Deathstalker 02 - Deathstalker Rebellion

us."
    "Understood," said Shoal. She got to her feet and bowed briefly to Half A Man.
    "I'll put the matter in hand. Get what rest you can, sir. We have a lot of work ahead of us if we're to put down the rebellion here."
    "We have to," said Half A Man. "The aliens are still out there. The Empire must have this new stardrive if it's to stand against them. It can't afford to be distracted by petty squabbles like this."
    In the boiling summer heat, Cardinal James Kassar stalked up and down before his assembled Church troops, working himself into a state. The troops stood stiffly to attention in their ranks, ignoring the heat and the sweat that evaporated on their skin almost as quickly as it formed. A few had passed out and had been left to lie where they fell. They'd be flogged later. Kassar had been talking and yelling at them for a good half hour and showed no signs of slowing down.
    The gist of his speech, interrupted by frequent prayers and exaltations, was the pride and purity of the Church of Christ the Warrior and the utter depravity of the Church's many enemies. Kassar had all but worked himself into a froth of rage and frustration, but the troops weren't that impressed. They'd seen it all before. Kassar could turn it on and off like a tap.
    They were all paying careful attention, though. Partly because it took their minds off the heat, but mostly because the Jesuit commandos were prowling between the ranks, hoping to find someone not paying attention, so they could drag him out and make an awful example of him. No chance of that this morning.
    For once the Cardinal had something to say that was actually interesting, not to mention vitally important. On his own initiative, Kassar was sending them down into the tunnels under Technos III, to wipe out the rebels and regain their
    pride after being beaten so resoundingly in the past. Of course, this time would be different. No small group in battle armor, but the entire Church force with no armor, hand weapons only, and a new battle drug the Church had been dying to try out on somebody. The troops would have liked to look at each other to see how everyone else was taking this, but the Jesuit commandos were still prowling, so everyone stared straight ahead.
    "Battle armor was a mistake," Kassar admitted, standing still for a moment so he could stare commandingly at his troops. "There's not enough room to maneuver down in the tunnels, and the built-in disrupters are all but useless. Armor just weighs a man down and gets in his way. This time you travel light, move fast, strike at will. The new battle drug was created in our own Church laboratories.
    It fires a man's faith, makes him faster, stronger, meaner. His strength is as the strength of ten because his heart is pure. A pure man with this battle drug in his veins could slay an entire army, armed only with the jawbone of an ass.
    And you will be very well armed. Those hell-damned Rejects won't even know what hit them.
    "My friends, we must win this battle. Not just because the Empire depends on us for its security upon this factory's stardrive production, but because our enemies at Court and beyond are using our previous defeat here during the rebel attack for their own propaganda, to force us from our rightful place at the Empress Lionstone's side. We must regain our pride, whatever the cost. Remember, those who die fighting in the Church's name are sure of a place in heaven. If we fail, if our faith is found wanting, then those who survive will be recalled to Golgotha for debriefing by the Church interrogators. I know you would all rather die than see us return in disgrace."

    He paused to look out over his flock and nodded with pride to see them staring unflinchingly back at him. "The Jesuit Fathers will move among you now, distributing the new drug and giving each group its orders. Assemble back here in half an hour, full field kit and weapons, ready to take the drug at the Fathers' commands. Regretfully, I cannot be with you. I have other pressing duties here. But I will be with you in spirit. Make me proud of you. Make the Church proud of you. Descend into the darkness below and kill every living thing you find. For the glory of God and the Empire, kill every rebel man, woman, and child, until none remain to spread defiance on this world."
    Down below, in the honeycomb of tunnels and caverns carved out of the many layers of metal far below the surface of Technos III, rebel life went on as normal. The people