unwelcome. On another level, it was enjoyable, but the nagging,
hated voice in the back of his mind shouted that he was just a
broken killing machine, and this was wrong. All his training urged
him to push her away and return to his familiar solitary state of
being, but he could not. A flashing amber proximity alert prickled
in the back of his mind, and it should not be there, since she was
his owner. A proximity alert was for a stranger’s approach, and
contact would be a red proximity violation.

Sabre tried to
analyse the strange feelings her closeness evoked, identifying
embarrassment and nervousness, but unable to name the warmth in his
chest. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back against the
couch to gain a little distance. Proximity alert, the amber words
warned, over and over again. For several minutes Tassin remained
still, and the tension leaked out of him. He became aware that she
had raised her head, and opened his eyes.

Tassin smiled,
squirmed onto his lap and slipped her arms around his neck, causing
a fresh wave of tension and awkwardness to engulf him. The urge to
escape grew stronger, but now it had become a lot more difficult.
She trailed her fingers along the edge of his jaw and the bridge of
his nose, her eyes following her hand. Sabre sat frozen with
embarrassment, not knowing what to do.

The moment,
though awkward, was precious. Not since he had been taken from
Omega Five on that terrible night had he felt the special warmth
her affection brought, and he realised that in some strange way he
craved it. Tassin hugged his neck again and buried her face in the
side of it. After several moments, driven by some inexplicable
desire, he turned his head and breathed in the perfume of her hair,
his enhanced sense of smell picking up every nuance of it. A
glowing green analysis appeared in the back of his mind, listing
the perfume's ingredients. He tried to ignore it, hating the
reminder of what he was. He stroked her sleek, cool hair, enjoying
its softness.

"Stay with me
tonight," she whispered.

"What? No."

"We could just
hold each other, like this."

"No."

"Why not?" she
demanded. "We spent many nights together in that cave, when you
were hurt."

"That was
because you were cold."

She raised her
head and gazed at him. "Don't you like this?"

He hesitated.
"Yes."

"So what's the
problem?"