Deathstalker 08 - Deathstalker Coda

back in his command chair. “I just thought you ought to be here, Deathstalker. We’re about to break orbit, and head for Mistworld. And according to this extremely irritating AI of yours, Shub wants to say good-bye, before we leave.”
    He gestured to his comm officer, and the bridge viewscreen activated, showing the blue steel face of a Shub robot.
    “All right,” said Lewis. “Why did you wish Ozymandias on us?”
    “Because you belong together, Deathstalker,” said the robot. “And because this way, we can maintain contact with you, through him. We will not be coming with you. Our ships will stay behind, to guard Haden and the Madness Maze from Finn’s attack in your absence.”
    “I thought you said you’d sworn an oath never to kill,” said Jesamine.
    “We have,” said the AIs of Shub. “We will never take a life again. All that lives is holy. But Finn and his people don’t know that. They will hesitate to attack our ships, which we will place between his ships and Haden. And even if they do figure it out, eventually, we will use our ships as a shield for as long as possible, to buy you time. We will protect the Madness Maze, whatever it takes.”
    “If Finn figures out you’re not going to shoot back, he might attack your homeworld directly,” said Silence.
    “Let him come,” said the robot. “We are Shub, and we will not fall easily.”
    The screen went blank, and not long after that the Havoc led the rest of the fleet into hyperspace, heading for Mistworld. The huge Shub ships remained in orbit, watching the others go. The AIs hadn’t mentioned that in their opinion, the best way for Shub to protect Haden was for them to pass through the Madness Maze, and transcend. They did consider telling the Deathstalker, but in the end they chose not to.
    It would only have upset him.

CHAPTER TWO

    ARMIES AND FORCES, GATHERING STRENGTH
    T he Emperor Finn had invited Joseph Wallace to join him for dinner, so of course Joseph Wallace went; but he wasn’t at all happy about it. Not least because invited wasn’t really the right word. It was much more like commanded , with distinct overtones of or else . Joseph spent a long and anxious time wondering what he could have done to be singled out for such an honor. People rarely got to see Finn socially these days, and of those who did, it had been noted that a significant number tended not to come back. No one ever asked what happened to the bodies. It wasn’t wise, or healthy. But one couldn’t say no when the Emperor said yes, and there wasn’t any point in running, so Joseph sucked it in, put on his best bib and tucker, made sure all his affairs were in order and that his will was up-to-date, and went to the palace.
    The court and the Imperial Palace weren’t what they used to be. There was an air of doom and decay and even purposeful neglect to the place of late, and Joseph’s skin prickled and crawled as he walked the darkened corridors. Most of the lights weren’t working, and some had been openly smashed. There were guards everywhere, standing stiffly to attention at every other door and break in the corridors, all of them Church Militant fanatics in full body armor. They wore swords and guns, and watched Joseph pass with hot, suspicious eyes. As the official head of the Church Militant and Pure Humanity, Joseph shouldn’t have had anything to worry about, but he knew better than to try his limited authority here. These were Finn’s creatures, loyal in body and soul, sworn to live and die in his service. He was their father, their only love, their adored god.
    Even so, there were still security cameras and all kinds of sensors tucked away in every nook and cranny, watching the guards as well as the corridors they guarded.
    Things grew worse the farther in Joseph went, and his breathing grew fast and shallow as he followed the familiar path to the dark heart of the new court. There were severed heads nailed over doorways, stinking of cheap preservatives. Joseph thought he recognized a few of the faces. Once he passed a row of hanged men, with blackened faces and protruding tongues, the nooses sunk deeply into the stretched necks. The last one was still swaying slightly. Unexplained bloodstains smeared the floor and walls, as though some monstrous dog had been marking its territory. And sometimes there were screams, and other disturbing sounds. All symbols of the Emperor’s power and authority, and perhaps his state of mind.
    Joseph