swept forward, and Owen boosted and went to meet it sword in hand. He was a Deathstalker, and the alien was about to find out what that meant.
He swung his sword at the alien's neck with all his boosted strength, and the blade shattered against the unyielding armor. The aliens' hands shot out and fastened onto his shoulders. Blood coursed down his arms as the claws sank deeply into his flesh and grated on bone. The creature tried to pull him closer, within reach of its horrid jaws, and Owen slammed the hand still holding the stub of his sword against the alien's chest. His boosted muscles strained against the alien's strength, but still he was pulled closer, inch by inch. Any other man would have been dead by now, and even with his boost and what the Maze had done to him, Owen was still a man and saw his death in the alien's unblinking crimson eyes.
He glanced down at the hole in the alien's gut. At least Moon had hurt it. An idea came to him, and he acted on it quickly before he could think about the implications too much. He grabbed a grenade from his pocket, primed it, and thrust it deep into the hole in the alien's gut. He let go of it, but before he could withdraw his hand, the sides of the hole clamped shut on his wrist. Owen tried to pull free and couldn't. So he gathered all his boosted strength and cut down savagely with the stub of blade in his other hand. The jagged steel tore through his wrist, severing his hand, and Owen threw himself backward, out of the alien's reach. It brought its clawed hands to the hole in its gut, and the grenade, still wrapped in Owen's hand, exploded.
White hot flames burned the alien inside and out, and the internal pressure blew the grinning head right off its shoulders. The body staggered back and forth for a long moment, its arms reaching out blindly, and then the strength went out of it suddenly, and it fell to the floor and lay still.
Owen squeezed the stump of his wrist tightly with his other hand, shuddering uncontrollably. The blood jetted out at first, far further than he'd have thought possible, but it soon died away to a bare trickle. There was something he had to do. Something important. His gaze wandered back and forth, and finally stumbled over Moon's decapitated head lying by the control panels. Owen shuffled forward on his knees through his own blood, still tightly gripping his wrist. The Hadenmen. He had to wake the Hadenmen. Hazel was depending on him. He reached the control panels and used them to pull himself to his feet. He leaned on it tiredly for a moment, spattering it with blood from his dripping wrist, and studied the controls. They made no sense to him at all. He glared down at Moon's head, stooped down and picked it up with his remaining hand, so he could glare into its empty eyes.
'Moon, you bastard! What do I do? How do I awaken them? Tell me!'
A faint golden glow appeared in Moon's eyes. His lips moved, and Owen lifted the head so that its mouth was by his ear. And very softly he heard Moon whisper, '
Not all that long after, Owen sat quietly beside the dead Wampyr while Hazel fashioned a makeshift tourniquet around his left wrist. The wound seemed to have sealed itself, another legacy of the change the Maze had wrought in him, but Hazel wasn't taking any chances. Giles was talking quietly with Captain Silence and Investigator Frost, disarmed and under guard by half a dozen unsmiling Hadenmen. Jack Random and Ruby Journey lay side by side on stretchers, also talking quietly. The Hadenmen had got to them while sparks of life still remain in them both and then machines had repaired the damaged bodies with impressive speed. Ruby and Random were still very weak and would be for some time to come, but apparently they were expected to make a full recovery. Owen made the Hadenmen examine Moon, but they said it was too late for him. Owen told them how Moon had come back from the shores of death to give him the necessary codes to awaken them, and they nodded politely and told him to rest.
He'd half expected the augmented men to kill him when they first emerged from their Tomb, but for the moment at least, they couldn't do enough for their savior. They were tall and perfect and moved with inhuman grace, their eyes blazing like suns. They stopped the fighting in time to save Giles from the three remaining Wampyr. Hazel and Frost had practically dueled each other to exhaustion, and had to be almost pried apart, but the Investigator had still wanted to fight when she saw the Hadenmen. In the end, Silence had to order her to give up her sword. And as easily as that, it was all over.
Owen looked at the body of the Lord High Dram. Giles had gone to kneel beside it the moment the Hadenmen had led the three Wampyr away. He looked up when Owen joined him and said simply, 'Grieve, kinsman. One of our Family is dead.' He hadn't explained any further, and Owen hadn't pressed him. It could wait. Lots of things could wait now. He looked across at Ruby and Random as Random turned his head slowly to smile at her.
'Looks like we'll get to be part of the great rebellion after all. I wouldn't have put money on it. Still, think of the glory.'
Ruby sniffed. 'Think of the loot.'
'That, too,' said Jack Random.
Owen would have liked to laugh, but he didn't have the strength. Hazel finished fussing with the tourniquet and looked at him sternly.
'You should really dive into that regeneration machine of yours, or let the Hadenmen repair you.'
Owen shook his head. 'I don't trust that machine after what Oz had it do to us. Who knows what other mental traps he might have programmed into it, or us? And I'm not sure I trust the Hadenmen that much, either. My body will heal itself in time. I can feel it. Now help me up, there's a dear. I want to talk to the Captain.'
Hazel got him to his feet, and he walked more or less steadily over to Silence and Frost. Giles nodded and moved off to stand by Dram's body. The Investigator glared at Owen coldly, but the Captain inclined his head slightly. The Hadenmen had repaired his nose, but there was still a massive dark bruise between his eyes.
'You're really not very impressive, Deathstalker, to have led the Empire such a chase.'
'I'll try harder,' said Owen. 'Now pay attention. You and the Investigator are being allowed to return to the Empire alive for a reason. We want you to tell the Iron Bitch that the rebellion has begun. The next time she sees us, we'll be leading an army specifically put together to kick her off the Iron Throne. Make her believe it. Captain. I want her to have plenty of time to squirm.'
'What about the Wampyr?' said Silence. 'They're a bit strange, but they're still my crew.'
'They're staying here. The Hadenmen are fascinated by them. Why did you destroy the Maze, Captain?'
'It was necessary. It was killing my people.'
'You don't know what you've done. It was a place of miracles, of possibilities. The future of Humanity.'
'What future has Humanity got if you lead the Hadenmen against the Empire?' Frost said harshly. 'You might as well side with Shub.'
'The Hadenmen… are not at all what I expected,' said Owen. 'The Empire has lied about many things. Maybe it lied about them, too. But don't worry. I'll keep an eye on them.'
'And what could you do to stop them?' said Silence.
'You'd be surprised,' said Hazel. 'The Maze changed us, Captain. We're a lot more than we used to be.'
'It's time for change,' said Owen. 'The Empire is corrupt from top to bottom. I can vouch for that personally.'
'Think about what you're doing, Deathstalker!' Captain Silence took a step toward him, then stopped as everyone's hands went to their guns. He made himself speak calmly and evenly. ' The Empire is currently under threat from two separate alien species, each of them possibly more technologically advanced than we are. Humanity itself is at risk. This is no time to fragment our attention and waste our resources.'
'There'll never be a better time,' said Hazel. 'Who knows, maybe the aliens will side with us.'
'You damned fools,' said Frost. 'I've seen one of the aliens. It made that creature the Deathstalker killed look like a wet-nosed puppy.'
'Then we'll deal with it when it appears,' said Hazel. 'Tell the Iron Bitch we're coming, Investigator.'
'And when you get there, I'll be waiting for you,' said Frost. 'I'll enjoy sticking your head on a pike, traitor.'
Owen looked at Silence. 'Is she usually this cheerful?'
Silence nodded solemnly. 'This is restrained, for her.'
They found themselves sharing an understanding look, while Hazel and Frost stared at them blankly.
'Don't judge us too harshly. Captain,' said Owen. 'We've been through a lot just recently. Lionstone has to
