Deathstalker 01 - Deathstalker

how much damage you can do when you're firing a thousand rounds a second. I have a gun here for every occasion, small and large. There are weapons here that can assassinate a single man in a crowd from up to two miles away, and others that could take out a whole town."
    "Unless they have force shields," said Owen.

    Giles grinned at him. "That's better, boy. At least you can think like a warrior. Force shields are fine, but they also have a built-in limitation: they only last as long as their energy crystals hold out. Once they've been drained by constant use, it takes forever to recharge them. So all you have to do is maintain a steady stream of fire, wait for the shields to go down, and then charge right in." He gestured grandly at the others. "Take a look around. See if there's something here that takes your fancy. You stay with me, boy." He waited for the others to move away, and then turned to Owen and lowered his voice.
    "Fill me in. How big is your army? How many men am I going to have to supply guns for?"
    Owen looked at him blankly for a moment. "I don't actually have an army, sir.
    There's just myself, and my associates here. Our ship crashed not far from here.
    It's a wreck. We're all there is, sir."
    Giles pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "Deathstalker luck. Always bad.
    Fortunately for you, boy, I have a ship. How big a force have you got on your tail? I assume the Empire was right behind you when you jumped to come here?"
    "Yes, sir. Two Imperial starcruisers."
    Giles looked at him with a certain amount of respect for the first time. "Now that's more like it. Don't worry, we'll be gone long before they can get here.
    Tell me about your friends. Are they good fighters? Reliable?"
    "The best. Hazel d'Ark's a pirate and clonelegger. Ruby Journey's a bounty hunter, Jack Random's a professional rebel, and the disturbing-looking one is Tobias Moon. He's an augmented man."
    "A cyborg? They were still trying to make that work when I left. Is he any good in a fight?"
    Owen grinned. "Moon kicks ass. Anybody's ass. But I wouldn't turn your back on
    him too often. Augmented men often have their own agendas. And all of my people are good fighters."
    "Can I depend on them? Will they follow orders?"
    "Maybe. After all, they're outlaws, like me. And like you. Convince them that it's in their best interests to work with you, and they will. But don't just give them orders and expect them to snap to attention. They don't have much love or respect for authority in general and aristos in particular. But they're good people. Mostly."
    "And what about you, Owen Deathstalker the historian? Can you fight?"
    "I do all right," Owen said steadily. "I've been trained by the best, and I have the boost. I can take care of myself."
    "The boost? That's another thing they were trying to make work when I left.
    You're full of surprises, kinsman. Unfortunately, I now have one for you.
    According to my computers, an Imperial starship has just dropped into orbit around Shandrakor. The Standing's shielded from their sensors, unless they've radically improved since my day, but your wrecked ship isn't. It won't take them long to spot it and send some heavily armed people down to check for survivors.
    I've downloaded your AI into my systems; pretty sophisticated, but not half as smart as it thinks it is."
    "Oz!" said Owen. "Are you there?"
    "Where else would I be?" said Ozymandius. "You should see the antiquated system they've dumped me in. Wouldn't surprise me if this junk ran on steam power. Give me a week or two and I'll be running things around here."
    "Behave yourself. We're guests here. We'll talk later. For now, keep your eyes and ears open and make yourself useful."

    "Got it."
    Owen looked at Giles. "He's been with me a long time. He's a pain in the ass, but he's good at what he does."
    "I heard that!"
    "Shut up, Oz."
    "Tell me, Owen," said Giles. "Why did you come here looking for me?"
    "My only hope for survival is to mount a rebellion against the Empress. And for that I need the Darkvoid Device." With Giles' eyes boring into his, it never even occurred to Owen to lie. "Do you still have it?"
    "No. But I know where it is. I only ever used it once, and a thousand stars blinked out in a moment, leaving nothing but darkness. The Darkvoid. Thousands of inhabited planets were left without suns; billions upon billions of people died. That's a lot of ghosts for one man to live with. I'd done many questionable things in my time as Warrior