Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

couldn’t have persuaded so many people to come here with him. And somebody must have paid for all that fancy equipment he’s supposed to have with him. If you ask me, it’s something to do with drugs. Everything with Valentine turns out to be something to do with drugs.”
    “Or revenge. He’s a Wolfe, after all. And Oz says his security systems are advanced far beyond anything he should have access to.” Hazel looked at him sharply. “You’re still hearing voices, aren’t you?”
    “I do wish you wouldn’t put it like that. And it’s only one voice.” “Is that supposed to reassure me? At this rate you’ll be saying you only overthrew the Empire because the Devil told you to. That’s going to go down really well with the general populace.”
    “It’s just my old AI!”
    “Then why can’t I hear it on my comm system? Why can’t anyone else hear it? And you were very definite you’d killed the bloody thing after it betrayed us on the Wolfling World.”
    “I thought it was dead. But I’m not as sure about a lot of things as I used to be. After all, you and I have been through a lot of things that should have killed us. Haven’t we?”
    Hazel had no quick answer to that. So they stared at each other in an uncomfortable silence for a long moment, until they were suddenly interrupted by all the yacht’s warning sirens going off at once, the floor rocking under their feet as something really powerful hit the ship like a hammer. “Oz!” yelled Owen.
    “What the hell’s going on?”
    “You can’t say I didn’t warn you,” said the AI calmly. “Valentine’s security systems have finally broken through our cloaking shields, and the armed satellites are currently throwing everything they’ve got at us.
    Which is actually quite considerable. Main shields are holding. For the moment. Do I have your permission to return fire?”
    “Of course you bloody do! Blow the nearest satellites out of the sky and then get us dirtside as fast as
    you can.”
    “Landing coordinates?”
    “Not too far from the Standing. Walking distance.” “About time you got some healthy exercise,” said the AI approvingly. “You’ve been putting on weight.”
    “Well?” said Hazel. “What’s happening?”
    “Valentine knows we’re here. And the voice in my head now thinks it’s my mother. I’m bringing the ship down fast. Grab onto something and pray for a soft landing.”
    “Hell with that,” said Hazel. “I want to get some shots of my own in first.” “Why bother? The ship’s fire computers are perfectly capable—“ “God, you’re a wimp sometimes, Deathstalker. It’s the principle of the thing.” And off she went, up to the bridge to plug herself into the fire systems. Owen let her go. That was Hazel for you. Never happier than with a gun of some kind in her hand, causing destruction and devastation and ruining someone’s day. He strapped himself into his chair and waited patiently. At least the Sunstrider II had decent guns. The original Sunstrider had spent most of its short life being chased from one world to another, often shot up and on fire, until it finally crash-landed in the deadly jungles of Shandrakor. When Owen had the new yacht built around the salvaged engines of the old, he had insisted the Hadenmen install as many state-of-the-art weapon systems as the craft could hold. He didn’t like having to run. It wasn’t in his nature. And then the ship lurched again, as something really nasty slammed through the energy shields and impacted on the reinforced hull. The lights flickered briefly, and Owen tensed, waiting for the shrill warning of a hull breach. It didn’t come, but Owen decided his proper place was on the bridge, after all. Defense computers could do only so much. He ran all the way, but still had enough breath left when he got there to demand of Hazel what the hell was going on.
    “Damned if I know, Deathstalker,” said Hazel briskly, eyes fixed on the control panels before her. “I’ve never encountered firepower like this. At least, not from any human tech.”
    Owen dropped into the seat beside her and quickly studied the tactical displays.
    Main shields were still holding, but they were taking a hell of a battering. There was some damage to the outer hull, mostly superficial. The Hadenmen knew how to build a ship. “This shouldn’t be happening,” he said finally. “The Hadenmen assured me we could stand off everything up to and including an Empire