she was an action person, and most of the time really didn't have anything to say. But Jack persevered on the grounds that anything that might take his mind off what he was eating had to be a good thing, and they talked on and off for a while, mostly swapping anecdotes on particular fights and battles and the best ways to kill people.
'Why did you become a bounty hunter in the first place?' said Random eventually. 'It's not an occupation that appeals to everybody.'
'I was good at it,' said Ruby. 'And the alternatives were worse. Can you see me sitting at a desk in sensible clothes shuffling files, or married to some dirt farmer with a dozen kids hanging from my apron strings?'
'Not really, no.'
'Damn right They married me off at fourteen to the local collector of the water rates. It was either that or one of my cousins. He was big and heavy, with clammy hands. He thought it was fun to knock me about. He did other things, too. I waited till he was asleep one night, and then stabbed him in the throat with a carving knife. I watched him die. It took quite a long time. That was when I first realized I had a taste for excitement. I gathered up everything valuable that wasn't nailed down, torched the place and ran for the starport. I've been on my own ever since, and I like it that way. Less complicated.'
'Have you done much work for the Empire?'
'Sure. They're the ones paying the bounties, mostly. But I'm not prejudiced. I'll work for anyone with money.'
'So what are you doing with us?'
'I never could resist a challenge. Besides, I was promised all the loot I could handle. Not that I've seen any of it yet.'
'How did you get to be friends with Hazel?'
'You're just full of questions, aren't you?' Ruby took a long drink from her bottle. 'Ran across her in Mistport, when we were both down on her luck. She got me out of a close call and pretty much adopted me. I didn't get a say in the matter. I'd have dumped her years ago, but there are times when it's good to have someone you can trust to guard your back. Time for you to answer some questions. How did you get to be a professional rebel?'
'I'm surprised you haven't heard. It was quite a famous story, in its day. But I suppose that was some time ago, and my legend isn't as respected as it once was. I was a lesser son of a lesser House, of no importance to anyone, not even myself. I drank, played cards, tried a little of this and little of that, running up debts all the way. Then I got a serving maid pregnant, and my Family sent me to run a mining planet out near the Rim to keep me out of trouble. Planet called Trigann. Horrible place.
'I'd never been outside my pampered world before, and the reality of how the other ninety-seven percent live horrified me. The conditions the miners lived in, and the way they and their families were treated, were a disgrace even by Imperial standards, so instead of stamping out their rebellion, I joined it and somehow ended up leading the damn thing. And like you, I found something I was good at and decided to stick with it.
'So I went from planet to planet, preaching insurrection, and raising armies to protect the weak and the powerless, and punish the guilty. The odds were always against us, but we won a few, now and then. Enough to make me a legend and a rallying point throughout the Empire.'
'Until they caught you.'
'Yes. I was getting old and slow, and I trusted the wrong people. I've always been too trusting.' He sat quietly for a long time, staring at the half-eaten cube in his hands as though it could tell him something. 'They broke me,' he said finally. 'I was so sure I'd rather die first, but no, they broke me. I would have said anything, done anything, betrayed anyone, just so they wouldn't hurt me anymore.'
'But you didn't.'
'No. Turned out I still had a few real friends after all. They got me out, though most of them died during it. I never even knew their names.'
Ruby nodded once. 'Everyone breaks, in the end.'
'Yes. Even legends like Jack Random. Sometimes I think he died in that cell, and there's nothing left now but his shadow. My real friends hadn't give up on me, but I gave up on them. I wouldn't lead their rebellion, I wouldn't help them fight. I didn't want to do anything but hide in a dark room where my tormentors couldn't find me. After a while, my friends realized I was no use to them and never would be, but they still didn't give up on me. They smuggled me to Mistworld, the one place where the Empire wouldn't follow me. A place where everyone has secrets, but nobody cares. I dived into the shadows and disappeared there. I took a new name. It wasn't difficult. I didn't look much like a legend anymore. I quite liked being Jobe Ironhand. No one expected anything from him.'
'All that time, hiding in plain sight,' said Ruby. 'I spent a lot of time looking for you. I could have used the money. And there you were, right under my nose.' She smiled briefly. 'I'm glad I didn't find you then. I would have been so disappointed. You're different, now.'
Random raised an eyebrow. 'I am?'
'Sure. You're waking up. You aren't what you used to be, but you're getting there. What did it, Random? What lured you back into the spotlight?'
'You want the truth? I was bored. Simple as that. I'm still scared most of the time, and my hands shake when they think I'm not looking, but anything's better than pushing that damn broom around. There were quite a few days when even death seemed better than that. So here I am, one last tight for an old champion well past his prime.'
'You did well enough in the jungle,' said Ruby. 'Lots of people wouldn't have survived to reach the Standing. Don't talk yourself down, Random. I never had much use for legends. I killed a lot of them, looking for one real one, but they died as easily as anyone else. You impress me a lot more than most of them.'
'Thank you,' said Random. 'Good thing you didn't find me. It would have been such a pity if I'd killed you before I got to know you.'
Ruby grinned briefly and offered him her bottle. 'Drink?'
'Wish I could. My system can't handle it anymore. Kidneys took a few beatings too many. You drink. I'll enjoy it vicariously.'
'You feel that way about all your pleasures?'
'Not necessarily,' said Random. 'If I was just twenty years younger, I'd chase you round this table a few times.'
'Great,' said Hazel, from the doorway. 'Just what we needed. A drunken bounty hunter and a horny legend. The Imperial troops will take one look and piss themselves from sheer terror.'
'I admire the man's courage,' said Owen, beside her. 'I wouldn't want to get within ten feet of Ruby Journey without a chair and a whip.'
'Always knew you aristos were into the kinky stuff,' said Ruby. 'I'd offer you a drink, but I've only got the one bottle.'
'I'll join you,' said Hazel. 'I could use a drink of something even halfway decent.'
'Ah, yes,' said Random. 'You always did have a weakness for drink, as I recall.'
Hazel looked at him. 'You recall? I wasn't aware we'd met before.'
'It was some time ago, on Mistworld. Someone recognized me and invited me to dinner. And I went because I was hungry. You were working for my host as a ladies' maid. They were short of staff, and they pressed you into service at the dinner table.'
Ruby's head came up, and she looked at Hazel with a slow grin spreading across her face. 'You were a ladies' maid. Hazel?'
'How the hell would you remember me?' said Hazel, glaring at Random.
'I have an excellent memory for faces. Besides, you spilled most of a bottle of rather good port over me. Ruined the last good pair of trousers I had.'
'You were a ladies' maid?' said Ruby.
Hazel scowled. 'I said I was sorry.'
'No, you didn't. You said—
'Never mind what I said!'
'You brought it up.'
'You were a
'Sure,' said Random. 'She looked very pretty in the uniform, too.'
