Deathstalker

Ruby looked at him calmly. 'I made a good living hunting down the Empire's enemies. Outlaws. Now I am one. Funny how things change.'

'What changed you?'

Ruby smiled. 'Hazel's my friend. She hasn't the sense to come in out of the rain, but sometimes the rain follows you no matter where you go. The Empire wants her dead, I want her alive. So to hell with the Empire. Besides, I was promised as much loot as I can carry if we win, and you'd be surprised how much I can carry when I put my mind to it.'

Hazel smiled at her. 'Ruby. I never knew you cared so much.'

'Don't get cocky. If the reward on you had been just a little higher, things might have turned out differently.'

Giles turned back to Owen. 'If I led you to the Device, what would you do with it? It's not exactly a subtle weapon. You could use it to destroy whatever planet the Empress is currently using as a homeworld, but only by destroying a thousand other worlds with it. Could you do that? Create another Darkvoid, in the heart of the Empire?'

'You used it,' said Owen.

'And look what it did to me. I thought I had good reason. I was wrong. What about you, kinsman? What price will you pay to win?'

'I don't know. I've seen enough killing already, and none of it for a good enough reason.' The young girl lay crying in the bloody Mistworld snow, her legs crippled forever by his blade. 'Perhaps all I really want is to see the Device destroyed before the Empress can get her hands on it. She wouldn't hesitate to use it. I don't know, Giles. I can't make a decision like this. I'm just a historian, a hoarder of old books and records, not a warrior or a revolutionary. Ask Jack. Or Hazel. Ask anyone but me.'

'That's what I said,' said Giles Deathstalker. 'But in the end, I did what I thought I had to, and so will you when your time comes. I'll take you to the Device. And let us all pray we get there before the Empire does.'

'You have a ship?' said Hazel.

'Oh, yes,' said Giles. 'I have a ship.'

'How long will it take to power it up?' said Hazel. 'It's got to be in one hell of a state after spending so many centuries in mothballs.'

'My computers began bringing it back to life the moment I awakened,' said Giles. 'It's been well looked after. I always knew I might have to leave in a hurry.'

'Better be a fast ship,' said Ruby. 'Got a lot of determined people on our trail, most especially including the one in orbit.'

'And I must beg passage of you,' said Moon, and Giles looked at the augmented man interestedly. There had been a strange urgency in his grating, inhuman voice. 'My people were created on the lost world of Haden. It stayed lost because that was not its true name. And because it was lost in the Darkvoid. Before my creators found and transformed its interior, it was called the Wolfling World.'

'Now that's spooky,' said Hazel. 'The Darkvoid Device and the sleeping Hadenman army, both on the same planet? What are the chances of that?'

'Too damn small for my liking,' said Owen. 'If I didn't know better, I'd swear my father arranged it. It's the kind of thing he'd do.'

'It's far more likely that I didn't hide my trail as carefully as I thought I had,' said Giles. 'And if someone found the Wolfling World once, someone else might find it again. I think it's time we got moving.'

'Sounds good to me,' said Random. He looked round at the armory almost wistfully. 'You've got some wonderful toys here, Deathstalker. I could have used a collection like this many times, but weapons were always the most expensive part of a rebellion. Who were these supposed to be used against?'

'The same people I used the Device on. There was a rebellion against the Empire. Widespread, well funded, lots of weapons and men to use them. I destroyed them all in a moment. They weren't even offered a chance to surrender.'

'Wait a minute,' said Owen. 'That's not what it says in the official histories. The Device was only used after every other means had been exhausted. The Empire itself was in danger. That's why they used the Device.'

'Not they,' said Giles. 'Me. My finger on the button. There was no warning, no negotiations, and no danger to the Empire.'

'So why did you do it?' said Hazel.

'He was my Emperor.' Giles was quiet for a long moment, and nobody said anything. Finally he shrugged and smiled at Owen. 'Winners write the histories, kinsman. You should know that.'

On the starcruiser Dauntless, orbiting Shandrakor, Captain Silence studied his bridge viewscreen thoughtfully. According to his sensor probes, the whole planet was overrun with homicidal lifeforms wherever you looked. No civilizations, past or present. Except for a certain crashed starship, currently on the viewscreen. Investigator Frost stood at his side, silent and disapproving. She'd wanted to lead the away team that was investigating the wreck and was still sulking because he'd said no. He'd been tempted. If anyone could survive the slaughterhouse down there it was Frost. But if the outlaws got to another ship, the Dauntless might have to leave in a hurry to go after it, even if it meant abandoning the away team. Which meant he could only send down those people he could afford to lose. He sighed and made himself concentrate on the voice accompanying the viewscreen images.

'The ship… is a wreck. Extensive damage, before and after landing. No trace of any crew. Some human blood… not enough to be significant. The stardrive is missing. Cut out, very neatly. Professional. Somebody beat us to her. Captain.'

'Understood, Lieutenant. Continue your investigation. Captain out.' He turned away from the screen to look at Frost. 'What do you think, Investigator? Could there be people, even bases, on this planet that the Empire doesn't know about?'

'Possible, Captain.' Her voice was as cold and calm as always. 'They could be shielded against our sensors. That would require a great deal of power, though. Perhaps they live underground. It would make sense, given the surface conditions.'

'Captain!' said a voice excitedly. 'This is surveillance! We're picking something up on the planet's surface. Their shielding just dropped!'

Silence and Frost looked at the viewscreen again. The crashed ship had vanished, replaced by the image of an immense stone castle.

'What the hell is that?' said Silence.

'A castle, sometimes called a Standing, similar to those of the Empire aristocracy nine centuries ago,' said Frost. 'They were forbidden to anyone else on pain of death. I think we can now be pretty sure of what happened to the outlaws and their stardrive.'

'How far is it from the wreck site?'

'Half a mile, Captain,' said the surveillance officer. 'The away team would be butchered before they got half that distance without extra equipment.'

'He's right,' said Frost. 'You're going to need a full company of marines, armed and shielded to the teeth, and someone extremely experienced to lead them.'

'All right. Investigator, you've made your point.' Silence couldn't help smiling at her. 'You can lead the away team this time. Make the necessary arrangements.'

'It's time to go,' said Giles. 'I've dropped the Standing's shields to divert the extra power to the takeoff. I never really thought I'd leave this planet again, but I hoped. There's always hope.'

'How far is it to your ship?' Owen said quickly. He had a horrible suspicion his ancestor was about to get all sentimental on him, and he didn't think he could cope with that just at the moment. 'It better not be too far. With your shields down, we're a sitting target for the starcruiser up above.'

'It's not far,' said Giles, smiling slightly. 'Not far at all. Computers, begin liftoff procedures.'

Owen looked blankly at his ancestor as the room began to shake and rumble around him. Far below, under his feet, he could hear the building roar of mighty engines. 'Wait a minute. Wait just a damn minute! Your ship is part of the Standing? We're in it now?'

'Not part,' said Giles. 'The Standing is the ship. And vice versa.'

'We're going into hyperspace in a stone castle that's been sitting around for nine