Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

money that de Lisle’s bosses would have made sure that word never got to you, one way or another.” Random sat quietly for a while. Savage sipped his wine and watched Random brood. Even sitting still and silent, the old professional rebel still looked sharp and dangerous. If anyone could still save Loki, it might be him.
    The murmur of hushed conversations went around the bar, rising and falling like a distant tide. Random sighed and shook his head.
    “I won the rebellion. Threw down the Iron Bitch. And nothing’s changed. I thought when the war was over, I’d finally be allowed to put down my burden and have a life of my own at last. I should have known better. No matter how many wars you fight, another always comes along. I tried to put away the warrior’s sword and become a politician, a man of peace. But I don’t believe in politics. Never have. I believe in right and wrong, not deals and compromises.”
    “And yet you agreed to the deal with Blue Block,” Savage said carefully.
    “Because millions would have died if you hadn’t.” “Yes, I saved lives, but only by compromising
    everything I ever believed in. I should have stood firm. Said no, and to hell with the consequences.
    People would have died, maybe whole worlds, but in the end we would have been rid of people like de Lisle forever. A fair price, perhaps. I don’t know. All I know is that tomorrow I have to lead an army out to fight rebels who just might have right on their side, to protect the interests of scum like de Lisle.
    Where’s the right in that? Where’s the honor? I used to be an honorable man. I was famous for it. I wonder when I lost it.”
    “The rebels might have been justified in the beginning,” said Savage. “But they lost all claim to the moral high ground when they called in Shub. What good to save the world if you lose your soul in the process?
    They have no excuses. Everyone knows how deals with the Devil work out. I’ve never forgotten the first footage I saw of Young Jack Random and his Ghost Warriors in action. Rows and rows of men, women and children crucified on metal crosses. I know where I stand, sir Random, and so does everyone else in Vidar. Even these scumbags sitting around us, making a last few, desperate deals, will be with us tomorrow, sword and gun in hand, to fight the war of man against machine. Even them.” “I’ll give you good odds de Lisle and his cronies won’t be there.” “It’s not their world. No one expected us to survive when we first came here, let alone turn Loki into a viable colony, but we did it. Because we were so hard the storms of Loki just broke against us. If a whole planet couldn’t defeat us, a few tin soldiers and walking corpses aren’t going to do it. Even if they are led by Young Jack Random.”
    “Don’t you worry about him,” said Random. “I’ll deal with him. And then I’ll come back and deal with de Lisle. I give you my word.” “And Jack Random’s word is good enough for me,” said Peter Savage.
    Random smiled for the first time, reached across and took Savage’s glass, and tried some of the wine.
    He shuddered and put the glass down Firmly. “God, you must be tougher than you look if you can drink that stuff voluntarily.” But the smile didn’t last long, and his face fell back into brooding lines. “I’ve been here before, you know. On worlds like this. Cold Rock, Mistworld… but what Loki reminds me most of is Virimonde. What used to be Owen Deathstalker’s world.” “The world Shub destroyed under Valentine Wolfe,” said Savage, nodding. “I’ve seen the holo documentaries. We all have. But that’s not going to happen here. We have an army.”
    “Yeah. I’m just glad Owen isn’t here. It would break his heart to see another world faced with such destruction.”
    Savage leaned forward, his eyes shining. “What’s he really like? The Deathstalker? Has he really done all the things they say he has?” “Most of them, yes. You’d be surprised. If there’s a single real hero to come out of the rebellion, it’s him, not me. He’s never compromised, never once wavered from what he believed in. The best kind of warrior—the man who never wanted to be one, but fought anyway because he believed in the Rightness of his cause. I’d given up. The Empire had broken me. But he brought me back… What is he like, really? A good man in bad times. The only really honorable man I ever met.”
    “Would he come to help us? If we