Bonnie thought about it. 'How many metalheads did I take out?'
'Less than one.'
'I'll follow your lead.' Bonnie sat up straight, and concentrated. The puffiness in her face went down, and her swollen eye healed in seconds. New teeth pushed up out of her torn gums to replace those she'd lost. She stretched easily like a cat and rose to her feet in one lithe movement, smiling widely.
'Oh, man, what a rush.' She glared at the Hadenmen. 'Next time I'll plan it better.'
'Next time,' said Moon, 'we'll find a place for you in our laboratories. You only live now as a favor to the Redeemer.'
'Yeah,' said Midnight coldly. 'I can see you and he are real close.'
Owen looked at her. 'You're supposed to be a warrior. Don't you recognize the futility of overwhelming odds?'
'We've been through the Maze!' said Midnight. 'Nothing can stop us!'
'You've never had to face the Hadenmen,' said Hazel. 'If you want to get out of this alive, take your lead from Owen. He knows what he's doing.'
Moon glared at Hazel, and then at Owen, and then turned away to offer Bonnie a supporting arm she didn't need. Hazel moved in close beside Owen.
'Tell me this is all part of a cunning plan,' she said quietly.
'It's all part of a cunning plan,' said Owen.
'Now try saying it like you mean it.'
'Right now I'm just trying to keep us all alive,' said Owen quietly. 'I really don't fancy our chances here. Maybe we could take them, maybe not. I don't want to find out we can't the hard way.'
Hazel glanced around her and shrugged uneasily. 'I still think we could trash their metallic asses if we had to, but I am definitely in favor of trying every other option first. Keep pressing Moon; I think you're getting to him. His last few responses were almost human. Stay cool, Owen. Stay on top of things. I can tell how hard this is for you.'
'Is it that obvious?' said Owen. 'How much I want to tear this place down? What's happening here is vile, inhuman, utterly evil. It's everything we fought against in the Empire. But the bottom line is we can't risk dying here. At least one of us must get away to warn Humanity.'
'Understood,' said Hazel. 'And no, it's not obvious. But the others don't know you like I do. All this reminds you of Charnel House, doesn't it? Of what was done to your people on Virimonde.'
'Yes. But this is different. Most of these poor bastards are still alive, even if they are in Hell. So I have to come up with a scheme that not only takes out the Hadenmen, but will also free the captives. And since schemes aren't necessarily what I do best…'
'You'll think of something, scholar. Just tell me when I can start hitting things. Which is very definitely what I do best.'
Owen's mouth twitched for the first time in something like a smile. 'You and both your alternates. I guess some things never change.'
'You wouldn't have let them kill Bonnie, would you?'
'Of course not. But I couldn't let her commit us all to a fight at this time. Moon and his people were just waiting for a chance to show us who was really in charge here. Hopefully, they'll cut us a little slack now.'
'So, what is the plan now?'
'Keep our eyes and ears open and look for a chance. We still need to learn as much as possible about what they're up to.'
'They're a bunch of evil, sadistic bastards. What more do we need to know?'
'How far along the line they are in producing the next generation of Hadenmen. We need to know exactly what the new models can do, how many they have here on Brahmin, and how many more might be hiding out in other bases, on other worlds. Finding that information, and getting it back to the Empire, is more important than our need for vengeance.'
Hazel looked at him steadily. 'And more important than our lives?'
'Maybe. In many ways everything that's happening here is my fault. And my Family's. I have a duty to do everything I can to stop this.'
'Don't worry,' said Hazel. 'The minute we've learned everything we need to know, this whole filthy business is shutting down. Whatever it takes.'
'Remember the hostages,' said Owen. 'We can't just abandon them.'
Hazel looked around the laboratory. 'After everything they've been through, death might be the only kindness we could do them.'
'Maybe. But we have to try. It's the human thing to do.'
'Interesting,' said Moon suddenly. 'You've both been talking animatedly for some time, but I couldn't hear a word of it. Even with my enhanced hearing. And you weren't using your comm implants, or I would have picked it up. Did the Maze make you telepathic or something?'
'Something,' said Owen. 'Very definitely something. All of us who passed through the Maze have a mental link, a closeness. If you'd stayed with us, you'd have it too. Now back off.'
Moon nodded. 'Feel free to make any threats or declarations of defiance you feel necessary for your peace of mind.'
'You betrayed me. All of you. I didn't release you from your Tomb for this.'
'Your reasons for opening the Tomb are irrelevant,' said Moon calmly. 'Their freedom was inevitable. If it hadn't been you, it would have been some other member of your Family. David perhaps.'
'Interesting,' said Hazel. 'You've started saying
'I believe the human expression
'Of course,' said Owen. 'There are always more circles to Hell, aren't there?'
They went up to the next level, and another laboratory, this time silent as the grave. Endless rows of men and women sat unmoving in tiny cubicles, eyes closed, faces utterly immobile. Holes had been drilled in the backs of their heads, and coils of metal cables linked their heads to unseen machinery. After the horrors of the previous laboratory, the new one seemed practically serene. Owen distrusted it on sight. He looked at Moon.
'We're testing for esp,' said Moon. 'Barely known during the first Crusade, it has now spread throughout Humanity. Esp fascinates the Hadenmen—a form of power and control not derived from technology, but from the unknown depths of the unaugmented mind. The Hadenmen want it for themselves. So they are currently seeking to map all physical changes in the brain tissues of all those showing some form of esp ability. Logically speaking, esp is a puzzle. It has no obvious power source, yet is capable of achieving things the Hadenmen cannot duplicate even with their vast knowledge of tech. So they are currently stimulating all areas of the subjects' brains to destruction, and observing in the hope they will learn something useful.'
'Torturing them till they die of it,' said Bonnie. 'Bastards.'
Midnight glared at Owen but said nothing.
'You don't approve of this either, do you, Moon?' said Owen.
'My approval is irrelevant,' said Moon. 'The Hadenmen do what is necessary to follow their destiny. No individual belief can be allowed to interfere with that.'
'You're weakening, Moon,' said Hazel. 'Any minute now you'll forget yourself and venture an opinion of your own.'
'I am a Hadenman,' said Moon. 'Whatever I might have been in the past, I am now a fully functioning Hadenman. That is all that matters. The Tobias Moon you knew is dead. I am merely a reinvigorated body with access to the original Moon's memories. Nothing more. Come. There is still much for you to see.'
'I don't think so,' said Owen. 'I'm much more interested in talking with you. Let's try a few straightforward questions and answers, shall we?'
'If you wish. You are the Redeemer. We will hide nothing from you.'
'And knock off the Redeemer crap. I'm a Deathstalker, and that has always been another name for honor, despite what some members may have done to smear it by working with you. I want answers, and you're going to give them to me. What's going on in the other labs?'
