Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

yourself; I'm no longer a Paragon. Why not let Finn lead the Parade? It was his idea, after all."
    "I want you to lead the Parade because you're my Champion," said Douglas. "To show I still have faith in you, after the Neuman riot. And I'm still not sure about Finn. Word is, Emma Steel has been doing all his work lately. He probably only came up with the Parade so he could lead it and smile for the cameras.
    No, Lewis; you'll lead the Parade, because I say so. Any more problems?"
    "Well, since you ask," said Lewis, "Do you really think it's a good idea to scatter the Paragons across the Empire on a Quest that's probably going to come to nothing? Who's going to keep order on the worlds, while the Paragons are all off chasing ghosts and shadows?"
    "The peacekeepers," said Douglas. "They can hold the fort until my Paragons return. Let them earn their money for once. They're always saying they want more responsibility. The Parade and the Quest are necessary, Lewis. Necessary for public morale. You'll lead the Parade, and you'll smile while you do it.
    That is an order from your King. Do I make myself clear?
    "Very clear. Can I ask one more question?"
    "If you must."
    "Assuming Owen is alive out there, somewhere . . . assuming we find him; what if he doesn't want to come back? If he's stayed missing all these years, he just might have a damned good reason."
    "You tell him to come back," said Douglas, looking straight into Lewis' eyes for the first time. "Or everything he did, everything he achieved, will have all been for nothing."
    "Oh great," said Lewis. "I'm sure that's just what he's going to want to hear."
    It was the day of the Parade, the day of the Paragons, crossing from one side of the Parade of the Endless to the other. The media had been short-stroking the event on all the news channels almost exclusively for the last twenty-four hours, praising and glorifying the Paragons just as in the good old days. The crime and docudrama channels had been running old (successful) Paragon cases end to end, showing the downfall of villains and terrorists and monsters, just to remind everyone how much reason they had to love the King's Justice. As a result, pretty much the whole city turned out to watch the Parade; if only so they wouldn't have to think about the Terror for a while. Parliament had put an absolute embargo on showing any of the actual recordings of what had happened out on the Rim, but inevitably some illegal, tenth-generation copies were going the rounds, turning up on pirate and underground channels, until the peacekeepers moved in to shut them down. All across the Empire, people were scared, even if they weren't sure what of, yet. The Terror was just a name, for now.
    Parliament was determined to keep it that way for as long as possible. And certainly until well after the Quest had been announced.
    Right now the Paragons were marching; all of the King's Justice left after their losses at the Neuman riot,
    resplendent in their gleaming armor and proud purple cloaks, led by Lewis Deathstalker in his black leather Champion's armor. Crowds lined the pavements of every street, packed tightly together in rows several deep, waving flags and banners and calling out the names of their favorites in the short breaks between the massed cheering. Most impressively of all, it was all totally spontaneous. No one had had to encourage the people out onto the streets, though Parliament had certainly been ready to try. Time had passed since the Neuman riot, and perhaps the people were just a little ashamed at how quickly they'd turned against their former idols. And perhaps, in the face of the Terror, they needed to believe in their heroes again. Certainly the Parade of the Endless had never seen crowds and excitement like it.
    It seemed like everyone in the city who wasn't on essential duties had turned out to honor the Paragons on their great Parade. They even gathered on flat roofs, on balconies, and leaned precariously out of windows to shout and scream and blow kisses. It rained rose petals all down the main routes, and on some of the busier intersections peacekeeper security actually had to set up low level force shields to hold the overenthusiastic crowds back. More peacekeepers, in what they fondly imagined to be plain clothes, infiltrated the crowds to watch out for pickpockets and flashers and, of course, agents provocateurs. But there was hardly any trouble at all. The people were determined to be in a good mood.