in the weather, destroy the target, and then disappear before we can retaliate. Travel has to be on foot, for us and them. Aircraft won't work on Loki; the storms are too much for them. In a sense, that's been our salvation. It limits the damage Shub's been able to do.'
'What about force shields?' said Ruby. 'A good Screen could handle any weather this world could throw at it.'
'Loki's electromagnetic fields are very unusual. You wouldn't believe how much power it takes to maintain Vidar's Screen. Nothing short of a starcruiser could generate enough power to maintain a traveling shield on Loki for any length of time.'
'This was all covered in the briefings before we left, Ruby,' said Random. 'I do wish you'd learn to pay attention.'
'You're the brains in this outfit, Random. But even I can see what's happening on this map. The rebels have been surrounding Vidar, cutting the city off from outside help. This is their next target, has to be. Vidar itself.'
'Right,' said Random. 'They're finally ready for the killing stroke.'
'Then we have to do something,' said Savage, turning to glare at Random and Ruby. 'You've got to do something! You're the great heroes!'
'Easy, boy,' said Ruby. 'We can't just rush out and attack the rebel forces on our own. Even I'm not that crazy.'
'So what do we do? Sit and wait for them to come to us?'
'Almost,' said Random. 'Rather, we make them come to us, in a setting we choose. We can't risk letting them lay siege to Vidar. This city wasn't built to stand off attacks by Ghost Warriors. We need to face them in the field. According to the briefing we were given, your computers can predict lulls in the weather, moments of calm in the storms. Is that right?'
'Well, yes. We're managing about eighty percent accuracy. But lulls never last for long.'
'This one won't have to. We find our calm spot, occupy it to our best advantage, and then wait for the rebel forces to come to us. And then we kick their ass. The rebels may have Ghost Warriors, but you've got us. And we've never lost a battle yet.'
'Come bloody close sometimes,' muttered Ruby.
'Shut up, Ruby. We can do this, Peter. It'll mean leaving Vidar practically defenseless, but it's a necessary risk. Our powers will make the difference. One last battle to end it all.'
'Hold everything,' said Ruby. 'This all depends on the rebels and Shub sending their whole force against us, to fight on ground they must know we've chosen and prepared. Why should they do that?'
'They'll come to us because we'll have something they want. Something they want very badly.'
'Like what?' said Ruby.
'Us,' said Random. 'You and me. The secrets and powers of the Madness Maze. Shub will risk everything for a chance at us, and you can bet rebel spies in the city will have got the word out by now.'
'Oh, great,' said Ruby. 'Just wonderful. We're going to be the bait in a trap, in a weather lull that may or may not last till the battle's over, with a whole army of Ghost Warriors intent on getting to us at all costs. Have I missed anything?'
'Actually, no,' said Random. 'How about it, Savage, what do your computers have to say about upcoming lulls in the weather?'
'Way ahead of you,' said Savage, bent over his terminal. 'And it looks like our luck's in for once. There's a major lull due in the next few days. It should last for several hours, and it'll cover half a square mile around a valley not too far from Vidar. This particular lull turns up on a regular cycle, so it's fairly dependable. Just what the doctor ordered.'
'About time something went our way,' said Ruby.
'Then let's go talk to the people who think they're in charge here,' said Random. 'We've got an army to put together, and not a lot of time to do it in.'
In a steel and stone bunker deep beneath the surface of Loki, the rebel forces planned their next objectives. Or at least, the human element did. Young Jack Random and his Ghost Warriors took their orders from the rogue AIs back on Shub, and mostly they chose not to share their objectives with the human rebels, who were told what they needed to know and nothing else. The leaders of the human rebels, ex-Planetary Controller Matthew Tallon and ex-Mayor of Vidar Terrence Jacks, sat facing each other across a simple metal table in a cramped room with bare walls and a low ceiling that served many functions, as necessary. Tallon and Jacks got the room to themselves for the moment, because they were the leaders. They picked bitterly at the main meal of the day: protein cubes and distilled water, produced by Shub machines. All the elements necessary to sustain life, but nothing else.
'God, I hate this stuff,' said Jacks, pushing the small chunks of protein about his plate. 'It tastes of nothing, takes ages to chew, and it doesn't even come in any interesting colors.'
'I know,' said Tallon. 'I'd kill for a thick steak and a decent wine to wash it down with.'
'We've killed for less than that,' said Jacks, and their eyes met across the table.
'There's been looting again, hasn't there?' said Tallon. 'Even though I forbade it.'
'You can't blame the men. I mean, the dead don't need their food anymore, do they?'
'But there's never enough to go around. Only enough for a taste, for a lucky few. Enough to remind a man how foul this stuff really is. So the men fight each other over the spoils when they should be conserving their strength for the struggle to come. We can't afford to lose any more people, dammit! I know our life is hard, but we chose it. We chose to be rebels rather than bow down to tyranny.'
'And a hell of a lot it's got us,' said Jacks. 'Allied with the Enemies of Humanity.'
'We had no choice! The Empire wouldn't protect us, and the power base they inflicted on us was hopelessly corrupt. Our only chance for a decent life lay with calling in Shub's help.'
'You call this a decent life? Hiding in a hole in the ground, only coming out to kill our own kind?'
'Things will get better. You'll see. This is just a time of transition.'
'What have we come to, Matt?' said Jacks. 'Living like rats in our holes, standing by as the Ghost Warriors kill women and children. Some of our men have even started joining in. Taking out their anger and frustration on the defenseless. Are we any closer to winning this bloody war, because I can't see it. All I can see is us becoming as inhuman as the allies we chose.'
'We do what's necessary.' Tallon held Jacks's gaze unwaveringly. 'We swore an oath during the rebellion against Lionstone, remember? Swore it on our blood and our honor, Whatever It Takes. That hasn't changed. We're still fighting the same enemy.'
'Are we? Jack Random and Ruby Journey have come here to fight us! Two of the greatest heroes of the rebellion, the people who inspired us to fight, have come here specifically to fight us! How the hell did we end up on opposite sides from
'Yes, we can. There's just the two of them. What difference can they make against an army of Ghost Warriors?'
'Are you kidding? They overthrew Golgotha, toppled Lionstone from the Iron Throne, and remade the Empire! They're legends!'
'They're monsters. The Madness Maze turned them into something other than human.'
'And what are we?' asked Jacks, and Tallon had no reply.
'My, my,' said Young Jack Random from the doorway. 'Do I detect despondency? You don't want to worry about Random and Journey. They may be legends, or monsters, but then, so am I.'
The two humans looked around sharply, glaring at the machine standing at ease in the doorway. He was tall and handsome, clad in silver armor, every inch a hero. A killing machine with a hero's face, without mercy or compassion or honor. He smiled charmingly at Tallon and Jacks.
'Sorry to interrupt your meal, gentlemen, but I thought you should know there's been a change in plans, and we'll be moving out soon. Better get your people together and properly motivated. No more sneak attacks—we're going one on one with the colonists. Our army versus theirs, winner takes all.'
'What brought this on all of a sudden?' said Tallon, rising to his feet. 'We've nothing to gain from such open tactics, and everything to lose. What's changed?'
'Jack Random and Ruby Journey will be leading the city forces. And Shub wants them very much, dead or alive.'
