Chapter Eleven

 

Sabre glanced at Tarl, who watched him with deep concern. The ex-cyber tech's hovering irritated him, even with the calming drugs. Pathos had just completed docking with Shadow Hawk, and tension on the bridge was high. Thestan issued orders into his com-link, directing rescue and repair crews to affected areas. Pathos had taken a terrible beating, and several decks were damaged, as well as one of the main engines and four thrusters on the port side. As soon as Shadow Hawk was in range, the cyber's scanners had picked up Tassin's life sign far to the rear of the vessel, and he fought the urge to go to her.

Tarl raised his brows. "Well, that worked. What now?"

Sabre gazed at Shadow Hawk's hull, which filled the screens, since Pathos was docked with it. "Now I have to get aboard and find Tassin."

"That's not going to be so easy, bud. What about if Thestan asked Tarvin to hand her over? He could say that she's the wife or daughter of a Myon Two elite or something. That might work. Tarvin seems to be an ally."

"A lie won't work if there are any cybers around, and, since he has so many, there probably will be."

"True," Tarl agreed. "But you can be quite sure Tarvin won't allow a cyber on his ship."

"I'd say he's more likely to than most, since he has so many of them."

The coms' officer glanced around. "Sir, Shadow Hawk is ordering our commander to a meeting with King Tarvin."

Sabre nodded. "Good. Ask if we can bring a cyber along."

The officer listened to the reply, and his brows rose. "They say we can bring as many as we like."

Tarl frowned. "That's odd."

Sabre turned to Thestan. "Any ideas, Sub-commander?"

"No, sir."

"Of course not. Perhaps it's because Tarvin's got so many of his own on that ship. It suits me, anyway."

Tarl said, "It's weird. No one allows four strange cybers on their ship if they can possibly help it, even if they've got forty of their own. I could understand if we were able to persuade him to allow one, but to agree that easily to as many as we want? There must be a reason for it."

Sabre shrugged. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

"You're far too calm. Have you taken any of those pills?"

"Yeah, and I feel fine."

"Of course you do, you're on cloud nine."

Sabre sighed. "Quit worrying about me, and quit hovering over me like a bloody over-protective mother naibull."

"You're not yourself..."

The cyber turned away. "Thestan, assemble a boarding party. Ten men, I think, and one of the cybers. I assume you wouldn't normally take all of them, would you?"

The sub-commander shook his head, and Sabre continued, "You'll play the part of commander for the duration. All you have to do is tell Tarvin the truth about Tarl, and keep him busy while I fetch Tassin. You order the cybers to wait outside the doors to his audience room, or wherever he meets you. Tarl will come along as your prisoner. Got it?"

“Yes, sir.”

Tarl said, "That's a battleship, bud, it's -"

"A Vegar Class Battle Axe, built on Estron Prime, I know. I can find my way around it blindfolded."

"Yeah, but they're not going to let you just leave with her. There's got to be more than five hundred people aboard her, and a lot of them will be soldiers, not to mention the forty-one cybers."

"I'll do it quietly. They won't know she's gone until we're well away."

"You can't be sure of that,” Tarl protested. “What if -"

"Will you quit arguing with me?" Sabre glared at him. "We're here to rescue her, and that's what I'm going to do."

"Not like that. The chances of your plan working are nil. You're not thinking straight, bud. We've got to try to buy her, or tell Tarvin that Myon Two wants her. If you sneak her off that ship, even if you succeed in getting her back here, he'll attack us."

"I'll risk it."

"Just how many of those damned pills did you take?"

"Not enough to stop you annoying me." Sabre rubbed his brow, disliking the harassment. The drugs that brought him a modicum of calm also fogged his mind. "Look, I know it's a bad plan, but there's no other way. It will seem mighty odd to him for enforcers to want to buy a slave, and he might not care if she's Myon Two elite. We don't know how important Myon Two is to him, and if we let on that we want her, for whatever reason, and he doesn't agree to give her up, he'll make sure we don't get to her. Right now he's busy with Endrovar, so, if I can sneak her off, we tell him we've made our repairs and leave. The chances of anyone noticing she's gone straight away are slim, and if she has guards, I'll make sure they can't raise the alarm."

"What if they're cybers?"

Sabre shot him a scathing glance. "Why would anyone guard a woman with cybers?"

"I guess." Tarl still looked worried. "You should call Fairen."

"No. This is my battle."

"Would you risk Tassin's life?"

The cyber frowned. "I'll call Fairen if I have no other choice. That has its risks, too, because although he’ll probably demand Tassin’s release if I ask him to, Tarvin is a king, and I’ve dealt with royalty before. They don’t like to be ordered around, even by an Overlord, so he might just arrange a little accident for her rather than hand her over. I won’t risk that. I have to be with her, so I can protect her. Besides which, Fairen’s helped me out of enough shitty situations. I can do this on my own."

"I suppose you could be right, but I think you’re also experiencing another new emotion. It's called pride, and most people call it foolish."

Sabre turned to Thestan. "Are the men ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Right, let's go."

 

 

Sabre followed the boarding party along plush corridors carpeted in royal blue, with sleek grey walls and a glowing ceiling. Tarvin's ship reeked of wealth and decadence, its décor almost as rich as an Overlord's, but not in such good taste. The enforcers marched ahead in a tight bunch, Thestan at the fore, guided by a liveried flunky. The cybers brought up the rear with Tarl between them. Sabre had hoped to slip away in the corridors, but the fifteen guards who had met them at the docking gate and now followed at his heels had foiled that plan.

They arrived outside a pair of golden doors, where two cybers stood guard, and the doors swung open at their approach. The flunky stepped aside, and Thestan led the band into a vast, gloomy chamber, pausing to glance back.

"Cybers, wait here."

Sabre stopped, but the officer in charge of their escort said, "No, everyone goes in."

Tarl turned to him. "Your king allows strange cybers in his presence?"

"Yes. Keep going."

Thestan issued the order, and Tarl shot Sabre a worried look. Sabre cursed silently, his alarms jangling. The control unit flashed a warning as he entered the room and the scanners detected twenty-two cybers hidden in niches around it. That was not unexpected, but allowing Pathos' cybers to enter Tarvin's inner sanctum was. A slender man sat in a floating throne in the centre of the room, a warm yellow spotlight above him. Dimmer spotlights illuminated the area in front of him, where Thestan stopped and bowed.

"King Tarvin."

Tarvin inclined his head. "Greetings, Commander Thestan."

Sabre assumed a resting pose at the back of the group, beside the Myon Two cyber, and listened to the discussion between Thestan and Tarvin without much interest. He had switched the brow band's lights to an in-control configuration, and studied the scanners. Tassin's life sign remained in the same position, but the ship's schematic told him that she was in the hospital. That worried him, and he wished Thestan would think of an excuse to get him out of the meeting room. He stared through the back of the Tarl's neck, sensing his intense anxiety.

The cyber tech’s nervousness was well founded, given all the cybers in the room. Sabre counted the ship's complement, which turned out to be over six hundred. Thestan had better come up with a reason for him to leave the meeting, because a cyber would not take the initiative. Several life signs were gathered around Tassin, and that worried him even more. What were they doing to her? Was she ill? Injured? Despite the pills, concern gnawed at him. He became aware that the conversation had taken on a new direction, and focussed on Tarvin.

The young king had unfolded his floater chair, and now it held him in a standing position, his feet a few centimetres above the floor. He drifted towards Tarl, and the enforcers stepped aside.

"So, you are the cause of all this commotion." He stopped in front of the cyber tech. "How did Endrovar come to own you?"

"Slavers kidnapped me and sold me to him, sir… um, Sire."

"Hmmm. A rogue cyber tech. You are indeed a rare commodity. I can understand why Endrovar wants you back so badly, since he has cybers, and abuses them so often. Now that the enforcers have you, what happens?"

Tarl shifted. "I'll be taken to Myon Two and executed."

"What a waste." Tarvin glanced at Thestan. "Could I persuade you to release him into my custody, Commander? Commute his sentence to a life of servitude, perhaps?"

Thestan looked uncomfortable. "I don't have that authority, Sire."

"Right, of course you don't. I shall contact Myon Two. They usually accede to my requests." He turned back to Tarl. "How would you like that?"

"It would be good, Sire."

"Naturally." Tarvin's eyes flicked past him to Sabre and the other cyber, lingering on Sabre. "I suppose you brought these two to guard him, Commander?"

"Yes, Sire," Thestan replied.

"A bit overzealous, I would say. A cyber tech is hardly a warrior. And yet, I wonder why you brought him along. Shouldn't he be in your brig?"

Thestan said, "I - I thought you would want to see him, since he's the reason for Endrovar’s attack on you."

"Indeed?" Tarvin glanced at the shadows. "An unlikely story. Shadow Five, was that the truth?"

A cyber stepped out of the gloom. "That was a lie, Majesty."

"I thought as much." Tarvin turned to Thestan. "Why are you lying to me?"

Thestan drew himself up. "The brig is in the area of the ship that's full of gas, Sire."

"A lie," Shadow Five stated.

Tarvin cocked an eyebrow at Thestan. "Really, Commander, you should know better than to lie in front of a cyber."

Tarl said, "Your cyber is mistaken, sir, Commander Thestan isn't lying."

Tarvin swung to face him. "And why would you defend him?"

The cyber tech hesitated, clearly unable to think of a good response, then shrugged. "It's just the way it is."

"A cyber is never wrong, you should know that."

"Then how about a second opinion?" Tarl turned to Sabre. "Cyber Two, was Commander Thestan lying?"

Sabre cursed silently, longing to wring Tarl's neck. Of all the dumb stupid things to do. Tarl clearly had not thought the situation through, or perhaps nervousness had addled his brain. He knew what Tarl wanted, and perhaps there was a reason why he thought it would work. There was no telling what was going on in the cyber tech's devious mind, but he would go along with it and see what happened.

He said, "No, sir."

Tarvin's brows rose. "How odd. How can a cyber lie?"

"He can't," Tarl said. "Yours must be malfunctioning."

"Truly?" The young King glanced into the shadows again. "Shadow Four, did Commander Thestan and Cyber Two lie?"

A second cyber stepped out of the darkness. "Yes, Majesty. Both lied."

Tarvin turned to Tarl. "So is he malfunctioning too? Perhaps you'd like to ask your other cyber, and I'll ask another of mine... but I have more than you do so..." He paused, and his eyes flicked back to Sabre. "But a cyber can't lie. So how did yours?"

"He didn't," Tarl said.

"Oh, yes he did. Both of mine confirm it."

"I meant, he can't lie, so he must be the one who's malfunctioning. I recommend that Commander Thestan sends him back to the ship."

"Ah." Tarvin cocked his head. "Do you take me for a fool? You also said Thestan was telling the truth, and called upon your cyber to confirm it, which he did, except that he was malfunctioning, or lying, and so, I suspect, are you."

"I don't really know Commander Thestan's reasons. I just know that Myon Two personnel, and in particular enforcers, are supposed to be truthful, so I assumed -"

Tarvin raised a hand. "Don't insult my intelligence. Shadow Four, is this man lying?"

"Yes, Majesty."

The young King frowned. "So is anyone going to tell me the truth, or should I just throw the lot of you in the brig? Two cybers won't stop me, you know."

Sabre reached Tarvin in a long stride, yanked a laser from his thigh holster and pressed it to the side of the King's head in a smooth motion. "I will."

Tarvin's mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened. "What the -?"

"One move from your cybers and you die. Order them to leave, now!"

"I..." Tarvin gulped. "Shadows, return to quarters."

"Majesty, you are threatened," Shadow Four protested.

"I order you!"

The two cybers swung away and headed for the door, and the others stepped from their dim niches to follow. Sabre ground the laser muzzle into the side of Tarvin's head and leant closer as the door slid shut.

"That took you by surprise, huh?"

Tarvin's eyes rolled towards him, white-ringed. "No one gave you an order!"

"Yeah, strange, isn't it? That's what you relied upon when you allowed two strange cybers into your meeting room. It takes a couple of seconds for a man to issue an order, but only a split second for yours to react. You thought you were safe."

Tarvin stared at the brow band. "You're not a cyber."

"Oh, but I am. Just a bit different from the ones you're used to." Sabre changed the lights on the control unit.

"You're him. You're the free cyber Tassin spoke of."

"Clever king. I knew she'd mention me. Now, you're going to order her release, and have her escorted here. Do it."

Tarvin nodded. "Of course."

Sabre frowned, becoming aware of a warning light deep in his brain, and turned his attention to it. The flashing words said 'Myon Two elite'. He turned to the Pathos cyber.

"Cyber Three, return to the ship."

Tarl looked puzzled as the cyber left, and still a little stunned by Sabre's sudden action. "What is it?"

"He's Myon Two elite," Sabre explained.

"Ah. So he wasn't just relying on his cybers. He knew no cyber would attack him. Except he didn't know about you."

"Well he did, because Tassin told him, but I guess he didn't believe her. Big mistake."

"It's impossible," Tarvin said. "You're an anomaly... an abomination."

"You have no idea how much I dislike being called that." Sabre jabbed the laser muzzle into Tarvin's temple.

Tarl frowned at the King. "Why would Myon Two make him elite? He's not management, or even related to management, as far as I know."

"Probably the same reason they gave him forty-one A-grade cybers, and I don't really care what it is." He glared at Tarvin. "Order the ship to set course for the nearest corridor."

"You'll never get away with this, you know," Tarvin said. "The moment you leave I'll blow your ship to oblivion."

"Thanks for the tip. I'll just keep you as a hostage until we're safely away, then dump you in a life pod."

"I shall lodge a complaint with Myon Two, and they'll hunt you down."

"I'm already on their shit list, trust me. But they won't, so don't bother."

Tarvin scowled at him. Clearly his shock had worn off, and now he was angry. "If we try to leave, Endrovar will attack. He's already demanding to see me, because of him." He jerked his chin at Tarl.

Sabre glowered at Tarl. "He's right."

"What are you going to do then?" the cyber tech asked.

"If we try to leave in Pathos,” Sabre said, “Endrovar will attack us too."

Sabre pondered the situation, disliking it. No matter what he did, someone would attack them, and, although they stood a better chance in Shadow Hawk, Endrovar would follow. Threats to Tarvin's life would mean nothing to the Emperor, but they would to Tarvin’s crew. He turned to the young King.

"This is what's going to happen. We're leaving on Pathos, and you're going to tell your men to keep Endrovar here. I hope they're loyal, because your life will depend on it. Endrovar doesn't want to destroy Pathos, because he wants Tarl back, but he'll do his best to blow up your ship, so your men had better be prepared to die to keep you safe."

"They will," Tarvin said. "But how do I know you won't kill me when you're safe?"

"You'll just have to take my word for it. You don't have a lot of choices.” Sabre pulled Tarvin over to the com-station and keyed it. “Give the order to your commander."

"Commander Andon," Tarvin said, "I have been taken hostage. I will be leaving on Pathos. Ensure that Endrovar does not fire on us, or follow."

"Sire? Are you unharmed?"

"For the moment, yes. I have been assured that I will come to no harm, and they will release me when you take the girl hostage!"

Sabre slapped the coms-key and jabbed the laser into the side of the King's head. "If anything happens to her, you will die."

"If anything happens to me, so will she. Did you think I would just do as you wanted?"

"You would have, if you weren't so bloody stupid."

"You can do nothing to me now. Release me, and I'll consider allowing you to live. I might even let you go, so Endrovar can use you for target practice. She called you her fiancé, so I think you won't endanger her. She's the reason you came here, and tricked me into giving you sanctuary. With the aid of enforcers, too, which is strange."

Rage and despair made Sabre’s heart labour and his head pound. The situation was at an impasse, since both sides now had a critically important hostage. He had not thought the crippled King would have the courage to defy him, but then, Tassin was mostly to blame, for if Tarvin had not known how important she was he would not have taken her hostage. Sabre would not have mentioned her at all, except that Tarvin already knew about their relationship. Now she was in grave danger, and the black tide of his emotions threatened to overwhelm him again. He dug in his medical pouch and took two more yellow pills, ignoring Tarl's alarmed look.

"So you had best release me," Tarvin went on in a calm tone. "My commander will also have summoned an Overlord. Threatening a planetary leader, especially a high king, is a grave crime. If I'm killed, it will plunge the Estron System into an interstellar war."

Tarl sidled closer to Sabre and muttered, "Call him."

"Not yet. He might be the one who comes, anyway."

"And he might not. There's no way out of this situation."

"Maybe there is. I'm going to find her -"

"They'll kill her."

Sabre released Tarvin and swung away, rubbing his head. Tarl was right, unless Tarvin's men thought Sabre was one of the Shadows. He swung back to face Tarl.

"I'll find a uniform. They won't know who I am."

"You don't have time."

Sabre knew he was right again, and growled with fury. Emotional dross clogged his mind, and he could not think straight. He longed for the calm, logical thinking he had had before, now buried under a mountain of useless, painful feelings. Grimacing, he gripped the cyber band.

Tarvin sneered, "A cyber will never be able to outwit a free man. You don't have the brains for it."

"You'd be well advised to keep your trap shut," Tarl said.

Sabre swung back to Tarvin, gripped his hair and jerked his head back, ramming the laser under his chin. "How will you commander feel when he hears your girlish shrieks of pain? I think maybe he'll do as I say then, hmmm?"

Tarvin tried to shake his head. "He'll do as I ordered. Once an Overlord arrives, your little escapade will be at an end. Harm me, and you will pay."

"Sabre," Tarl murmured. "Calm down, bud. Bad idea."

The cyber released Tarvin, who slumped. Swinging away, he raised a hand to rub his throbbing brow again. The ship shuddered. He knew what it meant. An Overlord had arrived, and Shadow Hawk was in a grappler beam, as was, undoubtedly, Endrovar. He waved the laser at Tarvin.

"Ask your commander which Overlord it is."

"What difference does it make?"

"A big one, to me."

Tarvin shrugged and touched the coms key. "Andon, which Overlord has just arrived?"

"None, Sire, it's Imperial."

"What? He's attacking us? What's happening?"

"He's trying to board us. I'm attempting to get free of his grappler."

Tarvin's scowl deepened. "That bloody fool!"

"Do you want to fire on him, Sire?"

"No. An Overlord will arrive soon."

"Odd that one isn't here yet if you're so important," Sabre observed. "Perhaps they're all too busy."

"One will come soon."

"You hope."

"It makes no difference to you,” Tarvin said. “If you surrender now, I might be lenient."

"Give Tassin to me, and I'll leave."

Tarvin looked smug. "You're in a poor bargaining position, and you know it. Get the hell off my ship, and I'll consider flushing her out with the garbage."

Sabre shook his head. "Not a chance. I'm not leaving without her, and I know you and Endrovar will use us for target practice. If anything happens to her, you will die, and I'll blow up your ship, too, just for shits and giggles." He stepped closer to Tarvin and wagged the laser under his nose. "Because you know what, Your Majesty? If she dies, I won't care if I follow her, got it? You know what a cyber can do. Hell, you've had first-hand experience, which is testament to your stupidity. So just imagine, if you will, how much destruction a suicidal cyber bent on revenge can wreak. Scary thought, huh?"

"This is why cybers are computer controlled."

"Yeah, but I'm not, so perhaps you'd like to rethink your little plan. Your troops won't be able to stop me reaching this ship's armaments and setting them off, and, once you're dead, your cybers won't do a damn thing. You see," Sabre went on conversationally, "the problem with computer controlled soldiers is they only do what they're told. They have no loyalty; they'll feel no rage when you die. They won't give a shit. In fact, they'll be happy, deep down, where they think. Which they do, you know. It's a dark prison, insulated from the world, but we do think, and have feelings, mostly anger and despair, but emotions nevertheless."

Tarvin eyed him. "My commander will also have sent a distress message to Myon Two, so any ships in the area will come to my aid."

"Will they now? They might find it strange, then, that Pathos is docked with you. But I can trump that." Sabre shot Tarl a hard look before returning his attention to the King. "You see, my mission was sanctioned by an Overlord. The Scorpion Lord, to be exact." He held up his left arm, so the bracelet glinted in the overhead light. "Do you know what this is?"

Tarvin stared at it, then inclined his head. "It is an Overlord's friendship bracelet."

"Yeah, funny how everyone knows what it is, yet I didn't at first. But now I do. So, all I have to do is press it, and Fairen will be here in a couple of minutes. Unless he's busy blowing up a planet, in which case it might take him a couple of minutes longer. He will come, though, and even if your summons brings another Overlord, he's not going to go against Fairen, or harm his friend. So I'm not in such a bad bargaining position after all, am I?"

The King's expression hardened. "In that case, take your harpy and leave. She’s more trouble than she’s worth, anyway."

Tarl slumped with a sigh, leaning on the com-station.

Sabre smiled. "I see you got to know her a little bit. Tell your men to bring her here, then order your ship to set course for Pallin Two. Also, tell Endrovar to stay the hell out of your way, and not to follow."

"He won’t do what I say."

"Then if he does try to follow, you fire on him. There's an enforcer outpost on Pallin Two, so once Thestan identifies himself, he'll have a few more warships to back him up and send Endrovar packing if he follows us."

Thestan said, "Or you could tell Endrovar that Pathos is a Myon Two enforcer ship, and Tarl has been arrested. Then he'll know there's no way he can get him back."

Sabre shot him a scathing look. "He already knows that. Apparently Endrovar isn't afraid of enforcers, at least not if they don't outgun him." He glared at Tarvin. "I didn't hear you give those orders yet."

The King turned to the com-station and touched a key. "Commander Andon. Bring the slave girl to my meeting room, unharmed, and lay in a course for Pallin Two. Tell Endrovar to... not to follow us, and if he does, fire on him."

"We're still in his grapples, Majesty," the commander's voice replied. "He's unable to lock on a boarding tube, but he's still trying."

Tarvin frowned. "I thought you would have broken that by now."

"Sorry, Sire, not yet."

"Then fire on him, Commander, until he releases my ship."

"Sire... at this proximity, our weapons will do a great deal of damage -"

"Good."

"And so will his."

"No more than ours, surely?" Tarvin asked.

"Possibly not, Sire, but -"

"Just do it, Commander."

"Yes, Sire. Are you unharmed?"

"I’m fine. I have reached an agreement, of sorts."

Sabre nodded when Tarvin turned to him again. "Good. Now you can tell me why Tassin is in your hospital."

"How do you...?" Tarvin's eyes flicked up to the brow band. "Of course. She’s unharmed, I assure you. She just needed some calming medication."

"I'll bet." Sabre glanced at the door, longing for Tassin to arrive. He looked at the scanners, where her life sign was moving now, escorted by two others, towards his location. His heart seemed full, as if some strange emotion clogged it. He had felt it before, in a far milder form, and knew what it was, but he had not known it could become so strong.

The ship shuddered, and he glanced at Tarvin, who looked pensive, scowling into the darkness where his cybers had stood. Doubtless this experience was humiliating for the youthful King, and Sabre analysed the new emotion that had prevented him from calling Fairen. Pride, Tarl had called it. Something he had not had before. Yet using Fairen's name had been enough to resolve the situation, and for some reason he resented that, too. Odd. He did not understand the reason for it. Vibrations ran through the floor, and Tarvin turned to the com-station, tapping the key.

"Commander, report."

"It's Endrovar, Sire, he's firing back, and -"

A dull boom rattled the ship, and the floor seemed to tilt. Tarvin grabbed the com-station as his floating chair started to drift across the room, and the enforcers flinched. An alarm wailed outside, and the com-station beeped, many of its lighted keys flashing. Sabre found that he was leaning, his boots’ rubber soles preventing him from sliding across the smooth floor.

"He's hit our main stabilisers!" Andon yelled, his voice distorted. "The explosion has broken into the port armoury! We're venting! Artificial gravity is malfunctioning... Sire, we're going to break up!"

"Abandon ship, Commander," Tarvin said with remarkable calm.

Sabre glanced at the scanners, where Tassin's life sign was now moving towards the far side of the ship. The area of destruction in the vessel's port side was between her and the meeting room, and whoever was with her had evidently decided to retreat. If the ship broke up, however, she would be trapped in the stern, reliant on Tarvin's crew to get her to a life pod.

Sabre turned to Thestan. "Take him to Pathos. I'm going to get Tassin."