Deathstalker 02 - Deathstalker Rebellion

start hearing an answer sometime soon, I am going to start shooting," said the woman on the left.
    "Angels!" Owen said quickly. "Something about angels!"
    "Something something angels in the moonlight," said Hazel. "I think."
    "Oh, hell," said the woman in the middle. "That's close enough. Be here all day otherwise."
    "We're your contact," said the woman on the left. "Sorry it took us a while to get here, but there are security guards all over the place, and we didn't want to kill them all. It would only have attracted attention."
    "Fair enough," said Hazel. "What happened to Stevie Blue?"
    "We're right here," said the one in the middle.
    "Right," said the one on the right.
    "All of you?" said Owen.
    "Got it in one," said the Stevie Blue on the left. "I'm Stevie One, this is Two and Three. Don't get us mixed up. We're touchy about it."
    "I take it you're also espers," said Owen, putting his sword away. Hazel reluctantly sheathed hers, but kept her hands near her guns. Owen gave the Stevie Blues his best diplomatic smile, and vowed silently to do something
    really unpleasant to the divot who'd got Stevie Blue's personal details wrong.
    "Nice work on the Investigator. I think he was prepared for everything except a sudden flash fire. Next time, feel free to reduce him to a pile of smoldering ashes. All right, let's get down to business. The program's in the machine and running. All we have to do is keep the hostile natives at bay until it's finished, and then we can leg it. We've got a ship coming back to pick us up.
    It's a Hadenman ship, but don't let that panic you. They've been very reasonable. So far."
    The three Stevie Blues smiled in unison. "Anyone annoys us, they're toast," said Stevie One. "We're pyros. Elfs; Esper Liberation Front. We kick ass."
    "And you're the underground's idea of diplomats," said Hazel. "You're going to be very popular at strategy planning sessions. I might just start attending them again."
    "The cyberats are running interference to keep this tower isolated," said Stevie Two. "No one from outside will know anything's happened—till it's all over."
    Owen frowned. "Computer hackers aren't exactly noted for their reliability."
    "You can trust these," said Stevie One. "If only because they know we'll kick their ass if they screw up."
    "Right," said Stevie Three.
    Owen and Hazel suddenly turned away and looked thoughtfully at the stairs. Hazel drew her guns, and Owen turned back to the clones.
    "Visitors are on their way."
    "You espers or something?" said Stevie One.
    "Something," said Owen. "The Investigator must have put himself out and alerted his people. Any minute now we're going to be hip deep in security guards."

    "That's not all," said Stevie Two. "They've got an esp-blocker with them. I can feel my powers fading as it gets closer."
    "Wonderful," said Hazel. "Can anything else go wrong?"
    "Quite a lot, if we just stand around here waiting for them," said Owen. "May I suggest we get the hell back to the computer room?"
    "Too late," said Stevie Three. "They're here."
    The three clones drew their swords with the same quick, professional motion and moved to block the head of the stairwell. Owen and Hazel moved in beside them, guns at the ready, just in time to see a single tall figure step into sight at the final corner of the stairs below. He was dressed in jet-black robes and battle armor, looked to be in his early thirties, and was handsome in an unspectacular way. His dark eyes and slight smile were utterly cold, and just standing there with empty hands, he looked calm and confident and very dangerous. Stevie Two whistled softly.
    "The Lord High Dram his own bad self. We should be honored. He normally only murders espers from a safe distance."
    "He can't just blast and burn the tower this time," said Stevie One. "The Empress would have his nuts if he let the Tax computers be destroyed."
    Owen and Hazel looked at each other thoughtfully. "That man is quite definitely dead," said Owen. "I saw the body."
    "So who's this?" said Hazel. "A clone? Does anyone at Court know? Or was the one we saw die a clone?"
    "Are we supposed to understand any of that?" said Stevie One.
    "I'll explain later," said Owen. "Assuming there is a later. "For the moment, just believe me when I say things just got a lot more complicated. The Widowmaker will be a major rallying point for the Empire that we hadn't counted
    on. We have to get this information back to Rebel HQ."
    "I've got a better idea," said Hazel.