The Cyber Chronicles VI - Warrior Breed
Read The Cyber Chronicles VI - Warrior Breed Online
Authors: T C Southwell
Tags: #battles, #combat, #warship, #warrior breed, #spacial anomaly
The Cyber
Chronicles VI
Warrior
Breed
T C
Southwell
Published by T
C Southwell at Smashwords
Copyright ©
2011 by T C Southwell
Smashwords
Edition, License Notes
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Table of
Contents
Chapter One
Fairen held
out his hand, and Sabre clasped it with a smile, then the boy
surprised him by pulling him into a brief, firm embrace. When he
stepped back, his cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, but he
looked satisfied, as if the brief contact had fulfilled some deep
need for human contact. Two days had passed since the young
Overlord had rescued Sabre from Ramadaus, and they stood in the
Scorpion Ship’s cavernous docking port, ready to leave. Pryan
looked smart and a little smug in an immaculately cut dark blue
suit, his shock of unruly hair slicked back. Fairen turned to
Tassin and held out his hand. She hesitated, but he smiled and
nodded, so she clasped it.
His smile
widened. "You're a good person. I'm glad Sabre has you to love him
as he does you."
"Thank you, My
Lord."
Aboard the
shuttle, one of Fairen's men showed them to a comfortable crimson
and grey lounge for the brief trip to Pryan's ship.
Tarl looked
haggard when he met them outside the airlock. He studied Sabre with
deep concern and cast Tassin a guilty look.
"Thank god
you're both all right." His eyes lingered on Sabre's bruised
arms.
"Where are
Kernan and Kaylar?" Tassin asked.
"In the dining
room. They feel like even bigger idiots than I do."
"It wasn't
your fault."
Tarl shook his
head. "That doesn't make what we almost did any less
reprehensible."
"No, but you
weren't responsible."
"Where's
Pryan?"
"He's staying
with Overlord Fairen."
Tarl's brows
rose. "Why? Did he do something wrong?"
"No. He's
found a new home."
"Kernan tells
me this is Pryan's ship."
She nodded.
"It's mine now. He gave it to me."
"Why?"
"He doesn't
need it anymore."
Tarl looked
even more puzzled. "Why not?"
"He's staying
with Overlord Fairen. That's all I can tell you."
"Huh." He
shrugged. “Okay.”
Tarl led the
way to the dining room, where Kernan and Kaylar greeted them with
embarrassed looks and stiff, uncertain smiles. They listened to
Tassin's account of what had happened on the Scorpion Ship with
shuttered expressions. A thick, gloomy silence fell at the end of
the tale, which Tarl broke after several minutes.
"So, where are
we going now?"
"Toron," Sabre
said.
"Why not
home?” Tassin asked. “We have a ship now."
"Because home
is two hundred and twenty-three light years away, and this ship
isn't fast enough. She's a year-day ship, which, if you translate
it into logical old Earth terms, means she can only go three
hundred and sixty-five times the speed of light. It doesn't
actually work that way, but that's the easiest way to explain it.
It would take us two hundred and twenty-three days to get
there."
"Oh."
"So, we sell
this ship on Toron and buy a faster one; then we go home."
"How far are
we from Toron?"
"Two
days."
"Good, let's
get going then."
Sabre nodded,
glancing at Kernan. "It takes two to pilot this ship."
When the
former captain continued to stare into space, lost in thought, Tarl
said, "I'll co-pilot. These two have hardly spoken in the past two
days."
"Fine." Sabre
went to the bridge and settled in the pilot's chair, studying the
knobs and dials in front of him.
"Are they
upset about Trina?" Tassin asked Tarl.
"No, they're
upset about what she did to them, and made them do."
"Pryan's
sister."
"Amongst other
things, judging by their attitudes. Maybe she wasn’t the only girl
they spaced at Trina’s request." Tarl sat in the co-pilot's seat,
where Pryan used to sit, and Sabre recited a checklist. Tassin
gazed at the empty, star-sprinkled blackness in the screens until
Sabre instructed her to strap herself in.
"Green board,"
Tarl intoned.
"Course laid
in, autopilot engaged," Sabre stated.
Tarl peered
into the dark screen. "Course locked. Range to target, one point
seven light years, pulses required, two. Intensity configured."
"Charging
pulse drive." Sabre flipped the bank of switches above him.
"Boosters engaged."
"Check," Tarl
said.
Sabre flipped
open the capped switch and held his thumb over it, watching the
flashing lights on the console. "First pulse... now." He pressed
the switch, and a giant thud rattled the ship.
"Green board,"
Tarl stated as the stars in the screens smeared.
"Charging
drive... second pulse... now."
Another thud
shook the vessel. A wall of force smashed Tassin sideways, knocking
the breath out of her. Alarms hooted, buzzed and wailed. Red lights
flashed all over Sabre's console, and Tarl was sprawled across his,
his eyes closed, blood oozing from a cut on his cheek. Sabre swore
and unbuckled himself, swinging around.
"Are you all
right?"
Tassin
clutched her ribs, which sent shafts of agony through her at every
breath, and nodded, unable to speak.
Sabre frowned.
"No you're not."
A breeze blew
out of the bridge door, and he cursed again. "Hull breach."
Sabre turned
back to the console and pushed a couple of switches. A deep
metallic groan echoed through the ship's bowels, but the breeze
continued.
"Shit, the
emergency compartment doors must be jammed. Bloody antique
ship!"
Sabre gripped
the back of Tarl's collar and shook him, but he lolled, senseless.
Swearing, the cyber marched to the door.
"I'm going to
check on Kernan and Kaylar. Wait here."
Tassin longed
to call him back, but could not draw in a large enough breath. He
reappeared a few moments later and knelt in front of her.
"Where does it
hurt?" She gestured to her ribs, and he nodded. "Right. We've got
to get off this ship. She's depressurising. The emergency pods are
down the passage. This is going to hurt, sorry."
Tassin braced
herself as he unbuckled her belt and scooped her up, gasping as
fresh pain shot through her. He cradled her against his chest,
clearly trying not to hurt her, but it was unavoidable. His
expression was grim as he strode down the passage to three circular
hatches at the end. The brow band blazed electric blue, and two
hatches opened, the lights on the panels beside them turning green.
Sabre climbed into the nearest, easing her through a door that was
designed for one person to crawl through. Placing her on the couch
inside, he buckled a strap around her waist.
"These are
two-man pods. I'm going to put Tarl and Kernan in another one.
Kaylar's dead."
She nodded.
"Hurry."
"I will."
A strident
klaxon joined the cacophony of alarms, and he cursed. "Bugger.
Fire."
Sabre loped
off, and Tassin lay back, trying to ease her ribs whilst gasping
air that was becoming tainted with smoke. Pale grey plastic lined
the spherical pod's interior, and the padded bench ran along one
side. On the other, a miniature console had a tiny screen and
keypad, and various handles and knobs indicated recessed lockers in
the wall and floor. Another, smaller explosion shook the ship, and
her concern for Sabre redoubled. A few minutes later he crawled in,
bleeding from a long scratch on his arm, and closed the hatch,
locking it. Turning to the panel, he tapped the keypad, then came
over to her and pushed her back against the wall, bracing himself.
Tassin gasped as she was jerked violently sideways, pain flaring
from her ribs. Sabre's grip prevented her from being flung against
the strap around her waist. The pressing force lasted only moments,
then she floated up against the strap in a most unnerving way.
"It's okay,
it's just zero gravity," Sabre assured her. "Hold onto the
strap."
Sabre turned
and floated across the pod with well-trained ease to pull a box
from a clamp on the far wall. Taking out a bottle of pills, he
pushed one into her mouth, then held a water bottle with a tube to
her lips.
"That was a
painkiller. It will help." He put the medical kit back.
Tassin looked
down at herself, tugging her blouse up to try to see why her ribs
hurt so much. Sabre helped, his warm hands finding the painful
area.
"It's where
the strap cut into you. It's bruised. If you hadn't been wearing
it, you'd be dead."
"Tarl?"
"He's okay,
just banged his head. He woke up, so he can pilot the other pod.
Kernan's badly hurt, but he might live. He and Kaylar were in the
dining room, and, although they were strapped in, the explosion hit
them much worse." She pointed at the scratch on his arm, and he
nodded. "I had to free Kernan from some debris."
"What...
now?"
Sabre reached
over her head and flicked a switch. "We trigger the distress beacon
and wait. Luckily we're not far from Toron."
"How
long?"
"We have
enough food for a month. The air and water are recycled."
Tassin sighed
as the pain ebbed.
Sabre squatted
in front of her, holding himself in place. "Feeling better?"
She nodded. "A
little."
"Don't look so
scared. I'm here."
"Of all the
people... I would choose to be trapped... in a tiny room with...
you'd be my first choice."
He smiled and
pulled himself onto the couch beside her. "We'll be okay. Just rest
now."
"Are we
moving?"
"Oh yeah,
we're moving at about two hundred times light speed, if that last
pulse was completed. Towards Toron."
A sudden force
thrust Tassin against the wall, banging her head on it. Lights
danced in her eyes, and her vision dimmed as fresh pain lanced from
her ribs and the back of her head. When her sight returned, Sabre
cupped her face, his eyes filled with worry.
"Are you
okay?"
She nodded.
"What happened?"
"The ship blew
up."
"But... there
was no sound."
"Sound doesn't
travel through a vacuum." His brow was furrowed.
"What's
wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Tell me,
Sabre."
He looked
away. "Some debris must have hit us, because the shock of an
explosion won’t travel in a vacuum either. It will have altered our
course. We could be going anywhere now."
"Away from...
Toron?"
