Loki, to make contact with a gathering of useful people also interested in making a deal with Shub. Though of course they came in the name of peace and security, requesting only an alliance against certain mutual dangers.
Valentine couldn't land his ship on Loki without fear of detection, for all Shub's cloaking fields, so it had been agreed that the ship would remain in high orbit while he attended the meeting as a hologram. The new rebels provided the coordinates, and at the approved time Valentine sent his image down to join the meeting.
Due to the never ending storms churning up the planet's atmosphere, reception wasn't everything it might have been, and Valentine's holo image appeared as a crackling, sometimes translucent figure. Valentine approved. He prided himself on the dramatic range of his entrances.
He found himself in an anonymous back room, standing before a table around which four people were sitting. There was a fifth Figure standing to one side, whom Valentine recognized immediately. He decided to concentrate on the four at the table first. He liked to know exactly who he was dealing with.
'Well, well,' he said calmly. 'Here we all are, under one roof at last, with myself as always the ghost at the feast. What are we calling ourselves today; renegades, rebels, or, dare I say it, traitors to the Empire?'
'We're no traitors,' said one of the men immediately. 'We are merely practical men, doing what we must to survive. The fact that we're prepared to deal with scum like you should show that.'
'How very rude,' Valentine murmured. 'You have the advantage of me, sir. Perhaps you would be good enough to honor me with your name?'
'I'm Tarquil Vomak, MP for Graylake East in the Golgotha Parliament. I represent powerful and influential people. An insult to me is an insult to them.'
'How wonderfully time-saving,' said Valentine. 'Be so good as to introduce your colleagues.'
Vomak sniffed, as though he felt the task was beneath him. 'If I must. To my left is the lady Donna Silvestri. She speaks for Blue Block, who brought us together to meet with you. Opposite us are Matthew Tallon, ex-Planetary Controller for Loki, and the ex-Mayor, Terrence Jacks. And I'm sure you know our associate in the corner there, Kit SummerIsle.'
'Oh, yes,' said Valentine. 'I know Kid Death.'
He let his gaze drift unhurriedly over the conspirators. The MP Vomak was a large, blocky man dressed in scarlet, possibly to match his cheeks. He was handsome enough in an undemanding way, the impression somewhat undermined by a sulky mouth. Donna Silvestri was vaguely known to him as one of the people who ran Clan Silvestri finances. She was round and broad and motherly, with faded blue eyes and a thick gray woollen cloak pulled about her, and possibly only Valentine would have noticed that her warm, maternal smile wasn't in the least reflected in her eyes. If she spoke for Blue Block, she was where the power lay. Tallon and Jacks had the same stubborn, weatherbeaten look common to all who lived their lives in Loki's tempestuous embrace. Tallon was the older and more solemn. Jacks the younger and more impatient. And finally, of course, there was Kit SummerIsle. Kid Death, the smiling killer. A slender figure in black and silver armor, with pale blond flyaway hair and icy blue eyes.
'Hello, Kit,' said Valentine. 'Last I heard, you were a rebel hero and a pillar of the new establishment.'
'Hello, Valentine,' said the SummerIsle in his cold, implacable voice. 'I never was one for philosophies. Civilized society got very boring. I'm a killer, so I go where the killing is. For the moment, Blue Block are providing me with necessary distractions.'
'I was sorry to hear about the loss of your friend David on Virimonde.'
'No, you weren't.'
'All right, I wasn't. I was just being polite, Kit. You really should try it sometime. What exactly is a notorious killer such as yourself doing here?'
'Blue Block said there would be work for me here. Treason and death have always been close bedfellows.'
'Of course,' said Valentine. He smiled at those seated around the table. 'Perhaps someone here would be good enough to explain exactly what it is you wish me to pass on to Shub. What is it that brings us all together?'
'Necessity,' said Donna Silvestri. 'Humanity has many enemies, of which the Recreated are just the latest. Our struggle with Shub draws away people and resources that could be better employed against more immediate threats. A temporary and strictly limited alliance with Shub is in everyone's best interests. We don't have to like each other to be able to work together against a common enemy. Afterward… perhaps we will have developed enough interests in common to make our previous antagonisms unnecessary.'
'Very logical,' said Valentine. 'Why haven't you presented this very sensible proposition to Parliament?'
'Because the short-sighted bastards virtually wet themselves if you just mention Shub!' snapped Vomak. 'They can't see past their current obsessions to the greater need. The new order is only concerned with remaking the Empire in their own image, and revenging the old hurts and prejudices. We won't shrink from doing what needs to be done.'
'Indeed,' said Valentine. 'And you're asking Shub's help to remove the rebels from power and replace them with your good selves, merely to help you better carry out these necessary actions?'
'They are wilfully blind to the dangers,' said Donna Silvestri. 'They must therefore be pushed aside for the greater good of all. Blue Block has always taken the long view.'
'And what of the local connection?' said Valentine, turning to Tallon and Jacks. 'Why are we meeting here, on Loki?'
'You people need a planetary base,' Tallon said brusquely. 'A place to gather. Plan and build in secret. Somewhere far enough off the beaten track that you won't be noticed. We're offering. We're the closest human planet to the Forbidden Sector, and Shub. That should make contact easier. And hopefully it'll persuade Shub to put aside any plans about moving in and taking us over. The old Empire stationed starcruisers near here to protect us, but since Parliament took over, that's been stopped. They say they haven't enough ships. So we've been abandoned. An alliance with Shub is our only reasonable option.'
'Right,' said Jacks. 'We have family here, jobs, land. We can't just up and move somewhere safer. We paid for our land and holdings with blood and pain and the death of loved ones. Besides, running isn't in our nature. We stand our ground and fight for what's ours. Loki taught us that.'
'And sometimes you have to get your hands dirty,' said Tallon. 'That's why we're willing to deal with you, Wolfe. We know your reputation. I'd as soon shoot you as look at you. But you're probably the only one crazy enough to act as a go-between for us and Shub, so we'll work with you.'
'How very uncalled for,' murmured Valentine. 'Anyone would think I was some kind of monster.'
'You are,' said Kit SummerIsle.
'You should know,' said Valentine generously.
'I know lots of things,' said the SummerIsle, moving forward out of his corner for the first time. Everyone around the table stirred just a little uneasily. Kid Death stopped at the head of the table, his right hand resting on his belt near his sword. 'I know, for example, that one of us here is a traitor.'
Valentine raised a painted eyebrow. 'I thought we all were.'
'A traitor to this group and its intentions,' said the SummerIsle.
The four at the table looked at each other. None of them were obviously armed. 'What makes you so sure?' said Tallon.
'I work with Blue Block,' said Kid Death. 'They have access to all the best information. They know, for example, that Tarquil Vomak here has extensive gambling debts he couldn't possibly pay off on an MP's salary. So he sold his services to Golgotha security as a double agent. Isn't that right, Vomak?'
'I don't know what the hell you're talking about!' said Vomak. 'I don't owe anyone a penny! It must be someone else in my family.' He rose to his feet, glaring at Donna Silvestri. 'Tell your pet killer to back off! I'll prove my credentials to Blue Block just as soon as we get back to Golgotha! Tell him he's wrong!'
'Blue Block intelligence is never wrong,' said Donna Silvestri quite calmly. 'We were only waiting for Valentine to arrive, so he could see how we deal with those who betray us.'
She nodded to Kid Death, and he drew his sword and cut off Vomak's head, all in one blindingly swift movement. The two Loki men cried out as blood sprayed across them. The headless body stood upright for a horribly long moment, its hands clutching at nothing, blood fountaining from the stump of the neck, and then it fell to the ground and lay there twitching. Vomak's wide-eyed head rolled slowly along the table, the mouth working silently, until it finally came to a halt before Donna Silvestri. She picked the head up by the hair and placed it on the
