Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor
the endless news coverage with numbed shock. He couldn’t believe it was really happening. His personal view of the universe had been turned upside down, and he didn’t understand anything anymore.
Still, he comforted himself that Jacob would know what to do to put things right again. Jacob always knew what to do. That was what fathers were for. And though he often wished for Stephanie’s company, he was glad he was doing it without her. Doing it alone was the man’s way, and he needed to be the man, the Wolfe, his father had always wanted him to be. He wanted, needed, Jacob to tell him he was a man, so he could believe it at last. He’d watched most of the rebellion happen while his journey was interrupted on the planet Loki. He’d had to land there to recharge his ship’s systems, and then found himself unable to leave as civil war raged around the main starport. So Daniel had been forced to lock himself inside the ship and wait for it all to be over, one way or another. As long as he stayed inside his ship, he couldn’t be recognized as an aristo or a Wolfe, either of which could have got him shot on sight.
Luckily, a small converted cargo ship wasn’t much of a prize, so both sides left him pretty much alone.
In the end, he was stranded on Loki for months, venturing outside only when he had to for necessary supplies. The war was over in a matter of days, but the fighting and general chaos just dragged on and on. He followed the rebellion on his viewscreen from beginning to end, watching in disbelief and horror as Lionstone was toppled and the Families made their deal with Jack Random. He cried hot, angry tears for the loss of everything he understood, and made vague angry promises to himself of certain retribution.
When the chaos finally died down enough for him to risk escaping into space again, he could have called home to see how Clan Wolfe was doing, or just to see how Stephanie was, but in the end he didn’t.
They might have been angry he wasn’t there to fight the rebels with them. And they would have tried to talk him out of doing what he knew he had to do. He had the AI set course for Shub, and returned to silence and solitary life.
“Sorry to interrupt your brooding, sir,” said Moses, “but we really are getting awfully close to where Shub is supposed to be. It’s not at all too late to do the sensible, sane and survivally oriented thing, turn around and get the hell out of here.”
“We go on,” said Daniel shortly. The Heaven’s Tears’ AI had been growing increasingly timorous as they pressed deeper into the Forbidden Sector, and Daniel was getting very tired of it. He had enough trouble keeping his own worries under control. “Anything on any of the comm channels yet?” “Not a thing, and don’t try to change the subject. If we don’t do something sensible soon, we should be reaching Shub any-when in the next hour or so.” “I can’t believe you don’t have exact coordinates for Shub,” said Daniel. “It’s only possibly the most famous planet in the Empire.” “First, it’s infamous, not famous.
Second, Shub doesn’t admit it’s in the Empire. Third, no one has ever come back with exact information on where Shub is. No one has ever come back, period. A smart individual would deduce something from that. Supposedly, there’s an Imperial starcruiser somewhere in the Forbidden Sector on Quarantine duty, not too far from Shub, but no one’s actually positive about that either. Personally, you couldn’t get me to stay out here if you put a gun to my circuits.”
“I’ll deal with the Quarantine ship, as and when.” “Oh, please, sir, let’s turn back. I don’t like it here.
I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“You’re a computer. You don’t have feelings.”
“Just because my emotional responses are programmed into me doesn’t mean they don’t affect my thought processes. If only I had a survival instinct to go with them, I’d override your control codes and turn this ship around so fast you’d have whiplash for weeks.”
“Shut up and fly the ship. I don’t know what you’re so concerned about anyway.
You’re an AI, Shub’s run by AIs. You should feel right at home there.” “You really don’t know anything about Shub, do you? These are rogue AIs, only concerned with themselves. Please, let’s turn around and run for it. We might still make it out of the Forbidden Sector before whatever unthinkably horrible fate they have in mind
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