The Cyber Chronicles VI - Warrior Breed (32 page)

"Our light is
too bright for you," a soft female voice said beside him. "We will
dim it. There."

Sabre opened
his eyes a slit, and found that the brilliance was now bearable,
though still a little painful. A feminine being stood close beside
him, her face an epitome of the ideals of beauty. She had refined
features, enormous silvery eyes fringed by impossibly long lashes,
a rosebud mouth and shining skeins of white hair, all of it hard to
see through the glow she emanated. A shapeless, shining white gown
hung from her shoulders to the floor, giving no hint of the form
within it, and long sleeves hid her hands. The being held out an
arm, and the sleeve slid back to reveal a slender, long-fingered
hand.

"Welcome, pure
one."

Sabre gazed at
her hand, unsure. "What are you? Why have you brought me here?"

"We are from
the upper realms, where creatures of pure energy reside, like us.
We wish to speak to you."

"Why?"

"You are
different from your companions. You are a higher form of being, and
we sense... a light within you. Of all the below realm races we
have studied, we have not seen one like you before."

Sabre glanced
around, but the surroundings were still too bright to see much.
"There are plenty like me."

"No. You are
unique."

"What do you
want with me?"

"To speak,
that is all." The being lowered her hand. "Do not fear us."

"Speak about
what?"

"How you came
to be."

"That's a long
and unpleasant story."

She bowed her
head and folded her hands. "We sense in you a part of us. Will you
allow me to touch you?"

Sabre remained
in a crouch, his hand on the floor, ready to spring away. She made
him uneasy. "What for?"

"I can learn
much from it."

"If you're so
advanced, why couldn't you defend yourself from three pirates?"

"Argent is
injured, and we have no weapons. We were trying to heal a star when
it died. The shockwave was powerful, and it sent us into the below
realm."

"A
supernova?"

She inclined
her head. "That is what you call it."

"Argent is
your ship."

"And our
sister." She held out her hand again. "I am Ramela. Please take my
hand."

Sabre
hesitated, studying her glowing appendage, his instincts rebelling.
A red light flashed deep in his mind, the cyber's usual reaction to
anything it did not understand. Straightening, he raised his left
hand and stretched it out, his fingertips brushing hers for an
instant. He snatched it back with an oath as a tingling shock ran
up his arm.

Ramela stepped
back, closing her eyes. "You have Gwaran in you."

"Gwaran?"

"A servant
race of the Asteria. How can this be?"

Sabre shook
his head. "How the hell should I know?"

"It is
impossible."

He frowned,
pondering. "What do Gwaran look like?"

"Much as you
do, only they are a higher order of being."

"Archetype."

"Meaning?"

"My race found
a corpse floating in space, a long time ago. Its DNA was spliced
with mine, and all the others like me."

"The lost
one." She opened her eyes. "Why was this done?"

"To improve
us. To give us better immunity to alien diseases, amongst other
things."

"And why was
this done to you, while others of your race remain as they
were?"

"There are
many like me, and it was done because we're... cyborgs. We're
designed to be weapons, not people."

"Weapons?"
Ramela glanced into the brilliance, were another ghostly, shining
form stood. "That is a poor use of the powers of a higher being,
indeed."

"Archetype was
not a being of pure energy; he was flesh and blood."

"Yes, the
Gwaran are the lowest of the beings of light, but when they are
alive, they are filled with it. They do have mortal bodies,
however."

"Why did you
call me the pure one?"

Ramela's tiny
mouth curved into a sweet smile. "Your thoughts are of a higher
order than those around you. A Gwaran legacy, no doubt. You are
mostly human, but touched by light. You are also filled with
sorrow, and I would like to help you."

"How?"

She gestured
with a delicate hand. "That instrument on your brow."

"Can you
remove it?"

"No. But I can
undo some of what it has done to you."

Sabre eyed
her, rising to his feet. "Like what?"

"I can break
the walls that it has raised in your mind, and make you its
master."

"And what will
happen when these walls break?"

Ramela drifted
to one side, and he noticed that she floated several centimetres
above the floor. "You cannot break the walls in your mind. They
will remain until you die, and all that is locked behind them will
be a mystery to you. Even if I help you, they will not break
immediately. They will crumble slowly over time. You fear what is
behind them, but you should not. You strive to become human, but
you cannot while those walls remain. Do you want my help?"

"If I'm not
human, what am I?"

She smiled,
continuing to drift around him so he had to turn to face her. "I
phrased that badly; your tongue is alien to me. You are human, but
disfigured. Your blending with Gwaran was clumsily done. I can
change that, make you better, and heal you."

"Why should I
trust you?"

"You do not
have to. I can return you to your ship as you are. I merely offer a
reward for your aid."

The second
figure moved closer. "Argent is well enough to return to the above
realm, sweetness. We must leave."

Ramela turned
to face Sabre. "Decide."

"My ship was
damaged during the battle, can you help?"

"Alas, we
cannot."

"What fuel
does your ship use?"

"Argent is a
living being, and she lives on light."

He nodded. "I
see."

"Your
decision?"

Sabre
hesitated, gazing at her. Surely something so beautiful would not
harm him, especially after he had helped them? Still, the prospect
of changes being made to his mind, after he had just started to get
used to the ones that had already happened, made him uneasy. He
wished he had more time to consider it, but if it would undo the
damage the cyber had caused, how could it be bad?

He inclined
his head. "Heal me."

Ramela smiled
and raised a fragile hand, making a graceful gesture. A filament of
light shot from her fingers and struck his brow like a
sledgehammer. He sensed a tearing deep within his mind, then
darkness slammed down.

****

Tassin jumped
aside with a gasp as a blinding flash beside her forced her to
close her eyes. A moment later she opened them a slit, spots
dancing in them. The bridge had returned to its usual subtle
lighting, and Sabre lay on the floor where the flash had occurred,
his eyes closed and his skin glowing golden, as if a residue of
light suffused it. She gave a cry of joy and concern and fell to
her knees beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Sabre!"

The brow band
blazed with red lights, which dimmed and started to flash again. He
breathed, to her intense relief, and appeared unharmed, but
unconscious.

Atrel shoved
her aside and took her place, pressing his fingers to Sabre's
throat. "He lives. Call the medics."

"Sir, the
ship!" Vior said, pointing at the screens.

Tassin looked
up as the star ship's brilliance dimmed, and it faded away.
Everyone stared at the empty, star-filled space for several
minutes, then the medics arrived, breaking the spell. They examined
Sabre and took him to the medical centre for observation. Tassin
went with them, and Tarl arrived five minutes later and hurried to
the bed, frowning as he examined Sabre.

"What
happened?"

Tassin
explained while he pried open one of Sabre's eyes and studied it,
checked his pulse and spent several minutes examining the brow
band.

"Bloody hell,"
he commented when Tassin finished. "Everyone wants a piece of him,
poor sod."

"What did they
do to him?"

"I don't know,
exactly, but that's wrong." He pointed at a green light on the brow
band. "That was red before, with good reason."

"What does it
mean?"

"It's the
seventh control light. It can't be green while the others are red.
Not possible." He shook his head. "These new red ones are also
strange. They were off before, indicating a lack of access to these
areas. If they're red, it means there's a fault. Everything's
haywire."

"But he's all
right?"

"Yeah, he's
fine. He's just in a coma."

"What does
that mean?"

"He's had some
sort of trauma to the brain. A shock maybe."

Tassin
frowned. "They said they wouldn't hurt him."

"Maybe they
didn't." Tarl peered at Sabre's hand, then pushed back the sleeve
of his tunic and pulled one of the bright lights closer, shining it
on his skin. "Look at this."

Tassin leant
over to study the brightly lighted area, noticing that it had an
odd golden glow, as if the light was somehow invading his skin and
being amplified. "What is it?"

"Buggered if I
know. Pretty weird, though."

"So now he's
going to glow in the light?"

"Looks like
it."

"I wish he'd
wake up."

Tarl nodded,
studying Sabre with a puzzled expression. "There's something else,
too... His bruises are gone." He unstrapped Sabre’s right arm and
took off his tunic, then removed the bandages and stared in
disbelief at the area of perfect skin where the laser wounds had
been. An examination of his thigh and side revealed no injuries at
all, and no scars to show he had ever been hurt.

Tarl sank down
on a stool. "That's bloody incredible."

"So they did
help him. But why is he unconscious?"

"I'd guess
they did more to him than heal the laser wounds. They've done
something to his brain, too."

Tassin stroked
Sabre's brow, gazing down at him. "And the cyber."

"Yeah, looks
like it. I just hope they knew what they were doing."

Chapter Twenty

Two days
later, Nemesis limped towards Avarice Two, her solar wings deployed
in a weak corridor. Sabre's sharply indrawn breath jerked Tassin
from her doze on the chair beside his bed in the ship’s hospital.
Jumping up, she reached him as he opened his eyes and sat up.

"You're
awake!” she said, smiling. “How do you feel?"

He stared at
his hands, flexing them with a baffled look. "Great. Is the cyber
off?"

"No."

"It's gone.
All its information is gone."

"The lights
have changed. Tarl says it's haywire."

"I've got
nothing, no scanners, no... wait, the scanners have just come on
again. Bio analysis... on again. They did it." He looked stunned.
"I control it now."

"What did they
do to you?"

"It was
amazing. They're beings of pure energy; pure light. She offered to
heal me. She said she could give me control of the cyber, and she
did. No more bargains, no more asking for its help in order to help
you, no more takeover attempts when I fall unconscious... I'm in
charge." He studied his hands again, holding one closer to the
light. "Wow. Look at that."

"We noticed.
What does it mean?"

"Archetype,
the alien whose DNA was spliced with mine, was one of them, from
the upper realm, as they called it. A Gwaran. They did something to
that as well; I'm not sure what."

"All your
bruises and wounds are gone."

"Yeah, I
noticed."

"Is that all
they did?" she asked.

"No, she said
she would heal my mind as well, but I don't feel any different
yet."

"The main
thing is that you're all right."

He swung his
legs off the bed. "I feel great. Bio-status is one hundred per
cent."

She stepped
closer and hugged him. "Tarl will be overjoyed."

He held her.
"What's happening with the ship?"

"We're heading
for Avarice Two. Maintenance crews have repaired as much damage as
they can."

"Good."

"You're sure
you're all right?"

"Never
better." He slid off the bed and found his clothes folded on the
bedside table. He donned them and headed for the door.

Tassin
followed. "We should tell Tarl; he'll want to talk to you."

"I really
don't want a third degree from him right now."

"Where are you
going?"

"For a shower.
Which means you can't come."

Tassin stopped
and watched him stride away. His briskness hurt after she had sat
vigil at his bedside for three days. Was she expecting too much of
him now, or was he showing her less affection than usual? Perhaps
it was just the excitement of what had happened to him, but that
did not make it hurt any less. Sabre almost reached the corner
before he realised he was alone and stopped, turned and walked back
to her.

"What's
wrong?"

She shrugged,
avoiding his gaze. "You said I couldn't come with you."

"I meant into
the shower."

"I've done it
before."

He smiled.
"That doesn't mean you can make a habit of it. I do have a right to
some privacy, you know."

She raised her
eyes to his. "I've just spent three days sitting by your bedside,
worried sick, and you... barely even gave me a hug."

"Ah. Sorry."
He looked away. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"Well, you
did. Do you know how scared I was when you vanished like that? And
when you came back, unconscious, I didn't know if you were alive or
dead. And you're still standing there like a dimwit."