In those days, Mara went on a crusade across the galaxy with Kon and Soara to assist and advise her. The Imperial fleet had added the USS Lex and the USS Kara, Thanatos-class carriers. In all, the Imperial fleet was composed of two Thanatos fleet carriers, one Prometheus light carrier, 16 Ares-class battleships, 16 Hades-class cruisers, 106 Athena-class destroyers, 77 Poseidon-class subs, and other surface ships amounting to 356 ships. While still relatively small compared to other empires like the Thanagarians, the Imperial fleet was backed up by the immense power of the Super Insane Kryptonians.
Mara took the "Great Commission" seriously and was encouraged by her voices. She went from planet to planet negotiating their surrender. She would demand that the leaders of a planet be open to Christian missionaries. If they accepted, no harm no foul. If they resisted, for whatever reason, she would specifically target the leadership, the military, and law enforcement paramilitaries while trying to avoid civilian collateral damage. Insurgencies were not an issue as security drones were easily replaceable.
V/O Aereon: They are an army unlike any other crusading across the stars and bringing their version of the afterlife, a promised land, to all conquered worlds. Christians, they're called. And if they can't convert you, they will make life more inconvenient for you. Leading them is Princess Mara-El, an Insane Kryptonian hybrid. She alone has made contact with angels and returned a different being. Stronger, stranger, half in the universe and half somewhere else. If we are to survive, a new balance must be found. In normal times, intellectual skeptics would fight religious zealots. But, in these times, well, it should be fought by a big dumb idiot who can see in the dark.
Helion Prime
The Helion people were named after hell and helium...and they took themselves way too seriously. Their planet's landmasses were deserts with green oceans. They believed in one God, had a singular prophet, a singular book of religious authority, and were highly militant. Men walked around wearing top hats and the women wore veils in public. As the Imperial fleet seemed to be gunning toward them, a great many locals were freaking out. On the ground was a rogue Furyan, a badass warrior who could see in the dark.
The Imperial fleet stopped as it arrived in the system. Mara was in her meditation room praying to her angels with loud metal instrumental music around her as an aid. She was wearing a black Supergirl uniform, her usual style. "You are my sun in the darkness of the night, you are my ice on a head full of embers and be my eyes when I lose my sight. I want your whispers in the dark, whispers of the past, you are there hiding in my dreams. Give me more than I can take, always give me a second chance. I have but one life to live, I'll give you all I got to give. Like moonlight, you show me the way. Like heroin, you course through my veins."
Mara mediated on the whispers around her and then opened her eyes. She stood up and went to the bridge of the USS Lex. The Thanatos-class fleet carrier was 19 kilometers long and triangular. The stern contained 13 massive hyperspace engines while the bow ended at a tip. On the top of the ship was a city structure filled with skyscrapers. On the belly of the ship was a massive triangular docking bay that allowed fighters to flood out quickly. The primary bridge was somewhat exposed toward the stern but had two shield generator domes on the top. The ship was heavily armed with 5000 turbo lasers and missile launchers, 144 Artemis fighters, 200 assault shuttles, and a crew of roughly 270,000. The USS Lex was escorted by several support ships at all times.
The ship was named after Lex Luthor, a former lover to one version of Kara and husband to another. He was the brightest human of the 21st century, Lex Corp CEO, President of the United States, and, except for a brief hiccup, a good friend to the House of El. The USS Lex was the second most powerful ship in the Imperial fleet behind the USS Kara. It would now serve Mara's purpose to evangelize the galaxy.
"Your Highness, the Helions have refused your most gracious terms of surrender," Linus reported.
Mara gave him a look. Linus' size and gaunt look were deceiving. He destroyed a great many drones before he was subdued. He came into Mara's service when the planet, Furyan, had been evangelized. He took up the faith quickly and became a capable officer rising up the ranks to the top. His zeal and enthusiasm for the Scriptures were such that Mara often allowed him to preach to the people. Mara felt forbidden to preach as a woman and Kon was not suited for this task. Still, Mara didn't entirely trust Linus. He was too loyal, too polite to her and this irked her Insane side.
"Give me air superiority and prepare for a surface attack on the capital," Mara ordered.
Artemis fighters launched from the USS Lex and the support ships and swarmed the Helion capital. The cruisers and destroyers entered the atmosphere and took up positions around the city with overlapping fields of fire. Mara watched silently from space as the capital was being attacked. The USS Lex would remain in space to observe the battle from afar.
The Helions opened up ineffective anti-aircraft fire on the fighters and support ships. The sky was filled with projectile tracer rounds. An EMP wave went off shutting down power to the city. The destroyers targeted all military facilities and weapons within the city including a hangar bay where Helion fighters launched from. Those Helion fighters that were able to get off the ground were overwhelmed by the Imperial fighters. Carmanor saucer-shaped cargo ships exited the USS Lex and landed on the ground. Each one of these cargo ships contained thousands of drones. The Helion defenders attempted to beat back the drone army but were easily defeated. When a platoon of drones became overwhelmed, they detonated their fuel cells creating explosions that ripped through city blocks. Kon and a platoon of Insane warriors had their fun as well. The city was quickly sacked, defenders eliminated, and the rest of the planet surrendered by the morning.
Early morning, Mara boarded a destroyer and took it down to the ground. It opened a large ramp for her and her escort. Mara eyed the city with her falcon and X-ray vision. As intended, the infrastructure of the city largely remained intact. In front of her were formations of thousands of drones. Artemis fighters flew in formation over her with perfect air superiority.
"Let's go fishing for souls," Mara said to her escort and walked off with them.
Soara walked over to Kon with a smirk on her face. "Never fails to inspire, each time a dynasty falls. I wonder how it will be when your dynasty falls?" she teased Kon.
"You shut your whore mouth," Kon scolded.
Mara marched her escort to the city center, a large dome structure. Helion civilians were rather freaked out about what would happen to them. Mara allowed Linus to reassure them. "In this universe, life is fallen, antagonistic to the natural state. Here, you, Helions, and all other various races are on an unguided path, a mistake. Our purpose is to correct that mistake. Because there is another universe, a universe where life is welcomed and cherished forever, a ravishing ever-new place where there is no death called heaven. But the road to heaven is narrow. Those who fail will be tormented forever in the fires of hell. You must all cleanse yourselves of your sin through water baptism. Only through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, may you enter heaven, and he has given us instructions on what to believe and how to live a holy life. In heaven, you will live and prosper in the presence of the one true God," Linus said to the crowd.
"Look around you. Every soldier in this hall, those that swept aside your defenses in one night, was once like you. Fought as feebly as you. Every one of them you see today is a convert," Mara said to them.
"There will be no conversions. Fuck that," one woman said.
"We all began as something else, ignorant, sinners, shit in the eyes of God. It was hard for me to accept these words, too. But I got over it. I changed. I let them take away my pain just as you will change when you realize that the only path to heaven is embracing the Christian faith. For those of you who will right now, drop to your knees, ask to be purified of your sins," Linus continued.
"We will not renounce our faith," one man said. "No one here will do as you ask. Is unthinkable. This is a world of many religions, and we simply cannot and will not be converted," another man said.
Mara powered up to Super Insane 2 quickly. Golden flames surrounded her along with static electricity that sparked about the hall. The crowd was stunned by the awesome power. "I have the power to wipe clean the surface of your world, to destroy your planet completely," Mara threatened. "But understand this. As powerful as I am, I answer to the one true God. I will not force any of you to convert but if you refuse conversion, you will have condemned yourselves. The wrath of God will be upon you like a thief in the night just as we were. If I fear this God, how much more should you fear Him?"
The crowd fearfully fell to their knees before Mara except for one. He was tall, lean muscular, pale, bald, and wore sunglasses like a boss. This was Dick Diddick and he was a Furyan. Kon approached Diddick ready to kick his ass. "Take her offer and bow," Kon ordered.
"I bow to no woman," Diddick replied boldly.
"She's not just a woman. She's an Imperial Princess who talks to angels and shit," Kon told him off.
"I'm not with everyone here. I'm just visiting. But I will take a piece of him," Diddick pointed out an Insane warrior.
"A piece you will have," Kon smirked.
The Insane warrior, Irgun, was such a badass that he didn't even bother to take out a knife that had been stuck in his back since last night. In a brief fight, Diddick avoided Irgun's scythe blades, took the knife out of his back, and sliced him in the gut with it. Irgun then fell over presumably dead. "Well...shit," Kon frowned.
Having accomplished his task, Diddick went to leave. "Stop him!" Mara ordered her men. As her Insane men blocked the exits, Mara went up to Diddick. "Irgun, one of my best," she noted.
"If you say so," Diddick said unimpressed.
"You were thinking you could just leave?" Mara questioned.
"Something like that," Diddick admitted.
"Did you kill him for the blade alone?" Mara asked.
"Irgun killed a good friend of mine. He was a family man, unarmed," Diddick said.
Mara gave him a sympathetic look. "This blade is black-star alloy, strong enough to cut even me. Try it out."
Diddick took the blade and did a number of maneuvers with it in his hand. After obnoxiously flipping and spinning the blade in his hand, Diddick caught it. "I think it's a half-gram heavy on the backend."
"Keep it. You have avenged your friend, and I apologize for his death," Mara said sincerely. She then scanned Diddick with her eyes. "You seem familiar. Have we met before?"
"You'd think I would remember," Diddick mocked.
"You'd think I would, too," Mara said as she identified him as Furyan. "Take him to the Titan telepaths," she ordered.
Diddick was about to resist as he was surrounded by Insane warriors including Kon who wanted any excuse to beat his ass. "Perhaps, he would go willingly if someone just asked," Soara suggested.
"It's been a long time since I've smelled beautiful," Diddick said crudely.
"Let me show you the way," Soara offered.
Diddick was escorted by Soara and a squad of Insane warriors to the destroyer. Inside the hangar bay, he saw several decks where vehicles and equipment would be loaded. The hangar bay was mostly empty as the invasion was ongoing. Diddick looked around with his sunglasses off. The ramp then went up trapping Diddick inside.
"Beautiful eyes, come," Soara enticed.
This particular destroyer had been renovated into a chapel in the Gothic style. There was a cross and altar toward the back, a baptismal font in the center, and pews placed in the front and sides. All of the destroyers were named after Biblical figures and saints. This was the USS Mara. Mara was Hebrew for bitter, the name Noami gave herself after the death of her husband and sons. Now, Mara would make the entire galaxy bitter if they opposed her crusade.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Soara asked him.
"I think I would have gone another way," Diddick said dryly.
"True of us all," Linus said zealously. Diddick then noticed a long line of Helion civilians being led to the baptismal font to get baptized. "Converts, waiting to be purified of their sin by water and the Holy Spirit. They learn how the pain of upholding the faith can lessen another."
"I'll pass," Diddick said dismissively.
Five Titan telepaths then arrived on the scene. Diddick quickly found himself telekinetically paralyzed and forced to his knees. "The more you resist them, the greater the damage will be," Soara warned him.
Mara arrived on the scene and watched passively as the Titan telepaths mind-raped Diddick for information. "Making entry, this won't take long, we've entered his neocortex, scanning fresh memories, and thoughts of someone named Jack," they reported to Mara.
"Continue," Mara pressed.
"Now, we find thoughts of an Elemental. The one race that would slow the spread of Christianity: Furyans. There is a Furyan prophecy that one will rise to bring you down," the Titan telepaths reported.
"Really? I just started this gig," Mara said incredulously. "I want to see how dangerous he is. Soften him up," she ordered her Insane men.
Diddick quickly broke the telepath's grip, disarmed an Insane warrior of his pistol, and started a firefight. Diddick then retreated as Kon chased him down. "Find him," Mara said to Kon and then retired.
Diddick managed to escape the destroyer somehow and ran down the streets. A Hercules cargo ship spotted him and dived toward him. Mercenary fighters fired RPG missiles at the cargo ship, dropping it. The cargo ship crashed into a building barely missing Diddick. Instead of bringing Diddick back to the insanely rich Galactic Federation, the mercenaries decided to take Diddick to a prison planet, Crematoria, his own idea.
The Imperial ships noticed the mercenary ships and scanned them. The mercenary ship launched a decoy fighter so they could escape.
The next day, Kon found the crashed decoy ship. Dawnstar was with him. "What do you got?" Kon asked.
Dawnstar looked up into the sky and saw the path the mercenary ship took. "I have their direction."
Mara made the USS Mara her new operations HQ on the surface. A hologram of the other planets in the Helion system appeared before her. "I say we attack Helion Two next. Take it straight to their teeth," Scales, an Insane commander recommended. "It will likely cost you twenty-thousand drones, five destroyers, nothing more."
"While I prize brute force, this approach may be more artful. Start at the end at Helion Five. We approach from the nightside. Remove these canon installations first, then attack the larger placements at speed. We'll catch them on their rear flank and in ten days' time the rest of the worlds will submit with minimal civilian casualties," Mara judged. "You see, as with most, their blind spot...,"
Mara then quickly turned around as Kon was sneaking up behind her. Kon smirked amused to keep Mara constantly on her toes. He was meant to "supervise" Mara's crusade, but the Insane way was to obviously overthrow her. "I've located an ion-trail which leads out of the system," Kon said.
"Then, that is where you should be, Kon," Mara said wanting to get rid of him.
"I've deployed a tracker team led by Dawnstar. She is the best," Kon said.
"Wherever Diddick has gone, you go. You will find him and cleanse him one way or another," Mara ordered.
"You want me to take a sub for one man? Me?" Kon asked incredulously.
"Don't question it, Kon," Mara said calmly. "Take it on faith."
The two stared at each other wondering if Kon would relent or fight. Intrigued by Mara's newfound paranoia, Kon relented and went to his quarters to prepare.
In his quarters, Kon was disgruntled. "She's always been unsettled around you. Unsteady. She knows she is half the warrior you are. Some say she's too artistic, soft, forgiving, and religious. Maybe God will promote her to heaven soon," Soara antagonized.
"Take care what you say," Kon scolded.
"Should I say it softly?" Soara mocked.
"So, it sounds more like a conspiracy?" Kon asked.
"Why is it that when anyone suggests the possibility of Mara's demise, people leap to the idea it's a conspiracy?" Soara asked. "Why not prudent planning?"
"When my mother is ready, she will name a successor," Kon said unconcernedly.
"Who else besides your sister?" Soara rolled her eyes. "Her queer adopted sister, that Titan bitch, the robot? None of them, with the strength, the dignity, of Prince Kon-El, the Supreme Leader's male heir. You are already first in line to the Insane throne. If you overthrow your father, that throne is yours. It is the Insane way."
"I know you're playing me, but you're right," Kon agreed. "I will ascend the throne in due time and not a moment sooner."
"Why?" Soara asked.
"It's called loyalty and duty to the family," Kon lectured her.
"It's called stupidity," Soara retorted.
Kon gave her a good smack to the face. "Finally, some attention," Soara smiled aroused. The two fought viciously wrecking the room. With their powers, they couldn't really hurt each other so their domestic violence was okay. Kon forced her down on the bed and the two started to make out and strip. "You have such greatness in you. If only you could see it like I do," Soara said as she passionately kissed him.
"Today, I tried to sneak up behind her in perfect silence but she's able to sense me at all times. She sees everything, hears everything," Kon said bitterly.
"Allow me to distract her. We'll do it together and then afterward I'll be on my knees with you on the throne sucking your dick," Soara enticed.
"God damn, woman," Kon said stunned and aroused at the same time.
Mara was vaguely aware of Kon's attempts to undermine and overthrow her. They had been childish so far. While on her throne, Mara had a more pressing problem to deal with, an elemental. The creature appeared as a wise old lady but was translucent and capable of disappearing. She was more akin to a spirit than a physical object. In this regard, her powers were similar to Phantom Girl.
Mara gave the elemental a degree of respect uncertain as to how to even imprison her. She was also a representative of the elementals which Mara wanted to save for last. "How unexpected, an elemental here. I don't regard you as a captive but as a guest," Mara said to her.
"We are, after all, neutral," Aereon lied.
"Nonetheless, you are a race of witches and spies. You come and go like the wind. That makes me skeptical, but you can make me more comfortable by telling me where the Furyan has gone."
"I have no answers for you, princess," Aereon said truthfully.
"You will remain as my hostage until he is found," Mara ordered.
After Kon had finished with Soara, he suited up in his Insane armor and boarded a sub. Mara sent Linus with Kon to keep an eye on him and make sure he actually completed the mission. "These runs can be quite the test. Test of our inner selves. Don't you find that true?" Linus antagonized.
"Some men do," Kon said dismissively.
"Being so far from the fleet, one might have queer thoughts, doubts," Linus tested.
"Doubts?" Kon wondered.
"About the crusade, about Princess Mara," Linus pressed.
"I am an Imperial prince first and foremost so if you're here to test my loyalty, you merely test my patience," Kon threatened.
"No, that's not why I am here at all," Linus lied.
"Yeah, bullshit," Kon doubted.
Helion Prime
Soara went to see Aereon to scheme and talk shit. Aereon had been attached to some chains so she couldn't dematerialize or escape, supposedly. "I'm glad I could steal you away for a moment. Don't you find it queer that the Imperial princess is destroying entire societies, but she can't bring herself to kill one stranded elemental. Why is that?"
"First, I'm not even sure we can be killed. Second, the Imperial princess has forbidden herself to kill personally. She delegates killing instead," Aereon said.
"What's your deal, bitch. You don't pray to God. You don't pray to any god, I hear," Soara mocked.
"Elementals do not pray, we calculate," Aereon replied.
"Don't we all," Soara smiled. "Where is Diddick?"
"In truth, I don't know where he went," Aereon said honestly.
"What's this about Furyans? Why are they so dangerous to Mara?" Soara asked curiously.
"There's a prophecy thirty years old. It states that a male Furyan will someday cause the downfall of an Insane Kryptonian princess crusading around the galaxy," Aereon said.
"I don't know. That sounds like bullshit," Soara scoffed.
"Maybe, but it has the princess off-balanced," Aereon noted.
Crematoria
With Dawnstar's guidance, Kon got to Crematoria. The planet was rocky and very close to its star. Its atmosphere was thick enough that the nightside of the planet was hospitable while the dayside temperature was a roaring inferno. The planet was unfortunately not tidally locked which meant the entire surface was scorched every day. Buried underground where it was somewhat safe from the sun, there was a prison facility. This prison facility was not run by the Galactic Federation but by various interests that wanted to punish their enemies. Water was scarce, it was perpetually dark, and prisoners were made to mine all day.
Kon landed on the early morning side with a platoon of Insane, the coolest place on the planet. Looking around, he noticed the ground was volcanic and glowing red in some places from the extreme heat of the day. "This planet is called Crematoria," Dawnstar said helpfully.
"Metal as fuck," Kon said approvingly. He scanned the area with his super-vision, hearing, and smell. "He's here."
"Yeah, well, this whole valley is going to be scorched in a few minutes," Dawnstar said concernedly.
"You've done well. Take off with the ship," Kon ordered but kept Linus around because he hated him and didn't trust him.
The Insane scouted around and found a door leading to the underground prison. Upon opening it, they surprised the guards. There was a firefight between them. At the same time, Diddick and several escaped prisoners ambushed the Insane. Diddick personally stabbed one with a knife and fired a sonic gun at another. Kon watched interested as the Insane were battling the guards and the prisoners on two fronts. Diddick held his own against several Insane with his two daggers. The Insane warriors were fighting with a power level of around 2K or 20x stronger than a typical athletic human. In his base form, Kon was chilling at five million or 50,000x stronger than a typical athletic human. Kon lazily aimed at Diddick and fired blasting both him and his Insane opponent to the floor.
Kon then marched to finish Diddick off when a random prisoner jumped him. Kon punched the prisoner aside knocking him out. He then picked him up and broke his back for good measure. Kon approached the fallen Diddick as he struggled to stand. "So, you can kneel," Kon mocked.
Diddick was now surrounded by a squad of Insane men with Kon raising both palms to him. Diddick started spasming out as if he was going into some kind of seizure. Kon gave him an odd look but fired anyway. Diddick managed to deflect the blast with his body stunning Kon and his men. Time was up as the sun was now upon them. Kon left Diddick for dead and collected as many of his Insane men as he could back onto the ship before they were burned to ash.
"Fuck this place," Kon said as the glare of the sun was annoying as fuck.
He took off in the sub away from the planet. He could always come back once it was night again. Also, Kon discovered Diddick's so-called partner, Jack, who was actually a girl, and took her with him just in case.
Not long afterward, Diddick woke up inside the prison facility just outside the roaring inferno that was the day. For reasons entirely unclear, the shade from the prison facility in the mountains was sufficient to not have Diddick completely turned to ash despite super-heated air able to enter through a large garage door. As it happened, Linus was there with Diddick.
"I was supposed to send you a message if Prince Kon failed to kill you. A message from Princess Mara, herself. She tells you to stay away from Helion. Stay away from her. And, in return, you will be hunted no more," Linus said.
"What stops Kon from trying to kill me again?" Diddick asked.
"Prince Kon is lazy and impulsive. He'll likely report you as dead," Linus knew otherwise.
"So, you stranded yourself on this planet to give a message to someone also stranded to stay away?" Diddick asked incredulously.
"You know how it is on these desolate worlds. There's always a ship somewhere," Linus reminded him.
"Good point," Diddick nodded.
"This is your chance to do what no other man has been able to do," Linus tempted.
"The girl?" Diddick questioned.
"Prince Kon is going to take her to Helion," Linus said obviously.
Diddick grabbed Linus to choke him out. He noticed energy fluctuations between them. "The fuck?" he wondered.
"We all began as something else," Linus said referring to him being Furyan as well. "I've done unbelievable things, really fucked-up things, for a faith that was not my own. They'll do to her what they did to me, pour water over my head, and pray over me."
"Damn," Diddick said shocked and appalled.
"The Christian in me warns you to not go back but the Furyan in me...hopes you won't listen," Linus said.
"I'm getting mixed messages," Diddick said confused. "Why don't you fulfill the Furyan prophecy?"
"I'm hoping to keep my salvation and achieve my political aims at the same time," Linus admitted.
"Well, I'm not going to kill a fellow Furyan, I don't want to leave you here, and I don't want you going back only to be my enemy. So, I'm not sure what to do with you," Diddick said uncertainly.
"I have a plan. I cannot self-terminate. You must force me outside at gunpoint. Then, it's not suicide," Linus said.
"Is that legit? Sounds like a technicality," Diddick doubted.
"Christians embrace technicalities," Linus smirked.
"Get your ass outside," Diddick said with Linus' pistol.
"I die as a martyr for the faith," Linus said as he followed the order. He went outside, managed a few steps, and then fell to the ground a burnt corpse. His body then turned to ash in the wind.
"Man, he took that firestorm like a champ," Diddick said impressed. He stole himself a ship and took off.
Helion
Kon returned to Helion and met with Mara. "Diddick is dead as fuck, but Linus was killed."
"I may have lost a priest, but I have gained back my brother. The prodigal son has returned," Mara said pleased.
"Obedience to the family without question, loyalty till heaven come," Kon said with false sincerity.
"Well done, Kon. This is a day of days," Mara smiled and then walked off.
"Look more pleased, Kon. You have killed her enemy and her suspicions," Soara said after everyone had left.
"I should have brought back his head," Kon said disappointed with himself.
"He was unbreathing, dead on the ground," Soara said confidently.
"Diddick was no ordinary asshole. He dropped twenty of my guys," Kon said anxiously.
"All mysteries are not miracles, even in this religion," Soara reminded him. "If you say it is certain, it is certain."
Mara went to interrogate the elemental. "Tell me if it's true that the Furyan is gone."
"If he is dead, I sense I am not far from the same fate," Aereon said dryly. "Shouldn't I tell you he is alive?"
"There are consequences for deceiving me," Mara warned.
"No one really knows the future," Aereon said dismissively.
"Then, tell me the odds?" Mara requested. "Tell me what I want to hear that Kon was successful and that I will soon be converting the entire galaxy, bringing trillions of souls to heaven over countless generations."
"The odds are good," Aereon said cryptically.
There was a long awkward silence in the room. "Odds of what?" Mara snapped.
"That you will reach heaven...soon," Aereon said vaguely.
Mara walked away unsatisfied with Aereon's vague odds.
Mara made an appointment with the living leaders of Helion. "I will be making visits to the rest of the system. In time, the entire Helion system will be given the opportunity to convert. Until the system is majority Christian, you will be disarmed. If there is any persecution of Christians, punishment will be swift. If you further pro-Christian government policies like religious schools, prayer in schools, Ten Commandments in your courthouses, and crosses on public property, you will be rewarded. If you are skeptical of me and my faith, remember that you are an ancient civilization. You may...outlast me and my crusade. Why jeopardize your survival with defiance?" Mara said to them.
After she was done with them, she turned to her Insane men. "Bring all units to the ships. We're leaving."
"That will take some time to account for them," Scales said to her.
"You have until the evening," Mara ordered.
During the evacuation, Soara noticed one Insane warrior looked differently than the rest. She scanned the crowd of soldiers thinking she might have seen Diddick. She eventually did find him due to his reflective eyes but then disappeared from view.
Soara reported back to Kon in his room without telling anyone. "He's here on this ship," she warned.
"Could you be wrong?" Kon asked.
"He's bald with milky-looking eyes. The fuck you think?" Soara rolled her eyes. "You fucked-up, Kon. You should made sure he was dead. Not only did you fail but you falsely reported your success. How will you ever salvage this?"
"Like I give a shit," Kon said dismissively. "I'll warn Mara."
"She's going to be very mad at you and maybe report you to your parents. How about you give Diddick his chance?" Soara asked.
"Chance to do what?" Kon scoffed.
Mara refuses to kill...personally. If they fight, the other Insane will see Mara holding back, maybe even wounded. Then, you can overthrow her. It is the Insane way," Soara said.
"The Insane way is not enough," Kon refused.
"Then do it for the faith. Since when does a woman have authority over a man? Overthrow your sister...and then your mother will be next," Soara tempted. "If Mara is afraid then she has weakness."
Dawnstar entered Mara's command center. "The Furyan is here," she reported. "He fought me and then escaped me."
"Commander Tool," Mara requested.
"He won't escape me twice," Tool pledged and walked off with an Insane squad.
Diddick went about the halls evading Insane patrol squads. He got closer and closer to the command center, dispatched two Insane guards, and then leaped toward Mara with his knife. Mara turned around, grabbed his wrist, and slammed him to the floor. Diddick skidded across the floor for a good while from the force of the blow. He was now surrounded by a platoon of Insane warriors.
"Stay your weapons," Mara ordered. "He came for me."
Diddick retrieved his knife but noticed Jack was at Mara's side. She was dressed in feminine attire. On the second level, Kon and Soara came by to see the excitement. "Consider this: If you fall here now, you'll never rise. But if you choose another way, the Christian way, you'll die in due time and rise again to eternal life in the Kingdom of God."
Diddick continued to have a defiant look. "Go to him," Mara encouraged Jack.
Jack walked over to a confused and betrayed Diddick. "It hurts, at first, but after a while, the pain goes away just as they promise. They showed me I could free myself of my criminality, my desire to cross-dress as a boy," she said.
"Are you with me?" Diddick asked her.
"There's a moment when you can almost see the Kingdom of God through her eyes. She makes it sound so perfect, a place where everyone can start over," Jack continued.
"Are you with me?" Diddick repeated.
Jack walked away from him and went behind the Insane line. "Convert now...or fall forever," Mara said to Diddick.
"You killed everything I know," Diddick said pissed off. He turned toward Mara and threw his dagger at her. Mara caught the blade as it sliced her cheek. The Insane didn't make a move as Mara revealed her bloodied face. The wound healed instantly.
"It's been a long time since I've seen my own blood," Mara complimented. She gestured for the Insane warriors to back away to give them more space. Mara disdainfully dropped Diddick's knife and rushed him faster than a second. She pushed Diddick violently against a pillar stunning him. At this point, Aereon was brought to the command center to see the fight unfold.
Diddick got back up slightly ruffled with a defiant look on his face. Mara sped toward him, circled around him, and gave him a series of punches and kicks Diddick couldn't defend against it. Diddick attempted to fight back and was able to block some of Mara's attacks, but she was too fast. He was constantly having to turn his body only to get hit somewhere else. Diddick's swings missed Mara each time. Mara took hold of Dick and punched him to the face for a knockout blow. To her surprise, Diddick stayed in the fight and was starting to anticipate Mara's moves. He was still missing or getting blocked with every punch. Mara continued to speed around him in a one-sided fight. She finally punched Diddick to the floor.
"These could be your last moments," Mara warned him.
She took a knee next to Diddick and took hold of his head. She squeezed tightly to subdue him. "Give your soul to God," she ordered. Diddick struggled against her and finally gave her a surprise uppercut sending Mara away.
Mara gave Diddick an annoyed look and decided to take the fight a little more seriously. She quickly beat the shit out of Diddick and then placed him in a headlock. Diddick looked for his knife on the floor as he was being strangled. "You're not the one to bring me down," Mara taunted.
"No, he won't," Kon said as he stuck his sword in her back.
Mara fell to the floor dumbfounded. Kon withdrew the sword from Mara's back and went to kill Diddick, himself. He whirled his sword like a boss and sliced down to behead Diddick. As the sword came down, Diddick managed to get out of the way of the sword just in time. As he got out of the way, a second Kon clone stabbed Diddick in the head with the knife that had been on the floor. To add more disrespect, Kon snapped off the knife blade from its hilt at the base of Diddick's skull. Diddick fell to the floor dead.
"Damn, it was a half gram off," Kon mused as he tossed the knife hilt to the floor. The second Kon clone then evaporated.
Kon then picked up his fallen sister. "You, betray me?" Mara accused.
"No, saving your virtue, sister," Kon smirked. "You had Soara test my loyalty through this entire crusade," he said and then gave an embarrassed Soara an annoyed look from the second floor.
Mara stared at him giving nothing away. Kon brought Mara to her feet and brought her to her throne chair. "The crusade continues to be yours," Kon told her. The Insane warriors took a knee before her. It had never been in doubt among the Insane that Kon was stronger, more lethal. However, Mara's crusade had given them plenty of opportunities for battle and that was enough to follow her anyway.
"Well...shit," Aereon frowned.
Author's Notes: This movie was so bad, it was...still bad. It was very entertaining nonetheless as a discount Star Wars movie the way everyone takes themselves so seriously. The cast was great, too. I didn't believe for a moment the ending though. I felt it lost the script on Crematoria with the irrelevant mercenaries and the prison escape which is why I cut it.
Throughout AOS, the loyalty of Kon and Mara to each other has been tested many times. But how that loyalty is shown is hopefully a bit unpredictable. Having the Christian Crusaders the "bad guys" from the perspective of the movie is typical AOS subverting or not depending on perspective. Star Trek hopes for a non-religious future of happy cooperation, Dune and Warhammer warns against religious fanaticism in a dystopian hellscape, but for reasons unknown to me, we don't have happy heroic crusaders. Well, someone has to do it.