Unholy Star, Beyond Faith

Eiko undoing

Eiko stood behind the stage watching the vocal interchange between the opera performers. He remembered back to a time when he had a fleeting interest in opera. But that was over one hundred years ago; now, he saw beyond the romantic prestige of the performance and thought the high-pitched singing did nothing for him other than hurt his head.

The Dean had his death mask enabled and so had faced no resistance to his current position just off the stage. The backstage crew and waiting actors had fled, leaving Eiko, a lone spectator in a usually frantic space. In a minute, he guessed, one of the cast members who had abandoned their post would be missed and then he would make his move.

He looked up to the choir that must have numbered two hundred. They stood on an archway that framed an open viewport to the stunningly beautiful star-forming nebula that was New Freedom's backdrop.

Turning his attention to the darkend expanse beyond the stage and orchestral pit, his gaze lingered over the faces of the audience. A sea of sinners, he thought with disgust followed by an incredible impulse to kill. Eiko tightened his grip on his trident just as there was a pause in the singing on the stage.

As he had anticipated, the lead actor, a woman with bare breasts cupped and pushed up by a garishly colourful corset that was tied in tight over her rib cage had just finished an aria and was expecting another performer to stride onto the stage to pick up the song. Eiko watched as the actors fidgeted and tried to improvise; the results of which were poor, even comical.

He let them suffer for a moment longer before striding out onto the stage.

The actors fell back in fright and made a quick exit of the stage, leaving the Dean standing in the spotlight. He stood for a moment assessing the audience reaction; they murmured in disbelief at the unprecedented interruption.

"Almighty and most gracious Lord God! Merciful Father! Accept this, the humblest of prayer, on behalf of this man, Thy languishing servant." The acoustics in the theatre were famous and carried Eiko's dark, demonic modified voice across a sea of instantly transfixed faces.

"Oh, Lord! Hereto, I beseech Thee, draw unto Thy loving embrace, these poor souls gathered here today for they know not what they must, in their heathen wisdom, witness!"

Eiko drew his trident over the crowd before him.

"And to, as considered by Thy Church, the holiest among us save for the heavenly light of the Lord Thyself and Thy Seraphs." Eiko pointed his trident to the centre box three levels up. "His worship, the Lord's Cardinal!" He paused as Cardinal Kasper stood and emerged from the shadows, his red, thorned skullcap confirming his high Rank in the Church . After a moment  the Dean continued, "Mortal men could never know how, in this time of great evil, the Cardinal's presence is boon brought forth for our salvation!"

The Cardinal, a slightly chubby, middle-aged looking man with no distinguishing features, stood at the edge of the balcony in his white and gold robe, he lifted a hand to wave at the crowd below. In return, he received a polite and slightly uncertain applause.

Eiko nodded as the crowd clapped, "Yes, Yes! That's it! Show your reverence! Clap harder!" The crowd obeyed, clapping louder and cheering at the prompting of the Churchman.

When the applause died, Eiko continued, "Alas, it is with a heavy heart that, in such eminent company Thy humble servant must direct Thy most omniscient eye toward the great evil of neglect that has cast its shadow over Thy domain." He paused for effect, and then, with a renewed internal energy continued, "O' Lord! I have done a most terrible thing! I have murdered a child! He was an innocent, and he was lovely. He was the most perfect lamb to ever walk amongst the planets. Lord, I butchered this lamb and cast away its meat to be consumed by the flies and their maggots!

"Please God, receive my lament in Thy most holy, most majestic of hearts and know that he was a lovely child and in his memory, I met my redemption, and was reborn." While unseen by the crowd, tears dropped drown Eiko's hidden cheeks. He paused again, this time to gain composure.

"I will proceedeth further to take Thy attention to the root of an Evil that has crawled from the gaps in the fabric that holds back all of hell. An Evil that has appeared as if of a sudden movement, but has, in all conscience, been with us for an age and more.

"I can see said Evil because when I was reborn a veil was lifted from my eyes, and I thank Thee Lord for such undeserved gift of true sight Thou hast afforded, I, the son of a poor husband and wife from the outer colony of Psi Mizar.

"Here, with Thy sight, I give testament that men come to the Church not in fear of retribution against sin upon sin, but to save or gain a reputation; to connect in most unholy communities of vice; and worse, to profit! Do these men fear not terrors and threatenings? No, because they pay for absolution and protection with pax and favor and then seek out more sin in a never ending cycle of corruption that would rival even The House of Mars!

"But from whence comes this security they seek? From whom? Or from what!? In answer, I sayeth in truth: From the men of servitude no less, the custodians of Thy commandments. Yet, these men stir in the pools of sin alongside the numbers of their flocks. Woe to them, O' Lord, Thy Shepherds!

"Where is the good of heart O' Lord? Where are pure motivations? I will admit to Thee where the good hearts lie: They have fled to the outermost colonies where the darkness of tradition can not reach them, and if that is not far enough, then they have fled further still rifting beyond the Galaxy altogether! And behind, in their silent wake, we are left with the sin of those who are vowed to uphold the power of Thy benevolence!"

Eiko paused again, the momentum of his words had stuck everyone in attendance dumb. "My Lord, I accept Thy power through Thy words spoken to me! Let the power pass through me and unto those who hear mine words. And so, with the power invested in me, I hereby lead the race of men unto a path that will forever carry them towards salvation and a life that is as long and as bountiful as you may provide without a forced death at the hands of an executioner! At the hands of the Church! Et abrogare terminatio die! "

"ENOUGH!" The command came as a blast of sound that filled the theatre. The Cardinal's voice was amplified by the same mod tech that gave Eiko's voice it glitchy, menace. But, unlike the Dean's mod which was designed to evoke dread, the Cardinal's voicebox was made to dominate. "My dear wayward child." He indicated to Eiko on the stage, with an exagrated tone of compassion. The spotlight now highlighting both Churchmen, "Let us continue your sermon in private, later in a more divine setting. Come, join me here in the box."

Eiko stood at his spot in silent defiance.

"I command it!" Screamed the Cardinal.

"You no longer command me, Snake!" shouted Eiko, his voice now loud too. He addressed the audience, "Behold the Devil among us, whose voice rises above all else so that he may lead the sheep with the power of control rather than through the leadership of discipline shown by the ways of a good life! Hark, my Lord and hear then a voice bitten by worms, treachery, and gold! Die Snake!" Eiko thrust forward his spear, but did not throw it; instead, from the prongs, a green energy spewed into the theater. The energy arced over the crowd in a line to the Cardinal.

The Cardinal's knights had taken position beside the man they had vowed to protect, and stood forward with their swords drawn. As one, the special weapons emitted a defensive force that met the energy and repelled it back every which way until it found ground in the bodies of the audience below.

Chaos ensued amongst the screams of the burning injured and dying spectators. Those as yet unharmed moved into a panic of self-preservation.

From the Cardinals box, by some unseen force, the Star Templars levitated into the air and floated down towards the stage. To Eiko they looked to be angels from heaven.