The Anacreons attempt to board the Invictus and Brother Day wades in to a religious war.

Spoilers

As has been established in the last couple of weeks, this show is now running on its own steam, primarily following three main threads centring on Salvor, Brother Day and Gaal, with other asides as required. They’re not currently intersecting, though I’m sure this will happen in the near future, but it does mean that the show is episodic.

In space, the Imperial Invictus weapons platform has been found. It disappeared 700 years previously and has been jumping about in space ever since. With its advanced defences already destroying two Anacreon vessels, the Imperial commander is kidnapped so that the nanobots in his blood can be used to enter the platform. Unsurprisingly, he’s then murdered – his usefulness exhausted. Once on the ship, it’s clear that the hull-breached vessel will be jumping again in four hours, and a skirmish follows.

On the Maiden, Empire is angry that Zephyr Gilat knelt before Zephyr Halima – a demagogue – because the latter’s speech has struck a chord with the people, placing her as front runner to be the next religious leader. He offers to set up a defence platform in addition to the promised desalination plant, finally realising that to get on board with them he must walk the Great Spiral. And back on the Raven, Gaal connects with Hari in the past and begins to unravel just why he was murdered and what is required of her.

Verdict: While there’s a lot going on in the multiple plot threads, each has its own merits. As an accessible space drama, it succeeds in keeping the viewer engaged, and considering the complexity of its source, that’s no small achievement. 7/10

Nick Joy