The Abyss of Time

Chapter Four

     Rogers' phone lit up and a message appeared on the screen. He breathed a sigh of relief. "We've jumped," he said, rather unnecessarily. The jump had almost thrown him out of his hammock. "Successfully."

     "Good," said Karalis. Around him, the cyborgs were already climbing out of their hammocks and gathering up their weapons and equipment. They then formed rows like soldiers on parade, standing to attention.

     "Gomez," said the Colonel. "Your team take engineering. Trombetta, take Environment. Sunakh, take the armoury. I'll lead my team to Operations. Zhengzgi, your team stays here to guard our equipment."

     "What about me?" asked Rogers. "When do I get what you promised?"

     "As soon as they're done." Karalis indicated where the Captain and the security guard were lying on the floor, seemingly comatose. The crate the cyborgs had so carefully brought aboard had been opened and the equipment inside had been assembled into a spidery apparatus that stood against the wall. Wires ran from it to the shaved heads of the two captives. "They're only getting the servitor implants. It only takes five minutes. You'll get the full upgrade. As promised."

     Rogers nodded. One thing all the legends agreed on was that Colonel Karalis kept his promises.

     "Okay," said the Colonel. "Let's go."

     The three squads of cyborgs hefted their weapons and filed out of the room, heading for the travel rail on which three cars were waiting. Each squad squeezed into a separate car and they sped off. Two forward, into the same hole in the wall. The other back, three hundred metres to the other side of the cargo bay, where it disappeared into another hole.

     Rogers watched them go, quivering with anxiety and impatience. Then he returned to where one of the remaining cyborgs was making an adjustment to the Conversion equipment and watched. Me soon, he thought. Soon, the nightmare will be over.

☆☆☆

     Miller's car had almost reached the cargo bay when it slowed and stopped, sliding across into an alcove to allow another car to pass. No, two cars, Miller realised, feeling two sets of vibrations as the vehicles passed him by. Why two?

     One car might be the Captain returning to the Operations room. Miller would have been pleased and relieved to hear it pass, but who was in the second car? Robert Holland? But he'd be heading back to the engineering sections surely and that would have taken his car along a different track. If Holland had been going forward, like the Captain, why hadn't they been in the same car? It could have made two stops to drop them off in different places.

     Instincts that had saved his life many times during the Cyborg war took over and suddenly he was fully alert with anxiety. Dammit, he'd known the Captain's voice hadn't sounded right. He knew what a cyborg-simulated voice sounded like. He'd heard plenty of them, after all. There were cyborgs aboard his ship!

     He pulled his phone from his belt and pushed the panic button as the car resumed its journey. "Lock down the ship," he said. "There are hostiles aboard. Prepare to repel boarders. The Captain has been compromised. Accept no orders from him. Security, arm yourselves. Send a squad of men to cargo bay one."

     The car reached its destination and Miller leapt out, running for the cover of a crate of equipment. The same crate the Captain had sheltered behind just a few minutes earlier. He was just in time. His voice had been heard all over the ship, including the storage room in which the Captain was being converted. The cyborgs Karalis had left behind came running out, their camera eyes searching for enemies.

     Miller saw one of the tasers the guards had dropped, lying nearby on the floor. It wasn't much of a weapon but he scooped it up nonetheless. A cyborg came into view and he aimed and fired. The cyborg quivered momentarily, just long enough for Miller to run forward and snatch the sidearm from its belt. He shot the cyborg, then picked up its P16. The two handed weapon that was its main armament, looking like an ancient twenty first century machine gun.