The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (4 page)

Four hours
later, a crewman came in and asked them to go with him. Tassin was
loath to leave Sabre, but Tarl took her arm and tugged her away,
making it clear that the Overlord was not to be disobeyed. The
soldier led them back to the vast room with the round windows, now
devoid of enforcer officers, where Ravian stood gazing out at a
space battle that raged not far away. Flotillas of fighters swept
past like shoals of swift silver fish, guarding battleships and
star cruisers from other shoals of silver ships with red emblems on
them. Bolts of laser light strafed the darkness, so plentiful that
they lighted the area with flickering brilliance that was hard to
look at.

Ravian turned
when they stopped a few metres away and beckoned to Tassin. "I want
you to see this."

One of the
fighters blew up in a bright flash at Tassin approached the
screens. "Aren't you going to stop it?"

"That's what I
wanted you to see. They can't see me at the moment; the ship is
cloaked."

Another fighter
blew up in the distance, blossoming like a tiny, fiery flower, and
one of the battle cruisers sprouted flames from its side.

"If left alone,
these people will wipe each other out. They had a truce, but
apparently someone broke it."

"What are you
going to do?"

Ravian raised a
gloved hand, which held a keypad. "End it."

"How?"

He touched the
keypad. "Like this."

The battle
continued for several moments, then some of the fighters veered
away from their targets and flew back to the capital ships,
gathering around them like flocks of birds.

"Now they've
seen me," Ravian informed her.

The rest of the
fighters swarmed back to their mother ships, and within moments the
battle stopped and the two sides withdrew to their respective
hosts.

Ravian gestured
at the screens. "It's like magic. It never fails to amaze me that
my mere presence can stop an interplanetary war. But it gets
better." He tapped the keypad again, and the ship moved towards one
of the groups.

"I don't know
who started this, so I'm just going to pick a side."

"What would
happen if they attacked you?"

He chuckled.
"They wouldn't dare. This ship could wipe out both of those fleets
in a moment and their planets within an hour."

"So you rule by
force?"

"Overlords are
rarely forced to attack a planet, although some are more inclined
to do so than others, but yes, we do. Is there any other way?"

The ship
approached the largest star cruiser, whose fighters moved away.
Ravian touched the keypad again, and a communications laser spanned
the gap. An officer who stood at Ravian's side murmured something
to him, and he nodded.

"Give me the
name of the person who broke the truce, Admiral Marrel, and he will
be executed. But I warn you to consider your answer carefully, for
whomever the Atrasians blame will also be executed, should you
choose one of their number."

After a long
pause, a male voice issued from hidden speakers somewhere behind
Tassin. "I cannot... It was a misunderstanding, My Lord, we blame
no one."

"Then how was
the truce broken?"

"An accident,
My Lord."

Ravian touched
the keypad, and the communications laser vanished. The ship turned
and moved majestically towards the opposing armada. The laser shot
forth again, pinning their lead battleship, which still burnt. The
officer consulted the instrument he held and murmured to Ravian
again.

"Give me the
name of the person who broke the truce, High Commander Patar, and
he will be executed, as will whomever the Vernans choose from
amongst your people."

"Whom do they
blame, My Lord?"

"At the moment,
no one, but if you should choose from amongst them, I don't doubt
that they will do the same."

"Then we, too,
blame no one. It was a misunderstanding."

Ravian nodded.
"Good. In that case, the truce must be restored immediately. You
will come aboard, High Commander."

"Yes, My
Lord."

Ravian touched
the keypad again, and the communications laser vanished. He
addressed the air. "Admiral Marrel, you will come aboard."

"At once, My
Lord."

The Overlord's
ship dwarfed the massive battle cruiser, its vast arms, visible at
the corners of the two outer screens, bracketing the entire fleet.
A tiny craft emerged from a docking port in the warship's side and
flew towards them. Soon a second came from the opposite direction.
Within a few minutes of Ravian issuing the order, the two men stood
before him. One was short, plump and bald, clad in a smart red and
gold uniform. The other was tall, lanky and bearded, wearing dark
brown leather and partial silver armour. Ravian took a sheet of
transparent material from his officer and held it out to the short
man.

"Admiral
Marrel, you will sign first. Do not bother to read it; there is
nothing you may change. You will adhere to all the conditions in
it, or I will wipe out your fleet."

"Yes, My Lord."
Admiral Marrel took a stylus from the hovering officer and signed
the sheet. The officer passed it on to High Commander Patar, who
also obeyed without question, although the hatred that crackled
between the two was palpable. Ravian took the sheet and signed it
himself, then gave it back to the officer.

Ravian said,
"That will be lodged with the high councils of your worlds, and I
will keep a copy. The final condition of that truce, you will
discover when you do read it, is that if your people ever go to war
with each other again, you will be punished equally."

"What if they
attack us, My Lord?" Admiral Marrel enquired.

"Then you will
send a distress message, and refuse to fight back. But I doubt that
they are foolish enough to do it, Admiral. To go against an
Overlord's decree is punishable by death, and you should be glad
that one of my kind did not broker your first treaty, or the
leaders of your high councils would now be space trash."

"Our civilian
leaders should be the ones to sign the treaty," Patar remarked.

"You may see to
it that they do, but I find it is those who wage the wars who need
to be bound over, not those who give the orders. They can be
disobeyed."

"And we can be
replaced."

"I doubt that
your high councils would be so foolish after they read the treaty
and discover that it will be their leaders who perish if the truce
is broken."

"Very wise, My
Lord."

Ravian made a
dismissive gesture. "Collect your copies of the treaty from my
officer."

Patar bowed,
and they marched out, stiff-backed with indignation and anger. How
galling it must be, Tassin thought, to be forced so easily to end
what they undoubtedly considered a righteous conflict. Ravian
turned to face the windows again.

"May we return
to our quarters, My Lord?” Tassin asked. “I'm concerned about
Sabre."

Ravian waved a
hand, and a crewman stepped forward at the doorway to lead them
back to their suite. Tassin hurried over to the cyber, whose eyes
moved behind their lids. Tarl bent to study the brow band,
straightening with a frown.

"He's waking
up," she said.

"But the band
is showing no more red lights."

"It will. Give
him time. This is how it starts."

"What do you
usually do when this happens?"

"Stay out of
the way." Tassin pointed at the control unit. "There, look."

Two lights on
the right-hand side of the cyber band flashed red.

Tarl's eyes
narrowed. "Those are motor control lights. He's trying to regain
control of his body." Another light turned red, and Tarl said,
"That's a systems' status light. It means the cyber has detected a
malfunction."

Several more
lights turned red, including three of the seven control lights on
the left side of the brow band. Sabre's back arched, his lips drew
back in a snarl, and his hands snapped up to grip the control unit.
His knuckles whitened and his arm and chest muscles bulged as he
strived to tear it from his head. The control unit blazed red, and
Tarl stepped back with an oath as the cyber thrashed, making the
floating stretcher wobble.

"He's
overriding just about every system,” Tarl said. “If I wasn't seeing
it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it was possible. The cyber
is weakened by the crack, but even so... this is amazing."

Sabre groaned,
a deep sound of pain, and Tassin swallowed a lump. Blood seeped
from around the struts as Sabre hauled on the band, his back arched
in another convulsion.

"Come on,
Sabre, you can do it," she murmured. "Free yourself."

Sabre's face
twisted as he writhed, his breath coming in harsh gasps, then he
slumped, his chest heaving. He released the cyber band and his arms
fell to his sides, revealing seven red control lights. His eyes
opened, staring at the ceiling. Tassin stepped closer and placed a
hand on his shoulder. He flinched and glanced at her, his brows
drawing together, then relaxed, closing his eyes.

"Are you all
right?" she asked.

He nodded.
"I'll be fine. What happened?"

"The Overlord
brought you on board his ship before you died."

"Why?"

"It was a test.
He didn't intend to kill you."

Sabre sat up,
swung his legs off the floating stretcher and gazed around. "So
what now?"

"He wants to
talk to you."

He rubbed his
brow, smeared the blood there and glanced at his fingers. "How long
was I out?"

"A few
hours."

"Six, to be
exact," Tarl said. “Why were you unconscious?”

“
I checked out. It didn’t seem like it was going to be a nice
death.”

“
Checked out?”

“
Yeah. Switched off, crawled into a dark place.” Sabre looked
puzzled. "Why aren't I wearing restraints?"

"He doesn't
seem to consider you a threat."

"How
refreshing."

"You should
eat," Tarl said. "I'll find some cyber rations for you."

Sabre frowned
at him. "I'm fine. Will you quit shovelling that shit down me?"

"It's for your
own good. Your stint in space will have used up a lot of
energy."

"I said I'm
fine."

Tarl sighed and
shook his head. "Later, then."

Sabre glanced
around as a crewman came through the curtained doorway and stopped,
his hand resting on the weapon at his side.

"Overlord
Ravian will speak to you now, cyber."

Sabre's eyes
narrowed as he studied the tiny gun. "Interesting. They carry
poison dart guns, most effective against cybers, if it's a poison
we're not immune to."

"You can count
on that," Tarl said.

"He doesn't
waste any time, does he?" Tassin commented. "He must have us under
surveillance."

"Undoubtedly."

"Overlord
Ravian is waiting, cyber," the crewman said.

Sabre slid off
the floating stretcher and discovered that his lasers had been
confiscated. The crewman stepped aside as Sabre approached him, and
held up a hand when Tassin followed.

"The cyber must
meet Overlord Ravian alone."

She stopped,
frowning, and Sabre vanished through the doorway.

Chapter Three

Outside, Sabre
found four more armed crewmen waiting, all of whom tensed when he
appeared. Three stepped aside, and one led the way down the
silk-hung corridor. They marched for a fair distance along the
featureless passageways until they reached a black curtain, which
the lead crewman drew aside. Sabre entered a massive room whose
white silk walls were adorned with works of art and its floor
strewn with expensive rugs. A plush white lounge suite was arranged
around a low table inlaid with gemstones, and a sleek black counter
held a variety of refreshments. Floating globes gave off soft
golden light, adding to the luminescence of the back-lighted silk.
Sabre glanced around, surprised to find himself alone. He wandered
over to the refreshment counter, eyeing the two crystal goblets,
three decanters and several platters of tiny sandwiches, nuts,
fruit and pastries.

A soft, female
voice spoke behind him. "You may take what you wish."

Sabre turned. A
slim, attractive woman clad in a floor-length cyan gown stood
there, smiling. Cool grey eyes regarded him from a heart-shaped
face framed by dark red hair, a faint flush suffusing her creamy
skin. She walked closer, studying him from head to foot, her eyes
lingering on the brow band.

"What an
amazing creature you are," she said. "So strong and fast; so
deadly, and yet so... meek. You are indeed an enigma, Sabre. You
were born to be a killing machine, yet you've become human."

"I'm a
cyborg."

"So you still
consider yourself a cyborg, and therefore less than a man?"

"Yes."

"How
unfortunate." She gestured to the refreshments. "Help yourself.
They're for your benefit."

"Thank you.
Where is the Overlord?"

"Around. For
the moment, you may speak to me."

"He's afraid of
me."

She tilted her
head. "Should he be?"

"No. Not unless
he intends to harm my friends. And if he is, why doesn't he put
restraints on me instead of sending you as his proxy? Is he
watching?"

"Yes. He does
not believe in binding people unless they prove to be dangerous
first. Assumption is a dangerous thing. As for harming your
friends... What about you? What would you do if he intended to harm
you?"

"Nothing."

She raised her
brows. "You wouldn't defend yourself?"

"I don't care
what happens to me."

"Ah, yes, so
you proved when you stepped into space. A noble act indeed, made
somewhat less noble by your lack of a wish to live. Why don't you
want to live?"