Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

planetary defenses, of course, some of them very old and very secret, and quite extraordinarily powerful, but nothing that could hope to withstand the mighty transmutation engines. So it fell, once again, for Michel du Bois to protect his homeworld. And he could do that only by finding allies here on Logres—in or out of Parliament. And Finn was a fool if he thought he was the only game in town.
    Du Bois was especially disappointed in Stuart Lennox, Virimonde's latest Paragon. Du Bois had brought him here to Logres to be his right hand, but instead the young fool spent all his time following Finn Durandal around like a lovesick puppy, and was no use at all. Du Bois supposed he could discreditLennox easily enough, and bring in another Paragon… but the blunt truth was, there was no one ready. No one suitable. No one he could trust to put Virimonde's needs first. So, as always, it all came down to him to do the necessary, distasteful, practical things to protect his world. Du Bois smiled slightly.
    He was quite looking forward to it.
    Ruth Li, member forGoldenMountain , replaced Meerah Puri on the floor of the House. A tense, quivering little bundle of spite and malice, she knew it was her against the House, and she liked it that way. Enemies helped keep her convictions pure and focused. She pulled herself up to her full five foot one, pulled her buckskins around her like armor, and launched into her speech in support of the persecuted espers, and against the ongoing intimidation of aliens by Pure Humanity. Ruth Li's ancestors had survived the harsh conditions and appallingly vicious wildlife onGoldenMountain only by being tougher and more vicious than it was, and by using technology supplied them by nearby alien worlds.
    Ruth Li and her people had never forgotten. They were always on the side of the underdog, whether the underdog wanted it or not, and they never backed down from a fight. Ruth Li would speak her mind, and defy the fanatics in and outside the House, and to hell with the consequences.
    She'd barely begun to speak when a voice from the back of the House screamed Esper-loving traitor!
    and an energy beam punched right through Ruth Li's chest and out her back, throwing her dead body to the floor of the House. For a while there was utter bedlam in the House, as some MPs rose to their feet and shouted in shock and protest, while others hid behind their benches. The assassin turned out to be one of the House's own security guards, a Pure Humanity fanatic, and was quickly overpowered and hustled away by his fellow guards, but Ruth Li was still dead.Douglas arranged for her body to be carried out with full honors, and there was a minute of respectful silence as she left the House for the last time.
    Gilad Xiang, member for Zenith, was the next to take the floor. He abandoned his intended middle-of-the-road speech, and launched into a rambling but clearly anti-alien and pro-Neuman speech.
    He could see which way the wind was blowing. The trick was to survive today, so he'd still be around to plan for tomorrow. Finn Durandal wouldn't last. Fanatics always fell, usually brought down by other fanatics. Just like Ruth Li. The Durandal would decline and fall, and be replaced by some other charismatic face, and people like Gilad Xiang would still be there, getting the real work done. He kept talking till he was sure he'd made the right impression, and then he sat down. He didn't think he'd be speaking in the House again anytime soon. Perhaps he would go back to Zenith for a while, and wait for the madness to pass. He'd been promising himself a vacation.
    After Xiang sat down, it all went quiet. No one else seemed to have anything to say. Most were studying Finn Durandal, but he seemed content to sit and smile and watch. Finally Rowan Boswell, member for Heracles IV, got to his feet and slowly made his way down to the floor of the House. He looked really rough. Either he hadn't been sleeping enough recently, or he'd been having bad dreams. Given his position, probably both. He looked about him at his fellow MPs, too tired and defeated even to be bitter.
    "The Terror is coming," he said flatly. "And my world is the next in its path. My government has bankrupted the planet's economy for generations to come, to purchase state-of-the-art defenses, and still it isn't enough. We need more money to pay for all the things we've ordered, or they won't be delivered.
    So I came here to ask… hell, to beg and plead for a loan.