Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

name of King and Parliament, or face the consequences."
    "He's not my king," said Carrion. "And your parliament has no authority here. This is Unseeli, home to the Ashrai. This is not a human place, and you should not have come here. Leave, while you still can."
    Captain Kamal looked like he was going to explode. "Who the hell do you think you are, to speak to me that way! I represent the Empire! I speak in Humanity's name!"
    "And I am Carrion. Investigator. Traitor. Ashrai. I bring bad luck. I am the destroyer of nations, and of worlds. With Owen Deathstalker and Captain John Silence, I walked the breathing corridors of the Madness Maze. I speak for Unseeli. Leave or die. You have no other choices."
    "Lies, defiance, and open threats," said Captain Kamal, smiling tightly. "You will come to regret this insolence, before I have you executed. My pinnaces are already landing—carrying enough war machines, gravity barges, and armed troops to ensure that if the aliens do interfere, they will be made to regret it. I will have the traitors, one way or another. I don't know who you really are, Sir Carrion, but no doubt my interrogators will drag it out of you later, at their leisure."
    He had more to say, but Carrion shut down the comm panels, and the viewscreen went blank. Carrion stared thoughtfully into space as Lewis and the others came slowly forwards to join him at the reception console. Lewis cleared his throat uncertainly. Carrion's eyes seemed very far away.
    "Sorry to have dragged you into our mess, Sir Carrion. I didn't think they'd track us down this quickly.
    Lead us back to our ship, and we'll get the hell out of here. They'll never catch us once we're off the ground. The Hereward's got speed and stealth capabilities you wouldn't believe, though I'd rather you didn't ask why. I think the sooner we're gone, the better; we don't want to start a war between the Empire and the Ashrai."
    "Too late," said Carrion, watching something only he could see. "Hundreds of pinnaces are falling towards Unseeli. The starcruisers are firing their disrupter cannon from orbit, to blast clearings big enough for the pinnaces to land in. I can hear the trees screaming, dying. The Ashrai are gathering. Let the Empire forces come. None of them shall leave here alive." He turned suddenly to look at Lewis, who almost flinched at the dark, alien, impersonal power in that gaze. "But you must understand this, Deathstalker. Our audience is over. What we do now, we do for ourselves. We will not fight on your behalf. Your fate, your mission, are nothing to us. Return to your ship and leave, if you can. Find Owen, if you can. We want nothing to do with Humanity, or the Empire. We preserve ourselves, to face the Terror when it comes." He smiled suddenly. "Good-bye, Deathstalker. Good luck. And if you do find Owen… remember me to him."
    "That's it!" Jesamine said angrily. "We came all this way, just for that? What's the matter with you? The whole of Humanity is under threat of extinction!"
    "You say that like it's a bad thing," said Carrion. "Humanity is currently invading my world. Again. You always were a selfish, brutal race. Perhaps something better will arise to replace you."
    "You don't really think you can stop the Terror on your own, do you?" said Rose in her deep, cold voice.
    "We stopped the Recreated."
    With Owen's help," said Lewis. "You owe us, Sir Carrion. You owe me, through my ancestor's name.
    Give us safe escort and protection back to our ship, at least. It's a long way back to the Hereward, and you can bet Kamal will have located it by now and sent troops to block our way. Dammit, at least show us what we'll be facing!"
    Carrion didn't move, but the viewscreen on the wall flared into life again. Whole sections of the metallic forest were exploding, the huge trees shattered by the energy beams stabbing down from orbit. The scene changed, to show countless pinnaces punching through the cloud layer; transport ships carrying everything the Empire needed to make war on Unseeli. The scene changed again, showing war machines lumbering out of the cargo bays of landed pinnaces—great hulking monstrosities of gleaming steel, studded with guns. Gravity barges rose slowly into the air, shimmering with force shields as they plowed their way through the tightly packed metal trees. Troops disembarked in strict order, imperial marines who wore the scarlet cross of the Church Militant on their battle armor. They moved out, fanning through