if we get separated? What if we can only use it a few times before it burns us out? There's a lot we don't know about our new selves, and that includes our limitations.'
'I agree,' said Moon. 'The odds are not good. We can't afford to rely on powers and abilities we don't fully understand yet. So, you people keep them busy, and I will press on to the Tomb of the Hadenmen. Only my people can help us now.'
And as suddenly as that he was off and running, darting silently between the rubble of devastated buildings before disappearing into the shadows. It was all over so quickly they didn't even have the time to call after him before he was gone.
'Well, that's just great,' Hazel said disgustedly. 'There goes our force shield, for a start.'
'And our greatest fighter,' said Random. 'I told you before, you can never trust a Hadenmen to follow orders. They always have their own private agenda.'
'Let him go,' said Giles. 'At least we don't have to watch our back anymore. The Imperial forces are moving. We'd better find some cover before they get close enough to spot us.'
The rebels moved on into the ruined city, taking up positions behind fallen stones and in darkened doorways. They watched silently as the Imperial forces moved slowly out across the bare plain where the Maze had once been, and their fingers curled impatiently around triggers. Owen hefted his projectile weapon uncertainly. He still wasn't sure how he felt about it. The gun had several obvious advantages, but when all was said and done, it was no use at all against a force shield. That was why it had been superceded by the disrupter in the first place. But Giles had faith in them, and he was after all the original Deathstalker, the greatest warrior of his day. Owen sighed quietly and sank back into his doorway. Guns were all very well, but those were Wampyr out there on the plain, a small army of them. Walking nightmares, fast and strong and unstoppable by anything except a direct hit with an energy weapon. And then the forces stopped, halfway across, and gathered around something they'd found. Even though Owen couldn't see it, he knew what it had to be. The Darkvoid Device, sleeping in its crystal, untouched by the vicious force that had swept the Madness Maze away so casually. Hazel stirred behind her pile of rubble not far away.
'The Tomb of the Hadenmen isn't far from here,' she said quietly. 'I can feel it, on the edge of my mind. Cold and metal and unforgiving.'
'Right,' said Owen. 'Which means we can't allow any of these people to get past us. Moon is going to need all the uninterrupted time we can buy him to wake his people.'
'I'm still not sure I like the idea of that,' said Ruby Journey, crouching behind an overturned brass pillar. 'I mean…
'I know what you mean,' said Random, 'but if there's one thing I've learned as a lifetime rebel, it's that you can't always choose your allies.'
'Keep your attention on the Imperial forces,' said Giles, invisible in the shadows of a deep doorway. 'They'll be within range soon.'
'So will the Hadenmen,' said Ruby. 'Moon might be straight, but… we could end up with Wampyr in front of us and Hadenmen behind, with nowhere for us to run.'
'Oh, stop moaning,' said Hazel. 'Since when have you ever run away from a good fight?'
'It's the principle of the thing,' said Ruby. 'I like to have the choice.'
'You were never that hot on principles, either. The Madness Maze must have changed you more than we thought.'
Owen grinned, listening to the two friends squabble amicably. It was a moment of warmth and sanity in an increasingly insane situation. He'd come a long way from the young historian who'd just wanted to be left alone, happy in his obscurity on a backwater planet. Now here he was, allied with Wolflings and Hadenmen and living legends, planning to lead a rebellion against the greatest and most powerful Empire that Humanity had ever known. Talk about delusions of grandeur. But looking back at the twists and turns his life had taken recently, there wasn't much he would have done differently. Except for the young girl he'd crippled on Mistworld. He'd see her face till the day he died.
But he was where he was, with an enemy before him and an unknown factor behind him, and if he was going to die, he could at least die well, like a Deathstalker should. For all his faults, he'd always liked to think of himself as an honorable man. He smiled suddenly, as a thought struck him.
'Giles, assuming by some miracle we get out of this alive and more or less intact, how about we change our Family name to something a little more positive and upbeat? I mean, Deathstalker really is a bloody gloomy name when you think about it.'
Then don't think about it,' Giles said calmly. 'Deathstalker's a good name. I chose it myself. It's got style.'
They'll never get it on your headstone,' said Hazel. 'Too many letters.'
'Heads up,' said Random. 'They're in range now. Won't he long before their sensors detect us.'
'Right,' said Ruby. 'I think the dance is about to begin. Choose your partners carefully and don't do anything your mother would approve of.'
'All this time without a single smile, and now she develops a sense of humor,' said Random. 'And a twisted one at that.'
'Shut up and pick your targets,' said Owen. 'Let's see if we can get some of them before they can get us.'
'Damn right,' said Hazel. She stood up suddenly, gripped her biggest projectile weapon firmly and set it against her shoulder, and opened fire. The recoil sent her staggering backward, but the spray of bullets swept across the massed Wampyr and knocked several of them off their feet. The rest of the Imperial party quickly raised their force shields and returned fire with their energy weapons. Hazel dived for cover, and Owen kept his head well down till the barrage was over. He counted to five, just in case, and then raised his head and snapped off a shot with his disrupter. It ricocheted from a force shield and disappeared off into the darkness. More energy bolts stabbed out from the rebel positions to equal lack of effect. A force shield would go down if you hit it often enough with an energy bolt, but the rebels didn't have that much firepower, and the Empire forces knew it. They waited for the rebel's disrupters to fall silent, and then charged the rebel positions for some sword to sword contact before the energy crystals could recharge. And the rebels stood up and let fly with their projectile weapons.
The roar of the bullets caught the marines and the Wampyr by surprise. Some had even lowered their force shields to save energy, and the bullets tore them apart with bloody thoroughness. The rest kept coming, sheltering behind their shields, desperate to get to close quarters and fighting they understood. The Security Officer spoke to his massive alien companion, and it sprinted forward ahead of the rest, bullets ricocheting harmlessly from its silicon armor. Owen jumped out of his doorway to meet it, sword in hand, and the alien sent him sprawling with a casual backhand slap before running past the rebels and on into the city.
'It's gone after Moon!' said Hazel.
'Let it,' said Owen, sitting up and spitting blood from a split lip. 'Moon's probably the only one of us who could take it, anyway.'
And then the Empire forces were upon them, almost halved by the unexpected projectile weapons, but just that much more furious and determined. The rebels rose from their hiding places, discarded the guns as too dangerous to use against force shields in close quarters, and went to meet the enemy sword in hand. At the end, it was what they knew and trusted. Steel rang on steel, and the air was full of the sound of conflict.
Owen found himself face-to-face with the Captain, and they circled each other cautiously, searching for an opening. Their blades slammed together and then sprang apart, and they went back to circling each other, their eyes cold and focused. Hazel and the Investigator stood toe-to-toe and hammered away at each other with their swords, neither giving an inch. Around these two conflicts, the surviving Wampyr attacked the remaining rebels with savage strength and speed, and were astonished to find themselves met with equal force and fury. Jack Random, Ruby Journey and Giles Deathstalker had survived the Madness Maze, and they were as inhuman now as the Wampyr themselves. The old Deathstalker moved among the Wampyr with deadly speed, black blood flying from his blade. He was the first and foremost Warrior Prime of the Empire, brought to the peak of his potential, and no one could stand against him. He cut a vicious path through his foes, human and inhuman, killing all in impunity, unstoppable, in his element at last.
Random and Ruby stood back-to-back and fought on against a seemingly endless supply of enemies. Random felt like a young man again, strong and sure, his sword an extension of his will. It seemed to him he had never
