The Cyber Chronicles 05: Overlord

by T C Southwell

  "I would ask that we be allowed to stay together."

  Ravian inclined his head. "You will be accommodated suitably."

  "Thank you."

  The crewman gestured to the door through which they had entered, and Sabre's floating stretcher headed in that direction. Tassin walked beside it, holding his hand. Tarl and Kole followed, and the rest of the Overlord's guards brought up the rear. The soldiers showed them to two spacious, interconnected suites, hung, like the rest of the ship, with embroidered white silk. They were mirror images of each other, and furnished with soft white sofas and glass tables, the walls between the silken hangings covered with black velvet and the floor with grey moss. In the bedrooms, more gauzy white silk festooned massive four-poster beds with quilted cream velvet covers and white satin pillows. The sumptuous grey-speckled black marble bathrooms and ultra-modern kitchens had silver fittings and black glass cupboards. Floating light globes added to the subdued illumination of the golden backlights, and the overall impression was cool, understated opulence. As soon as the crewmen left, Tarl went over to Sabre and examined him, then swore.

  "What is it?" Tassin asked in alarm.

  Tarl shook his head, his expression despairing. "Look at the control unit."

  She peered at it, and her heart sank. The seven control lights were green. "It's regained control."

  Tarl nodded. "You're sure he can free himself?"

  "Yes. He's done it before."

  "Obviously, but that doesn't mean..." He hesitated. "I hope so."

  "Why is he unconscious?"

  "I don’t know." Tarl peered at the brow band. “He hasn’t been drugged; none of his bio alert lights are on.” He picked up Sabre's hand and examined the ends of his fingers. "No trace of frostbite; either the cyber countered the cold successfully, or he wasn’t out there very long."

  "How long before he wakes up?"

  "Hard to say, since I don’t know why he’s unconscious."

  Kole, who had been wandering around the room, rejoined them. "Well, at least we've got nice big beds and a palatial bathroom."

  "As if that matters." Tassin frowned at him.

  "Hey, just making an observation. We don't even seem to be prisoners. The door's open."

  "That's because there's no way to escape this ship," Tarl said. "Ravian summoned Atrashka. I wonder what for?"

  "Who's Atrashka?" Tassin asked.

  "Head of Cybercorp."

  "You think he'll hand Sabre over to him?"

  "He doesn't need Atrashka for that. He could just give him to the enforcers."

  "He might still do that if Sabre doesn't pass his next test," Kole remarked.

  Tassin sat on a sofa. "Why won't they just leave us alone?"

  "We know Cybercorp’s secrets," Tarl explained. "That's why I was condemned, and now you know far too much, too."

  "Can the Overlord protect us?

  Tarl shrugged and wandered over to another plush sofa, sinking into it. "While he's here, yeah."

  "Maybe he'll take us back to Omega Five."

  "No, he won't. At best, he'll let us go."

  "Then we'll be right back where we started."

  "He might hang onto the enforcers for a while. It all depends on Sabre's interview."

  Tassin sighed and glanced at the cyber, wondering what was going to happen when he woke up.

  Four hours later, a crewman came in and asked them to go with him. Tassin was loath to leave Sabre, but Tarl took her arm and tugged her away, making it clear that the Overlord was not to be disobeyed. The soldier led them back to the vast room with the round windows, now devoid of enforcer officers, where Ravian stood gazing out at a space battle that raged not far away. Flotillas of fighters swept past like shoals of swift silver fish, guarding battleships and star cruisers from other shoals of silver ships with red emblems on them. Bolts of laser light strafed the darkness, so plentiful that they lighted the area with flickering brilliance that was hard to look at.

  Ravian turned when they stopped a few metres away and beckoned to Tassin. "I want you to see this."

  One of the fighters blew up in a bright flash at Tassin approached the screens. "Aren't you going to stop it?"

  "That's what I wanted you to see. They can't see me at the moment; the ship is cloaked."

  Another fighter blew up in the distance, blossoming like a tiny, fiery flower, and one of the battle cruisers sprouted flames from its side.

  "If left alone, these people will wipe each other out. They had a truce, but apparently someone broke it."

  "What are you going to do?"

  Ravian raised a gloved hand, which held a keypad. "End it."

  "How?"

  He touched the keypad. "Like this."

  The battle continued for several moments, then some of the fighters veered away from their targets and flew back to the capital ships, gathering around them like flocks of birds.

  "Now they've seen me," Ravian informed her.

  The rest of the fighters swarmed back to their mother ships, and within moments the battle stopped and the two sides withdrew to their respective hosts.

  Ravian gestured at the screens. "It's like magic. It never fails to amaze me that my mere presence can stop an interplanetary war. But it gets better." He tapped the keypad again, and the ship moved towards one of the groups.

  "I don't know who started this, so I'm just going to pick a side."

  "What would happen if they attacked you?"

  He chuckled. "They wouldn't dare. This ship could wipe out both of those fleets in a moment and their planets within an hour."

  "So you rule by force?"

  "Overlords are rarely forced to attack a planet, although some are more inclined to do so than others, but yes, we do. Is there any other way?"

  The ship approached the largest star cruiser, whose fighters moved away. Ravian touched the keypad again, and a communications laser spanned the gap. An officer who stood at Ravian's side murmured something to him, and he nodded.

  "Give me the name of the person who broke the truce, Admiral Marrel, and he will be executed. But I warn you to consider your answer carefully, for whomever the Atrasians blame will also be executed, should you choose one of their number."

  After a long pause, a male voice issued from hidden speakers somewhere behind Tassin. "I cannot... It was a misunderstanding, My Lord, we blame no one."

  "Then how was the truce broken?"

  "An accident, My Lord."

  Ravian touched the keypad, and the communications laser vanished. The ship turned and moved majestically towards the opposing armada. The laser shot forth again, pinning their lead battleship, which still burnt. The officer consulted the instrument he held and murmured to Ravian again.

  "Give me the name of the person who broke the truce, High Commander Patar, and he will be executed, as will whomever the Vernans choose from amongst your people."

  "Whom do they blame, My Lord?"

  "At the moment, no one, but if you should choose from amongst them, I don't doubt that they will do the same."

  "Then we, too, blame no one. It was a misunderstanding."

  Ravian nodded. "Good. In that case, the truce must be restored immediately. You will come aboard, High Commander."

  "Yes, My Lord."

  Ravian touched the keypad again, and the communications laser vanished. He addressed the air. "Admiral Marrel, you will come aboard."

  "At once, My Lord."

  The Overlord's ship dwarfed the massive battle cruiser, its vast arms, visible at the corners of the two outer screens, bracketing the entire fleet. A tiny craft emerged from a docking port in the warship's side and flew towards them. Soon a second came from the opposite direction. Within a few minutes of Ravian issuing the order, the two men stood before him. One was short, plump and bald, clad in a smart red and gold uniform. The other was tall, lanky and bearded, wearing dark brown leather and partial silver armour. Ravian took a sheet of transparent material from his officer and held it out to the
short man.

  "Admiral Marrel, you will sign first. Do not bother to read it; there is nothing you may change. You will adhere to all the conditions in it, or I will wipe out your fleet."

  "Yes, My Lord." Admiral Marrel took a stylus from the hovering officer and signed the sheet. The officer passed it on to High Commander Patar, who also obeyed without question, although the hatred that crackled between the two was palpable. Ravian took the sheet and signed it himself, then gave it back to the officer.

  Ravian said, "That will be lodged with the high councils of your worlds, and I will keep a copy. The final condition of that truce, you will discover when you do read it, is that if your people ever go to war with each other again, you will be punished equally."

  "What if they attack us, My Lord?" Admiral Marrel enquired.

  "Then you will send a distress message, and refuse to fight back. But I doubt that they are foolish enough to do it, Admiral. To go against an Overlord's decree is punishable by death, and you should be glad that one of my kind did not broker your first treaty, or the leaders of your high councils would now be space trash."

  "Our civilian leaders should be the ones to sign the treaty," Patar remarked.

  "You may see to it that they do, but I find it is those who wage the wars who need to be bound over, not those who give the orders. They can be disobeyed."

  "And we can be replaced."

  "I doubt that your high councils would be so foolish after they read the treaty and discover that it will be their leaders who perish if the truce is broken."

  "Very wise, My Lord."

  Ravian made a dismissive gesture. "Collect your copies of the treaty from my officer."

  Patar bowed, and they marched out, stiff-backed with indignation and anger. How galling it must be, Tassin thought, to be forced so easily to end what they undoubtedly considered a righteous conflict. Ravian turned to face the windows again.

  "May we return to our quarters, My Lord?” Tassin asked. “I'm concerned about Sabre."

  Ravian waved a hand, and a crewman stepped forward at the doorway to lead them back to their suite. Tassin hurried over to the cyber, whose eyes moved behind their lids. Tarl bent to study the brow band, straightening with a frown.

  "He's waking up," she said.

  "But the band is showing no more red lights."

  "It will. Give him time. This is how it starts."

  "What do you usually do when this happens?"

  "Stay out of the way." Tassin pointed at the control unit. "There, look."

  Two lights on the right-hand side of the cyber band flashed red.

  Tarl's eyes narrowed. "Those are motor control lights. He's trying to regain control of his body." Another light turned red, and Tarl said, "That's a systems' status light. It means the cyber has detected a malfunction."

  Several more lights turned red, including three of the seven control lights on the left side of the brow band. Sabre's back arched, his lips drew back in a snarl, and his hands snapped up to grip the control unit. His knuckles whitened and his arm and chest muscles bulged as he strived to tear it from his head. The control unit blazed red, and Tarl stepped back with an oath as the cyber thrashed, making the floating stretcher wobble.

  "He's overriding just about every system,” Tarl said. “If I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it was possible. The cyber is weakened by the crack, but even so... this is amazing."

  Sabre groaned, a deep sound of pain, and Tassin swallowed a lump. Blood seeped from around the struts as Sabre hauled on the band, his back arched in another convulsion.

  "Come on, Sabre, you can do it," she murmured. "Free yourself."

  Sabre's face twisted as he writhed, his breath coming in harsh gasps, then he slumped, his chest heaving. He released the cyber band and his arms fell to his sides, revealing seven red control lights. His eyes opened, staring at the ceiling. Tassin stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched and glanced at her, his brows drawing together, then relaxed, closing his eyes.

  "Are you all right?" she asked.

  He nodded. "I'll be fine. What happened?"

  "The Overlord brought you on board his ship before you died."

  "Why?"

  "It was a test. He didn't intend to kill you."

  Sabre sat up, swung his legs off the floating stretcher and gazed around. "So what now?"

  "He wants to talk to you."

  He rubbed his brow, smeared the blood there and glanced at his fingers. "How long was I out?"

  "A few hours."

  "Six, to be exact," Tarl said. “Why were you unconscious?”

  “I checked out. It didn’t seem like it was going to be a nice death.”

  “Checked out?”

  “Yeah. Switched off, crawled into a dark place.” Sabre looked puzzled. "Why aren't I wearing restraints?"

  "He doesn't seem to consider you a threat."

  "How refreshing."

  "You should eat," Tarl said. "I'll find some cyber rations for you."

  Sabre frowned at him. "I'm fine. Will you quit shovelling that shit down me?"

  "It's for your own good. Your stint in space will have used up a lot of energy."

  "I said I'm fine."

  Tarl sighed and shook his head. "Later, then."

  Sabre glanced around as a crewman came through the curtained doorway and stopped, his hand resting on the weapon at his side.

  "Overlord Ravian will speak to you now, cyber."

  Sabre's eyes narrowed as he studied the tiny gun. "Interesting. They carry poison dart guns, most effective against cybers, if it's a poison we're not immune to."

  "You can count on that," Tarl said.

  "He doesn't waste any time, does he?" Tassin commented. "He must have us under surveillance."

  "Undoubtedly."

  "Overlord Ravian is waiting, cyber," the crewman said.

  Sabre slid off the floating stretcher and discovered that his lasers had been confiscated. The crewman stepped aside as Sabre approached him, and held up a hand when Tassin followed.

  "The cyber must meet Overlord Ravian alone."

  She stopped, frowning, and Sabre vanished through the doorway.

  Chapter Three

  Outside, Sabre found four more armed crewmen waiting, all of whom tensed when he appeared. Three stepped aside, and one led the way down the silk-hung corridor. They marched for a fair distance along the featureless passageways until they reached a black curtain, which the lead crewman drew aside. Sabre entered a massive room whose white silk walls were adorned with works of art and its floor strewn with expensive rugs. A plush white lounge suite was arranged around a low table inlaid with gemstones, and a sleek black counter held a variety of refreshments. Floating globes gave off soft golden light, adding to the luminescence of the back-lighted silk. Sabre glanced around, surprised to find himself alone. He wandered over to the refreshment counter, eyeing the two crystal goblets, three decanters and several platters of tiny sandwiches, nuts, fruit and pastries.

  A soft, female voice spoke behind him. "You may take what you wish."

  Sabre turned. A slim, attractive woman clad in a floor-length cyan gown stood there, smiling. Cool grey eyes regarded him from a heart-shaped face framed by dark red hair, a faint flush suffusing her creamy skin. She walked closer, studying him from head to foot, her eyes lingering on the brow band.

  "What an amazing creature you are," she said. "So strong and fast; so deadly, and yet so... meek. You are indeed an enigma, Sabre. You were born to be a killing machine, yet you've become human."

  "I'm a cyborg."

  "So you still consider yourself a cyborg, and therefore less than a man?"

  "Yes."

  "How unfortunate." She gestured to the refreshments. "Help yourself. They're for your benefit."

  "Thank you. Where is the Overlord?"

  "Around. For the moment, you may speak to me."

  "He's afraid of me."

  She tilted her head. "Should h
e be?"

  "No. Not unless he intends to harm my friends. And if he is, why doesn't he put restraints on me instead of sending you as his proxy? Is he watching?"

  "Yes. He does not believe in binding people unless they prove to be dangerous first. Assumption is a dangerous thing. As for harming your friends... What about you? What would you do if he intended to harm you?"

  "Nothing."

  She raised her brows. "You wouldn't defend yourself?"

  "I don't care what happens to me."

  "Ah, yes, so you proved when you stepped into space. A noble act indeed, made somewhat less noble by your lack of a wish to live. Why don't you want to live?"

  He turned to the refreshment counter and took a handful of nuts. "I'm nothing but the cause of trouble. Everyone would be better off without me."

  "But Tassin cares for you, and she's a remarkable girl. Do you care for her?"

  "I don't know."

  "Yes, you do."

  "My feelings are irrelevant."

  She smiled. "Is that because you think you shouldn't have them?"

  "Partly."

  "And the rest of the reason?"

  "That's none of your business." He glanced at the decanters.

  "Nothing is alcoholic," she assured him, stepping closer. "So, allow me to make an assumption. Your feelings are irrelevant because you don't understand them, right?"

  "Partly." Sabre poured a green drink and sipped it.

  "Then the rest of it is because...?"

  "None of your business."

  She pouted. "But it is my business. The Overlord wants to know."

  "Why?"

  "He's going to judge you."

  "Then let him flush me into space. It's none of his damned business either."

  "So, you don't fear him,” she said.

  "Why should I? I don't care if he kills me."

  "He might send you back to Myon Two to be repaired instead."

  Sabre frowned at his drink. "Feelings serve no purpose."

  "Ah. Useless emotions. All your life you've been numbed by the cyber's control, a helpless onlooker of your terrible fate. Didn't you even feel anger or hatred?"