The Cyber Chronicles VIII - Scorpion Lord (23 page)

Tarl shook his
head. "No, we don't, but we can get whatever you want after you
send the message. Name your price."

"Har, name our
price eh? Sounds good, don't it Shren?"

"Sure does. We
could use a few tonnes of samerite."

"So you'll let
us send a message?" Tassin asked.

Borg leered.
"Sure thing lil lady, but o' course, the transmitter's up there."
He jerked his thumb at the sky.

Tassin glanced
at Tarl, who nodded and said, "If you'll take me up, I'll send the
message and arrange your payment."

Borg's brows
rose. "Nah, nah, nah, I don't fink so, busta. The lil lady wants ta
send the message. She's the one what's comin with us, not you."

"No, she's
not. I'll come," Tarl insisted.

Borg looked at
Shren. "Seems like this bloke don't hear too good."

"Mebbe a good
ear cleanin wiff a laser would 'elp?"

"Reckon it
might, at that." Borg leant forward and bellowed, "The lil lady
comes, or no one comes, got it?"

Tassin said,
"I'll come, but he comes with me."

Borg shrugged,
smiling. "Okey dokey."

Tarl gripped
her arm, saying to the men, "Give us a minute, please."

Borg sighed
and folded his arms, glancing at a timepiece on his wrist. "Tick
tock."

Tarl tugged
her out of earshot and muttered, "These guys are dangerous. They're
smugglers or slavers. It's not safe for you to go with them."

"What choice
do we have? You heard him. I'll risk it to get Sabre back; you know
that."

"Oh and he'll
be so happy when you're abducted, won't he?"

"Once I speak
to Fairen, how far do you think they'll get, even if they try to
abduct me?"

Tarl shook his
head. "It's too dangerous. Sabre will kill me if anything happens
to you."

"If we don't
do this, we may never get him back."

"We'll keep
sending the message; another ship will come."

"Maybe not.
You heard him. This may be our only chance."

Tarl shook his
head again. "It's too dangerous!"

Tassin jerked
her arm from his grip. "It's not your decision."

Borg bellowed,
"Tick bloody tock over there!"

Tassin swung
away and strode towards the shuttle.

Tarl hurried
after her. "This is madness! You're putting yourself in terrible
danger."

She waved a
hand at him. "You don't have to come if you're scared. I'll go
alone."

"Don't be
bloody ridiculous!"

Borg unfolded
his arms and leered when Tassin stopped in front of him. "So what's
it to be, lil lady?"

"I'm coming
with you."

"So am I,"
Tarl said.

"Fine," Borg
said, "the more the merrier, hey Shren?"

"We'll 'ave a
party, Borg."

The men walked
up the ramp, and Tassin paused to glance back at her soldiers. "I
should be back shortly. If I am not, return to the castle and have
a man wait for me here, with two horses, at all times."

"Yes,
Majesty." Her general bowed.

Tassin
followed the spacers into the ship, Tarl at her side. Borg gestured
to a couple of spare seats, and Tarl strapped her into one. The
inside of the shuttle was surprisingly clean and modern; it even
had a sharp plastic smell, at odds with its crew's shabby apparel.
Borg and Shren settled into the pilot’s seats, and the craft
drifted into the sky.

About fifteen
minutes later, the shuttle approached a spikey black photon ship
that hung in orbit, bristling with laser cannons, ramming spears,
cranes and what looked like grappling hooks. Tarl studied it with a
sinking heart, his worst fears confirmed.

"These guys
are pirates," he whispered to Tassin.

"We just need
to send the message," she muttered.

"We can't
trust them. This was a mistake."

"Why would
they bring us up here if they don't plan to let us send the
message? They'll do it for the reward we offered, and Fairen will
pay them, I'm sure."

"Fairen will
blow them out of existence."

Tassin
shrugged. "That's his choice."

The shuttle
docked with a clunk and the two pirates unbuckled their belts and
rose as the door slid open. Borg gestured to it. Tarl unstrapped
Tassin, and they preceded Borg and Shren aboard the photon ship,
which appeared to be brand new, like the shuttle. The pale walls
and ceiling gave off a subtle light, as did the floor. They were
escorted into a bright room filled with several well-built,
shabbily dressed men and lined with myriad sparkling consoles. A
man with a bulging mid-section swung to face them on a swivelling
chair, a ratty beard partially concealing his broad features.

Borg stood
aside, grinning. "See wot we got, Captain."

The fat man
smirked, his small brown eyes raking the Queen. "Very nice."

"O'course,
they wanna send a message." Borg coughed.

"Right." The
captain beamed. "No problem."

Borg indicated
a glinting console. "There ye go, lil lady."

Tarl went over
to the console, heartened to find that it was indeed a com-station.
Tuning the frequency to the Overlord sideband, he beckoned to
Tassin, picked up the tiny microphone and handed it to her. She
raised it to her lips, and he activated the com-station, noticing,
as he did so, a crewman tapping his console. Tarl studied the
com-station while Tassin spoke, trying to figure out what all the
flashing lights meant. It was an unfamiliar board, and he cursed
the fact that, unlike Sabre, he did not know how to use every known
com-station in the universe.

Tassin
finished her message and handed back the microphone. The captain
glanced at Borg, then smirked at Tassin.

"Well, well.
Overlord Fairen, eh? So yer a planetary leader, hey? Most
impressive, young Miss."

Tassin smiled.
"He's a personal friend. Thank you for allowing me to use your
transmitter. You will be rewarded when Overlord Fairen gets
here."

"And he's
coming, is he?"

"Oh yes, he
will come."

"Well, ain't
that summing, eh, boys? Havin an Overlord at yer beck 'n call. Must
be right nice."

Borg
sniggered, and some of the other men laughed.

Tarl eyed the
captain. "Well then, we just need a lift back to the surface."

"Har, ye do,
dontcha?" Borg leered.

"Yeah," Tarl
said.

"Well now, ye
could always wait here for yer Overlord to come, couldn't ye?"

Tassin sank
down on the plush contoured chair that faced the coms console,
overwhelmed with relief that the message had finally been sent. "We
could," she agreed.

"No," Tarl
said, casting her a pleading look. "We have to get back."

The captain
snorted and swung to face the main screens, where Omega Five hung
like a sun-gilded blue and white jewel. "Agh, enough o' this shyte,
Borg. Take em away, let's get back on course."

Borg drew his
laser and waved it at Tarl. "You 'eard the captain. Let's go."

Tarl groaned,
"I knew it."

"They're
abducting us?" Tassin asked.

"Yeah, they
are."

"Fairen will
find us."

Tarl shook his
head. "I somehow don't think your message was sent. They just
wanted to know who you wanted to contact."

Borg stepped
closer, aiming his laser at Tarl. "Get a move on."

Tassin raised
her chin. "How dare -?"

"Leave it."
Tarl gripped her elbow and urged her off the bridge, following
Shren into the glowing passageway. They walked along it for some
distance, then descended in a lift and emerged into another
luminous corridor. Shren led them to a row of doors and tapped a
code into the pad beside the closest. It slid open to reveal a
three-metre-square room with black carpeting, a tiny toilet cubicle
in one corner. Tarl followed Tassin inside when Borg prodded him in
the back with his laser. Three young girls in ragged dresses
huddled against the far wall, gazing at them with wide, scared
eyes. Tarl guided Tassin to a corner, where they sank down on the
floor. Borg smirked as the door closed.

Tarl turned to
the Queen. "Well, now we're really in the shit."

"What do they
want with us? Why would they abduct us rather than wait for the
reward I offered?"

Tarl nodded at
the girls. "They're pirates, and slavers. Those are their cargo, or
part of it, at least. They just added another pretty girl to their
stash. I'm just excess baggage. You're the prize, that's why they
insisted on you coming."

"That's
despicable! How can such modern, advanced people act like
barbarians?"

"Those guys
aren't advanced, they're Neanderthals. This is a modern ship, yeah,
but they probably stole it. They're scum, no better than the
bandits on Omega Five. We just walked right into their trap."

"What are they
going to do with us?"

He sighed.
"Well, I don't know about me. They let me come because I insisted,
but I'm worthless to them unless I can convince them I have skills
worth selling."

"And me?"

He grimaced.
"They'll sell you."

"And you'll
let them?"

"Ah, Tassin,
I'm not a bloody cyber, okay? I don't have a weapon and even if I
did... I can't stop them."

She frowned at
the far wall. "I will not be a slave."

"You don't
exactly have a choice."

"I will
fight!"

"Yeah, you're
the warrior bloody queen, right?" Tarl snorted. "No wonder Sabre
found you so difficult to deal with."

"He did
not!"

"Listen to me;
if you fight these guys, you'll just get beaten up. They don't care
who you are; to them, you're just merchandise. If you're too much
trouble... Well they have ways of dealing with obstinate
females."

"What ways?"
she demanded.

"I'd rather
not say."

"Well I'd
rather you did!"

He groaned and
rubbed his brow. "Think about it. There's many ways to break a
woman's spirit. Take away her pride and self-confidence, for one.
They'll teach you to do as they tell you, one way or another. And
if all else fails, they'll mind-wipe you."

"Mind...
wipe?"

"Yeah. Wipe
out all your memories."

Tassin shook
her head. "They can't!"

"They bloody
well can. Listen to me; the best thing is to just do as they tell
you, and look for an opportunity to escape. As long as you
co-operate, they won't hurt you."

"Never! I
-"

"For once in
your life be sensible! You can't fight them any more than I can!
Just... stay safe, wait for an opportunity."

She lowered
her eyes to her twisting hands. "If Sabre was here -"

"But he isn't!
And he's not coming! We're going to have to figure out how to get
out of this ourselves. And hide that, if you want to keep it." He
nodded at her engagement ring.

Tassin bit her
lip and nodded, removed the ring and put it in her pocket. Tarl
placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.

****

The cyber's
flashing red warning light woke Sabre, and he opened his eyes.
Estrelle approached the bed, carrying a cup. He sat up, wincing.
She settled beside him and put the cup on the side table, offering
him two painkillers. He swallowed them and sipped the protein
shake.

"How do you
feel?" she enquired.

"Like I've
just been trampled flat by a herd of mad elephants."

"You look
awful."

"Thanks; just
what I need to hear."

"Your poor
face," she said. "It's badly swollen."

"You should
see the other guy."

"You killed
him, Martis said."

"I didn't have
much of a choice."

She nodded.
"It was probably a mercy."

"Not the way
he died. It was... cruel."

"There was no
other way."

"Yeah. His
bastard owner could have stopped him any time."

"Strange that
he didn’t, when a cyber is so valuable," she remarked.

"Some of those
guys have so much money they don't care. A million credits is
peanuts to them. I think that crowd paid to see a fight to the
death, so they had to get it. People like that don't settle for
anything less than what they paid for. Thing is, I'm the one who
was supposed to die."

"I'm glad you
didn't."

He nodded. "Me
too."

"No, I mean
it, don't be flip. You're a fascinating man. Complicated, and
yet... gentle. A strange mixture."

"Now you're
going to psychoanalyse me?"

"I just want
to understand you."

He snorted.
"I'd like to do that myself."

"You will one
day, I'm sure, and I'd like to help you."

"How?"

"I could
explain things that confuse you."

Sabre frowned
at the thick green sludge in the cup. "What has the cyber turned me
into?"

"I don’t think
it’s turned you into anything. It still influences you, sure, but
you’ve developed some powerful emotions. How long have you been
free?"

"In total,
about eighteen months. But I lost all my memories of the first year
when I was taken back to Myon Two. I only regained them about six
months ago, thanks to Tarl. He’s an ex-repair tech. He’s become my
friend, of sorts. I didn’t like him at first, but he’s grown on me.
Now I can shove him around a bit, and I even hugged him once."

Estrelle
giggled. "That's alpha male dominance, a form of friendly bullying
to reinforce your supremacy over a lesser male. You're doing it to
Martis too, though not in a friendly way, but every time he gets a
bit too pushy, you put him in his place, don't you?"

"I guess so,
when he pisses me off."

"That's a
basic instinct, which perhaps wasn't locked away behind the mind
block since it wouldn't interfere with the cyber's fighting
abilities. But you have to be careful not to become arrogant."