Another chapter for you, and this one is going into ever-more brutal territory.
I have already started the next chapter, the last one before another short time hop. Getting ever closer to finale time...
THE EMPEROR'S SHADOW:
THE BLACK QUEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: DEATH IN THE FAMILY
The aftermath of my sister's death was just as harrowing as her death had been.
I was barely able to grieve for her before I was subjected to yet more heartbreak and agony by my conditioning at the hands of my despicable far-off (yet still in control) Emperor. Yet more emotional torment awaited…
First, there was the fact that my parents were now at the mercy of the Black Queen. The most merciless entity on Naboo…otherwise known as myself, in another identity. It wasn't that I didn't know what I was capable of in my brainwashed state…no, that would have actually have been an improvement on my current situation, even if it would have left me either trapped in a state of insanity and therefore devoid of responsibility for my actions, or completely unaware of my actions. No, the fact was that I knew from my long period of being under firm control exactly what I was capable of…and the thought of what could happen shocked and appalled me. Add in the fact that I was now being forced to act against my family, and the horror that I was feeling was immeasurable.
And I had already murdered my sister in cold blood…
What else would I be made to do? How far would the Emperor go to turn me into the monster he desired that I was to become?
My sister Sola was dead…and so was her husband. This made Ryoo and Pooja orphans, so my first duty was to inform the pair of the deaths of their parents. This I did as the Black Queen, with an entourage of stormtroopers and a couple of Shadow Angels (disguised as handmaidens). Sabe' also accompanied us, as the Royal Inquisitor. The fact that the lies would not be all coming from my mouth did not make me feel any better about the situation; quite the opposite in fact. I was feeling physically sick…
One of the tutors accompanied Ryoo and Pooja. Ryoo looked afraid, while Pooja looked positively awestruck to be in my malignant presence again…I could already tell how things were going with these two at the Academy. One was clearly already falling under the sway of the Imperial machine…and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
"Ryoo and Pooja Naberrie'…I have some distressing news for you both."
Ryoo's eyes flashed with pain, as if she knew what she was about to hear, while Pooja's joyful expression suddenly turned desolate, as if she knew that her entire world was about to turn upside down.
"Your parents, Darren and Sola Naberrie, were involved in Resistance activities, running an illegal safehouse and allowing anarchist infiltrators to enter the planet in an attempt to destabilise the Imperial regime here. We took the place, and offered them a chance to hand themselves over to the authorities quietly, to prevent anyone getting hurt. Unfortunately, they chose to fight it out-and they were killed in the struggle. I'm sorry to tell you, but your parents were enemies of the regime…"
It astonished me how easily the lies came out. What also made it hurt all the more was how numb I was becoming to the whole thing-it was like I was a passenger witnessing my own life, and was slowly becoming detached to what I was witnessing. Where would this path lead me, I wondered…
The reactions from my two nieces were even more chilling. Pooja looked up at the Royal Inquisitor, her eyes begging for answers as to why she was now an orphan. Ryoo, however, went from tearful to enraged to utterly distraught, weeping openly then letting out an animalistic howl and collapsing on the ground, shaking with sorrow and fury. I wanted to kneel down, to comfort them both, I needed to reveal that I was alive and there for them…and to expose the lies that were desecrating their lives as well as those of their parents. I wanted to, I needed to…but the serum kept me trapped in my cage, only able to act as the Emperor willed.
Pooja finally spoke. "They acted against the Empire…?"
The Royal Inquisitor-Sabe'-stepped into her role as impersonator at this point. Ever-loyal, backing me up even when she was brainwashed utterly beyond hope and I was trapped in a serum-enforced nightmare. Her tone was emotionless and cold…
"They did. It gave me no pleasure to have to kill them, but they were a danger to peace and justice-they were assisting in the spread of anarchist terrorist elements into Naboo society. They were fanatical in their beliefs, utterly convinced that they were acting on the side of good. They were too blinded to see that they had become the villains in their own planet's story…"
The old saying about burying a grain of truth inside a tissue of lies was being demonstrated to its fullest here. Of course, Sabe' was reciting what I had told her to say-after I myself had been coached by the Emperor. Both of us, reduced to puppets dancing on our strings…and now having to tell these despicable lies to my own nieces.
Pooja whispered her reply. It was barely audible, but it was terrifying in its simplicity-and its implications for how she was feeling at the time…
"My parents are dead to me…"
Ryoo looked at me, fire in her eyes.
"I don't believe you…you murdered them both. How can you do this to us…? What sort of monsters are you? Tell us the truth…if you even know what that is anymore!" Her words slowly became more venomous, until she collapsed again in a shaking heap trapped between grief and rage.
Pooja knelt down and hugged her sister.
"Ryoo…it's okay, the Empire will look after us…we'll be safe here at the Academy."
Ryoo looked at her sister, sickened by this statement, but unable to find the words to reply. For my part, I could truly empathise with my older niece's pain-I felt it myself. The Emperor had taken my husband, indeed everything I held dear…and I recalled feeling the grief and rage burning in Ryoo. However, these days it had waned and given way to a sense of numbness…
I did nothing.
Finally, I looked at the tutor.
"Ensure that they are looked after here. The Imperial Academy is their home now…"
The tutor nodded.
I then, without another word, was forced to turn my back on my nieces, feeling very concerned about the paths that they were both taking…but it was about to get worse for me. So much worse…
I rode with Sabe' to the Royal Palace, where we silently traded outfits. She was to masquerade as the Black Queen, following orders that I had already outlined to her (again relayed from the Emperor on Coruscant) while I once again became the malignant entity known as the Royal Inquisitor…
I went to the prison ship, in orbit above the planet. The ship was a space hulk that was not really spaceworthy, but this was a deliberate move in case of an attempted jailbreak and seizure of the engine room. The ship was crewed with stormtroopers, as well as a few officers to keep the place in order. There was a defence shield to prevent any unauthorised access to the ship, and a Star Destroyer was moored nearby too, monitoring comms and looking out for any signs of an attempted escape or rescue…ready to act with brutal efficiency if necessary.
This was the most secure prison on Naboo…simply because it was not on Naboo.
I approached on a shuttle, accompanied by my Shadow Angels-Rabe' and Sache'. Rabe' was acting as pilot for this mission, and transmitted my unique transponder code to the Destroyer, so that I could be granted access. I boarded the ship in full Inquisitor regalia, demanding access to my desired prisoners and making it unmistakeably clear that I was not to be disturbed until I was finished. The young officer gulped, and agreed, leading me to the designated room in the prison hulk, where my chosen prisoners were waiting for me.
My parents, Jobal and Ruwee Naberrie, were waiting. Both were looking rather rough-they had been here a couple of days, and the troopers hadn't exactly been gentle. Seeing my parents in this state was truly heartbreaking…
What really sickened me was the fact that the pair were strapped down to devices that I could tell were designed for electro-torture. This was to be a truly thorough interrogation, and there was nothing I could do or say to prevent me extracting every last morsel of information on the Resistance from my parents.
"Guard the doors…" I ordered the Angels. "Nobody gets in…got it?" They nodded to confirm.
I then looked at my parents, feeling utterly repulsed by what was about to happen. The machines were custom-built for torture, and naturally completely illegal…but undeclared, so what did that matter? The machines strapped the occupants down, holding them completely in place, administering electrical shocks as well as injections that could be truth serum or other drugs to encourage a prisoner to break. There was also the use of physical force too…
"And now, we will discuss your Resistance allies. And believe me, you will tell me exactly what I want to know…" I said in a low, cold voice that reminded me of the emptiness of space…or the blackened Emperor's heart. Or was that reflecting my increasingly blackening heart…?
My own parents…and I was torturing them.
