Shadow - Monsters, Machines and Mad Scientists!: Episode CXCIII

Sarah dashed out into the Sanctuary just in time to see the doors shake once more as whatever was on the other side tried to get in. The bar which held the doors shut was, like the rest of the church, made from recovered wood from the debris of Shalereef and it wasn't really designed to take such abuse. Sarah could already see a splintered crack forming in the middle.

Worse than that, much worse, was the sound which followed. It was the sound of dozens of angry voices - the voices of those Sarah knew and had cared for in the Colony - calling her name and demanding that Frostfire be released to their justice. Just when Sarah's life seemed like it couldn't get any more exciting and depressing at the same time, or any more like some early-twentieth century horror movie, it appeared that the church was surrounded by an angry, baying mob.

Oh hell, she thought, not even taking the time to correct her language, what am I supposed to do now? I didn't think any of this through, I...

"We know you're in there, Sarah!" came a loud voice from just beyond the door, "come out, or we'll bash our way in!"

There was another bang against the door and Sarah watched as it shook in its frame, just like her hands were shaking as she drew them together, dropped to her knees and began to pray. At last.

It was Siren, of course, who led the way to the church through the throng of people now gathering there, barking orders for people to step out of the way and shoving those who either did not hear, or did not want to hear. Ellis watched her with a kind of awe. How could anyone be that competent and, more to the point, how could they love someone like him, who, at both his best and his worst had been little more than an act - an act pasted on top of that which was itself all artifice. Underneath all of that he was just uncertain and unprepared for anything that any world might throw at him. How could he possibly have ended up with a woman like Siren?

Except of course, Siren was exactly what he needed in his life - someone who could take charge at the right moment, and yet also someone to inspire him to moments of greatness of his own. If there was one thing in all the worlds that he would rush out, madly, yet with great certainty, to protect, then it was her. She might never need such protection, but he would offer it willingly nevertheless because he loved her and he would gladly give his life for her.

Ellis dawdled in his thoughts and a gap began to form in the wake of the pirate captain which the angry crowd were eager to fill. One of them rushed in to take advantage and barged into Ellis' shoulder as if he hadn't even been there, sending him flying into the ranks of more angry Colonists. They surrounded him for a moment, forcing him to fight his way free, though he did his best not to injure anyone. By the time he had made it clear his companions had already moved quite a bit ahead of him. There was nothing to do but start shouting and pushing and working his way forwards as if he had a right to, just like Siren had, though the looks he received for his efforts indicated that he was not quite as well respected as she.

It seemed to take a very long time, but suddenly the crowd burst in front of him and he was free, standing in a small semi-circle of ground in front of the church where no one stood, apart from his companions and himself. The plank of wood abandoned near the door told the story that it had not been that way for long.

"What do you think you're doing?" Siren demanded as all eyes fell on her and the roars of the crowd diminshed into guttural swells of angry muttering. "Isn't this your church? Wasn't Sarah the one who pastored you through the worst of this siege? What in Lakhma's name" - the crowd gasped and some near the front took a few steps backward, causing the whole throng to stumble and shuffle - "do you think gives you the right to respond like this?"

"She's harbouring a prisoner!" came a faceless voice from somewhere in the midst of the Colonists.

"She betrayed us!" came another.

"Everything she taught us was a lie!"

"She's nothing more than a hypocrite!"

Ellis glanced at Siren, saw the determined look on her face, then noticed the slight twitch of her eyes. She was thinking hard, trying to work out what her next words should be. He trusted her, and yet, he understood, she didn't have a plan. After all, didn't the crowd have the right of it to some extent?

Siren's eyes flicked briefly toward the former Baron and Ellis followed her gaze. What was she thinking?

"Have you ever considered that she might have had her reasons for doing this? That it might, in some way, all be for the good of the Colony?"

Just like the Former Baron, Ellis thought, but the crowd didn't know any of that and they weren't ready to take Siren's suggestion seriously.

"How?" came a hurt cry from somewhere near the back. "How is this for our good? She's released the one who's been besieging us - the one who wants us all dead! How can this be anything but treachery?"

Siren opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again, glancing back towards the Former Baron. For once it seemed she didn't know how to reply.

"Perhaps we need to ask that question to Sarah," Ellis said, stepping forward. "It's only fair to give her the chance to explain herself."

"We need to reach her first," another angry voice shouted from the crowd.

"Yeah, let us at her!" came a few more voices, and then suddenly the mass of Colonists had erupted again into furious noise, even as they began to press forward, forcing Ellis and the others to back up against the door of the church.

"Do you think," the Former Baron suddenly boomed over all the shouting- loud enough that the din faded a little and he could continue a fraction quieter, "that anyone would be in a position to rationally explain themselves when faced with a mob like the lot of you?"

"We just want justice!"

"Justice?" Von Spektr scoffed, "Nonsense. What you want is violence and hatred and the release of all of your negative emotions in the most efficient, and thoughtless, manner possible. What you want is to hurt - because you feel hurt – and to worry about any regrets later. What you want is, in short, utter rubbish which will bring neither you, nor anyone else, any satisfaction whatsoever. So let's stop talking about what you want and maybe we can have a calmer discussion about what you actually need."

"And what might that be, old man?" A chorus of voices echoed the same sentiment.

"What you need," the Former Baron explained, "is to calm down, to be patient, to listen as well as to speak and to wait for all the information before you seek your supposed justice. I propose that everyone goes back to their homes for an hour or so, drinks some tea and thinks carefully before we gather in the square to hear all the facts and make a fair and considered judgement."

There were a few murmurs of assent from near the front, and Ellis permitted himself half a smile at the thought that, once again, the Former Baron had pulled it out of the hat - his hat, presumably - and saved the situation at the last minute. It was probably all part of the plan, all part of some obscure design the old Philosopher had had since the beginning, or very nearly. It was-

"No!" Somehow this voice was angrier than all the others. Not just angry, in fact, but bitter. "We're not going to wait around and let that monster go free, nor can we abide whilst a traitor sits in our midst in a position of privilege." Of course. It was Markus. What little time he had had to think before joining this crowd and obviously cemented the idea that he, personally, had been used. He had been, unwittingly, part of the cause for all the upset and so, naturally enough, he was now even more upset than everyone else. "We want justice now!" he roared.

"Now!" came the echoing reply, "Now! Now! NOW!" and without any further warning the crowd surged forward, forcing those who stood before them to scurry back against the walls of the church, then be pushed aside as the makeshift battering ram was raised once more and the horrible, horrible pounding began again.

"That's it," Siren said miserably as she staggered free at the edge of the crowd along with the others, "we've failed.”

“Sarah's at the mercy of the Colonists now," Gulliver agreed gloomily.

"No," Ellis replied, shocked, "she can't be, we can't let her... There must be something!"

"We've done all we can," said the Former Baron, and to Ellis' sudden fury, he didn't seem in the least bit concerned.

"How can you say that so calmly?"

"Because I have a fair idea what happens next."

"And what's that?"

The Former Baron gave a smile which, under the circumstances, seemed positively quixotic. "Your friend is about to show her true colours," he said.