Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

information. Show me what’s going on down there.” “You’ve gone all quiet again,” said Hazel. “And your face has gone through all kinds of changes. Are you talking to that ghost AI again?” “Ah,” said Owen. “Sorry. I didn’t realize I was subvocalizing. Oz has found a way to run sensor scans on the planet’s surface. And he’s not a ghost.” “Then how come you’re the only one who can hear him?”
    “She’s got a point,” said Oz.
    “Shut up, Oz,” said Owen. “Look, maybe it’s something to do with the Madness Maze. He was there in my head when we all went through. Maybe the experience… changed him.”
    Hazel sniffed. “I still say it’s damned spooky.”
    “I couldn’t agree more,” said Oz. “I try not to think about it too much. Otherwise I start worrying about awkward questions like where the hell my hardware is these days.”
    “We can argue about the nature of existence later,” said Owen firmly. “Sometime when we’re not surrounded on all sides by a whole army of cybernetic killers. Now, put the sensor scans on the main viewscreen, dammit.”
    “All right, all right,” said Oz. “Sensor displays coming right up.” “Colonization never really got started again here after the first colony was wiped out,” said Hazel as they waited for the first pictures of the planet’s surface to come in. “Population never really rose much above a million. Local ecosphere is pretty bleak, making farming difficult, and the mines are hard work, without much in the way of payoff.
    And after the Hadenmen attack nobody would volunteer to come here. Eventually the powers that be had to promise extra land, higher bonuses, on-site troops, and permanent Fleet protection. They really wanted those mines working again. In the end, enough of the truly desperate allowed themselves to be persuaded by the new package to make a new start on Brahmin II, and the colony was up and running again. Only the Fleet had to be called away during the rebellion and never went back. And while we were all preoccupied with other things, the Hadenmen just walked right in and took control all over again.
    The colonists were sitting ducks. Poor bastards. It must have been their worst nightmare come true.”
    “Another price we paid for victory,” said Owen. “Another mess for us to clear up. And something else for me to feel guilty over. Sometimes I wonder why I started out on this road.”
    “Because otherwise you’d have been killed. Don’t beat yourself up, Owen. There’s any number of people back on Golgotha who’d be only too happy to do it for you. We overthrew the Iron Bitch and put an end to a system based on oppression and brutality. In the end, that justifies everything we had to do.” “Everything?” said Owen.
    “Damn right,” said Hazel.
    Owen looked back at the viewscreen and changed the subject. “I wonder why the Hadenmen came back here. Everyone knows why they wanted a rich prize like Madraguda. But from what you’ve said, it’s hard to see what makes Brahmin II so attractive. What do they mine here? Anything important?”
    “Not really,” said Hazel. “Some minor minerals. Useful stuff but not valuable.” “So what brought the Hadenmen back here to make it their new base? What makes Brahmin II so special?”
    “You got me,” said Hazel. “Maybe that’s one of the things we need to find out on our little trip dirtside.”
    The viewscreen finally flashed up the first pictures, and Owen and Hazel fell silent as they saw what the Hadenmen had done to Brahmin II this time. The cities had been devastated, blown away by concentrated disrupter fire. Not even ruins remained, only shallow craters in the earth. The only exception was Brahmin II’s main city and starport, still standing, but the Hadenmen had put their mark on that too, transforming it into something new and alien with strange structures and unfamiliar technology.
    “This is worse than the last time,” Owen said finally. “A scorched-earth policy for the outer cities, and then setting up shop in the main city. They’re here for the long term. And I made it all possible.” “Will you stop putting the weight of the universe on your shoulders!” snapped Hazel. “Not everything that happens is your fault. Let’s concentrate on the matter at hand, namely sneaking into the main city, getting our information, and sneaking out again with all our important parts still attached. Anything else can wait till