Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

I arrived on Loki, I found an unacceptable situation. War criminals from the old Imperial administration had been placed in power over the colonists, and were bleeding the economy dry, to feather the nests of their backers, here on Golgotha. So I had them all hanged.
    The rebel leaders there had sold out to Shub, so I had them hanged too.
    "They were all guilty. All dirty. All politicians.
    "I learned many valuable, if painful, lessons on Loki. You see, I have drifted
    very far from what I used to be, and what I used to stand for. I was the professional rebel, and I stood for justice. To win the rebellion, I allowed myself to be persuaded away from such an absolute position, and embraced the compromises and little victories of politics. Just to save a few lives. But after Lionstone fell, I saw my dream of freedom and honor for all corrupted by the very people I entrusted it to. Nothing's really changed. The same sort of people are still in charge, and many of the old injustices are still in place.
    And I will not stand for that any longer.
    "There will be no more compromises. No more betrayals. No more politics from me.
    No more secret meetings in back rooms, where the privileged few decide the fate of the many. I return to my old mantle of the professional rebel, answerable to no one but myself and my own conscience. I am back, and I will not be turned aside again."
    There was a pause as he looked out over his gathered guests, still smiling that unsettling endless smile.
    "And what, exactly," said Elias Gutman from the middle of the crowd, "does this change in direction amount to? What are you going to do, Random? What can you do?"
    "Just what I did on Loki," said Jack Random easily. "Punish the guilty. Kill all of those responsible for the corruption of my dream. Kill all the lying politicians, the special interest groups who only care for their own, the Families striving to claw their way back into power and privilege. I'm going to kill everyone who denies the people the freedom I promised them. Starting with everyone in this room. I could have just planted a bomb here, but I wanted this to be a personal statement, so I'm going to kill you all personally. Feel free
    to pray to any God you think might be listening."
    He turned suddenly, without warning, and struck Ruby Journey a blow to the head that would have killed anyone else. She dropped limply to the dais and lay still, barely breathing. Random looked down at her, his face calm and unmoved.
    "Sorry, Ruby. But I couldn't have you interfering."
    "Jesus Christ," whispered Toby. "I think he means it. Are you getting this, Flynn?"
    "We are now going out live, Boss. Why don't you look for an exit, in case we need one in a hurry?"
    "There are only two doors, and I've sealed both of them," said Random, raising his voice to be heard over the growing babble of his audience, as those nearest the exits struggled with the doors and couldn't budge them. "No one's going anywhere. Time to die, people."
    His sword was suddenly in his hand as he leapt lightly down from the dais, and cut down the representative from Clan Chojiro, even as that young man was drawing a concealed disrupter. The heavy steel blade slammed down, cutting through flesh and bone to bury itself in the man's heart. He shuddered, but didn't fall. Random jerked the sword out again, and blood sprayed high into the air as the Chojiro finally collapsed. The people nearest him began screaming, and tried to back away, but the crush of the crowd kept most of them from going anywhere. Random lashed out again, and his sword sheared clean through an MP's skull. The politician sank to his knees, his jerking hands rising as though to clasp the half of his head that remained.
    People were hammering on the locked doors now, but the heavy oak resisted them easily. Very few had brought weapons. They hadn't thought they'd be needed at a political meeting inside the Parliament building itself. People screamed for
    security guards to come and save them, but Random had sent them away on urgent missions earlier. Some would come, eventually, but by then it would all be over.
    Men and women died screaming as Random cut and hacked his way through the crowd, like a wolf in a flock of sheep. He was still smiling, but now he was showing his teeth, and his eyes were very bright. The few with swords and guns were pushed forward to meet him, but they didn't even slow Random down. He was inhumanly fast and strong, and the only one who