The Cyber Chronicles 04: Cyborg by T C Southwell

Author:T C Southwell
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: freedom, cyborg, quest, love, lost
Publisher: T C Southwell
Published: 2011-11-25T13:49:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Tassin stopped at her room to collect the sword, strapping it on. She followed Sabre down the corridor past all the rooms she had explored, until it ended in a bank of three round doors with strange mechanisms on them. He pressed two keys on two keypads, and the door rotated, then cracked open with a hiss. Swinging it wide, he gestured for her to enter. She crawled into a tiny sphere with two seats and a panel filled with flashing lights. Sabre climbed in after her and pulled the door closed, then turned to the panel and tapped it several times. The lights flashed more energetically, a few remaining lighted. Kole's voice came from it.

"Ragman's Joy, we're in the escape pods and on our way."

The tinny voice replied, "Airlock three will be open when you arrive."

Sabre turned to Tassin. "Buckle in; the belt's next to you."

Another dull clang rang through the ship as Tassin found the belt and pulled it across her chest, her stomach a tight knot. Sabre strapped himself into the other seat and tapped the panel beside him again.

"Brace yourself."

Tassin gripped the armrests, and then a terrific jolt jerked her sideways, making her gasp.

Sabre shot her a wry smile. "Escape pods aren't equipped with inertia dampeners or artificial gravity."

She gulped as a strange floating sensation made her stomach heave, and, if not for the straps, she would have drifted right out of her seat. Gripping it harder, she said, "You're going to have to pretend to be a cyber."

He shrugged, looking away. "I'll be pretty good at it. Don't forget to give the orders."

"I - I'll try."

There were no windows in the pod, and Sabre watched the instrument panel, occasionally tapping in instructions. Tassin tried to imagine what was going on outside as they drifted towards an open door in the settlement ship through a web of laser fire. The walls seemed to close in, and she shut her eyes. A jolt jerked them open as weight returned. Sabre tapped the panel, watched it for a minute, then nodded and released his straps.

"Come on, we're on the settlement ship."

Tassin struggled with the clasp, and he unclipped it for her, then took her arm and supported her as she stumbled to the door. He opened it and climbed out, helping her through it. Tassin straightened and glanced around at a cavernous hold, its walls lined with catwalks and crowds of poorly dressed, but well-armed, tough looking men. Most had laser cannons slung across their backs; a few had side arms strapped to their thighs. Motley piles of boxes filled the corners, some partially covered with tarpaulins, some empty, and Striker’s other escape pod was closer to the centre of the hold. The two gleaming white pods looked out of place in the scarred, grubby surrounds.

Kole stood a few paces away, talking to a tall, bearded man with a paunch, who wore a ragtag collection of uniforms cobbled together into a facsimile of a captain's rig. He glanced over at them, and his pale brown eyes glinted.

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