Read Online The Cyber Chronicles IX - Precipice by T C Southwell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: T C Southwell
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the
ship. A row of punching bags lined one wall, and he started on
them, his fists ripping through the tough outer skin and shredding
the dense foam inside. When he had demolished all of them, he went
over to the rack of weights and picked up the heaviest, which a
normal man could barely lift, and hurled it across the room,
denting the wall. A crewman stuck his head through the door and
goggled at him, retreating when a dumbbell smashed into the wall
beside his head.
Chapter Four
Martis looked
up from adjusting an analyser when Thestan entered the hospital.
Boxes of half unpacked equipment littered the white, grey-floored
room, jostling for space with the standard medical equipment that
was used for injured crewmen. The enforcer ship had little in the
way of cyber host repair apparatus, and setting up the delicate
instruments was a tricky job. Especially since neither he nor
Estrelle were engineers. They knew how to use the stuff, but
setting it up was a whole different ballgame. Two crewmen helped,
but, although they were maintenance techs, they knew nothing about
control unit analysers or brain scanners either.
The sub
commander approached Martis, his expression grim. "Your, err,
friend is in the process of tearing up the exercise room, Host
Tech. Could you speak to him?"
Martis
swallowed, glancing at Estrelle. "I don't know about that,
Commander."
"Well someone's
got to do something about him. He's out of control, and when he's
finished in there, he might decide to start on the crew."
"And you think
I can stop him?"
Thestan's frown
deepened. "Isn't he your friend?"
"I think
Estrelle would have more success."
"Why's
that?"
Martis put down
the light reader. "Well, she's a woman, for one thing, and perhaps
a little more his friend than me."
"Why does her
sex have anything to do with it?"
"I think Sabre
is in the process of discovering the drawbacks of being human,
namely all the illogical emotional shit that comes with it. Right
now, he's bloody angry, and another male would only aggravate that.
Also, from his machine-mind point of view, she's not a threat, so
she'd be safer."
Estrelle stared
at him, shaking her head. "If he's tearing up the exercise room,
I'm not going to be target practice."
"He won't hurt
you."
"You don't know
that."
"Yeah, I do.
I'm the expert, remember? Personally, I'd rather leave him alone to
blow off steam, because that's what he's doing. But if you really
want him to stop, Commander, Estrelle's your best bet."
Estrelle
snorted. "You're just too cowardly to face him."
"No, I've got
more sense. He does need someone to talk to, though."
"Let's wait
till Kole catches up. He knows Sabre better."
Martis shook
his head. "He'd definitely get used for target practise. He's
annoying."
Thestan cast
Estrelle a pleading look. "I'd be most grateful, Cyber Tech.
According to the man who saw the exercise room, there's not much of
it left."
Martis picked
up the light reader again. "Yeah, well, he's a cyber, Commander,
what do you expect? He can punch right through two centimetres of
reinforced duronium alloy."
"He'd hurt his
fist," Estrelle pointed out.
"True. I don’t
think he’d care, right now, though."
She sighed and
put down her magnotester. "Fine, I'll see if he'll talk to me, but
if he throws anything at me, that's it."
Thestan nodded
and led the way to the exercise room. The sounds of its destruction
were audible from far down the corridor. A few nervous-looking men
listened to the ruckus, and hurried away when Estrelle came past.
Apparently they expected her to spark the simmering cyber into an
explosion. She paused outside the door, fighting a strong urge to
refuse to go in, then pressed the panel beside it, and it slid
open. A weight rack hit the wall beside the door, making her jump
and yelp. She longed to run, but her legs did not seem to work.
Sabre stood in
the middle of the room, a ten-kilogram dumbbell in each hand,
eyeing her. "Estrelle."
She gulped, her
mind
ship. A row of punching bags lined one wall, and he started on
them, his fists ripping through the tough outer skin and shredding
the dense foam inside. When he had demolished all of them, he went
over to the rack of weights and picked up the heaviest, which a
normal man could barely lift, and hurled it across the room,
denting the wall. A crewman stuck his head through the door and
goggled at him, retreating when a dumbbell smashed into the wall
beside his head.
Chapter Four
Martis looked
up from adjusting an analyser when Thestan entered the hospital.
Boxes of half unpacked equipment littered the white, grey-floored
room, jostling for space with the standard medical equipment that
was used for injured crewmen. The enforcer ship had little in the
way of cyber host repair apparatus, and setting up the delicate
instruments was a tricky job. Especially since neither he nor
Estrelle were engineers. They knew how to use the stuff, but
setting it up was a whole different ballgame. Two crewmen helped,
but, although they were maintenance techs, they knew nothing about
control unit analysers or brain scanners either.
The sub
commander approached Martis, his expression grim. "Your, err,
friend is in the process of tearing up the exercise room, Host
Tech. Could you speak to him?"
Martis
swallowed, glancing at Estrelle. "I don't know about that,
Commander."
"Well someone's
got to do something about him. He's out of control, and when he's
finished in there, he might decide to start on the crew."
"And you think
I can stop him?"
Thestan's frown
deepened. "Isn't he your friend?"
"I think
Estrelle would have more success."
"Why's
that?"
Martis put down
the light reader. "Well, she's a woman, for one thing, and perhaps
a little more his friend than me."
"Why does her
sex have anything to do with it?"
"I think Sabre
is in the process of discovering the drawbacks of being human,
namely all the illogical emotional shit that comes with it. Right
now, he's bloody angry, and another male would only aggravate that.
Also, from his machine-mind point of view, she's not a threat, so
she'd be safer."
Estrelle stared
at him, shaking her head. "If he's tearing up the exercise room,
I'm not going to be target practice."
"He won't hurt
you."
"You don't know
that."
"Yeah, I do.
I'm the expert, remember? Personally, I'd rather leave him alone to
blow off steam, because that's what he's doing. But if you really
want him to stop, Commander, Estrelle's your best bet."
Estrelle
snorted. "You're just too cowardly to face him."
"No, I've got
more sense. He does need someone to talk to, though."
"Let's wait
till Kole catches up. He knows Sabre better."
Martis shook
his head. "He'd definitely get used for target practise. He's
annoying."
Thestan cast
Estrelle a pleading look. "I'd be most grateful, Cyber Tech.
According to the man who saw the exercise room, there's not much of
it left."
Martis picked
up the light reader again. "Yeah, well, he's a cyber, Commander,
what do you expect? He can punch right through two centimetres of
reinforced duronium alloy."
"He'd hurt his
fist," Estrelle pointed out.
"True. I don’t
think he’d care, right now, though."
She sighed and
put down her magnotester. "Fine, I'll see if he'll talk to me, but
if he throws anything at me, that's it."
Thestan nodded
and led the way to the exercise room. The sounds of its destruction
were audible from far down the corridor. A few nervous-looking men
listened to the ruckus, and hurried away when Estrelle came past.
Apparently they expected her to spark the simmering cyber into an
explosion. She paused outside the door, fighting a strong urge to
refuse to go in, then pressed the panel beside it, and it slid
open. A weight rack hit the wall beside the door, making her jump
and yelp. She longed to run, but her legs did not seem to work.
Sabre stood in
the middle of the room, a ten-kilogram dumbbell in each hand,
eyeing her. "Estrelle."
She gulped, her
mind
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