The Cyber Chronicles Book III - The Core (33 page)

The freezing
wind tugged at him when he stepped out into it. Grey clouds blotted
out the last of the sunset's fading radiance, plunging the world
into twilight. He shed his jacket, dropping it as he walked towards
the ship. The cyber automatically boosted his metabolism, and
warmth suffused him. Flight was futile. The spacer would hunt him
down with the override. A door slid open in the ship's flank and a
ramp extended to the ground. Three men descended it, two of them
armed with lasers.

Tassin burst
into a rolling meadow. The flying vessel sat upon the frosty ground
like a giant silver egg, and Sabre walked towards it from a shabby
cabin on the far side of the field. Three men stood next to the
craft, two dressed in silver uniforms, the third clad in a hooded
white suit with a silver belt. Although the clothes were not his
usual wizard's robe, she was sure the man in white was Manutim. The
trio turned to face her as she galloped up, and Tassin brought
Falcon to a sliding, propping halt close to Manutim, who pulled his
hood lower. Steam jetted from the stallion's nostrils and billowed
up from his heaving flanks.

Manutim bowed.
"Your Majesty. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You will not
take him, Manutim."

He hesitated,
evidently disconcerted by her outburst and its content. "I'm afraid
I must. He belongs to me."

"No! He wishes
to stay with me."

"He is just a
weapon, Majesty, he has no wishes."

"The thing on
his head is broken. He's a free man."

“
Impossible. Cyber hosts are just biological tools, incapable
of independent thought. Without the controller -”

“
He’s not the same as he was when he arrived. He is no longer
controlled by the machine.”

Manutim
glanced at the approaching cyber. “If that’s true, Myon Two will be
very interested in studying him.” He turned to his men. "Bring the
override."

As one man
trotted into the ship, Tassin said, "Please, let him stay with
me."

"I'm sorry, I
can't allow that."

"I need him.
You cannot take him!"

She hoped
Sabre was still out of earshot. The warrior hurried back to Manutim
and handed him a black instrument.

She leant
closer. "I care for him."

He shot her a
sideways glance. "That is unfortunate."

Manutim’s
unfeeling attitude angered her. He no longer affected a respectful
manner, as if he had forgotten who she was and that he wanted to be
her friend, whatever his reasons for that were. The matter at hand,
however, was too pressing for her to be distracted by his change in
demeanour.

"I will fight
you, if that’s what it takes."

Manutim looked
up in surprise, allowing her a glimpse of a sallow, bearded face
before he lowered his head again. Tassin eyed the shaven, tattooed
warriors at his side. They held their weapons loosely, their gaunt,
sharp-featured faces expressionless. Her men emerged from the woods
and stopped behind her on lathered, blowing mounts to gape at the
strange vehicle. The huge, glossy warhorses, caparisoned in black
and silver livery, snorted clouds of steam and cavorted. Flowing
manes streamed from the destriers' arched necks, and their tails
flew like banners. Finely crafted silver face guards and breast
plates, decorated with gold designs, protected them. The chargers
reared with soft squeals, pawing the ground as they sensed their
riders' tension. The soldiers, clad in the gold-edged black livery
and silver armour of the Alrade Kings, controlled the mettlesome
animals with skilful ease.

Sabre was
still some distance away, and Tassin cantered over to him, her men
following. He gripped her stirrup when she stopped beside him.

"Don't do
this," he said. "You can't win."

She snorted.
"There are three of them and twenty of us."

"They have
lasers."

"So do we, at
the castle. If only you had stayed..."

"You don't
understand." He shook his head. "How could you? Sure, I could have
killed him with the lasers, but Myon Two checks the location of all
cybers annually. We're fitted with locator beacons, like any piece
of expensive equipment, so I can't hide, and no, I can't find it or
deactivate it. I tried. If they find me on a restricted world, and
are unable to contact my owner, they'll send enforcers to bring me
back. They'll use cybers, who will kill anyone who gets in their
way, and I won't be able to stop them. This way, there won't be any
bloodshed. I won't put you in danger."

"I will not
let him take you away!"

"You can't
stop him, any more than I can."

Despair
clogged her throat when she met his bleak gaze. She knew he was
probably right; he usually was, but she could not give up without a
fight. Time seemed to stand still as the chill air nipped her skin
and steam rose between them.

"We shall
see," she murmured.

"No,
Tassin..."

The Queen drew
her sword and raised it, turning to her soldiers. They unsheathed
their weapons with a slither of steel that would have struck fear
into the bravest heart. A strong arm clamped around her waist and
dragged her off the stallion. Sabre dumped her on her back on the
ground, hard enough to make her gasp in shock. He wrenched the
sword from her fist and flung it away, then loomed over her, his
brows knotted.

“
You listen to me, you pea-brained idiot. He will kill you! Do
you hear me? He
will
kill you! He can’t let me stay here, even if he wanted to,
which he doesn’t! If I can’t stop him, what the hell do you think
you can do, even with twenty men?”

She gaped at
him, stunned by his intensity, and he bowed his head. His arms
bracketed her head, his hands resting on the ground, and she knew
any attempt to escape would be futile. His voice dropped to a
broken whisper.

“
I’m sorry. Do you think I want to go with him? Really? Don’t
you think I’d fight him if I could?”

“
Then why -?”

“
He has an override. My override, coded to my control unit. It
doesn’t matter what you do, or how many of your men you get killed,
all he has to do is push a button and I fall unconscious,
understand? He controls me… utterly.”

She frowned.
“Well my men don’t have control units –”

“
Tassin, don’t argue with me. Not now.” He glanced in the
direction of the spaceship. “We don’t have much time. Please, you
have to let me go. I’m begging you, don’t do anything.”

“
How can I?”

“
Because I asked you to! Begged you! I don’t want you to get
hurt, and if you try this, you will. It’s not worth it. I’m not
worth it. I’m just a broken cyborg.”

“
You are
not
a
-”

He gave an
inarticulate growl and pulled her into his arms, making her squeak
in surprise. Tassin clung to him, marvelling that he had chosen
this moment, when all was apparently lost, to finally display the
feelings she had suspected him of having for so long.

“
Hey!” Manutim’s shout rang across the meadow, and she knew
their time was running out.

“
Promise me,” Sabre whispered into her hair. “Promise me you’ll
let me go. Please, Tassin.”

She gulped,
her heart torn between an immense urge to save him somehow, and an
almost equally strong certainty that he was right, and nothing she
could do would stop Manutim taking him away. Sabre tightened his
hold until she squeaked again.

“
Promise me!”

“
All right! But -”

“
No ‘buts’. No arguments. Not now.” He held her away and
stroked the hair from her brow. “Let me remember you smiling, not
angry and frowning, okay?”

She gulped,
her throat closing. “I just don’t know how -”

“
If there was any other choice I’d take it. There is no
choice.” He gazed in the direction of the silver vessel, and she
turned her head. Her men milled in confusion, clearly not knowing
what to do. Sabre was her champion, so his unexpected attack had
evidently shocked them, and, as far as they knew, he was
invincible. She looked back at him as he stroked her hair again,
his touch gentle.

“
I’ll cherish the memory of our time together,” he
said.

“
I
will
find
you and free you.”

He snorted and
smiled. “The warrior queen… That’s impossible, I’m afraid.”

“
You’ll see. One day I’ll come for you.”

“
No, I don’t mean that. While the odds against it are
astronomical, you might even succeed in that quest, because you’re
so damned stubborn, but you’ll never be able to free me from the
control unit again. Myon Two will repair it.”

“
I’ll find a way, I swear it.”

Manutim’s
shout intruded. “Cyber! Get away from her, now!”

Sabre glanced
in the direction of the shout, and she followed his gaze. Her men
had moved off, apparently unnerved by the approaching strangers and
their silver weapons.

Sabre released
her and sat back, but she refused to let him go.

“
Stand up, Cyber Four,” Manutim ordered.

Sabre obeyed,
lifting Tassin to her feet. The alien warriors had herded her men
further away, and one guarded them. The second crewman pointed his
weapon at Sabre, but they kept their distance. Sabre looked at
Manutim, his eyes cold. Manutim jerked his head at the second
guard, who darted in and grabbed Tassin's arm.

She kicked
him. "Let me go, you lout!"

The crewman
hauled her away, his weapon trained on the cyber.

“
Cyber Four, report,” Manutim commanded.

Sabre
hesitated, and Tassin wondered if Manutim still did not believe
her, in which case, perhaps Sabre could pretend to be under cyber
control and avoid being taken to Myon Two for repairs. Even Sabre’s
momentary hesitation should have given him away, yet Manutim seemed
to be having a great deal of trouble accepting that Sabre was free
of cyber control. The extreme caution with which he and his men had
approached the cyber, however, indicated that he was unsure. Why
was the concept so outlandish? If Sabre could fool Manutim, he
might be able to escape, steal a ship and return to Omega Five. Her
heart quickened with hope. She wished she had thought to suggest
the idea to him earlier, and cursed herself. Even more, she cursed
herself for telling Manutim that Sabre was free. She had thought it
would persuade him to leave Sabre with her.

Sabre said,
“Mission completed successfully.”

Tassin stifled
a sob of relief. A modicum of hope remained, and she clung to
it.

Manutim asked,
“Is the area known as the Death Zone destroyed?”

“
Yes.”

“
Is the threat to the primary command subject
eliminated?”

“
No. Weapons have been installed in the fortified structure
where the primary subject resides, but the enemy remains a possible
threat.”

“
Are you damaged?”

“
This unit is functional. Bio status at seventy-nine per
cent.”

Manutim turned
to Tassin. “You see, there’s nothing wrong with him.”

“
Oh,” she choked out, her throat tight. “I thought he was
damaged.”

“
Sir.” The guard peered at Sabre, frowning. “There are too many
red lights on his control unit.”

Manutim also
studied the brow band. “Yes, I see what you mean.”

“
Maybe she’s right.”

“
If he’s malfunctioning, Cybercorp owes me a refund, or a
replacement. A free cyber!” He snorted. “Yeah, right. That would be
a first, but I’m not taking any chances.” Manutim raised the black
instrument, and Sabre froze. Tassin's heart filled with despair as
he bowed his head, his hands clenched. Manutim turned to the
crewman who guarded the soldiers.

"Bring the
transport unit."

“
But that’s right at the back of the shuttle,” the man
protested.

“
Just get it; I’m not letting him aboard until he’s
packed.”

“
It’ll take a while,” the crewman grumbled.

Tassin’s
captor turned his weapon on her soldiers while the other crewman
trotted into the ship.

Manutim
approached her, and she glared at him, shaking tangled hair from
her face. He pushed back his hood to reveal a bearded visage with
hard, dark blue eyes. His short black hair was shaved in swirling
patterns above his ears, and his beard was trimmed with inhuman
precision. A line of blue tattoos crossed his brow and vanished
into his hair at his temples. Although not handsome, he had a
certain presence; an aura of power. She wondered what had prompted
him to finally reveal his face, and decided it was probably because
she knew so much now, about his spaceship, and cyborgs, so he had
dropped the magician act.

"What will you
do to him?" she asked.

"I'll have to
take him back to Myon Two for diagnostics and repairs."

"Please
don't."

He glanced
down at the black tool. "What happened to him?"

"He fell off a
mountain. He explained what was done to him, and it's cruel and
barbaric."

"Cyber hosts
don’t feel pain. He does seem to be malfunctioning, though, so he
could be dangerous, but I can’t afford to just write him off.
Besides, Myon Two will track him down, and enforcers are an
unforgiving bunch."

Tassin tried
to jerk her arm from the warrior's grip, and scowled at Manutim.
"Tell him to take his hands off me!"