'Can't you do anything to settle this ship down?' Random yelled to the pilot at the front of the cabin. The floor dropped out from under his feet again, and he clung grimly to a nearby stanchion with both hands. 'I have been in crashing elevators that were less uncomfortable than this!'
'Spoilsport!' said Ruby loudly. 'You're getting old, Random!'
'Shut the hell up and let me concentrate!' the pilot shouted back, entirely unmoved. 'The gyros are useless in weather systems like this; the conditions are changing too suddenly for the computers to cope. The best we can do for now is drop like a brick and hope conditions improve as we get nearer the surface. Though I wouldn't put money on it. If you don't like the way I fly, there are parachutes under your seats. Of course, the storm lightning will fry you the minute you open the outer hatch, but that's your problem. Thank you for flying with us, and for God's sake try to get some of it in the sick bags.'
'Let the man do his job,' said the massive Sergeant to Random's left. He was a thirty-year man with a trim, muscular form and an impressive number of combat drops to his credit. Half the Sergeant's face was covered with a spiderweb tattoo, and golden skulls and crossbones hung from both ears. His name tab said MILLER. 'He's made this drop twice before, which is twice more than anyone else has. He knows what he's doing.'
'I'm glad someone does,' said Ruby, from the webbing on Random's right. 'I mean, normally people who express an interest in visiting Loki of their own free will are immediately grabbed and locked up in a rubber room under industrial-strength sedatives, before they hurt themselves. Loki is the only planet in the Empire with worse weather than Mistworld. They only got colonists to come here by bribing them with massive land grants and more credit than they could spend in a lifetime. If the Empire needed an enema, this world is where they'd stick—'
'We had to come,' said Random. 'We're needed.'
'I was quite happy back on Golgotha,' said Ruby. 'Living in a civilized city where the weather does what it's told, chasing down possible Shub connections. But no, Jack bloody Random has to go chasing off to be a hero again, and I get dragged along with him.'
'You know we had to come,' said Random. He looked back at the Sergeant. 'You're sure Young Jack Random is down there somewhere?'
'Oh, yes. We've got holovid footage if you want to see it.' Miller's mouth twitched as though he'd just tasted something sour. 'The cameraman got fried before he could broadcast much, but we're pretty sure it's him. I thought you people said he died on Golgotha.'
'He did,' said Random. 'Show us the footage.'
The Sergeant made the connection through the pinnace's computers, and the holovid played back through Random and Ruby's comm implants, channeled directly through their optic nerves. The interior of the pinnace cabin vanished, replaced by a jerky, uncertain scene of a village in flames. Gusting winds fanned the fires, and black smoke thick with drifting smuts and cinders billowed through the still streets. There were bodies lying everywhere. Men, women, children, lying in great pools of blood. Not all the bodies were intact.
Ghost Warriors strode stiffly through the inferno, untouched by the intense heat. Dead men walking, their gray flesh rotting on their bones. And at their head, smiling and laughing, a sword dripping blood in one hand, was Young Jack Random. Tall, muscular, handsome, every inch the hero of legend. A severed human head hung by its blood-slick hair from his other hand. He stopped, suddenly aware of the camera, turned and struck a pose, standing half silhouetted against the crimson flames of a burning house. He smiled widely, showing perfect white teeth. His silver armor was running with blood, none of it his. He held up the severed head so it faced the camera, then laughed and gestured with his bloody sword. Two Ghost Warriors advanced on the camera. The footage cut off abruptly, and the pinnace cabin returned. Random and Ruby looked at each other.
'Well?' said Miller. 'Is that him?'
'Oh, yes,' said Ruby. 'That's Young Jack Random, doing what he does best.'
'So what's the story?' demanded the Sergeant. 'Officially, the man died a hero, leading the street fighting in the Parade of the Endless. Unofficially, there were all kinds of rumors. Some say he was killed by his own side for betraying the cause. Others say you people killed him because he wouldn't go along with the deal you struck with Blue Block. Some say he never died. Just walked away in disgust from all the killing, but that he'd return again in the hour of the Empire's greatest need. Lot of people liked that one. Word is, when he first appeared on Loki, people flocked to him as a savior. Until word came back with the few survivors that he was leading an army of Ghost Warriors and wasn't interested in taking prisoners. So, talk to me. If I'm going to have to face that man dirtside, I have a right to know.'
'Of course you have,' said Random. 'He's not a man. He's a machine. A Fury. You can understand why we thought we had to keep that quiet.'
'Jesus,' said Miller. 'But… he was a hero. He helped lead the rebellion.'
'Shub was taking the long view,' said Ruby. 'If we won, they wanted one of their own in a position of power and influence. We only found out his true nature by accident. An esper colleague of ours destroyed his body completely. Flattened him out like metal roadkill.'
'So how come he's back here making trouble?'
'It would appear Shub has built another one,' said Random. 'Another me. I suppose I should be flattered. It's psychological warfare. Just a little something extra to undermine human morale. Or perhaps a lure to bring me here, for some purpose of their own. When we find the Fury, I'll be sure to see what he has to say about it. Before I destroy him again.'
'If we can,' said Ruby. 'Furies can take a hell of a lot of punishment. Julian Skye was a powerful esper. There's no guarantee we'll find anyone of his caliber dirtside.'
'Julian Skye killed the original?' said the Sergeant, his face lighting up. 'Damn, I watch his show all the time! He was a real hero!'
'Yes,' said Random. 'One of the few of us who really was. I wish he was here now.'
'Probably too busy doing close-ups,' said Ruby. 'While we get to do the dirty work, as always. What's the matter, Sergeant? Aren't two living legends enough for you?'
'No offense,' said the Sergeant quickly. 'Everyone knows your record. And I'm sure having the real Jack Random to lead them will do wonders for civilian morale.'
The pinnace lurched wildly from side to side as it hit another patch of extreme turbulence. The crash webbing swung violently back and forth, slamming its human contents against each other. The cabin lights flickered and threatened to go out, but somehow hung on. Thunder rolled almost continuously, lightning crawling the length of the outer hull, and the winds howled like the storm given voice. From up front the pilot's continuous cursing grew ever more vicious as his hands darted over the controls. The Sergeant swung down out of his webbing, bracing himself against the sudden roll and sway of the drop with two separate handholds.
'I'd better go see if I can help the pilot! Back in a minute!'
He staggered off down the narrow central aisle, throwing himself into the co-pilot's seat and strapping in next to the pilot. Their lips moved, but Random couldn't hear anything. They'd switched to a private channel on their comm implants. Which implied really bad news. Random looked away and studied the other marines in their crash webbing opposite him. They paid him no attention, each lost in their own private rituals of comfort.
One was working a neon rosary, eyes closed, lips moving in silent prayer. Another was trying to tell an endless joke to the man beside him, who was pretending to be asleep. The others were passing a metal flask of something bracing back and forth. They didn't offer any to Random or Ruby. He gestured for her to lean closer. Normally a murmur would have been lost in the din, but Random and Ruby could always hear each other, no matter what the conditions. Just another gift from the Maze.
'I had been wondering why they wanted us here when we were doing so well uncovering Shub connections,' said Random. 'But if that really is Young Jack Random down there, then we could be the only hope Loki has.'
'Maybe,' said Ruby. 'But why us rather than Owen and Hazel? They're the licensed troubleshooters these days. I can't help wondering if maybe our investigations were bringing us too close to something, or someone, that didn't want to be uncovered.'
'No,' said Random. 'I would have insisted on this assignment, and they knew it. I need to do this. I wasn't there when my metal duplicate was destroyed. I never got my chance to face him, to test myself against him. I need to see him fall before me, Ruby. I need to tear him apart with my bare hands for all the terrible things he's done while wearing my face.'
'And not just because for a while he seemed a better leader of men than you, and a much more plausible hero?'
