Deathstalker Honor

There was a long pause after that, as everybody waited for someone else to work out what to say. Finally Toby Shreck stepped cautiously forward, Flynn right there beside him, his camera hovering above their heads to get the best shot. Toby stopped what he hoped was a safe distance away, and gave the partly shimmering figure his best professional smile.

'Welcome back, Captain Fast, from wherever you've been. I'm sure you'll understand if we're all a little confused. Perhaps you'd be so good as to fill us in on… the true story of Half A Man.'

The human half of the face regarded him coldly. 'I am aware of how your forebears hounded and persecuted my predecessor. I trust things have changed since then.'

'Oh, sure,' said Toby, mentally crossing his fingers behind his back. 'Just take your time, tell it in your own words, and don't leave out any of the juicy details.'

'That's enough!' said Elias Gutman quickly. 'As Speaker of this House, I declare this a security matter. Stop filming now. All your tape will be confiscated before you leave.'

'Get bent,' said Toby. 'We're going out live. The people had a right to the truth. Keep filming, Flynn.'

'I'm on it, boss.'

Gutman gestured urgently, and a large number of security guards ran forward, swords and guns at the ready. They formed a semicircle, fanning around Half A Man and Toby and Flynn. Toby did his best to look unconcerned, and quietly thanked God that they were going out live. Gutman wouldn't dare have him shot in front of millions of viewers. At least, Toby didn't think he would. As Speaker he was now a public figure, reliant on the public goodwill. Toby just hoped Gutman knew that.

'Enough,' said Half A Man. 'I wish this to be broadcast. The whole Empire must know what I have to tell.'

The security guards looked at Half A Man, then at Gutman, and finally at each other. The original Half A Man had been thought unkillable until the Deathstalker managed it, and no one was entirely sure how he'd done it anyway. The original Half A Man had also been known for his extremely short temper, and a complete willingness to kill anyone who got in his way. The guards started lowering their weapons. Gutman quickly decided to make the best of a bad situation, and gave in gracefully.

'Of course you must tell your story, Captain Fast. I'm sure the whole Empire is dying to hear what you have to say.'

'Good,' said Half A Man, 'for what I have to say concerns the fate of every living creature in the Empire.' He looked straight into the camera, ignoring the politicians. 'The imposter told you some of the truth. I was abducted and remade by aliens, but I was split in two, to produce a pair of the unnatural things you see before you. In my other self, the alien mind dominated the meld. An alien will moved that body, and an alien intelligence spoke through its mouth. It told you carefully tailored lies, to hide the real truth and the real dangers from you. The aliens you have encountered till now are nothing compared to the real Enemy that lies waiting. There's something alive in the Darkvoid. Something old and powerful and horribly evil. They call themselves the Recreated. And soon they will come out of the Darkvoid and destroy everything that lives.'

There was another long pause. Toby cleared his throat. 'What exactly are… the Recreated?'

'Horrible beyond imagining. Powerful beyond hope or sanity. Alien to everything you know or understand as life. They died and brought themselves back to life. They are eternal now. And soon they will come for you all.'

'But, if they can't die, or death doesn't stop them,' said Toby, 'why would they want to bother with something as small as us?'

'Your deaths will fuel their mighty engines. Your final suffering, extended across centuries, will power their machines. And your screaming souls will be a comfort to them. They are of the darkness, and cannot bear the light. So they would snuff it out, wherever they find it, and plunge the whole universe into an endless night. And they will rule the dark forever.'

'How the hell are we supposed to fight something like that?' said Toby.

Half A Man looked at him for the first time. 'You can't.'

Jack Random shut down the holoscreen. 'That's the gist of it. After that it was just a lot of arguing and panicking and running around in circles. Half A Man, if that's who he really is, finally allowed the guards to lead him away for a thorough debriefing, hopefully including where the hell he's been all this time. Last I heard, the MPs were still sitting at the House, calling for more and more expert opinions and scaring themselves silly.'

'If this Half A Man isn't who or what he says he is,' said Ruby slowly, 'then what the hell is he? A Fury?'

'Good question,' said Jack. 'But I don't think even the rogue AIs have the tech to produce a living energy field like that. The Empire had access to the original Half A Man for centuries, and never did work out what made him tick.'

'But if he is the real thing, then his message must be true too.'

'Not necessarily. All those years of torture and captivity could have turned his mind. Or he could have all kinds of reasons for lying. He never said a word about where he's been, who exactly was holding him captive, or how he finally escaped. He's already admitted that an alien intelligence spoke through the original Half A Man. Maybe when that toy got broken, its makers just sent us another. No, there's a lot we're not being told, and until we know more, I don't think we should put an awful lot of faith in the message or the messenger.'

'He was right about there being something alive in the Darkvoid. Don't you think we should… ?'

'No, I don't,' said Jack firmly. 'We have our own mission. Let's not get distracted. Right now we need to discover just how badly Shub has its hooks into us. Anything else can wait.'

'It must be wonderful to be so focused.' Ruby shrugged angrily. 'I don't like any of this. I can't help feeling that whatever we do, we're getting way out of our depth.'

'If not us, then who?' said Jack. 'We have a lot more going for us than anyone else.'

Ruby sighed, and shrugged. 'So, where do we make a start?'

'With Robert Campbell, newly appointed Captain of the Elemental. His Family was known to have dealings with Shub, before the Wolfes destroyed the Campbells in a very hostile takeover. Let's see what Robert can tell us about it.'

'And if he doesn't want to talk to us?'

Jack smiled. 'Then you get to play with him for a bit. Try not to break him too badly.'

They took an official shuttle up to the Elemental, armed with a warrant from Parliament to interrogate anyone they damned well felt like. The Elemental was one of the few E-class starcruisers to survive the rebellion, and was currently being outfitted for duty on the Rim. The huge ship was surrounded by smaller craft, buzzing back and forth like wasps around a nest, while hundreds of men in atmosphere suits crawled all over the outer hull, making repairs and working on upgrades. The Captain didn't reply directly to Jack Random's request for an urgent meeting, but his communications officer passed on a message that he would make himself available in his private quarters as soon as possible.

Ruby docked the shuttle where she was told, and then the two of them waited impatiently in the airlock for someone to open the door from the other side. It was a fairly large lock, as airlocks went, but Jack still felt uncomfortably confined. If the Campbell really didn't want to talk to them about his Clan's connections with Shub, he could keep them waiting there forever. Or at least until they got tired of waiting and went away. He caught Ruby eyeing the inner door thoughtfully.

'No, we are not going to try to break it open,' Jack said firmly. 'That door was designed to take a lot of punishment.'

'It wasn't designed with us in mind,' said Ruby calmly. 'Nothing is.'

'Quite possibly. But even if we could, I don't want you trying just yet. I don't want the Campbell thinking he's got us rattled.'

'I am not rattled,' said Ruby. 'Just increasingly peeved.'

'He may just be busy. He is the Captain, after all.'

'No one's too busy to see us. Not if they know what's good for them.' Ruby scowled. 'No, he's just another damned aristo, keeping us waiting to show how important he thinks he is.'

'I don't think so,' said Jack. 'His file suggests he's always been a Navy man first and foremost, and an aristocrat second.'

'They're just as bad. All spit and polish and salute when you're speaking to me. If he tries to make me stand to attention while I'm speaking to him, I'll cut him off at the ankles.'

Jack looked at Ruby thoughtfully. 'I think you'd better leave the talking to me. Do try to remember we're here