His thoughts are disturbed by Arcadia requesting a situation update, and he briefs her about the witch and her zombies before returning to the bridge of the ship.
They discuss plans and agree that Mort should try to come up with some sort of weapon using the ships coolant system; possibly they can freeze the corpses. Meanwhile, across the other side of the village Keats has reached the church.
Keats has found no life in the village; even the wildlife appears to have deserted the place. But upon entering the church he finds the true horror of the place. The building has been completely desecrated in a spectacle of debasement, filth and slaughter. Keats advises the ship and then sets to work to try to burn the place down.
Above: The Horde of Husks outside the ship while the crew debate on the bridge.
Meanwhile Mort is making slow progress and the Husks are clamouring ineffectually at the hull of the ship. They then notice that the witch has disappeared. Keats soon discovers her location though as she sneaks up on him at the church and attacks, catching him by surprise. They trade blows and Keats soon sees that he surpasses her in skill but she seems possessed of a manic fury (a very large sword...). When he strikes her he finds she is wearing a Shield so swaps to his frap stick. They battle around the despoiled chapel, ending up standing on the desecrated altar as they fight. Keats finally incapacitates her with a blow to the ribs, and she falls onto the altar. he finishes her by taking her own blade and severing her head. A chill passes through him, and as the blood drips down the altar stone a wind rushes through the chapel and Keats distinctly hears the name of Hemlock's sister "Tiger-lily....". Completely freaked out he runs.
Above: The battle in the chapel
In the ship they decide to forget the expense (although Lawrence informs Keats that he will be billed...) and launch a rocket at the church, destroying it.
The Husks are still a threat though and while Mort is making progress on the freeze weapon he is still at the "theory" stage. They have no food and limited weaponry, other than melee weapons and so need a plan of action; they open the fore airlocks and allow them in, using the other bulkhead doors to control where they are. They then open a single door and try taking them out one at a time.
Above: "Whose idea was it to let the Husks on board?"
Arcadia leads and cuts through a number but takes a few wounds in the process. It becomes clear that the approach isn't sustainable. Instead they decide to evacuate via the rear access, head back to Deepcore 101 and hire a squad of Muster mercenaries with flame guns or similar to clear out the vermin.
We summarised events from then on as the cadre has the money to organise things;
* Arcadia and Keats lead the Muster squads to clear the ship and village of Husks
* Hasimir heals up in hospital
* Louie helps arrange transport of the ship to a spaceport
* They leave Louie at Deepcore 101 but he says he'd be pleased to deal with thenm again (as he counts his commission for arranging things...)
* Keats notices that Arcadia's wounds don't seem to be healing as quickly as they ought and might be infected. She dismisses his concern but says she'll sort out some elixir or something
* Upon arriving at the spaceport Sir Hasimir, as legal owner, signs the ship in with the port authority and the crew realise that Louie has arranged for them to be berthed in Suryada spaceport, just north of the Hawkwood planetary capital. It was the most direct spaceport from the crash site and has arguably the best facilities. They are now "hiding in plain sight"....
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