The Cyber Chronicles IX - Precipice Read Online Free

followed.
    The boy sat on
one of the soft white couches, and glanced up at Sabre’s entry,
looking tired.
    Sabre settled
opposite and poured a glass of fruit juice from the decanter on the
low coffee table between the sofas. "Will that stop him?"
    "Probably not.
He'll just make sure no blame can be assigned to him, then threaten
to kill any future friend I might have if I kill or cripple his.
When you take on an Overlord, you must expect a grim battle of
wills, even if you're an Overlord yourself. The only way I can
ensure your safety is if you stay with me."
    "I'm sorry it's
causing you so much... strife."
    "It's not your
fault that he's such a stubborn, selfish bastard."
    Sabre leant
back. "This has been quite a day. Is it always this busy?"
    "Yes, pretty
much. Sometimes I have a few quiet days, but not often. There are
about fifteen million stars in this galaxy, with ten planets each,
on average, and one per cent of them are inhabited. That's a lot of
people for just seven Overlords to oversee."
    "Why don't you
build more ships and have more Overlords?"
    "It's not a
shortage of ships; it's a shortage of Overlords. Of the seven,
currently only two have apprentices, and that's nowhere near
enough. Empaths are rare, and finding them is hard."
    "You have
people searching?"
    Fairen nodded.
"All the time. Too often we find them when they're too old. They
must be children, or at least young adults."
    Sabre consulted
the control unit's clock. "We still have an hour to make it to Myon
Two before the enforcers."
    "Yes." Fairen
raised his head and addressed the air. "Translocate to Myon
Two."
    "You're not too
tired?"
    "If I don't do
this now, something else will come up. I'm fine." Fairen poured
himself a drink, this one a rich, lumpy brew, which looked like a
meal in a glass.
    "Translocating
in one minute," Scorpio said, and the dull booms and distant groans
echoed through the ship once more.
     

 
     
    Chapter Two
     
    President
Atrashka looked up from the multitude of vidrecords and data wands
strewn across his polished ebony desk as his assistant burst into
his office, flapping his hands.
    "Sir! Sir,
there's a..." The gangly, balding man gulped, looking hunted.
    "A what?"
Atrashka demanded. "Spit it out, man, I hate guessing games."
    "A..." The
assistant tapped a keypad on the Myon Two president's desk. The
vidscreen on the far wall came to life, and an announcer spoke in a
rapid, alarmed tone. The image that appeared was of a colossal
blood-red ship going into orbit over Myon Two's pearly globe, other
ships darting away from it.
    The assistant
waved at the screen. "An Overlord, Sir."
    Atrashka stared
at it, his stomach clenched. "The Red Death. Oh, god, what has some
fool done to piss off Overlord Fairen now?"
    "It's the
Scorpion Lord, sir, the same one who -"
    "I know.
Dammit! Get my best suit, hurry!"
    The man ran to
the walk-in vry wood wardrobe and rummaged in it as Atrashka
stripped off his shirt, listening to the announcer.
    "...Just seven
months ago, the Scorpion Lord threatened to destroy Myon Two if his
friend was not found. Now he's back, and speculation is rife as to
his reasons this time. Most feel that the Cyber Centre is to blame,
and are calling for an investigation into the goings on there.
President Atrashka will be summoned to face Overlord Fairen
momentarily, we expect, and once more will have to endure the wrath
of the most feared Overlord of all, known as the Red Death..."
    Atrashka
switched the screen off. His assistant hurried over, clutching a
clean white shirt, blue and gold-striped tie and dark blue suit,
which Atrashka snatched from him and pulled on.
     
    ****
     
    Fairen gazed at
the pale planet, his brow furrowed. Ships fled from orbits nearby,
moving into space to wait. They were forbidden to leave the
vicinity while an Overlord was there, but clearly wished to put as
much distance between themselves and the Scorpion Ship as they
could. Any ship attempting to leave would be destroyed, and