Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

unmoved as the Cardinal lowered his head and wept over the dead woman in his arms.
    "Did you love her?" said Robert.
    "Of course I loved her," said Brendan. "She made us all love her."
    *
    Up in the director's gallery, occupying part of Parliament's security center, Toby Shreck and his assistants sat hunched over their control panels, watching the display of monitor screens showing what the cameramen down on the floor of the House and its antechamber were broadcasting. It was all going out live, with a few seconds' delay so they could edit out any foul language, and the current audience totals were bigger than anything Toby had ever known, even during the last days of the rebellion. Practically everyone in the Empire who had access to a holoscreen, and wasn't actually under attack, was watching his show. Toby couldn't stop grinning, even when his cheeks ached from the strain.

    He spoke quietly to his assistants at the control and mixing boards, switching from one camera to another as something interesting caught his eye. This close to the ceremony, it was up to him to impose some form of sense and structure on the sheer mass of information being filmed. Every now and then he'd have a quiet word with his cameramen through their comm implants, telling them to concentrate on this person or that gathering, or when to pull back and look away, rather than show some unpleasant incident or ill feeling that might distract from the
    general joy of the occasion. This wasn't a documentary, after all; this was supposed to be a morale booster for Humanity, and for once Toby Shreck was following instructions. He knew how vital it was that everything was seen to go well. Besides, his cameras were recording a lot more than they were transmitting, and by rights it all belonged to him. Later on, he'd put together a warts-and-all documentary that would really open people's eyes.
    Assuming there was a later on…
    On Toby Shreck's many screens, movers and shakers and aristocrats and celebrities clustered together, putting aside for one day at least old hatreds and animosities, as they waited impatiently for a wedding that would change the whole nature of the Empire yet again.
    In a huge antechamber packed almost literally from wall to wall, the guests were growing restless. Overcome by the immensity of the occasion, and the increasingly sauna-like conditions, they'd been knocking back the complimentary champagne as fast as the circulating waiters could get it to them. Faces were becoming flushed, voices louder, opinions more vehement. Anyone even the least bit interesting was seized on by the guests to distract them from their boredom, the heat, and the impossibly long queues for the toilets. The actor who now played the part of the daredevil esper Julian Skye in the continuing holo adventure show was having a great time. The show was bigger than ever these days, and the star was a much better actor than the real Julian had ever been.
    Most assumed the esper's sudden, tragic death had been a suicide pact with BB
    Chojiro; that the two lovebirds had chosen to die together rather than be separated by Julian's growing illness. Others spoke darkly of Chojiro and even Blue Block conspiracies, and hinted that Julian had been murdered because he had
    been ready to make dangerous public remarks about his time with BB. Either way, it was all Very Romantic. The public did so love a tragic hero, and Julian Skye's reputation grew ever more noble and heroic, now he was safely gone and unable to contradict it. The best legends have always been based on the dead.
    Bruin Bear and the Sea Goat, those two most notable toys and ambassadors from Haceldama, were there as well. Evangeline had arranged for their invitations, partly as an excuse to see old friends again, and partly to demonstrate to the Empire that the infamous killer toys of Haceldama were now much more civilized.
    Unfortunately, most of Toby Shreck's films on Haceldama had been overlooked, due to the increasing coverage of the imminent rebellion, and as a result only the bad news had stuck. As a further result, most of the wedding guests were openly petrified by Bruin Bear and the Sea Goat. The Bear honestly didn't notice, and was polite and charming to everyone, even as they babbled meaningless excuses and ran away from him. The Sea Goat had noticed, and was playing up to it for all he was worth, by making pointed remarks that, on the surface seemed perfectly straightforward, but which