tossed the
can back into his bag. "That should do it."
He turned
away, but Sabre caught his shoulder and yanked him back. "What are
you feeling right now?"
Tarl frowned.
"Angry."
"Why?"
"Because of
what that bastard did to you."
"You hide it
well,” Sabre said. “That's the sort of thing I'd expect from
Tassin, not you."
"Tassin loves
you... and so do I."
Tarl’s bald
statement surprised Sabre, who tilted his head with a smile.
"Don't get me
wrong,” Tarl added, “I'm talking about brotherly love, bud. Good
friends feel it too. It's just different."
"I'm glad to
hear it. So I should feel it for you as well?"
"I'd like you
to, but it's not... something I'd expect from you. Not yet, anyway.
I'd say it's probably a little harder for you."
Sabre nodded,
releasing him. "I'm not sure how I feel about you. Sometimes I
think I still hate you."
"You're
conflicted. That's normal. I represent all that you hate, yet I'm
your friend."
"Do you think
my feelings are real, or imaginary?"
"Oh, they're
real," Tarl assured him. "Did they tell you that you weren't
capable of true emotions?"
"Yeah."
"They're lying
bastards. I hope Fairen condemns the whole lot of them."
Sabre picked
up his vest and pulled it on. "It wasn't Grundel who told me that,
it was his commander. Grundel didn't want to talk to me at
all."
"No, he
wouldn't.”
The cyber
looked Tarl up and down, amused by the prospect of the
mild-tempered, middle-aged tech trying to beat someone up. It
should prove to be entertaining, he thought, and he was curious to
see it. "Come on, let's go and see him."
"We're
supposed to meet Fairen for drinks in his suite."
Sabre headed
for the door. "This won't take long."
It took almost
half an hour of tramping along apparently endless stretches of
black, velvet-lined corridors and two trips in high-speed lifts
into the bowels of the ship to find the place where Fairen kept his
prisoners. The Scorpion Ship was extremely well maintained, Sabre
noted, and its interior bore no sign of wear and tear, despite its
age. That was not really surprising, with its population of over a
hundred and fifty thousand, quite a few of whom, he guessed, worked
on maintenance crews. The two black and red-uniformed guards
outside the confinement area eyed Tarl and Sabre when they arrived,
having found their way through the massive ship with directions
from various crewmen.
"We want to
see the prisoners," Tarl said.
"Do you have
Overlord Fairen's permission?" one guard asked.
Tarl glanced
at Sabre. "He'll give it."
"But he must
be consulted."
"Then do
it."
The guard went
over to a communications link on the wall, keyed it and spoke into
it. A few minutes passed before it beeped, and he listened to the
reply.
He faced them
once more. "Overlord Fairen gives his permission, but he will be
joining you. You must wait."
Sabre smiled.
"He doesn't like to miss anything, does he?"
Ten minutes
later, Fairen arrived, accompanied by Commander Shrain, Cyber Two
and four soldiers. The guards bowed low, as did Tarl.
Fairen's vivid
eyes sparkled with excitement, and he cast Sabre an accusing look.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to confront your
tormentors?"
"It wasn't my
idea. Tarl wants a word with the technician."
Fairen looked
at Tarl. "Just to talk to him?"
"No."
"Ah. Good,
let's go in." Fairen donned his veiled hood and led them past the
sentries into a long corridor lined with glass-fronted cells, where
another guard patrolled. He stepped aside and bowed as Fairen swept
past, and the Overlord led them to a cell at the far end of the
passage. Sabre recognised Commander Barrin, Grundel, and the two
technicians who had been in the examination room. The other three
were strangers. The door slid aside at Fairen's gesture, and Tarl
entered the cell, Sabre following. Grundel, who sat on the bench at
the back of the room, stood up, eyeing Sabre with deep unease.
Tarl
approached him, drawing his attention. "Don't worry about him. He's
not
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