The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (21 page)

"And you
believe him?"

"Why would he
lie? Besides, unlike you, I've read him, and he's not lying."

A medic hurried
in and injected the drip that was attached to Sabre's arm, then
left with a bow. After a couple of minutes Fairen placed his hand
on Sabre's brow again.

"That's
better."

"How long will
this last?" Ravian enquired.

Ramadaus
shrugged. "That depends on how much venom was injected into him,
and where."

Fairen glanced
at the doctor, who said, "He wasn't bitten, My Lord. There are no
bite marks on him anywhere. It was the venom that got into his
eyes."

Ramadaus said,
"Only a small amount then, but close to the brain, which is
bad."

****

"Look!" Tarl
pointed at the vidimage screen, where a shuttle had just left
Fairen's vessel and moved towards the liner.

Tassin peered
at it. "Why would Fairen send a ship here?"

"To rescue
us?"

"He wouldn't do
that."

"What other
reason could there be?"

She shook her
head. "I hope you're right. But how would he know we're still
alive, unless he's spoken to Sabre."

"Perhaps he
took Sabre, not Ramadaus."

"Why would he
do that?"

Tarl shrugged.
"I have no idea."

"Ramadaus is
the only one who has a reason to take Sabre."

"So what are
Ravian and Fairen doing here?"

"I don't know!"
Tassin cried in frustration.

A scratching
came from the door, and Tarl glanced around in alarm as it
shuddered and rattled. "They've found us."

"We've got to
get out of here!" Tassin shouted over the women's wails of
terror.

"How?"

"An air vent! A
door!"

Tarl headed for
the bathroom. "There might be a crawlspace in here. There usually
is for the plumbing."

"Hurry!"

He paused just
inside the door to glance around, then went to the basin and felt
under it. "There is, but it's sealed." Tarl punched the cover, but
his fist bounced off. "Shit!"

"Hurry up!"

Tarl wrung his
hand. "I'm not a bloody cyber, okay? This thing is strong."

"Use your
laser."

Tarl pulled out
the laser and aimed it at the faint square indentation under the
basin, firing it in sweeping lines along the edges of the square.
Putting the weapon away, he sat down and kicked the panel, which
flew inwards with a bang.

"Get in!"

Tassin dropped
to all fours and crawled into the dark opening, cursing whoever had
built it so narrow. The air was stale, and smelt of sewage. A
weeping woman crawled in behind her, and Tassin moved along as fast
as she could, her heart pounding. The bangs of the Corsairs' attack
on the cabin door followed her, mingled with the wails of the
terrified women.

Chapter Fourteen

Sabre opened
his eyes. His vision was yellow-tinged and blurred, but the
convulsions had stopped and only faint shivers still racked him.
Sitting up, he yanked the drip needle out of his arm and swung his
legs off the bed, the room spinning. He waited for it to steady,
then slid off the bed. His knees buckled as his feet hit the floor,
sending him sprawling. His arm hit a steel table covered with
instruments, and it fell with an ear-piercing clatter. Clasping his
ringing ears, he struggled to his feet, swaying and blinking to
clear the ointment from his eyes. His vision improved a little, but
remained blurred. He spotted his clothes and armour on another
table.

Staggering over
to it, he donned them, turning as a medic came in, drawn by the
noise.

The man
frowned. "Lie down on the bed, cyber, you're not well."

"I'm fine,"
Sabre said.

The man's eyes
widened, and he shook his head in disbelief. "Who's your
owner?"

"No one." Sabre
clipped on his armour and brushed past the man, then turned and
grabbed the front of his white jumpsuit. "Take me to Fairen."

"No! You can't
-"

"I can break
your neck with one hand, now take me to him."

"Guards!"

Sabre cursed
and punched him, knocking him senseless. He staggered from the
cubicle, collided with a trolley and sent it crashing to the floor,
scattering medicine. Groping his way along the wall, he found a
door and reeled through it, his legs barely obeying him. In the
corridor, he bumped into a crewman and grabbed him. Drawing a
laser, he pressed it to the man's neck.

"Take me to
Fairen, or die."

The man pointed
down the corridor. "That way."

Sabre leant on
his captive, one arm locked around his throat. A little of his
strength returned as they traversed several black-walled,
grey-carpeted corridors, then lurched into Fairen's vast audience
room. The scanners showed the presence of several guards, and three
people stood together in the middle of the room. His captive tensed
when a rustle of movement came from the men around the walls as
they drew their weapons. Sabre blinked, clearing his sight a little
more.

"Don't shoot!"
Fairen ordered, hurrying towards Sabre.

The cyber
holstered his laser and held up his hand. "I'm not here to hurt
anyone."

Fairen stopped
a pace away. "What are you doing here? You're sick."

"Where's
Tassin?"

"Ah. On the
liner. We're going to translocate her, but we're still trying to
get a lock on her, and she's moving now."

"What's
happened?"

"The Corsairs
found them, by the looks of it, but they've found a way to
escape."

"Then
translocate her... Please."

Fairen shook
his head. "We can't while she's moving, and even when she stops, we
have to get a visual identification from the on board monitors
first or we might get the wrong person."

"If you get the
wrong one, do it again, but do it!"

"As I said,
she's moving now. We have to wait for her to stop. And if we
translocate the wrong person, it will be several minutes before the
translocators power up again."

Sabre stared at
him, swaying. "Send me there."

"You're in no
state to take on Corsairs now."

"I'll be the
judge of that. I promised to protect her, or die trying."

"We'll get her
out."

Sabre's looked
past him at Ravian and Ramadaus. "So, everyone's here. No one else
will help, I suppose."

"I will,"
Ravian said, pulling a com-link from the folds of her robe.
"Commander, find Tassin Alrade aboard the liner and translocate her
here."

"Yes, My Lord,"
a tinny voice replied.

Sabre nodded.
"Thanks, but that doesn't help if you have to wait for a visual
identification. It could be too late by then. If they're on the
run, they won't stop until they're dead." His eyes flicked back to
Fairen. "Send me there."

"You can barely
stand up."

"Please."

Fairen
hesitated, then turned to his commander, who stood at his side,
eyeing Sabre. "Where are they now?"

Commander
Shrain glanced down at his com-link. "They're moving astern, My
Lord, and from their position, they must be in a crawlspace."

"Send me ahead
of them," Sabre said.

"There's an
empty cabin two metres ahead of them," Shrain supplied. "The
Corsairs are behind them."

Fairen regarded
Sabre with deep sadness. "I'm sending you to your death. I don't
want to."

"It's my
choice."

"We will keep a
lock on you, so we can bring you out in an instant."

"Bring her out
first, or don't bother."

Ramadaus
demanded, "You allow him to speak to you like that?"

Fairen glanced
around. "I do as I please."

"So does he,
apparently."

"If I allow it,
yes. This is my ship, my choice."

"Can we stop
bickering and get on with it?" Sabre asked.

Fairen faced
him again. "You'll have to release the cook."

Sabre nodded
and let the man go, staggering a little when his support fled.

Fairen cocked
his head. "You can barely stand up."

"Then I'll
crawl."

"Are your
weapons charged?"

"They'll have
to do." Sabre unclipped the helmet from his belt and pulled it
on.

"How well can
you see?"

"Well enough. I
have scanners, too."

Fairen turned
to Shrain. "Send him to the cabin ahead of the girl."

The commander
tapped his com-link, and Sabre tensed, readying himself for the
rush of dizzying blackness and intense cold. It gripped him in a
painful embrace, burning his raw skin, and swept him away in a
swirl of darkness. His knees buckled as his feet hit solid ground,
and he sprawled on the worn brown carpet of a cramped, untidy
cabin. Judging by its tatty furnishings, rumpled bed and grimy
white walls, it was a crew cabin in the belly of the ship. He
crouched, blinked and shook his head to try to clear his eyes, then
consulted the scanners. Points of light set against a backdrop of
the ship's schematics indicated humans just beyond a sealed
crawlspace access point in the wall beside him, trapped. Evidently
they had not considered how they would get out when they had
crawled in. Turning to it, he punched the panel, ripped it loose
and sent it clattering into the narrow tunnel beyond. A yelp of
fright came from the darkness, and he stuck his head into the
opening.

"Tassin!"

"Sabre?" The
tremulous joy in her voice made his heart ache.

"Come on,
hurry!"

Moments later,
she came into view, dragging herself along on her elbows, her face
smudged with dust. Sabre reached in and hauled her out. She flung
her arms around his neck, sobbing with joy and relief.

"Where did you
go? How did you get back?"

He held her
away. "It's a long story. Let me help the others."

Tassin released
him, moving aside so he could haul out the next woman. All seven
emerged streaked with dust, their elbows bloodied, then Tarl came
into view, squeezing his bulk through the narrow space with
difficulty. Sabre dragged him out, and he collapsed on the floor,
gasping.

"Whoever built
this damned crate should be shot. Were they bloody midgets?"

"Where are the
Corsairs?"

"They didn't
follow us into the crawlspace; they're tracking us outside."

"They can't fit
into such a narrow space." Sabre glanced around. "If we can stay
here long enough, we'll be translocated to Fairen's ship."

"Fairen's
helping us?" Tarl sounded confused. "Why?"

"I saved his
life."

"He's going to
get us all out?"

Sabre looked at
the seven exhausted, frightened women. "No. He only said Tassin.
There won't be enough time, anyway."

"There's a ship
docked where the -"

"I see it."

"If we can
reach it..."

Sabre nodded.
"There aren't any Corsairs in the way right now, but they do move
fast. We may have a chance. When he's taken Tassin, I'll help the
rest of you reach it."

"No!" Tassin
said. "I'm staying with you."

"It's too
dangerous. I want you safe."

"I'm staying
with you."

Tarl stood up
and frowned down at Sabre when the cyber remained kneeling.
"Something wrong, bud?"

Sabre nodded,
and Tassin tried to unclip his helmet, but the clasps foiled her
inexperienced fingers. "Take this off."

"There's no
time. We have to go."

"Take it
off!"

Sabre sighed
and unclipped the helmet, pulling it off.

Tassin gasped.
"What happened to you? Who did this?"

"A Corsair. We
don't have time now. We must go."

Tarl squatted
to peer at the red welts. "Did you get it in your eyes too?"

"Yes, but I can
still see."

"Not very well,
I suppose."

"No, not too
good."

"What's your
bio-status?"

Sabre closed
his eyes. "Forty-one per cent."

"Bloody hell.
You're in no state -"

"I'll manage.
With any luck, we'll reach the ship without meeting any Corsairs,
if we hurry."

Tarl turned to
Tassin. "Do as he says, let them translocate you."

"No. I'm
staying with him, no matter what."

Sabre bowed his
head. "Tassin..."

"No!"

Tarl jumped up.
"Okay, enough arguing. Let's get the hell out of here before it's
too late." He hauled the cyber to his feet and placed Sabre's arm
over his shoulders. "Now we're a team. Let's go, Tassin, now!"

She held out
Sabre's helmet, and he clipped it on with his free hand while she
went to the door, which slid open. Tarl half-carried Sabre after
her, the women following. Sabre drew a laser and held it at his
side.

****

Fairen frowned
at Commander Shrain. "Well?"

"They're moving
again, My Lord. Before that, she was touching the cyber. We have no
lock."

"Where are they
going?"

"It looks like
they're moving towards the shuttle, My Lord."

"Are any of my
men still alive?"

The commander
shook his head. "No, My Lord."

"He's trying to
save them all," Fairen said, turning to Ramadaus. "This man, whom
you call an abomination, who is so weak he cannot walk, is trying
to save the rest of the survivors."

Ramadaus
shrugged. "He's a fool."

"He's a
hero."

****

"Shit, you're a
heavy bugger," Tarl muttered, shifting Sabre's weight and taking a
better grip on his arm.

"Twelve
kilograms of -"

"Barrinium
plating. I know the specs."

Tassin moved to
Sabre's other side and slipped under his arm, but she was too short
to support it on her shoulder, so she slid her arm around his
waist.