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Simon R. Green - Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War


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Deathstalker War by
Simon Green
CHAPTER ONE
THE TAKING OF MISTWORLD
Every Empire needs a dumping ground. Somewhere out of sight in the back of beyond
where it can dump malcontents and troublemakers. The Empress Lionstone XIV had
Mistworld, a cold inhospitable rock well off the beaten track, populated almost entirely
by traitors, criminals, rogues whose luck had run out, and runaway espers. Lionstone
tolerated Mistworld's presence in her harshly run Empire on the grounds that at least
that way she knew where the bad apples were.
She would have preferred to kill them all, but she had advisors wise enough to know
that exiles were, on the whole, far less troublesome than martyrs. But over the years
Mistworld had become a haven for all kinds of rebels and outlaws, and suddenly what
had been a useful dumping ground was now a defiant, poisoned thorn in the Empire's
side. Lionstone gave orders for its purging, by fire if need be, only to discover that the
planet was now protected by a psionic screen of combined esper minds more than
strong enough to withstand anything her Imperial Fleet could throw at it. And so,
despite Lionstone's many vicious plots and schemes, Mistworld remained the only
surviving rebel planet in the Empire, safe from Lionstone's wrath.
Or so they thought.

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Simon R. Green - Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War


The Sunstrider II dropped out of hyperspace and fell into orbit around Mistworld. The
long slender yacht glistened with sensor spikes, but there were no Empire starcruisers
anywhere in the vicinity. The Empire had learned to keep its distance. There was only
the single golden vessel, hanging silently above a cold, featureless sphere. In the main
lounge of the Sunstrider II, Owen Deathstalker sat at ease in a very comfortable chair
and counted his blessings. Not least of which was that for the moment, at least, no one
was shooting at him. Owen had learned to appreciate the quiet moments in his life, if
only because there were so few of them.
He'd lost the original Sunstrider in a crash landing on the jungle planet of Shandrakor,
but the Hadenmen had rebuilt the ship according to Owen's instructions, around the
original stardrive salvaged from the wreckage of the first ship. It was a very special
drive, one of the prototypes for the new stardrive the Empire was currently attempting
to mass-produce, and for the moment, at least, a great deal faster than anything the
Empire had to offer.