A long-awaited confrontation...and hopefully a bit of plot development. Enjoy...

Try to guess where the story is going next after this...

THE EMPEROR'S SHADOW:

THE BLACK QUEEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: BONDED BY BLOOD

There could only be one possible outcome…

I descended to the hidden armoury, accompanied by the Shadow Angels. The palace went into lockdown, preventing anyone from learning that the Black Queen was no longer in attendance. I once again became the insidious Royal Inquisitor, backed up by my black-armoured Shadow Angels. An Imperial Death Squad, ready to strike…

Queen Apailana had been held in her prison for a few years. She had not attempted to escape, or at least had not been caught attempting to do so. However, the Resistance had clearly been building for a long time to be in a position to spring her from her prison. The Empire could not allow that to happen, as it would expose the constant stream of lies that had allowed for the rise of the Black Queen that had firmly kept Naboo under her boot heel on behalf of the Empire. This situation needed to be dealt with, for the current system to stay intact…

Even if my innermost desire was to tear it all down.

We boarded the ship, and flew to a secret location near the villa that held Apailana. We had very simple orders-get to the villa before the Resistance came to free Apailana, and set our trap. It was insidious, but I expected nothing less from the Emperor at this point. Hiding the ship, we departed and travelled to the villa under cover of darkness. There was an Imperial guard detail at the villa, to deter all who got too curious, but we could not alert these to our presence just in case they had been compromised. So a stealthy infiltration was very much in order.

For us, it was child's play. All of us were well versed with infiltration by now. As we sneaked in, Sache' noted that there were no Resistance fighters-a good sign for our plan. The plan could proceed…much to my regret. I sent Sache' and Yane' to the comm area to enact their part of the plan. They were to seize the sole communications equipment, and contact Omega Source. The message would allow Omega Source to pass on a "message" declaring that their agents on the inside had been able to seize the villa and all was ready for the retrieval. In reality, the troopers were being knocked out one-by-one by the remaining Angels and locked up, ready for interrogation to learn the truth about their allegiances.

Sabe' and I, on the other hand, would be gathering the Royal Family in the Great Hall. All in one place, safe from the battle that was about to take place…and just in case there was a mass attack, the Emperor had arranged for three entire squads of troopers from offworld would act as reinforcements. There would be no chance for the Resistance to succeed in this mission…and I could feel the hope for Naboo about to die.

After a short while, all was prepared. All of the hostages were locked up in the Great Hall, heavily stunned. The Shadow Angels were in their hidden battle positions, thirsty for the upcoming battle. The squads of stormtroopers had taken up their positions too, having taken the guard detail aboard their ships ready for "debriefing". And I was in position…

I had the Queen herself, Apailana. She was in her quarters, secured with binders. I was standing right next to her, ready to confront whoever came to her. If anyone came, they would have more than they bargained for…

We didn't have long to wait…

The air was thick with the tension of an impending slaughter, then all at once the night was filled with blaster fire and the agonised screams of death. We had indeed been able to spring the trap on the Resistance fighters, and I paused mentally to say a silent prayer for Shiraya to receive these brave souls giving their lives for freedom. But it was a battle that they could not hope to win. Even if the troopers were aiming to stun and not kill, they would die in time…but there was information that could be extracted from them first. Their end would come slowly and painfully…

Sensing movement, I got into position. Firing a stun shot at Apailana so that she could not interfere with my orders, I crouched and awaited the opportunity to ambush the Resistance fighter who had come to rescue the Queen of Naboo. I felt so sorry for the poor soul, knowing that I would be able to do nothing to stop myself from brutally attacking her…

By Shiraya, please don't let it be true.

It was my niece, Ryoo.

Ryoo's hair had grown longer than I remembered, and she had a hardened look in her eyes that could only come from doing things that went against her code of honour, but that she knew had to be done if the Resistance were to succeed. She must have been recruited early after escaping the Imperial Officer Academy…She also had a Sniper Rifle on her back, presumably her weapon of choice. A blaster pistol was in her hand-a DL-44. Outlawed or restricted in most systems-no doubt smuggled onto the planet by one of the smugglers arrested in an earlier raid.

I stood up to face my quarry.

My heart was pounding. I would be forced to fight my niece-that much was certain. I had also been forced to fight my own sister-had struck the blow that had ended her life. That I could kill her-could be made to kill her-was beyond any doubt at this point. The only question I had in mind was whether I could take it emotionally. I felt fragile enough in the wake of my family's slaughter and desecration. I couldn't let this happen…I had to fight it with all that I could muster. I would not…could not…kill Ryoo.

I stood in front of Ryoo, revealing myself to her.

"You will go no further, Resistance scum…"

Could I really say nothing else!?

Ryoo, for her part, swallowed…and stared me down with eyes that blazed fire.

"You are the monster that murdered my mother, and put my family to death. The Black Queen may have had my family name desecrated, and the Empire may have stolen the allegiance of my sister, but you…you murdered my mother in cold blood, by your own hand, with no trial or chance to defend herself. For that, I forsake my Naboo heritage and ways of peace and make this solemn declaration. In the name of my illustrious ancestor Padme' Amidala and on behalf of her murdered sister Sola Naberrie'…I will kill you, Royal Inquisitor." Her tone was ice-cold, and told me that she had imagined this very moment for some time. Her mother would be proud of her elder daughter's bravery…even if she was staring death literally in the face.

I stood staring down my quarry, praying silently to Shiraya that this would not go the way that I feared that it would-I could not lose any more family. Pooja was already falling under the sway of the Empire and its machine, so I was damned of I was going to lose Ryoo too! This ongoing nightmare had taken enough from me...this was not going to take any more!

Unfortunately for me, Ryoo leapt in with a flurry of hand-to-hand blows. I didn't know whether she had learned it from the Imperial Officer's Academy, or learned it from a fellow Resistance fighter (it was more than likely a combination of the two) but she could fight. I felt quietly proud of my niece, but unfortunately this meant that I would be forced to fight my own niece accordingly.

"Have fun, my puppet…" came a sinister voice, accompanied by a mocking laugh.

As good as Ryoo was, I have to say that I was better. While she held her own, I soon had her on the floor, her face bruised and even cut. For my hands to do that to my own kin…it utterly repulsed me, but what did my feelings matter!?

I would not fight my niece…I could not fight my niece…

I prayed silently to Shiraya to make it stop.

Vowing that I would not lose another family member, I concentrated all of my efforts into fighting the control that the Emperor's serum injector had over my body. My head felt like it was splitting, and I could feel every blow dished out to Ryoo as if it were being inflicted on me.

However, finally, I stopped. Stood stock still. Ryoo stood too, staring me down as if challenging me to finish the battle. She seemed determined to finish the battle…slay the monster that murdered mer mother, and served the even bigger monster that was bringing her entire world under the Imperial banner-whether it wanted to or not. Brave Ryoo…loyal to her family even to the (her) end…

Somehow, someway, I uttered one word under my own power…

"Run…"

Ryoo's eyes widened, but she knew a lost cause when she saw one and grabbed her rifle. She had never heard of the Royal Inquisitor granting somebody the freedom to leave alive before, and she intended to take advantage of this. Even so, just to ensure a smooth getaway, she took a shot at me at near point blank range with her sniper rifle. The blastproof leather in my armour completely absorbed the shot, but it still knocked me flat on my back…

Within my head, the Emperor was speaking to me again. His voice was measured, but spoke with a cracked fury that betrayed his true feelings about what had just happened…

"You fought back, my pet…after all this time…That cannot be allowed to continue…"