Her Cyborg Awakes (Diaspora Worlds) (9 page)

Tulse Vittorine’s face split into a gleaming
smile, showing a mouthful of strong white teeth. It transformed her into a
beauty, and Sabralia suddenly realized that Tulse was really quite young. “I
will contact you in a few hours when the changes have been made.”

Sabralia nodded. “I look forward to hearing from
you.”

She traveled back to the apartment and rushed
inside. Kaistril was asleep and did not respond to her greeting. The activity
of leaving the ship had worn him out. Surely a day’s rest would give him more
energy and alertness.

Tulse Vittorine contacted Sabralia twelve hours
later, waking her from sleep. She had the proof of changes. Sabralia saved the
data, then verified it through the Hub system. Yes, there it was, docked on a
spiral far from the original one, with a new com signature and title. The Tulse
Pulse. Cute.

Sabralia journeyed to a nearby credit station and
transferred the required credit to Tulse. Her sense of relief was huge. The
ship was moved and changed. Their pursuers would have a much harder time
finding them, especially if Tulse left the Hub in a few days. The Hub required
no record of their transaction, only Tulse and Sabralia knew of it.

“So dangerous, Sabra,” Kaistril said when she told
him about the sale.

“I was cautious, Kaistril. And we might need the
credits if your brothers are delayed somehow.”

“The signature and hull insignia are changed?”

“Yes. I double checked through the Hub system.”
She showed him the proof and he was satisfied.

“You did well, Sabra. This gives us a greater
degree of safety. And it is good to be prepared in case my brothers don’t show
up on time.”

She knew he felt bad about being so helpless.
“We’ll be fine now. We just need to wait.” Wait for you to get better, she
wanted to say.

Since they didn’t leave their small room, there
was nothing to do but sleep, or watch the Hub com.

“He seems honest,” Kaistril said of Daveed during
one of his short alert periods. 

“I do think he is honest,” Sabralia agreed. “He
lives next door with his wife and three small children. She does not speak
Standard well, but we have exchanged greetings and a few words. They plan to
emigrate to Yonder.”

Yonder was a world newly opened for colonization,
far out on the Rim, away from the war.

Kaistril talked to Daveed and arranged for him to
be a courier with a sale of more jewels. Daveed’s wife, Amira, confided that
with the courier fee Kaistril paid, they nearly had enough for a colonization
package. Amira invited her over daily while her young ones napped, for tea. She
also taught Sabralia a type of lace making, something to while away the time
while Kaistril slept.

“It is so sad your husband so sick. Very sad. You
see doctor?” Amira’s big brown eyes were full of concern.

Sabralia brought up the idea of seeing a doctor to
Kaistril, who was getting too thin and far too tired. He slept constantly
except for brief moments, and when he did eat he just took a few bites, and
then he’d be off to sleep again. “It’s not right, Kaistril. You should be
feeling better, shouldn’t you?”

“We’ll wait until my brothers get here. I trust
their ship’s doctor more than I would trust a physician here. They might
recognize that cyborg applications were on me, alert someone. No records, we
can’t be found.”

“Do you think someone is looking for us?”

“Maybe for us. Maybe for the ship. They might know
who we are. I have no way of knowing what kind of security might have been running
at the Sirn’s spaceport…” His voice got weaker as he spoke. “There might be
visuals.”

Sabralia thought about that. “If there were
visuals, then they know you are a former cyborg, and they probably know about
the failsafe.”

One day, Daveed came to the door, his dark eyes
huge. “Sabralia, there is some news you should know. Someone has been visiting
different lodgings, asking for information. Two dark-haired Puregen men have
been found dead…murdered.”

“I see.” Her heart pounded in panic.

“I thought you should know because your man is a
dark-haired Puregen. Don’t open your door. And you should order security
barriers for your door.” She did so, and Daveed installed them.

“Good. Good… family will be here soon,” Kaistril
said when he saw the security barriers, which strengthened the doorway locks
and alerted them to any movement near their room.  Daveed had promised to keep
and eye out for trouble. The courtyard was secure, so Sabralia could still
enjoy the balcony and visits with Amira.

“How can they be here so soon? New Prague is two
systems away.”

“Yes. But secret…have a jump line.”

A jump line, an anomaly that pulled a ship through
space at speeds unachievable by space flight. Like a current running through
space.

“New Prague has a jump line?”

“Yes. But it’s a secret. Or Sirn…”

He didn’t need to finish. Sirn was acquiring jump
lines wherever he could.

Sabralia checked the com over and over for news of
the murders. She knew she was acting strangely. Knowing someone was out there,
perhaps looking for Kaistril, made her jittery, but exhausted. Nothing tasted
good.

Kaistril was in the small bed, bare from the waist
up. He was sleeping, like always, and curled into himself. She missed the
Kaistril she’d just started to know, and she missed the physical closeness
she’d had with him as her cyborg. The days of warm baths, of arms holding her,
stroking her as she fell to sleep, were gone. The memories of the heated
passion they shared seemed almost like a dream now.

Chapter Eight

The message came three days later, just as
Sabralia was beginning to feel desperate. Two more dark-haired men had been
killed, their gruesome stories played constantly once the Hub news-view cast.
She made sure the weapons were nearby at all times. Kaistril couldn’t defend
himself, it was up to her.

She replied to the message, “Kaistril is ill. I
can get him to your ship. He can walk a short distance. There is a
difficulty—someone may be searching for us. They have our descriptions. Several
men matching Kaistril’s description have been killed in the past few days.”

“Give me your location. We will come directly to
your lodging for you. Be ready.” The message was signed as Commander Kyler. She
woke Kaistril up and got him dressed to go.

“Kyler is coming here to the lodging for us.”

“Good, that will make it safer.”

To her surprise, Kaistril called for Daveed to
join them.

When he did, Kaistril tapped an amount onto
Daveed’s com and completed the transaction with his thumbprint. “Here. You have
been very kind to my wife and myself. I hope you and your wife have the luck of
the Star Gods in your new world.” Daveed stared at the com. “That is far more
than I need.”

“I know, but I thank you. Your family deserves to
be off this Hub, somewhere safe. Where will you go?”

“Yonder. Free land on that planet, good farmland
on two continents with little mining. Mixed immigration and immigrant
constitutions, too, to protect the colonists. A good place to raise a family.”

Kaistril nodded. “If you should change your mind,
come to New Prague. We are sparsly populated, with most of the population
concentrated on the east coast of one continent. We have an open constitution,
not Puregen.” He tapped his com

“My personal contact.”

“We will research New Prague,” Daveed
said.         

“I wish you and your wife well,” Sabralia told
him, tears pricking her eyes. Daveed and Amira were the closest people she’d
had for friends in many years.

“And I you.”

Kaistril dozed while they waited, the bags packed
and ready. The door alarm buzzed and the security screen showed a tall,
dark-haired man. Sabralia shook Kaistril awake, then opened the door at Kaistril’s
nod. The man resembled Kaistril, but his eyes were silver gray. And he was
huge, a head taller than Kaistril, and wide, his shoulders grazing the doorway.

“Kyler. Good you’re here, you monster.” Kaistril
tried to stand, and Sabralia rushed to his side to help him.

“What is wrong with him?” The man’s voice was
sharp.

“Failsafe,” Kaistril said. “She had to remove the
implants.”

“Implants?” Kyler skewered her with his eyes.

“Cyborg implants,” Sabralia answered.

“All on the com. Info.” Kaistril indicated the
bag.

Kyler snatched it. “Move out.”

Other men were with him, dressed in black,
form-fitting uniforms, with silver and red markings on their chests and
shoulders. The men grabbed Kaistril by the arms and pulled him swiftly into a
small transport. Sabralia followed, awkward with her thick cloak and bag.

Everything happened so fast. While the transport
maneuvered to the New Prague ship, Kyler barked orders into a com, to someone
named Karvar. He uploaded Kaistril’s com. Sabralia sagged against her seat in
relief. There was a medic on board, someone who could help Kaistril. Tears
pricked her eyes. He was already asleep, several seats in front of her, slumped
limply with his head against the wall. Medics greeted them in the docking bay.
One was tall, with dark hair and thick lashes surrounding amber eyes. He wore
focals. Another brother?

“Take the woman to quarters on level four,” Kyler
commanded. His silver eyes slid over her, making her feel cold. For some reason
he didn’t like her, she could tell. “Run her through our system, Security One
priority.”

Two soldiers escorted her to a lift, and then down
to a small room. They politely asked for her thumbprint and a retinal scan. “A
meal will be brought in two hours,” one soldier said afterwards.

“I want to be with Kaistril. Isn’t there somewhere
I can wait, while he is examined?”

“Commander Kyler will take care of his brother. It
is best you stay here, out of the way.”

Sabralia was left alone in a small room. The room
was stark and chilly, and the narrow bunk was hard. It looked like a prison
cell, with the hygenie right in the same room. On impulse she tried the door.
She was locked in.

Worrying about Kaistril made her feel sick. She
wished someone would come with information. She found a common com and tried
it. “This is Sabralia. I came with Kaistril. Can someone inform me what is
happening? Is Kaistril all right?”

She repeated the message several times before she
got an anonymous response.

“We will be leaping to Goldshawk Hub in thirty
hours. Commander Kaistril is stabilized and recovering. He requires rest before
we leap. Please follow the procedures broadcast prior to the jump to ensure
your safety.”

He was well. That was all that mattered. “May I
see him before we jump?” There was a pause, then a reply. Sabralia would be
summoned for a brief visit before the jump.

Relieved, she ate the cold, unappetizing food, and
bathed in a daze. Finally, she dozed for awhile, until an announcement for the
jump woke her.

***

“She is from Coloun, in fourth sector. It is an
agricultural world and supplies Sirn’s forces. She was married to Sirn in a
treaty contract.” Karvar read the information to Kyler.

“A treaty wife.”

“Yes.”

“Is she important enough for Sirn to come after? Because
we have reports that they were being sought by Sirn’s forces,” Kyler said.

“According to the woman, Sirn was overthrown
recently, at his palace.”

“Perhaps. But his forces are on the move again, so
whether he is in charge, or his successor, they seem to have the same agenda.”

“We should have insider news soon,” Karvar said.
“They may be after the woman for some reason. Perhaps she has some knowledge
she shouldn’t have.”

 “Perhaps. Still, if there was a coupe, as she
maintains, she might have been able to find some delicate information.” Kyler
drummed his fingers on the com. “I will allow her to visit Kaistril, and while
she is with him, I will have her belongings searched.”

Karvar nodded. “Good.”

“I am also making arrangements to get her off-ship.
I am not taking her to New Prague. If she remains with Kaistril, she would have
access to the entire Governing Body. Including Mother. She is too high a
security risk.”

“Do you think Kaistril wants her to come with us?”
Karvar asked. “Kaistril has never been interested in keeping any woman around
for long. As long as she is safe, he’ll be fine with it. We’ll send her back to
Coloun.”

Karvar nodded.

“I’ll have two ensigns escort her to a ship that
will take her to her homeworld.” Kyler checked info on the com. “There is a
transport out in two days’ time. Meanwhile, she will remain in her quarters
under watch.”

 Relief flooded through Sabralia. They were not
trying to keep her away from Kaistril. Maybe she could stay with him now,
instead of in that ugly room.

Kaistril was stretched under a white coverlet in a
medic room. He was asleep, but his coloring was good, and the hollows below his
cheek bones were gone. The medic with the focals was in attendance. He looked
remarkably like Kaistril, but with amber eyes under the lenses, and his hair
was dark reddish brown, not black.

“I am Karvar, Kaistril’s brother and physician.”

“Oh. I did not know he had a second brother on
this ship.”

“Yes, Kyler is our brother also.”

“Kaistril is going to be all right?”

“Yes. We removed the implant inside his skull that
fed the nanos, and we cleared all the nanos out of his bloodstream. He should
wake in the next few hours.”

“Wonderful. I was so worried.” She bent over the
bed and stroked Kaistril’s corded hair. He looked so good, healthy. His color
was fine, and there were no blue shadows under his crescent eyelashes. Sabralia
continued stroking his hair and held his hand, speaking now and then of nothing
important.