Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

centuries!"
    "They're just peasants," said the Steward calmly. "Their duty and purpose is to serve, here or elsewhere, as the Empress commands. This new method of raising livestock will be much more efficient. I have the projected figures for the next ten years, if you'd care to see them."
    "Stuff the figures! What she's planning is wrong. This is a human world, not some offshoot from Shub."
    "You should be proud, my lord. Virimonde is to be the first such planet, the prototype. Once its worth has been proved here, all other food-producing worlds will be transformed accordingly. Your present wealth will be greatly magnified."
    "Who cares about that?" said David, sticking his face right into the Steward's.
    "Where's the fun in ruling over one big factory? No, this obscenity will never happen here. Not as long as I'm Lord."
    "What can you do to stop it?" said Kit. "I mean, she's the Empress. She makes the decisions. You argue about it too much, and she might declare you a traitor, just like Owen."
    "She wouldn't really destroy a whole planet," said David. "Would she?"

    "Almost certainly," said Kit. "It wasn't that long ago she outlawed the planet Tannim, and had the whole planet scorched. Remember?"
    David scowled. He remembered. Billions of people had died, a civilization gone up in flames, at the Empress's command. "That was over politics. This is business."
    Kit shrugged. "Same thing, as often as not."
    "Yeah," said David. "I know where this is coming from. Why she chose to start with my world. It's because I'm a Deathstalker, and Owen's had such a triumph on Mistworld. She can't get at him, so she takes it out on me, the childish bitch.
    No, Kit, there's no way I'm going to let her get away with this."
    "What can you do?" said Kit, reasonably.
    "Nothing, I'm afraid, my lord," said the Steward. His voice was deferential, as always, but David was sure he could see a dark satisfaction in the man's eyes.
    "The Empress has never had much time for sentiment, and I doubt she will be swayed by any protest you might make. As I understand it, the transformation of food planets is part of a process to ensure an uninterrupted flow of food for the Empire during the projected future war with the aliens. As such, this becomes a matter of security, and is therefore not open to question. By anyone."
    "You knew about this!" said David. He grabbed the Steward by the shirtfront with both hands and slammed him back against the wall. "She couldn't have brought her plans this far without consulting you first! She needed facts and figures, the kind only you had access to. Talk to me, damn you!"
    "He can't talk," said Kit calmly. "You're throttling him. Ease up, David, and let's hear what he has to say. We can always kill him later."
    David let go of the Steward, and stepped back a pace, breathing heavily. The
    Steward put a hand to his throat as his breath returned, and glared at David, his servility discarded. "The Empress was kind enough to consult with me, yes. I did my best to be useful to her, as was my duty. You weren't informed until now because you had nothing useful to add to the discussion. And because we expected precisely this kind of infantile behavior from you. There is nothing you can do, my lord. Nothing at all."
    "I can talk to the Company of Lords," said David. "And Parliament, if need be.
    I'm not the only one with a personal stake in this. No other Lord will stand for this happening to one of their planets. Where's the fun in being a Lord, without people to Lord it over? This new efficiency would leave us nothing more than factory managers. Tradespeople! No, the Lords will never accept this. Dammit, I came here for peace and relaxation, not to oversee the transformation of this world into one big battery farm! Get out of my sight, Steward. I'm sick of looking at you."
    The Steward bowed coldly and left. David leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily. Kit looked at him thoughtfully.
    "Can we really stop her?" he said mildly. "If she makes this a matter of security…"
    "Well, to start with I'll send her a reply to this message that will make her ears burn. She thinks she can pressure me just because I haven't been a Lord long. We have to stop her, Kit. These plans would undermine every Lord's position. She's trying to take away our power, in return for more money. Well, she's miscalculated this time. Being a Lord has nothing to do with credits in a bank. Our peasants have always been loyal to us first, and only