Disclaimer:
George Lucas = owner of Star Wars
Me = Bored teenager with way too much time on my hands.
See the difference? 'Nuff said.
AN: Thanks for reviewing, Anorithil!
*****
CHAPTER FIVE
"He escaped?!" Prime Minister Darmick demanded.
"Yes, Sir, the older Jedi evaded my troops," Captain Sorro said.
"What of the other one? The one that killed the Gripfang," asked Darmick.
"He is dead. His corpse is being shipped to Jadda as we speak," said Sorro.
"Good. At least you did one thing right. Do not tell another soul of the Jedi with the exception of your own men," the Prime Minister ordered.
"Yes, Sir. What about the one that escaped?" asked Sorro.
"Find him immediately. Tear this city to pieces if you need to, but find that Jedi! We cannot allow him to meet with the monarchs and the Atheist leader or the Crixxian religion will be destroyed!" Darmick cried.
"Of course Sir. I will personally see to it myself," Sorro said.
"Good. Do not fail me, Captain Sorro. I do not think the gods will be as gracious as I have been," Darmick threateningly said, switching off his comlink.
Darmick was furious, but he did a very good job of not letting it show.
He glanced at his chronometer. It was time for his daily meeting with the king and queen.
"Come, Nati," he said.
She obediently followed him down the hallway, and they entered the throne room of the palace.
To his surprise, Darmick found not only King Anjos and Queen Leckura, but also their son Talno. Talno was a tall boy of nineteen who had his father's flaming hair and his mother's soft brown eyes. Usually he was busy with his tutor or training to become a soldier to fight for the Crixxian cause during Darmick's meetings with the royal family.
"Is there any news of the Jedi?" Queen Leckura hopefully asked.
"No, My Lady, I am sorry," Darmick said, doing a very good job of pretending to sound concerned.
"I expected just as much. Is there anything we should be informed of that pertains to the battles outside the palace walls?" asked Anjos.
"Well, two Atheist spies were executed in the barracks," Darmick offered.
"Executed? Why was I not informed of this?" demanded King Anjos.
"I was not informed of it either, My Lord," Darmick lied. "I was just told before I came here. There was a man and a boy."
"Prime Minister, did they have anything unusual?" asked Queen Leckura.
"Hmm… Some of the guards told me they had lightsabers," said the Prime Minister.
The queen gasped, and her hand flew to her mouth.
"Prime Minister, your men executed the two Jedi sent to help us resolve this conflict!" cried Queen Leckura.
"Oh, my goodness! I fear you are right, You Highness!" cried Prime Minister Darmick, feigning surprise.
"Prime Minister, I have seen incompetence before, but never like this!" King Anjos shouted.
"My Lord, I was not informed of the executions until a few minutes ago! I assure you, I had no idea!" Darmick cried in defense.
"Since you have never done anything so incredibly imbecilic in your years serving as Prime Minister, I shall believe you when you say that you were not involved in this. But you had better punish whoever was," snapped King Anjos.
"Of course, Your Majesty! I promise you, heads will roll when I am through with the ones who did this atrocious act!" the Prime Minister said, still lying.
"Good. If Prince Talno has nothing to add, you are dismissed," said King Anjos.
Nati and Darmick turned to walk away, but heard Talno's voice behind them.
"Actually, Father, I do," he said.
Darmick stopped and turned back around. It was seldom that the prince said anything even when he was present.
"Proceed, Talno," King Anjos bade his son.
"The squadron that I am part of is eager to kill Atheists, they tell me. The rest of the troops feel the same. If you would simply allow us, we could exterminate every Atheist on this planet," said Talno.
"No, my son. Not yet. I will not let you progress this war any more than it all ready has been," Anjos said.
"But Father, can't you see this is for the good of the planet?" asked Talno.
"No, Talno. This will only destroy our beautiful Crixxin more," Anjos firmly said.
"Father, we have been getting extensive reports of those filthy Atheists revolting in other cites. Varil, Rimma, and Delbron alone have had more than twenty in the past month. We have the power and the numbers to easily wipe them all out," Talno argued.
Darmick had to admit that for such a brat, the prince could occasionally put up a good fight even if he had no hope of winning it.
"I will not allow this situation to get any more bloody than it all ready is," Anjos firmly said.
Talno opened his mouth to say more, but the king abruptly cut him off. "Not another word on the subject. The answer is no."
"Your Majesty, the prince has a good point. I am sure the gods would wish for us to dispose of all Atheists," said the Prime Minister.
"I am sure they would. But I do not. There has been enough suffering," Anjos said.
As Darmick began to speak, King Anjos raised his hand. "No. I have spoken. You are dismissed."
Darmick gave a shallow bow. Angrily, he spun around on his heel and stormed from the room, his robes swirling behind him. Nati quickly followed.
As soon as they were out of hearing range of the throne room, Darmick began to speak once more. "The prince is growing bolder. This is good. Next to myself and the king, he has the most control over the royal army, and he is siding with me on the Atheist problem."
"Yes. I am sure you can find some way to use his power to your advantage," Nati agreed.
"I all ready have. I simply need a time to strike. Then every Atheist on this planet will suffer, including the king and queen," Darmick coldly said.
*****
So what did you think? Please review! Flames, like, no-like, I don't care! I'll read anything! I'm a review freak, I live for reviews!
George Lucas = owner of Star Wars
Me = Bored teenager with way too much time on my hands.
See the difference? 'Nuff said.
AN: Thanks for reviewing, Anorithil!
*****
CHAPTER FIVE
"He escaped?!" Prime Minister Darmick demanded.
"Yes, Sir, the older Jedi evaded my troops," Captain Sorro said.
"What of the other one? The one that killed the Gripfang," asked Darmick.
"He is dead. His corpse is being shipped to Jadda as we speak," said Sorro.
"Good. At least you did one thing right. Do not tell another soul of the Jedi with the exception of your own men," the Prime Minister ordered.
"Yes, Sir. What about the one that escaped?" asked Sorro.
"Find him immediately. Tear this city to pieces if you need to, but find that Jedi! We cannot allow him to meet with the monarchs and the Atheist leader or the Crixxian religion will be destroyed!" Darmick cried.
"Of course Sir. I will personally see to it myself," Sorro said.
"Good. Do not fail me, Captain Sorro. I do not think the gods will be as gracious as I have been," Darmick threateningly said, switching off his comlink.
Darmick was furious, but he did a very good job of not letting it show.
He glanced at his chronometer. It was time for his daily meeting with the king and queen.
"Come, Nati," he said.
She obediently followed him down the hallway, and they entered the throne room of the palace.
To his surprise, Darmick found not only King Anjos and Queen Leckura, but also their son Talno. Talno was a tall boy of nineteen who had his father's flaming hair and his mother's soft brown eyes. Usually he was busy with his tutor or training to become a soldier to fight for the Crixxian cause during Darmick's meetings with the royal family.
"Is there any news of the Jedi?" Queen Leckura hopefully asked.
"No, My Lady, I am sorry," Darmick said, doing a very good job of pretending to sound concerned.
"I expected just as much. Is there anything we should be informed of that pertains to the battles outside the palace walls?" asked Anjos.
"Well, two Atheist spies were executed in the barracks," Darmick offered.
"Executed? Why was I not informed of this?" demanded King Anjos.
"I was not informed of it either, My Lord," Darmick lied. "I was just told before I came here. There was a man and a boy."
"Prime Minister, did they have anything unusual?" asked Queen Leckura.
"Hmm… Some of the guards told me they had lightsabers," said the Prime Minister.
The queen gasped, and her hand flew to her mouth.
"Prime Minister, your men executed the two Jedi sent to help us resolve this conflict!" cried Queen Leckura.
"Oh, my goodness! I fear you are right, You Highness!" cried Prime Minister Darmick, feigning surprise.
"Prime Minister, I have seen incompetence before, but never like this!" King Anjos shouted.
"My Lord, I was not informed of the executions until a few minutes ago! I assure you, I had no idea!" Darmick cried in defense.
"Since you have never done anything so incredibly imbecilic in your years serving as Prime Minister, I shall believe you when you say that you were not involved in this. But you had better punish whoever was," snapped King Anjos.
"Of course, Your Majesty! I promise you, heads will roll when I am through with the ones who did this atrocious act!" the Prime Minister said, still lying.
"Good. If Prince Talno has nothing to add, you are dismissed," said King Anjos.
Nati and Darmick turned to walk away, but heard Talno's voice behind them.
"Actually, Father, I do," he said.
Darmick stopped and turned back around. It was seldom that the prince said anything even when he was present.
"Proceed, Talno," King Anjos bade his son.
"The squadron that I am part of is eager to kill Atheists, they tell me. The rest of the troops feel the same. If you would simply allow us, we could exterminate every Atheist on this planet," said Talno.
"No, my son. Not yet. I will not let you progress this war any more than it all ready has been," Anjos said.
"But Father, can't you see this is for the good of the planet?" asked Talno.
"No, Talno. This will only destroy our beautiful Crixxin more," Anjos firmly said.
"Father, we have been getting extensive reports of those filthy Atheists revolting in other cites. Varil, Rimma, and Delbron alone have had more than twenty in the past month. We have the power and the numbers to easily wipe them all out," Talno argued.
Darmick had to admit that for such a brat, the prince could occasionally put up a good fight even if he had no hope of winning it.
"I will not allow this situation to get any more bloody than it all ready is," Anjos firmly said.
Talno opened his mouth to say more, but the king abruptly cut him off. "Not another word on the subject. The answer is no."
"Your Majesty, the prince has a good point. I am sure the gods would wish for us to dispose of all Atheists," said the Prime Minister.
"I am sure they would. But I do not. There has been enough suffering," Anjos said.
As Darmick began to speak, King Anjos raised his hand. "No. I have spoken. You are dismissed."
Darmick gave a shallow bow. Angrily, he spun around on his heel and stormed from the room, his robes swirling behind him. Nati quickly followed.
As soon as they were out of hearing range of the throne room, Darmick began to speak once more. "The prince is growing bolder. This is good. Next to myself and the king, he has the most control over the royal army, and he is siding with me on the Atheist problem."
"Yes. I am sure you can find some way to use his power to your advantage," Nati agreed.
"I all ready have. I simply need a time to strike. Then every Atheist on this planet will suffer, including the king and queen," Darmick coldly said.
*****
So what did you think? Please review! Flames, like, no-like, I don't care! I'll read anything! I'm a review freak, I live for reviews!