A muscular figure was bound to two pillars, his arms spread wide in an agonising embrace held steady by chains. The man's lion embroidered silver breastplate was sprayed with blood, giving it an unholy glint. He steadied his feet. His silver boots looked as if they belonged to a knight’s suit of armour. Their sheer weight balanced Samson's body weight. He raised his head and clicked some of the bones in his neck. His clenched his fists and gripped the chains that bound him between the epic pillars that held up this unholy temple. 
A bone shaking roar pulsed through the temple shaking it to its foundations. Bits of the temple rumbled and cracks appeared in the roof. Dust fell from several crevices. Samson took notice. Another roar sent a chill up Samson’s spine like an electric current and this time the ground vibrated fiercely. Yet another roar filled the temple and this time Samson noticed the pong in the gust of wind that accompanied the roar. The roar carried a heat haze with it. The dragon had arrived. 
Samson's leather kilt and green cape was not enough to shade him from the dragon's fury. He'd have to get his shield. His shield carried the embodiment of supreme protection. Any who carried the shield and believed to be protected from all things would be shielded from anything. But if their faith shattered, the shield’s invulnerability followed. The simple problem was this-Samson’s shield was in the centre of the temple. The entrance of Dagon’s temple was the only source of light and that exit was quickly being blocked by the dragon that was entering. The light was cut away and a shadow formed the shape of a dragon before shifting into the shape of a man.
Samson raised his head. His enemy stood before him.
"Dagon" Samson growled like a chained dog wishing to chase after a robber.
"Samson...my play thing," Dagon said teasingly with a grin. Dagon’s face was purple with the skin pattern of a scaled fish. His pupils were a piercing yellow. "I've missed you! How long has it been!?" He said. He pulled at Samson’s bedraggled long hair. Samson winced.
"You will be slain soon my enemy! Once I have freed myself from this bondage you shall feel my wrath!" Samson riled vigorously and began pulling violently at the chains but to no avail. Dagon simply stood back, and laughed.
"I? Your enemy? Let's face it Samson, you're your own worst enemy! I didn't need to do much, I never did. Clever old Delilah eh,"
"I learned from that mistake!" Samson barked. It was a very sour topic. All this, while he was pulling his right arm free. The shackle was baggy round his blood stained wrist.
"What like the mistake you made with little Gideon," Dagon spat. His arms wide open in almost a shrug-like gesture. Samson had no powers because his God Yahweh had abandoned him after his loose behaviour. But then again Yahweh never abandoned his anointed ones…maybe there was hope yet. It was a suicide mission hunting down the pagan deity of the philistines in an attempt to slay him. It simply wasn't possible. Worse still, Samson's lovechild that had come from Delilah had been kidnapped.  Gideon had been kidnapped. 
Samson's face lost its passion. There were not many things that made him weak, save cutting his locks but mentioning his epic failures was another. No failure seemed more protruding than the one of his son. Dedicated to Yahweh, the almighty God that had endowed Samson with his powers, the assumption was that baby Gideon would grow up to be just like his father, a deliverer. But in the hands of General Mino, the boy was destined to be raised as a heathen and a destroyer.  Deborah, the prophetess had foreseen cloudy days ahead and warned the muscle bound hero to hide his baby with family in the river cities of Nile till such a time the philistines had lost hope of finding the infant. But Samson did not listen. Delilah betrayed him by calling the philistines in to the city of Adriel and humiliating the hero Samson. With his hair reduced to tufts of former glory, the hero was beaten into a bloody pile of submission and dragged away to the pinnacle of the city of Phillistia. The altar. Samson was the ultimate gift to their deity Dagon and since it was Dagon that handed Samson into their hands it only seemed more than right they give him back... as a sacrifice of thanks. They had gouged his eyes out and humiliated him for 12 hours, before deciding to sacrifice him. It was the moment all had waited to see. The population of Phillistia stood outside their city of gleaming silver sky scrapers encased in a snow globe- like encasement and watched as Samson’s body was teleported , in haze of purple light, from the altar building (the tallest building in Phillistia which reached into the clouds) and into Dagon's temple. Samson had tried fighting off Dagon’s demonic servants but they disarmed him and chained him to the pillars of the temple to be showcased to Dagon himself. It was the ultimate trophy.
Delilah had betrayed Samson not only by giving him up to the philistines but by still being married to the general of the philistine space force. General Mino had been away fighting a war on another planet when her affair with Samson had occurred. They had been divorced for a whole month but she still carried General Mino's child -which she aborted on meeting Samson. No man had a better reason to kill Samson's son. When Samson was taken captive and brought into the city to begin his 12 hours of shame, General Mino sought after Delilah in the outskirts of the city of Adriel.
General Mino was a dark haired handsome man, with chiselled features. In another life he could have easily been a male model. A life of war seemed much more fitting though, especially when your father and his father were all war heroes. And your great grandfather was Goliath the great. It made sense to be in the army. 
He launched himself onto his hover bike, a motor cycle contraption that had no wheels but hover discs instead. Being a general he was issued with a P-8z the fastest bike to be developed in the army technological division to date. 
His black cape billowed in the wind whipping past plants and trees, as he hummed through the thick 500 foot high forest. Fauna forest was a perilous place to be in on your own. Most people took the sky tube that bent round the forest linking Philistia with Adriel. It was the one place untouched by technology inspired architecture.
The outskirts of Adriel city were full of mud huts, shacks, caravans and canopies from the former refugee camps which had now turned into a small city in itself. A very poor city. In contrast was Adriel city, a nest of flying vehicles, hovering buildings, and lights illuminating the evening sky. Mino drove his bike to a halt outside a large white caravan. Mino opened the door. A lady with ginger hair and startling green watery eyes looked up at general Mino. She held a child. Mino's venomous glare turned into an emotional mosaic. They had dragged Samson away thanks to her betrayal-they would not take her baby. Even Samson’s advice to retreat to the Nile cities fell on deaf ears. She had unfinished business with Mino. Today she would settle that business.
"So that's his son I presume," Mino mumbled. A single tear streaking down his face. Delilah said nothing but her guilty expression said 'yes'.
"What did he have that I didn't Delilah?" He said through gritted teeth.
"Passion," she said ever so quietly. The single word silenced Mino. "While all you sought after was to be like those before you, Samson sought to be like none who had ever been before him and now there will be none like him- ever," as she spoke her cheeks became red with excitement. The very thought of Samson made her passionate with loyalty.
"Does my own cause not parallel his? Do I not seek to bring enlightenment to planets in deep darkness? Is my charisma not the same?" Mino said imploringly, searching her smooth face for answers.
"His charisma was born out of dedication to a sole unselfish purpose-to deliver his people; not to religiously bash an entire populace via crusade after crusade into superficial religious obedience," Mino opened his mouth to say something but was silenced by Delilah who continued. A frown formed on her face as she considered what she spoke of and found it to be disgusting. "Your charisma is born out of the need to exert your authority. Religion was not a way of life for you but a perfectly formed tool with which you would bludgeon the universe red with blood until you ruled supreme. Samson fights out of passion, you fight out greed. I couldn't raise your seed. Consider me a murderer for the abortion of your child," she said stiffly, giving full eye contact. His eyes twitched, another tear poured down his face. Mino's face crumpled into a picture of silent rage and untamed fury.
"His mongrel son is a reminder of the foul fiend his father was but there would be no better punishment for you and no better insult to his memory than to raise him as a proud Philistine," Mino said gruffly. He wiped his tears and walked up to a statue in the centre of the hub of shacks. The statue was of Samson with nothing but a spear taming the 300 headed fox beast which he then set upon the city of Phillistia as a revenge attack for crimes against his family when the philistines disintegrated his first wife and her family. It was Adrielan legend. Delilah had been given the spear by Samson's parents as a memento just before he was taken to Dalatar to be sacrificed. It was more than a fitting murder weapon, Mino thought.
Mino held the spear in one hand. The spear head glowed hot and suddenly the whole spear was glowing a molten orange. Mino yelled in pain dropping it to the ground. His hand was stamped with a burn mark. The smell of smouldering flesh filled the air. Delilah simply smiled. Only Samson was ever able to lift his spear. The spear spontaneously combusted and was covered in flames. The spear shifted into a ball of fire and Mino staggered backwards and fell over onto the dusty ground in fear, as the ball of flames grew, spinning on its own axis and taking shape like a miniature sun. The ball of flame shot up into the air with an ear piercing boom rippling the clouds.
"Yahweh is with him again," Delilah said triumphantly. 
Mino grabbed the baby in one hand and backhanded her to the floor of her caravan.
Delilah sobbed a heap of helplessness.
Mino spoke "Your lover will die," with that he mounted his P-8z bike. Delilah managed to stand, sporting a black eye and bloody lip.
"He will die, but not by your hand," came a voice. Mino looked behind a collection of shacks and out of the evening night, Deborah walked into the light coming from Delilah's caravan. Mino glared at her. Deborah was an Adrielan prophetess. She had always foreseen destruction and death wherever Philistia was concerned. The only reason why she wasn't put to death was because she had already been declared insane by the Philistine authorities. After all, she was just a woman who happened to get a couple of predictions right. Her random appearances always spelt either disaster or another sordid prophesy. He wasn't in the mood to hear of impending destruction.
"Be gone with you witch!" Mino blurted before Deborah could speak. "The world doesn't need another of your vile utterances!" 
"Not the world, just you, General Mino. The hand you used to strike his wife down will be struck off," Deborah said flatly. Mino looked at his right hand as if it were leprous. Horror sprawled across his face. She looked at Delilah. Her face full of sorrow and even more guilt. She had stolen Samson’s heart from Deborah.  “I’m sorry for your loss," Deborah said full of melancholy.  Delilah didn’t understand. 
General Mino's heart began to drum loudly in his chest. Samson was going to escape. That spelt disaster for Philistia-Samson always did. He kicked off the ground and flew off on his bike with the urgency of an eagle upon its prey. Mino sped through the humid forest as fast as he could; he couldn't get to Philistia quick enough. Would Yahweh really save Samson from The wrath of Dagon?
Samson was bashed over the head with a mace. Any normal man would have died but Samson, as many had realized long ago, was an anomaly. Dagon laughed hysterically at Samson's torture. His guards, the Ahyen, 8 foot demons that resembled overgrown bulky hyenas, pierced Samson with tridents, spears and swords. The fact that Samson was not dead amused him. It was always nice when your victim died a slow painful death and every yell of pain was satisfaction to Dagon's heart. The Ahyen had to take a break because they were worn out from torturing him so much. 
Samson considered his life. His first wife had been disintegrated along with her family thanks to being caught in the middle of a dispute between him and the imperialist philistine cells at work. He had ventured into the fauna forest and subdued the fox-beast before letting it loose upon the city. He was made an instant legend by the Adrielan people after that triumph. The problem was he went along with it. He assumed it was by his own power he had achieved the liberation of Adriel and its protection as a judge. Deborah, his first love, was torn between loving him and reporting to him the word of the Lord. And what Yahweh had to say about Samson’s sleeping around and defilement of his being was not good news. Against all warnings, he had fallen in love with a philistine lady, Delilah and their passion from the start spelt disaster. She had not long been divorced from her long term partner, General Mino. Gideon was in the middle of all this and by now General Mino had kidnapped his son. Yahweh knew Mino would do harm to Delilah for aborting his child in the womb. Delilah had betrayed Samson, to show her loyalty to the imperialist philistine cell and save her own life but who knew whether they’d go back on it now that they had Samson. He thought of all the mistakes he’d made. His passion was threatening to destroy all that he loved yet again.
“Father Yahweh, I acknowledge my actions to be of the darkest sinful nature, everything you despise. I am a sinner in your sight. I thought myself a power when in fact YOU are the power in my life. Without you, I am nothing. I am nothing father. I beg of your forgiveness and I ask that you liberate my son into safe hands that he may grow up to know YOU. For it is not by my power or might but by YOUR spirit. Let not the sins of the father be carried over to the son. Let the wrath rest upon me. Amen. ” Samson said under his breath.
 Dagon walked over to the centre of his temple, statues of himself in different forms flanking him on each side. Dagon stared closely at the golden shield. Its round form glistened gently. Dagon's smile slipped from his face. Word's in Adrielan formed on the shield like engravings which read the following.  
DESTRUCTION IS NIGH
Samson felt a burning sensation where his eyes used to be. His sockets were filled with white fire. Samson blinked and his eyes were restored. His wounds were gone. The Ahyen picked up weapons to torture Samson.  Dagon stood bolt upright, horror sprawled across his face.  Samson smiled.  The sound of chariots could be heard-everyone looked above to the ceiling of the temple. An explosion engulfed the temple. All was flame, dust, rubble and smoke. Dagon, semi paralyzed on the ground, heard the falling of chains to the ground. Samson was free. The Ahyen, lay scattered in smouldering piles. Samson eyed the spear, took it out and grinned. Dagon was in trouble.
Dagon couldn’t move, his legs we’re broken. Samson stood over him holding a spear. Samson thrust the spear through Dagon’s chest with all the force he could muster. Green bolt of energy urged out of his chest like a geyser. The force Samson used to push the spear through was so great that he split the temple floor beneath them in to shattered hunks. 

General Mino’s heart was pounding. He had never sped so fast on his bike. He zipped past trees quicker than a blur. The bike would soon run out of energy but e didn’t care, as long as he got to Philistia in one piece.  The globe encased city of Philistia was ahead. He zoomed through its globe force field and seconds later the blue force field flicked out and was no more. He could hear screams and gasps of people at street level. This hadn’t happened since Samson stormed the city with the fox beast and that was 3 years ago. Flying cars began to land as quickly as possible which prompted Mino to look up to Dalatar. A mighty explosion ripped the temple apart in a mushroom explosion coloured green. The shock waves began disintegrating whole buildings turning them to dust and memories.  Dagon’s altar crashed in on itself before exploding. The chaos was beyond what Mino could imagine. The explosion had sent an electromagnetic pulse throughout the city. Every hovering building began plummeting into houses and pedestrians below. General Mino was fairly high up so was witnessing this any lower and he would have been part of it. He dipped down in a steady descent but his bike, though protected against EMP’, still suffered some control damage. He managed to avoid smashing into the street and pulled up in time to avoid being crushed by a failing sky scrapper. The dust and debris was enough to kill anyone without being crushed. People were choking and coughing. Others were stuck under debris and others were simply running in an attempt to stay alive. Mino tried checking updates on the bikes console to get in touch with the interstellar fleet. Maybe if he could get hold of the army, they could start a humanitarian rescue of the city. General Mino had some luck in this and managed to download a voice note which automatically played. It was sergeant Warder.
“The armada has fallen, I repeat the armada has fallen some fire ball blew up the control ship and all our weapons system failed and self destructed. Only our ship managed to survive and we’re witnessing some problem on re-entry. There appears to be some sort of green ray coming from Dalatar and it’s...evasive action! I repeat evasive action! Swerve the damn ship! Swerve-,”
The voice not ended. Mino realized what had happened. The spear had gone into orbit and destroyed their ships then plummeted back to earth pinpointing the temple of Dagon.  Mino assumed he’d escaped the worst but looked up only to see the fallen armada plummet into the city like meteorites. Destroyed parts of the many ships that made of the armada pummelled what remained of Philistia setting it alight. The afternoon sky had been painted black and orange by the explosions. It was like hell fire raining on the earth. Mino sped out of the city and into the out skirts which were relatively unharmed. He slowed his bike down before skidding to a stop near a desert like settlement just past the out skirts. Mino got of the bike and put down baby Gideon with his left hand which had now cramped from holding him so tight. The baby was crying. This enraged Mino. This child was a sum total of all that he hated but he had to be sure of something. Mino spoke to his bike.
“Scan the child with my DNA please,” 
The bike shone a blue torch light-like light on Mino, then baby Gideon. There was a short buffering period and then the bike spoke.
“Data shows zero relation.”
“How is that possible?” Mino barked. He had lost everything. If this was Delilah’s son then at least he would gain something from this big tragedy. The bike hummed and buzzed then gave a reply.
“Data indicates direct relation to Deborah, Prophetess of Adriel as having 100%relation as mother of the child, and Samson of Adriel as father of the child,”
Mino roared in anger. Delilah had lied to him. What had she done to his son?
“And what do you wish to sacrifice to Dagon?” asked the old priest at the steps of Dalatar. Delilah handed him a baby. He looked at her incredulously. His hands trembled violently with fear.
“Do it,” she said sternly. Mino’s idea of a legacy was imperial rule across the galaxy in the name of Dagon not a boy child. So what better way to ensure his dream is realised by giving up the continuation of his line?
Delilah would pay for her lies. Mino would make sure of that now. He no longer cared if Philistia was burning. There were a hundred planets already subjugated to the name of Dagon by philistine rule. They would simply build a capital somewhere else.
Samson had always said that if the philistine deity fell, so would its followers. It was not about killing a whole army; it was about killing their deity. He would slay their deity and by doing so break their imperial power. Their influence would wane then crumble.
Mino’s tantrum was disturbed by an update from the philistine army outposts on the slave planets.
Update after update came in like news feeds:
Uprising on Delton-Uri. 
Rebellion on Dalatar Reich 7
Rebellion on Dalatar Reich 8
Rebellion on Falurshone
Slaves risen up and are resisting outpost. Teleported back up immediately!

Mino couldn’t believe his eyes. Their deity couldn’t possibly allow this to happen could he? What was Dagon doing? Where was Dagon? What had happened to his temple? Had Yahweh really returned to the aid of Samson as Delilah said he would? Had Samson wielded his spear and triumphed?
Dalatar had been reduced to a very high pile of rubble. At its pinnacle, a spear head appeared then an arm and moments later Samson burst forth holding his shield. Samson looked at the city now reduced to a levelled burning pile of rubble and dust. At the foot of the Dalatar mound was Deborah. He jumped and landed in front of her making a crater beneath him. Dust flew this way and that and Deborah had to shield her eyes. Deborah’s eyes sparkled with tears. Samson dropped his shield and spear and fell to his knees. Deborah cradled him.
Mino opened the space compartment of his bike inside the seat and pulled out a ray gun.
Delilah was sick in the stomach. She was madly in love with Samson. The thought of him going back to his wife was driving her crazy.
Mino aimed at the child. Something had to go his way today. It had to. He couldn’t kill Samson. He couldn’t even protect the people of Philistia and his ex-wife had aborted their child. He couldn’t even protect the poor child. One thing he was good at ,was killing.
She refused to live without him. But what chance did she really have against the prophetess of Adriel. She as a force to be reckoned with. She may not have worshiped Yahweh but she could not deny his power and Deborah was dipped in it. Her anointing was far too great.
Mino had gotten very good at killing that’s why he was a general. Not because he had great leadership abilities, or was able to inspire but rather because his disposition allowed him to sleep at night even after killing a mother and child or wiping out a city. He was clinical. And when you wanted to rule in the name of Dagon you had to be. Gideon would die. Samson had pulled the empire this way and that till it came crashing down by its ears but there would be no successor to his power. If there was no heir, the linage stopped there. And it was only fair that if Samson had stolen his linage, he had more than a right to take his. Gideon would die. 
There was nothing left for her in this life. Delilah had one of Mino’s ray guns from the time when they were still together. She had kept in case of animal attacks from the forest. You never knew when a creature would stray from the forest and attack the shacks. The only beast she wished to tame now was her insatiable passion. The caravan flashed green and blood spattered on to the window. A thud followed immediately after. The door of the caravan opened slightly to reveal a hand hanging out of the caravan limp and blood stained. Blood poured slowly down the arm staining the dusty ground.
Mino aimed at the child and shot. The ray gun exploded in a purple flash. Mino’s hand had been blown off completely. He yelled in agony and gritted his teeth to try and stem the pain. He remembered the prophecy Deborah had made. He only hated her more now. The hag’s prophecies had not failed yet.
The bike buzzed and spoke. “Incoming! Desert worms.  Impending attack in 10 seconds. Evasive action is recommended,”   This was the worst time for a desert worm attack. His weapon had just exploded. They must have smelt his blood. Desert worms were known to suck the blood of victims. The problem with desert worms was simple. They weren’t worms-they were huge man eating monsters. Mino jumped on his bike and zoomed off leaving the baby Gideon on his own. He’d probably get eaten anyway. The desert ground cracked and then crumbled as a worm looking beast surged out of the ground in a diving motion synonymous to a whale and swallowed Mino whole before breaking the ground in a dive and disappearing again. There was a sonic boom in the sky a white ball of light dipped and moments later a man clothed in golden armour landed in front of the baby Gideon.
“Hello, mighty warrior,” the man said. Baby Gideon stopped crying and giggled. There was a boom sound and both Gideon and the man where gone.

In the ruins of Philistia, Samson lay in the arms of Deborah who was on her knees.  Her face was wet with tears.  She knew her time was coming to an end. Yahweh had already revealed this to her. She would however, get to see her child again. The man in golden armour thundered out of the sky and landed in front of them. Samson closed his eyes.
“Get away from me, I’m a sinful man,” Samson mumbled.
“And your sins have been forgiven,” said the man. Samson dared not to look at him in the face. It was considered silly to. Afterall how many could encounter an angelic appearance and live? His parents had been visited by an angel of Yahweh long ago. And now one was here at his dying day. 
“He isn’t here for you Samson; he is here for me,” Deborah said sadly. She held the baby Gideon. He had her brown eyes and Samson’s strong grip. She played with Gideon’s little finger and smiled. “I will see you soon my lovely son,” she said and kissed Gideon on the forehead. Samson realized what was happening and stood up finding new strength.
“You can’t go! Adriel needs you! It’s great protector!” Samson wailed. His face was illuminated by the angel’s presence. Deborah sobbed. “No,” she said. “Gideon needs you. To be an example-the right example,” she said handing Gideon into Samson’s hands. Samson looked at her in silence and took a deep breath. Tears welled up in his eyes. Deborah embraced both Samson resting her head on his shoulder. In a flash of flames and light they were gone, leaving Samson and Gideon in the rubble.