Deathstalker 01 - Deathstalker

her sword blade with a dirty rag that also served as a handkerchief. "You said they were created here."
    "Yes. Born and died here, all but one. They were the Empire's first try at creating genetically engineered soldiers. A pinch of man, a pinch of wolf, and a few special ingredients. It took them a while to get the mix just right, but finally they ended up with a perfect hunting and killing machine, unparalled in human evolution. The Wolfling."
    "So what went wrong?" said Ruby. She was watching Giles with her usual impassive face, her pale features almost ghostly above her black leathers. Owen couldn't help noticing that she had her hand resting near her sword, too.
    "Nothing went wrong with the Wolflings," said Giles. "They were everything they were supposed to be, and more besides. It was the more that upset the scientists. The Wolflings were smart, far smarter than their human masters.
    Faster, stronger, more savage—and smarter too? The scientists saw the possible shape of things to come and panicked. They called in the Imperial forces, lured the Wolflings to an arranged meeting and shot them down from ambush. Of course, the Wolflings fought back. Killed a lot of men before they finally went down.
    Some got away and had to be hunted down. The Empire lost a lot more soldiers doing that, but eventually they got them all. Except for one. The best of the best, and the most cunning. He evaded capture and all the traps they set. He was still here when the Empire finally gave up, and the Imperial forces went home.
    Sightings grew less and less, until finally he became just another myth, a legend, a story to tell newcomers. Of course he wasn't really dead. He'd gone
    underground.
    "He was still here when the Darkvoid fell, and everyone but he died.
    "He was still here when the scientists of lost Haden ventured into the Darkvoid in search of a safe place to hide their laboratories. He watched as they experimented upon themselves, designing ever more intricate hybrids of man and machine. The Hadenmen. He was there when they went out to conquer the Empire, and when they came limping back, defeated, to hide themselves away in their tomb and wait for a better time. He's down there now, watching and waiting, impossibly old, incredibly powerful, standing guard over the Madness Maze and the Hall of the Fallen."
    "How do you know so much about it?" said Random. "You were in stasis on Shandrakor while most of this was going on."
    "The Wolfling has been talking to my computers," said Giles. "And they have been talking to me. He's waiting to talk to us. Let's all be very polite, and perhaps he won't kill us."
    "He could try," said Ruby.
    "What do we need him for?" said Moon.
    "I told you: he guards the Madness Maze."
    "And what's that when it's at home?" said Hazel. "Something the Haden scientists came up with?"
    "Oh, no, my dear. It's much older than that. There's nothing human about the Madness Maze. It was here long before humanity ever came to this world. The Empire colonists discovered it, deep within the planet, but they never did discover what it was. The Haden scientists deduced its function, but they had more important matters on their minds, the fools."
    "All right," said Owen. "I'll bite. What is the purpose of the Madness Maze?"

    "Evolution," said Giles. "And I am the only one ever to make use of its secrets.
    Now let's go down and say hello to the Wolfling. By the way, a word to the wise.
    He is currently under the misapprehension that we have a whole army of rebels on board this ship. Let's not disillusion him. You never know when you might need to run a bluff."
    "How do we get down there?" said Moon. His harsh, buzzing voice sounded as calm as it ever did, but his blazing golden eyes never once looked away from the planet on the viewscreen. "Do you have any pinnaces or shuttlecraft on this floating anachronism?"
    "As it happens, yes, but we can't use them. There's no way to reach the Maze or the Tomb of the Hadenmen from the surface anymore. What remains of the atmosphere has frozen solid. We'll teleport down. I left a portal close to the Maze the last time I was here. According to the Standing's instruments, it's still functioning. We built things to last in my day. When we weren't busy destroying them. If you'd all care to prepare yourselves as you see fit, we can go as soon as you're ready. Feel free to help yourselves to anything that catches your interest in the armory, but don't take too long about it. The