"I've never heard of a ship being allowed to dock with an Overlord before."
Striker drifted into a cathedral-like docking berth, and the doors rumbled shut behind them. Lights flicked on all around as the ship floated down onto the expanse of scarred floor, settling on its landing legs.
"I feel like a fly that just flew up a horse's arse," Kole muttered.
Estrelle whispered, "What are we waiting for?"
"The dock is filling with air, then we wait for permission to disembark," Sabre replied.
A door opened in the dock wall ahead, and Sabre recognised Commander Shrain as he approached the ship, gesturing. Sabre rose and went through to the corridor.
"Striker, open outer door."
"Atmosphere, detected. Door, opening."
Kole followed. "Are we allowed to come?"
"I don't know. I'll ask."
The door sank in and slid aside, and a set of steps opened to the ground, where Shrain stood. Sabre descended to stop in front of him, and the commander inclined his head.
"Sabre. Welcome."
"Commander Shrain. It's good to see you again. I trust Fairen didn't cut off any of the ship's arms to get here this time?"
"Overlord Fairen did not, sir."
"Good."
"Overlord Fairen will see you now."
"And my companions?" Sabre asked.
"If you wish, sir. No weapons."
"Of course." Sabre stripped off his harness and drew his lasers, tossing them to Martis, who stowed them aboard the ship. Kole pulled a laser pistol from his trouser pocket and put it on a table, then preceded the others down the steps to Sabre's side. Shrain led the way into a corridor, four guards falling in behind the group. Kole looked back at them with raised brows.
"I thought you were his friend?" he asked Sabre.
"No one enters the presence of an Overlord without his men being there, and he doesn't know you."
"But we're your friends. Surely the friends of his friend are his friends too?"
Sabre said, "That's a stretch, so no, don't assume that."
"You're making me nervous."
Estrelle tried to slip her hand into Sabre's, but he shook her off with a frown, and she clung to Martis instead. Shrain led them through what seemed like, and probably was, kilometres of immaculate black, velvet-floored corridors. They passed hundreds of doorways with glowing crimson frames and travelled up for some distance in a lift. The true vastness of the Scorpion Ship was only appreciated when one had to walk through it, Sabre mused. At last they entered an area he recognised, where expressionless soldiers guarded the doors. Shrain entered one and stepped aside, gesturing for them to precede him. Sabre walked across the echoing vastness of the chamber from where Fairen commanded the ship. Four massive circular screens gave a view of the flotilla of smuggler ships and six enforcer battle cruisers trapped by the Scorpion Ship's grapplers.
Six enforcer officers were lined up on one side, and a pair of scruffy smugglers stood next to the door, guards surrounding them. Sabre approached the dais where a black-garbed figure, his face hidden by a veiled hood, sat on the black throne.
The cyber smiled and bowed. "Overlord Fairen. Thank you for coming."
"I keep my word," Fairen's deep, sexless voice said. "Myon Two has transgressed once more. There will be consequences."
"Whatever you decide to do to them, it won't be enough."
Fairen rose and strolled to the edge of the dais, his gloved hands clasped before him. "Perhaps I will let you choose their punishment."
"That would be... dangerous, for them."
Fairen raised a hand and beckoned to the enforcers. "Approach."
The officers obeyed, their faces stiff with well-concealed trepidation, and bowed low. Fairen folded his hands again and contemplated them.
"Why were you engaged in a conflict with the residents of Lair Nine?"
The officer nearest to him said, "We were following the fugitive ship, Striker. The smugglers fired on us first."
Fairen tilted his head. "Don't make me drag it out of you bit by bit, Commander, I'm not that patient."
The officer raised his chin. "Two fugitives from Myon Two were aboard the ship Striker. They're traitors, condemned to life imprisonment."
"For what crime?"
"Theft of Cybercorp property."
"What did they steal?"
"A cyber."
"No one can steal a cyber, Commander," Fairen said.
"They're Cybercorp technicians, My Lord, they can."
"Ah. I am unversed in the intricacies of Cybercorp management. So where is this cyber they stole?"
The officer glanced at Sabre. "He stands before you, My Lord."
"Does he, indeed?" Fairen turned to Sabre. "Are you a cyber belonging to Myon Two, whom these two technicians stole?"
"No, My Lord. I'm a free man Cybercorp kidnapped and tortured for seven days. These two technicians helped me to escape to Eden Five, where my friend, owner of the ship Striker, came to help me return home. When we left Eden Five, the enforcers pursued us and tried to board us in a corridor."
Fairen inclined his head. "This is the truth." He faced the enforcer officer again. "And you also speak the truth, as you know it. But Myon Two duped you, Commander. This is Sabre, whose control unit is registered to me. He does not belong to Cybercorp, and he is no longer to be considered a cyber. I have forbidden Myon Two to pursue him, and they have disobeyed me."
Fairen swung away, raising a hand to beckon to the smugglers. The men sidled closer, eyes darting, to bow before him.
"What have you to say, as the residents of Lair Nine, and the rivals of the enforcers in this conflict?" Fairen asked.
The larger man glared at the enforcer officers. "They came out of the corridor, and we defended ourselves, My Lord."
"Did they attack you?"
"No, we didn't give them a chance."
Fairen nodded. "You fired first."
"Yeah, but they're enforcers, and they were chasing a ship."
"Were they firing on the ship?"
The man shifted. "Not right then, no."
"But you knew they would?"
"Why else would they be chasing it?"
"Indeed." Fairen tilted his head. "So you fired on them because they were enforcers, since you didn't know the ship they were chasing. It wasn't a smuggler vessel."
"Yeah, that's right. They're scum."
"The enforcers."
"Yeah. My Lord."
Fairen turned away. "You are criminals, and therefore prone to violence. I decline to judge you. You may return to your ships." He nodded to Shrain. "Release the smugglers."
Commander Shrain muttered into his com-link, and the lines of green fire that trapped the smuggler ships vanished as the crooks were escorted out. Fairen returned to his throne and sank down on it, addressing the enforcer officers.
"You are not knowingly guilty, but you should not be ignorant. All should know an Overlord's decree. It is public record." Fairen turned his head towards Commander Shrain. "Keep the enforcers grappled, and set course for Myon Two. Accommodate these gentlemen for the journey."
The officers were escorted out, and Fairen turned to Sabre. "Introduce your friends."
The cyber indicated the tall blond hacker. "Kole Arvan, who helped me escape from Ferrinon Four after Tassin first found me."
"A good friend?"
"An irritating one, but his heart is good."
Fairen inclined his head. "Welcome, Kole Arvan."
Kole bowed. "My Lord."
Sabre gestured to Estrelle. "Control Unit Technician Estrelle, who freed me from Myon Two and helped me to escape."
Estrelle bobbed and mumbled.
Sabre glanced at Martis. "Host Technician Martis, who aided her."
Martis flushed and bowed, looking nervous.
Fairen said, "You are to be commended, Estrelle and Martis. Why did you choose to free Sabre?"
Estrelle nudged Martis, who cleared his throat.
"He's... They were hurting him, My Lord. Um... burning him. We couldn't stand by and do nothing. He's not under cyber control. I - we... They were going to damage his brain with drugs, so he'd be compliant."
"Who planned to do this?"
"Ah, um, Host Research Department Head Jorran Draval."
"He is a dead man." The distorter did not completely disguise the anger in Fairen's voice, and Sabre stepped forward.
"May we speak in private, My Lord?"
Fairen addressed Shrain. "See to it that Sabre's companions are accommodated comfortably."
Shrain beckoned to the trio, whose members cast Sabre anxious looks before they followed him. Fairen rose and stepped down from the dais, crossing the chamber to vanish through a side door. When Sabre followed, he found himself in Fairen's private lounge, with its white furniture, back-lighted crimson curtains and black walls and floor. Fairen stood by the drinks counter. He pulled off the veiled hood when Sabre entered, turning to face him.
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."
The Cyber Chronicles 08: Scorpion Lord Page 21