Star Knight Lore: The Sons of Ken

Earth in Galactic Christendom is directly held by the Church, headquartered out of the Holy See (i.e. the Vatican). Most of the nations of Galactic Christendom maintain households planetside for the specific purpose of maintaining diplomatic ties with galactic neighbors. However, there is one nation that calls Earth its homeworld: the Sons of Ken.

Most people have never seen a Son by the dawn of the 4th Millenium, and when they do it's usually in the company of an Inquisitor or a Brother-Knight of Saint George. They are a nation whose unique calling concerns the supernatural, specifically the killing of it, and their continued existence is a reminder of the previous centuries of high weirdness as giants and other monsters once strode across the land and Mankind was on its heels prior to re-establishment of the Church by Pope Simon I, The Miner's Son.

The Sons tell the tale that their father was once an ordinary man, born and raised in the final years before the Cataclysm, who could not--and would not--conform to the sick spirit of that age. Ken wandered the land, stalking the monsters that preyed upon Mankind as they preyed upon Man, often getting little but appreciation and assistance escaping from the corrupt officials hunting him.

But Ken's true calling came after the Cataclysm. It is said that he was the only man burned by the flames that was not consumed by them, but instead transformed- first by the flames, then by the deadly-cold frost of the depths of Winter. He assumed the mien now famous among his kin: skin white like a winter wonderland, eyes burning like a thousand suns, nails become talons, teeth become jaws. Soon thereafter, having found himself surrounded by the undead hordes of The Necromancer, he took the last tool of terror from that first Dark Lord by consuming the consumers of human flesh.

He was not acclaimed. He was not beloved. He was feared at first, and in time respected, but no honor came to Ken until his own time had come. An aged Simon came to him, long after the Necromancer's fall, and took Ken's final confession before the father of monster hunters died in the manner rare to his own: peacefully, in his sleep, in his own bed, of old age. Ken was 120, and 80 of them were after the Cataclysm.

By then he had sons and grandsons, and the truth of his blood bore out: his sons were like unto him, while his daughters merely carried his traits dormantly and were otherwise as ordinary women. Despite the fates many would meet over the centuries since, the Sons fought in every Crusade and would set foot across the galaxy in pursuit of ever-rarer prey, and as such the Sons are spread thin. However, by decree of The Miner's Son, the lands of Ken's origins deep within North America would be recognized as the homeland of the Sons and no one has ever been crazy or stupid enough to encroach on a nation where every boy is raised to stalk and kill as a way of life.

And soon the Sons will be needed in strength yet again.

From The Notes: The Old World Order vs. The New World Order

File this under "Stuff I'll Get Back To After I'm Done With "Star Knight"."

The story begins with an old professor calling his old proteges into his office. They discuss a long-missing colleague, a man who tracked down a lead on a lost Roman legion, when the old professor reveals the receipt of a distress call from their colleague not 24 hours before. The former students, now players in their own right, agree to act upon the revelation. Each commits a protege of their own to a team to investigate.

The investigation goes wrong when it reaches the location where the legion disappeared. An unknown enemy ambushes the team and scatters them; this happens during a storm, covering up the display of otherworldly energies going on. One of the team finds the missing academic, and together they escape the enemy, but he is now trapped with the old man on the other side- where he finds a Roman Empire in full bloom dominating the world. Another also escapes the ambush and remains on our side, having taken out an enemy attacker and traced the ambushers to their forward base; this leads to the revelation of a global conspiracy bent on world domination.

The story escalated when the Romans invade our world in a brazen manner, and it is revealed that this Roman Empire is not trapped in the high point of the post-Marion reforms, but rather is a fully industrialized high-tech power with fantastic arms to go with their fantastic ambitions. The conspiracy here gets flushed out into the open because they have to immediately push for open total control to fight the Empire; the revelation includes fantastic technologies long speculated in the UFO/Ancient Alien scene.

It's revealed that this conflict stems from events over 12000 years ago, and the lost Romans were not lost at all.

Oh, and there's giant robots. LOTS of giant robots. Because I like giant robots. Other details to be decided. Lost Legions vs. The X-Files by way of Panzer World Galient.

The Pitch: Prepare The Spare

A while back I bummed around on YouTube and watched this clip from Mobile Suit Gundam.

And then I watched this clip from Episode 2 of The Vision of Escaflowne. (Poor Balgus.)

And then I read Ben Cheah's post on isekai, which you can find at PulpRev https://www.pulprev.com/2019/04/isekai-is-not-japanese-europe-in-video.htmlhere. I got out my notebook because I remembered that I had an idea on how to do this that hadn't been done, or done well, in some time. I wrote this down after watching those two clips and another from Final Fantasy XV.

This is the pitch.

A magical kingdom is under attack by an evil empire. The king dies. The princes are all dead save for one, the youngest, who suffered an apparent death but actually survived and is secretly hospitalized. He's stuck into a sensory deprivation tank and hooked into a VR simulation to speed up his recovery. One of the king's chief retainers has to retrieve the prince from the facility before it's found and destroyed.

The prince comes out when he's shown that the man who betrayed him, the man who was both his friend and his rival, is behind not only the attacks but personally slaughtered his family and threatens to subjugate his people to the empire's yoke. But he can't fight the man right away; he has to rally the remnants together, resolve threats to his position and authority, and then he can renew the war against the empire in order to get his revenge.

The VR sim is the key, as it's actually something of an MMORPG; the medical establishment uses it to facilitate communications across borders and language barriers. The prince and others have to use it to avoid Imperial entanglements, and the sim world is more like our everyday life than the fantastic world they actually live in. That's a realm full of intrigue to be had.

So we have Garma coming back from near-death to get Char, having to play guerilla war online and in meatspace to do it like Van had to do, and he has to be like Neo here and there. Add giant robots, laser swords, and some romance to suit and we've got something to work with.

The Business: Star Knight In Full Color!

ArtAnon emailed me some colorized versions of the concept art he did for the Star Knight Indiegogo campaign. You folks ought to see them.

Click through to embiggen them to full-size, where you can see them in their fully glory. That beam lance, by the way, gets some screen time in Book Two.

As this post implies, I'm getting close to launching Reavers of the Void soon. No, not next week, but soon. You'll know soon enough when it's time to send all your friends and family to the Amazon listing to buy a copy of a book dedicated to action, romance, and giant robot combat in that old-school Space Opera way that you otherwise have to look to Japan to give you these days.

In the meantime, I again point you to my colleague Rawle Nyanzi and his Shining Tomorrow which needs the support of readers like you. If you're looking for more indie mecha action to hold you over, and you haven't gotten a copy already, then Brian Niemeier's your huckleberry. Get yourself a copy of Combat Frame XSeed today.

In The Works: Book Two's Aesthetics

Reavers of the Void is a pirate story in frontier territory. Book Two is not; it's a tale of intrigue in the heart of Civilization, albeit no less fast-paced and action-packed. While giant robots and space battleships, singularly and in great numbers, are present the action's scaling down closer to the man-to-man level for much of Book Two; we scale back up for the climax.

Besides, you don't do this sort of thing without taking the time to show off the scenery, and Book Two has some truly fantastic locations:

• The Court of Stars, based out of Rome. While many affairs regarding the Court can be--and are--done via remote conferencing, the most sensitive matters are only done in person and this time we see that happen. You don't make use of a location with Rome's history and majesty without making time to make the most of those very qualities. As George Lucas showed with his location choices for Naboo, you can expect some furious fights to occur in this ancient capital of Civilization.
• The Barsoom War College, base on Mars. Located in geostationary orbit over Olympus Mons, tethered by beanstalk to the ground and serving also as a transit hub for the planet, this is the school for Solar Guard officer candidates as well as the graduate school for those career officers looking to make it into the upper ranks and join the Admiralty. As such, experts lecturing on a vast array of applicable subjects (such as military history) can be found here either as faculty or visiting fellows. The orbital museum is the key tourist attraction.
• Lord Roland's Estate, based on the shores of Lake Mille Lacs in North America (present day Minnesota). This is my backyard (so to speak), and how it went from resort to feudal manor is a long story, and if you've never been to the Minnesota lake country then you don't know the glory of being able to see the horizon on a fresh water lake (and then be surrounded by literally hundreds of other lakes). I spent many weekends and summer vacations here, so you're going to see what this is like when violent men with mecha stomp around it.
• St. Mayo's Hospital, which is today's Mayo Clinic. In the feudal future, this is a Church holding- specifically held by the Hospitallers. A Very Important Person is kept here in secret, guarded 24/7/365 by the Knights, and the key of the plot revolves around discovering that this location has the VIP and then what happens when the villains move to deal with the VIP.

You can see why you're not going to see giant robots right away, or a lot. But you will see mecha, just smaller mecha. We're looking this time to see more stuff that you'd see out of Armored Trooper VOTOMS, Bubblegum Crisis, Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, Megazone 23, and so on. Maybe as big as Orguss, and the ships we see will likely be the smaller ones until we get to the final act.

Excerpt From "Reavers of the Void": Come, Durendal!

Author's Note: What you are about to read is from a Work In Progress. The final version may be different, significantly different, from this draft excerpt. This is taken from a chapter tentatively titled "The Taking of Gabriela Robin", at the climax of Part One of the book. If you want to see this finished, and get more like it, back the Indiegogo campaign here. As of this post, we're 83% of the way towards the initial goal of $1000, so your support now is likely to ensure this project happens.

---

Ramsey ran out of the Grand Hall, down a corridor and out into a pathway that lead to a stairway up the curtain wall. He paused to see the Ireton Gallowglass mecha struggling against the unknown mecha that launched from Dashing Jack’s battleship- itself clearing the skies of Ireton fighters and holding descending cruisers at bay with its guns and missiles. Sweeping across the spaceport below was the tall manlike model, moving with aplomb among the buildings on the surface. It looks like a statue in the image of an armored warrior of antiquity.

Ramsey backed up a space, drew a baton from its boot sheathe, then turned about and ran for the wall’s edge. He jumped over the edge, took the baton in both hands, and bellowed “Roland, draw your sword!”

The baton separated in the middle, as if held together by magnetism. Ramsey held each half as if were a joystick controller. From those halves golden lights appeared and drew into place about him a giant-sized armored frame. Then each core subsystem in turn drew into place, followed by the cockpit interior, and finally the lights filled the frame-drawing in. It became a solid manlike mecha, shaped as a living suit of full plate armor, gleaming royal blue and trimmed in gold, bearing the crest of Roland on its chest, and standing 12 meters tall. The cockpit within lit up, giving Ramsey a 360 degree view about him as the unit’s legs kicked forward to fire the thrusters in its feet while the thrusters in its back synced to fire with them. Ramsey landed with a resounding thud, but he landed on both feet and ready for action.

“Behold!” Ramsey yelled, “Durendal has arrived!”

The Gallowglass units within range of his voice, boosted by the speakers in Durendal’s head, took heart at Ramsey’s appearance. “We’re saved!” one pilot said, “The Solar Guard stands with us!”

Zuzu cracked a wicked grin within the cockpit of Anakim. “There you are!” she said, and she turned her mecha to face Ramsey. “I can stop playing with these fools now.”

Ramsey looked on as he saw Anakim level a long rifle at him. Reading the mech’s movements as if he would a living man, Ramsey ran behind an empty mech hangar just as Zuzu fired upon him. He quickly shifted direction once he passed the hangar doors, ducking out of sight, as the follow-up shots drew closer and closer to him.

As he drew his battle rifle, Ramsey noticed the lack of ordinance meant to flush him out of the hangar. He lurched forward and rolled away from the corner he took, taking a hunch as to his enemy’s intention, and when he saw the long rifle’s barrel break through the wall he got Durendal to its feet and returned fire. Then he aimed up and fired through the hangar roof, where he heard something explode.

“Got one of the smaller ones, my lord!” a Gallowglass pilot said, “But their leader’s moving to flank you again.”

“My thanks.” Ramsey said, intuiting where Zuzu moved and firing another shot that way.

Zuzu hustled around the hangar, trying to out-think her target, only to find him shooting from within the hangar at her as she brought the long rifle up to fire. She reflexively threw the rifle in the way, blasting it in half. She discarded the ruined rifle, tossing it aside, in the few moments she had before it exploded and unintentionally destroying the spaceport’s barracks. More rifle fire came from within the hangar, blowing holes in the wall and forcing Zuzu to dodge. She found a half-wrecked truck, dashed behind it as Ramsey blind-fired at her, picked up the flaming wreckage and then ran for the hangar.

“We bring the pain to you!” Zuzu cried as she crashed through the wall. Ramsey shifted Durendal's feet, stepping out of the line of attack, and fired upon the wreckage. The shot blew a hole through what substance remained, making the rest fall apart in Anakim’s hands. Ramsey fired again, but Zuzu dodged it and pulled a lance from Anakim’s back. The end ignited, and Ramsey jumped away through the roof to get clear as Zuzu went on the attack. As he descended, he put the rifle away; he thought Zuzu would immediately pursue with a charge.

Zuzu did not disappoint. Ramsey drew his beam sword and met Zuzu’s charge with a forceful parry. He spun to one side, off the lance’s line, and tried to get inside Zuzu’s reach- but she did not allow it, reversing the spin to catch Ramsey open with a kick, a kick she delivered and sent Ramsey spiraling through another building as he hurried to reclaim his balance.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught Zuzu launching Anakim into the air to attempt a Death From Above attack with her beam lance. He got Durendal’s feet right and launched into the attack, coming just off her line sweeping up with his beam sword.

Zuzu tried to correct her descent, but didn’t have enough time. All she could do was watch as Ramsey scored Anakim’s breastplate with the tip of his beam sword and then cut her lance in half- but better that then loose an arm or get sliced lengthwise through her cockpit. Now having reversed the attack, Ramsey turned to descend upon Zuzu, only to find her already moving out of the way and igniting a beam sword of her own.

“Zuzu, stop playing with him!” Gori said as he appeared in a window on her viewscreen, “Move to back up Jack in the castle.”

At the same time, Ramsey saw Sibley pop up in a side window. “My lord, Jack’s here with us! We need your arm!”

“Roland to Ireton militia. Report!”

“We’re holding here, my lord. The enemy’s air support thins, and our ships are coming to our aide.”

Ramsey now fixed his eyes upon Anakim. “I see what your game is.”

Then Ramsey saw Zuzu break off and go to the castle.

Excerpt From "Reavers of the Void": The Attack Commences!

Author's Note: What you are about to read is from a Work In Progress. The final version may be different, significantly different, from this draft excerpt. This is taken from a chapter tentatively titled "Tonight Comes a Hurricane", near the climax of Part One of the book. If you want to see this finished, and get more like it, back the Indiegogo campaign here

---

Zuzu the Painbringer strode across the hangar bay of Great Gomorrah with the menace of a lioness on the hunt. She checked the seals of her battle armor: a matte black carapace, with a while skull outline on the chestplate, and red eyes in the sockets. It hugged her muscled curves as well as it covered her bold blue skin. She looked down at the wing of men she was about to lead into battle, standing a full head taller than the tallest of them, and gave them wicked lewd grins that bared her fangs. They cheered her as she passed.

In the center of the bay knelt a new manlike model, in colors and insignia mirroring her armor, and with a cockpit large enough for her inhuman frame. The cockpit, mounted in the torso, lay open but Zuzu did not immediately mount it. Instead she turned about to face her fellow reavers.

"Red Eyes's Reavers, hear your mistress!" she bellowed, "In a few moments we launch from this ship and sortie in the greatest raid this galaxy has seen in over a century. We do what none dared think possible- a direct assault upon the heart of our enemy's territory, House Ireton's homeworld of New Edinburgh!"

The gathered men roared, their eyes showed rapt attention and their mouths watered as if anticipating a kill.

"They are soft and weak, believing that we cannot reach them where they live, where they keep their treasures, where they plot to seize and conquer more of our land, our worlds, our lives from us in the name of their Duke and their God. They are wrong, and today we show them with blood and fire that they are wrong! We shall crush them, drive them before us, and reap from them all of their treasure- and their God shall avail them not against us!"

The men exploded in roars, cheering Zuzu on. She basked in the adulation as if showered by waterfalls.

"We bring the pain to them! The men that bring me the most heads shall be rewarded with my love!"

The men now chanted Zuzu's name, brought to ecstatic frenzy.

"Mount up! We shall wade knee-deep in their blood and seize the greatest treasures in all the galaxy this day- to war!"

"To war!" they answered, crying out in ecstasy, and they mounted their cockpits. As Zuzu did the same, all of the mechs in the bay began powering up. One by one the red eyes in the heads lit up as each one ran through pre-flight checks. Zuzu's unit closed the door to the cockpit and rose to stand. She watched as all systems came back green.

"Bridge, this is the Painbringer. Ready check."

"All clear, Vice Admiral. We're ready."

"Signal the first wave." Zuzu said, "We're launching."

"Aye, ma'am." Bridge said, and the warning klaxons sounded.

"Reavers, prepare to launch." Zuzu said, and her men released from their niches on the bay's walls. Still in GERWALK mode, the first flight on either side of the bay stood ready to go. The klaxons ceased, the bay depressurized, and the doors opened to space. Four per side hit their engines and flew out in formation into space. Within a minute, all 60 mecha departed the bay leaving only Zuzu to go."

"Vice Admiral Zuzu," she said, "Anakim, launching!"

Zuzu spun up the engines and took off out of the hangar bay on the port side, swiftly turning towards the bow of Great Gomorrah and accelerating to catch up to her men. On either side she saw that the mecha of the rest of the fleet's carriers had also launched their wings. Soon a great mass of 6000 mecha melded together into a massive formation, one with Zuzu's Anakim in the lead- and as the only one that was not a GERWALK design among them.

#

The Ireton heavy cruiser MacCullough followed the routine patrol route, passing well outside the planetary sphere for orbital traffic and towards Dara's Folly. A flight of Gallowglass-class mecha flew alongside the cruiser as a Combat Space Patrol, connecting as required to refuel and swap pilots. On the bridge, an alert sounded.

"Sir, we have- oh God." the crewman's eyes went wide.

"Main screen."

The viewscreen switched to show a massive shower of asteroids, each the size of the MacCullough, closing on their position at high speed.

"Lieutenant?" the helmsman said, "Orders?"

"Evasive action! Wake up the captain!" the young officer said, "And contact Headquarters."

The cruiser turned on its axis to speed away on the vertical from the wave closing on them, going--in effect--over the storm. On the screen a second window with one of the mecha pilots appeared.

"MacCullough! Those aren't errant asteroids. They've got rockets installed. Those are miss-"

Another pilot came in. "They're armed! Those are ships!" Then he too winked out. The other two soon followed. The Officer of the Watch, that young lieutenant, soon realized what he faced. Then the captain called to the bridge.

"What's going on, Lieutenant?"

"Unknown hostiles using weaponized asteroids on attack vector, captain. They've destroyed our mecha escort, and we're in the line of fire.'

"We're in weapons range!"

"You're cleared to fire. I'm on my way." the captain said and his window closed.

"You heard the captain! Fire at will! We've got to get clear."

The MacCullough's guns fired at each target in range, destroying each in turn, keeping them away long enough to rise above the storm and get clear of a direct collision. The guns kept firing as the cruiser rose above the plane, while attempting to get through back to New Edinburgh, when the captain arrived on the bridge.

"We can't get through to Headquarters." the lieutenant said as he surrendered the chair to the captain.

"Captain, they're jamming us." the Comms Officer said.

"New contacts to port!" the Sensors Officer said, "Missiles! We're being targeted directly!"

"Counter-battery fire!" the captain said, "Helm, get us out of here!

The MacCullough's point-defense guns shot down the missiles as they approached, buying time for the cruiser to turn about, but Redalen's Revenge emerged from hyperspace directly above them at optimal range for its guns. A volley of fire from its bow-facing turrets pierced the ship's shields and lanced its hull. One shot pierced its missile battery, exploding all of the ordinance at once, annihilating the Ireton heavy cruiser in a massive fireball that consumed all hands.

"Revenge to Great Gomorrah." Gori said, his blue-skinned face smugly grinning from ear to ear as he stood next to the captain's chair, "Obstacle cleared. Losses minimal. Surprise maintained."

Preparing For The Campaign: Comments Solicited

The campaign comes Soon (TM). Until it's over, the Thursday post will be about that. Serials will go over to Steemit, with another post giving out the link when that's ready, and get a brief exclusivity period before a repost here. As I finish preparations on the campaign's re-launch, I'll let you people know what's gone on over the week.

I've settled on a series and book title: "Star Knight Saga: Book One, Reavers of the Void". It took some A/B testing on Twitter to nail down that decision, but I'm glad I did it. That title and subtitle, coupled with the cover I've been brainstorming, should leave no doubt in anyone's mind as to what you're going to get when you pick up the book.

I'm waiting on my original character illustration, and with that I can finish the pitch video. The initial goal for the campaign, as before, is to build the capital required to hire the professional help I need to finish the book: editing, cover, etc. and unless you've got some math I need to know it's still set for $1000. Two sets of changes I'm mulling over are Pledge Levels and Stretch Goals; I want comments before I commit to them:

• Pledge Levels: Simplified from before, at $5/$10/$25/$100. Respectively, and additively, you'd get: a copy of the book in MOBI or EPUB, thanked by name in the Afterword, a copy of the print book as it becomes available, a signed and numbered copy of the print book. The $100 level is limited to a maximum of 50 backers, and the others are unlimited. I have no resources to offer anything else at this time, so I found this to be as reasonable as I could be.
• Stretch Goals: Starting at $2K, I commit to an additional book in the series, and I commit to one more at each additional $1K to a limit of $10K. (Note: That doesn't mean there will be a limit of 10 books in the series, but rather a commitment to at least that many.) Each backer gets the additional books in the form they pledged at (ebook for the first two tiers, print included at the top two tiers). I have one additional goal I am prepared to add if we reach $10,000.

In addition, I intend to launch a newsletter email list specific to this book series and keep the current one for my writing and publishing endeavors as a whole and I want that to launch when the campaign--success or failure--concludes. In short, I intend to copy what Nick Cole & Jason Anspach did for Galaxy's Edge as best I can going forward. It's a verified formula, so why not use it? I also am prepared to open a Discord server if there is sufficient demonstrable demand for it.

If you have any comments, suggestions, etc. put them below; I will visit this post over the days to come and permit comments as fast as I can to facilitate conversation.

Garmil's Gate Done & Campaign Coming Soon

Now that Garmil's Gate has finished its serial run, I will compile the segments together into a single manuscript presently and let that compiled manuscript sit for a spell before I get to revising and rewriting it. The final version will, again, be made into an exclusive prequel story should the relaunched crowdfunding campaign hit the threshold for its inclusion.

The date for the relaunch will come after the (American) Independence Day holiday, so you've got another week or so; there is no way that I will get the attention that I seek if I attempt to relaunch during the upcoming week, so I won't waste your time or mine trying. Bad idea.

Instead, you will know when it happens--and newsletter subsribers get 48 horus advanced notice--because I'll post it here and across all the socials I use. All I'm saying is that you need not worry about missing out on valuable family time over the holiday. Go forth, enjoy the long weekend, and then be ready to Make Space Opera Great Again.

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 26

Sibley struggled to make his way to the bridge. At every turn he fought three or four to one, cutting and blasting through would-be pincer moves to fix him before they fry him with blasters. But then they push him into the lift, and from the bridge they run him down to the cargo hold.

In the hold, Sibley sees a giant-sized sensory deprivation tank. Cables and waldos runs from the walls and attach to it, securing it in place. Curiosity claims him, and he approaches. As he does, the foreboding fills him, but he steels himself and advances. As he comes about, he sees what--who--rests inside.

"Mother of God..." Sibley gasps.

"Satisfied?"

Sibley turns around and there he sees a big, blue-skinned brute bearing a beam sword. "I'd hoped to find the captain."

"I'd hoped to fight the Paladin." Gori said, igniting the blood-red beam blade as he approached Sibley, "You will have to do."

"The right-hand men fighting on our masters' behalf, eh?" Sibley said as he stood ready, "I appreciate the poetry of it."

"Consider this a courtesy." Gori said as he squared off against Sibley, "I could have just blown the seals and sucked you out of here, but I'd rather that you know why you failed before I toss you out the airlock."

"Win before you taunt."

Gori lunges at Sibley, a blow the old man beats away but forces him back. Sibley adjusts his stance, putting his sword hand into a place where deflecting the force of Gori's strikes is much easier, and then reads the pirate's body language as Gori attacks. The pirate has youth, reach, and power over Sibley but lacks skill and isn't wearing a personal screen- just armor.

Sibley soon sees that Gori's strikes are better suited to a hatchet than a sword, as he finds the pirate not thrusting now. Still possessing his pistol, Sibley shifts his feet when he moves to parry Gori's next overhead chop. In a smooth motion, Sibley shifts his sword to his off-hand, and as he blocks the chop Sibley draws his pistol and shoots Gori multiple ties square in the guts.

Gori cries out in pain, and he staggers, but he only falls to one knee. "I figured you might try something like this." Gori said, grimacing, and Sibley saw a second layer of armor that his blaster failed to penetrate as Gori got to his feet.

"You're smarter than you look." Sibley said, breaking off and holding Gori at the point of his blaster. The old man flicked a switch with his gun-hand's thumb. "That's a mistake I make only once."

"Fortunately, old man, its not the only one you make this day." Gori said, his breathing labored as he sealed his armor and turned on his suit's magnetic anchors, "DO IT!"

Sibley recognized the tell and sealed his armor also, but not soon enough to anchor himself as the cargo hold's door opened to space. The explosive decompression blew him--and several unsecured items--out of the ship's hold. As he tumbled, he keyed into his suit's comlink for Creton to retrieve him. This took the Baden-Powell away from the Revenge just long enough to allow Dashing Jack's plan to reach fruition.

As the hold's door closed shut once more, Gori released his anchors. "We're ready and the ship's clear. Follow when ready, Captain."

Outside, Ramsey held Jack in a mech-to-mech beam sword clinch. "You're cornered, Jack!" Ramsey said, "Your ship's boarded. The Maribu's soon to catch up, and I'm more than able to hamstring your ship to ensure that Duke Far does so."

Jack answered with a smug smirk. "Am I?" he said, and then he pressed the button he installed into his cockpit.

Ramsey watched as Jack's mech seemed to jump away with the Revenge, without tether or external jump drive, and after a moment he slammed a fist against the cockpit. Soon thereafter he and Sibley rendezvoused with the Maribu and met with Duke Far in the Duke's quarters.

"You're certain?" Far said, "A fallen angel?"

"Aye, Your Grace. No mistaking that visage."

"Which means that this entire affair was a very elaborate ruse." Far said, "But for what end, and why bring the Church into it?"

"We'll find out soon enough." Ramsey said, "But I am certain of this: not only will we see Jack again, but his master also. This prize is a horrible one for them to seize. The Court of Stars must be informed."

"I'll handle that, Lord Roland. There are foolish interests in the Court that cannot be trusted to know the full details, lest they seek to exploit them at the expense of Christendom."

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 25

Dashing Jack and Sir Ramsey took aim at each other, while their wingmen broke off and engaged the enemy. Both men launched missiles at the other, forcing counter-missile fire using beam rifles, before they closed to gun range and began manuevering around each other in a dogfight. During this action, Sibley switched from mech to mech in his attempt to weave his way through the furball and sneak his way to the Revenge, and he ended up relying on his personal vernier backpack when he realized that he couldn't ride his way there.

To mask his presence, he stayed in an ironic position- squarely between the nearest point-defense batteries and the dogfighting mechs off the starboard bow. While risking life and limb flying down through a hail of blaster fire, against which his personal screen would--at best--let him take one stray shot, the veteran sergeant-at-arms kept cool knowing that so long as he kept inside the blind spots of the guns the odds of getting shot were slim.

Keeping an eye out for the old man was his son, Creton, at the controls of the Baden-Powell, doing his best to drive the gunners' attention away from Sibley when the dogfighting mechs couldn't hold it. Swift fly-bys, blasting the hull near the ship's sensor array, ensured that those point-defense guns that could otherwise have noticed the old man instead chased the scout ship in vain.

While the Maribu now accelerated, giving chase, and therefore kept up its barrage from its turrets the Revenge no longer had any line of sight to return fire. With its missiles depleted, it had no means to return fire either. Nonetheless, both Jack and the few wingmen left he had would not give up or retreat.

"You won't escape." Ramsey said, "I'll soon overwhelm your squadron, then you, and then your ship will be my prize."

The Maribu's guns again got closer with each barrage. Missiles launched upon the Revenge started to overwhelm the point-defense guns, striking near her engines.

"No, Paladin." Jack said as he ignited a beam sword and went to melee, "You and your ally are easily read."

Ramsey's wingmen from Gatewatch, while taking serious losses, now gained the upper hand and began sweeping away Jack's depleted squadron. Sibley now reached the dorsal hull of the Revenge, and with beam sword in hand began to look for a hatch.

"You think the situation is a simple piracy problem, Paladin. Now you shall see how wrong you are."

Hatches on the dorsal hull opened, and armed pirates emerged with blaster rifles. Sibley drew his pistol, used his sword to block a few shots, and ducked for cover behind an active turret. "I'm pinned! BOY!"

Creton came about and strafed the hull, sending some pirates into cover and the rest to their maker. As Creton passed, Sibley broke out and charged the nearest pirate standing. He shot that man down with three well-placed shots, and then turned to the next one; he knocked away the few shots that man got off before returning fire. Once he closed, he cut down the cad with his sword. A third took a shot between the eyes before drifting off into the void, and the last one fired and fired and fired as Sibley calmly advanced on him.

"Mercy!" the pirate cried.

"Exterminatus." Sibley replied, and removed the offender's head.

Then Sibley, finding the nearby hatch, cut his way through to the airlock. He waited for the emergency seal to close off the outside hatch, and then cut his way through the inside hatch to gain access to the ship proper. Once through, he found what he expected: battle lighting, alarm klaxons, and calls over the comms for reports to and from the bridge.

"I'm in." Sibley said into his comlink.

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 24

"We're in the clear!" Gori said, "Far can't pursue us much further."

Down in the hanger, still in the cockpit of his mech, Jack snapped back: "Not so fast, Gori. We're missing a major player in this drama."

"Captain, really-"

"Shut up and follow orders, Gori. He's coming, and soon."

A boyish thing, more resembling a wolf pulp on two legs than a boy, approached Jack and handed him a small box. Jack petted the pup and sent him on his way.

"Spin up the drives and prepare to jump to the rendezvous point." Jack said, "Don't worry about me, Gori. I've got my contingency plan in hand."

On the bridge, Gori watch the Maribu slowly turn about, firing its guns as the Revenge pulled away, in a vain attempt to pursue. As Jack removed what appeared to be a palm-sized painted rock from the box and slotted it into his mech's systems, Gori saw an alert of an incoming jump light up.

"There he is!" Jack said, and then he turned his attention to the techs about his mech: "Hurry up! We've got a damned dog to shake off."

The Baden-Powell appeared, already on an intercept approach towards the Revenge. Hanging of its hull like a bunch of desperate refugees were the remaining mechs stationed at Gatewatch, all of which now released their hold and rocketed forward to engage the pirate ship.

"You're right, Captain!" Gori said, "He brought Gatewatch's garrison with him."

"Is his mech out there?"

"No."

"Prepare for boarders, Gori. I'm going to buy us time."

Jack closed up his cockpit, detached from his refueling and rearming waldos, and once more sortied from the ventral hatch. Behind him followed the remaining squadron members. The Maribu and the Revenge continued firing on each other, scoring fewer and fewer hits as the distance grew, but the Revenge's point-defense guns lit up as the Baden-Powell and its allied mechs approached.

"Jack's come out." Ramsey said, "I think he suspects the plan."

"So we go with the alternative then, my lord?" Sibley said.

"That we do. Get ready, Sibley. Creton, take your father's seat. It's time you put your pilot skills to the test."

Creton's face lit up with delight and he eagerly replaced his father in the co-pilot position. Without being asked, he moved fire control to his new station, and took up the controls. Ramsey mussed the boy's hair as he got up, and then looked back as he made ready to sortie.

"We're counting on you, lad!"

"Aye, my lord! You can count on me!"

Sir Ramsey and Sibley went to the launch bay. Sibley adjusted his armor to make room for a locator beacon, and Ramsey adjusted the loadout of his mech to concentrate on close-quarters combat. The two fighting men then nodded at each other, entered the airlock, and then dropped out the ventral hatch. Sibley held on to the hull as Ramsey called forth Durendal, then the elder man switch his hold to the back of Ramsey's mech.

"We're off, Creton! You know what to do!"

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 23

On the bridge of Redalen's Revenge, battle lighting and alarm klaxons mirrored the mood of her captain and crew.

"Helm, bring us about. Configure for point-blank range and go all-ahead full!"

Gori looked to his captain. "Ready here, Captain!"

Jack called down to the hangar. "Prepare my mech for launch. I'm going out." he said, and then gave a thumbs-up to Gori. The space pirate headed for the lift while his lieutenant took his position. As Jack descended from the bridge to the hangar bay, Revenge turned about to advance on the Tiger of Maribu, dodging volleys from its turrets in doing so, and it turned on its axis to present all of its guns upon the enemy.

"Fire!" Gori bellowed, and all of the pirate's cannons fired upon the Maribu, scoring solid hits across the dorsal hull. A volley of missiles followed, swarming down and forcing the point-defense systems to their limits. With the mech squadron brawl now moving to push between the two battleships, the Maribu adjusted its position to maximize its turrets' ability to fire upon the Revenge.

Now Jack ran through the hangar bay, rushing across the open space to where his personal mech stood ready for him. Once inside, and the cockpit closed, he keyed the comlink as he rushed through takeoff.

"Gori, transmit Order Zahn and wait for my signal."

Jack's mech finished its takeoff sequence. Powered up and ready to go, Jack maneuvered to the ventral hatch and stood ready. Oh the outside, the Revenge and the Maribu pummeled each other with successive volleys from their turrets as well as emptying their missile bays with repeated launches as they closed to point-blank range. Back inside, Jack monitored the distance between the two ships, and when the distance reach clear visual range, Jack keyed the comlink: "GO!"

Jack launched from the ventral hatch, now appearing upside down from the perspective of the Maribu, and used the exchange of fire to cover its signal until it appeared out of the Revenge's shadow. Then it joined the dogfight, quickly clearing out Far's men and relieving his own. With no more enemy mecha, they fell in behind Jack and followed Jack's assault on the Maribu as the Revenge pummeled it without mercy. While several of his men fell to the ship's point-defense guns, enough slipped across the hull to support Jack's attack on the engines to make the threat of crippling or destroying them viable.

"Maximum firepower!" Jack said, "Now!"

Jack and his remaining men launched every munition they had and exhausted their guns by unloading them into the Maribu's engines. Several satisfying explosions erupted from them, forcing the engineers therein to flee as bulkheads slammed into place to contain the damage and expel the explosive forces into space. With oxygen quickly consumed, the fires flared out fast, but by then the ability of the Maribu to maneuver had already been hobbled.

"We're done here. Let's go." Jack said, and as the Revenge now began to open the distance again Jack lead what men he had left back into the hangar bay of the Revenge. The battleships kept firing upon each other, lancing each other with main guns and further slicing each other up with the secondary guns, but the engagement was now decided and both Jack and Duke Far realized it.

Unless Ramsey arrived in time.

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 22

On the bridge of the Tiger of Maribu, Duke Far stood next to the stellar navigation station when an alert sounded.

"Your Grace," a crewman said, "the scout's in position at the suspect location."

"Main screen." Far said, and the video feed from the scout appeared on the big screen. In real time, the scout showed the asteroid pirate base, and its activity resembled that of a panicked wasp hive. Not one of the vessels leaving the base was a warship. Instead, Far witnessed a bunch of pirates in unarmed mechs towing away the stolen container units, apparently leading to a point on the edge of the solar system- right where it opens to deep space.

"Scout, have any warships or mecha come or gone?" Far said, following a hunch.

"None, Your Grace." the scout said, "This is all that's been going on since the base lit up a few moments ago. Just prior to that a burst signal terminated here. Your Grace, this isn't a muster for battle; these pirates are abandoning their base of operations."

Far looked over at his Communications Officer, who nodded affirmatively in anticipation of the question. "Scout, send the trajectory of the burst signal back here. Stay on station, observe, and if detected flee."

"Yes, Your Grace." the scout said, and moments later the requested data appeared. The Communications Officer superimposed the data on a map of the system, revealing a point on the edge of Garmil's Gate's atmosphere.

"General Quarters!" Far said, and the battle lighting came on as the alert klaxons sounded. "Helm, intercept that ascending ship."

The Tiger of Maribu's engines flared to life once more, turning the battleship about and heading away from Gatewatch on an intercept course. As the battleship raced to intercept Redalen's Revenge, the mech squadron aboard ship scrambled and stood ready to launch upon contact.

"Missiles at the ready." Far said, anticipating what's to come, and soon the map updated with positive sensor contact.

"Launch!"

A salvo of missiles fired their engines and flew from their tubes, clearing the battleship before turning and flying towards their target. Immmediately thereafter the mech squadron launched, taking up their formation ahead of the Maribu. The ship's main guns now powered up, anticipating closure to combat ranges presently.

"Enemy missiles inbound!" a crewman said, "Enemy secondary signals confirmed. Tiger Leader has visual confirmation of enemy mecha and their mothership."

"On screen."

Redalen's Revenge appeared on the main screen, starboard side in profile, racing as fast as it can go for the edge of the system.

"Missiles intercepted and destroyed."

"All ahead full! Time for the Tiger to pounce!"

The mech squadrons broke formation and engaged, turning quickly into a series of dogfights, as the Tiger closed on the Revenge

"We've reached gunnery range, Your Grace!"

"FIRE!"

The Tiger's forward turrets opened fire, alternating fire to maintain a steady assault of three-barrel barrages. The first volley scored a glancing blow and coruscated brilliantly off Revenge's shields, but the second hit square on the pirate ship's starboard side. The hit overloaded the shields, bored a hole in the armor and into the hull. Some hapless pirates not incinerated by the shot itself got sucked out into space during decompression before the bulkheads slammed down and sealed off the breach.

Revenge returned fire, tracking the Maribu and firing a barrage from its own turrets. One missed entirely, but two more hit and stressed the shielding on the ship's fore to its limit. A fourth went just high and skated off the shielding over the dorsal hull.

"Now if Roland can just join the battle." Far said, "We can finish Dashing Jack for good."

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 21

The Baden-Powell broke through Garmil's Gate's atmosphere once more, descending well below the clouds to answer the distress call from the noblewomen on retreat.

"The signal's still transmitting, Sir Ramsey." Sibley said, "I expect that as long as the women can keep the raiders out of their secured room, we can home in on that."

"Creton!" Ramsey said, speaking into his microphone, "On the guns, now!"

"Expecting a hostile reception are we?" Sibley said, and in response two blips came on the sensors coming from the noblewomen's location. "Contacts. Look like the escorts for our raiding party."

"Spin up the guns." Ramsay said, "Take them quickly, boy. We don't have time to waste."

Ramsey saw the guns powering up on his console. "Aye, my lord!" Creton said, his enthusiasm plain, "Standing by!"

"Fire when ready." Ramsey said, "Just make certain that you hit."

The turret rotated around the ship's axis, and the cannons pointed down slightly in the direction of their descent. Creton sat at the controls, fixed on the target reticle, as he saw the lead mech in the pirate element come into range. He marked the wingman's position behind the leader, and in a smooth motion shifted his aim to the trailing wingman. The boy pressed the trigger, and the blaster cannons threw forth a burst of hot plasma bolts downrange.

The leader laughed, thinking that the volley was meant for him, only to hear his wingman cry out a moment before dying as the mech's powerplant exploded. Before the leader got his wits about him, Creton sent a second volley. The bolts slammed into his mech's torso, first burning out the armor and then boring through the cockpit--and him--to the same result. Neither go so much as a ranging shot off.

"Scope's clear, my lord." Sibley said, "We're clear to land."

"No time, Sibley." Ramsey said, "Take the con. I'm dropping down, so I want you and Creton hovering overhead just in case."

"Understood, my lord." Sibley said as he changed seats, "Boy, take the co-pilot's chair."

Creton handed Ramsey the knight's baton, and moments later the ventral hatch opened. Ramsey dropped out of his ship, and free-fell the last half-mile or so to the target while the Baden-Powell veered off slightly. It was a good precaution, because now some ground-to-air missile launched from the surface. Ramsey spread his arms and legs wide, and a thin plasma-like energy flashed up to form a gliding suit out of his armor. The ship drew off and shot down the missiles, and then moved forward in case of more ground fire, which did come as both man and machine came within visual range of the wilderness retreat.

"Sibley!" Ramsey said, "Clear a path!"

Creton used the ship's guns to blow apart the makeshift anti-air gun the pirates put up, and then blew up the shuttle they meant to escape with. Those explosions kept the pirates' attention away from Ramsey until it was too late, and the Paladin glided down from above, swooping down upon them like a mighty eagle. In one smooth motion he landed on one pirate, kneeing the fool in the back and cracking the villain's head open upon the pavement, rolled forward, and shot a second dead with his pistol. A third came at him with a club as Ramsey got to his feat, only to be pushed off his line and shot down by Ramsey.

A forth cried out an alert before being shot dead in turn, and Ramsey knew that violence of action now was his only option. He put his pistol in his off-hand, drew his beam sword, and rushed into the retreat. Two came for him from around a corner; Ramsey ran one of them through, used him as a shield against the other and then shot the second down. They came again and again in twos and threes, until he cut down or shot dead a score in total. The last, standing before the armored door to the secured room, fell on his sword than face his doom like a man.

"I am Lord Roland of the Solar Guard." Ramsey said, putting forth his arms before the camera and showing his face, "The raiders are gone. You may come out now."

Moments a dozen nobles and their attendants emerged from the cramped room, taking their turns blessing him and kissing him, before their hostess and leader emerged. Neither eldest nor youngest, but clearly the highest in station by her bearing. She stood up to Ramsey's chest, a woman in the full bloom of youthful beauty, with straight red hair to her shoulders and eyes blue like a clear sky- a visage so striking that Ramsey paused a moment.

"We are grateful for your valor, Lord Roland." she said, "My father will hear of this for certain."

Ramsey bowed, affecting a courtly manner. "The loss of she whom is heralded as God's songbird would be a terrible injury to Christendom, Countess Robin. However, time is short and I must insist upon haste in escaping. Their master lingers nearby."

Countess Robin nodded. "Agreed. Bring forth your ship, Lord Roland. We are many, but we shall not saddle you for long."

Ramsey keyed into his comlink. "Sibley, bring the ship down and have Creton ready to assist. Tell Gatewatch to expect us presently."

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 20

Dashing Jack and his man Gori walked alongside the sensory deprivation tank enclosing the prize he came to Garmil's Gate for: the Watcher Azazel. Surrounded by men carefully controlling the transport of the tank, Jack knew he should feel at ease but was not- a tell that Gori noticed.

"Captain, wouldn't have been easier to wake up our prize and let him walk out under his own power?"

"Gori, you're not a well-read man, are you?" Jack said, "There's a very good reason to keep him under and present him to Red Eyes as he is, and that reason is because the odds of something going catastrophically wrong--killing us, or worse--in the process drop like a stone when the one most capable of doing so remains incapacitated."

"You talk like this is a weapon, Captain."

"Worse, Gori. He's the maker of weapons. This angel is a living, breathing, weapons factory. As as I know too well that rewards are useless if you're dead, I'll take the chance of displeasing Red Eyes over the certainty of reward for delivering what he wants into his hands whole, safe, and sound."

They entered the great lift and ascended to the dock.

"It's also faster to do it this way. No harder than moving a warhead this way, and we've stolen plenty of those recently haven't we? As time is not our ally-"

Gori made an obscene thrusting gesture. "The sooner we're back in port making our way through the pillow dens at Ragdoll Randy's!"

"Focus, Gori." Jack said, snapping his fingers, "You know damn well that Fang won't occupy his betters for much longer, and need I remind you what happens next?"

"They come for us."

"And how long do you think it will take for them to conclude that we are here, and come to intercept us?"

Before Gori could answer, the lift stopped and the doors opened. At that moment, Jack got a call from the ship. "Captain, the Tiger of Maribu is here."

Jack hustled out of the way of his man. "Get that aboard and secured at once!"

Gori, anticipating his master's next command, gave it: "All hands, return to the ship. We are leaving! Any man not on board in 10 minutes will be left behind."

"Helm, prepare for takeoff." Jack ordered, "Squadron, get outside and run a combat patrol pattern. I won't be caught by surprise."

Gori looked at Jack, and the pirate captain sighed. "Gori, our team at the retreat is on standby, right?"

"Aye, captain. Shall I give the order?"

"Yes, but make this clear: they must be unspoiled, Gori! I'll unman them bare-handed if they dare disobey! We need them unspoiled!"

Gori gave that order over the coms, using a secure channel. Then he and Jack hurried back aboard Redalen's Revenge with the rest of the away party. As the engines spun up, and the crew ensured that their cargo got locked down, Jack took his seat on the bridge.

"Report!"

"The Tiger of Maribu and Gatewatch opened fire upon the Opulent Dragon. Captain, the Dragon won't last long."

"Nether will we if we don't get going. Lift off as soon as we're able, Helm."

Redalen's Revenge lifted off the prison's dock and backed out slowly, with Jack watching the scene in orbit all the while. Gori kept an eye on the mech squadron on patrol, and all aboard the pirate battleship felt a keen tension. First the Paladin, now Duke Far, and his obstacles keeping them at bay quickly crumbling to dust. The sway team attacking the noblewomen on retreat are the last chance he has to buy time and distance, and he knows it.

"Status on the retreat, Gori?"

"Underway, Captain. They'll report back when they're ready for pickup."

Jack nodded his acknowledgement, but both he and Gori knew not to expect that call. Those men are already dead.

The Galactic Christendom Video Pitch

Recently I saw a post on Twitter that went, roughly, "Post three pics that sell your story." Fuck it, videos instead.

Just add DEUS VULT and lightsabers and you get Galactic Christendom.

Sure, there's substance behind the scenes to ensure that it all holds up, but there's your elevator pitch. It's what I use when I think I'm losing focus, because if I can nail that mood then I'm going to entertain the audience and that's what I have to do. This sets the expectations that I need to fulfill, and thereby allows me to identify and filter out what doesn't belong (such as nihilism and the degeneracy it brings). You don't get much more simple than that, in terms of useful writer tools.

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 19

The Opulent Dragon and the Tiger of Maribu began firing upon each other, and with the former battleship unable to manuever the fight escalated into a merciless slugfest between the ships' main cannons. Meanwhile, both ships sortied their mech squadrons, which immediately rushed to engage each other. Gatewatch joined the fray, launch its mech squadrons and firing upon the Dragon in support of the Maribu.

The relentless pummeling by naval artillery shook the interior more and more severely, making the fighting inside become perilous beyond expectation. Ramsey, Far, and Far's bodyguard cut a bloody swath through Fang's loyal crew as they race for the Flight Deck, arriving just as they see Fang attempt to forcibly board Duke Far's shuttle only to see the pilot and co-pilot resist them.

Far keyed into a comlink. "Pilot! This is your Duke. We are approaching your position. Stand ready for the men and I to board."

"Acknowledged, Your Grace."

With a nod, Far and Ramsey rushed out of cover to attack Fang on the flank. The shuttle kept the traitor pinned down, and that left Fang open. The first few shots fired at the traitor's position cut down several of his men, dropping them to the deck, before Fang and the remainder shifted their position as best they could to cover against both threats. With Fang and Ramsey in the lead, their beam swords blazing, they quickly closed the gap and fell upon Lord Fang two on one- two of the best swordsmen in the galaxy against one cunning criminal nobleman.

Fang knew he couldn't win this encounter. Immediately on the back foot, he tried to disengage again and again, only for one or the other to thwart the gambit. Beyond the duo delivering his doom, he saw the shuttle admit Far's men. A well of resentment and frustration burst forth, unmanning Lord Fang and prompting him to lash out at Duke Far with a wordless howl of rage. Unmoved, Far stepped off Fang's line and struck. The first removed the condemned man's arm. The second removed his head.

Ramsey extinguished his sword. "I'll have Sibley pick me up."

"They'll fight to the last, but none shall survive." Far said, "Once we're both away, let us discuss the matter of Fang's former ally."

"Agreed." Ramsey said, "A temporary parting, Your Grace."

"Yes, Lord Roland." Far said as he shook Ramsey's hand, "Until later then."

Ramsey nodded, and Far took his leave. Boarding the shuttle, Far escaped the Dragon without further incident. A short time later, the Baden-Powell entered and hovered while Ramsey boarded. Once aboard and underway, Ramsey took his place in the pilot's chair and watched on the main screen as the combined fire of Gatewatch and the Tiger of Maribu finished their pummeling of the Opulent Dragon, with a final volley hitting the power plant and provoking a most violent explosion.

"May God have mercy on their souls." Ramsey said as the Baden-Powell approached the Maribu.

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 18

Duke Far, leader of House Far, stood on the bridge of the Opulent Dragon with a dejected Lord Fang kneeling before him while Ramsey stood just behind the disgraced nobleman.

"Your guilt is plain." Far said, "And your confession makes moot any question of evidence. You have betrayed your lord and your God. You know the penalties for treason."

Fang bowed obsequeously, touching his forehead to the floor in the expected manner. "I do."

"Then you know what to do." Far said, and he snapped his fingers. A man of his retinue stepped forward with an ornate box. Fang returned to his kneeling position and looked on, expecting the ritual sword from his quarters, but he couldn't see it- Far stood in the way.

"Lord Roland will guarantee things should you fail this one final task."

"Of course." Fang said, a hint of nerves creeping into his voice.

Fang turned about and threw the expected sword at Fang's feet. Fang's mask of calm fell away as he saw that the sword was a wooden training sword.

"Go on, we're waiting." Far said, sternly. Ramsey saw Far's way of dealing with double-talking tricksters.

"Where's my sword?" Far said, concerned.

"His Grace the Duke saw that your sword had broken, so he sent it away with the rest of your effects." Ramsey said, "I had my page's training sword brought in for this affair due to a lack of viable alternatives."

"It's made of wood!"

"Fang, you know that the truly determined will fall upon a sword of reeds, much less wood of this timber." Far said, and now his face showed that he saw that Fang had truly trapped himself.

Fang sighed, and reluctantly he made the ritual motion to pick up the sword. In that motion, his hands crossed at the wrists, and that motion did not go unnoticed. Fang opened his jacket, as expected, to bear his chest and abdomen and made ready to fall on that wooden sword.

The lights went out as he began that thrust. No sooner did they flicker than Ramsey drew his beam sword and slashed down at Fang, but the blow missed. Far also drew his sword, guessing Fang's move, but struck only the trainer. A hatch in the ceiling popped open, and a third beam sword lit up the room, revealing Fang's location. Yet before the Paladin and the Duke could take Fang two-on-one, the doors opened and Fang's men fired into the bridge forcing them and Far's men to take cover.

Fang ran around his enemies and escaped the bridge, once more leaving them in darkness. "Get the emergency lights on!" Far said.

"You're not getting off my ship as easily as you got on." Fang said over the intercom, "I've sealed and locked out the main bridge, and life support is soon to follow. Cut your way out and you'll be swarmed by my men until you're dead. Stay put and suffocate while you freeze solid. Take your pick, my lords."

Ramsey keyed into his comlink. "Sibley"

"Aye my lord." Sibley said, "I knew he'd pull something like this."

"Cripple the ship." Ramsey said, "Then patch His Grace through to the Marabu."

By now Far had a few of his men cutting down the door with beam swords while the rest stood ready with blaster pistols to face what lay on the other side. They felt, then heard, an explosion before Sibley got back on the line.

"That did it." Sibley said, "And you're patched in, Your Grace."

"Captain, this is the Duke. Prepare to repel boarders."

The Maribu's captain answered. "Yes, Your Grace. Proceeding as planned."

"As planned?" Ramsey said.

"You just turned his battleship into a space station, Lord Roland. Did you expect him to escape by stealing away with his personal mech?"

Ramsey sighed. "I did."

Now more explosions rocked the ship. "Not until his pride is soothed, and that means making you and I look weak and stupid."

The door fell to the floor, and Far's men threw smoke grenades into the hall beyond. Without a word, both noblemen followed the men into the corridor. Now in the lead, they headed for the Flight Deck- and Fang.

Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 17

Aboard the Opulent Dragon, Lord Fang looked out from inside the brig at the proxy holding him for his master.

"How long until the Duke arrives?" Fang said.

"Not soon enough." Ramsey said, looking back, "You would be wise to start confessing now."

"Not that it matters." Fang said, head low, "If Dashing Jack sold me out, then he's got to be close to his objective, so it's not likely that you or the Duke could do anything about it now."

Ramsey quietly pressed a key on his gauntlet. "Go on."

"The prison, Paladin. You know it's there."

"It's said to be a colony for the worst sorts, yet for whatever reason cannot be executed."

"True, from a certain point of view. Yet all of the traffic to and from the surface consists of Mining Guild vessels moving ore up and supplies down, or nobles visiting retreats with their entourages. When was the last time you saw anything other than scheduled warden changeovers go to or from that prison?"

In his earpiece Ramsey heard Creton: "I'm on it."

"Christendom is rather large, my lord." Ramsey said, "I do not keep track of every last little installation in the galaxy."

"Christendom didn't build that prison, Lord Roland." Fang said, "It was found here, along with that gate, with Garmil's party. Our forefathers, with the Church, seized it. Back then it wasn't a prison as we know such, but rather a tomb with measures meant to keep its interred host confined there."

"They expanded it into a prison once that condition became clear?"

"Indeed." Fang said, "As for who or what is kept in that place, I had no idea who it was until Dashing Jack approached me with this present plan."

"He told you?"

Fang shook his head. "I felt a shiver of suspicion, as his claim of just wanting to usurp the mining operation for Red Eyes was not reason enough for all of the secrecy and compartmentalization the plan required. It's one thing to keep some stashes nearby to swiftly resupply, or store booty from a raid that you can't take to your home port, but Jack hollowed out an asteroid large enough to wholly dock his flagship within. That's not an idle task."

Ramsey nodded as Creton spoke into his ear from elsewhere: "According to Church archives, only one prisoner is there."

"One of Red Eyes' henchmen sets up a significant base capable of repair and resupply of at least one battleship? Yes, that is a big task, and it means he's been preparing for this for far longer than you my lord. You've been had, taken in by your own corrupt heart."

Now Sibley spoke into Ramsey's ear: "You see Fang's play now, don't you? He'll attempt to run as soon as your back's turned."

"And now you sing a song of deceit and treachery far fouler than your own, seeking a mercy you don't deserve in return for telling tales to pass blame to your co-conspirators."

"His Grace the Duke may not share your conclusion." Fang said, "He has a pragmatic character."

"Indeed." Ramsey said, "He may not, but neither would I expect the pragmatic response to be mercy for someone confessed to treason and worse."

Ramsey read Fang, seeing his eyes glance up to the ceiling for a fraction of a second, and then noticed Fang sitting such that he could easily spring up into action. "Sibley was right as usual." Ramsey thought, "He wants to run, but not like a thief caught with a purse- but as an assassin caught in the attempt."

The speakers for the public address system sounded. "Attention! The Tiger of Maribu has arrived."

"My lord shall receive justice presently." Ramsey said as he turned to leave the brig. As he made his way to meet Duke Far, he smiled and spoke to his subordinates on the Baden-Powell: "I have a plan to turn Fang's escape plan back on him, and I think Duke Far will go along with it."