Deathstalker 02 - Deathstalker Rebellion

Without your support, I don't know how much longer I can protect Penny. You wouldn't want anything to happen to her, would you?"
    "Leave her alone!" said Finlay, stepping forward to put himself between
    Evangeline and her father. "I know what you're trying to do. You want to force Evie to come home, so you can split us up. I know you mistreated her. Evie won't talk about it, but I know you hurt her. So you leave her alone, you bastard, or I'll kill you. The rebellion can get by without the support of scum like you."
    "Can it?" said Gregor. "I think you'll find your superiors in the underground will feel rather differently about it. What's one person against a Clan's fortune? And I will have my Evie back. If that turns out to be over your dead body, Campbell, so much the better."
    "You're a dead man, Shreck!" said Finlay, his voice flat and harsh.
    "Put your dog on a leash, Evie," Gregor said calmly. "Or I'll have him muzzled.
    Remember, the rebellion needs me."
    "I would have to agree," said Jack Random. "We're gathered here to discuss the future of humanity, not your personal problems. Sort that out on your own time.
    But Finlay, the Cause comes first. Always. Remember that."
    "Don't lecture me," said Finlay. "I have sworn a death oath to bring Lionstone down, sworn upon my name and my honor. I'll fight and if need be die for the Cause. But sooner or later there will come a time when the rebellion no longer needs the Shreck's support. And then I'll kill him."
    "You'll always need me," said Gregor. "Weren't you listening? Overthrowing Lionstone is just the first step. The real struggle for power and influence will take place after that. There's always a need for people like me. And who knows; just maybe the price of my future support will be Evie's return, and your head on a spike."
    "In your dreams, little man," said Finlay. "We're fighting this rebellion to get rid of people like you. Right, Random?"
    "Shut the hell up, both of you!" Random glared from Finlay to Gregor and back
    again. "Play dominance games on your own time. The longer this meeting continues, the more likely it is the Empire will discover us. Now, does anyone else want to speak in support of the Cause?"
    "I offer the support of Clan Deathstalker," said David, smiling coldly at Owen.
    "I am the Lord of Virimonde, and its resources can be placed at the rebellion's disposal. We're a long way out from the center. It'll be some time before they notice anything."
    "Virimonde's only yours till I come to take it back," said Owen. "Don't make yourself too comfortable, David. You aren't going to be there long."
    "You have no right to anything there, whatever happens in the rebellion," said David. "I'm the Deathstalker now, and you're nobody. I will defend what's mine against all enemies."
    "I wouldn't be too sure about that," said Owen, smiling coldly. "As I recall, the Lordship of Virimonde is part of the price on my head. All someone has to do is kill me, and Lionstone will make him Lord of Virimonde. Your Standing's built on sand, David. And the tide's coming in."
    "If the rebellion wants the continuous food and supplies my planet can provide, they will acknowledge me as the rightful Lord, now and hereafter," said David.
    "No one individual is greater than the cause. Right, Random?"
    "Yes," said Random. "I'm sorry, Owen."
    David smiled smugly at Owen. "All traces of your brief reign have been removed.
    Soon, no one will remember you were ever Lord. It isn't as though you made much of an impact on the place. Hidden away in your Standing, writing histories no one ever read. I, on the other hand, have great plans for Virimonde. I'll make the name Deathstalker great again."

    Owen seethed silently. The thought of this young usurper living in his Standing, sleeping in his bed, and drinking the best wines from his cellar drove him almost to apoplexy, but somehow he kept his peace. Much as he hated to admit it, Random was right. The rebellion had to take preference over a personal quarrel.
    He was still searching for something diplomatic to say when Giles stepped forward, fixing David with an implacable stare.
    "The Deathstalker name has always been great, boy. You just have to live up to the rest of us. If you want to prove yourself, do it on the field of battle, as Deathstalkers always have. In the meantime, you and Owen make peace. You're Family. You're bound together by blood and honor and nine hundred years of tradition. You're both my children, in every