Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

long way from their home world."
    "Of course they're still with me. They're dead. They can be anywhere they want.
    Sometimes simultaneously. Apparently death is very liberating."
    Silence stirred uneasily in his chair. "I wish you'd stop calling them that.
    They're not really dead. They can't be."
    "You should know, Captain. You murdered them."
    "How do you think the Ashrai will react to visiting another dead world? Will they still come to your aid, if needed?"
    "Unknown. They don't always manifest when I call them, even at the best of times. They're not my pets. But I don't think they'd allow me to come to harm, if they could prevent it."
    "Are you sure of that?"
    "No, Captain. You destroyed the only surety I ever had in my life."
    "Will you stop that! It was all a long time ago! I thought you'd forgiven me."
    "It isn't my place to forgive you. I survived."
    Silence sighed, quietly, looking at the floor. "We were friends once, Sean."
    "Yes, we were. But that was a long time ago, and neither of us is the man he was then. For what it's worth… I don't hate you anymore. I don't hate anyone. And perhaps only people who've been through the things we've suffered can ever really understand each other." Carrion paused, looking impassively at Silence.
    "I know why I'm here, John. Investigator Frost died, but you still needed someone at your side, someone you could depend on. Someone who'd understand the more than human thing you're becoming. Who better than an old friend, who isn't entirely human either? But that was then, this is now. And I'm not Frost. You have my support, Captain. Settle for that."
    Silence shook his head slowly. "I'm sure other people don't have conversations like this."

    The pinnace plunged down through the unusually calm atmosphere of Zero Zero, protected by the most powerful energy shields the ship's engines could produce.
    The pilot took them down fast. He'd already gone out of his way to make it very clear to his passengers that he didn't intend to spend one second longer in the nano-contaminated atmosphere than he absolutely had to. He had also prayed loudly to several gods, and kept taking one hand away from the controls to cross himself, or touch the Joan The Wad good-luck charm hanging above him. Silence would have hit him if he'd been close enough, if only for being so damned obvious about it. As it was, Silence clung grimly to a nearby stanchion with both hands, and wished the trip down didn't feel quite so much like riding a crashing elevator. The esper Klaus Morrell sat beside him, face perfectly composed, eyes calm and far away. Silence was convinced the esper was only doing it to spite him.
    Carrion and Barron sat opposite Silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
    Wrapped in his black cloak, the former Investigator looked more like a bird of ill omen than usual. His power lance lay casually across his lap; the long staff of polished bone that was so powerful a weapon its very ownership was a death sentence throughout the Empire. Unless you were Carrion, and the Empire needed you. Barren sat quietly beside him, nervously checking his various bits of equipment over and over again. This was his first landing party, and he was determined not to screw up through lack of preparation. Silence certainly gave him marks for effort.
    They were heading for the original site of Base Omega, or at least the place where it used to be before Commander Jorgensson blew it to hell. Probably wouldn't be much left of it after all this time, but as it was the location of the original nano outbreak, there might still be a clue or two left behind. It was a long shot, but then, that was typical of the mission. The whole pinnace shook suddenly as the pilot slammed on the brakes. They must be close to their destination. There were no external views from the craft, because the pinnace's sensors couldn't pierce the extra strong energy shields, so the pilot had to fly by following centuries-old maps, and a certain amount of dead reckoning. The pilot was not at all happy about this, and had said so loudly. Several times.
    The pinnace continued to slow. Silence could hear the pilot cursing continually under his breath. The ship finally slowed to a halt, and the pilot turned around in his crash webbing to look back at his passengers.
    "Right. This is it. Everybody out. Hope you enjoyed the ride and thanks for getting most of it in the sick bags. Anything you need, take it with you now, because I'm not coming back again