The Cyber Chronicles VIII - Scorpion Lord (29 page)

Vivid blue
eyes glowed in a narrow, intelligent face topped by a mop of unruly
black hair. Sabre approached the fourteen-year-old boy, who pulled
off his gloves and stepped forward to meet him, clasping his hand.
Fairen, Sabre realised, was one of the few people who was shorter
than him, although not for long, judging by the youth's lanky
physique. Fairen glared up at him.

"What happened
to your face?"

"Ah, a fight,
that's all."

"It looks like
it was a bad one. You won, of course."

Sabre smiled.
"Naturally."

"This Jorran,
who tortured you; I'm going to make his death very slow."

"How are
you?"

The young
Overlord slumped, deflated. "Okay. Glad to see you."

"Me too. I'm
glad you came, but I knew you would."

Fairen stepped
closer and hugged him, and Sabre returned it.

The boy
sighed. "It's good to have someone I can touch."

Sabre patted
his back. "Knock yourself out."

Fairen
released him and went to flop down on the couch. "You've
changed."

Sabre joined
him. "How?"

"You were like
a cold mountain wind, pure and hard. Now you're like a cool spring
breeze, with secrets and promises."

Sabre
chuckled. "What are other people like?"

"That depends.
Most are like hot, foetid air, full of sickness and corruption.
Even the good ones are hard to take."

"What was
Tassin like?"

"Fire and
brimstone. Pure, but full of passion and dominance."

Sabre nodded.
"That sounds about right."

"How is
she?"

"Probably
going out of her mind with worry."

"Why didn't
you use the bracelet?" Fairen asked.

"Myon Two took
it off and left it on Omega Five. They must have hidden it very
well, if Tassin still hasn't found it. She's probably tearing the
planet apart looking for it."

"I can't take
you back yet. You have to come with me to Myon Two. Those bastards
are going to pay."

"I killed a
few."

"Good. I'll
kill more."

Sabre poured a
glass of fruit juice from the pitcher on the table, sipping it.
"They're trying to replicate me. It seems the beings of light
changed me, and now I can withstand fire better than most. They
want to clone me, and they need my brain cells to do it."

"Then they're
going to keep trying to capture you."

"Seems that
way."

"Even if I
forbid it." Fairen poured himself a drink. "It's hard to make them
obey me when they have so many expendable people to sacrifice.
Whenever I confront them, they trot out culprits for me to punish,
then hand the task over to someone else."

"There must be
someone at the top who knows what's happening."

"If there is,
he's well hidden. Atrashka is a puppet, he knows nothing. But yes,
someone is pulling the strings."

Sabre sipped
his drink. "They're also implanting tiny control units into young
girls, to make them willing slaves, on Eden Five."

"That sort of
thing has been happening for years. It's too widespread for an
Overlord to stop."

"But Myon Two
must be making those control units."

"There's no
proof."

"Maybe
Estrelle knows something."

Fairen
shrugged. "Even if she does, it won't help. It's her word against
theirs, and she's a traitor as far as they're concerned. Even if
there was proof, I could forbid it, but enforcing that decree would
be impossible. I'd have to hunt down the culprits who broke it one
by one, and I don't have the time."

"What good is
having all your power if you can't use it?"

"But I do use
it, all the time. We have to concentrate on the big stuff,
interstellar wars, that kind of thing. There are enough of those to
keep us busy without trying to track down a few control units.
That's for planetary police to sort out. It's their job to lock up
petty criminals."

"Right," Sabre
said.

"I couldn't
even punish the smugglers. Their crimes aren't serious enough."

"But you'll
kill the man who was going to turn me into a drooling idiot."

Fairen nodded.
"Overlords have friends; otherwise we'd go insane with loneliness.
We keep those friends safe, and few are stupid enough to harm one.
The previous Ravian had a friend called Mystral. They were very
close. Mystral was abducted by slavers, and died as a result.
Ravian wiped out four slaver planets. Not many would risk that
happening again. Yet Myon Two persist with their pursuit of
you."

Sabre stared
at him. "I didn't realise I... had such a privileged position with
you."

"Oh yes, when
I named you my friend, and gave you the bracelet, everything else
was tacit. You didn't realise?"

"No. How many
friends do you have?"

Fairen smiled.
"Only one. We usually only have one or two. We don't have a lot of
social time, and we like very few people. Everyone stays clear of
an Overlord's friend if they value their lives, and those of all
the people on their planet."

Sabre sipped
his drink. "But you're not about to destroy Myon Two."

"If they had
made you into a drooling idiot I would. But you're unharmed, thanks
to those two techs, which proves that not all the people of Myon
Two are bad, only a few who pull the strings. How can I then
destroy an entire planet and billions of people? If they had killed
you, I'd have done it purely out of vengeance. That's why it
surprises me that they persist. They know the consequences."

"Maybe Jorran
didn't."

"Maybe not.
But he will pay, that I promise. And anyone else you name." Fairen
frowned at his drink. "Whoever removed your bracelet knew what you
were. Everyone knows what it means, except for the terminally
dim-witted."

"I'm one of
those then. What does it mean?"

"Well, it
proves you’re an Overlord’s friend. Those bracelets are only given
to friends, and each one bears the emblem of the Overlord who gave
it. So whoever took it off knew you're my friend."

"I'm starting
to feel like a pet."

Fairen
chuckled. "Hardly that. It's for your safety, so people know who
they're dealing with and leave you alone. It's like a badge, I
suppose, to show -"

"Who I belong
to."

"Who your
friend is." Fairen sighed, shaking his head. "I'm surprised it
offends you. But perhaps I shouldn't be, since you used to have an
owner."

"Yeah."

"You don't
belong to me."

Sabre said, “I
thought it was just a way of signalling you if I got into trouble,
as a reward for what I did for you."

"Saving my
life. It is, but there's more to it than that. What good is having
all my power if I can't keep my friend safe? I get tired of
settling squabbles and saving people from their own stupidity, but
coming to your aid is something I was glad to do." Fairen gazed
across the room, looking pensive. "An Overlord bracelet is supposed
to be impossible to remove. Myon Two must have spent the last few
months figuring out how to do it, and I wonder where they got a
bracelet to experiment with."

"That's not
hard to figure out. Ramadaus."

"Yes." Fairen
put down his drink and rose, went over to a cabinet and took
something from a drawer. Returning to the couch, he held out
another glinting silver and black bracelet.

"I had a
supply made, since you break them so much, and lose them, too, it
seems. You don't have to accept it if it bothers you, but I'd
really like you to."

Sabre took the
thin bracelet and studied its gleaming black surface and the tiny
red scorpion engraved on it, then clipped it onto his left wrist.
"I'll consider it a token of your esteem."

"That's what
it is."

Sabre nodded,
winced and rubbed his neck, grimacing.

"How badly are
you hurt?" Fairen asked.

"Not bad. A
couple of cracked ribs and some torn ligaments."

Fairen turned
his head and addressed the air. "Summon medical personnel to the
hospital. Prepare for cyber host care." He turned back to Sabre.
"What happened?"

The cyber
shrugged. "Martis organised a fight to make some money so we
wouldn't get chucked into jail for not paying the hotel bills. It
was supposed to be against a B-grade cyber, to first blood. It
turned out to be against an A-grade, to the death."

The boy’s eyes
shone with admiration. "I'd like to have seen that."

Sabre looked
away. "No, you wouldn't. It was ugly. Cybers are hard to kill. I'm
not proud of it."

Fairen leant
forward. "I've been sparring with Vorn. I think I'm getting quite
good. I'd like to spar with you again, to show you."

"Vorn?"

"He used to be
Cyber Three, remember?"

"Ah, right.
You gave him a name."

"Of course.
Everyone should have a name; even my ship has a name."

Sabre looked
up from his study of the bracelet. "What is it?"

"Scorpio."

"Right, of
course. How is Vorn?"

"I try to give
him a good life. I remembered what you told me, so I make sure he
sits down and rests whenever possible, and does not stand for hours
motionless while he's on duty. I have given him a comfortable bed
and a nice room, good food. He has regular medical check-ups, and
I've equipped my hospital to take care of him. When he's not on
duty, he listens to music or stories that one of my aides reads to
him."

Sabre nodded,
frowning at the bracelet. "That sounds perfect. A cyber couldn't
ask for more."

"Except for
his freedom, but my techs are unable to find a way to free
him."

"Because it's
impossible."

"You did
it."

"A fluke."

A husky,
disembodied female voice said, "The hospital is ready, My
Lord."

"Ah, good."
Fairen jumped up. "Come, let's get you sorted out, then we can eat
and do a bit of sparring afterwards."

Sabre smiled
and rose as the boy headed for the door. "You're coming too?"

"Of
course."

Chapter Sixteen

Sabre followed
the young Overlord to the hospital, where four medics waited to
treat him. He lay on the hard bed for two hours while they injected
him with regeneration drugs, Fairen hovering. When they finished,
Sabre stood and stretched, glad to be rid of the aches and pains,
then smiled and tousled Fairen's hair by way of thanks. Fairen
announced that it was time for dinner, and headed back to his
private rooms. Sabre realised that the lonely boy was determined
not to let him out of his sight for the duration of his stay, and
experienced a new emotion, which he could not name.

As Fairen was
about to order dinner, Sabre said, "Wait. Why don't we eat with my
friends?"

"I can't do
that."

"Sure you can.
You're an Overlord; you can do whatever you want."

Fairen smiled.
"That's true, but we're not supposed to reveal our true identities
to people. A select few, but not too many. We're supposed to be
fearsome monsters, not boys."

"Come on,
you'll enjoy it. They're good people, and besides, you're just as
intimidating in person as you are in that god awful getup."

"No, it
wouldn't do for people to know what I am."

"Okay, then
don't go as yourself. When I met Ravian, she pretended to be an
aide. She told me who she was once she'd assured herself that I
wasn't a danger to her. You could just be a boy, for a few
hours."

Fairen tilted
his head. "Who would I be?"

"You have a
true name, don't you?"

"Emrin."

"Then be
Emrin."

Fairen
pondered. "But they might touch me."

"Ah. Right.
Okay, well, I won't let them. How about that?"

"I don't
know."

"Bring Vorn,
too. We'll tell them you're Fairen's apprentice. That will explain
the security."

“
No,” Fairen said. "Most people don't even know Overlords are
human."

"Then you'll
just be a member of the crew. A young man I've befriended. No one
special, and I won't let anyone touch you. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Go and
change into a uniform, or some other clothes, at least." Sabre
contemplated the Overlord's rich velvet jacket and narrow-cut
trousers of impeccable design and obvious expense.

Fairen turned
his head. "Bring me a crewman's uniform."

A few minutes
later, an aide entered carrying a uniform, which he placed
reverently on the couch before bowing and leaving. The Overlord
stripped off his rich clothes and donned the uniform over satin
underclothes, and Sabre wondered if he slept on satin sheets too.
Probably. No one could match the wealth and power of the Overlords,
yet they were common born, raised to near-godhood by the rare gift
of empathic power. He looked little different in the black uniform,
but at least it was made from only cotton and leather. Sabre tugged
at it, finding that it fitted perfectly.

"They made
this just for you, didn't they?"

"Of
course."

Sabre shook
his head in wonder. "Remember, you're just a crewmember. You don't
give orders."

Fairen pulled
a face. "Okay."

Sabre headed
for the door, and Fairen fell into step beside him. The guards
outside looked scandalised at Fairen's attire, and he waved a hand
at them when they would have followed.

"Leave
me."

"Now we just
have to find Kole and company," Sabre said.

Fairen
addressed the air. "Location of Kole Arvan."

The
disembodied voice answered him, and he led the way down the
corridor.

"That voice is
the ship, hey?" Sabre asked.

"Yes."

"So Scorpio is
an AI. Why then does Shrain issue all the orders?"

"It's his job.
He has a direct interface for important functions, but I could just
as easily give the orders myself, if I wished. But all these men
need jobs, don't they? He is also supposed to advise me, when I
choose to listen to him."