Shadow of a Doubt Ch 27
Kyreg looked through the screen while Catriona and the rest of the Sisters of Silence activated their helmets void capabilities, their helmets unlike the Astartes were not generally made to be void capable but had to be manually activated. Kyreg however didn't seemed too worried even as the counter batteries fired, a storm of lasers and plasma blasts fired into the maelstrom of torpedoes fired at them. Three of them got through and began to fly towards the Rogue Traders cruisers. Lieutenant Elisabet gritted her teeth and stood there calmly, her head held high as she looked at the torpedoes coming towards them. Kyreg stepped forward and chuckled slightly. "All power to the frontal shields. Engines go to maximum overdrive." He ordered. The mortals hesitated only for a moment before remembering what they had seen the dusk blue armoured Astarte was capable of against other Astartes and followed his orders. "Impact, five minutes." Kyreg simply looked ahead. "Activate warp jump. Push forward at warp jump and then full halt." This time the mortals did hesitate but Kyreg simply stared ahead, unwavering. The Lieutenant had already assumed her death and simply closed her eyes and began to utter prayers.
"Don't pray to Him. He hates that." Kyreg said to her, earning a look of shock from her face as the cruiser began to surge ahead before slamming to a stop in mid-space. The maneuver that Kyreg had just ordered was one from the textbooks of the V Legion. The torpedoes were slammed aside by the energy accumulated by the intentionally aborted warp jump, the flow of crackling energy over the shield ramming the torpedoes aside. The torpedoes however still detonated, but facing away from the main shield, the ships shield absorbed most of the damage, the shaped charges harmlessly detonating into space. The bridge crew grew quiet at the effects of the maneuver, and the Lieutenant now looking at Kyreg with a more devoted look in her eyes. Legion Commanders were not simply warriors on land, they were expected to embrace and master the full spectrum of war that was being brought to the stars. "Now, full power to engines. Maximum burn, sling shot us around the planet to the other side. Load all torpedo tubes." The cruiser was brought roaring across the planet, dodging a blast of a lance from one of the Raider ships.
The cruiser ripped around the planet's atmosphere with its engines in full burn, the crew now looking towards the Astartes Commander for guidance. "When you're around on the other side, fire all torpedoes at the vessel closest to the planet." The order was quickly obeyed and as the cruiser just appeared out of the other side, it opened fire. The gravitational fields that sling shot the cruiser also affected the torpedoes, their impact time cut down by half, the torpedoes impacting into a chaos frigate and detonating it even as the crew tried to turn the frigate away to run. The bridge cheered as they saw one vessel destroyed but Kyreg knew this was only a temporary victory. "Now. Prepare to abandon ship."
The mortal crews looked at him stunned. "But Lord… we're winning! A few more shots like that and we'll have established victory." Kyreg shook his head however and looked at the Lieutenant. "Lieutenant. Theoretical; what do you use to destroy a large cruiser if you don't have a cruiser yourself?" The Lieutenant thought about it for a moment. "A multitude of corvettes or frigates.." Kyreg nodded. "Practical then. How does a large cruiser fight off a strike by corvettes and frigates?" She thought about the answer but didn't seem to want to give the answer. "Lieutenant, I'm waiting for an answer." She sighed softly and bit her lips. "A large cruiser requires at least multiple fighter wings or escorted by her own frigates and corvettes. We can only fire at one target at a time." Kyreg nodded but looked at Albert. "It is your call, Captain. That is only my suggestion." The Rogue Trader looked stunned for a moment. "How will you have us abandon ship?" The Astarte Commander was about to answer when a lance strike hit the port side, causing the whole ship to shudder. "It looks like that choice has been made for us, Captain." The Rogue Trader sighed and closed his eyes before reaching down and hitting the PTT switch on the ship board vox system.
"This is your Captain speaking. All hands, abandon ship. All hands, abandon ship. Evacuation plan turquoise." As one, his soldiers all headed for the ships hangar bays where a small army of strike crafts awaited them. At the same time, auto pilot was set and the ships crew began to make for the life pods. The life pods were programmed to follow a designation by the command strike crafts, and Kyreg would follow the bridge crew to the Arvus Lighter that served as the command craft along with the Sisters. The vessel was quite large, and easily accommodated the bridge crew. The last order to the vessel given was simple; fire all weapons at the enemy. Then the vessel was ejected and the large convoy of vessels made towards the surface.
"Memlock, an Imperial World that is often the target of Chaos and xenos raiders due to its close proximity to the Eye of Terror. Last Imperial contact was almost three hundred years ago, declared a lost world three hundred years ago. Last known Imperial governor was lost in transit enroute to the planet."
The computer spat out the words mechanically as Kyreg looked out ahead as the convoy plunged through the atmosphere and would land in a pin point formation just outside of a large city with walls, a massive castle can be seen in the center. As the former crew exited the landing crafts, Kyreg looked out at the city itself. It was an oddly built city, the walls were made of brick with an obvious large mechanically controlled gate in the center. He could make out soldiers in grey uniforms on top of the ramparts but they did little except stare at them. Up in the sky, they could see flaming vessels trailing after them. Drop pods.
"Form battle lines. Dig trenches, as fast as you can. Even if they're only slit trenches. Set up the heavy weapons. We will fight here. And if we must, we will die here." Kyreg declared as he picked up his stalker bolter and checked the chamber to make sure it was loaded. Around him, mortal soldiers with a grim look quickly got to work, the former drop troopers all soldiers first, and they followed orders quickly. Albert stood there and looked at the sky angrily. "My damn ship, it was the finest ship I had ever sailed on. My goddamn ship." He would curse at the sky, directing his enmity towards the Chaos drop pods making for the planet. Kyreg received a quick encrypted vox burst in his helmet; Indigo. He would smile to himself but said nothing to anyone else. Around him soldiers quickly set up heavy bolter guns and auto cannons while the ship's crew helped with trench digging, many taking out pioneer tools and the like to help in trench digging. Kyreg thought about the battle space in his head, his only real hope was that the heavy weapons would hold against the enemy Astartes.
With loud crashes, the drop pods smashed into a large forest more than two kilometers away. Native animals would screech and run out in fear, and armoured footsteps began to trample on the ones that were too slow to escape. "In the name of Chaos! Death to the False Emperor!" The roar could be heard by the battle lines but Kyreg simply told them to hold. Even Albert had picked up the massive revolver normally holstered at his hip. Kyreg smiled slightly before the enemy began to march towards them, a marching pace turning into a charging pace. He would look on as he began to plot distances and effective weapon ranges in his head. Soon, they were within a kilometer and he gave the order. "Autocannon teams, open fire." The blue uniformed soldiers quickly cycled the rounds into action and began firing. Loud thumping blasts could be heard as the action cycled back and forth, sending the explosive rounds down range towards the charging enemy. Limbs were blown off and torsos were crushed but still, they were Astartes and they continued to charge. "Now heavy bolters, fire." The line of heavy bolters began to clatter to life, belts being fed into the guns as the armour piercing bolt rounds were sent flying down range towards their targets. The bolt rounds added to the cacophony of auto cannon rounds crashing into the charging troops, but their return fire was also quite effective. Bolter rounds came from the enemy once they got close enough, rounds searing past the mortal positions, some rounds detonating when they hit dirt or flesh. Kyreg readied his stalker bolter, the Sisters following his lead. He held his fire however, as he loaded a sixty round drum into his stalker bolter.
"We hold. All guns take aim." Warrant Officer Skultz growled as he hefted a hotshot las rifle in his hands, shouldering it and looking down the battle line. Following his orders, the blue uniformed soldiers all shouldered and took aim with their las carbines. Off on the right flank was a small group of soldiers who wore carapace armour and were armed with hot shot las rifles instead of the standard las carbines. "The former Grenadier company of my regiment." Albert chimed in as he looked at the direction which Kyreg's helmet was turned towards. Kyreg nodded once. "Grenadier company, form up around me." The full visor helmets of the soldiers nodded and they quickly moved to where Kyreg stood, each addressing their lane of fire. "We will concentrate fire until one hundred meters."
"What happens at one hundred, Lord?" The Grenadier Sergeant asked, his visor glinting in the sunlight. "Then Sergeant, we will make legends. We will write legends with our blood and in the afterlife, present it to the Emperor and show him that we were worthy of his sacrifice. That even on his transcendence to the Golden Throne, mankind still advances forward." The Sergeant paused for a moment and nodded. "Ave Imperator, Lord." Kyreg nodded and smiled underneath his helmet. Soon the battle line approached closer and closer, until Skultz gave the order. "All lines, fire!"
A hundred las carbines came to life, set on the maximum charge settings fired into the advancing black and green armoured charging chaos marines. A few of them dropped here and there but their ceramite held against the las charges. "Keep firing, fire until your barrel is glowing hot!" The Warrant Officer growled out over the howls of the las weapons joining the heavy weapons. "Cease fire!" Kyreg ordered after a good ten minutes of the punishing fusillade. "Maximum setting on your hellguns, Sergeant." The veteran NCO nodded as the Grenadiers adjusted their firing settings. "With me then, the Emperor demands his glories."
Kyreg advanced, with the Sisters of Battle following at his side, their bolters blazing as they sprayed the armour piercing rounds through the enemy ranks. Beside them came the Grenadiers, their hotshot las guns glowing red hot as they emptied charge packs after charge packs into the advancing line, the hotshot bolts piercing through ceramite at a closer range although the fury of the return fire still took their toll. Two of the Sisters went down in sprays of bright red blood while eight of the Grenadiers fell, Catriona gritting her teeth as she advanced beside Kyreg, Liadain beside the Astarte Commander firing her bolter while screaming oaths of vengeance towards their enemy. In front of them came the enemy Commander, a large armoured brute screaming for blood swinging a massive chain axe. Kyreg looked at him coolly before advancing towards him. As the enemy champion came towards him and swung his axe forward, Kyreg seemed to almost step only millimetres aside before in a single motion, he drew his phase sword and sliced right through and up the Chaos champions breastplate, sending two pieces of the traitor onto the ground while stomping on the helmet, crushing it underneath his armoured boot. The ease with which he killed seemed to stun the Chaos Marines for a moment before he sheathed his blade and continued to fire into their lines. As the last round fed from the drum magazine, he ejected the empty drum and loaded in a new one and continued to fire.
They were almost at point blank now, Kyreg holding down the trigger on his bolter as he led the remaining two sisters and Grenadiers behind them. The Sisters triggered the flame throwers underneath their bolters and poured burning hot promethium in the much hotter but thinner streams of fire, cooking and searing flesh inside armour while the Grenadiers would pick their targets more carefully, firing in long controlled bursts of hot shot las bolts. Armoured corpses dropped to the ground, dead from either bolter, promethium or hellgun las bolts, Kyreg finally drawing his sword and charging the last group of Traitors, his blade arching through them even as they growled and began to draw combat knives. However, the Chaos Space Marines have gotten used to fighting weaker prey that had no ability to really fight back. In that day, they fought the apex predator on the planet and found themselves wanting. Kyreg stepped into a dagger thrust, catching it on his pauldron before slicing upwards and cutting off his opponents knife wielding arm. Then when the traitor roared in pain and tried to head butt him, he found his helmet caught by the dusk blue armoured Astarte as a long blade was shoved through the helmet lenses mercilessly.
The massive gate could be heard being opened bit by bit, the massive thick section of wall segmented from the rest being sunk into the ground through a device opening. At the same time, a gathering of soldiers could be seen. Dressed in grey uniforms with long rifles that had spike bayonets attached, they marched out in a close knot formation with Sergeants armed with Sabers at the flanks. They would stop a dozen meters away or so, before the officer obviously in charge of the formation stepped forward. The soldiers wore a simple grey uniform, with black stripes denoting ranks. The officers seemed to wear a grey peaked cap with gold trimming on the brims while the Sergeants had red trim on theirs. A long barreled auto pistol was strapped to the officers waist although he carried a long sword instead of a rifle.
"Greetings sky people. You are welcomed to Memlock, ruled by our benevolent King Judimen. Your presence has been requested by His Majesty, and we are here to conduct you to him at all haste. Please, hand off your weapons please and we will gladly escort you into the city." Albert stepped forward and shook his head. "I'm sorry sir, we will follow you to your King but we will not disarm ourselves. That is not a possibility." The officer sighed and looked at the soldiers as if to convey a point. "Unfortunately good sir, that is not a matter of debate." Kyreg stepped forward and drew his very long phase sword and stepped in front of the officer. "If that is the case, then you can try to take it from me." The officer looked up at the dusk blue armoured giant and gulped slightly. "I believe sir.. that should you swear a gentlemanly oath to not bring harm, then we can agree on a compromise of sorts." Kyreg nodded in agreement.
The officer would call the soldiers to attention, and marched back to their front before leading them into the city. Kyreg chuckled underneath his helmet and stepped forward, the two Sisters behind him carrying their injured compatriots.
The city had its inhabitants curiously looking out at the procession of Imperials, the citizens dressed in an odd assortment of clothing. Some seemed to be work related clothing while others were dressed more casually. Kyreg took in the details as they marched. The closer to the palace they got, the better dressed everyone became. Every so often he would see soldiers in red uniforms instead of the grey, carrying auto pistols and truncheons looking at them curiously. The local constabulary then. Kyreg thought to himself. At the same time, the local nobility wore heavy jewellery and seemed to be openly starring at them, some with curiosity while others stared in disgust. Tall buildings with domes on top with an odd symbol could be seen every few blocks. A large circle with triangles around it. The symbol could also been seen on a few people who wore trinkets and necklaces with that design on it. That made the Astarte uneasy. Any odd religious symbols just might cause them issues later down the road.
The massive was a massive marble structure with gold and silver metals inlayed into the structure, accenting corners as well as the various doorways that covered the palace. Guards there seemed to wear a royal purple uniform instead of the grey or the red, with onyx trim on them. They carried the same type of long barreled rifles with silver bayonets attached. Waiting for them was a large platoon of soldiers. The officer stepped forward and exchanged a few words with the officer in charge of the palace guards. White uniformed medical officials could be seen approaching. They would look at each patient and gestured for those carrying them to follow them. A long wide building with a green cross as a symbol was where they would lead them, for medical assistance.
"The gentleman here will escort you the rest of the way." The officer then bowed and quickly returned to the head of the soldiers and led them away. Kyreg looked at the palace guards who seemed to be equipped with the same sort of equipment as the grey uniformed soldiers but with higher end trimming on their gear. Typical palace peacocks, he decided. He already knew what to expect from the ruling class here, the fact that they waited for the battle to be decided to open the gates spoke volumes of what sort of leaders they were. He had seen many planets like this one, where those in power ruled to benefit themselves financially more than anything else, while the lower classes were kept down and barely alive in order to produce more profit for the rulers. It was not just mortals; he had seen Astartes who had become greedy after sipping on the goblet of kingship and found it to their liking. He had met many who had forsaken their oaths to the Emperor, and yet did not quite turn to Chaos. Instead they chose to become a ruler of mortals, and create their own fiefdom in the universe, a planet where their augmented body and their force of personality gave them the ability and power no mortal could match. Kyreg was the head of the procession that followed the palace guards into the castle. The gate would open to a massive courtyard lined with soldiers in almost every corner and door, before they entered the inside of the castle proper where massive corridors with suits of ancient armour, as well as paintings of individuals with stern looks on their face. Rich carpentry covered the floors, and those that were not covered by the red carpets were covered with marble, their surfaces gleaming. More guards could be seen, although now the guards seemed to wear a bright silver cuirassier along with a thicker barreled rifle that rested at their shoulder.
The corridor opened up and soon revealed a massive hall that lead to the throne. The soldiers would march in through the open doorway before the formation split into two, both lines of troops moving off to the sides and forming what can be assumed to be their original formation in the throne room. There were various court officials there as well, and the throne. Sitting on the throne was a pale man with bright intelligent blue eyes and a neat crown that was worth more than the rest of the throne room with gems and the like. He had a neatly trimmed goatee as well as a long opened cape on, a more ceremonial piece of clothing perhaps than the more suitable military cut uniform on underneath in the same colours as the palace guard. Kyreg looked at the man for a few moments as the others all stepped forward. The King rose and held his arms open towards them.
"Welcome to Memlock, my humble planet. I am King Judimen the III. And I thank you for defeating the other warriors from the skies, we have had much trouble from them in the past. And I honour your sacrifices that you have made. Please my friends, tell me of who you are and where you come from."
The words were spoken eloquently, and with a clear marked accent, similar to that of the officer that had spoken to them earlier. Albert stepped forward and bowed lowly, the Rogue Trader accustomed to meeting strangers in positions of power. Kyreg smiled slightly underneath his helmet; this was the reason why the XX Legion had so many human agents. It was a balance of power. No king would ever feel truly powerful and secure in his kingdom if an Astarte was the leader speaking to him. But another human, then it was a completely different story.
"Your Majesty, I thank you humbly for your gracious welcome. We come from the Imperium. And our ship was attacked by the raiders and we would appreciate if we were allowed time to recuperate from our battles so that we may leave for our home land. I am Captain Albert Hinrich the II, and I am a bearer of a Writ of Trade, a certified space farer and trader for the Imperium." Albert bowed again, the King seemingly impressed with the pomp of his title.
"Ah yes, we have had those like you, those with a Writ of Trade that have landed here before good sir. As for Memlock, we have no desire to travel the stars. We find that the planet provides for us what we need, although my ancestors did come here from the stars at a much earlier point. I thank you again good Sir. Now, the matter of your military forces.. no insult is intended but I hope that you will be able to confine them to a suitable barracks for the time being? I do not believe a military force is needed here in the capital region, we are quite stable and security is not a problem. I believe there is a large barracks just outside of the palace that is not being used for the moment, I trust that it will be satisfactory? Of course the Colonel of my Household Regiment will be more familiar with the details and I will leave it to him." At his words, an older officer with a monocle would snap to attention in his knee high polished leather boots and bow in acknowledgement.
The King eyed the Astarte and the two Sisters of Battle that acted as his life guards for a moment. He was intelligent enough to not say anything directly although Kyreg was sure that later on, he would question the Rogue Trader about them. It was not difficult at all of course to provide a sufficiently believable story. At the same time, it was of course expected that the Rogue Trader would be in close proximity to the King, if for nothing else than for the King to gain political prestige by keeping the new visitor close.
Albert bowed again and smiled charmingly. "You are too kind your Majesty. I hope that we will have the chance to converse more later on, and I can repay your kindness in some manner." The King would smile and gestured towards the Colonel. "Colonel Hrofell will show you to the barracks and work out the details of the barracking arrangement. I believe it would be perhaps an excellent opportunity for a cultural exchange if you were to join me for dinner tonight." Albert smiled at the King and bowed again. "You honour me, your Majesty. I will gladly accept." With a smooth charming smile, the King would dismiss them with a wave of his hand, and Albert would lead the Imperials out of the castle where the Colonel had arranged for a company of Palace guards to escort them. The barracks were quite close, only a fifteen minute walk there, and it was in decent condition.
"I'm afraid that with such short notice, certain things are not up to the usual standard you see, but I hope that you will be able to make do." Colonel Hrofell said to Albert, the Rogue Trader nodding sympathetically. "It can't be helped Colonel, I'm sure you have much better things to do with your time than to deal with simple housekeeping after all. You have a standard to maintain in your fine regiment." The Colonel bowed slightly with thanks at the Rogue Traders words. "You are too kind, we only live to serve the King."
The barracks seemed to have been made to quarter an entire regiment, with shared rooms of four bunk beds meaning that each room housed eight. They were set with colour markings that were slightly faded, perhaps company markings at some point that billeted each company on a specific wing. With their personnel, two wings were taken on the first floor while Lieutenant Klara discreetly instructed a few of the riflemen to head up to the roof to see if they could establish a covert observation position, just in case. Kyreg walked through the hallways, they were tall enough that he did not need to duck to walk through any of the doorways, although they were still smaller than he was used to.
"Our host is hiding something." He said as he walked into the room where Albert as well as the Warrant Officer and Lieutenant were in. Albert thought about it for a moment. "Most Kings usually do, I think. In fact, I feel as if he is deliberately trying to hide something that he doesn't want us to know. He was too.. polite. Too welcoming to a group of strangers that were armed." Kyreg nodded, the two Sisters had been sent out to the medical building to check on the other injured Sisters, while Gunnery Sergeant Feldman had gone with them to check on his injured troops. "What I find odd is that the planet was settled by the Imperium a few millennia ago, and yet at the same time now, the planet bears no trace of Imperial rule." Lieutenant Klara made a slight face at the last comment. "I'm willing to bet that if we dug in their history, they'll talk about how they rose over their oppressors and placed their King to rule instead of the tyrants previous. Whatever Imperial government that was here, they were most likely removed by force." Kyreg smiled at the naval officer. "I find myself agreeing with you, Lieutenant. However it seems that they have more troops at the palace than we do total. Which also raises a good question; we saw three different uniforms in one area. Grey uniformed soldiers, red uniformed soldiers who seemed to be the local version of Arbiters, as well the palace guards in purple with the silver breastplates. Why so many different factions in one city? I think that's something that should be investigated."
That night, a horse carriage was sent to the barracks, with a small honour guard made up of the palace guards. Albert was escorted in by the Warrant Officer and a small squad of his veteran Grenadiers, who wore their blue uniforms with the dark blue segmented carapace armour. They kept their helmets on but they carried their hot shot las guns at order arms, walking behind the carriage while the purple uniformed palace guards walked at the front, moving people aside and keeping the carriage moving until it reached the palace. Once they arrived, the carriage door was opened for Albert who stepped out with the Warrant Officer who had replaced his las carbine with instead just the usual large calibre revolver at his side as well as a short naval style power saber. The Palace guard as well as the former Dnieper Grenadiers all stood at attention outside of the entrance way while the Rogue Trader was lead in. Albert would hand his peaked cap to Skultz after he walked through the entrance, as well as the naval jacket he wore to reveal a simple blue uniformed dress uniform cut outfit. Warrant Officer Skultz kept a few steps back from the Rogue Trader as the white uniformed steward lead them through the various hallways past the throne room to a private dining room where the King was already waiting. In the room itself, there were no guards, only a small serving table, a door way to the kitchen and a set of couches along with a dining table that would sit six people or so.
"Please, have a seat my honoured guest." The King arose and smiled while Albert would walk up and bowed towards him. "Thank you, your Majesty. This truly is an impeccable dining room, I must applaud your tastes." Two stewards appeared from the kitchen, and they would pull the seats out for the two diners, and after they were seated, crystal carafes with cold water was produced and poured into one of the glasses. A third steward would arrive with a decanter of a dark amber liquid and poured a generous measure into each of the crystal tumblers in front of them. "I hope that you like this brandy I have chosen. It comes from a sweet white wine from our northern regions that is then distilled three times to create a rather fortifying drink." Albert smiled and picked up a glass, holding the glass up to the King. "A toast to you, your Majesty. For your generosity as well as your obvious royal capabilities." The King smiled and held up his glass, the two clinking their crystal tumblers together and taking a sip. Albert found the liquor to be quite good, although at the same time very rich. The first course was served, a large plate with generously portioned bivalves steamed with a buttery savoury sauce. The King shucked his rather expertly, using a spare shell to scrape the delicate flesh from the shells. The Rogue Trader would taste one and nod in approval. "Your kitchen staff is truly excellent, your Majesty. I have not tasted something like this since to be frank, ever." The King beamed at the compliments, and nodded with graciousness. "I consider that to be a compliment as you have had the galaxy to explore and find my humble kitchen so wonderful." The two spoke of various subjects, of nobility, of the difficulties of ruling, and of course about the pain it was to deal with noble subjects.
The second course was brought in by different stewards, each holding a plate of seared white fish medallions drizzled with herbed white oil and garnished with a few small round fruits. It was done quite well, and Albert found himself wondering how he could convince the King's Chef to perhaps follow him to the stars. He dismissed the thought as soon as he thought it, knowing that such a thing would be more likely to provoke war than anything else.
"I hope you enjoy seafood my dear Trader, I have a personal affinity towards it. As a prince, I often enjoyed fishing in the lakes of the palace grounds and I was lucky to enjoy my catches soon after. Even to this day, I demand that the fish be caught only hours earlier." Albert smiled at the King's statement, and perhaps naivety. Perhaps the King had not seen the squalor of the outer rings of the city? Or more likely, he had and decided it didn't matter to him truly. Such a thing would not be a surprise after all. With the white fish medallions, the stewards had poured a chilled white wine into long thin crystal fluted glasses for them to sample as well.
"I hope that we will be able to establish a good relationship good sir, I believe that it is a venture that could prove to be quite rewarding. Especially as I have often thought about the purchase of certain other goods to better my kingdom." The King would give the Rogue Trader a knowing look of sorts, Albert understanding the implications at once. It was after all, about arms. As he was about to ask for more specifics, the sound of an explosion could be heard from the outside of the city, the sound ringing its way past the streets and to the palace itself. Suddenly, the loud cracks of rifles could be heard as well as yells. The door was opened by the Colonel of the Palace guards whose face was red with the exertion of running to the dining room.
"Your Majesty, the rebels have used explosives to blow up one of the guard towers of the wall, and have blown a hole through the east wall."