The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (20 page)

"And why is our
lord concerned about his sight?" the other medic, who examined
Sabre's wrist, said. "Cybers don't use their eyes."

Sabre wanted to
tell them, but a strange floating sensation invaded him, the
strength drained from him in a rush, and he collapsed.

"He's been
bitten," the medic who examined his wrist stated. "He's dying."

Their voices
became distant, and Sabre's muscles tensed with involuntary spasms.
He glanced inward at the virtual control panel in the dark,
peaceful recess of his mind. A host of red statistics flashed, and
lines of amber writing scrolled up, listing the components of the
Corsair's toxin and the measures the cyber had instigated to
counteract it. Amongst them were two genetic enhancements,
previously dormant genes that the control unit had just activated.
He became aware of movement close by and glanced at the video feed
again. The medics stood up and retreated.

Fairen knelt
beside Sabre. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's been
bitten, My Lord," one of the medics supplied.

"He's
dying?"

"Yes, My
Lord."

"Damn!" Fairen
leant forward. "Sabre, can you hear me?"

Sabre wanted to
answer, but his jaw was clenched and his neck rigid.

Fairen touched
his shoulder. "I'm sorry. You saved my life, and I'm grateful. I
will do all I can to help Tassin and keep her safe. She will lack
for nothing, I swear it. No one will ever harm her."

Sabre tried to
speak, but all that issued was a groan.

Fairen stood
up. "Find the girl and rescue her."

"My lord, there
are Corsairs on that ship."

"Are you
refusing?"

"No, My Lord.
But our chances of saving her are not good."

"Just do
it."

"My lord,
Ramadaus and Ravian are requesting contact."

"Allow it."

Fairen walked
over to the ring of pale circles and stood in one. Sabre's vision
from the video feed was limited to the area above him, since he lay
on his back, but the scanners gave him Fairen's location, and he
was able to hear despite the dullness the venom caused. After a
moment, Ramadaus' voice spoke.

"I am glad to
see you safe, Fairen."

"The free cyber
saved me."

"Good. What you
did was foolish. We tried to warn you."

"Has an
Overlord ever read a Corsair before?"

Ravian said,
"No, it's too dangerous, as you discovered. If not for
Sabre..."

"Who sent
him?"

"I did."

"My thanks,
Ravian."

"Is he
injured?"

"Regrettably,
he was bitten in the fight. He's dying."

"No he isn't,"
Ramadaus said. "Cybers are immune to Corsair venom."

"But he's
sick."

"He will be for
a time, yes."

"I'm pleased to
hear it." Fairen paused. "I read the Corsair. They are depraved,
utterly without conscience, compassion or merit. I have condemned
them."

"We saw you
destroy their ship."

"They should be
wiped out."

"They probably
will be, in time," Ravian assured him. "I wish to visit you."

"Certainly."

"I also,"
Ramadaus said.

"Very
well."

Silence fell,
then Fairen returned to Sabre's side. "So, you will recover. This
is good news. Medics, take him to the hospital and give him the
best care."

"Yes, My
Lord."

"Take the
Corsair’s corpse to the lab. I want it studied."

Sabre tried to
speak again, but only another groan issued from his locked throat.
Tremors racked him, and his muscles spasmed. The medics lifted him
onto a floating stretcher, which swayed as they guided it out.
Glowing corridor ceiling passed above him, and the medics murmured,
too softly for him to make out the words. They entered a medical
facility, judging by the antiseptic smell and white ceiling. The
spasms made his breaths come in shuddering gasps, and fresh sweat
poured off him from the exertion of the convulsions.

The medics
stripped off his armour and clothes, leaving his shorts. They
commented on the red marks on his wrists and thighs from the
Corsair's powerful grip. After hosing him off with cold water, they
smeared ointment on his face and neck where the acid had burnt him.
Their treatment, though thorough, was all too familiar, for it was
that which humans usually meted out to cybers. Uncaring. He
wondered how long the spasms would last, and recalled the painful
immunisation regimen he had been subjected to at the tender age of
five.

Forty-seven
injections of a deactivated form of the venom, starting with a tiny
dose and increasing to an amount equivalent to a Corsair bite. Its
effects had been painful, much like this episode, with hours of
convulsions followed by days of weakness and vomiting. The
subsequent doses had been administered before he had recovered from
the one before, to save time. His worry for Tassin burnt in his
heart like a lump of lead, adding to his misery.

Fairen's men
stood no chance against Corsairs, even if they reached the liner's
armoury and armed themselves with lasers, which he doubted. They
had been sent to their deaths, and might only provide a
distraction, delaying Tassin's discovery. He glanced at the cyber's
information; the bio-data showed red areas throughout his body,
where the venom wreaked its havoc. The cyber had put his biological
defence system into overdrive and started a fluid flush, speeding
his heart rate to pump his blood through his kidneys quickly and
cleanse it. This was its standard reaction to any foreign
substance, but it would help to speed his recovery.

****

"Where did he
go?" Tassin demanded, turning to Tarl.

He shook his
head. "Beats the hell out of me. He was translocated. It's the only
way he could just vanish like that."

"Ramadaus!"

"Probably."

"We've got to
rescue him!"

"How?"

Despair swamped
Tassin. "Call Ravian! Or Fairen! Surely they'll help us?"

"Against
another Overlord? Unlikely. Besides, we have no way of contacting
them. The only intercom patched into the interstellar transmitters
is in the hold."

"Then we have
to go there." Tassin paced in a circle, her heart pounding.

"That's too
dangerous."

"Without Sabre,
we don't stand a chance of getting off this ship alive."

"True." Tarl
sat on the sofa. "But there's not much we can do about it."

"We have to do
something!"

"We're in no
position to rescue him. We need rescuing ourselves. I think we
should sit tight and hope Sabre can escape by himself, and maybe
bring help."

Tassin turned
to scowl at him. "Just sit here and hope for the best?"

"What else can
we do? We have no idea where the Corsairs are, and if we leave this
cabin we could be caught."

"Can't you do
anything? Use the access panel in here to call for help?"

He shook his
head. "Only the cyber can hack into the ship's computer."

Tassin stared
at the three ships on the vidimage screen. "They must know we're
here. Why don't they save us?"

"We're not
important enough."

****

Fairen rose to
greet his guests as Ravian and Ramadaus entered his private
chambers.

"Well, it's
been some time since three of us met."

Ravian's eyes
flicked over him. "What happened to your face?"

Fairen raised a
hand to his cheek. "The Corsair... drooled on me. The medics say it
will clear up in a few days."

"It touched
you?"

Fairen gestured
to the couch. "Sit, please. Something to drink?"

"Tell me what
happened."

The boy sighed
and turned to the refreshment centre to pour a drink. "Yes, it
touched me. It took me hostage. My men's weapons had no effect on
it."

"They
wouldn't," Ramadaus said, sinking down on a white velvet couch.
"Corsairs are immune to poison."

"So I
discovered."

Ravian came
closer to study the red marks on his face. "What did Sabre do?"

"He was...
amazing." Fairen sipped his drink. "He pulled the creature off me
in a flash. Then it had him, and it wouldn't let go. My men were
useless; it killed four of them. They fought for twenty-two
minutes. I have it all on vidimage."

"I'd like to
see that," Ramadaus murmured.

Fairen swung
around. "He saved my life. You will not execute him now."

"You're giving
me orders now?"

"Take it any
way you will. I shall protect him from you. Before he leaves this
ship, I'll give him a long range transmitter. If you capture him,
you will be in conflict with me."

Ramadaus’ brows
rose. "You would attack me?"

"I owe him my
life. Yes, I will."

Ramadaus
glanced at Ravian, who smiled, a little smug. "No Overlord has ever
attacked another. What would the punishment for that be?"

"Who could
punish me?"

"The
others."

"They would
start a war between us."

Ramadaus shook
his head. "He's just a damned cyber. They die protecting their
owners all the time. It's what they're trained to do."

"But he's free.
He didn't have to save me."

"If he hadn't,
someone would have executed him."

Fairen glared
at Ramadaus. "When he attacked the Corsair, he touched me
unintentionally. He was not doing it because he thought he had to,
but because he wanted to. His mind was clear of everything but one
purpose. To save me." His hand trembled, and he slammed the glass
down on the sleek black counter. "Do you have any idea how terrible
it was for me to be touched by something as evil as that
thing?"

Ravian put out
a hand to comfort him, then thought better of it and poured herself
a drink instead. "It must have been awful."

"I feel dirty
still."

"The main thing
is you're all right. How is Sabre doing?"

"He's getting
the best care in my hospital."

"That's good.
Sit down, you're upset. What of his friends?"

Fairen sank
down on the couch. "I've sent some men over to rescue them."

"They'll be
slaughtered," Ramadaus said.

"What more can
I do?"

"Translocate
them," Ravian suggested.

Fairen nodded.
"Good idea. Commander, find the free cyber's two friends and bring
them aboard."

A voice spoke
from the wall. "That will require some form of identification, My
Lord."

Fairen turned
to Ravian. "I haven't seen them."

"The girl is
small, with black hair and blue eyes. The man is large,
middle-aged, with brown hair and light blue eyes."

"I will start a
search for them at once, My Lord. Shall I recall the men?" the
disembodied voice of Fairen's commander enquired.

"No, they might
succeed."

"Yes, My
Lord."

Ramadaus
snorted and shook his head. "Overlords concerned with the fate of
two people. What are we coming to?"

"A man has
never saved an Overlord before. I'm in his debt."

"He's not a
man."

Fairen glared
at him. "If you say that one more time, you will leave my ship and
never return."

"Come, Fairen,"
Ravian said. "Don't let him upset you. Will you take me to see
Sabre?"

"Certainly."
Fairen rose and headed for the door, pausing when Ramadaus stood
up. "You're coming too?"

"I wouldn't
miss it for the world."

The hospital
smelt of antiseptic, and Ravian wrinkled her nose as they entered
it. Medical personnel bowed and stepped from their path. A senior
doctor guided them to a cubicle, and she stopped in shock. Sabre
lay on a steel floater-bed, almost naked, and he breathed in harsh
gasps. Ridges of muscle stood out on his belly as convulsions
racked him, making him quiver. The brow band had more red lights in
it than usual, and veins bulged on his neck and forehead. His face
and throat were blotched with red marks similar to Fairen's, only
worse, and a film of yellow ointment covered them. Pale scars
marked his chest and arms, some apparently made by swords, judging
by their size.

Fairen frowned
at him, then turned to the medic. "Did you save his eyes?"

"They seem all
right, My Lord. Impossible to tell, though, since cybers don't use
them."

"He's not..."
Fairen waved the man away. "Never mind."

Ramadaus went
over to Sabre and touched his shoulder. "Amazing creatures. Right
now his core temperature is probably over a hundred degrees. The
venom causes paralysis that stops the breathing, and death follows
swiftly."

"Read him,
Ramadaus," Ravian urged. "See what we saw."

He snatched his
hand away. "No. He's not... I'm not interested."

Fairen
approached, hesitated, then pulled off his glove and placed his
hand on Sabre's brow.

Ravian raised
her brows in surprise. "You hate touching people."

He nodded,
gazing down at the cyber. "But not him. He's like a breath of fresh
air, and right now he's helping to wash away the Corsair's taint.
It's good to touch someone pure for a change. He's aware of us.
He's concerned about the girl." He snatched his hand away with a
hiss.

Ramadaus cocked
a brow. "Not so pure after all?"

"He's in a lot
of pain." Fairen glanced around and addressed a doctor who hovered
nearby. "Give this man painkillers."

"But My Lord,
he's a -"

"Do it!"

"Yes, My
Lord."

Ramadaus said,
"If he was still under cyber control, he wouldn't feel it."

"Do you really
believe that?” Ravian asked. “What scientific explanation makes
that possible?"

"The cyber unit
blocks it."

"How?"

"Do I look like
a technician?"

Ravian smiled.
"No. But if you asked Sabre, he'd tell you that cybers feel pain.
They just aren't allowed to react to it."