Chapter Thirteen

 

Fairen glanced up as Commander Shrain entered his private study and bowed. The young Overlord held a cup of hot chicolane poised before his lips, and he had snatched a few minutes of peace and quiet to relax. He was sick and tired of interruptions and endless conflicts that required his immediate attention.

He scowled. "Unless this is urgent, go away."

The commander hesitated. "Sorry to disturb you, My Lord. Your friend's distress beacon has just been activated."

Fairen leapt up, slopping the hot drink on his hand, and cursed. "What is it now? If Myon Two are at it again, I swear, I will kill the whole bloody lot of them."

"The beacon is in the Estron Quadrant, My Lord. Earlier there was a call for help from a planetary leader in the same area, but you did not wish to be disturbed. Neither, apparently, did anyone else, and no one answered it. The ship is still in translocation configuration."

"Translocate then. What are you waiting for?"

"Yes, My Lord." Shrain tapped his com-link.

Banging down the cup, Fairen headed for the door. The stasis field clamped down and the white light engulfed them, and he staggered a little as it released him. Shrain hurried after him.

Fairen marched across the vast control room, gazing at the screens, where two battleships hung. One was breaking up, venting atmosphere, debris and life pods in a spreading cloud. The other appeared to be moving away, even as life pods headed towards it.

Shrain frowned at his com-link. "It's Shadow Hawk, High King Tarvin's ship, and Imperial, which belongs to Emperor Endrovar, My Lord. Shadow Hawk is the damaged one. There's another ship... it's Pathos."

"Find Sabre. If he activated the distress beacon he's in trouble."

"Yes, My Lord."

"And capture Imperial."

"At once, My Lord."

 

****

 

Tassin flung herself against the hatch pane as a vast crimson ship shimmered into being with a flash of light, so distant that it appeared quite small, but she knew it well. She banged on the glass, her breath catching at the pain that shot from her broken ribs.

"Fairen! Thank god! He's here!" She swore, glancing around the pod.

There had to be some way of communicating with him, but she did not know how. She tried to recall her last experience in a life pod. It had been an old one, with only a distress beacon. Perhaps this one had a transmitter? She studied the control panel's little screen, pushing some of the buttons. It buzzed and clicked, and writing scrolled up the screen. Status reports, vector co-ordinates, beacon activation. It was all meaningless, and nothing looked like communications.

"Shit!"

Tassin banged on the panel, making it buzz again, and red lights flashed. Sabre was dying, and she was trapped in here, helpless. She pushed herself back to the hatch pane, the only screen in the pod, which fortunately faced in the right direction. Sabre still drifted not far away, and Fairen's ship was beyond him. A green filament snaked from it and captured Imperial.

She cursed. "No! Forget that bastard! Save Sabre! He's over here!"

Tassin gripped the hatch handle and rattled it, overwhelmed by an insane urge to get out and wave her arms to attract Fairen's attention before it was too late, or better still, grab Sabre and bring him into the pod. The handle did not budge, no matter how hard she yanked on it, and all she did was hurt her hands and make her ribs flame with pain again. Anguish and despair swelled in her like a black bubble, and she sobbed. Minutes had passed. Fairen was too late. Surely Sabre was dead by now.

 

****

 

"Have you found him yet?" Fairen demanded, glaring at Shrain.

"My Lord, there are fifty cybers in the area. Forty-one in various life pods, four on Pathos -"

"Four? Then Sabre's not there."

"Perhaps, My Lord."

Fairen sank down on his onyx throne and gazed out of the screens. "Sabre wouldn't have activated the distress beacon if he was in a life pod or on a ship."

"There is one cyber... adrift in space."

"Translocate him immediately to the hospital!" Fairen jumped up and headed for the door.

"My Lord, he's probably... Locking on... translocating."

Fairen was already in the corridor, running towards the hospital. Bursting into the long, aseptic room with its many screened cubicles, he raced towards a group of medics and doctors that was gathering around something on the floor.

"Get out of the way!" he cried in a voice that cracked.

They parted, bowing, and Fairen stopped, his breath catching. Sabre lay on his side, curled in a foetal ball, his brow band black. His skin was ashen, and he did not appear to be breathing.

"What are you waiting for?" Fairen demanded. "Tend to him!"

"My Lord..." An older doctor shook his head. "He's dead."

"No he's not!"

"We cannot find a pulse, My Lord."

"That's because you're idiots! He can't be dead!"

Fairen fell to his knees and touched Sabre's shoulder, snatching his hand away from his skin's icy chill. He shook his head, his eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, My Lord," the doctor murmured.

"You can revive him! Fetch the resuscitation equipment!"

"He's frozen, My Lord."

"What do you know about cybers? Nothing!" Fairen looked around as Shrain came trotting in. "Shrain! Find that cyber tech, what is his name?"

"Tarl Averly, My Lord?"

"Yes! Find him! He's probably on Pathos. Bring him here immediately."

"Yes, My Lord." Shrain tapped his com-link. "Tapping into Pathos' on board security cameras, checking facial recognition...."

"Hurry up!"

"I must locate him first, My Lord."

Fairen jumped up, his brows knotted in a thunderous scowl. "Scorpio! Bring me Pathos!"

Shrain gaped at the young Overlord, almost dropping the com-link. Dull groans and distant booms rang through the ship as it reconfigured, spreading its mighty arms. The floor shivered.

"Pathos acquired, docking bay four," Scorpio's husky voice said.

Fairen turned to the commander. "Fetch him here at once!"

Shrain tapped on the com-link, frowned at the tiny screen, then lowered it. "He is on his way, My Lord."

"Tell them to run."

"They already are, My Lord."

Fairen sank to his knees beside the cyber again, reaching out to touch his cheek. If all his power could not save his friend, what good was it? He remembered saying that to Sabre, not so long ago. Sabre's skin was frozen solid. How long had he been drifting in space? Were the doctors right? If his friend was dead, he would find who was responsible and execute him. He owed Sabre his life, but more than that, the cyber was the only person he liked to be around, whose touch did not sicken him and whose gentle teasing made him laugh. Like the big brother he had always wanted, and never thought to have.

Shrain leant closer. "My Lord, they're almost here." He held out a veiled hood.

Fairen wanted to smack it from his hand, but rose to his feet and took it, pulling it on. Moments later, a group ran in, four of his guards surrounding three men and a woman. Fairen recognised Tarl, Kole, Martis and Estrelle. Tarl fell to his knees beside Sabre and touched his brow, then his neck, giving a despairing groan. Martis knelt on the other side of him, shaking his head.

"He's in deep hypothermic shock," Tarl said.

"Looks like the cyber tried to put him into cold sleep before it shut down," Martis agreed.

"Is he alive?" Fairen demanded, the voice distorter disguising his concern.

Tarl glanced up. "Just barely, but yeah, sort of."

"What does that mean?"

"He's gone into hibernation mode, like cybers do in their caskets, but his temperature's way too low. Cybers are genetically modified to handle low temperatures, but... he's almost frozen."

"We could not detect a pulse," the older doctor said.

"No, you wouldn't," Tarl replied. "His heart is only beating at about ten beats per minute right now."

"Can you revive him?" Fairen asked.

"I hope so."

"There's going to be some cellular damage," Martis said. "Hosts are not designed to be frozen."

"I need the cyber interface module, to connect with the control unit and monitor his systems," Tarl said.

Fairen gestured, and Shrain spoke into his com-link.

"It's shut down," Martis pointed out.

"It can be rebooted," Estrelle said.

The older doctor turned to one of the medics. "Fetch a heating blanket and a stretcher."

Tarl sat back on his haunches and shook his head. "No. He must warm up slowly, and he mustn't be moved. I'm more concerned about the brow band." He tapped it with his finger. "It's frozen, and, being a superconductor, it will have lowered the temperature of his brain. That's a good thing, provided it hasn't frozen it. The brow band has a heat shunt that connects to the barrinium skull plating," he explained for Fairen's benefit, "to prevent it from freezing the brain in extreme cold. But I don't know if it will have been able to deal with deep space."

"Depends how long he was out there," Martis muttered.

"Judging by his condition, more than twenty minutes." Tarl glanced up at Fairen. "Where's Tassin, My Lord?"

"I don't know."

"I hope she's all right. I have no doubt that he sacrificed himself to save her, or trying to save her. If she's dead..."

"I shall find her." Fairen signalled to Shrain, who tapped on his com-link again, looking martyred.

"My Lord, there are two hundred and twenty-two life pods drifting around out there."

"I'd say you're looking for one with a single female occupant," Tarl said. "If Sabre wasn't able to get in it, he sure as hell didn't put anyone else in it before her."

Shrain consulted his com-link. "There are two such. I shall transport them to the docking bay."

Tarl looked around as a group of soldiers ran in, carrying, pushing and dragging most of the cyber repair and analysis equipment from Pathos, which, as he recalled, belonged to Fairen anyway. They brought it to Tarl's side, and he rummaged in a case. He drew out a slender instrument and inserted it into the interface slot in the edge of the control unit. A row of four green lights came on along the top of the brow band, three of them flashing. Two turned amber.

Estrelle said, "It's gone into standby mode, since the host is incapacitated."

The medics moved aside as Tarl dragged the control unit interface closer and plugged the cable into Sabre’s brow band. The screen came to life, and the blue, white and grey dashboard appeared. Tarl logged in with technical codes and queried the host status.

"Heart rate... eight beats per minute. Blood pressure, eighty over sixty. He's in bad shape. Core temperature: twenty-seven degrees. Blood oxygen is eighty-two per cent; bio-status... twenty-four per cent. He's barely alive. He must have used an energy burst to be this depleted. I need veoxxin, atremax and penadril." Two medics left to fetch it, and Tarl tapped on the keyboard. "I'm going to activate two more genetic sequences. The cyber has already activated the R series and G11 to 21."

Martis peered at the screen over Tarl's shoulder. "What sequences are you going to switch on?"

"The F and Z series."

"That's all his alien DNA."

"Yeah. If the fireproof skin is a gift of his alien ancestry, maybe it can help with freezing too."

Martis frowned. "We don't know what those genes do, that's why they're defunct."

"Well, now would be a good time to find out if they're useful, because otherwise I don't rate his chances very high."

"He's going to die?" Fairen asked.

Tarl glanced up. "Perhaps. I don't know for sure. Right now I'd say his chances are thirty-seventy."

Fairen tucked his hands into the sleeves of his jacket, afraid someone would notice their trembling. Tarl typed on the keyboard, chewing his lip. Fairen bent to peer at the screen. Lines of numbers and letters scrolled up it, changing from amber to green as they did so. F1, F2, F3, F4... The sequence continued to F54, then changed to Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4. The Z series ended at 21, and a prompt reappeared. Tarl sat back, frowning at the screen.

"Now we wait and see."

"It might not make any difference," Martis said.

"Well then, that's it, isn't it? At least I tried. There's nothing else to do but wait, anyway."

"Or you could have made it worse."

Tarl glowered at the host tech. "If you can't contribute anything useful, how about you piss off?"

The medics returned with syringes and vials, and Tarl injected Sabre in the vein in the back of his hand, the frozen skin cracking as the needle went in.

"This is why he can't be moved," he muttered. "Any touch will cause damage."

Martis placed a hand on Sabre's back. "He's warming, though."

Tarl glanced at the screen. "Yeah. His core temperature is up to thirty."

"That's good, right?" Fairen enquired.

"Yes, My Lord. He's fighting."

Fairen jumped and glanced around as a shriek came from the hospital doors. Tassin ran towards them, her hair tangled and wild, her face tear-streaked, one arm hugging her ribs. Tarl jumped up and fielded her before she could throw herself at Sabre, and she strained against him, staring at the prone cyber.

"Sabre! What's wrong with him? Is he going to be all right? Let me go!"

"No." Tarl shook her. "Calm down! You can't touch him right now, okay? Promise me you won't try, and I'll let you go."

"What is it?" She struggled. "I won't touch him!"

Tarl released her, and she sank to the floor beside Sabre, her eyes flicking over his pallid skin and blue lips. "What's wrong with him?"

"What do you think, after drifting in space for so long? He's frozen. Literally."

"He's going to be okay though, right?"

"I hope so."

"So what are you doing for him? Why aren't you warming him? Do something, Tarl!"

"I am." He crouched beside her. "I'm doing what's best, trust me. I can't warm him, okay? He has to warm up slowly. What happened?"

She shook her head, tangled hair straggling across her cheeks. She brushed it behind her ears. "He..." She gulped. "He saved my life. The ship was breaking up, I think. I don't remember much, I was unconscious for most of it. When I woke up, we were in a corridor. There was a wind blowing past, and he was holding me. He told me to get in the pod, and that he would be right behind me. Then he threw me into it but..." She rocked, clutching her ribs as fresh tears ran down her cheeks. "He didn't come! The door closed and... I... I saw him, drifting in space. I couldn't help him!"

"Okay, hush." Tarl drew her into a comforting embrace, and she clung to him. "You couldn't do anything. He wanted to save you, and he did. Now we're going to save him. Hush, it's not your fault."

"Of course it is! He came to rescue me! If not for me..." She swallowed and sobbed. "It's all my fault! If I'd stayed on Omega Five..."

"You didn't know what was going to -"

"But you did! You warned me, but I wouldn't listen!"

"Okay, look, it's no good beating yourself up over it now. All we can do is hope he's okay." He stroked her hair, making shushing noises. "Do you want a sedative?"

She shook her head, frowning at Sabre. "No. Why is he... glowing?"

Tarl swung around, and Fairen followed Tassin's gaze. The cyber's skin had taken on a slight, shimmering glow, as if lighted from within. Tarl glanced at the screen, his eyes widening.

"Bloody hell."

Fairen studied the screen, unable to decipher the numeric sequences that scrolled up it, some flashing green, others amber, and one or two red. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure," Tarl muttered. "It's as if... the F and Z series are combining, creating a whole new sequence of DNA. F12Z3... F22Z7... F31Z13... Wow. What do you make of it, Martis?"

The host researcher frowned at the screen, shaking his head. "Impossible. That genome's totally alien."

"But it's also healing him. Core temperature up to thirty-four and rising. Heart beat twenty-two, blood pressure a hundred over eighty, blood oxygen eighty-nine per cent, bio-status... twenty-two per cent. Damn! Whatever's going on, it's using up the last of his resources."

"So activating those genes could kill him."

Tarl put a hand on Sabre's arm. "He's defrosted. Get me a nutrition IV, now!"

A medic ran off, returning a minute later with a bag of yellow fluid. Tarl inserted the needle into Sabre's arm and turned the drip on full. "This should restore at least some of his strength."

Martis watched the screen. "If it doesn't, he'll die."

"Well it's got to, doesn't it? It's liquid energy."

"His organs will shut down at twenty per cent, and he's already down to twenty-one."

"I'm not blind. He's going to make it. If I hadn't switched on those genes, he'd have died of the freezing, anyway."

"You don't know that."

Tarl snorted. "Quit fooling yourself. He was dying."

"He still is."

"Will you shut the hell up?"

Martis shot Tassin an apologetic look. "Sorry."

Blood oozed from the abrasions on Sabre's arms and shins, and Tarl glanced at the readouts again. "Blood pressure up to normal now. Heart beat at thirty-five."

"Is he improving?" Fairen asked.

"On the one hand, yeah, on the other... not really. His bio-status is dangerously low, and dropping."

Martis turned to Tarl. "The question is, can those genes be switched off now that they've combined?"

"I somehow doubt it."

"And we have no clue what they do. Brilliant."

"I didn't hear you making any better suggestions." Tarl rose to his feet, rubbing his back. "You can straighten him out and put him on a bed now."

Martis unplugged the data cable, and the medics brought a stretcher and took Sabre to a bed. Fairen caught Shrain watching him, and turned away, leaving the hospital. He still had to deal with whoever had caused this debacle, and he was not in a forgiving mood. Shrain followed, his expression a study of impassive obedience.

 

 

Tarl watched the Overlord stride out, half relieved to be rid of his brooding presence. Even though Fairen had saved Sabre, Overlords gave him the willies. Tassin still knelt, clasping her ribs, and he noticed her pallor and rigid stance, as well as the beads of sweat that dewed her brow. Concerned, he turned to her.

"Are you okay?"

She forced a grim smile. "Not really. I have some broken ribs, I think."

"Come on, let's have a look at you." Tarl helped her to her feet and over to a bed, easing her onto it. She lay back with a groan, gasping. Tarl rolled a portable scanner over to her bedside and switched it on, summoning a passing doctor with an imperious wave. The scanner revealed two broken ribs, and he switched it off as the doctor left to fetch a painkiller and bandages. Tarl frowned at the Queen, recalling her account of Sabre's rescue. He tugged her shirt up, foiling her attempt to hold it down, and studied the pair of reddish hand-shaped bruises that clasped her waist.

Tarl met her eyes, and she shook her head. "He had no choice."

"I know that. You think he'd ever hurt you intentionally? He'd rather cut off his right arm. He did this to save you, but..."

"What?"

"It's going to eat him alive. He didn't expect to survive, and now..."

"It's not his fault!"

Tarl nodded. "Tell him that, when he wakes up."

"I will."

Martis, who stood on the other side of the bed, muttered, "He knew he was going to have to hurt you."

Tassin shot him an anguished glance. "Yes. He said so. I could barely hear him in the wind, but he said..." Her breath caught. "He said he was sorry."

Tarl rubbed his brow. "This is going to be very bad for him."

"He had to, to save me. I don't blame him."

"He'll blame himself, though."

"Then I'll tell him I'm fine," Tassin said.

"He'll know what he did. I'm sure he felt your ribs break when he threw you. He's also got scanners. You can't hide this from him."

Martis nodded. "He's capable of crushing -"

"Will you shut up?" Tarl snarled.

Tassin sighed and closed her eyes. "He saved my life."

"I hope that makes up for it, but knowing Sabre, it won't."

The doctor returned with a syringe and a roll of bandages, and Tarl moved aside to let him work.

 

****

 

In the Scorpion Ship’s control room, Fairen wandered over to the screens. A spreading cloud of gas and debris was all that remained of Shadow Hawk.

"Bring me High King Tarvin, Emperor Endrovar and Commander Thestan."

"At once, My Lord."

Fairen gazed at the twinkling debris and drifting life pods while he waited, wandering over to sit in his chair when he grew bored with the view. Tarvin and Thestan arrived first, the crippled King drifting along in his floating throne to stop before the dais. He bowed, and Thestan did the same. Fairen ignored them, turning his head away. The subtle insult would not go unnoticed, especially by Tarvin. He could sense their nervousness like a rank stench, more so from Tarvin.

Endrovar arrived a couple of minutes later, his pugnacious face set in grim lines, his hard eyes spitting venom at Tarvin. When he straightened from his bow, Fairen turned his head towards the trio. Endrovar emanated waves of resentment and dread.

"Endrovar." Fairen's deep, distorted voice boomed, making the self-styled emperor jump. "Did you enslave Queen Tassin Alrade and Cyber Technician Tarl Averly?"

"No My Lord. I-I-I bought them at... an auction."

"Then you enslaved them."

"They were already slaves."

"Do not try my patience."

Endrovar shifted, tugging at his collar. "I... yes, My Lord. They were my slaves."

"Slavery is forbidden by Overlord Darvian's fifth decree. You disobeyed."

"Many do! I..." Endrovar shut his mouth, frowning.

"I am not concerned with what others do, or don't do. It is you who stand before me, is it not?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"You will free any other slaves you have, and give each of them one million credits. This leniency I grant you only because you are a planetary leader, and your crime harms only a few. Disobey me and transgress again, and you will be executed. You will also pay for the repairs to Pathos and replace Shadow Hawk."

Endrovar blanched, but bowed. "Thank you, My Lord."

The young Overlord steepled his hands, considering. He had just stripped Endrovar of a sizeable portion of his fortune, and the emperor radiated nervous resentment. The fat man's ill-concealed debauchery nauseated Fairen.

"Tarvin." Fairen tapped his fingers together. "You too, enslaved Queen Tassin Alrade."

"No, My Lord; I bought her, yes, but in fact I was acting on information from Myon Two, which has offered a reward for a woman matching her description, whom they want for the murder of a department head."

"And is she this alleged murderess?"

"According to Myon Two, she is, but I had not yet decided if I would hand her over."

Fairen tilted his head. Tarvin's words bordered on a lie, but did not quite cross the line. A semi truth, perhaps, but closer to a truth than a lie. "And why would you not?"

"Ah, well, she claimed it was self-defence."

Fairen laced his fingers. Once again, it was close to the truth. While Endrovar was a simple, brutish fellow, Tarvin was royalty born and bred, even a little inbred, and it showed in his clever wiles.

"Consider it now."

Tarvin inclined his head. "Truly, I was not certain that she told the truth, and it would have been the right, and legal thing to do, to hand her over to her accusers. And on the matter of your friend -"

Fairen rose to his feet. "You will not speak without my consent."

"Sorry, My Lord."

"You almost cost Sabre his life."

"I did as he wished, as soon as he told me he was your friend."

"Yes." Fairen descended the three shallow steps. "You are a diplomat. You know the folly of angering an Overlord. Hence your obedience stemmed from self-preservation, not morality, or even respect. I will judge you."

Tarvin’s eyes darted. "What have I done to deserve it?"

"You have angered me."

Fairen pulled off his right glove and held out his hand, palm towards Tarvin's brow. The High King stared at it, his mouth open. The Overlord lowered his hand and wandered past, pulling his glove back on. Thestan bowed and stepped aside. Fairen walked around the trio, his head bowed, and returned to the dais.

"You are a devious, plotting man. Myon Two does indeed accuse Queen Tassin of murder, but it was self-defence, and I intend to put an end to their illegal pursuit of her."

"My Lord, your friend took me hostage, and threatened my life."

Fairen turned to face him. "What of it?"

"Will you allow it to go unpunished?"

"Yes."

"Is that not unfair?"

The young Overlord sank down on his throne. "You imprisoned his betrothed, and would have handed her over for execution."

"I did not know who she was, or that she was innocent of the charge."

"And if he had told you, would you have given her back to him?"

Tarvin shook his head. "I cannot answer that, since he did not ask me."

"Commander Thestan, you are witness to the events that took place aboard Shadow Hawk. What have you to say?"

Thestan shifted, looking uncomfortable. "In truth, My Lord, Sabre did not ask for the girl until he had a weapon at King Tarvin's head. Even then, however, Tarvin ordered his men to take her hostage. It was not until Sabre told Tarvin that he was your friend, and showed him your bracelet, that Tarvin obeyed."

Fairen looked at Tarvin, noting the King's discomfort. "So, there I have my answer, although you took pains to avoid being caught in a lie. Had Sabre asked for his fiancée to be returned without a weapon at your head, I think he would have met with the same refusal."

"That is only your conjecture."

"It is my judgement!" Fairen's distorted voice thundered. "Do not dare to question me, King Tarvin, lest I find myself with a sudden yen to visit your home world and see how dense its core is. You skirt dangerously close to incurring my wrath."

"I apologise, My Lord." Tarvin bowed awkwardly.

"You will remain aboard the Scorpion Ship until Sabre has recovered and I have heard his, and Queen Tassin's, version of events. Then I will decide if further chastisement is called for. If my friend dies, however, your life if forfeit." He gestured to Shrain. "Accommodate them."

 

****

 

Tarl watched the monitor, which beeped to the steady rhythm of Sabre's heart. His bio-status was up to thirty per cent and rising, and all his other vitals were normal. He was going to live. His skin's soft glow had faded to an iridescent sheen, much like it had looked before under a bright light. Ironically, Sabre was becoming less human as he evolved. Tassin sat slumped in a chair beside the bed, her eyes drooping. Three hours had passed since Tarl had entered the hospital, yet it seemed like an eternity. He had come so close to losing Sabre, and he did not want to think about what he would have done if that had happened. Martis and Estrelle had gone to a room to freshen up and rest, Kole snored on the next bed.

"How is he?"

Tarl jumped as a deep, androgynous voice spoke beside him, swinging around. Overlord Fairen stood there, facing Sabre.

"He's improving, My Lord. He will recover."

"I am pleased. You did well." Fairen glanced at Tassin as she sat up, knuckling her eyes. "Queen Tassin."

"My Lord."

"I wish to know how King Tarvin treated you while you were his prisoner."

She hesitated. "He... he was kind, but implacable. I was not ill-treated, but towards the end, when I refused to co-operate, he threatened to use drugs or a cyber implant to control me."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Well, one of his cybers did, a little, when I tried to hit him."

"You tried to hit a cyber?"

"No, My Lord, I tried to hit Tarvin."

"Ah." Fairen nodded, facing Sabre again. "I knew he would find you. He struggled with your loss a great deal. I believe he now has all his emotions, not so, Tarl?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"He will need your gentleness, Tassin," Fairen went on. "His emotional state is fragile, and he has yet to come to terms with his feelings. He loves you very much."

"And I him."

"I know. How long before he awakes, Tarl?"

"Many hours, My Lord. His bio-status is still very low."

"What will you do to Tarvin and Endrovar?" Tassin asked.

"I have already meted out my judgement to Endrovar. He will pay for the damage he caused. Tarvin may still receive more chastisement, depending on what Sabre has to say when he wakes."

"Did you know that his ancestor is the man Myon Two cloned?" she asked.

"No." Fairen turned to her. "He is related to Sabre?"

"Yes. Sabre is a clone of High King Sharlin."

"Bugger me," Tarl swore. "No wonder he's elite."

"What?"

"Tarvin is Myon Two elite. It's the privileged upper class there; reserved for management and, apparently, the descendent of the host. That explains all the cybers, too. That's how they bought the use of his ancestor's DNA."

"It's despicable," Tassin muttered.

"Yeah."

Tarl glanced at Sabre, noticing that the iridescent quality of his skin had faded, and he looked normal once more. It seemed that whatever purpose the glow had served had been fulfilled. The monitor showed that his bio-status remained the same. He had suffered surprisingly few ill effects from his sojourn into deep space. The skin on his fingers and nose was peeling and his corneas were cloudy, but that would heal in time.

 

****

 

Sabre tumbled through space, the raw cold eating into him, freezing his skin. His muscles spasmed with violent shivers and a red light flashed deep in his brain. The cyber tracked his dropping temperature, raising his metabolism to counter it, but it was not enough. Even a cyber could not survive for long in deep space. His skin froze and cracked as he curled up tighter, striving to preserve the last of his warmth. His lungs demanded air, and the control unit directed his system to burn protein. The brow band's heat shunt was failing, and cold invaded his brain. Soon he would be a chunk of ice. He writhed.

Something gripped his arm, and he turned. A Corsair loomed out of the darkness, its mouth open to reveal venomous teeth. What the hell was a Corsair doing in deep space? How was it still alive? He lunged at it, all his instincts urging him to kill it. Perhaps because it was his enemy, or because it had attacked him, or maybe just because it was the last thing he would do before he died. His hands closed around the alien's neck and squeezed. It struggled, plucking at his hands. Sabre tightened his hold.

The Corsair's face twisted, and it squeaked, "No! Sabre! Stop!"

It sounded a bit like Tarl. Sabre released it, recoiling. His feet were on solid ground. How could there be solid ground in deep space? He staggered back, hit something and fell, banging his elbows and the back of his head on a cold, hard floor. Metal clattered and chimed around him, prickling his pounding head with fresh pain. He discovered that his eyes were closed and opened them.

A glowing white ceiling filled his vision, and he realised that he lay on his back. Raising his head, he winced as a rush of data scrolled through his brain, and switched the control unit off. Objects and beings snapped into sharp focus. Tarl sat close by, rubbing his throat. Several white-clad men stood around, their expressions alarmed. They looked like Myon Two technicians, and Sabre tried to spring to his feet. His legs buckled, and he sprawled on his side, his hands encountering sharp-edged metallic objects on a smooth floor. A familiar voice reached him through the haze of pain and confusion that fogged his mind, calling his name in a worried tone. He glanced around. Tassin stood a couple of metres away, Kole beside her, holding her arm.

"Sabre," she said again, "it's all right. You're safe."

Sabre pushed himself into a sitting position, looking around again. Aseptic white walls and a number of beeping machines surrounded him. A tube was attached to his arm. He consulted the scanners, but his head was empty, and he switched the control unit on again.

"He's confused," Tarl's voice said. "That's to be expected."

Sabre frowned and ripped the tube out of his arm. Data flowed through his brain, mapping part of a vast ship and the life signs of many people. His mouth seemed to be stuffed with cotton wool, rather like his head. His vision was misty, too.

"Let's hope he doesn't have brain damage," another voice remarked.

Sabre glanced around for its source. Martis stood behind him, and backed away, looking alarmed. The cyber struggled to his knees, his muscles barely obeying him. His breath came in ragged gasps and his heart raced at two hundred and ten beats per minute.

"Let me go!" Tassin growled.

Sabre turned to look at her again, noting that Kole's grip on her arm held her back. He tried to speak, but only a hiss issued from his aching throat.

"He's not himself, Tassin," Tarl said. "Let him get his bearings."

Sabre shook his head, striving for clarity, and ordered the cyber to initiate an energy burst. His bio-status was only at forty-two per cent, but strength surged through him on a tide of adrenalin. He rose to his feet, causing most of the people around him to retreat, except Tassin, who strained towards him. Tarl cursed, and Kole backed away, dragging her. She fought to get free, and Sabre stepped towards her.

"Let her go," he grated.

Her eyes were full of anguish, and tears ran down her cheeks. What was she so upset about? The energy burst, weak as it was, drained away, and darkness slammed down.

 

 

Tarl swore as Sabre collapsed. His arm clipped a portable monitor and sent it skidding away. More instruments clattered to the floor around the cyber as he sprawled face down, senseless. Tarl reached him in a stride, and Kole released Tassin, who ran to kneel beside the cyber. Tarl gripped Sabre's shoulder and rolled him onto his back. The brow band was full of flashing red lights, and blood oozed from his nose. He picked him up and placed him on the bed.

"What's wrong with him?" she demanded.

"He's just confused. The last thing he remembers is drifting in space, dying. He shouldn't even be awake yet. He can't see properly, and he's as weak as a nair kitten. He was dreaming, too, that's why he attacked me."

"Or he's brain damaged," Martis muttered.

Tarl swung on him with a frown. "Will you shut up, or piss off!"

"Well he could be."

"He's not!" Tarl plugged the data cable, which Sabre had ripped out when he had rolled off the bed, back into the brow band, and swore. "Damn it, his bio-status is down to thirty-four per cent again. He must have used an energy burst. That's how he was able to stand up."

Tarl pulled the monitoring console closer and typed on the keyboard. When Sabre had rolled off the bed, it had taken him by surprise, especially since the cyber's eyes had been closed, and according to the monitor he was still unconscious. Tarl had only realised that Sabre was dreaming when the cyber had gripped his throat. That had been a scary moment. He wondered what the dream had been about. Nothing good, that was certain.

Yet, even in his confused state, he had recognised Tarl and Tassin, which was a good sign. Martis' constant carping about brain damage was really irritating, and he longed to order the host researcher out. Martis might be an expert on host design, but he had no idea of their capabilities under duress. Tarl had seen more damaged cybers than he cared to remember, and he knew how resilient they were. Seeing Sabre in this state, however, was hard for him, and more so for Tassin, who wiped tears from her cheeks.

"He's going to be all right," he assured her. "Normally a cyber wouldn't wake up in this state, because the control unit is shut down. I'm going to have to sedate him for a while."

She nodded. "Whatever you think is best."

Tarl pushed the drip needle back into Sabre's arm and injected the line with a powerful sedative, one of the few that worked on a cyber. The medics wandered off, muttering. Kole sank down on a chair with a sigh, and Martis frowned at the monitor. Tarl sat on one of the stools that had been placed around Sabre's bed for his visitors and massaged the back of his neck. Tassin perched on the edge of the bed and held Sabre's hand, her brow furrowed with worry.

"Why do you think he attacked you?" she asked.

Tarl shook his head. "God only knows. Considering how many fights he's been in, he could have been dreaming about anything from an alien beast to a war bot. He wasn't attacking me. He stopped when he heard my voice. I should have realised, and sedated him earlier on. I'd forgotten he has dreams. I'm still adjusting to his many differences."

"But he's all right, isn't he? He's not brain damaged."

Tarl hesitated, loath to lie to her. "I don't know, quite honestly. Martis could be right, much as I hate to admit it. If any part of his brain froze, there could be damage. If it did, it most likely happened around the implants, which would have damaged his motor and speech centres, but he was able to stand up, and speak, so I think he's fine."

Tassin glanced at him. "But we won't know for sure until he wakes up."

"No. I could do a brain scan, which might show damaged areas, but... Let's just wait, okay?"

"If he is brain damaged, he's likely to be dangerous," Martis commented.

Tarl swung around. "Piss off, Martis. You're not helping. Speculating is pointless."

"I was just making an -"

"Well don't."

"Fine." Martis stalked out, clearly offended.

Tarl ran a hand through his hair, wishing he was not quite so tired. Much as he longed to stay at Sabre's bedside, he needed to sleep or he would be useless when the cyber woke up. That was not going to happen for many more hours, however, and he left Tassin to her vigil to seek out the stateroom that had been provided for him.