The Cyber Chronicles VII - Sabre (29 page)

The fighters
rolled away in opposite directions and leapt to their feet, and the
conflict resumed. Sabre revised his tactics again. He had thought
brute force might bring a quick victory, but it had only led to
quick injuries. He wanted the fight over with, although it seemed
that the men in the castle did not want to get involved in a cyber
fight, and the laser cannon operator was presumably afraid of
hitting the wrong cyber.

Sabre’s heart
cruised at two hundred and thirty beats per minute, sweat ran down
him, and his bio-status was at eighty-seven per cent. He fell back
into normal cyber fighting style, letting the control unit guide
him. If he was up against a B-grade, as he suspected, he would win
with these tactics, due to his split second advantage in speed. He
scanned his opponent for the weaknesses a B-grade would have, and
found that his left humerus was not plated and he had a gap on the
left side of his skull plating.

Sabre leapt
high in a spinning kick, but his foe dived into a backflip, evading
Sabre’s boot. It took another half an hour, but he landed a kick on
his opponent’s left humerus and snapped the bone. Still, the fight
raged on, and Sabre’s bio-status dropped to seventy-four per cent.
He suspected that his enemy’s was lower, however, since the B-grade
was slowing. Even so, defeating a cyber was almost impossible, even
for another cyber. Usually, it ended up in a double death draw.
Even if he did win, it would leave him exhausted. Coming to a
decision, he sprinted for the air-bike, the B-grade hot on his
heels. He leapt aboard the vehicle, which heeled on its antigravity
under his weight, and thumbed the ‘start’ button. His foe jumped
aboard, but Sabre kicked him off and gunned the air-bike, shooting
away.

The cyber
chased after him for a few paces, then stopped, but Sabre had a
good weapon at his disposal now, and swung the air-bike towards his
opponent. The cyber sprinted for the trees, zigzagging. He turned
an instant before Sabre smashed the bike into him and grabbed the
front of it, being lifted off his feet. Sabre accelerated towards
the nearest tree. The impact sent him tumbling over the handlebars,
but he twisted and landed on his feet, swinging around to face his
enemy. The cyber still clung to the smashed front of the bike,
which drifted away, tilted under his weight. His chest was pushed
in, bending his reinforced ribs, and he gaped for air. Sabre
straightened, his breath coming in rapid gasps, and watched the
B-grade die. Cybers always died ugly, cruel deaths, he reflected
bitterly, simply because they were so hard to kill. The B-grade’s
brow band sparkled with red lights, and he convulsed, trying to
suck air into his flattened chest. His hands slipped off the bike
and he collapsed, twitching.

Sabre went
over to him and crouched, gazing down at him. “Sorry, brother.”

It seemed as
if the B-grade’s eyes met his for an instant, and his neck muscles
jerked in a nod, but it was probably just spasms. This was only the
third cyber he had killed, in all the fights he had had. Soil
hissed in a molten line beside him, and Sabre yanked out his knife,
slashed through the B-grade’s webbing and stripped it off, then
leapt up and loped into the forest. The idiot who manned the laser
cannon was still compensating for the wind, though not as much. The
bike was wrecked, and Sabre sprinted for his horse, scooping up the
B-grade’s discarded weapons on his way. The webbing was full of
power crystals and grenades, doubling his arsenal. He tightened the
startled, shying beast’s girth and swung aboard, urging the gelding
into a canter towards the village.

As he
expected, when he got halfway around the village, the scanners
picked up a craft parked in a field beyond it. It had not been
there when he had gone to the castle three days before. Sabre urged
his horse into a gallop, knowing the spacers would be heading for
their shuttle, too. Three horsemen came into view on a road on his
left, also galloping for the shuttle. They knew if he reached it
before them, he would take it. He had already cost them an air-bike
and a cyber; a shuttle would hurt their pockets even more. Sabre
stood up in his stirrups to absorb his mount’s bouncing stride with
his knees, like a jockey, and drew a laser. He sighted along it,
not needing the targeting scanners, and snapped off three
shots.

Two men
crumpled and fell off their horses; the third slumped, but hung on.
Sabre shot him again, and he joined his buddies on the road. The
loose horses slowed to a canter, then turned and headed home. Sabre
stopped and searched the bodies, coming away with more weapons and
cash. He remounted his horse and cantered to the shuttle, where he
stripped off the beast’s tack and released it. The craft was a
V-class Etron Mini-bus, often used by tourist companies, economical
and comfortable. He settled into the pilot’s seat and aimed the
cyber at the console, hacking the AI in two seconds. Guiding the
shuttle into the air, he mused that, thanks to the spacers, he at
least had a quick form of transport home. Otherwise he would have
had to endure three weeks of posterior pain on top of his bruises
and exhaustion. His head pounded, his arms throbbed and his fists
ached, and he took two painkillers as the shuttle shot towards
Arlin.

Chapter Nineteen

Tassin raised
a hand to her mouth as Sabre stepped out of the shuttle, looking
like she wanted to be sick, and Tarl’s mouth dropped open. Sabre
had just landed the stolen craft in the field next to her castle,
and she, Tarl and a bunch of soldiers had emerged to meet it, which
did not please Sabre. She should have stayed in the castle, where
she was safe, not run out to meet who knew who landing in a strange
shuttle. His irritation was supplanted by surprise at her reaction
to the sight of him. He even glanced behind him, but he was
definitely the object of her horror. Tarl approached, looking
concerned.

“
Hey, bud, you okay?”

“
Yeah, fine.”

“
You look like shit. Where the hell did you find a cyber to
fight?”

“
Torrian’s castle. Long story.” He eyed Tassin.

She lowered
her hand and swallowed hard. “Sabre… what happened to you?”

“
Had a bit of a run in. Hey, you should see what the other guy
looks like.”

She clearly
did not get the joke. “What does he look like?”

“
Dead. What’s wrong?”

“
You killed a cyber?” Tarl asked, frowning as he reached for
the side of Sabre’s head.

“
Yeah. Just a B-grade. What the hell, Tarl?” He ducked away
from the cyber tech’s hand, frowning.

Tarl lowered
it. “Bud, you need to come to the lab right now.”

“
Why?” Sabre realised that something must be wrong with his
head and raised a hand to finger the spot where the B-grade had
tried to knock it off with a pistol butt. His fingers brushed a
flap of skin, then Tarl grabbed his wrist.

“
Leave it. Come, I’ll stitch it up. How long ago did it
happen?”

“
An hour, maybe.”

“
Okay, good.” The cyber tech towed him towards the
castle.

Sabre shot a
quick, embarrassed glance at Tassin, who still stared at him with
wide eyes, and muttered to Tarl, “Ah, crap. Does it look that
bad?”

“
Your plating’s exposed.”

“
Shit.”

“
Oh, I don’t think it will put her off, never fear. It’s not
like your hairy butt’s hanging out or anything.”

“
My butt’s not hairy.”

Tarl chuckled.
“Whatever.”

“
And I wasn’t … I just don’t want to scare her.”

“
Scare Tassin?” Tarl glanced at him with raised brows. “Just
how hard did that B-grade hit you?”

“
Look, shut the hell up, okay? I told her I wasn’t going to
have to fight, and then I come back with half my head hanging
off.”

“
Not half –”

“
You know what I mean.”

Tarl grinned.
“It’s not that bad, bud, it’s just she’s never seen anything like
it before, I reckon.”

“
Oh, great, so my freak factor just doubled.”

“
Nah, it’s just shock. And she knows you’re a freak, I told her
so.”

Tarl led him
into the lab and pushed him down on the medical exam couch, turning
to rummage in the cabinets. Tassin’s eyes flicked over him
uncertainly, but the wound was on the other side of his head. He
held out a hand, and she came over to take it.

“
Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.

“
Yeah, it’s nothing, really. I can’t even feel it.”

Tarl turned
his head. “That’s because you’ve got enough adrenalin in you to put
a herd of elephants into overdrive for a month.”

“
Shut up, Tarl.”

Tassin studied
him, raising her free hand to stroke his cheek where, he seemed to
recall, the B-grade had kicked him at some point. “Your poor
face.”

“
It will heal. It wasn’t that great to begin with. Maybe it’s
an improvement?”

“
No.” She shook her head. “You weren’t supposed to fight again.
I’m so sorry, Sabre.”

“
What? No, it wasn’t your fault. Torrian has –
had
spacer allies,
probably Manutim.”

“
Had? He’s dead?”

“
Of course he’s dead.” Sabre glanced sideways as Tarl sprayed
the side of his scalp with anaesthetic, which also made it bleed
again. “I watched his head explode in a puff of red.”

Tassin smiled,
a little tentatively. “It sounds like you enjoyed that part.”

“
I did, actually. He deserved it, the shithead. In fact, it was
too quick for him, after what he did. I didn’t enjoy the cyber they
sent after me, though.”

“
What happened?” Tarl asked, pulling a stitch tight.

“
I think the guy Torrian was talking to thought he died of an
ego attack.”

She giggled,
her eyes shimmering. “Oh, Sabre…”

“
Hey.” He cupped her cheek. “I’m okay. Don’t feel bad. I
smashed his ammo, killed his cyber, wrecked his air-bike, shot
three of his buddies and stole his shuttle. He’s having a bad
day.”

She giggled
again. “It sounds like you had a pretty good one.”

“
I did. He’ll think twice, or maybe even three times, before
helping any of Torrian’s cousins now he knows I’ll go there and
kick the shit out of him.”

She smiled.
“Are you sure you’re all right? You sound… happy about it.”

“
Yeah, I’m hyped up, but kind of in a good way. I should have
killed that bastard three years ago, but at least you’re safe
now.”

“
I think that B-grade kicked him in the head too hard,” Tarl
muttered.

Tassin’s face
fell. “Really?”

“
No, he’s kidding,” Sabre said. “Shut up, Tarl.”

The cyber tech
chuckled and shot her a reassuring smile. “He’s fine. Like he said,
he’s hyped up. It would take a sledgehammer to even knock some
sense into him.”

“
Tarl…”

She cupped his
cheek. “But you’re hurt.”

“
He’s not feeling much pain yet,” Tarl told her. “Wait a few
hours; then he won’t be so cheerful.”

“
Did anyone see you?” she asked.

Sabre
hesitated. “Only the guy who fired the laser cannon, I think,
unless others used the telescopic sights, too. Some guards saw me
three nights earlier when I smashed the crystals, but I reckon they
think I drowned in the moat. None of them got a good look at me,
except one of the gate guards.”

“
Laser cannon?”

“
Yeah, he was taking pot shots at me from the
castle.”

“
But you weren’t hit?”

“
Not by that, but the cyber shot me… four times, I
think.”

“
Where?” Tarl demanded.

“
My chest.”

“
Right, get your shirt off,” Tarl said. “And now you can tell
us the whole story, too.”

Sabre sighed
and stripped off his shirt, relating the entire tale while the
cyber tech treated the slight burns on his chest. Tassin sat beside
him and held his hand, and at the end of it heaved a deep sigh. “So
many men saw you.”

“
They can’t prove anything. It could have been another cyber,
since we know there was at least one other on the planet, and maybe
there are more. I have an alibi, and I was here just three hours
after Torrian was shot. Hide the shuttle, and they can’t prove
anything. Besides, they might be so glad to get rid of Torrian they
won’t even investigate it. As far as they know, his head exploded.
Who’s to say why? He looked pretty pissed off at the
time.”

She giggled
again. “It’s not funny.”

“
Then why are you laughing?” He grinned.

“
It sounds funny.”

“
Oh, it was funny, trust me. It just went boom.” He spread his
hands in a throwing motion, delighted that he was able to make her
laugh, as he had wanted to do for so long.

Tarl finished
taping a dressing to the cyber’s chest and moved away, and Tassin
gave Sabre a fierce hug. He enfolded her in his arms, stroking her
hair as he turned his head to whisper in her ear, “I think I need a
shower.”

She giggled
and drew back to kiss him on the lips, wrinkling her nose. “You’re
right.”

Tarl turned
with a grunt of annoyance as Sabre slid off the exam table. “I just
put that dressing on.”