Deathstalker 01 - Deathstalker

beautiful markings. The thought surprised him, and he pushed it to one side. He still hadn't decided whether he ought to kill her or not.
    "Ruby, what the hell did you think you were doing?" said Hazel. "Didn't you get any of my messages?"

    The bounty hunter shrugged. "The price was too tempting. Besides, I wanted to see if I could take him. I've never killed a Deathstalker."
    "Well, you can forget that now," said Hazel briskly. "Join up with us and I promise you all the fighting and loot you can handle. The odds are we'll probably all die horribly, but if we make it, we'll have the Empire by the throat. What do you say?"
    Ruby looked at Owen. "What does he say?"
    Owen lowered his gun but didn't put it away. "I know I'm going to regret this, but… you're an excellent fighter, Ruby; we could use another good fighter."
    "Then I'm in," said Ruby. "I never could resist a challenge."
    "How can we trust her?" said Moon.
    "We can't," said Jack Random. "She's a bounty hunter."
    "And we're all outlaws," said Hazel. "Nobody trusts us, either. Anyway, she's my friend and I vouch for her. Anyone have any problems with that?"
    Owen had quite a few, but had the sense not to say so. He shrugged, put his gun away, and smiled at Ruby Journey. "Welcome to the rebellion."
    They made their way back to the Sunstrider easily enough. Between them, Ruby and Hazel knew every back street in the city. And word quickly got around that the Deathstalker was now accompanied by both a Hadenman and the legendary Jack Random, plus the infamous Ruby Journey, so that most of the would-be bounty hunters got a sudden attack of the scruples and decided they weren't cut out for the work after all. Back on board ship, Owen wasted no time in diving back into the regeneration device and emerged some time later feeling more like himself again. He showed his new companions around the yacht, enjoying their various reactions to its sybaritic luxuries, and finally got them all settled in the lounge in comfortable chairs with a glass of something warming in their hand.

    Hazel had suggested they hole up somewhere in the city, away from prying eyes, but Owen had decided very early on that he had no intention of sleeping anywhere where the rooms came supplied with hot and cold running fleas.
    "All right, Oz," he said easily. "We've all had time to let the cold seep out of our bones, so let's have the bad news. What's been happening since I last spoke to you?"
    "You wouldn't believe half of it," said the AI. "Practically everyone and his brother has tried to break into this ship while you were gone, using everything from computer viruses to a hammer and chisel. I tried reasoning with them and I tried shooting them, but they kept coming. Finally I persuaded the control tower to station a large presence of the city watch at the entrances to the landing fields, and that helped. By the way, the port controller asked me to tell you that he would like to have a word with you, and the word he has in mind is
    'goodbye.' Mistport wants us out of here at the earliest possible moment, and if we don't get with it, they'll gather all their espers together and throw us back into space. I'm not entirely sure they're bluffing."
    Owen frowned. "Any Imperial ships in the vicinity?"
    "Hard to tell while I'm stuck down here. Nothing obvious on the far sensors, but there could be a small fleet hidden in orbit behind their screens, and the first we'd know of it would be when they opened fire. Next time you choose a yacht, pick something with a little more firepower."
    "Relax," said Owen. "You worry too much. This ship can outrun anything the Iron Bitch might send after us."
    "Speed isn't everything, Owen. It takes time to make the calculations that allow us to drop into hyperspace, even for a computer like me, and during that time we
    might as well have a target painted on our hull. Now then, if you've quite finished with me, I would like to have a word with you and Jack Random."
    Random looked inquiringly at Owen, who shrugged. "Oz has been finding all kinds of stuff hidden in his memory files, mostly planted there by my father, designed only to appear as and when necessary. Apparently your being here has triggered one."
    "Go ahead, Oz," said Random. He looked at Owen. "The last time I heard from your father, I ended up paying postage on it."
    "Yeah," said Owen, "that sounds like Dad."
    And then suddenly a hologram of Owen's father was standing before them in the lounge, large as life