As the traceship exploded in mid-air, Frog found himself plummeting through the sky, his armour scorched and burning.
“Yooooooiiiiiiks!” he cried. In his daze he spotted the Farthership below him. He closed his eyes and braced himself for a rough landing…
“Got you, by gosh!” Nigel shrieked, as he grabbed Frog in his claws. “Next time, warn me you’re going to do something reckless! Or perhaps I should just expect it…”
“Just – ow! – just get us back into the battle!” yelled Frog. He saw smoke pouring from the Farthership’s damaged hull as the bragons swooped around it, sunder-guns blasting. “We’re doing it … we’re defeating the bumbles out of—”
There came a sudden noise – a deep, growling whirr, emanating from inside the Farthership. Then Frog saw a hundred portholes slide open along the rim of the ship … and a hundred sunder-cannons emerge from inside.
“Yoiks!” cried Frog. “Move! Everyone—”
Frog’s cries were drowned out by the sunder-beams’ shrieks. The sky-filling barrage blasted out in every direction. The bragons ducked and dived but most could not avoid the bombardment. They fell one after the other, like spiderflies being swatted out of the air.
“No!” Frog cried.
He saw a wounded Old ’n’ Graham crash on to the surface of the Farthership. Then, as Susan dived after him, she, too, was hit. She spiralled through the air, her wings aflame.
“Susan!” howled Nigel. “Hold on! I’m coming, by gosh!”
Nigel dived towards her, weaving to avoid the blasts – but a sunder-beam struck him a glancing blow to the head. Frog clung on as Nigel spun helplessly through the air.
“AaaaAAAAAaaa—”
KRUDD!
Frog clambered painfully to his feet. The glinting black hull of the Farthership seemed to go on forever. He could see flashes of colour dotted all about – the bodies of injured bragons. He spun around to see Nigel lying a few paces away, his wounds still smoking.
“Nigel!” Frog cried, limping over to him. “Get up! We have to get you out of here!”
“All out of air … truth be told,” the bragon whimpered through the cacophony of sunder-beams. “Go… They’re coming…”
Frog turned and saw a dozen Kroakan troopers racing across the surface of the ship towards them. He drew his sword.
“I’m not going anywhere!” he screamed, as the Kroakans surrounded them. “I’ll take you all on!”
“I’m afraid that’s not an option, Your Majesty,” said the foremost Kroakan. She was tall and muscular, with distinctive horns above her eyes and striped green skin. “King Kroak has ordered us to bring you in alive and unharmed.”
“Tell King Kroak to stuff his head in his armpit and sniff it!” roared Frog.
“How vivid,” the Kroakan noted. “Let us try again – my name is Major Krung, and I give you two choices. One, surrender with immediate effect – and your army is free to leave. Or two, maintain your defiance, and watch this creature – watch all these creatures – perish.”
“Run … Frog…” wheezed Nigel. “They’ll blow up … the world … anyway…”
“I…” said Frog. The shriek of sunder-beams rung in his ears.
“Last chance, Your Majesty,” said Major Krung. She aimed her sunder-gun at Nigel’s head.
“Wait!” Frog cried. “I… I surrender.”
“One more time, my Prince,” said Major Krung, cupping her hand to her earhole. “The roar of battle and all that…”
“I surrender!” cried Frog. “I surrender!”
“I thought that’s what you said,” said Major Krung. With that, she swung the butt of her sunder-gun into Frog’s head, and he fell unconscious to the floor.