The Cyber Chronicles IX - Precipice (19 page)

"Yeah, it's
Shadow Hawk. That's his flagship, an A-class destroyer."

"Estron
destroyers are the equivalent of a battleship. There's not much
that can outgun one." Sabre scowled. "Certainly not a Myon Two
battle cruiser."

"Nope." Kole
smiled. "But there's one ship that can outgun anything."

"I won't call
Fairen unless I have to."

"If you engage
an Estron destroyer, you'll have to."

"That would be
a last resort."

"Maybe you can
reason with him," Tarl said. "And if Tassin's pissed him off
enough, he might be glad to get rid of her."

Sabre shook his
head again. "If he knows what I'm after, he'll use her as a
hostage. He won't allow anyone to browbeat him. Nobility tend to be
proud, and only respect other royals, so he won't co-operate. I
need a pretext to get aboard his ship. Does he have cybers?"

Kole consulted
his data wand, tapping the keys. "Yep, a whole stable of them.
Forty-one to be exact." He frowned. "That's odd."

"What?"

"According to
the Net info, Myon Two gives them to him. Ten years ago they gave
him thirty, and they've given him one a year since then."

Sabre frowned.
"As if he works for them, or sells them something. But there's no
barrinium on any of the Estron planets... Unless it's something to
do with his being crippled by a cyber, but they kill and cripple
people all the time. But he's a king... then again, he fought the
cyber, so he can hardly claim compensation for terminal stupidity."
Sabre glanced at the sub-commander. "Thestan?"

"I have no
idea."

"But you can
find out."

Thestan's lips
thinned. "It must be classified, or I would know already, so they
won't tell me, or you."

Sabre nodded.
"It probably doesn't matter. It helps that he's got cybers, but the
number makes things worse."

"So what's the
plan?" Kole asked.

"I'm not sure
yet. Knowing Tassin, she's probably told him everything by now, so
any attempt at subterfuge will be futile. Unless... we go as who we
are, a Myon Two enforcer ship. If we tell Tarvin we want a meeting,
he might agree. Clearly he has some sort of relationship with Myon
Two, and, even if we don't know what it is, it might get us aboard
his ship."

Tarl nodded.
"And then what? He'll keep us under guard, and he probably won't
allow more than a couple of us to board."

"And Pathos no
longer looks like an enforcer ship," Thestan pointed out.

Sabre shot him
a frown. "So we're disguised, investigating something, barrinium
smugglers, perhaps. You have the Myon Two codes and passwords, so
you can identify yourself."

The
sub-commander inclined his head, looking unhappy. "Yes. But you'll
need to give him a reason for the meeting."

"Yeah." Sabre
gazed out of the screens, pondering. "Maybe we have something to
offer. He's a paraplegic. Maybe we've found a way to cure him. If
only I knew what his relationship with Myon Two is..."

"There's no way
to cure a broken back," Tarl said.

The cyber
sighed and shook his head. "You're not helping." He paced around,
glaring at the floor, then looked up. "Emperor Endrovar. Thestan,
how long before we enter the corridor?"

Thestan glanced
at his navigation officer, who said, "Twelve minutes, thirteen
seconds, sir."

"Enough time."
Sabre turned to Tarl. "You're going to send a distress message to
Endrovar."

"I am?"

"Yeah. You've
been captured by Myon Two enforcers. They're taking you to be
executed for your treasonous acts all those years ago. You need him
to rescue you. Give him our co-ordinates and our destination. Sound
scared and desperate."

"But -"

"Now, Tarl."
Sabre gripped his elbow and led him over to the com-station. "I'll
explain afterwards."

The cyber
handed Tarl the microphone and glanced at the com-station officer.
"Open a channel."

Tarl licked his
lips. "Calling Imperial, this is Tarl Averly. I've been captured by
Myon Two enforcers. They're going to execute me for treason. I need
your help. We're on course for the Estron System, co-ordinates
463-870-476, acknowledge."

Static hissed
from the com-station, then a voice said, "This is Imperial, message
received. How far are you from the corridor?"

Tarl glanced at
Sabre, who shook his head, and the tech said, "I'm not sure, not
far I think, but I -"

Sabre gripped
Tarl's neck, making him break off with a squeak. The cyber plucked
the microphone from his hand and dropped it on the floor. Turning
to the coms officer, he made a throat-slitting motion. The officer
closed the channel, and Sabre smiled at Tarl, who rubbed his
throat, frowning.

"Any reason why
you had to half strangle me?"

"To make it
seem authentic, like you were caught sending the message." Sabre
picked up the microphone and put it on the com-station.

"Right, so now
are you going to tell us why you just gave away our location to
Endrovar, who wants to kill you?"

"For precisely
that reason. We can't take on Tarvin's ship, or Endrovar’s, they're
bigger and better armed. But Tarvin is an ally of Myon Two, or has
some sort of relationship with them, and I reckon his ship is a
match for Endrovar’s."

"But why would
he fight Endrovar?" Tarl asked.

"Because we're
going to start the fight." Sabre settled into the command chair and
gazed out of the screens. "If we exit the corridor close to Parthis
Two, we should end up pretty close to Shadow Hawk. Imperial will be
hot on our heels, because it's faster than us. They can't attack us
in the corridor, but when we get to Parthis they will.

"Then we ask
Tarvin for help. If he doesn't agree, we hide behind him, try to
get Endrovar to attack him, or at least come too close for comfort.
Not only will Endrovar be in Estron space, he'll also be
endangering the King. If Tarvin agrees to give us protection, he
should be curious about why Endrovar was after us, and that's a
possible reason for a meeting. If not, we tell him we're damaged
and ask for help to repair the ship. Either way, it gives us a
reason to stay at Parthis."

"There are a
number of loopholes in your plan,” Tarl said. “What if Tarvin
doesn't want to help us, and attacks us instead?"

"Doubtful. If
Myon Two is giving him cybers, his relationship with them must be
at least amicable."

"What if Shadow
Hawk isn't at Parthis Two?"

Sabre nodded.
"Then we'll have a bit of a problem, but I reckon it will be. If
not, we still seek sanctuary from Estron warships. Tarvin will hear
about it, which will make him curious. Once he finds out about you,
he's going to want to meet you. With a stable of forty-one cybers,
he might try to negotiate your freedom so you can work for him. He
must have some sort of hold over Myon Two."

"I guess so."
Tarl was clearly unconvinced. "But I have to tell you, I'm not
happy about being used as a pawn in all this."

"You're not a
pawn, you're the bait."

"Even
worse."

Sabre smiled.
"You're actually the prize, so you're the safest of all of us."

Kole said,
"Tassin's on Tarvin's ship, what if Endrovar destroys it?"

"Unlikely. He's
in his own space, so he'll summon help, and Shadow Hawk is a match
for Imperial. If she is badly damaged, that gives us a reason to
board her on a rescue mission."

"I think Tarl
gave you too much sedative."

Tarl glared at
Kole as Thestan glanced at Sabre, his brows rising. The cyber met
his gaze with a flat stare, and the sub-commander looked away.
Sabre cast Kole a hard glance, making the hacker shift in guilty
unease.

The navigation
officer looked up at Thestan. "Sir, Imperial is giving chase,
catching up rapidly. She'll be in a position to fire in about three
minutes. Two minutes to corridor entry."

Thestan nodded,
and Sabre frowned at the navigation officer, then went over to
stand beside him. "While I'm on the bridge, you'll direct your
information to me, Lieutenant, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

A short, tense
silence fell, then Thestan said, "Imperial might try to board us in
the corridor."

Sabre shrugged.
"They might, but we have a cyber pilot, so I doubt they'll succeed.
And even if they do, we have four cybers."

"So do they,"
Tarl said.

"A-grades?"

"No, B-grades,
and pretty beaten up right now, but still..."

"They won't be
able to board us, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Tarl nodded,
and the navigation officer said, "Entering corridor. Deploying
solar wings. Engines offline."

"It's a good
thing this corridor goes all the way to the Estron System," Kole
remarked, consulting his data wand. "Although it passes fourteen
light minutes from it. We'll have a pretty hairy last leg."

"This ship can
handle it," Sabre stated.

The forward
screens filled with light, and dark shields slid across them,
dimming the intense luminescence to a bearable level. The
navigation officer glanced around. "Imperial just entered the
corridor. They're still gaining on us."

"Of course,
they have a faster ship."

"This is a
risky plan," Thestan said.

"Any time you
want to get off, find an airlock. I'll be in my quarters."

Sabre marched
to his cabin, flung himself down on the bed and glared at the
ceiling. The emotional turmoil in his head continued, muted by the
sedative, but still intrusive. The despair had left him, since he
now had hope, but immense anxiety plagued him, along with visions
of Tassin beaten and bound, or dead. It made him aggressive and
angry, and he disliked his inability to control his irritation and
frustration entirely. He longed to vent his pent-up anguish, but he
had already destroyed the gym and there was nothing else to take it
out on. He wanted his cool, rational mind-set back, and wondered if
he would ever have it again. If this was what it meant to be human,
it was not all it was cracked up to be. On top of it all, his heart
seemed to be filled with lead, which added to his misery. He wanted
Tassin back. She was the cure that would end his suffering, and he
would do whatever it took to achieve that, or, as he had promised
her, die trying, since he did not want to endure the suffering that
would result if he failed.

Tarl came in,
his brow furrowed with concern. "How are you feeling, bud?"

Sabre closed
his eyes. "Fine."

"A bit angry,
maybe?"

"That man
pisses me off."

"Yeah." Tarl
sank down on a chair. "But you're dealing with it okay?"

"I haven't
chucked him out of an airlock yet, have I?"

"This has got
to be tough for you, rubbing shoulders with enforcers, Tassin in
danger. Not the best time to have to deal with all those new
feelings as well."

"Are you going
to psychoanalyse me now?" Sabre asked.

"I wouldn't
know where to begin."

"Good, then
leave me alone."

Tarl stood up,
dug in his pocket and held out a bottle of pills. "Here. If you
feel like breaking heads, take two of these. It's the same stuff as
the injection; it'll calm you down."

Sabre took the
bottle with a sigh, tucking it into his medical kit. "Thanks."

Tarl paused by
the door to glance back. "I don't trust these enforcers. I'm still
waiting for someone to tell me what we're doing on a Myon Two
ship."

"Fairen gave it
to me. Ask Kole, he'll fill you in on most of it, Martis and
Estrelle can tell you the rest."

Chapter Ten

Tassin looked
up as the door of her suite opened and Tarvin drifted in. Two
cybers followed, taking up positions on either side of the door.
They were no longer camouflaged, and stared ahead with empty eyes,
their faces blank. She glared at the King.

"I did not
invite you in, nor do I wish your company."

"That’s why I
didn't push the entry-call."

Tarvin’s chair
sank to the floor beside the sofa where she sat, and he touched a
button on its arm, switching off the vidimage she had been
watching. Erron had shown her how to operate the entertainment
equipment, since she no longer went to the observation room where
Tarvin might find her. Her suite, it seemed, was no sanctuary from
him either.

"What do you
want?" she asked.

He shrugged.
“Just to tell you that I made enquiries about your fiancé; you
know, the man you claim is a free cyber, and Myon Two has denied
any knowledge of such a man.”

“Of course they
would; they don’t want anyone to know about him.”

“That must be a
hard secret to keep.”

“Myon Two is
good at keeping secrets,” she said. “They have enforcers to ensure
the truth about their horrid practices is never discovered, and
they have proven effective.”

“Indeed, they
are a formidable bunch with a long reach.”

"I’ve escaped
them before, and I’ll do it again."

He shook his
head. "Impossible."

"I wouldn’t be
so sure of that. All I have to do is get a message to Sabre, and
he’ll come for me.”

Tarvin
chuckled. “You invent good tales, you really do.”

“It’s the
truth.” Tassin raked him with a scathing, disgusted glance. “It’s
hard to believe Sabre is related to you, even distantly.”

“I’m on the
side of right, my dear. By all accounts, you are a murderess. And
Sharlin was a bastard, you know. His father, King Darzel, had two
sons, both sickly from birth, something to do with a genetic
incompatibility. Sharlin was the product of a brief liaison with
Darzel's cousin, who was wed to his best friend. At first, everyone
assumed the child was legitimate. Then Darzel's sons died, one
after the other, in their teens. His wife conceived no more, and so
he had no heir.