Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

familiar voice behind Finn.
    Finn spun round, grabbed Dr. Happy by the front of his stained lab coat, and slammed him back against the nearest bulkhead wall. The good doctor cried out, and then shut up as Finn pressed the barrel of his gun against the doctor's head.
    "What have you done?"
    "I experimented on them. It was a long trip back from Haden, and there was nothing else to do. I hadn't been able to achieve anything useful with the twelve Maze survivors, and it seemed such a waste to come back without learning something." He paused. "The Maze was fascinating. I'd go and look at it, for hours on end. It sang to me. And I started to think such amazing thoughts… So I doctored the Hunter's water supply. Gave everyone a dose of my latest creation. Opened up their mind's eye to a much larger universe. It's not my fault if they couldn't cope with what they found there. But don't worry, Finn; I've been keeping very careful notes."
    Finn let go of the doctor's coat. There was no point in getting mad at Dr. Happy; he honestly wouldn't understand. Besides, it would be a waste to kill him while he could still be useful.
    "Next time, ask me first," said Finn. "I had a lot of questions for those scientists, about what happened on Haden, and now I'll probably never know. Come on, let's get out of here."
    "As you wish. Though I shall be sorry to leave such intriguing subjects. I trust you'll keep me up to date on all future developments?"
    "Dr. Happy, if you don't shut up right now, I'm going to sew your lips together. Leave the ship, now!"
    Dr. Happy led the way out. Once they were both out on the landing pad, the air seemed so much
    clearer. Finn beckoned to the guard officer, who hurried over.
    "Take your men inside," said Finn. "And shoot anything that isn't already dead. Then collect and burn all the bodies, just in case. And you'd better wear full biocontamination suits, at all times. I'd burn the ship too, but we're short of vessels at the moment."
    "Can I at least have the ashes?" Dr. Happy said plaintively. Finn loked at him, and he shut up. The officer looked at Finn uncertainly.
    "So what do I put this down as, Your Majesty? A terrorist incident?"
    "If you like," said Finn. "Pick someone who's annoyed you recently, and put the blame on them. Use your initiative! And this person and I were never here. Understood?"
    The officer bowed and hurried away, shouting orders to his men. Finn slapped Dr. Happy round the back of the head, just on general principle, and then escorted him off the landing pad.
    "Tell me what happened on Haden, Dr. Happy—and I require details, now that you're the only surviving witness. Why did Shub send you all away? Has there been some new breakthrough at the Madness Maze?"
    "Not that I know of. And there was no warning at all, oh, my word, no!" Dr. Happy's bony fingers fluttered uneasily over his sunken chest. "Just suddenly there were Shub robots everywhere. Far more than I had previously seen in the workings around the Maze. They overpowered and disarmed the security people with such speed and dexterity that there were only a few, mostly minor, injuries. And then they herded us all into one place, and marched us off to board the Hunter. The ship was powered up and waiting to go, and they'd already programmed the ship's AI to take us straight to Logres, and not accept any other orders. We were helpless."
    "Weren't you given any reason?" said Finn, frowning.
    "No, they just said we couldn't stay any longer. They were really quite polite, all things considered.
    Some people tried to fight the robots, but they had tanglefields and sleepgas, so…"
    "Had the human scientists discovered anything new recently? No? Well, what about your experiments?"
    "My access to the twelve survivors was strictly limited by Shub, who I can't help feeling were unnecessarily cautious in their attitude, but I feel I can now say with some confidence that whatever changes the Madness Maze induces in people, it's not chemical or biochemical in nature. None of my little concoctions had any effect on them. And some of the doses I gave them were so powerful they would have made a mountain jump up and dance."
    "You are now returning to the Rookery, Dr. Happy, where you will speak to no one of this. There will be more work for you later. Tell me, what do you know about something called… the Boost?"
    Back at his apartment, Finn Durandal contacted the Shub embassy on Logres. He was put through immediately, with no delays.