The crew who remained loyal to Eiko and his squad gathered on the bridge of the Ascent. The wall screen had hooked into the local stream as broadcast by the theatre company, and the crew were watching their Dean's sermon with such high fidelity, it was if they were there.

"Et abrogare terminatio die. What does that mean?" asked Honi who's Church speak skills were never that good. "I unravel termination day?"

"Close, it means, I undo termination day. He just put us out of a job," replied Sam in amazement at the unexpected words from their leader. She watched on, digging into the back of the Captain's chair with her short fingernails as the Dean failed to dispatch Cardinal Kasper with the energy bolt.

She watched further as the Knights of the Star Templar flew through the smoky air from the Cardinal's box down towards the stage. The large choir above the stage had begun singing, a move she knew was to boost the drama of a stream that would become possibly even more popular than their failure at Skye. She tensed her body in sympathy with the Dean who stood with his trident held forward, knees bent and feet spaced apart, ready for combat.

Adrenaline hit Sam hard, and raw emotion took over, she drew Eiko's guns from their holsters under each of her arms, "Let's go! He needs our help."

As she raced to the door, the only one from the group who followed her, was the sunbeamer Acolyte who had dressed in full squad field armour, the silver-gold skin on her face sparkled even in the controlled light of the room.

"Well?!" Sam demanded from Honi, and the others, "What are you waiting for?"

"Sam, there's nothing we can do. By the time we got there, it'll be too late." reasoned Honi.

She knew he was right, and shouldered her weapons with a curse under her breath. She looked at the screen just as the Knights reached the stage.

They watched as Eiko disengaged his death mask moments before the Knights dropped down on the stage and engaged their golden full-helms. Their visored helmets were also holo-field tech, but unlike the death mask, their masks also served for defence.

The stream's camera zoomed into Eiko's face, and Sam could see the calm concentration in his eyes. She had seen that look a hundred times before, and each time, someone died. It was if Sam could feel his thoughts and knew that her mentor was thinking that he would have a chance against one of the knights, but not both of them together. She also knew that he wouldn't go without taking one of them with him.

She winced as she watched Eiko make a dive at the knight to his left who parried the trident lunge effortlessly with a back-arm swing of his sword. But, the Dean had improved his position, and now the two knights were in a line in front of him. Never one to play games in a fight, Sam predicted that Eiko's next move would be his death strike. She bit her lip as he thrust the spear out with his left arm. Sam saw the move for what it was, a decoy, as Eiko's natural hand was his right. Sam watched as the knight drew his blade underarm taking off the Dean's limb at the shoulder. But, even before the arm had separated from his torso, Eiko had pushed forward with his powerful legs. Faster than the camera could catch, the Dean appeared to punch the Star Templar's side under the left arm. But Sam recognised the move, Eiko had triggered his evil-sharp wrist knife, the thin, concealed blade had clicked into place just in time for a perfectly timed strike at the weak point in the knight's armour, the construction of which was almost identical to their own. The pivot motion the Dean made as a follow-up to the strike she recognised also; it was designed to shred internal organs and arteries ensuring an instant death.

The Star Templar fell lifeless, and the one-armed Eiko faced the remaining knight.

"HE MUST NOT DIE!" Came a command from the box. "God alone can punish a crime against the Church such as this!" The display stream panned to the Cardinal who appeared red with fury. The frame then quickly doubled back to the severely wounded Dean. Blood spat from Eiko's shoulder, pooling at his feet.

The second Star Templar walked around the disarmed Churchman. Stopping for a moment over the body of his fallen comrade, he kneeled, and, with his sword levelled at the Dean with one hand, disabled the dead man's helm with the other and closed his lifeless eyes.

Eiko, weakened by his grave wound, suddenly became unsteady on his feet.

From his kneeling position, and without warning, the Knight pounced at Eiko, sweeping his sword broadly from the ground and into the Dean. The Star Templar took the Dean's legs off at the knees.

Eiko fell, and the camera zoomed in on the helpless man as he lay dying. Sam could see the voiceless plea in his eyes that said, "Kill me."

Sam screamed on the inside; a sound released that would have burst the ears of those with her on the bridge. Anger replaced anguish, and the new captain announced, "Our bravest, beloved Eiko, you will die tonight." and added, "as will the Cardinal, his lackeys and all of those fancy cunts down there.

"Harris, open the offensive array and blast the fuck out of that place."

"Yes, Captain." replied the auger, her eyes rolled back into her head as she interfaced with the ship.

"Wide view of the platform," ordered Sam and the screen flicked from the stream of the bleeding limbless Dean to the view of the ship's view of the New Freedom Operahouse facility. People had made their way from the theatre and were pouring out of the main entrance in panic.

"We're going to focus fire on the theatre itself. Explosive ordnance. Position the ship."

The Ascent, heaved into action, moving from its berth in the harbour matrix. Other ships were manoeuvring around the harbour also, mostly yachts trying to win positions in the docking queue to collect their owners. The Cardinal's ship, the Ptolemy was moving too.

"V-line to position. Sail over over any other ship that gets in our way." Ordered Sam.

The large, crystal-shaped cruiser, smashed through smaller yachts in its path as it pulled up alongside the platform. Two of the long faces of the ship's hull drew out from either side on mechanical arms, the massive, black panels revealing twin arrays of the ships formidable missile delivery system.

The white crystal cruiser, the Ptolemy drew up alongside her sister ship.

"Open the defensive arm. Intercept anything from the Ptolemy and focus all offensive fire on the theatre."

"With respect Captain. I don't think we have anything to fear from the Cardinal's ship. I've been in communication with her Commander Sharingan, and I'm informed they are on standby and do not pose a threat." Offered Harris, and followed with, "Field signature acquired. Permission to fire Captain."

"Fire!" replied Sam at the prompt. The view screen showed a barrage of orange gas streams shoot from each side of the Ascent into the platform. Within seconds the white sails of the opera house had been replaced with brilliant flashes of orange and red; a giant fire and smoke demon arose from the place where the theatre had been. The inferno consumed the platform.

"Objective complete Captain. There are no signs of life registering from the theatre area. Our Dean is confirmed dead. The Cardinal is confirmed dead."

Without skipping a beat, Sam turned her anger to the reason they were at New Freedom in the first place. She looked for Honi, he had assumed a station at the communications panel and was scanning communications to and from the region.

"Honi, have we secured the identity and location of the druid who had dealings with our prisoner?"

"Yep, he squealed like the pig as soon as I offered to pull a finger off his hand. He's in the brig now."

Sam turned to the sunbeamer, "You! Bring Pongo Pygmaeus to the crazyport below. I'll meet you there."

"Yes, Captain!" The nameless acolyte ran from the bridge.

"Honi, with me."

"Commander, position the ship so that the crazyport is aligned parallel to the front of the Ptolemy."

"Yes Captain, but..."

"Just do it." replied Sam as she rushed off the bridge.

Honi followed her down the ladder to the next deck below the command deck. The crazyport was a convenience on most larger ships; it was built with field technology to maintain a portal in the hull and was used to easily and quickly shuttle materials from one ship to another.

The deck had been abandoned by personnel so Sam and Honi, stood alone waiting for the acolyte to arrive with their prisoner. They embraced, and Sam whispered to her lover, "My God, what have I just done?"

"It was necessary, what they would have done to Eiko would have been worse than all the torment in Hell. You did the right thing."

"But the rest of it?"

"We'll see" replied Honi unable to answer just as the elevator hatch drew open and the acolyte pushed through an alarmed Pongo.

Sam moved to a control panel beside a large, red hatch on the far wall of the room. The red door irised open to reveal a small chamber and beyond that space and a scene of carnage as the platform burned behind the Cardinals ship that they were facing. With the colourful cloud nebula in the background, the scene was strangely beautiful.

"Get in," Sam ordered their prisoner.

But Pongo had frozen in fear turning a sickly shade of white.

"I said, get in!" and then in a calmer voice, "It's okay Mr Pygmaeus, we're going to transport you to the Ptolemy via the crazyport, it's quicker that way".

Her words were enough to convince the businessman, who, realising he didn't have a choice, hobbled nervously into the chamber of the utility transport.

After a moment of further configuration by Sam behind the control panel, the prisoner floated up and then out of the ship. Then, in an incredibly fast blur, the body of Pongo Pygmaeus hit its mark leaving a red splat on the side of the shiny white hull of the Ptolemy.

Inside the Ascent, Sam simply said, "...and release."

"