Amazing what a rush of inspiration can do...

The final chapter of this story. Hope this is worth the wait...

I'm probably going to take a break after this one, so I'm unsure when I'll have the next story ready for you. Hope you enjoyed this one, and I likewise hope that you stick around for the next chapter of the saga too. Consequences await...

Stay safe and see you after a break.

THE EMPEROR'S SHADOW:

THE BLACK QUEEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: AFTERMATH

My reign as the Black Queen of Naboo was over.

I had been inserted on an infiltration mission, under my identity of The Emperor's Shadow. I had kidnapped the elected Queen of Naboo, Apailana, and deposed her from power. I had allowed her to be held in secret under house arrest, while a puppet ruler controlled Naboo and allowed it to succumb to the first wave of Imperial influence on Naboo. Then I had been manipulated into brutally slaying the puppet ruler, only to realise that this was part of the Emperor's plan all along. I was then forced to take her place as ruler, becoming the feared and loathed Black Queen, hidden behind black attire and an impenetrable mask, and constantly switching places with a fearsome henchwoman known as the Royal Inquisitor and backed up by the evil Imperial death squad masquerading as handmaidens known as the Shadow Angels.

During the six year reign of the Black Queen, I had murdered Qarth Panaka in cold blood-a close personal friend. I had murdered the legitimate queen in cold blood. I had learned that my former handmaidens-friends as close as sisters-had been brainwashed and broken, rebuilt into monstrous and remorseless killers known as the Shadow Angels. I had even murdered my sister, sentenced my own family to brutal execution, and condemned my young nieces to brainwashing and propaganda. One of my nieces had escaped, but the other was firmly in thrall to the Imperial spell. The planet had transformed from an artistic utopia to a nightmare dystopia, where everybody was swayed by fear and propaganda, where neighbour informed upon neighbour, and the planet was tightly held in the Empire's iron grip. I had utterly wiped out the noble people who had found the strength to rebel and resist, and had sentenced untold millions to forced labour or execution. I had even enslaved the once-proud Gungan race, after a peace that had been so hard to obtain. The blood of millions was on my hands, and I felt utterly sickened and horrified beyond measure to have taken part in such actions, even if I was forced to do it.

May Shiraya forgive me for what I have done…

The Black Queen's funeral procession was held shortly after the declaration of Imperial martial law. I was again forced to follow the Emperor at my own funeral, except in this case I was clad in the black leather uniform of the Royal Inquisitor. The streets were once again lined with people, all held back by swathes of stormtroopers. Few looked sorry to see the Black Queen was dead-the faces and eyes spoke instead of confusion, fear, disillusionment…defeat. Her work was done…and so the Emperor had extracted me when it suited him. What my future held, I could not say.

I oversaw the final round of executions, both in public (the leaders) and aboard the various prison ships (the lower grade rank and file resistance fighters). Within the space of a day, one million people met their supremely bloody ends. I whispered a silent prayer to each of them within my head, for I could not say it aloud due to my tightly focused conditioning.

Ryoo, my niece, had been manipulated into becoming my assassin by an Imperial agent within the ranks of the Resistance. She was currently held in a tightly guarded Imperial prison, awaiting the judgement of the next queen of Naboo. One further duty as the Royal Inquisitor that I would carry out over these few days would be a ceremony to honour the Imperial agent who had proven to be the downfall of the Naboo Resistance. Omega Source…

She marched up to me, dressed in a full Imperial uniform marked with the Imperial Security Bureau insignias that showed her new designation, and the pride that the Imperial system had in her. I felt utterly repelled as I was forced to hang a medal around this traitorous woman's neck. Such was my anger at this woman, that I did not even care to remember her name-not that it was ever likely to be real. Her life was deceit and betrayal, after all-whoever she had been was long gone. As was I.

My thoughts then turned to the position of the new Queen of Naboo…

Who would be chosen for that role I could only guess-it would need to be an Imperial diehard. Only someone valued by the Emperor would be considered, as he would seek to ensure that Naboo would stay allied to the Empire both politically and in the minds of is people for decades to come. The Emperor himself, as he was on the planet, was personally choosing the candidate..

Finally, I learned the identity of the new Queen of Naboo.

One last shock, one more trauma to add to the collection…oh, by Shiraya…

This was my last time masquerading as the Royal Inquisitor. Instead, Sabe' was donning the uniform-it was to be her permanent identity for the foreseeable future. The Shadow Angels were to be the guardians of the Queen, so they were no longer attached to me. While this meant that I would be losing their company, I had long ago realised that they were so deeply brainwashed that there could be no reaching the women that they had once been. As much as it pained me-and the pain was tearing what was left of my blackened heart-I would have to let them go, and accept that they had been lost to darkness. Just like I almost certainly was…

The Royal Inquisitor was to act as advisor and bodyguard to the Queen, as the Resistance was no longer an issue on the planet thanks to Omega Source and the Emperor's scheming. The queen was not to be masked, presenting a very public face of the Empire. An effective way of keeping the people on side, to present somebody that the people could identify with.

The Queen was ready to take to the throne for her coronation…

The handmaidens-the Shadow Angels-led out a figure in a dress that matched her hair, and yet had Imperial insignias placed prominently. She was very young-roughly the same age that I had been when I was elected Queen of Naboo all those years-another lifetime-in the past. After a few seconds of examination, however, I recognised the figure-and it sent ice sliding through my stomach.

It was Pooja Naberrie', my niece.

Pooja had been named the Imperial Queen of Naboo.

The Emperor smiled at me, making it perfectly clear his intentions were to stick the vibroblade in one last time before he took me to task for my rebellion to him by sparing Ryoo.

A sick feeling hit me and I could feel myself wanting to curl up and die…

The new Queen was to pass judgement on Ryoo.

Surely not…?

I led the ceremony, the Emperor whispering the words to my ears via the Force. Pooja took the oaths required of her as Queen, except they were demanding loyalty and homage to the Emperor and to uphold the Imperial system. She proved herself a perfect lapdog, forcing me to consider how she had become Queen. She had excelled at the Academy, certainly, but the Emperor had no doubt played a hand in getting her to this position. It was a genius move, appointing another puppet that could be manipulated by various figures around her and keep the Empire running on Naboo.

I then heard one further order from the Emperor, and felt part of my soul die.

I could not…would not…but I could not resist…

"A test for the judgement of the new Queen. Bring in the Regicide prisoner!"

Two stormtroopers then led into the room a beaten and broken prisoner…Ryoo.

Her face was gaunt and pale, and her eyes stared at the floor…right up until the moment that she laid eyes on Pooja on the royal throne. At this, her eyes widened and she seemed to gain some inner strength.

"Pooja, please…" she whispered, barely able to speak.

What had they been doing to her…?

"Ryoo Amidala, formerly of the disgraced house Naberrie', you are hereby charged under Imperial justice of the crime of regicide-assassinating the reigning monarch of a planet. Your compatriots have all been sentenced, but your judgement has been left to me….and me alone."

"Pooja, please…spare me, sister…" she whispered, fearful of the troopers holding her in place.

"We may be blood relatives, but you are also a callous murderer who through such a vile act shows a despicable lack of respect for the new illustrious Imperial regime. You therefore need to find your place within the Imperial system, so I will not be executing you…"

She paused, taking some cues from the Black Queen.

"You will instead be sent to the Imperial Academy on Carida, to be trained as an Imperial Stormtrooper. Perhaps through the intensive training that they provide you can be rehabilitated, and serve the Emperor like I have chosen to. Good luck, sister…hopefully the Academy will straighten you out. You may take her, troopers…"

And with a wave of her gloved hand, Ryoo was dragged away, protesting to the last.

Pooja had sent her own sister to the Academy on Carida…to be trained as a Stormtrooper!? She was so deeply indoctrinated within the Imperial system that she had condemned her own sister-seventeen years old-to a fate worse than death, a fate that she may not even survive!? When Ryoo was dragged off, I realised with a sickening inevitability that my family was truly dead, and now even my nieces were lost to me.

Once the coronation was over, the Emperor made me swap outfits with Sabe', so that she could take her place as the Royal Inquisitor. Denied of even an opportunity to say goodbye to my best friend, who admittedly would be unlikely to respond as she had been too deeply conditioned, I then boarded my ship, with the Emperor accompanying me.

Aboard was the Emperor's Shadow armour.

"You will don that armour again and meet me at Coruscant. There, I will decide your fate…" he declared, before descending down the boarding ramp to await the shuttle that would take him back to the Star Destroyer that had brought him here, and would once again ferry him to Coruscant.

As I donned the armour, I thought about all that I had done. Amidst all of the atrocities that I had committed, I had managed to commit one act of resistance…I had refused to kill Ryoo when ordered, and I had instead allowed her to escape. While she had been punished by being packed off to become a Stormtrooper, where any resistance would be conditioned out of her, there was still my own fate to consider. What would my punishment be…?

Little did I realise that in the wake of the Black Queen's death, there was one more death to come…

The death of Padme' Amidala.