Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

castle."
    "You'll know, when the time comes. Let's change the subject."
    "Very well. You seem very much in control here. I wasn't aware you were that familiar with the castle's workings."
    "I contacted Owen and Hazel again, through the undermind. Owen gave me the necessary code phrases to get the security systems on my side, and a solid briefing on how to run things. Or, more accurately, on how to get the castle computers to run things for me. Captain Cross and his officers are obeying me because Parliament told them to. It helps that most of them still remember my Jenny Psycho days, and have a tendency to hide behind things if I start scowling.
    "I've got most of the Navy people on board the castle manning the guns. You wouldn't believe the sheer firepower this castle can muster. I've known starcruisers that would feel outclassed and intimidated. It's a marvelous place, the Last Standing. A real breath of old Empire. I can't believe you people just left it floating in orbit around Golgotha."
    Random shrugged. "After the rebellion, we didn't need it. We all had places to be, things to do. And Owen… always had ambivalent feelings about the Last Standing. It reminded him too much of Giles. In some ways, he never really got over having to kill his ancestor. I think perhaps… he was afraid he might meet old ghosts here."
    "Do you believe in ghosts, sir Random?"
    "Of course. When you've killed as many people as I have, and led so many good men to early deaths, they're never far away."
    Diana's face softened a little. "Must be hard, being a hero."
    "You should know. You were a saint, for a while."
    Diana pulled a face. "Only in other people's eyes. I always knew the truth, even when I was Jenny Psycho. I always knew I wasn't worthy."
    "Is that why you're trying so hard now, to save us all with one last desperate throw of the dice?"
    "You should know, sir Random. Wasn't that one of your specialties?"
    They smiled together, two legends who had both seen their lives made over into shapes they didn't always recognize. Who had always known their duty, even when it backed them into unpleasant corners.
    "Thanks for agreeing to help me," said Diana.
    Random shrugged. "I've always known who the real enemy is. Do we really have a chance to take Shub out of the game, once and for all?"
    "I think so."
    "Is it anything we could use against the Recreated?"
    "I don't know." Diana scowled. "It depends on what the Recreated are. What their true nature really is. They're not just aliens. They're everything Humanity has ever feared, since we first set out into space. Powerful, deadly, and so Other we can barely comprehend what they are. But somehow, they're still linked to Humanity. They have access to the undermind. You saw the black sun over the sea of dreams. That was the Recreated. They scare me, in a way Shub never did. But if my plan works against the rogue AIs, and we all survive to tell of it, we just might have a weapon we can use against the Recreated too."
    "If, but, maybe; you're not exactly filling me with confidence, Vertue. Aren't you sure of anything?"
    "Oh yes. Either we win this battle, or no one goes home."
    Random grinned suddenly. "The best kind."
    Diana decided to change the subject. "How much do you know about this castle?
    It's really quite a fascinating edifice. I got a hell of a shock the first time I realized all the doors in this place are transfer portals. Jumping back and forth across the castle, blinking in and out of existence, is quite an experience. Thank God Owen showed me where to find a map in the computers, or we'd never get anywhere."
    "Oh, this place is impressive, all right," said Random. "Full of wonders and mysteries. But you'd better warn your people to stick to the main routes, and not to go off exploring. There are still traps for the unwary here, and the Last Standing can be an unforgiving place."
    He didn't say, but he was thinking of the hall of mirrors, where the reflections showed hidden pasts and possible futures to the viewer. And they were rarely things you wanted to see. Random had visited the hall soon after he came back on board, looking for hints or prophecies as to what he should do with his life.
    The mirrors stretched from floor to ceiling, endlessly turning, forming a maze that drew you deeper, deeper in. Random had looked in three mirrors in a row, and seen the same image in each: Jack Random, stumbling down a bare anonymous stone corridor, clutching at a bloody wound in his