Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

yellow furnace eyes, like a mining operation in Hell. A tall metal wall surrounded the city, polished by the abrasive dust to a dark purple sheen, with two massive metal gates at the front. The faint shimmer of a massive energy Screen covered the whole city from the walls up. It had to be said that Vidar didn’t look the least bit welcoming, but Random and Ruby were used to turning up at places where they weren’t wanted. As long as it promised shelter from the storms, a clean bed, and a hot bath to soak in, Random was quite prepared to get down on his knees and kiss the ground inside its gates. Without looking at each other, Random and Ruby made their way down the long gray slope to the dark city below. A local guard patrol intercepted them as they approached the main gates. There were six of them in full body armor, with improvised masks and hoods. They plodded determinedly toward Random and Ruby, stopping a respectful distance away. Each man had an energy gun in a thickly gloved hand, carefully targeted. Random and Ruby came to a stop too, just to be polite.
    One of the guards stepped forward.
    “Who the hell are you?” he yelled, his voice only just carrying over the winds. “Our sensors confirm you aren’t Furies or Ghost Warriors, but nothing human is stupid enough to travel the surface without armor!”
    “We are Jack Random and Ruby Journey,” said Random as courteously as he could while still shouting.
    “I believe you’re expecting us. Sorry we’re a bit late.” “But… we saw your ship go down yesterday, over two miles away!” “We survived the crash, but our crew didn’t. So we waited out the night in a cave and then walked here.”
    “You walked? Jesus Christ, maybe you are as good as the stories say. Follow me, I’ll lead you in. But I’m afraid the weapons stay trained on you till we can positively verify your identity. Shub’s been trying all kinds of tricks to get into the city. We don’t take chances anymore.”
    “Understood. Now, do you think we could get moving? I’ve had enough of this storm and dust to last a lifetime.”
    “Welcome to Loki,” said the guard leader, and turned and headed for the main gates. Random and Ruby moved after him, the other guards turning slowly to keep them covered. The main gates turned out to be two huge slabs of steel. Twenty feet high, to match the walls, and eight feet wide, they looked like they could keep out anything up to and including a Grendel in heat. They opened slowly in response to a signal from the guard leader, who led Random and Ruby in. The rest of the guards moved quickly in to surround them, and the gates slammed together, holding out the storm.
    It was suddenly very quiet. The roar of the winds was gone, cut off as though someone up above had thrown a switch. Random slowly straightened his aching back and rubbed grit from his eyes. Beside him, Ruby was hacking and coughing, trying to clear the dust from her mouth and throat. They were in a huge airlock, big enough to handle fifty men at a time, if they didn’t mind crowding. The air was comfortably warm and blessedly clear. Random took several deep breaths before turning to the guard leader, who was now wearily stacking pieces of his armor in the wall compartments. He was young, barely into his twenties, with a long, serious face under a thick shock of long yellow hair. There were already deep lines of responsibility and hard life around his mouth and eyes. He grinned suddenly at Random, an engaging, almost shy smile. “According to the sensors and our computer records, you two are exactly who and what you say you are. And man, are we glad to see you!” He gestured to the other guards, who immediately holstered their weapons and set about removing their own masks and armor. They all looked young and sober and more than capable of handling themselves in a fight. Random guessed the weaker elements didn’t last long on Loki. The guard leader stuck out his hand, and Random shook it automatically. The leader turned to Ruby, but she just gave him a hard look, so he put his hand away and turned back to Random. “I’m Peter Savage, guard leader. I wanted to take out a search party to look for you, but the city Council was positive no one could have survived such a crash. I could have told them. I knew it would take a lot more than a crashing ship to finish off Jack Random!”
    There was a loud murmur of agreement from the other guards, and Random looked around to find them