Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

then one big troop landing and overpowering the traitors with numbers. I can read orders, even if I didn't go to some snobby military academy. But I give the orders on this ship, Captain, and don't you forget it!"
    "I can assure you, Admiral, that fact is always foremost in my thoughts," said Price. "Shall I order us some tea while we're waiting?"
    On the planet Haden, down in the scientists' workings surrounding the Madness Maze, the various subjects of the admiral's venom were studying the growing presence of the Imperial fleet on Shub's viewscreen. There was a lot of pointing going on, and even more shouting. Everyone had ideas on what they should do next, and no one was interested in listening to what anyone else had to say. There was a definite trace of panic in the air, with the notable exceptions of Captain Silence and Owen Deathstalker, who'd seen a lot worse in their time.
    "We have got to get out of here!" Brett insisted, bouncing unhappily on his feet like a child desperate for a toilet. "This place might as well have a bull's-eye painted on it! We've got no long-range weapons, there's nowhere to hide, and I don't care what force shields Shub has set up here, that many starships will punch right through them! They could hit us so hard we'd pop out the other side of this planet!"
    "You're hyperventilating again, Brett," said Jesamine. "We stay put. Because if we so much as stick our heads out of here, the Fleet will shoot them right off."
    "The odds are definitely not good," said Rose. "And whilst I've never believed in running from a fight, only a fool takes on suicidal odds."
    "See!" said Brett. "See! And this from a woman who once took on a Grendel single-handed."
    Owen looked at Rose interestedly. "You did?"
    Rose dropped her eyes for a moment. "I cheated."
    "Best way," said Owen.
    "I still say we're safer where we are," said Lewis. "Right next to the Maze. I don't think Finn will risk doing anything that might damage his prize. Which means he can't try and blow us out of here."
    "I'm not sure the Maze can be destroyed," said Owen.
    "I tried once," said Silence. "Blew it away with ship's disrupters at point-blank range. It just came back again."
    There was a slight pause as the others realized they were listening to the stuff of legends, and then Jesamine pressed on.
    "Be that as it may, Finn doesn't know that."
    Brett snorted loudly. "He's more than crazy enough to risk it, rather than let us get away. We can't just sit here and wait for him to get impatient! Look, he's got everyone he hates together in one place, and he must know he's never going to get a better chance at us. If we make a run for our ship…"
    "Even the Hereward's stealth shields couldn't hide us from that many starcruisers," said Lewis. "We can't sneak out of here, so we have no choice but to stand and fight."
    He looked at Owen expectantly. So did everyone else.
    "Don't look at me," said Owen. "I have my limits, and I think we're looking at them right there on that screen."
    "That's not what we were promised," said Rose.
    "Damn right," said Brett. "This is a hell of a time to break the news that you're not all-powerful after all! I should have known. I should have known! First rule of the con: if something seems too good to be true, then it almost certainly is too good to be true!"
    "To be fair," said Silence, "Owen really did do many of the things the legends say he did. I know. I was there. I saw them."
    "There's a call coming in from the fleet," said the Shub robot. "I'll transfer it to this screen. Assuming you feel like talking to them, Owen…"
    "Oh, hell," said Owen. "Why not? If nothing else, I'm interested in the caliber of this new time's enemies."
    Brett covered his eyes with his hands. "He's going to tell the fleet to go to Hell, I just know it. We're all going to die."
    "Shut up, Brett," said Jesamine. "God, you're depressing to be around."
    The viewscreen flickered, and then cleared to show the scowling face of Admiral West. She glared at the group before her, and then fixed her gaze on Lewis.
    "You, Deathstalker. We've run you to ground at last, and there's nowhere left for you to go. Your King orders you and your fellow conspiritors to surrender!"
    "He's not my king," said Lewis.
    "Surrender immediately, and you'll live to stand trial! Defy your rightful King's orders, and I can promise you your deaths will be slow and hideous!"
    "Diplomacy isn't what it used to be," said Owen. "I have to say I'm not impressed.