Free The Cyber Chronicles VI - Warrior Breed by T C Southwell Page A

glanced
over at the big mercenary. "Still alive."
    "Bring her to
me."
    "She's better
off here."
    "Bring her, or
I will."
    "Okay, okay."
Tarl carried Tassin over to Sabre and placed her in his arms. Sabre
held her close, restrained her thrashing arms and stroked tangled
hair from her face. Tarl squatted and watched him, his heart heavy.
Sabre's skin was flushed now, and the brow band still blazed red.
His core temperature had stabilised at one hundred and twenty-one,
dangerous even for a cyber. The air conditioning was on full, and
the pod was freezing, but sweat still poured off him, and he drank
copious amounts of water in addition to the drip. Tarl knew it was
only a matter of time before he succumbed as well, then Sabre would
be on his own.
    "Start the
transfusion," Sabre said, breaking into Tarl's reverie.
    Tarl's heart
leapt with hope. "You've developed antibodies?"
    "I don't know,
but it will still help her."
    "No, those
drugs I gave you won't be good for her. They'll interfere with her
immune system."
    "It doesn't
matter; her system won't be able to cope anyway. Mine's
battling."
    Tarl flexed
his hands, which tingled. "I'm starting to get symptoms, too."
    "You'll have
to wait. You've had the least exposure."
    "But you need
me to -"
    "Just do
it."
    Tarl rose and
dug a transfusion kit out of the locker, inserted the needle at one
end into Sabre's arm and the other into Tassin's while he held her
still. Bright blood flowed through the tube, and Tarl monitored it,
his head aching with stress and worry. A cyber's blood was a
precious resource, filled with rare antibodies and genetically
enhanced properties that it passed to its benefactor for the time
it remained in their system.
    "Have any
chemical changes occurred in your body?" he asked.
    Sabre looked
down at his reddened arm. "No."
    "So your
immune system is holding the virus at bay, but hasn't found a way
to beat it yet."
    "So it would
seem."
    "What's your
bio-status?"
    "Seventy-two
per cent."
    Tarl nodded.
"Not too bad."
    After a few
minutes, Tarl switched off the transfusion, and Tassin grew still,
her skin ashen. Sabre lay back, closing his eyes. Tarl examined
Tassin, who had fallen into a coma like Kernan, and found that the
skin on her midriff had turned pink.
    "Your blood's
fighting for her, too."
    "Good."
    "Perhaps if I
had some now, I could avoid the coma. You might need me."
    Sabre nodded.
"Go ahead."
    Tarl pulled
the needle from Tassin's arm and inserted it into his own, starting
the transfusion again. Within minutes his hands burnt and the skin
reddened. He switched off the transfusion and settled down to
wait.
    "Water," Sabre
muttered.
    Tarl held the
cup to Sabre’s lips while he gulped it down, then the cyber settled
back again. Tarl’s head spun and his arms burnt. Sabre continued to
pant, his condition unchanged as his immune system put up a
Herculean fight against the alien virus.
    Tarl glanced
around when Kernan gasped and began to breathe normally again,
colour returning to his skin. A brief examination found that his
temperature was rising back to normal, as was his heartbeat. Kernan
opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.
    "Hey man, how
are you feeling?" Tarl enquired, relieved that the alien virus
appeared to be non-fatal.
    "Wonderful."
Kernan sat up, rubbing his face. "Bloody marvellous, actually. How
long have I been out?"
    "About four
hours."
    "Wow." Kernan
glanced at Sabre and Tassin. "What's wrong with them?"
    "They have the
virus, too. So do I."
    "Virus?"
    "Yeah, the
beast that licked you gave you a virus." Tarl told him what had
happened while he had been unconscious, and Kernan rubbed his head.
At the end of the tale, Sabre opened his eyes and studied
Kernan.
    "Fifty per
cent of your body is now made up of alien chemicals."
    "But I feel
great. A bit hungry, though."
    "There's food
bars in the locker," Tarl offered.
    Kernan shook
his head, rose and crawled out into the sunshine. The beasts
greeted him with soft whickers and coos, and