Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

crime of having successfully impersonated an aristocrat. Fear of her father's perverted love. Fear of always being alone. And then she found Finlay, and for the first time in her life she had a reason to go on living. If he died, she didn't know what she'd do. Unlike Finlay, she had no taste for danger and excitement, but as a clone she was fiercely dedicated to the rebel cause. And if the many tensions of her life were slowly tearing her apart, that was her business. Gamine and elfin, her military fatigues hung about her like a tent. She had large dark eyes a man could drown in, a firm mouth, and the unmistakable air of a survivor. Of someone who had lived through pain and horror and despair, and had not broken under them. Yet.
    They stood together, studying the bright blue planet on the viewscreen before
    them. There were no signs of civilization, nothing to show that Humanity had ever made a mark on Shannon's World. No cities, no great roads, nothing big enough to trigger the ship's sensors. Whatever lived down there was keeping itself hidden and secret. Evangeline sighed suddenly.
    "It looks so innocent. Untouched by man. Not at all like a Field of Blood. What could have happened down there, what terrible thing, to justify such a name?"
    Finlay smiled slightly. "Something powerful and nasty enough to kill off every armed man the Iron Bitch has sent down there, so far. And there's not much that can stand against a full force of armed marines. I've always liked a challenge."
    "Do you think… could it be something like the Grendel alien? I've seen the holo of what that creature did at Court."
    "Unlikely," said Toby from the back. "After the horror of what happened on Grendel, every planet in the Empire was searched for signs of more Vaults. Not even a pleasure planet like this would have been exempt. And if anyone had found more Sleepers, there's no way they could have kept it quiet. There isn't that much money in the Empire."
    "Don't worry, love," said Finlay to Evangeline, putting an arm across her shoulders and pulling her close. "Whatever's down there, I'll protect you."
    "Did you ever come here?" said Evangeline. "I never did. I'd heard of Shannon's World, but Daddy didn't believe in letting me out of his sight."
    "I've been most places," said Finlay. "But never here. I was always too busy.
    And it didn't sound like the kind of place where I'd fit in. Too peaceful.
    Ironic, isn't it? That what was designed as the safest, most secure place in the Empire should end up a nightmare renamed the Field of Blood. Still, that's life in the Empire for you these days. Just as a matter of interest, how did we get the coordinates for this place? I thought they were strictly need to know, only
    issued to actual visitors?"
    "Valentine Wolfe supplied them," said Evangeline, her voice carefully neutral.
    "Before he left us, to become Lionstone's right-hand man. Apparently he'd been here once, but didn't care for it. Something about the place… disturbed him. He thought we should blow it all up."
    "The Wolfe," said Finlay, his lips curling back in something between a snarl and a smile. "I must find him and thank him personally. And then I'll cut his heart out and hold it still beating in my hand. He destroyed my Family, betrayed the rebellion, and spit on everything I ever believed in."
    "Be fair," said Toby Shreck, butting into the conversation with the casual ease of the experienced journalist. "We are, after all, talking about Valentine Wolfe, famed for degeneracy in a Court where the appalling and the disgusting have become commonplace. The man who never met a drug he didn't like. I'm amazed you people let him into the underground in the first place."
    "He had money and contacts," said Evangeline. "At a time when we needed both.
    Besides, he came with good recommendations."
    "Who from?" said Toby. "The Royal Guild of Chemists? If you nurse a viper in your bosom, you shouldn't be surprised if it turns round and bites you."
    "I will kill him," said Finlay. "No matter where it takes me, no matter what it costs."
    "Sometimes I can't help wondering if we're getting too inbred," said Toby. "Here we are, about to face unknown dangers on a planet known as the Field of Blood, and all you can think about is dueling someone who's light-years away, and probably permanently out of your reach anyway. Give me strength."
    "You wouldn't understand," said Finlay, not looking at him. "It's a matter of
    honor."
    "Of course not," said Toby.