Recap Session 22a: "War is the H-Word - The Sting"

If this session is ever serialized, then it would be... odd. I don't recall any show on television that tried to show, at the same time, events unfolding over a period of two days, and a scene taking just 15 minutes. But we did. And I hope we did good.

Last time, on the Show with the Blow, Anansi and Rain realized they were in a pickle. They got to them, and they were getting closer. The big and slow whale in which the Veil was stored, along with Flame's slowly reconstructing body (hot, yet still somewhat broken) was hovering in space above planet Mauritius, and our quick boys wanted to bail. They, however, had other plans. A "logic-bomb" hit the Whale's computers, paralyzing it, and as Anansi turned to get out of the pilot's cabin, the Shepherds hit them hard.

What followed was too quick for the eye, and perhaps for the brain. To recap just the highlights, Omega Station sent some ships to help the Shepherds, Anansi was curiously left breathing, Rain bruised Allan pretty badly, and Neil stole the Key. In the end, Omega lost a ship (the Tusker), and our boys lost the Key. Rain was laughing this off as a "moral victory", but the audience remains unconvinced. And so are some of the heroes. After this, Rain and Anansi took the Veil, now with its own R2D2-type-thing, flew to Tortuga to rest, regroup, and make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Applaudable, if a tad late.

While these 15 minutes of drawn-out action were going on, Powell proceeded in his dealings in Lima before moving on to Owl Cross, doing his part to keep the fight going. Hill left Zeb and Job behind and decided to find his own way to Owl Cross, deeming it too risky too try to go through Oceania-Testra-Lima again. Prudent. At last. The network of terror built around Hill is crumbling facing the onslaught of "Reaping the Whirlwind", so something must be done, but it's unclear what. Meanwhile, Hill was sure to not let the level of death and carnage drop, issuing another explosive statement (pun intended and apologized for) calling all opponents of the Theocracy to express their anger with violence. Another victory for the "good guys".

Meanwhile, in the world at large, the ceasefire was expended and prolonged, talks were initiated in Elysium, troops moved from Dragon and Edessa, New Orleans and Hong Kong are is in flames, and a great big party is planned in a week, to celebrate "Rome Day", among other things. Is this good news? Not for our heroes, that's for sure. Because someone, someone not very nice, is writing demands in blood, clamoring for the key. Because people in bone-white ships took that same Key away from the Shepherds in Hispania, a place that would soon crawl with thousands of ships from a hundred different worlds. Because Simeon Amberley is headed for Elysium and isn't planning on being polite. And because next session is also called "War is the H-word". Bring your rolled-up newspapers, boys, you're going to need them.