all, for all his charm. Of course, it could just be she was jealous of anyone who drew Random's affection and attention away from her. Owen had to smile at that. He was still having trouble understanding what the hell Ruby and Jack saw in each other, but they seemed happy enough together. Certainly, they were doing better than he was with Hazel. Owen decided firmly that he wasn't going to think about that for the moment. Hopefully, Storm would find some way to strike a truce with Ruby, or he was likely to end up with a knife in his back. Or even his front. Ruby Journey could be very direct when it came to expressing her feelings.
'This all sounds very fine,' said Elias Gutman, moving forward through the crowd so that he could fix Random with an implacable glare. 'But we still haven't discussed exactly who is going to run things in this new rebellion. We've all come here with separate needs and differing agendas, and while we all want the same thing in the end, someone is going to have to decide which path we'll take to get there. My associates and I have been plotting treason and sedition for decades, and we're not about to take a backseat to a few jumped-up newcomers, just because they've had a few flashy successes. In particular, we are not willing to be led by an old man whose best days are behind him. You're the past, Random, and we have to look to the future. For all your legend, the fact is you failed to overthrow the Empire time and time again. The new rebellion needs more for its leader than an old man with failing charisma.'
Random looked calmly back at the fat man, unmoved by any of the insults. 'Hello, Elias; good to see you again, too. How are the hemorrhoids? You've been conspiring in the shadows almost as long as I've been leading armies in the field, but I don't see that you've been any more successful than I. For all your great intrigues and grand plans, Lionstone still sits on the Iron Throne. I remember you as a boy, Elias. Whatever happened to you; you had such promise. I remember your father, too. A good and honorable man. It's a good thing he's dead, so he can't see what his son has become.'
'Of course he's dead,' said Gutman. 'I killed him. That is the traditional way to wealth and power, after all. The old must always make way for the new. So get down off that platform and make way for a better man.'
'Certainly,' said Random. 'Know any?'
There were a few chuckles in the crowd, and Gutman's face flushed slightly. 'Clever words won't save you this time, Random. I represent a number of people who have their own ideas as to how this new rebellion should be run. We've invested years of our lives in the struggle for freedom from tyranny, and we're not prepared to waste any more time listening to an old relic with older ideas.'
He broke off as Ruby Journey stepped forward to glare down at him. 'You, behave yourself, or you're out of here.'
'And just how do you intend to remove me?' said Gutman, smiling smugly. 'After all, I'm just a holo image. Your well-known propensity for violence is no use to you here. I have a great deal more to say, and there's nothing you or that old fool can do to stop me.'
'Want to bet?' said Ruby. She produced a small device from her pocket, pointed it at Gutman, and smiled nastily as his holo image collapsed and disappeared. She scowled out over the crowd, and they stirred uneasily. 'Handy little gadget, this. The Hadenmen made it for me. So pay attention, people; keep a civil tongue in your head, if you want to be heard.'
'Think of Ruby as my sergeant at arms,' said Random. 'And be very grateful none of you are here in person. Ruby has a very effective way of dealing with people who annoy her, and it takes ages to mop up the blood afterward. Now then, where was I?'
'You were talking about how the new rebellion is to be fought,' said David Deathstalker, stepping forward with his friend Kit SummerIsle at his side. Nobody had been that surprised when they turned up again. 'The answer seems obvious to me. According to you, my ancestor the original Deathstalker is back, along with his Darkvoid Device. So all we have to do is demonstrate its power, to prove to Lionstone we have it, and then tell her to step down or we'll use the Device on Golgotha. That way, there'd be no need for any actual war.'
'Unfortunately, it's not that simple,' said Random. 'Giles, would you explain, please?'
The original Deathstalker stepped up onto the platform beside Random, and the crowd stirred and murmured as they got their first good look at a man whose legend was even greater than Random's. He was tall but sparsely built, though his bare arms were thick with muscle. He looked to be in his early fifties, with a solid lined face, and a silver-gray goatee beard. His long gray hair was swept back in a mercenary's scalplock, and he wore a set of battered, shapeless furs, held in at the waist by a wide leather belt. He wore thick golden armlets and heavy metal rings on his fingers. A long sword hung down his back in a leather scabbard, and on his hip he bore a large gun of unfamiliar design. All in all, he looked like an experienced and very dangerous barbarian warrior from some frontier world where law and civilization were only memories. And not at all like the legendary Warrior Prime of the First Empire. The murmuring in the crowd grew louder and didn't entirely stop when he began to speak.
'The last time I used the Darkvoid Device, a thousand suns were put out in a moment. All their worlds and populations died, cold and alone in the dark. The Device is not a weapon you can fine tune. If I trigger it again, in the heart of the Empire, most of the Empire will disappear along with Golgotha.'
It got very quiet in the Hall. David frowned. 'We don't have to actually use it, just threaten to.'
'Threats work only if you're prepared to back them up,' said Random. 'Lionstone would know we were bluffing. We want to free the Empire, not destroy it. Besides, just threatening to use the Device would alienate practically everyone in the Empire. Instead of supporting our rebellion, they'd be screaming for Lionstone to wipe us all out as dangerously insane terrorists. The best we can do is make sure the Device stays out of Lionstone's hands. She wouldn't hesitate to use it if she thought she was losing.'
There was more murmuring in the crowd, this time of agreement. Giles stepped down off the platform, so as not to draw attention away from Random. David scowled after his ancient ancestor. 'If we're worrying about what people are going to think, maybe we ought to keep certain people out of the spotlight. If that is the original Deathstalker, he's not going to win any prizes for charisma. People will take one look at him on their holoscreens and think we're a bunch of savages. We have to put ourselves across as a viable, civilized alternative to Lionstone.'
'Right,' said the SummerIsle. 'It's important we project the right image. Certain people could only damage that image. I should know. As I understand it, Ruby Journey was a paid assassin, and the d'Ark woman used to be a clonelegger.'
'Hell, that's nothing,' said Owen easily. 'I used to be a Lord. There's room for all sorts in this rebellion, SummerIsle: clones, espers, even privileged aristos like us.'
'At least we're human,' said David. 'What about that… thing?' He gestured angrily at the single Hadenman representative, standing quietly in his corner, saying nothing and observing everything. David's face twisted with disgust and anger. 'I can't believe we're even considering an alliance with the Hadenmen. They're machines, not people. How do we know they're not tied in with the rogue AIs on Shub? They'd have a lot in common. After all, they've both been officially named Enemies of Humanity.'
'Maybe we should consider an alliance with Shub,' the Hadenman said calmly. 'We've all seen the reports of the Fury at Court. They're willing to fight alongside us against the aliens.'
'Only someone as inhuman as you would even suggest that,' said Hazel coldly. 'They're opposed to everything that makes us human. They don't want to fight alongside us; they want to rule us and use us as their army.'
'Right,' said Owen. 'Shub is going too far. How could we ever trust them?'
'How can we trust the Hadenmen?' said David.
Owen studied his cousin thoughtfully, and Random stepped quickly in before the pause got too long. 'Two reasons. Firstly, we can get at the Hadenmen. They're gathered in one city on one planet, and we know where it is. They haven't been awake long. They're vulnerable, and they know it. Secondly, there is a fundamental difference between the augmented men and the rogue AIs. The Hadenmen just want to change us into beings like themselves. Shub wants to destroy us utterly: to wipe us out of existence as though we'd never been. For the moment we stand to gain more from an alliance with the Hadenmen than we would by fighting them. Try thinking of them as a necessary evil, like dentists.'
'I'm not convinced,' said David stubbornly. 'If we have to accept Hadenmen, then we'll have no choice but to accept espers and clones. This is supposed to be a human Empire. What's the point in overthrowing Lionstone if it means letting the genetic dregs and freaks have a say in our councils?'
'We want more than just a say,' said Stevie One sharply. 'We demand full citizenship for clones and espers as the price for our support. Otherwise we'll go our own way, fight our own rebellion, and our war will go on until either you or we are extinct.'
