Deathstalker 08 - Deathstalker Coda

laughter had a lot in common.

    Captain Price was mooching about in the lower decks of the Havoc . He was especially interested in trapping or turning in any of his crew who hadn’t been as ready to change sides as he was, but really since the admiral had made it very clear that he wasn’t welcome on the bridge, Price was just killing time until it came time to do some real work. He studied the latest batch of loyalist graffiti on the steel walls, and couldn’t resist a sneer. It was a bit late to be falling back on Church Militant cant. Anyone with half the brains he was born with could see which way the wind was blowing. The blessed Owen was back, in all his glory. What could petty politics matter, in the face of that? And there was no denying that Price had burned his bridges very thoroughly, when he shot the previous admiral in the back of the head. She’d been one of Finn’s political appointees, and barking mad with it, and absolutely no one had been sorry to see the back of her.
    With Admiral Silence all but living in the command seat, Price had busied himself by keeping track of what was happening back on Logres. He and the comm officer, Charlton Vu, had rigged up a very secure link between the Havoc and one of the new rogue news sites now operating from the Rookery. Their editorial policy seemed to be, get the story out as fast as possible, and to hell with whoever it upsets. Price had actually talked to the main face of one news site, a charming if somewhat startling young lady called Nina Malapert, and in return for firsthand reports of the return of Owen ( An exclusive! Nina said, loudly enough to make Price wince), she kept him up to date on the growing rebellion on Logres. She’d even promised to arrange a direct line with King Douglas. Price couldn’t resist a small smile. That should put him in good with Silence. Price was pretty sure the comm channel hadn’t been cracked by Finn’s security people, because it was derived from alien tech, donated by the alien presence in the Rookery.
    Price hadn’t even known there was an alien presence in the Rookery. You learned something new every day.
    (And of course, if things did start going really badly for the rebel fleet, Price could always hand this information over to the Emperor’s people, as proof that he’d been working as a double agent all along. Price believed in thinking ahead, and covering his back.)
    He wandered around the lower decks for a while, but no one wanted to talk to him, and he was actually quite relieved when word came through that Lewis Deathstalker and Jesamine Flowers had finally returned from Virimonde. Price ran all the way to the designated docking bay, to be sure he’d be the first officer to greet them when they returned. People remembered things like that. They were both clearly physically and emotionally exhausted, and all they really wanted to do was get back to their quarters and collapse, but they politely made a little time for Price.
    “I have news of King Douglas, and the fight for freedom in the Parade of the Endless,” Captain Price said grandly, and was quietly satisfied at how quickly that grabbed their interest. “I have established a very secure comm link with rebel forces in the Rookery. There is a young lady working a rogue news site there who can give you all the details, if you would like me to arrange something . . .”
    “Show us,” said the Deathstalker, and there was something in his voice that made Price forget the rest of his speech and jump to obey. He patched his prearranged link into the viewscreen on the wall, and after being carefully rerouted through several masking connections and cutouts, Nina Malapert’s face appeared on the screen. She saw Lewis and Jesamine staring back at her, and whooped loudly with joy, bobbing excitedly up and down in her chair while her tall pink mohawk flopped crazily from side to side.
    “The Deathstalker and the diva! Major exclusive! Oh, all the other sites are going to be so sick!”
    “If we could just keep the celebrations to a minimum,” said Price, making sure he could be seen standing right next to the Deathstalker, “I don’t think we should test the security of this link with a conversation one minute longer than absolutely necessary.”
    “Yes,” said Lewis. “Talk to me, Nina Malapert. What has happened to the city, since my enforced absence? What has happened to Douglas?”
    “And Anne Barclay,” said Jesamine.
    Nina’s face