The Cyber Chronicles IX - Precipice (18 page)

Sabre frowned
at the host tech. "I don't really care. The main thing is I can
think straight. I'm not going out of my mind with worry, and I
don't want to shove everyone I see through a wall anymore."

"Better to have
him incapacitated than out cold," Tarl pointed out.

"I didn't know
that was going to happen."

"Ignorance is
bliss, but stupidity is just dumb."

Sabre sighed.
"I'll have to go to that ship and see if she's there."

"That would be
very dangerous while you're sedated," Tarl said.

"There, you
see?" Martis crowed.

"Oh shut up,
you little shit, he needs to be sedated. We have four cybers we can
use. He doesn't have to do it himself."

"What about
offering to buy her?" Kole asked. "That might work, only we can't
do it ourselves, but we've got Striker. I doubt they noticed her
clamped to Pathos."

Sabre nodded.
"That will work."

"I can't do the
talking, though. I spoke to an officer when I went to get Tarl, he
might recognise my voice."

"I'll do it,"
Sabre said.

"You should
talk to a guy called Baron Ashmond. He's Endrovar’s right hand
man."

"Okay."

Tarl peered at
the cyber, frowning. "You all right?"

Sabre nodded,
looking down at his hands. "Just tired."

"It's the
sedative. Maybe someone else should go; Sabre needs to rest."

"You gave him
too much," Martis accused.

Tarl glared at
him. "Maybe I did, but better that than him going off his rocker,
huh?"

"I guess. I'll
do it then."

Kole nodded.
"Okay, let's go to Striker. We don't have to unclamp, just use her
com-unit."

"I'm coming."
Sabre stood up, yawning.

"Me too," Tarl
added.

In the
corridor, enforcers stepped from their path, eyeing Sabre, who
ignored them, stifling his yawns. They followed Kole to the docking
port where Striker was clamped and into the ship.

"Hello, Kole,"
Striker crooned.

"Hi sweetie."
Kole entered the bridge and flopped down in the command seat.
Martis eased into the co-pilot’s chair, and Sabre stood in the
doorway with Tarl.

"Remember,"
Kole said to Martis, "this is Striker calling Imperial. Ask for
Baron Ashmond, and don't give your real name."

"I'm not an
idiot," Martis retorted.

"Really? You
sure had me fooled."

Sabre glanced
at Tarl. "They don't like each other much, do they?"

"Doesn't seem
that way."

Kole ordered
Striker to open a channel, and Martis called Imperial, waiting
several minutes before he received a reply, which was terse and
impatient.

"Imperial here,
what is it, Striker?"

"I'd like to
speak to Baron Ashmond."

"Putting you
through." Another long pause followed, then a different voice said,
"Baron Ashmond."

"This is...
Eckock, on the explorer ship Striker. Um, I'm interested in buying
a female slave from you."

"You're a bit
late; the Net auction was more than a week ago."

"She's been
sold?"

"That's what I
just said."

Martis frowned.
"You only had one female slave to sell?"

"Yes, the
black-haired woman, young, small, claimed to be a queen. That
one."

"Right, that's
the one I want. Who bought her?"

"Why do you
want to know?"

Martis
hesitated. "Well, I... um, I'm still interested. I thought I might
be able to buy her from whoever has her now."

"No chance of
that."

"Why not?"

Ashmond sounded
impatient. "Because she was bought by an out of system guy, and
he's long gone."

"I'd still like
to know who it was."

"It was Tarvin
Stargane, okay? Happy now?"

"Yeah,
thanks."

Kole looked up
at Sabre, who frowned at the floor. "Striker, close channel."

"Channel
closed," the ship crooned.

"I'll find out
who he is," Kole said.

Sabre raised
his head. "Yeah, you do that."

Tarl put a hand
on the cyber’s arm. "We'll find her. Come on, you should lie
down."

Sabre shook him
off. "Quit mothering me."

"Okay." Tarl
raised his hands.

Kole turned to
grin at Martis. "Eckock?"

"I was nervous,
okay?"

"Sure, Eckock,
whatever you say."

Martis rose and
brushed past Sabre and Tarl, leaving the ship.

Sabre sighed,
shaking his head. "You lot are either going to end up killing each
other, or I'm going to end up killing the lot of you."

"He's the
irritating one." Tarl stabbed a finger at Kole.

"I know. I'll
start with him."

"Sure," Kole
said. "Just let me find Tassin first, like I found Tarl for
you."

"You did good,
and I appreciate it. Keeping rubbing my nose in it, though, and
I'll have to rub your nose in something too."

"What?"

Sabre shrugged
and turned away. "Something smelly."

Kole looked at
Tarl. "Something smelly? What's he talking about?"

"Shit, I
reckon," Tarl replied. "He's been dying to stuff you down a loo for
some time now."

Tarl followed
Sabre, and Kole jumped up and hurried after them, catching up in
the corridor.

Sabre swung
around and frowned at the hacker. "I thought you were going to find
out who this Tarvin guy is?"

"Now?"

"Yeah.
Now."

Kole scowled.
"I have to do everything around here. I just want you to know, I
don't appreciate the threats."

"Threats?"

"Yeah, you
know; the whole 'rub my nose in it' thing. Not a good idea. You
need me."

Sabre stepped
towards Kole, who raised a warning finger.

The cyber
studied him. "You really don't want to piss me off right now. Bad
idea."

"I'm helping
you, and you're threatening me?"

"I'm not
threatening you. Why do you think I'm threatening you? Did I make a
threat?"

"Not in so many
words, but just because you're a killing machine doesn't mean you
can go shoving people around. It's rude, and it won't make you any
friends."

Sabre spread
his hands. "I didn't shove you. And if I’m a killing machine, why
aren’t you afraid of me?"

"Because you're
not a killer, but you are a bully."

The cyber
tilted his head. "So why are you helping me?"

Kole looked
away. "I'm helping Tassin, not you."

"That's not
true."

"Okay, fine,
it's because you need me. This is actually something I'm better at
than you. That alone makes it all worthwhile, but I want to help
Tassin too."

Sabre raised
his brows. "You're still trying to win a pissing contest with me?
Is this some sort of obsession with you? A game of one-upmanship
with a cyber? What are you trying to prove, and to whom?"

Kole shrugged,
looking uneasy. "Maybe just that there's a few things I can do
better. But stuff my head down a loo any time soon, and the
attraction's going to sour pretty damn fast."

Sabre
considered. "Oh, I get it. You're trying to impress Tassin. That's
it, isn't it? Do you imagine that if you prove you can do some
things better than me, she'll like you instead? I'm not sure how it
works, but I'm pretty sure that plan won't work. I could do this
myself, but your help is appreciated, since it allows me to do
other things while you do this."

"At least I
didn't cop out when the going got tough."

"That's true.
You're used to having all this shit in your head. If you think that
makes you better than me, fine. But let me tell you something."
Sabre lowered his gaze to the floor. "You're a free man. You don't
have to prove anything to anyone, because you are better than me,
so you can relax."

Kole shook his
head. "I wish I could do half the stuff you can, so I know I'm not
better than you. But you're wrong, I'm not trying to prove anything
to Tassin, I know it won't do me any good. She loves you."

"So... you're
trying to prove it to me?" Sabre smiled. "That's nuts. Why? So you
can be my friend? I thought you didn't like me?"

"I just want to
be around when you catch whoever has Tassin, so I can watch you
kick some butt. That's going to be fun."

"Right, well
then you'd better find out who this guy is whose butt I'm going to
kick, so I can kick it, hey?"

The hacker
inclined his head and headed off down the corridor towards Striker.
Sabre turned to Tarl, who raised his brows.

"Intuitive of
you."

"It's pretty
obvious. I seem to be a magnet for men who want to share the
excitement and be my friend. Why is that? Bragging rights?"

Tarl shook his
head. "You're a bit off on that one. You're a natural leader,
although it doesn't come naturally to you all the time. Others
sense it and feel safe when they follow you. Men like you become
legends, and we all want to rub shoulders with a legend."

Sabre snorted
and continued down the corridor. "I'm no legend. I'm just a broken
killing machine."

Tarl fell into
step beside him. "Maybe not yet, but one day you will be."

"And with you,
it's guilt, right?"

"Maybe it was
at first, but now it's many things, including friendship."

"Do you think
I'm a bully?"

Tarl chuckled.
"Of course you are. It's your nature, but we don't really mind
because when you do it it's not humiliating. It's actually quite a
lot of fun, since it's good natured. And even when it's not,
there's no shame in being bullied by you because you could bully
anyone, and the fact that we all survive your rather pathetic
attempts to bully us with hardly a bruise just proves what a good
guy you are."

Sabre smiled.
"Pathetic attempts?"

"Yeah, you're
not a good bully if no one's scared of you. And being amongst the
privileged few who know they're safe, no matter how much they rile
you is... well, it makes us special, and everyone wants to be
special. Martis and Estrelle haven't figured it out yet, but they
will. He's still scared of you, and she's... in awe, I think."

"Then I do
scare some people, so I'm not such a bad bully."

"He just
doesn't know you well enough yet,” Tarl said, “but he'll learn,
especially if you bully him a lot."

"So the more I
bully you guys, the less scared you get?"

"Pretty much,
yeah, because the more often you do it, the more we realise that
you're really just fooling around."

"I'll have to
start dishing out a few bruises then," Sabre said.

"The more you
talk like that, the more we know you're not serious. Bullies crave
power; they enjoy humiliating others. You only enjoy humiliating
your enemies, and you don't need to bully anyone to have
power."

"But I like
bullying you."

"Sure you do,
because it's good natured, like this." Tarl pushed Sabre, making
him bump into the wall.

The cyber
chuckled, nodding. "You're right, it's fun." He shoved Tarl,
sending him staggering into the wall.

Tarl rubbed his
shoulder. "More fun for you, I think."

"Push harder
then."

The cyber tech
shook his head. "I'm not going to get into a shoving match with
you, bud. I don't have reinforcing."

"Pity."

"No one to play
with, huh? Damned if you aren't like an overgrown puppy."

The sound of
footsteps behind them made them stop and swing around.

Kole ran up,
looking excited. "I found him!"

"That was
quick," Sabre said.

"Yeah, well
he's only the most famous person in this quadrant, isn't he? I just
typed his name in and I got screens of data. He's a bloody king,
can you believe it? Ruler of the Estron System, descended from the
high kings who once ruled the Stargarde Marches, heir to a huge
fortune, amongst other things."

Sabre frowned.
"That complicates matters. It makes finding her easier, but freeing
her much more difficult. He's going to have airtight security."

"We could offer
to buy her back," Tarl suggested.

"Men like that
don't part easily with their new toys, and he doesn't need the
money."

"Tassin will
give him hell. He won't enjoy playing with her for long."

Sabre strode
down the corridor again. "The trouble is, men like that tend to
break pig-headed toys."

"At least we
know where she is," Tarl said, hurrying after him.

"Yeah, and
Tarvin's a cripple," Kole added, trotting to catch up. "His back
was broken in a fight ten years ago, with a cyber."

"Then we know
he's stupid, that's for sure," Tarl said.

Sabre shook his
head. "That tells me that he's a fighter, probably an egomaniac,
and probably bitter and twisted. If Tassin provokes him, she's
playing with fire."

"Oh, she'll
provoke him, you can bet on that."

"That's what
I'm afraid of. She's in danger, and she probably doesn't realise it
because she's been brought up to believe that kings are noble,
although she had Torrian as an example of one who's not. Still, she
might find out the hard way."

Sabre entered
the bridge, and the officers glanced around, their faces stiffening
in alarm. Thestan rose and stepped away from the command seat as if
it had become red hot. Sabre frowned at the screens, where a moon
hung.

"Set course for
the Estron System."

Thestan relayed
the order to the pilot, who ran his hands over his console. The
moon moved across the screens as thrusters fired, changing the
ship's trajectory to line it up with the closest photon corridor
entry vector.

Thestan turned
to Sabre. "Which planet are we going to?"

"The King
resides on Parthis Two, so we'll start with that one." The cyber
glanced at Kole. "Did you find out the name of Tarvin's ship?"