Deathstalker 02 - Deathstalker Rebellion

controlled environment. Not being fed or watered for days at a time, they were used to a much rougher life in the world outside.
    Daniel scowled fiercely, tapping one foot impatiently and hugging himself to keep from flying apart. Things had not been going at all well for the Wolfes lately, and this particular meeting had the potential for a really major screwup. One badly chosen word, and if he was lucky he'd only be sent home in disgrace. Stephanie stood at his side, cool and calm and very controlled. If only because one of them had to be. By rights, Michel and Lily should have been there, too, to greet such an important new arrival, but Stephanie had decided very early on that they couldn't be trusted to behave themselves. So she had their food drugged and locked them in their rooms, just in case. Officially, they were indisposed, which was true enough. And Cardinal Kassar's presence had not been requested. He'd tried everything, up to and including not so veiled threats, to inveigle an invitation, but Stephanie had no intention of being upstaged. This was a Wolfe affair, and the new arrival was their guest. Kassar
    could meet him later. Much later.
    The only two people she hadn't been able to keep out were Toby Shreck and his cameraman Flynn. The Empress had personally let it be known that she wanted the new arrival's reception carried live on holovision, and though she hadn't deigned to explain why, what Lionstone wanted, Lionstone got—if you were fond of breathing. So Toby and Flynn set up their lights and faded as far into the background as they could, trying hard not to be noticed. This was one show they were determined not to be thrown out of. It wasn't every day you got a chance to film the legendary Half A Man himself, in what remained of his flesh.
    There weren't many in the Empire who didn't know the cruel and terrible history of Half A Man. Just over two hundred years ago, he'd had a far too close encounter with a species of alien still not identified or reencountered. He'd been abducted right out of the command chair of his own starcruiser, the Beowulf, disappearing in full view of his bridge crew. There'd been no warning, no trace of alien ship or presence. He was just there one minute and gone the next.
    The aliens held on to him for three years, performing experiments on him that he remembered only partially, in his worst nightmares. Mostly, he remembered screaming. Then they sent him back, dropping him out of nowhere onto the bridge of the Beowulf, even though the ship was halfway across the Empire from where it had been. And that was when the nightmare really began. The aliens sent only half of him back. The left half. He'd been split right down the middle, from scalp to crotch, his right half replaced by an energy construct of roughly human shape.
    The then Emperor had him examined by the finest scientists and medics of that
    time, but none of them came up with any explanation worth a damn. They couldn't even agree on why he was still alive, never mind what had happened to him. His right half was now composed of an energy field that had all the properties of matter, but was still clearly energy, though of a form the Empire had never encountered before. The whole Empire was placed on Red Alert for over a year, in case the aliens showed up again. But they didn't, and eventually everyone stood down from Red Alert and calmed down a little. Half A Man, as he'd been named almost immediately by the tabloid news channels, became a main adviser to the Emperor on alien matters and continued to hold that position as years passed, Emperors died, and his human half grew no older by a day. Now, as then, he was largely responsible for setting alien policy within the Empire, and if anyone felt like arguing with him, all it took was one close look at what aliens had done to him to change their minds.
    Half A Man was also responsible for the creation of the Investigators. He felt the Empire needed a body of men and women specially qualified to deal with any and all alien threats. He trained them all personally, then and now, in the best ways to understand, control, and kill aliens. The Investigators worshiped him.
    Which had been known to make the various occupants of the Iron Throne just a little uneasy, down the years. There was no denying the Investigators were necessary and highly proficient at their job, but if they were ever to band together, possibly under Half A Man, it was doubtful if there was a force