The Cyber Chronicles VI - Warrior Breed

by T C Southwell

  "What do those medicines do?"

  "Entrovine is an immune booster, paril suppresses auto immune response, and amerin is an allergen."

  "Which means?"

  "His immune system is in overdrive," Tarl said. "Basically they prevent it from attacking him as well as the virus, and the allergen is to stop him from becoming allergic to himself."

  A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she swayed, grabbing the couch.

  Tarl turned to her. "Are you okay?"

  "No, I feel... awful."

  "It's the virus. You'd better find a comfortable spot. Kernan's too big to shift off the other couch."

  Tassin nodded and crawled to the wall, leaning against it. Tarl took over her job of rubbing the salve into Sabre's chest, shooting her worried looks. Her vision grew blurred, and a cold invaded her blood, then everything went dark.

  Tarl cursed as Tassin slid down the wall and convulsed. He crawled over to her and pushed a cloth into her mouth to prevent her biting her tongue. Sabre opened his eyes and raised himself onto his elbows, frowning.

  "She's sick?"

  "Yeah, same as Kernan. Lie down."

  "How's Kernan?"

  Tarl glanced over at the big mercenary. "Still alive."

  "Bring her to me."

  "She's better off here."

  "Bring her, or I will."

  "Okay, okay." Tarl carried Tassin over to Sabre and placed her in his arms. Sabre held her close, restrained her thrashing arms and stroked tangled hair from her face. Tarl squatted and watched him, his heart heavy. Sabre's skin was flushed now, and the brow band still blazed red. His core temperature had stabilised at one hundred and twenty-one, dangerous even for a cyber. The air conditioning was on full, and the pod was freezing, but sweat still poured off him, and he drank copious amounts of water in addition to the drip. Tarl knew it was only a matter of time before he succumbed as well, then Sabre would be on his own.

  "Start the transfusion," Sabre said, breaking into Tarl's reverie.

  Tarl's heart leapt with hope. "You've developed antibodies?"

  "I don't know, but it will still help her."

  "No, those drugs I gave you won't be good for her. They'll interfere with her immune system."

  "It doesn't matter; her system won't be able to cope anyway. Mine's battling."

  Tarl flexed his hands, which tingled. "I'm starting to get symptoms, too."

  "You'll have to wait. You've had the least exposure."

  "But you need me to -"

  "Just do it."

  Tarl rose and dug a transfusion kit out of the locker, inserted the needle at one end into Sabre's arm and the other into Tassin's while he held her still. Bright blood flowed through the tube, and Tarl monitored it, his head aching with stress and worry. A cyber's blood was a precious resource, filled with rare antibodies and genetically enhanced properties that it passed to its benefactor for the time it remained in their system.

  "Have any chemical changes occurred in your body?" he asked.

  Sabre looked down at his reddened arm. "No."

  "So your immune system is holding the virus at bay, but hasn't found a way to beat it yet."

  "So it would seem."

  "What's your bio-status?"

  "Seventy-two per cent."

  Tarl nodded. "Not too bad."

  After a few minutes, Tarl switched off the transfusion, and Tassin grew still, her skin ashen. Sabre lay back, closing his eyes. Tarl examined Tassin, who had fallen into a coma like Kernan, and found that the skin on her midriff had turned pink.

  "Your blood's fighting for her, too."

  "Good."

  "Perhaps if I had some now, I could avoid the coma. You might need me."

  Sabre nodded. "Go ahead."

  Tarl pulled the needle from Tassin's arm and inserted it into his own, starting the transfusion again. Within minutes his hands burnt and the skin reddened. He switched off the transfusion and settled down to wait.

  "Water," Sabre muttered.

  Tarl held the cup to Sabre’s lips while he gulped it down, then the cyber settled back again. Tarl’s head spun and his arms burnt. Sabre continued to pant, his condition unchanged as his immune system put up a Herculean fight against the alien virus.

  Tarl glanced around when Kernan gasped and began to breathe normally again, colour returning to his skin. A brief examination found that his temperature was rising back to normal, as was his heartbeat. Kernan opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

  "Hey man, how are you feeling?" Tarl enquired, relieved that the alien virus appeared to be non-fatal.

  "Wonderful." Kernan sat up, rubbing his face. "Bloody marvellous, actually. How long have I been out?"

  "About four hours."

  "Wow." Kernan glanced at Sabre and Tassin. "What's wrong with them?"

  "They have the virus, too. So do I."

  "Virus?"

  "Yeah, the beast that licked you gave you a virus." Tarl told him what had happened while he had been unconscious, and Kernan rubbed his head. At the end of the tale, Sabre opened his eyes and studied Kernan.

  "Fifty per cent of your body is now made up of alien chemicals."

  "But I feel great. A bit hungry, though."

  "There's food bars in the locker," Tarl offered.

  Kernan shook his head, rose and crawled out into the sunshine. The beasts greeted him with soft whickers and coos, and Tarl turned to watch them. Kernan went over to the nearest tree and ripped off a chunk of bark, which he ate with evident relish. Tarl wanted to tell him not to, but lacked the strength. When he finished the bark, Kernan climbed back into the pod.

  "Okay, I'm officially freaked out."

  "What about?"

  Kernan nodded at the beasts outside. "I can understand them."

  "You what?" Tarl scowled at him.

  "Those noises they make, it's a language."

  "I think you're delusional, and eating that bark won't do you any good."

  "They say it will now. They say they've helped me, and now I can live here."

  "They?"

  "The beasts. Particularly the grey birds."

  "They've changed you," Sabre said. "The virus has changed your body chemistry to be more like theirs."

  "Well that's great." Kernan looked uncertain. "Isn't it?"

  "If you were going to stay here, yeah, but the question is, can you live anywhere else now?"

  A pregnant silence fell. Tarl looked down at his hands, Kernan frowned at Sabre.

  "How can we tell?"

  "Keep eating our rations and see how well you do, I suppose."

  "And if I can't?"

  "Then you'll either have to stay here, or find a way to make food like the local variety."

  Kernan nodded, clearly relieved. "That shouldn't be too hard, should it?"

  "It's mostly cellulose, but it does contain alien chemicals, which are harmless to us, but will be difficult to manufacture, and if they're what your body's now using for nutrition, essential."

  "So you're saying if I can't eat normal food anymore, I'm either stuck here, or I might starve if I leave?"

  "Yeah, pretty much."

  Kernan turned to glare at the beasts outside. "Wonderful."

  "Sabre's trying to make a serum for Tassin and me. Perhaps it will reverse the changes in you," Tarl suggested.

  Sabre shook his head. "It's too late for him."

  "There must be something that can be done," Kernan said.

  "Your body has been changed on a genetic level. Possibly a high technology lab could reverse it, but it's doubtful."

  "So you're saying I should stay here?"

  "I wouldn't like to condemn any man to this hellhole, but if you can't survive on our food now, and you need those chemicals, that might be your only option."

  "No." Kernan shook his head. "I'm going with you. I'll take my chances."

  Sabre sighed and closed his eyes. "If I can't make a serum, we might all face the same dilemma."

  "When wil
l you know?"

  "Soon, I think." Sabre shifted, stroking Tassin's brow. "Tarl, put her on the other couch, I'm getting too hot."

  Tarl obeyed, then returned to his vigil beside Sabre's couch. The cyber groaned and tossed.

  "What's your temperature now?" Tarl asked, worried.

  "One hundred and twenty-two."

  "Shit. We've got to get it down. That's almost lethal for you, and it's like a fridge in here."

  Kernan shot him a disbelieving look. "What's lethal?"

  "Another degree or two."

  "I need a bucket," Sabre groaned.

  Tarl grabbed a nearby container, and Sabre vomited into it.

  "This is bad," Tarl muttered. "I'm going to hook up another drip and see if I can't make some ice."

  Sabre groaned again, and his back arched in a convulsion.

  Tarl cursed. "He's overheating."

  "We could use the coolant from the pod's life support system to -"

  "Do it, and hurry."

  Kernan went to the back of the pod and unclipped a panel, exposing a row of silver cylindrical containers. Selecting one, he unclipped it and came back to Sabre's side. He found several strong plastic bags in a locker and poured the pale liquid into them, then sealed them and handed them to Tarl, who packed them around Sabre. When Tarl had finished, he sat back and frowned at the cyber. Sabre's sweating stopped and the flush faded with dramatic speed, yet he remained conscious, staring at the roof.

  "How do you feel now, bud?" Tarl enquired.

  "The fever's broken, and my temperature's dropping rapidly."

  "You've beaten it?"

  Sabre lifted his arm and studied it. "No chemical changes. Yeah, it would seem so."

  Tarl slumped with relief. "I'll set up another transfusion for Tassin."

  Chapter Six

  Sabre stepped out of the pod and glared at the crowd of beasts, not sure if he wanted to thank them or kill them. They had tried to help, but it would have been disastrous if their attempt had worked. They cooed and whickered. The quadrupeds' ears twitched and the birds' shrivelled throat pouches swelled and deflated.

  Kernan came to his side. "They're disappointed that it didn't work on you and the others. They think you'll die now."

  "If we don't get off this planet, we will."

  "They're glad you beat the metal monster that kills them. They hate the metal alien, too."

  "Why don't they just stay away from her?"

  Kernan shrugged. "I can't speak to them."

  Sabre glanced around as Tassin slipped her hand into his, then he bent and picked up the bag of crystals he had removed from the two pods.

  "Time to go."

  Sabre led the way through the forest towards the alien ship. A half hour walk brought them to the defence array. The herd of quadrupeds stayed several hundred metres away, but the grey birds followed a few metres behind, hooting. Pog stood immobile next to one of the posts, and came to life as they approached, straightening with a metallic creak.

  Sabre stopped in front of him. "Your mother must lower the defence array."

  The silver poles shimmered in unison and slid into the earth.

  "So, they're part of the ship," Tarl observed. "I wonder why they had to be deployed underground."

  "Probably to prevent feedback," Sabre commented, gazing at the ovoid for a moment before turning to Pog again. "Has Asys prepared an environment for us within herself?"

  "Yes. You will dwell in her womb while you are with her. She asks that you do not interfere with her in any way."

  "How will I communicate with her?"

  "Through me."

  "Good. How long can she provide us with air?"

  "Indefinitely, but food and water she cannot provide."

  Sabre nodded. "We've brought our own."

  "Then we are ready." Pog turned to the ovoid.

  The black ship turned silver, shot with brilliant rainbow hues, and expanded. Sabre stepped back in surprise as her size increased twofold, the ground grating under her belly. Her shining flanks sprouted a row of nubs that grew rapidly, curved down onto the ground and ran across it like streams of quicksilver that split and rejoined in an intricate pattern. The flowing silver formed a pair of filigree wings that spread across the grass like a butterfly's. The lines that comprised them glinted and shimmered with bright hues. Sabre turned to watch the sliver streams flow away into the distance, dwindling to delicate trickles. He calculated that Asys' wings were over a kilometre long when she raised the drooping silver nets with ponderous majesty. The metamorphosis from slug-like simplicity to a complex winged creature took only a few minutes. The grey birds flew away, hooting.

  Tarl gaped at Asys; Tassin clung to Sabre's hand, her eyes wide.

  "She's a metamorph," Sabre marvelled.

  "A what?" Tassin shot him a puzzled look.

  "A metamorph. She changes shape."

  "Oh, right."

  An opening appeared under one wing and widened until it was large enough for them to pass through.

  Pog walked over to it and gestured. "Enter."

  Sabre hefted the bag of crystals and approached the dark entrance. Tarl and Kernan followed, carrying the bags of food, while Tassin stayed close to Sabre.

  He stopped beside Pog. "We require light."

  "You will wait while my mother forms light-producing elements. She is weak."

  Sabre opened the bag and took out a glowing power crystal. "I will allow her one crystal now."

  "Push it into her skin."

  The cyber stepped closer to Asys and pressed the point of the crystal into her silvery skin. It sank in with little resistance, vanishing.

  "The power is good. More concentrated than aprilan crystals," Pog commented. "Asys is pleased."

  Ripples of bright silver swept over Asys in rapid patterns, reminding Sabre of a squid. When the patterns faded, the alien ship glowed. The dark interior filled with soft blue light. Although Pog lacked expression, he managed to give the impression of smugness.

  "Light, as you desired."

  Sabre hesitated. "What about heat?"

  "That will be provided."

  "And gravity?"

  "As you wish. All these things need power."

  Sabre nodded and stepped through the round doorway into a smooth ovoid room with a concave floor. Pog entered behind him, barely fitting through the door, and Tarl and Kernan followed, looking nervous. The room was about ten metres long and five metres high; a small space in such a large ship. The door irised shut behind Kernan, who glanced back at it with a doubtful expression, then turned to study the room. Sabre noticed that shivers ran through the floor wherever he stepped, and Pog became immobile just inside the door.

  Sabre turned to the others. "Okay, let's sit down. I don't think Asys enjoys us moving around."

  "Asys finds your movements irritating," Pog agreed.

  Sabre sank down cross-legged, and the others followed his example, sitting in a circle. He glanced at Pog.

  "I need to see outside."

  "For that, Asys needs more power."

  Sabre took a power crystal from the bag. "How many to take off as well?"

  "Three."

  Sabre pushed the crystal into the floor, then two more. The light brightened, and a metal finger sprouted from the roof, extended down and curved towards Sabre. The end broadened and flattened, giving off flickering light that gradually formed a fuzzy two-tone picture. It sharpened and took on colour until it became a clear view of the world outside, falling rapidly away. Tarl and Kernan moved closer to peer into the screen-like aperture as they passed through a layer of clouds. The purple sky faded to black, and stars appeared in it.

  "Asys rejoices to be back in her home," Pog commented.

  "Tell her to head for the suns."

  "Asys does not wish to go close to the suns; they are dangerous."

  "If she wants to escape this anomaly, she'll have to."

  "How close?"

  "Between them."

&n
bsp; Pog was silent for several seconds. "That is dangerous."

  "It's the only way out."

  "Asys understands. She requires more power."

  Sabre thrust the last two crystals into the floor. The twin blue giants appeared in the screen, swelling rapidly. Tassin slid her arms around Sabre's waist, and he held her close. The suns filled the screen, too brilliant to look at, and the room's temperature rose as Asys drew closer to their intense heat.

  "Asys is in pain," Pog rumbled. "This will cause her considerable damage."

  "She must pass through the exact mid-point between those suns," Sabre said.

  "Asys will run out of power two light seconds past that point. If this is not an exit, we will all perish then."

  "It must be the exact mid-point."

  "Help her."

  Sabre glanced at the robot, raising his brows. "How?"

  "Asys asks that you bond with her, to share your knowledge. She is afraid."

  "How?"

  "You agree?"

  "I'll do whatever it takes."

  A finger of metal sprouted from beneath the screen and clamped onto the control unit. The cyber flared electric blue and emitted a jamming signal to prevent access. Sabre gritted his teeth, swearing, and Tassin drew back in alarm.

  "Asys, don't try to access the cyber!"

  "Frightened..." Pog rumbled.

  "Wait! Stop for a moment."

  The finger of metal released the brow band and sank back, shimmering. Sabre looked inward at the streams of data flowing through his mind, trying to communicate his need to the hostile supercomputer.

  "There are only three minutes remaining," Pog informed him.

  "Damn it, communicate with the ship!" Sabre ordered the cyber. "Do it now!"

  Several tense moments passed, then the blue light faded and Sabre relaxed. "Okay, Asys, you have access."

  The metal finger clamped onto the brow band. Sabre would have reeled at the sudden influx of alien data, but the bond with the ship prevented him. At his prompting, the cyber plotted an exact course to the centre of the blue giants’ orbit, and Asys adjusted her trajectory to match it.

  The two communicated in pure maths and graphics, the only truly universal languages. The heat in the chamber became stifling, and sweat ran down Tassin's face. Tarl and Kernan stripped off their jackets and shirts, mopping their brows. Sabre closed his eyes, concentrating on the streams of data in his mind. They shot towards a graphical representation of the two suns at several hundred times the speed of light. Asys' course wavered as the solar winds, electromagnetic fields and intense gravity of the two giants buffeted her. Sabre wondered what form of propulsion she used. Clearly she was not a solar sailor, since they were flying into the solar winds, yet no other form of propulsion had been evident on the planet.