Deathstalker 01 - Deathstalker

you get to be a professional rebel?"
    "I'm surprised you haven't heard. It was quite a famous story, in its day. But I suppose that was some time ago, and my legend isn't as respected as it once was.

    I was a lesser son of a lesser House, of no importance to anyone, not even myself. I drank, played cards, tried a little of this and little of that, running up debts all the way. Then I got a serving maid pregnant, and my Family sent me to run a mining planet out near the Rim to keep me out of trouble.
    Planet called Trigann. Horrible place.
    "I'd never been outside my pampered world before, and the reality of how the other ninety-seven percent live horrified me. The conditions the miners lived in, and the way they and their families were treated, were a disgrace even by Imperial standards, so instead of stamping out their rebellion, I joined it and somehow ended up leading the damn thing. And like you, I found something I was good at and decided to stick with it.
    "So I went from planet to planet, preaching insurrection, and raising armies to protect the weak and the powerless, and punish the guilty. The odds were always against us, but we won a few, now and then. Enough to make me a legend and a rallying point throughout the Empire."
    "Until they caught you."
    "Yes. I was getting old and slow, and I trusted the wrong people. I've always been too trusting." He sat quietly for a long time, staring at the half-eaten cube in his hands as though it could tell him something. "They broke me," he said finally. "I was so sure I'd rather die first, but no, they broke me. I would have said anything, done anything, betrayed anyone, just so they wouldn't hurt me anymore."
    "But you didn't."
    "No. Turned out I still had a few real friends after all. They got me out, though most of them died during it. I never even knew their names."

    Ruby nodded once. "Everyone breaks, in the end."
    "Yes. Even legends like Jack Random. Sometimes I think he died in that cell, and there's nothing left now but his shadow. My real friends hadn't give up on me, but I gave up on them. I wouldn't lead their rebellion, I wouldn't help them fight. I didn't want to do anything but hide in a dark room where my tormentors couldn't find me. After a while, my friends realized I was no use to them and never would be, but they still didn't give up on me. They smuggled me to Mistworld, the one place where the Empire wouldn't follow me. A place where everyone has secrets, but nobody cares. I dived into the shadows and disappeared there. I took a new name. It wasn't difficult. I didn't look much like a legend anymore. I quite liked being Jobe Ironhand. No one expected anything from him."
    "All that time, hiding in plain sight," said Ruby. "I spent a lot of time looking for you. I could have used the money. And there you were, right under my nose." She smiled briefly. "I'm glad I didn't find you then. I would have been so disappointed. You're different, now."
    Random raised an eyebrow. "I am?"
    "Sure. You're waking up. You aren't what you used to be, but you're getting there. What did it, Random? What lured you back into the spotlight?"
    "You want the truth? I was bored. Simple as that. I'm still scared most of the time, and my hands shake when they think I'm not looking, but anything's better than pushing that damn broom around. There were quite a few days when even death seemed better than that. So here I am, one last tight for an old champion well past his prime."
    "You did well enough in the jungle," said Ruby. "Lots of people wouldn't have survived to reach the Standing. Don't talk yourself down, Random. I never had much use for legends. I killed a lot of them, looking for one real one, but they
    died as easily as anyone else. You impress me a lot more than most of them."
    "Thank you," said Random. "Good thing you didn't find me. It would have been such a pity if I'd killed you before I got to know you."
    Ruby grinned briefly and offered him her bottle. "Drink?"
    "Wish I could. My system can't handle it anymore. Kidneys took a few beatings too many. You drink. I'll enjoy it vicariously."
    "You feel that way about all your pleasures?"
    "Not necessarily," said Random. "If I was just twenty years younger, I'd chase you round this table a few times."
    "Great," said Hazel, from the doorway. "Just what we needed. A drunken bounty hunter and a horny legend. The Imperial troops will take one look and piss themselves from sheer terror."
    "I admire the man's courage,"