Deathstalker Rebellion Read Online Free Page A

he’d spent so long among humans that he’d acquired a surface gloss of humanity—or at least a very good copy of it. He’d worn out most of his energy crystals down the years, losing many abilities and functions along the way, and freely admitted he was only a pale weak version of the real thing. Still, it had to be said that even on his good days he’d been a disturbing son of a bitch. The glowing eyes and inhuman buzzing voice hadn’t helped, but it was in his mind that the real differences lay. Tobias Moon thought differently, even when he tried not to.
    The augmented men who’d emerged from the Tomb of the Hadenmen, after Owen released them from their long restorative sleep, had moved like living gods. Their eyes blazed like the sun, their movements perfect and graceful. They still scared the shit out of Owen, even after the past few months of getting used to them. They called him their Redeemer and were always quiet and deferential to him, but Owen knewbetter than to warm to them. He’d studied the old records of their attacks on humanity. Seen the sleek golden ships running rings around the slower, clumsier human ships, blowing them apart with perfectly aimed weapons. Seen the tall shining figures stalking through blazing cities, killing everything that lived. Seen what happened to the humans they experimented on, the living and the dead, in the name of their Code of the Genetic Church. When you no longer have to worry about human emotions or restraints, you can do anything; and the Hadenmen had. They created abominations, seeking always an inhuman perfection of man and machine, a whole that would be greater than the sum of its parts.
    They would have won the war if there had been more of them and less of humanity, but in the end they were thrown back, their golden ships outnumbered and blown apart, and the few survivors had fled back to the safety of their Tomb, hidden deep within the endless night of the Darkvoid, beyond the Rim of Empire. But they had come very close to wiping out humanity and replacing it with something altogether horrible. Owen remembered what he’d seen in the records, and all the politeness in the world wouldn’t make him forget what they had done—and might yet do again.
    But none of that mattered a damn for the moment. He needed them. The rebellion needed them. And if he was to go up against the Empire, there were going to be times when he’d need an army of trained fighters to meet Lionstone’s armies. And that was where the Hadenmen would come in. Assuming they could be controlled or at least pursuaded to follow orders. Owen was under no illusions about the danger he’d reintroduced to the Empire. Given time, the Hadenmen might become a worse threat than Lionstone could ever be. Owen tried not to think about that too much, for the time being. It helped that he had so many other problems to worry about.
    “Let’s talk of more cheerful things,” he said determinedly to Hazel. “Assuming we get past Golgotha’s defenses as easily as the Hadenmen have promised, this will be our first chance to make real contact with the underground. They’re practically the only organized rebellion left in the Empire. Mostly clones and espers, as I understand it, but with a great many useful fellow travelers; some of them quite influential. We need them on our side. Hopefully, kicking the crap outof the Tax and Tithe HQ will make a good first impression and convince them we’re a force to be recognized. Jack Random’s name should open a few doors. He’s given me the names of a few people he swears we can trust, but they could be years out of date. Or dead. He betrayed a lot of people when the Empire mind techs were working on him in their interrogation center. Which is not going to make him very popular in some quarters. His name could work
against
us as much as
for
us. Same with my ancestor Giles, the original Deathstalker. Having a living legend on your side is very useful in recruiting