Deathstalker 02 - Deathstalker Rebellion

hosts. That kind of thing always plays well with the audience, and it'll make a good introduction to the campaign to come.
    Don't worry, I'll keep it short and to the point. I'm sure you've all got things you'd rather be doing."
    Daniel gave Toby his best intimidating scowl. "Is this really necessary?"
    "I'm afraid so," said Stephanie quickly. "Public relations can be a bore and a bind, but we can't do without it. Public acclaim can often get you things that nothing else can. The stardrive ceremony will be an important event, and I want it covered very thoroughly. After all, absolutely everyone will he watching.
    Grit your teeth and bear it, Daniel. It'll soon be over."
    "That's the spirit," said Toby. "Cardinal, if you'd care to stand between the Wolfes, make a nice group for the camera…"
    Kassar glowered at him, but moved obediently as directed to stand between Stephanie and Daniel. And though they stood close together, none of them so much as nudged another with their elbow. Toby bustled around them, raising an arm here, squaring a shoulder there.
    "All right, people, just hold the pose while Flynn gets the lighting right, and then we'll do a short interview. Nothing complicated, just how glad you all are the Cardinal's here, that sort of thing. Fake the smiles if you have to."
    "You are aware, Shreck," said Kassar coldly, "that your uncle is currently being investigated by the Church on charges of sedition and corruption on many levels?"

    "Nothing to do with me," Toby said airily. "You can haul him off in chains, for all I care. I'll even supply the chains. Just give me some warning so I can get the rotten fruit concession."
    "He is the head of your Family," said Daniel. "You owe him allegiance. Have you no honor?"
    "Of course not," said Toby. "I'm a journalist."
    "We will of course want to see all reports in their entirety before they can be transmitted," said Stephanie. "So that they can be checked for bias and possible inaccuracies."
    "The Church censors will also examine all footage," Kassar said quickly. "To check for blasphemies or disrespect. Standards must be maintained."
    Toby kept smiling, though his cheeks were beginning to ache from the strain. "Of course. Whatever you wish. Don't worry about inconveniencing me. I'm used to working with people looking over my shoulder."
    He fussed the three of them about some more, partly to get the best grouping for the camera and partly just because he could. He'd expected some kind of censorship, but he could see that getting anything interesting off Technos III was going to take a lot of hard work, a little subtlety, and every dirty trick in the journalist's handbook. Still, when in doubt let the material go over their heads. They can't censor what they don't recognize. He had great hopes of what the Technos III material might do for him and his career, and he wasn't going to let these three stuffed shirts get in his way. The day he couldn't think rings around any censor they could throw at him, he'd give up journalism and go into politics. They'd believe anything there.
    This was his first real assignment in too many years, after spending so long buried in the Shrecks' Public Relations department, because Gregor needed him.

    The right kind of reporting here could make his reputation, establish him as a journalist and commentator in his own right. Toby wanted that. The essence of a good PR man is that no one should notice his work. Toby felt very strongly that he'd earned a chance to show off his talents on a wider and more visible screen.
    Of course, he couldn't hope to make much of a splash just covering the events leading up to the stardrive ceremony. The real story lay in covering the Technos III conflict, the Wolfe and Church forces versus the rebel terrorists. And he was going to cover it, despite anything the Wolfes and the Church could do to stop him.
    He looked back at Flynn, who nodded briefly to show he was ready. The camera on his shoulder studied the three dignitaries with its red owl eye, linked into Flynn's eyes through his comm implant, so that he saw what it saw. Daniel and Stephanie and Kassar smiled determinedly at the camera, all friends together, ready for their interview. As in all politics, individual problems disappeared in the need to present a solid front to a common enemy.
    The Church ship Divine Breath hung in orbit above Technos III, comfortably far above the seething weather, ostensibly on guard but mostly just goofing off in the