The Cyber Chronicles VII - Sabre by T C Southwell Page B

soldiers, Fairen
seemed like nothing more at that moment than a sad, lonely boy
saying goodbye to a beloved older brother. He was paler than usual,
and sorrow shadowed his eyes.
    "This is just
so long," Sabre said. "You know where I am, and I'll expect regular
visits whenever you're not blowing up some disobedient planet,
okay?"
    "We still have
to have that trial by combat to decide who is more in the other’s
debt."
    Sabre smiled
and ruffled the boy's hair. "True. We’ll have to do that sometime
soon. But hey, you could come visit us every week. Whenever you
feel like it. I want you to. You're like a kid brother to me."
    "Really? Would
you want a kid brother like me?"
    "Who wouldn't?
Ah no," Sabre shook his head when Fairen's face fell. "You know me
better than that. It has nothing to do with your being an Overlord.
I wish you weren't one, then you could come with us."
    Fairen looked
a little ashamed, and Tassin was amazed by how his sadness at
Sabre’s departure had stripped away his pride to reveal the true
person behind the Overlord's mask. Her respect and affection for
him grew, and the poignant moment saddened her too.
    Sabre patted
Fairen's shoulder and turned to enter the shuttle. He paused beside
Tassin to glance back and raise a hand. Fairen made a slight
gesture, then swung away and marched off as the shuttle doors slid
shut with a wheeze and clunk. Tarl already sat on a couch in the
luxurious passenger area, and Sabre sank down on the sofa
opposite.
    Tassin settled
beside him. "You like him a lot, don't you?"
    "Yeah."
    "I think he
loves you like a big brother."
    "Yeah, I think
so too."
    She slipped
her hand into his. "I hope you're not too sad to have to leave him
to be with me."
    "I wish we
could have traded Tarl for him."
    Tarl looked
up. "Oh, thanks."
    "Wouldn't you
like to be an Overlord?"
    "Not
particularly."
    Tassin smiled.
"He's joking."
    "I know."
    "No I wasn't,"
Sabre said.
    She sighed.
"In a few years’ time, girls are going to swoon over him."
    "What girls?
He lives in a damned city ship with servants who won't even talk to
him. Did you know that there are between one hundred and fifty-four
and one hundred and fifty-six thousand people on that ship?"
    "So many? How
do you know?"
    "I told the
cyber to count them, but I had to walk around a bit. That ship is
one hundred and forty kilometres long, fifty-three point eight
kilometres high and ninety-eight kilometres wide."
    Tarl frowned.
"And it came up with such an inexact figure?"
    "No, it came
up with one hundred and fifty-five thousand, four hundred and
fifty-two, but since many of them were moving around, and there are
a few areas that are impervious to my scanners, it couldn't be
exactly right. There are also seven thousand, two hundred and
eighty-one children and four hundred and forty-seven pregnant
women."
    "An entire
space-faring race dedicated to serving the Overlords," Tarl
mused.
    "With
complete, unshakeable loyalty."
    "Pretty
amazing."
    "The
translocation generators are two kilometres in diameter and three
point five kilometres long, and there are six of them. The four
standard drive engines are five kilometres long and three
kilometres wide, and the engines are not included in the overall
size of the ship."
    "You mapped
the entire ship?"
    Sabre
shrugged. "I was curious."
    "What about
weaponry?"
    "Seven
four-kiloton laser cannons, two mounted in the front, two on each
side and one at the stern. The main gun is a heated plasma particle
disintegrator, and there are four more particle disintegrators
mounted in the arms, as well as twenty-four two-kiloton laser
cannons. It also has four solar wing generators, five shield
generators, a worm drive engine and eight capture beams."
    Tarl nodded,
looking shaken. "They do say Overlord Fairen's ship is one of the
oldest and most powerful."
    "It's over
twelve hundred years old."
    Tassin gazed
at the screen, which showed a dark forest approaching. "We're
nearly there."
    Sabre glanced
up. "They're