Zorzal's plans to combat the Republic were quickly made once he met with Kurasta, Mudra, and Helm, who were the three nobles captured alongside Count Formal during the expedition through the Gate. While Count Formal was simply happy to return to his daughter, the three of them didn't appreciate being released by the Republic as they felt humiliated by their incarceration. Suggestions of guerrilla warfare, use of human shields and/or hostages, and infiltration tactics to cause confusion among the clone troopers were discussed between Zorzal and the nobles. Zorzal agreed to all of them and tasked the three nobles to implement such plans and any others that can tip the balance of power in what he felt was now his personal war with the Republic. He felt insulted by Pina and his father's soft attitudes towards them since they had chosen to accept proceeding with the peace talks. He felt equally insulted to have been beaten down with the Republic's 'magic'. But, what he failed to understand was that Pina and his father understood the power of the Republic and that it should be handled carefully. While Pina does intend a genuine attempt at peace, his father simply wanted the Empire to bide its time to catch up. These concepts however, escaped Zorzal's mind. He simply wanted immediate action with overwhelmingly positive results. Unfortunately for him and his nobles, the plans they made weren't panning out as they had hoped.
At the base in Alnus, Hoot and Ray were dumbfounded when they would be approached by a trio of their 'men' at the entrance to the base. They were on guard duty at the entrance as part of the regular rotation of the duty roster when they weren't out exploring.
"Let me in, duplicated soldiers!" The leader of the trio ordered, puffing his chest to the two troopers.
"Uhh, no." Hoot stated as he remained confused at the leader's confidence in his blatant lie.
"Why not?!" The man demanded.
The two troopers looked at each other and began passing the responsibility around.
"Why don't you explain, Ray?" Hoot said as he motioned to his partner.
"Why not you, Hoot?" Ray implored upon his companion.
"No, no. I insist." Hoot said.
"Alright, fine. I'll explain it to this idiot." Ray conceded.
Clearing his throat, Ray began, "You want to know why we won't let you in? It's painfully obvious you guys are definitely not one of us."
"What?!" The man nervously called out, "We're definitely one of you! We're wearing your armor!"
"That's actually the point. Your armor's all wrong. For one thing, the white you're using isn't the right hue. And we have green markings in a distinctive pattern while your markings seemed to have been just lazily painted on. Two, your armor doesn't even cover you completely like ours. And three, your armor is clearly just Imperial armor painted white! We can also see your eyes! Can you see ours in our helmet? Also, where's your blasters? We never leave the base without one. But what you're holding instead...are those sticks painted black?! Are you a moron?!"
"W—Well…" The man pathetically tried to defend himself.
"Another thing is that you don't sound like us or even remotely look like us without armor. And you guys aren't even the same height as us or even to yourselves! We're identical clones!"
The man slowly began to back away as did his two companions.
"Oh!" Ray exclaimed, "And just one more final detail, impersonating one of us is a crime and you're all under arrest."
The men quickly bolted away from them. Their faith in their leaders' plan was shaken at how quickly it had fallen apart. They were convinced the clones wouldn't notice any of their imperfections since Zorzal and his friends gave the details for their armor and they insisted that clone troopers were hardly intelligent. They blindly believed that Zorzal and his friends couldn't be wrong. Ultimately, the blame was on the impersonators as well since they agreed to the plan despite never having met a clone trooper before.
Ray sighed, casually drew his blaster, set it to stun, and shot the running men. The two troopers picked up the leader and intended to throw him in the brig while calling for more troopers to pick up the other two.
While dragging the man along, Hoot casually joked, "Heh! Looks like we did let him in. Right into a cell!"
Ray could only roll his eyes.
The incident would be reported to Fordo who passed it along to Eila. Wanting to interrogate the leader of the trio herself given the nature of the crime, Eila stood in front of the man's cell and intended to know why he was pathetically trying to impersonate a clone trooper. The man remained defiant at her questioning.
"Hmph! I won't answer to Republic scum! Let alone a woman!"
Not wanting to waste time, Eila waved her arm, "You will tell me your purpose here."
"I will tell you my purpose here." The man parroted. His companions in the adjoining cells were shocked that their leader was about to casually give away secrets. They would try to snap him out of it but Eila also waved her hand at the two of them to sit down and keep quiet. They obediently followed.
"Why are you here?" She questioned.
"To cause confusion in the Republic ranks."
"Who ordered this?"
"Prince Zorzal."
Pursing her lips, Eila ordered the prison block troopers to interrogate the men separately if there was anything more to Zorzal's idiotic plan. When there were interrogated later on, they didn't really know anything much further. The Prince and the nobles sincerely believed their plan would work but were smart enough to not inform the men with more information on their other endeavors in case they were captured. She sighed heavily leaving the brig. Moving to her office, she explained the situation to Wrench.
"Looks like the Prince didn't accept the apology." She said, "He's trying to send infiltrators at us."
"What should we do, General?" Wrench asked.
Eila sighed in frustration, "Outside of accusing them directly or declaring open war on the Empire, we can only bolster our security."
"But," Wrench interjected, "We have been give the authority"
Eila nodded along and considered what she should do. She had forced the Republic's hand in apologizing after Vania's return. Tarkin and the other military leaders were fuming that she didn't bomb them immediately in retaliation but could do nothing since bombing the Empire after apologizing would break the relationship she was trying to mend. Although, she did find it strange that Tarkin was willing to clamor for retaliation for what was done to a Jedi given his previous history. Still, she did always feel that they needed to retaliate against the Empire, particularly Zorzal, in some way. It was helpful that Chancellor Palpatine ended up authorizing using any means to retaliate against any actions committed against them because of Vania. Although, Eila did feel conflicted in likely authorizing actions that could be seen as duplicitous to the overall image they put up for themselves. But since they were given the authority, they might as well use it.
"If I may General, we can infiltrate him right back. We do have the commandos in Akusho." Wrench suggested.
Eila's eyes brightened at the suggestion. It wasn't overtly violent and was more on intelligence gathering. The intelligence gained could be used as retaliation. "Yes! We can have the commandos spy on him. I'll expand their original orders. I want to know the Prince's routine and his plans for us. We can counter accordingly."
"Even with that, you still plan on going to the official opening of the peace talks coming in a week?"
She paused and answered, "Yeah, but Senator Chuchi is the only one who could make it. Senator Amidala had other obligations apparently. And I should be there since I screwed up our relationship with the Empire in the first place."
"What you did, wasn't completely unjustified."
She dodged his statement and quickly said, "It's also a chance to get close to the Prince so I can figure out what he's trying to do if the commandos can't find anything significant."
Wrench nodded along knowing she had sidestepped his words. For the banquet, he would be going with her anyway to the opening. He had intended to go with Senator Chuchi alone if Eila felt her presence would be problem. He would also be the only escort. To not cause distress to the Imperials who had not yet met them with a full team of troopers to the banquet, Wrench applied Pina's suggestion when Eila and RT3 first met the Emperor to keep the military escort small.
Wrench then wondered about something, "What of Captain Fordo and his team? You assigned them different mission. I'd would've thought you'd have them on point for something like this." He assumed she would use them as a back up team outside the banquet just in case.
She answered, "Yeah, I've given them another mission independent from this. Although, not a mission as you'd might think. Lelei came to me for a favor. She wants to go to a city called Rondel."
"Rondel?"
"Yeah. It's a city where all of Falmart's mages go to study and become recognized as masters. Lelei's hoping to become recognized as one given everything she's learned from us. It's purely an academic city."
"An academic city? Why need a fully armed escort for Ms. Lalena then?"
"She doesn't, but given that Rondel is far from here, bandits are still a possibility. They also can't take LAATs there since we haven't made contact with that city yet. Don't want to spook the locals. We also do owe her for cooperating with us since we got here. She really just wants company for the trip too."
"I understand, but what if Republic Command comes snooping and criticizes why we spent resources over her, despite her contributions to this campaign?"
"Even if it does come off as if we're throwing our resources for personal errands, it still falls under our mandate to explore. Rondel is a new city for us. I've also added that once their done in Rondel, Fordo and his team can go off to any point of interest on our list of places to explore."
He nodded to that reason and continued, "When do they leave?"
"Tomorrow. Rory, Tuka, and Yao will be going with them too."
Wrench gave a smirk, "Your servant's not joining us at the Imperial banquet?"
Eila scoffed, "She was never my servant and well, she has found someone else."
Ever since the incident with Giselle and the fire dragon, Yao now happily served Rory. She even changed a part of her name to show her devotion. She became convinced that Rory was a more legitimate god than Hardy. Although, unlike Eila, Rory was initially less than enthused by the sudden attention to her whims but was now enjoying the pampering.
Planning ahead however, Wrench wanted to know if she had one for the Prince. "What of the Prince?" He asked. "We know he's opposed to these talks that are going to start when the Emperor makes it official."
Eila meditated on it for a moment, "I know that he'll be opposed it. We should assume he'll try something."
"Do you have a plan for that, General?"
She thought on it, thinking of possible outcomes the Prince may take to stop the talks. Ultimately, she knew that the intelligence the commandos will gather will be essential to planning ahead.
Upon receiving the additional orders, the commandos quickly went to work to spy on the Prince in preparation for the banquet. Within a day they had already accomplished much of what the orders contained. Infiltration was an easy job, especially against people who have never encountered their tactics and that the commandos were already able to predict the guard rotations and patterns with little hassle. Now began the boring phase of watching the Prince through macrobinoculars to simply keep an eye on his day to day business. Two days into the surveillance, Korg yawned as he had been observing the Prince for four hours on his night shift. Watching through his scope on top of one of the buildings in Akusho with a clear line of sight on the Palace, Korg watched Zorzal go down on Tyuule again. Click came up from behind him and asked if there were any changes.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He sounded off bored. "Just him fucking the bunny lady again. This guy's routine hardly ever changes. He wakes up, has breakfast, sleeps with bunny lady, and has lunch. His routine after changes between going out for some exercize, lazing around or laughing it up with his buddies. His chats with them are usually about us or the 'cowards' around them. Then he has dinner, and sleeps with bunny lady again."
"Anything interesting with his talks to his friends come up?" Click asked.
"No. Still complaining about how their infiltrators failed, complaining about the upcoming peace talks, and how much the Republic sucks for being unfair with its 'magic'. He's basically on repeat with that crap."
"So whining."
"Yep. Just whining." After a moment, Korg said, "Although, it does concern me when they leave the Palace. They go to that Imperial stronghold that's far from here. It's too bad we can't get close since the landscape for that place is too open for us to hide and a probe droid flying around is bound to get noticed. We don't know what their doing there."
"Well, we can't have everything." Click said.
After a few moments of silence, Korg spoke up again, "Sir, what's the point of keeping tabs on the Prince? They're already in place. Jox and Rook's infiltration was perfect. Hitting them at night is too easy. And our contacts certainly helped placing the rest of them around the Palace because they were hired as workers for that upcoming gala. The Imperials didn't notice anything getting disturbed. We don't really need to keep watching this pig with them installed."
"I know, but the General wants to know if he's planning anything more than what they could catch. Those infiltrators, while they failed, is setting off alarms that the Prince is the greatest threat to peace in this place."
"Heh. Why not let him break the peace? It'll make our jobs easier when we blast them all."
"While I agree, the Republic is still spread too thin to deal with a larger war here. The continued hunt for General Grievous is taxing our forces more and more."
"Well, what about when we do find Grievous and finally kill him?"
"Maybe then. Maybe then we can support a larger war here."
"Heh. Can't wait."
With Senator Chuchi back with them again and still wearing a disguise, Pina welcomed them back to the Imperial Capital and sent them to their quarters in the Palace. Waiting for the banquet to start soon, Wrench fumbled around with a formal suit that had been brought from Coruscant for him to wear. To further ease the minds of the Imperial guests they would be joining, Wrench would forgo wearing his armor. He'd still have a blaster on his person just in case. Struggling to fix his collar, he would hear a knock on the door. Opening it, Eila would be there to greet him.
"Well?" She wondered, "Are you ready?"
"Oh! Well…" He gave a small grin concerning his unkempt self.
Eila looked at his current state and understood he would be unfamiliar with formal civilian clothing. She guessed that someone must have helped him put on that suit back then when they went to Coruscant before she called them all to their ship.
"Here, let me help you." She offered. She would go on to fix his collar, straighten his sleeves, and pat down his suit to remove wrinkles.
While she continued with her tasks, Wrench would feel strangely about her renewed appearance for the banquet. She was wearing formal and elegant Jedi robes which was jarring from her normal attire of Jedi combat robes with pieces of clone armor. She had also let her hair down in which he was surprised at how long and feathered it actually was extending down to her shoulders. He was too used to seeing it in a bun. It was an odd sight to him.
Feeling his gaze on her, Eila smiled back at him once she finished fixing his suit. "There. All finished." She declared.
"Y—Yes. Thank you, General."
Wanting to shift gears, she asked, "Remember the intel?"
"Yes. I'll keep an eye out."
They would leave together to join Senator Chuchi who was already waiting for them. They kept themselves between Chuchi to act as bodyguards.
Entering the bustling throne room full of guests, the three of them would be greeted by Pina who would tell them exactly what they should do when the moment comes. Quickly leaving the room, Pina re-entered, along with her father and brother to be introduced into the throne room with the proper fanfare. While they walked in, Chuchi would tap Eila and would call her attention to Zorzal.
"So that's Prince Zorzal?" Chuchi questioned as she never personally met the man. Only a close encounter that she was quickly escorted away from.
"Yes, Senator. He's the one opposed to all of this."
"I see. He doesn't look particularly dangerous. Rather dimwitted in fact. But he did capture one of you. Hmm, I guess he's smarter than he looks." She wondered.
Being reminded of Vania, Eila bitterly responded, "Yes, he did. But I believe you should just ignore him, Senator. Focus on Emperor Molt. He, at least, seems reasonable."
Nodding to her advice, the guests in attendance would send their applause to the procession of prisoners entering the room that were returned to them by the Republic. The Empire already made its first payment with a mix of money and material resources. While most of the former prisoners were quite happy to be home, there were a few, who shared the Prince's ideals, maintained a disappointed look on their faces. Like Zorzal and his friends, they continued to feel ashamed to have been captured and then returned on negotiations. They believed that the Empire was now at a disadvantage and were obsessed with regaining their honor.
Zorzal felt particularly resentful even more than before since he would explain his position to his father prior to the banquet that they should push for all out war. But his father rebuffed him in explaining that a leader should plan for a war well. But if things weren't going the way it should, then peace should be sought after because if a total defeat is allowed, then there would be no one to discuss the terms for peace. Zorzal merely scoffed at his father's words before they entered the throne room. There was a part of him that wished his father should just drop dead along with his philosophy.
Eventually, one of the Imperial guardsmen would announce Chuchi, Eila, and Wrench's presence. On cue from Pina's instructions on what to do, they approached and bowed to the Emperor.
"Greetings, your Majesty. On behalf of the Galactic Republic, we thank you for your audience." Chuchi politely said.
"Yes. Thank you for coming all this way, Senator Chuchi. I welcome you to the Saderan Empire." Molt responded.
While some people murmured about the use of the term, Galactic Republic; from the corner of his eye, Wrench would notice Zorzal glaring angrily at his father along with his buddies Kurasta, Mudra, and Helm. Looking around some more, he would notice Tyuule in the shadows of a corner. Completely isolated and also staring at the Emperor as well as Zorzal. She carried a smirk. He took it as a cue that things might soon get dicey.
After the introductions, the Emperor openly announced to his people that peace talks between the Empire and the Republic would begin. It would be met with thunderous applause with the objectors remaining silent. Once the festivities were underway, Pina finally sat down relieved that her wish to preserve the Empire had been accomplished. Taking her moment of peace before the actual work to finalize the paperwork with the Republic started, one of the announcers would take the time to explain that the Imperial military had been taking steps to combat the bandit groups terrorizing various villages. The people applauded their soldiers' efforts which Eila and Wrench both understood that the Empire needed some sort of victory after the pasting the Republic had given them previously. Eila had ultimately left the bandit problem to the Empire as it was a last minute condition Senator Moltose pushed to ensure his support.
As the Imperials patted themselves on the back for essentially dealing with rogue Imperial soldiers, Wrench would tap on Eila's shoulder. Giving each other a look and knowing what it meant, she gave a quick nod to him to execute.
Before leaving, he quickly asked, "General, did you…"
"I know. I already took it." She answered.
Satisfied, he excused himself from Eila and Chuchi's presence.
The Emperor eventually wanted to give a toast to his soldiers who had fought valiantly against the bandit hordes. Raising his goblet, Molt unknowingly drank in poison that Tyuule had slipped into his wine. From the shadows, Tyuule smiled at everyone's sudden panic when the Emperor quickly collapsed. A renewed ploy to push war. Although, she felt some frustration that the Emperor didn't drink it all. Pina called out to her father in vain while Zorzal looked initially shocked at the event that just took place. However, his face turned to sadistic glee as it quickly dawned on him that his succession had just occurred. Tyuule had been counting on his lust for the throne and war and he was playing the part well as he immediately declared his right.
"The Emperor has fallen ill! As his loyal son and next in line for the throne, I am now ruler of the Empire in my father's stead!" He declared.
Some of the guests looked at each other in confusion that his first statement wasn't to get help for his father immediately but some others in the crowd, who wanted to continue the war, roared in cheers to the Prince. They knew exactly where he stood.
"Guards! Take my father to his quarters! Call the doctor to tend to him!" Zorzal continued.
The guards quickly took Molt away. Pina was too distraught about her father to even realize that her brother had quickly seized power as she followed her father out of the room.
Chuchi bowed her head in disappointment at the Emperor's collapse and Zorzal's declaration. She understood exactly what his rule would mean. He could easily declare them enemies of the state. She knew he would hardly respect diplomatic immunity. Although, before she could urge Eila to follow her out despite having been informed of this eventuality, Eila shook her head.
"Senator, please follow Princess Pina." She said.
"W—What? What about you? You know what the Prince can do now." Chuchi protested.
"It's alright, Senator. I'll be fine. It's all part of what I explained to you. But please, go with the Princess. She can still protect you."
Quickly sneaking her way to the door, Chuchi looked back at Eila. She felt worried over the plan but reluctantly left to follow Pina. All alone, Eila wearily sighed knowing what was coming. Surely enough, Zorzal made his claim.
"As my first act as your new Emperor, I am overturning my father's decision to negotiate with the Republic!"
His words would be met with more confusion from some of the guests in attendance while the others were just waiting in glee for him to declare more of what they wanted to hear.
"The Empire is weak right now! After only a few minor defeats, the Senate has given up on fighting and poisoned the mind of my father into accepting peace! Now it looks to me that these spineless cowards have literally poisoned my father to ensure their way!"
Eila almost snorted at his baseless claim about the poisoning of his father. Still, the pro-war crowd growled in anger, having taken the Prince's words at face value.
"As such!" Zorzal continued, "I am placing the Republic's ambassadors under arrest!" He pointed directly at Eila.
While Zorzal was confused at where the other two went, he motioned to the guards to apprehend Eila. Even though some of the Imperial guardsmen held their own personal doubts about the Prince, they ultimately obeyed. Surrounding her and taking hold of Eila by the arms, Mudra, Kurasta, and Helm approached. Helm fumbled around her robes before finally grabbing what he wanted.
Pulling out her lightsaber, Helm mocked her while he waved it in front of her face, "Not so powerful now, are you?"
Eila offered no resistance. Looking around, she knew starting a fight near civilians would be dangerous anyway.
No longer tolerating the spectacle, Senator Moltose approached Zorzal, along with a number of pro-peace Senators who had attended.
"Pri—Emperor! You cannot do this! The Republic's ambassadors have diplomatic immunity!" Senator Moltose protested.
Zorzal smiled smugly, "As Emperor, I can revoke it." The unlimited political power an Emperor carried reared its ugly side to his benefit.
"This is absurd! It goes against our conventions when dealing with other nations and the Senate will never approve of this ludicrous action!"
"Oh! You mean the same Senate that was about to sign away the Empire's dignity for peace?! You've chosen the wrong side, Senator! And my father had been so fond of you. Guards! Arrest the lot of them! They've committed treason against the Empire by conspiring with the Republic!" Zorzal motioned to all of the pro-peace Senators. He continued to smile smugly that all of his enemies had been corralled into a single room, ready to be arrested.
The crowd was still confused at the situation but a few openly opposed the arrests given that those who were opposing were the wives of the Senators being arrested. They would promptly be apprehended along with their husbands. Any who had chosen to defy Zorzal were quickly escorted out to the dungeons. The remaining crowd who were still dumbfounded over what had just transpired would be snapped out of it when Zorzal called to them.
"Enjoy yourselves!" He called. "This banquet is now a celebration of my coronation!"
The next day, Pina looked down at the courtyard of the Palace from her father's room while a doctor continued to assess him. She watched her brother give a rousing speech to suppress the few remaining ardent pro-peace Senators who had escaped his clutches and continue the war with the Republic. There were some pro-peace Senators in attendance who quickly switched sides knowing the price for defiance. The sudden and very public execution of Senator Moltose and his family who chose to die with him in defiance, along with a few other Senators who refused to switch, convinced them of that. Treason quickly became an overused term. The suppression of the few pro-peace Senators Zorzal could find in his few short hours as Emperor progressed swiftly as he unwittingly used the system his father had set up when hints of defeatism came up in the Senate during their first encounters with the Republic. Although, his father had intended the Oprichnina to be used as a last resort, not the first option to dissuade dissent.
Continuing to watch Zorzal make grandiose promises in crushing the Republic and improving the state of the Empire, Pina had already tried to get her other brother, Diablo, to side with her but he ran away wanting to bring in the other nations of Falmart to stop Zorzal. She shook her head, not agreeing to his reasoning. Bringing in the other nations would simply split the Empire to pieces if they took down Zorzal. The other nations wouldn't be able to resist taking a piece of the Empire as compensation for their involvement. She saw them as more opportunistic than the Republic.
Seeing his cheering supporters among the military, the pro-war Senators, and mislead masses, Pina turned away in disgust and left the room. She would see Grey standing by a pillar outside, waiting for her to come to him. Moving to him, Grey spoke first, "We've managed to sneak Senator Chuchi to the Jade Palace along with Senator Tiberius and the Tyueli family. They were fortunate to act quickly to the news especially with the secret police on their heels. Our knights now guard them at the Jade Palace and the new Emperor and his secret police are still unaware of their whereabouts."
Nodding, Pina questioned, "Did you find Commander Wrench?"
"I'm sorry, Princess. We haven't found him. If the Imperial guardsmen had caught sight of him or the Oprichnina captured him, the Emperor would either have the whole Palace on alert or bragged about it. He's just disappeared."
Contemplating on where Wrench could have gone, Pina questioned further, "What of General Deova? Has she escaped her cell?"
"Surprisingly, no. She has made no attempts at escape."
Pina was confused. She knew what kind of abilities Eila had. They would have assured an easy escape. But thinking on it now, she also realized that there wasn't a bigger fuss by Eila when she was arrested. Pina wondered if they were planning something. Grey would snap her out of her thoughts as he would question on what was to be done next.
"Keep searching for Commander Wrench with our knights." She ordered. "But try not to draw attention to yourselves. I'm sure that the General and Commander are planning something about this but we should still be there just in case to protect them from my brother."
"And what are we truly going to do if your brother tries to force the General and Commander from us when that moment arrives? Or worse yet, if he learns of Senator Chuchi's and the pro-peace faction's location?"
Not hesitating, she declared, "Then defend them with your lives. Their survival means the Empire's survival."
After a moment of silence, Grey asked a hard question, "Do you wish a civil war, Princess?"
Pina didn't answer it but simply repeated her order to continue the search. Bowing to her order, Grey quickly left. Feeling compelled to confront her brother, she stormed off to see him once he was finished with his speech.
In his quarters, Zorzal sat on an armchair while Tyuule placed a drink on the table in front of him. He was feeling rather proud of himself that events had turned his way. Tyuule maintained a stoic expression but knew what he was thinking. She silently mocked him, thinking of him as a pathetic little boy who believes himself to be a man while also feeling slightly resentful that he was taking credit for her work when she planted the ideas in him and ensured the situation. But she knew to keep the resentment low since secretly pushing the Empire to its own destruction and tricking people into believing she played no part required silence. A knock on his door would catch his attention and Pina walked in looking frustrated.
"Brother!" She said, "Why overturn father's decision?! Why arrest General Deova and the Senators?!"
Zorzal answered with a smile on his face, "I overturned father's decision because those Senators have been bribed by the Republic."
She knew his accusation was bogus but she tried to reason with it anyway. "Bribed?!" She yelled. "Do you even have proof of that?!"
"Oh, I'm sure my three new Generals," He motioned to Helm, Kurasta, and Mudra, "Will find proof. Besides, I already know they were making decisions behind father's back anyway. Why else would they try to convince father to accept peace? And the Republic's General, well, she is legally an enemy combatant."
"That's ridiculous! She's acting as a diplomatic liaison, not as a combatant! She has immunity!"
"Which I have the authority to revoke it because I believe her to be a dangerous enemy that must detained immediately. I sure you remember how dangerous she is." He lightly touched his nose.
Pina cringed at the memory but saw that it flew over his head that he didn't find it strange Eila simply accepted her imprisonment.
Zorzal continued, "Do remember dear sister that I am Emperor now. I make the decisions to protect our nation." He waited for his words to sink in. Once he felt satisfied, he went on, "Oh, that reminds me, why don't we bring in our esteemed guest."
With a snap of his fingers, the guards came in with their prisoner. Pina would be shocked when a mix of Imperial guardsmen and Oprichnina brought in Eila in chains and stripped down to the apparel a prisoner of the Empire is expected to wear.
"Brother, what the hell is this?!" She exclaimed.
"Assurance and insurance. And I don't want her to miss out on how we will destroy her forces."
Once her shock faded, Pina felt like rolling her eyes to her brother's second statement. She knew exactly why he had Eila brought into the room. It was just to gloat.
"Now," He called to his three Generals, "Tell my dear sister and the prisoner how we will face the Republic and protect the Empire."
"Of course, your Majesty." Helm responded. "We know that the Republic is too strong to face directly in battle so we've devised more indirect means of fighting them."
"Oh! How so?" Zorzal said, feigning ignorance.
"We'll round up various non-human and human mercenaries to attack settlements near Alnus. This will pull the Republic's attention away from us while we ready our forces to attack."
"Oh! But won't the Republic conclude we're attacking them by sending them these pawns?"
"They won't suspect it your Majesty. The Republic knows that there are still bandits around. We can simply point the blame at that group if they ask. Besides, the Republic is now too busy restoring some of the land that was scorched by us in our effort to slow them down."
"Splendid! But what of public opinion in those settlements near the Republic? How should we deal with it?"
"While our infiltrators have failed, we can still cause confusion. Having some mercenaries attack the settlements in white armor, particularly at night when it's hard to recognize details, can still convince the uneducated droves to blame the Republic. Their reputation will fall."
"Excellent! Do you have more?"
"Yes, your Majesty. Once we have engaged the Republic with our own forces, we should use civilians as shields to keep them off balance. The Republic is too soft to do what is necessary for victory if we have them given all the attention they gave to the slave they stole from you and this ridiculous 'do-gooder' look they've mislead the people into." Helm concluded.
"Wonderful! Well, what do you think, dear sister?" Zorzal said turning to her.
Pina merely gritted her teeth. She knew the Republic wouldn't be foolish enough to fall for Zorzal's schemes concerning the attacks on any settlements. They would easily have proof they weren't behind the attacks especially since they would only really need Rory to speak once in their favor and her brother's plan would fall apart in an instant in the eyes of the common people. It was also brazenly dishonorable to use human shields as it would be an appalling prospect to anyone in the Empire if they knew this part of his plan, even if they were to use slaves or the unwanted. Using this tactic would ensure that no one should ever trust the Empire and could likely induce inhumane violence against their soldiers if they were captured in war or, the gods forbid, use the Empire's citizens as shields in retaliation.
While feeling mortified on the path her brother was about to take the Empire, she continued to be dumbfounded by Eila's lack of action. She simply sat there, silent, and looking almost bored to the entire situation.
Seeing that his sister and his prisoner weren't answering, Zorzal moved on, "Despite what you may be thinking sister, we will ensure that the Republic falls for our plans. We must use these less than ideal methods against such a dishonorable enemy."
While Pina felt like screaming at Zorzal for his hypocrisy in using the word, 'dishonoroble', he motioned to Tyuule to give Eila a drink.
Getting up and taking the drink she had placed down earlier, she approached Eila. "Keep her still." Tyuule ordered to the guards.
With the guards holding her in place, Tyuule grasped her face and began forcing a liquid down her throat. She gagged but Tyuule persisted in making sure it was completely consumed. Once she felt satisfied that Eila had drank it all, she put a crystal around her neck and the guards forced her into the armchair opposite of Zorzal.
"What did you give her?!" Pina questioned in horror.
"A drink. One that bends the mind. Now," Zorzal said while waving the comlink he had taken from Eila, "I believe this is some sort of communication machine." He offered it to Eila, "Contact the people who were with you, General. Tell them to show themselves. And after, contact your base and tell them everything's fine."
Pina observed Eila's expression. She was stone faced and did not hesitate in taking the comlink from him. She then tapped the comlink but did not speak. Noticing a delay, Zorzal was about to demand why she was hesistating until they all heard the sound of a blaster going off and bodies dropping to the floor. Bursting into the room, Wrench, with his DC-17 drawn and still in the suit he wore to the banquet, came into the room.
"Commander!" Pina shouted.
Not addressing her call, Wrench moved into a position that gave him the advantage to engage any of the occupants in the room.
"Well, Prince Zorzal," Wrench said, "It seems you've been quite busy."
Unnerved that his guards outside his room weren't able to stop one man, he managed to say, "That's Emperor, simpleton!"
"Princess," He finally acknowledged Pina, "I'm sure you bore witness to all of the Prince's misdeeds."
Pina slowly nodded but questioned, "H—How did you know we'd be here?"
"Let's just say, I received the cue."
While Pina slowly realized what his 'cue' was, Zorzal made his boast to Wrench as he quickly grabbed Eila and intended to use her as a shield.
"Ha! You can't attack me! Not while I hold your General hostage!" He then thought of a 'brilliant' idea, "In fact, attack him General! Use your abilities to kill him!" Zorzal pushed Eila forward.
Wrench was hardly fazed by Zorzal's command. He simply maintained his posture and looked at Eila who stared right back at him. Growing impatient, Zorzal urged her to attack.
"Go! Go, bitch! Attack already!"
Seeing that she wasn't acting on his demand, Zorzal drew his sword and threatened to follow through with a swing on her neck.
"Move, you bitch!" He bellowed. Tyuule began shifting uncomfortably at why her contingency wasn't working. Still receiving no reaction, his patience finally wore down and he swung his sword intending to decapitate Eila.
"S—Sto—" Pina attempted to shout as time for her slowed in seeing her brother's sword approach Eila's neck.
But she would halt mid-shout when the blade stopped before the deadly strike. He would try to force the blade to continue but it remained suspended. He let go of the sword but it also remained in the air. It soon dawned on him why it stopped. The Imperials in the room would watch in amazement when the metal blade began to collapse in on itself. Bending and contorting to an unknown force, the blade fell to the ground like a crumpled sheet of paper. Zorzal nervously backed away and his Generals and guards drew their weapons.
Turning to face him, Eila casually responded, "I'm sorry 'Emperor', but I'm afraid I can't do that."
While Zorzal had a mix of fear and anger on his face, Tyuule was bewildered that the potion she gave had completely failed. She began silently cursing Bouro that both the potion and crystal he had always provided for persons that intrigued her interest was totally ineffective at such a crucial moment.
Trying to keep his anger above his fear, Zorzal boasted, "Ha! That stuff I gave might not have worked but you're still in chains and you and you're lapdog," He pointed at Wrench, "You're both alone, against all of us!"
Eila conceded to his point. She was still in chains, their were at least twelve guards including the Generals in the room that were a threat, and they were at least smart enough to keep her lightsaber in a different room. But she and Wrench were hardly rattled by Zorzal's threat as Wrench would call out, "That's actually wrong. Isn't that right, General?"
"Yeah, it is."
On cue, the clone commandos burst through the windows of the Prince's room. While initially shocked that a group of large, faceless, armored men just barged in, Zorzal's Generals and guards quickly changed their priorities and charged at the towering commandos. Helm, Kurasta, and Mudra had been given a second chance when they were released. The commandos wouldn't give them a third as they effortlessly blasted the charging men. Helm was the only one who managed to get close to Click to try to swing his sword despite having some holes in him. But he quickly met his end when Click grabbed his sword arm and then stabbed Helm in the throat with his retractable vibroblade from his knuckle plate. Casually tossing Helm's corpse aside, only Zorzal and Tyuule remained. Zorzal's smugness quickly fell apart as he was now a nervous wreck who began to back away to the secondary exit of his room.
Edging closer to the exit, he urged his remaining ally, "C—Come, Tyuule! D—Defend your Emperor!"
His obvious distress would be furthered, as Tyuule stood frozen at everything that just happened. She blankly stared at Eila, the commandos, and Wrench advancing on Zorzal as well as looking at the bodies of the dead Imperials that were easily killed. In her view, Zorzal was about to get what was coming to him given that he was personally responsible for the destruction of her people and the smearing of her reputation. But the Empire was still intact which frustrated her. She didn't know whether to be happy or upset at what she believed to be the upcoming and deadly results. Everything was happening too quickly for her to scheme a way out.
Pina was likewise overwhelmed at the events transpiring before her. She was relieved to have anticipated that Eila and Wrench would try something to counter her brother but she was equally terrified and overwhelmed at the sight of the clone commandos. They just didn't look like the clones she had met before. Although, she quickly began thinking of a way to stop Zorzal without Eila and her comrades proceeding with an action that she feared they would take.
Seeing that he has lost his final ally, Zorzal quickened his steps to the exit but would stop when Pina would try to talk him back.
"Brother," She softly began, "End this. Surrender now and you will see. Peace will make us a better Empire."
"P—Peace? Peace?!" He yelled with some incoherent babbling, "Peace is a lie! Y—You'll see, dear sister! You're far too trusting of them! Despite all their good intentions, they will turn on us! They will tear the Empire asunder! The Empire…the Empire that has stood for over 600 years! You will see, sister! YOU WILL SEE!"
Zorzal finally made it to the exit but once he turned the knob and tried to pull the door open, it refused. Panic set in as he furiously pulled at the door to the point the knob gave way and he fell to the floor with it in his hand. Quickly tossing it aside, he fiercely pulled at the hole the knob once occupied. Giving up, he turned to see Eila with her restrained hands outstretched. She was holding the door closed.
Angrily gritting his teeth, he felt he had nothing left to lose. Quickly turning to his sword, he at least wanted to strike back. He at least wanted to hurt Eila in someway. It didn't matter if he got her or the clones. It didn't matter if it killed them or only injured them. He just wanted to commit a final act of spite against the Republic. Bursting into a charge, everything seemed to slow down again as Pina called out to her brother to stop. The commandos aimed their blasters to stun him. Eila prepared to restrain him with the Force. But they would all be beaten at the draw when it would be Wrench who shot first. A stun bolt struck him and he fumbled forward into the ground unconscious.
Pina placed her hand over her mouth as tears began falling. She sincerely believed they had just killed him as she didn't know their weapons could stun. Tyuule would be the same as she snapped out of her frozen state to see the Prince collapsed on the ground. She would fall to her knees to freeze again as her plans had come to an incomplete end. She believed the man she had manipulated into position was dead. But she found it more upsetting that he hadn't even been able to accomplish any of her goals that would literally destroy the Empire from within.
"By the gods, you killed him!" Pina exclaimed. But she would be surprised when Eila and the clones looked at her with confusion.
Eila shook her head, "He's only stunned."
"S—Stunned?"
"Yes. He should wake up again in a few hours."
Tyuule's ears visibly twitched at the news. Seeing an opportunity, she quickly tried to scheme a way out of her situation. Maybe feigning innocence to the whole ordeal. But before she could make a move she was casually stunned by Click.
Pina was astonished by the action, "W—Why stun her?!"
Eila answered, "You'll know when we present the evidence."
Once her shock faded, Pina would order a new group of guards who eventually arrived to the incident to take Zorzal and Tyuule into custody. The new guards would be shocked at another sudden regime change but they obediently followed Pina's command along with not antagonizing Eila and the clones as they were quick to judge that they were involved in what the guards thought was a murder. Once Pina explained that the two were only stunned to the guards, the commandos and Wrench would insist on Eila going back to base for a medical examination.
Returning to the base with them for answers to their actions, Pina had been able to cope with everything that had just transpired even though the shock of it still lingered. Sitting next to Eila's bed in the medical ward, she would listen to Eila's explanation that they had planned for Zorzal to try to usurp power to block the peace talks.
"Doctor, could please give us the room." Eila said to the doctor who had been monitoring her condition. Once alone, she started again, "Princess, we knew Prince Zorzal would try to block the talks in some way so we had the Palace bugged."
"Bugged?"
"I ordered the commandos to place recording devices in various areas of interest. It was to gain intelligence on your brother's intentions for us and needless to say, it did pay off."
Pina felt slightly insulted, "Spying? W—Why did you not inform of this? I know who my brother is. I could have helped you gather that intelligence instead if you asked. The importance of these talks to succeed was paramount to me."
While Eila was surprised that Pina was eager to spy on her brother, she responded, "Well, we didn't inform you because you might refuse. We guessed you would be offended to such an action. Us asking you to let us spy on you? That would be ridiculous wouldn't it? Besides, even if you were willing, knowing that we would be spying on your brother would put you in an awkward position. There's also the chance that if you had chosen to spy on your brother for us, it could have been discovered."
Pina sulked, "Well, I certainly feel that I've been placed in an awkward position anyway."
Eila turned away for a moment but eventually responded, "I'm sorry. But you're brother just really couldn't be in a position of power. It would've been dangerous…for all of us."
Sighing, Pina understood the sentiment. Her brother was just too eager for war without knowing the actual price behind it. But, she grew curious on the intelligence they had gathered, "So…what did you learn from my brother? You implied you had evidence against Tyuule as well."
Taking a moment to shift, she responded, "Not much actually from your brother. All your brother ever did was complain about the talks and the Republic. He was also quite fond of disparaging you, your father, and the Imperial Senate that you were all too soft in dealing with us. He planned and sent infiltrators at us. More than once did he try. But, we caught them instantly because I think your brother and his friends, the Generals he called them, don't really know or care to know much about us, even though his Generals had already fought against us before. They did discuss other plans. Most of them he ranted off earlier during his talk with you in how he was going to deal with us."
Pina clicked her tongue. She saw that even with all the evidence before him of the Republic's might, Zorzal refused to consider more peaceful alternatives. Although, she began to wonder how Tyuule factored into the situation. Asking the question, she would be asked how well she knew Tyuule.
"How well did I know her? I don't really know much about her except that she's my brother's personal slave after the war against the warrior bunnies and that she was their Queen who my brother said betrayed her people." Pina answered.
"I see. Well, it was she who poisoned your father."
She was surprised, "W—What?! Can you show me the proof of that?"
Pulling out a holoprojector, "The commandos got curious why Zorzal went down to the dungeons at times so they put a recording device there. But it was ultimately just him 'relieving' himself with Tyuule. What is interesting is when Tyuule was alone. " Eila played the recording on the holoprojector.
Showing a corridor of the dungeon, Pina could distinctly hear Tyuule speaking to someone,
'Do you have it ready, Bouro?'
'Yes. I was able to get it on short notice. Drinking enough of this should kill the Emperor outright. Then that fool of a Prince can succeed him. But how will you get the Emperor to drink it?'
'That peace talk banquet with the Republic is coming. I know those Imperial fools can't resist drinking themselves stupid to those idiotic toasts. I already know they'll be congratulating themselves on dealing with the bandits when the bandits used to be Imperials anyway.'
'Heheheh! Then when that oaf takes the throne, he won't be able to resist declaring war against the Republic. He'll likely arrest the attending ambassadors on the spot when it happens.'
'Yes. Then the Empire will fall for its hubris when the Republic comes in force and my revenge will be complete.'
Shutting off the holoprojector, Eila continued, "There are other recordings. Some are concerning me and how to deal with my abilities. Others are how to spur more and more of your citizens into war. She intended to bring the Empire together through Zorzal and then use us to destroy it in retaliation when Zorzal decided to openly oppose us."
Pina remained wide eyed. This incident was another example that the Empire was truly unloved or merely tolerated. The maid and the people of Italica, Lord Duran and the Army of Unified Kingdoms, Tyuule and likely every slave the Empire ever took were all people who resented them in one way or the other, even in spite of what she thought was friendship. Her education in her younger years that the Empire's purpose was spreading civilization across the untamed continent was shaping up to have just been a waste of time. They just made enemies biding their time rather than friends. She was considering that this was the Empire's punishment from the gods. The gods invited a superior force that goads everyone who hates the Empire to cheer its downfall.
'Too big for their own good.' Eila thought as she quietly read Pina's thoughts and remembered her conversation with Giselle.
Eventually, Pina would ask other questions on why Eila and the clones took the actions they did. Eila would emphasize that she allowed herself to be used as a punching bag to expose Zorzal further knowing that he wouldn't be able to resist bragging about his plans to destroy the Republic to her. It also helped that everyone conspiring against the Republic and inadvertently the Empire, were all in the same room ready to be taken down. Soon, Pina fretted over how to announce dethroning Zorzal. She felt unfortunate to have been thrust into being the leader of the Empire since her father was still unwell. She entertained the idea that Zorzal handed over power willingly and turned himself in for the wrongful arrests but Eila warned against it.
"His supporters are still out there. They'll never believe that." She advised.
"Then what should I do? I can't exactly tell the truth." Pina said.
She thought on it but answered, "Why not?"
"What?"
"Why not tell your people? Your history is filled with Emperors who usually usurped power from the previous one. Zorzal's coup is just another footnote in an already long list. Besides, it can be legitimately reasoned that your brother was instead imprisoned because he went against your father's wishes."
"But my father—"
"May be in a coma but he is still alive which means he's still technically Emperor." She paused, "The pro-peace Senators agree that for your brother to immediately flip your father's decision as soon as he fell ill was both unwise, politically destabilizing, and awfully convenient to his goals. If Zorzal had been allowed to continue, he would have led your Empire to civil war given the differences of opinion between your Senators."
"Then what of his supporters? They'll never accept me as their ruler."
"They're going to have to. At least until your father gets back on his feet. They'll also find it hard to find support from neutral parties to try another coup given all the information we've gathered. Plus, Tyuule deliberately poisoned your father to put Zorzal in a position to assume power and continue the war. I'm sure plenty of people in the Empire will really not like that detail. It'll make them think they were duped."
"His supporters could argue that my brother knew nothing of Tyuule's actions."
"Then that would show his incompetence that he didn't even know what his aide was doing for him." She saw that Pina was still worried about another coup, "Look, with the evidence we've gathered, you can probably counter his supporters attempts to discredit you. But even if you can't, remember that you're the leader now until your father is better. You can flex your power all you like since you dealing with Zorzal's supporters is an internal issue. It's not like before. We only got involved because your brother threatened the peace we were trying to create and his blatant intention to attack us. The direction the Empire is headed to now, is up to you."
Pina nodded but then questioned, "What about your involvement? If I'm going to tell my people the truth, I'll have to tell them that you're a part of all this."
She thought on it, wondered about potential repercussions, and answered, "You could leave us out. You could say that you led the coup with our assistance." Pina shifted uncomfortably at the suggestion. She continued, "But if you insist on the full story, I don't have an answer for you if you do that. There's going to be consequences for either path you take. I can only say that you must have confidence in yourself if you want to pass through all of this."
Pina remained sullen but nodded. She would ask next if there was any way to deal with her father's affliction. Eila would tell her that the base doctor is willing to join her upon her return to the Imperial Capital to assess a treatment for her father. Pina felt relieved at the news. She didn't quite feel ready to be Emperor just yet for an extended period.
"Oh!" Pina called out as she remembered. "What of your recording devices? While the information you've gathered will be useful, I must as—"
"We'll remove them." Eila interrupted, "You can be there with the commandos when they do to make sure. Those devices have fulfilled their role."
Pina intently observed her expression. It was sincere. She was both relieved and perplexed that Eila would easily get rid of an advantage like that. But then again, the Republic already has plenty of advantages over them. She took this as a small blessing. Seeing that she no longer had more questions, she would take her leave and follow a trooper to escort her to a LAAT that would bring her back to the Imperial Capital.
Once she was gone, Wrench would check on Eila. Entering her room, Wrench could see that she was still awake, staring out the window as the Princess' LAAT left, and twirling the crystal she had been given on her fingertips.
"General," He said as he sat next to her bed. Removing his helmet, he asked, "How do you feel?"
"A little strange but the doctor said the feeling will pass." She pocketed the crystal, "He told me I should be fit to return to duty tomorrow."
"That's good." After a pause, "But, how did you feel at the time, General? The doctor did a good job coming up with a defense, but the crystal. That's the thing I'm sure influenced General Solon the most. We never talked about how you were going to resist that. It seems the crystals around here aren't so friendly."
"I called the Jedi Temple on how to handle that part privately. The healers advised me on what to do after they examined Vania."
"Would it be too much if I ask what that is, General?"
"Yes." She said straight-faced. The healers had advised her to focus on one thing that she had absolute trust in when given the potion and crystal in tandem. They explained that focusing on that one thing would overcome any illusions or suggestions the crystal helped amplify. She didn't want to admit what she focused on.
Not pressing further, he continued again, "How should we proceed now?"
Thinking for a moment, she answered, "We continue like before. We settle refugees. We help in restoring the lands scorched by the Empire. And we continue to explore what this world has to offer."
Wrench accepted the statement but felt uneasy with another issue. "If I may, General," He waited for Eila's nod, "Shouldn't we keep the recording devices around? I know we planned to remove them after this operation because we would have had to reveal them to the Princess for her to understand where we got our intel, but I'm sure the Prince's supporters are still there. We should have kept them secret. We'll need to know what their up to."
She thought on his words. Her decision to remove them was a split decision especially between Republic Command and the Jedi Order. She certainly understood that the Prince's capture would force his supporters to conceal themselves. They'd mistakenly reveal themselves not knowing that there's a recording device documenting their moves if they were kept secret. But she agreed with the Order's assessment that if they were going to keep any sort of trust with the Empire, especially after this, they were going to have to remove them. She understood that Pina would keep trusting them, but other Imperials were unlikely to analyze their actions positively.
"The order to remove them stands. Besides, it's a weight off our shoulders now that Zorzal's gone."
"But not out." Wrench said with an underlying tone of regret.
She didn't need to read his thoughts on what he felt he should have done when he had his blaster pointed at Zorzal. She certainly felt it too.
"I know." She soberly responded. "But we didn't want to make a martyr out of him."
"But, even in prison, he can still—"
"I know. Either way we could have handled this, there's going to be a consequence."
Author's Note: Finally done with this one. I've decided to keep Zorzal alive…for now.
To address a previous grievance, I wrote that Vania has spent almost all of the war on a ship. She's not a frontline Jedi. Also, she wasn't hit by just one horse, she was hit with a stampede. Besides, getting hit by even just one large charging animal is no joke.
Moving on, this is unfortunately the last chapter in a long while. Had a look over my courses for this coming year and there's just too much reading and writing I have to do that's going to consume all of my time. Sorry!