Deathstalker Coda by Simon R. Green Page B

everything and everyone before I’ll give it up. Which brings me neatly to the other reason I invited you here. Talk to me about Usher Two. How are the preparations going?”
    Joseph swallowed hard and made himself concentrate on the unfortunate planet identified as being next in the Terror’s path. Usher II was an industrial world, specializing in the production of starship engines and all the tech that went with them. The entire planet was given over to these factories, serving the starship needs of the whole Empire. And since the Empire’s scientists still didn’t fully understand the nature of the tech they’d reverse-engineered from the alien starship that crashed on Unseeli so very long ago, most of the work still had to be done by hand. Human hands. It was far too delicate work to be trusted to computers. The AIs of Shub provided automatons for the really dangerous work, but even those operated under human control. All the factories on Usher II were currently running twenty-four hours a day, shift after shift, trying to build up a surplus to cover what would happen if and when the planet was destroyed.
    “Just when I need all the ships I can muster,” Finn grumbled, “to face off Lewis and his treacherous fleet. Tell me there’s some good news, Joseph, if you like having testicles.”
    “The evacuation is going . . . better than expected,” Joseph said carefully. “But still very slowly. We were relying on Shub to send many more automatons, but they never turned up. We know why now, of course. And the human technicians can’t be allowed to leave until the very last moment. We’re holding their families under guard, to . . . concentrate the minds of the technicians on their work. Everyone is very motivated—and those who aren’t get turned into examples of why not being motivated is a very bad idea. But . . . eventually, we’re going to have to let them leave. We’re going to need their expertise, afterwards. They will of course have priority for the evacuation ships. The rest of the population is expendable, though of course no one’s told them that.”
    “Not really good news, but a brave effort,” said Finn. “I had hoped the new tech we confiscated from the humbled alien worlds would come in handy, but we haven’t really come up with anything worth the having. I always assumed the shifty alien bastards were keeping things from me, because that’s what I would have done, but apparently not. No major weapons kept in reserve, no secret doomsday devices; I’m disappointed in them, I am really. And what little new tech we have grabbed, my scientists, my supposed brilliant experts, are having trouble even deciphering. Only one piece of information really came up trumps: an entirely theoretical plan for transforming a sun into a supernova, and channeling its energies as a weapon. My people are building it even as we speak.”
    “You mean . . . something like the Darkvoid Device?” said Joseph, when he could trust his voice again.
    “Not really on that scale, unfortunately. Basically, the idea is we use the device on one of Usher Two’s binary suns, turn it into a supernova, and then direct all the energy produced into one single blast aimed at the Terror’s herald, as soon as it comes in range. My people aren’t entirely sure the energies can be controlled, or even aimed properly, but . . . nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’m sure it’ll be very pretty to look at. As long as you’re not actually on Usher Two, of course.”
    “A poor man’s Darkvoid Device, that we’re not even sure we can aim properly?” said Joseph. “Finn . . .”
    “As long as we can turn it on and off, that’s all that matters. Don’t flap, Joseph.”
    “But even if the weapon works, we still won’t be able to save Usher Two. There’s no way it could survive having one of its suns go boom.”
    “As long as it stops the Terror, I really couldn’t give a damn,” Finn said cheerfully. “Still, in the