One more chapter to conclude the next mini-arc. One last time skip to go...next few chapters will conclude the Black Queen, and set up for the next story in the series. Hope you're enjoying this, and hope you enjoy what is to come.

THE EMPEROR'S SHADOW:

THE BLACK QUEEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: TYING UP LOOSE ENDS

I sat on my throne, in my royal regalia as the masked nightmare the Black Queen.

From the outside, I was silent…brooding…intimidating. A monster awaiting her next victim, with nobody wanting to go near me unless they were bidden. My Shadow Angels stood in their handmaiden disguises, the ever-present and ominous guardians of their monarch. Yet even they had nothing to do with that was really going on…

Within the privacy of my own head, I was being assaulted.

No visible signs of this-my body sat calmly on its throne, shadows looming over the black-clad figure holding court over the room, casting her own shadow all over the room. No words were uttered from my lips-the battle was one fought in silence, as far as everybody in the room knew. Yet make no mistake, there was a battle going on, waged from Coruscant…Imperial Center, as I am supposed to think of it. The name Coruscant no longer officially exists…much like the name Padme' Amidala.

Inevitability was rearing its ugly head in response to my actions…

I was having to answer to the Emperor…

"You let that Resistance scum go…Explain yourself, my puppet."

There was no question that this time, I had really done it. I had finally found a moment where I had been able to fight my conditioning…and now it was time to face the consequences. In fighting my conditioning and my serum, I may have saved the life of my niece…but now it was time to consider the consequences to my own well-being, and even my sense of my own identity. In fighting for the life of Ryoo, the only one of my nieces who was fighting the Imperial occupation and the parasitic rule of the Black Queen, I had inadvertently revealed the fact that I was still trying to maintain my own sense of self identity, and resist his control over me. Had I jeopardised my one chance of freedom over a small moment of familial loyalty?

What would he do to me in the light of this revelation?

Under my conditioning, I confessed the truth. I could not stop myself…

"My niece, Ryoo. She joined the Resistance…I could not let myself kill her the same way that I killed her mother and my parents…I could not live with myself if that were to happen." My tone was emotionless, as it was the serum extracting the answers, but within I felt utterly wretched. I was being forced to betray my inner familial loyalty…and for absolutely no gain to me whatsoever. I was no more free than I had been previously, so my attempt to break my conditioning had been ultimately unsuccessful-and now he knew that I was actively entertaining the idea that I could attempt to throw off my conditioning at the opportune moment.

Had I blown my solitary chance of slipping my bonds of slavery?

The Emperor let silence reign following my serum-induced statement.

Finally, he let a cackle ring out.

"How long have you been under my control? Hmm…seven years. Doesn't time fly when one has an Empire to cement? Of course, you've done your bit to assist with that by subjugating your home world and ruling it as the Black Queen. But for you to resist your conditioning, even subtly as you did, is quite the achievement. Resistance, after all this time…perhaps after a certain period of time has passed, the serum takes a negligible hit in effectiveness? It's nothing that a small increase in the constant dosage won't cure…"

I barely moved, but I could feel an increased rush in the serum injection rate through my body. I felt control slipping even more from my mind in favour of the will of the Emperor, but I could also feel my abilities getting that little bit stronger. As the rush receded (I tried to scream, but my jaws locked together due to the serum's influence) I could tell that my body had successfully adjusted to its new dosage-the Emperor had not re-lowered my serum dosage. More serum is what he had declared, and more serum was what I would have-just the thing to keep me in check.

"Your punishment will need to be postponed, until I have thought of a suitable reprimand for your misdeed. Have no fear, it will come…and I will make you suffer for your defiance. Just not yet…"

He paused, letting a question frame itself in my mind.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"Rephrase that question, my servant…"

"What happens now…Master" I said, mentally gritting my teeth. I refused to refer to him as such, unless I was forced to by the serum-this was one of those times.

The Emperor drew his words out, purely to keep the tension within my mind.

"Well, the Resistance put everything it had into this rescue mission, and thanks to your actions as Royal Inquisitor they have failed. It will take some time before they will be strong enough to mount another operation as large as this…I estimate about a galactic standard year. Our agent is secure in her cover, so she'll be safe to strike again when the time comes. Perhaps she and you will be able to put a final death blow to the Resistance element on that planet. In the meantime, your Royal Inquisitor can carry on hunting down the Resistance fighters and enforcing the will of the Black Queen. Your niece will be a wanted fugitive still, but that's what she gets for surviving her fate when she had no right to. The Assassin's Academy will be turning out its first candidates by then, so there is that to look forward to as well. The clock is ticking on the Resistance, make no mistake…"

He smiled, and this ghastly sight was visible in my mind's eye-I only wished I could not see it.

He then turned back to me, and how he was to torture me further…

"There is one more loose end to take care of in the meantime. Become the Royal Inquisitor…take the Shadow Angels with you. The Resistance needs to learn that there are consequences when I am challenged…"

A short while later, I was dressed up as the Royal Inquisitor again, flanked by the Shadow Angels.

We had returned to the villa that imprisoned Queen Apailana and her entire family. All of these were in the basement of the mansion, far from any prying eyes. All were silent, knowing full well what was about to happen to them. They faced it with dignity-I had to give them that.

No loose ends, he had said. The Resistance had sought to free Apailana once, to have her lead an uprising and retake her throne in the memory of Queen Amidala. They had failed, thanks to me…

They could not attempt it again if Apailana was no longer alive.

"Apailana, traitor to the planet of Naboo, you are hereby sentenced to execution in the name of the Emperor. Do you have any final words before the sentence is carried out?"

Apailana chose her words very carefully.

"There has been no trial…no judgment by the courts…and my family have been condemned alongside me. This is a travesty of justice…nothing less than an act of murder. May Shiraya receive my soul…and may yours be damned for your insidious actions. Freedom will rise…"

And with that, I raised the vibroblade to her throat…

The 'sentence' was carried out within seconds.

The rest of the family were executed within seconds. Blaster shots clean to the head, at the hands of the Shadow Angels. Brutal, efficient. Delivered with characteristic silence…

I looked at the Shadow Angel that I knew to be Sabe'.

"Dispose of the bodies. I must return to the palace…"

Sabe' nodded, assigning Sache' and Yane' to accompany me back to the Royal Palace.

The next morning, the Black Queen greeted the people on the steps.

"The Resistance scheme was foiled thanks to information supplied by patriotic citizens, so the Empire is thankful for your service. The fugitive Ryoo Amidala will be hunted down and punished, and I am announcing that the Royal Inquisitor has placed a 200,000 credit bounty on her head for her capture alive. That is all I have to say about that matter…for there is another that has come to my attention, a truly sad event for Naboo."

I paused.

"Queen Apailana has finally succumbed to her illness, tragically and peacefully, after years of fighting it off. Her funeral will be held in private by her family over the coming days, and they have requested absolute seclusion so that they can mourn their loved one in peace. As for us, this is truly a black day for Naboo, but we must move on in the name of the Empire. A new era is upon us-Queen Apailana was the last tie to the old ways. With her sad loss, Naboo can move on and grow."

Of course, it was a lie. The Shadow Angels had disintegrated the bodies without anyone knowing, and the isolation regarding the funeral was simply so that the villa could be destroyed without attracting too much attention. Tying up all of the loose ends…

Just another day in the reign of the Black Queen…