It was unlike anything Martha had ever seen. One moment, the leader of the thugs was threatening a little boy's life, and the next the Last Centurion had attacked.
Adrenaline slowed time as Martha watched the Last Centurion cut down thugs so quickly that he still looked blurred. She counted three corpses in five seconds before her brain caught up with her body.
"Stop!" she commanded stepping out into the hall and pulling off her perception filter, amazed when her voice stayed steady.
The Last Centurion froze, his blade glistened with blood inches from the throat of one of the thugs. The poor man was white as a ghost and trembling uncontrollably where he had fallen.
"Don't kill him," Martha ordered. Even in the late afternoon sun streaming in from the windows, Elisium in Morte looked hungry for blood. Martha thought she understood what Rory had said when he said the sword was alive.
The Last Centurion straightened up, pulling a blue silk handkerchief with a sunflower on the corner out of his cloak and started to clean the length of his blade. He was just as pale as the man he had spared, but his hands were perfectly steady and his face was utterly calm.
It was a stark contrast to the rest of the room. Most of the workers, both those that sided with the Master and those still hoped for freedom, were frozen in shock. A few of the younger nuns had overcome their shock and were clinging to their elders, some weeping. At the Last Centurion's feet, blood seeped from the throats of three of the Master's men, staining the floorboards.
The Last Centurion finished cleaning the blade and sheathed his sword. Rory surveyed with an impassive eye. Then he stepped back to Martha's side.
The man who had nearly died stood up carefully.
"Thank you, thank you," he said. He sounded grateful, but Rory's translation was somewhere in between absentminded and a monotone.
"What are you thanking me for?" Martha asked cooly.
"For your mercy." Rory's translation was tinged with amusement. At least someone knew what was going on.
"I wasn't being merciful," Martha explained. "Mercy would have been killing you."
"What do you mean?" one of the nuns asked.
Martha raised her voice so it carried through out the room. Rory's translation carried the quiet power he usually reserved for Latin. "Every one of you is living as a slave. The Master claims that he will show some of you mercy if you turn against your friends, your neighbors. But this is a lie. The Master is no more than a demon, and demons always lie. You turn against your friends, your neighbors, perhaps even your family, and maybe for a while you get a few pretty little perks. Maybe your work day is a bit shorter, maybe your work is a bit easier, maybe you get an extra ration, maybe your family is spared. But it's only temporary. One day, the Master will have no need of you. Then you will die knowing that you betrayed everyone you ever cared about for nothing."
The Master's men were looking at each other fearfully, yet not quite able to tear their glances away from her.
"That's not all either," she continued, feeling a manic grin rise to her face. "He's creative, he's dangerously insane, and he's bored. When he does decide he has no need of you, you will be rewarded, but only as a traitor deserves. He will make it hurt for a long, long time. Of course, you could always try to defect now. Then he'll do it sooner.
She shook her head and began to pace. "I like to think of myself as a compassionate, caring person. Turns out I can't afford to be that anymore. However, despite the horrors that inevitably await you, compassion is ultimately why I spared you."
Everyone turned to her in confusion. "It wasn't compassion for you," she clarified. "It was compassion for the people you tormented, and beat down, and even killed. Because they are just as much slaves as you are. The Master does not tolerated any unfortunate delays in schedule. If he loses half his workers, he just makes the other half work twice as hard. Even if you get some pretty little favors, you still have to work. Any work you do is the work that the people who actually deserve favors don't have to do. That is why I spared you. If you would call it mercy, then you have my pity."
She took a deep breath and returned to herself. Then she glanced at Rory. "Let's go." Those simple words broke the spell hanging over the dining hall. The workers Martha and Rory had helped treat put down their makeshift weapons and went about their business. A pointed look from Rory sent the Master's soldiers running.
He followed her back out into the courtyard.
"Are you going back for dinner?" he asked.
"Nah," Martha replied. "I'll be fine if I miss one meal. Besides, going back would ruin the dramatic exit."
Rory laughed. "Thank you," he said.
"What are you thanking me for?" she asked.
"For stopping me."
"Oh. You're welcome." She gave him a small smile.
They didn't talk again for the two hours until their meeting with Mother Favianna. Instead, Martha took a catnap on the corner of the outer wall, amazed at how secure she felt at the height. Rory nodded off in the bell tower, ostensibly so he wouldn't miss the eight o' clock bell that could be heard throughout Venice. Martha didn't bother to question it.
When the eight o'clock bell did ring, Martha woke and hopped down from the wall. Rory wandered out of the bell tower looking very dazed. He was also half deaf because he didn't seem to hear Martha's giggles. He did see her grin and gave her a very annoyed look. It just made her giggle harder.
Soon, his hearing returned to normal and the pair returned to Mother Favianna's office.
Mother Favianna was sitting behind her desk looking supremely unruffled despite the events of the day.
"Where did I leave off?" she asked politely.
Martha thought for a few moments. "You said your aunt did not merely know about aliens."
"Ah, yes. My aunt was, in fact, a member of UNIT and she had the opportunity to meet a number of aliens including the Doctor you speak so highly of."
Martha raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Mother Favianna smiled. "Indeed she did. He held her in rather high esteem. The commanders of UNIT did as well and when she retired she was given... an item for safekeeping."
"And this item would be?" Martha prompted.
Wordlessly, Mother Favianna got up and removed the silver cross from the wall. Behind it was a stone half a shade lighter than the rest of the facade. Mother Favianna pushed it aside and pulled a simple mahogany box out of the hidden compartment.
She placed it on the desk, the latch facing Martha and Rory and lifted the latch. Inside was a vial of a yellow chemical. Martha and Rory looked at each other then back at Mother Favianna.
Her small smile grew wider.
"Is this what I think it is?" Martha asked. Mother Favianna nodded once.
Immediately, Martha removed her backpack and pulled out the gun in four parts. She fitted the vial into the gun and put it back in her pack where it wouldn't be in danger of breaking. "Thank you," she said sincerely.
Mother Favianna nodded in acknowledgement but didn't otherwise respond.
"We should probably leave now," Rory said, sounding slightly on edge.
"What's wrong?" Martha asked.
"He's... he wants to... we need to leave now. Before he gets control."
"Who? The Master?"
Rory shook his head, one hand over his forehead. "No. Not him. Somewhere else."
"I think we're going to leave now." Martha addressed Mother Favianna. "Thank you. For everything."
"Good luck. God bless."
Martha and Rory were halfway to the gate when a little girl came out of one of the side hallways.
"This way," she whispered urgently.
"What's wrong?" Martha asked.
"His armies are here," the girl replied. "The real armies."
"Show me," Martha said. She turned to Rory who moved his hand to Elisium in Morte.
The girl lead them up to the wall by the bell tower. Sure enough, about three hundred soldiers in proper uniform with real weapons were standing at the gates.
"Oh, lovely," Rory said blankly.
A/N: For those of you who are interested, most of what I've extrapolated about Rory's character was based on one observation. After 'The Big Bang', there is only one time in the series that Rory really acts like the Last Centurion. Yeah, he's a BAMF fairly often, but the only time that he's the Last Centurion is in the opener of 'A Good Man Goes to War'. What sets this apart from the rest of his appearances on the show is this is the only time he is A) In mortal peril and B) Away from Amy. Make of that what you will.
Cookies to anyone who can tell me why Rory's handkerchief has a sunflower on it. Hint: The answer has nothing to do with 'Vincent and the Doctor'. That was just an awesome coincidence.
I have also decided not to reveal who S.F. is in the narrative. She is a canon character and most of what Favianna says about her is half truths. I don't know that she was UNIT in the show, but I see no reason why she couldn't have joined. If anyone figures out who she is, I will let everyone else in on the secret in the A/N for the next chapter.