Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

of how your forebears hounded and persecuted my predecessor. I trust things have changed since then.”
    “Oh, sure,” said Toby, mentally crossing his fingers behind his back. “Just take your time, tell it in your own words, and don’t leave out any of the juicy details.”
    “That’s enough!” said Elias Gutman quickly. “As Speaker of this House, I declare this a security matter.
    Stop filming now. All your tape will be confiscated before you leave.”
    “Get bent,” said Toby. “We’re going out live. The people had a right to the truth. Keep filming, Flynn.”
    “I’m on it, boss.”
    Gutman gestured urgently, and a large number of security guards ran forward, swords and guns at the ready. They formed a semicircle, fanning around Half A Man and Toby and Flynn. Toby did his best to look unconcerned, and quietly thanked God that they were going out live. Gutman wouldn’t dare have him shot in front of millions of viewers. At least, Toby didn’t think he would. As Speaker he was now a public figure, reliant on the public goodwill. Toby just hoped Gutman knew that.
    “Enough,” said Half A Man. “I wish this to be broadcast. The whole Empire must know what I have to tell.”
    The security guards looked at Half A Man, then at Gutman, and finally at each other. The original Half A Man had been thought unkillable until the Deathstalker managed it, and no one was entirely sure how he’d done it anyway. The original Half A Man had also been known for his extremely short temper, and a complete willingness to kill anyone who got in his way. The guards started lowering their weapons.
    Gutman quickly decided to make the best of a bad situation, and gave in gracefully.
    “Of course you must tell your story, Captain Fast. I’m sure the whole Empire is dying to hear what you have to say.”
    “Good,” said Half A Man, “for what I have to say concerns the fate of every living creature in the Empire.” He looked straight into the camera, ignoring the politicians. “The imposter told you some of the truth. I was abducted and remade by aliens, but I was split in two, to produce a pair of the unnatural things you see before you. In my other self, the alien mind dominated the meld. An alien will moved that body, and an alien intelligence spoke through its mouth. It told you carefully tailored lies, to hide the real truth and the real dangers from you. The aliens you have encountered till now are nothing compared to the real Enemy that lies waiting. There’s something alive in the Darkvoid. Something old and powerful and horribly evil. They call themselves the Recreated. And soon they will come out of the Darkvoid and destroy everything that lives.” There was another long pause. Toby cleared his throat. “What exactly are… the Recreated?”
    “Horrible beyond imagining. Powerful beyond hope or sanity. Alien to everything you know or understand as life. They died and brought themselves back to life. They are eternal now. And soon they will come for you all.” “But, if they can’t die, or death doesn’t stop them,” said Toby, “why would they want to bother with something as small as us?”
    “Your deaths will fuel their mighty engines. Your final suffering, extended across centuries, will power
    their machines. And your screaming souls will be a comfort to them. They are of the darkness, and cannot bear the light. So they would snuff it out, wherever they find it, and plunge the whole universe into an endless night. And they will rule the dark forever.” “How the hell are we supposed to fight something like that?” said Toby.
    Half A Man looked at him for the first time. “You can’t.” Jack Random shut down the holoscreen.
    “That’s the gist of it. After that it was just a lot of arguing and panicking and running around in circles.
    Half A Man, if that’s who he really is, finally allowed the guards to lead him away for a thorough debriefing, hopefully including where the hell he’s been all this time. Last I heard, the MPs were still sitting at the House, calling for more and more expert opinions and scaring themselves silly.”
    “If this Half A Man isn’t who or what he says he is,” said Ruby slowly, “then what the hell is he? A Fury?”
    “Good question,” said Jack. “But I don’t think even the rogue AIs have the tech to produce a living energy field like that. The Empire had access to the original Half A Man for centuries, and never did work out what made him