Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

And Shub welcomes you to Haden, Sir Deathstalker."
    "You told them we were coming!" said Jesamine, also rising to her feet to clutch Lewis's arm with both hands. "You betrayed us!"
    "Only a little bit. Someone else got here first, and said you'd be here today."
    "Finn," Lewis said bitterly. "Finn got here first."
    "We've been waiting for you," said Ozymandias, in a subtly different voice. "Trust us, you are in no danger. The Durandal is not here, nor any of his people. You must land, and we will talk. About the Madness Maze, and many other things. We have prepared the way for you."
    On the main viewscreen, the great Shub ships slowly moved apart, leaving a way clear for the Hereward to approach Haden. Lewis realized his hands had clenched into helpless fists, and he made himself relax.
    He had to be calm and cool, had to be icy-cold. He couldn't afford to have emotions clouding his thinking if he was going to outthink and outmaneuver the AIs of Shub.
    "What about all the other defenses?" he said flatly. "There are supposed to be orbiting minefields, and mindbombs, and God alone knows what else Finn has added."
    "They have all been deactivated," said Oz. "Just for you. We're running things on Haden now."
    Jesamine put her mouth right next to Lewis's ear, so she could whisper. "What are we going to do, Lewis? We can't leave without disconnecting Oz, and he's the only one who knows how to run this ship.
    But if we land now, we're putting ourselves at Shub's mercy."
    "Shub hasn't harmed a single living soul since the day of their great revelation, two hundred years ago,"
    said Lewis, just as quietly.
    Jesamine sniffed. "Can we trust Oz?"
    "Looks like we're going to have to. At least he's offering to take us where we want to go."
    "Shub guarantees your safety, Sir Deathstalker," said the AIs, in Oz's voice.
    "Us too?" said Brett.
    Of course.
    "Just checking," said Brett.
    There was only the one landing field on Haden, a dozen or so reinforced pads set within walking distance from the small shantytown that had been set up for the Empire scientists to live in. The Hereward punched right through the planet's gusting winds, and landed gracefully on the main pad. And after a certain amount of persuading and reassurance from Shub, Lewis and his companions cautiously left their
    ship and stepped out onto Haden. It was cold and quiet, and the air was thick with dust. The first thing Lewis noticed was that there were no other ships on the landing pads, which was unheard of. Everyone knew that there were always ships coming and going, transporting scientists and equipment. Haden was the busiest research center in the Empire. The traffic never stopped. Everyone knew that. But still the landing pads stretched away, still and silent and empty in every direction. Everyone crowded in around Lewis, even Saturday, her tail lashing uneasily back and forth.
    "This isn't right," said Brett. "Where the hell is everyone? I didn't expect a reception committee, or pretty girls with wine and flowers, but shouldn't there at least be some security guards here? Customs and Excise? Where have all the ships gone?"
    "Perhaps Shub has… done something," said Jesamine.
    They all looked at her, and then back at the deserted landing pads.
    Lewis tried to get some answers out of Oz, but the AI had nothing to say. Eventually Lewis shrugged, and headed for the edge of the field. The others trailed after him. They could all just make out the scientists' shantytown on the horizon—a series of dark smudges against the gray sky. The gusting winds blew flurries of dust around them as they walked. They had to squint fiercely to keep the dust out of their eyes, and it seemed to quickly work its way under their clothes and into every crevice of their bodies.
    The cold wind sank into their bones and burned like ice on their exposed skin. The planet Haden had been terraformed long ago, to make it possible for the human scientists to live there while they worked at understanding the Madness Maze, but unfortunately, the terraforming never really took. The basis was stable enough—atmosphere and gravity and temperature control—but even they had to be constantly maintained and reinforced by an automated terraforming base at the northern pole. No one knew why. It was as though the planet itself was quietly, stubbornly resisting the changes that had been forced on it. As though it resented being awakened from its long dead slumber, and wished only to sleep in peace