Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

that.” She leaned in closer to Owen, and he did his best not to flinch away. “You know, Owen, this disease sounds too bad to be true. Could it be some bioweapon that got loose from a lab?”
    “You’re not the first person to suggest that,” said Hazel. “Truth is, no one knows. It doesn’t appear to be related to any other current disease. It could well have been some damn fool’s idea of a last-ditch terror weapon. And it would explain how it just appeared out of nowhere.”
    “Of course, that could be nothing more than general paranoia,” said Owen. “There was a lot of that about during Lionstone’s reign.” “Yeah,” said Hazel. “Mostly because they really were out to get you.”
    “True. Thank God things have changed since then.” Every alarm on the bridge went off at once, with flashing lights and sirens screaming loudly enough to wake the dead. Owen stared in disbelief at the control panels before him.
    “I don’t believe it!”
    “What? What?” said Hazel.
    “A Hadenman ship just dropped out of hyperspace right next to us! How the hell did they know we were going to be here?”
    “Tell you what,” said Hazel, stabbing desperately at the controls. “You ask them, and I’ll concentrate on getting us the hell out of here.” “I thought Owen was supposed to be their Redeemer,” said Bonnie.
    “Yeah, well,” said Owen, busily activating every defensive shield the Sunstrider II had, “after Brahmin II, I think we can safely consider that particular title obsolete.” He hit the intercom switch. “Moon! Get your silicon ass up here!” “I’m already here,” said the grating tones of the augmented man. Tobias Moon strode over to stand beside Owen, studying the image of the vast golden ship on the viewscreen with his glowing golden eyes. “My people have found us again.” “Wonderful,” said Owen. “Some days things
    wouldn’t go right if you paid them.
    Shields are up, weapon computer systems are all on-line. Hazel?”
    “I’ve put us into a dive, heading for cloud cover. Maybe we can lose them.” “Unlikely,” Moon said calmly. “Hadenman sensors are far in advance of anything the Empire has. Also, that golden ship has enough firepower to vaporize a small moon. Or a large one, if they were patient. I suggest you concentrate on speed. The improved stardrive from the original Sunstrider is still far superior to anything the Hadenmen have.”
    “Thank the good Lord for small mercies,” said Hazel. “Hang on to your breakfast, people. We are going straight down.”
    The Sunstrider II punched through the swirling atmosphere, the huge golden ship of the Hadenmen right behind her, like a whale pursuing a minnow. Both ships plunged down through Lachrymae Christi’s atmosphere at dangerously high speeds, ignoring the violent weather systems that heaved and crackled around them. The golden ship opened fire, and the Sunstrider II’s shields flared brightly, absorbing as much of the terrible destructive energies as they could. Inside the yacht, all the alarm sirens were howling at once. The lights on the bridge went out, replaced after a heart-stopping pause by the dull red glow of emergency lighting. Owen’s gaze darted across the control panels, looking for good news and finding none. More and more systems were shutting down as the main computers rerouted power to sustain the shields. Hazel managed to get off a few shots at the pursuing Hadenman ship, but they made no impression on the huge ship’s fields. Owen kept one eye on their speed and elevation, and didn’t know which worried him the most. If he couldn’t throw off the Hadenmen pursuit soon, the Sunstrider II would be hard pressed to cut her speed back enough to be sure of a safe landing.
    “Can someone please kill those damned alarms!” he said harshly. “I can’t hear myself think in here!”
    Hazel hit a section of the control panels with her fist, and a sudden blessed silence fell across the bridge.
    “Better?”
    “Much,” said Owen.
    “Can we do anything to help?” said Bonnie.
    “Prayer is probably a good idea about now,” said Hazel. “Any good deities where you come from?”
    “What’s our exact situation?” said Midnight.
    “Bad, and getting worse,” said Owen. “We are outgunned, and pursued by a much larger ship with power to burn and one hell of a grudge against us. And if we don’t figure out how to slow down real soon now, some unfortunate part of the planet below is going