The Cyber Chronicles IX - Precipice Read Online Free PDF Page A

Jorran. "He didn't care if I suffered. I was an
annoyance. He wanted to save himself the cost of the security
necessary to keep me subdued."
    Fairen nodded.
"I know. While Jorran has been very careful so far to stick to the
truth, and he tried to hide it well, that last answer was a lie."
He faced Jorran again. "You cannot lie to an Overlord. You should
know that."
    "I have been
made to feel nothing for them, My Lord. How can I do my job if I
pity them?"
    "Then you
should have found a better job."
    Fairen tugged
off his right glove and placed it on the throne as the tension rose
and Jorran gulped. Fairen walked to the edge of the dias and
stretched out his hand towards the Cybercorp department head, who
closed his eyes and screwed up his face. The young Overlord stood
motionless for only a moment before lowering his hand and rubbing
it on his robe.
    "You have a
mind like a sewer; full of hatred, ambition and malevolence.
Touching it makes me feel unclean. I judge you to be guilty."
    Jorran sagged,
bowed his head and snivelled.
    Fairen turned
away. "Sabre will choose your punishment."
    The cyber
looked up. "I choose death."
    "Death is the
only choice, but how?"
    "Let his crime
decide his punishment."
    Fairen nodded,
looking down at Jorran again. "You will be taken from here and
burnt with a flamethrower for six minutes, then your mind will be
destroyed with drugs. Then you will be put to death."
    Jorran sobbed
as guards dragged him away, shaking his head in desperate denial.
Everyone knew, however, that there was no hope of reprieve from an
Overlord’s condemnation. As the door shut behind them, Fairen
addressed the air.
    "Where are
Parvan and Prello?"
    "They will be
here in eight days, My Lord," Shrain's voice replied.
    Fairen sighed,
making the veils that hid his face billow. "Very well. We will
reconvene in eight days. Accommodate our guests."
    The Overlord
strode out through the door that led to his private rooms. When
Sabre followed, he found the boy leaning against the drinks
counter, rubbing his face.
    "Are you okay?"
Sabre asked.
    Fairen shook
his head. "His mind was like a foetid pit."
    Sabre put his
arm around the boy’s shoulders, and Fairen sagged against him with
a sigh. After a minute he pulled away, and Sabre ruffled his
hair.
    "Better?"
    "Yes."
    "Did you have
to judge him?"
    "To condemn
him, yes."
    Sabre poured a
thick drink and handed it to Fairen. "Who will carry out Jorran's
execution?"
    "I have
executioners, unless you want to do it?"
    "No."
    "I didn't think
so." Fairen went to the couch and flopped into it. "Now we have to
wait. I hope no more emergencies come up."
    "Me too. Kole's
leaving for Omega Five soon. Any reason why he shouldn't?"
    "No, he can
go." Fairen sipped his drink. "Are you going to look after the two
techs?"
    Sabre poured
himself a fruit juice and sat on the settee opposite. "I don't
know. I really could do without the aggravation, but they did save
me."
    "Yes. A hard
choice. Send them away, and live with the guilt if they're killed,
or protect them and suffer the consequences."
    "Yeah, I guess
I'll have to look after them. Tarl will be pissed off."
    Fairen
chuckled. "He won't have you all to himself anymore, and you'll
have three cyber techs to look after you."
    "Oh, I don't
think Martis and Estrelle will go out of their way to look after
me. They're good people, but... apart from getting me off Myon Two,
they haven't helped much since."
    The young
Overlord looked thoughtful. "They're shallow people, spurred into
action by great suffering, but I suspect a large part of their
reason for saving you was that they were the ones who would have
had to torture you, and they didn't want to do that."
    "You're the
empath, you should know."
    "I'm guessing.
I haven't judged them," Fairen said.
    "You could keep
them here; see if they can find a way to free Vorn."
    "You're just
trying to fob them off, and it won't work. My people assure me that
they've thought of everything, and they're good at what