The Cyber Chronicles IX - Precipice by T C Southwell Read Free Book Online Page A

and made it hard to breathe. It seemed as if an immense
weight had just dropped onto his shoulders, and a dull ache filled
his heart.
    "I must find
her."
    "And you will.
But I can't help you, unless you get into trouble. You understand,
don't you?"
    "Yes, of
course, you have too much to do already."
    Fairen sat
beside him and clasped his shoulder. "I wish I could help, but...
I'll do what I can, give you whatever you need, but I can't
intervene personally."
    "I know. You
have to save planets..." Sabre shook his head. "I just can't
believe this is happening."
    "If she was my
friend, if I had given her a bracelet too, she could have sent a
distress signal, and I could help. But finding her... will take too
much time."
    Sabre turned to
him. "It's okay. You've done more than enough already."
    "What do you
need?"
    "A ship.
Something with a lot of firepower."
    Fairen nodded.
"I'll appropriate a battle cruiser from Myon Two, but you'll need a
crew. It will mean you'll have to command enforcers."
    "I can do
that."
    Fairen turned
his head and addressed the air. "Summon a Myon Two commander at
once."
    Sabre looked
down at his hands. "We're still at Myon Two?"
    "Yes. It was
quiet, so I got some sleep, then the two messages came in right
after each other."
    "She must have
been trying to find me." Sabre rubbed his face.
    The strange
emotions were growing, making it hard to think. His initial
reaction of determination and illogical optimism was fading, giving
way to a growing sensation for which he had no name, but which
robbed him of his motivation. The more he thought about the
problem, the larger it loomed, and it was growing to gargantuan
proportions as the ramifications of the immensity of space swamped
him.
    "She's gone and
got herself into trouble," he muttered. "If anything happens to
her..."
    "You'll find
her."
    "She could be
anywhere."
    Fairen patted
his shoulder. "She's resourceful. She'll be all right. And Tarl's
with her."
    "I'll kill
him." The sudden irrational urge made Sabre's hands clench.
    "No you
won't."
    "If anything's
happened to her... Why didn't he stop her? He should have known
better."
    Fairen shook
his head. "Tassin's too strong willed for him to have stopped her.
Don't blame him. I'm sure he's doing his best to keep her
safe."
    Shrain's voice
spoke from the com-link by the door. "A Myon Two commander awaits
you, My Lord."
    The young
Overlord stood up and donned his hood, arranging the veils over his
face. Sabre followed him into the command centre, where the
silver-haired commander waited. Fairen mounted the dias and sat
down on the black throne, Sabre wandered over to gaze out at the
pearly globe of Myon Two. The immensity of the task that faced him
had reached an incomprehensible magnitude, and the sheer
impossibility of it clogged his thought processes. His analysis of
the situation had expanded to encompass the myriad possibilities
that existed after three days of space travel. His mind seemed
numb, and the unidentified emotion kept intruding, making logical
thought all but impossible. The volume of data available to him in
the form of star charts that mapped a three-day travel radius of
the space around Omega Five, and the specifications of the dozens
of planets in it, overwhelmed him. His mind followed the train of
logical impossibilities down the black hole of illogical emotional
overload like a rabbit down a burrow.
     
     
    Fairen beckoned
to the commander. "Approach."
    The man walked
up to the dias and bowed. "My Lord."
    "Your
name?"
    "Commander
Thestan, My Lord."
    "I am
appropriating your ship, Commander. I am placing it and its crew
under the command of my friend, Sabre. You will do exactly as he
orders at all times. If you feel that any of your crew is liable to
disobey him or show him disrespect in any way, you may dismiss them
now. You will dock in the Scorpion Ship for translocation. Is that
understood?"
    Thestan nodded.
"It is, My Lord."
    "You will be
given instructions when you have returned to