Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

nothing where the Captain is concerned. He has always placed duty before friendship."
    Barron looked at Carrion for a long moment. "Why are you doing this? I thought I'd have to get down on my knees and beg you for a second chance."
    "Please don't. I'd find that very embarrassing. As to why… let's just say I of
    all people understand the worth of a second chance."
    The briefing lounge was a mess. Half the viewscreens weren't working, and most of the computers were showing their naked guts to the air. The Dauntless had been undergoing extensive refitting and upgrading when Silence was suddenly called on to take his ship out again in a hurry, with a lot of the work still left undone. The technicians had been catching up as best they could during the voyage, but the briefing lounge had a priority number so low you couldn't even see it except in a really good light. So of course the techs had chosen the one day when it was really needed to tear everything apart. When Carrion and Barron arrived, they found Silence shooing out half a dozen techs with firm words and one hand on his gun. They left, muttering, and Silence turned to greet Carrion.
    "Techs. Trying to boss me around, just because they've got a work chit. Where were they when my coffeemaker wasn't working, and all I could get on my viewscreen was the damned porn channel?" And then he saw Barron, and his face and voice were instantly cold as ice. "What are you doing here, mister? Why aren't you at your post?"
    "He's with me," Carrion said calmly. "We have reached… an understanding. He wishes to join the landing party on Zero Zero."
    Silence raised an eyebrow. "Really? He doesn't look crazy." His mood soured again almost immediately. "Give me one good reason why I should take him."
    "Because I ask it," said Carrion.
    "Ah, what the hell." Silence shrugged, and led the way into the briefing lounge.
    "We can always use him as a human shield, if need be."
    Once inside. Carrion nodded to the esper Morrell, who nodded back. Silence gestured at the waiting chairs, and the four of them arranged themselves before the one working viewscreen. Morrell was careful to put the Captain between
    himself and Carrion. Everyone else pretended not to notice. Silence looked at each of his team in turn.
    "I'm restricting this first landing party to an absolute minimum," he said flatly. "Partly because of the risk, and partly because I want to avoid stirring anything up down there. We'll have no way of knowing what we're getting into until we're well into it, and by then it'll probably be far too late to call for help. Carrion and I are going because we have the most experience in dealing with strange and dangerous alien territory, and because both of us have… more than normal abilities. Morrell is going because as ship's esper he is our most experienced telepath. And Barron; you're going to be our guinea pig. You get to test the temperature of any strange waters we may encounter before the rest of us dive in. Still want to go?"
    "Yes, sir," said Barron steadily. "I want nothing more than to prove myself in your eyes again. To be the loyal crewman my father was."
    Silence scowled. "I'm not looking for a hero, boy. I want a crewman who'll keep his head, follow orders, and come back with useful information. Is that clear?"
    "Entirely clear, Captain."
    Silence turned back to Carrion and Morrell, dividing his attention between them.
    "If we die, the Empire will have to decide whether to risk another landing party on Zero Zero, or send the Dauntless on to its primary mission in the Darkvoid.
    Our mission here is purely information gathering. We're not here to solve the mysteries of Zero Zero, except where they coincide with our search for something that might help the Empire cope with the current nano plague. If we do turn up anything, and live to tell of it, further scientific teams will arrive later to dig out the details. That's not our job.
    "Now; you three are about to view recorded material that has been Restricted for centuries. It carries the highest possible security rating, as does whatever information we may bring back from our little trip. You are not to discuss Zero Zero with anyone, no matter how high ranking, without checking with me first.
    Contravening this order may be punishable by death; and even I couldn't save you then. Pay close attention to the recording, and save any questions till afterwards."
    He paused a moment, to let the seriousness of his words sink in, and