After a few minutes of walking, Catlula reached the back doors of the Imperial Palace, as that was the closest entrance to the throne room. Two armed death troopers were blocking the palace doors, holding rifles in a rested position. Their dark, black uniforms and the lack of emotion on their mask brought an unsettling feeling to anyone who caught a passing glimpse of the building. They stayed perfectly still like armor racks with a hive mind.
Catlula walked to the large doors and showed her identification to the death troopers, who nodded and said in unison, "Permission to enter.".
The twi'lek cringed at the response and thought as she entered the capital building, "What happened to them? Is the surface a facade, or is their mind as dark as their armor? I just know I will never become them."
She stepped into the fancy back lobby of the building, and the first things she noticed were the pictures of the long-dead Sith. Catlula had read about these Sith in the academy, but seeing these massive paintings gave her chills. The thought of a group of people powerful enough to control objects scared her more than anything. It was a gap she could never cross, no matter how much she tried. Then, the twi'lek looked deeper into the walls and saw that some paint was chipping. The cracks in the wall gave way to a light blue behind the black.
Catlula got more unsettled with the chipping paint and thought, "Is this galaxy nothing more than a battleground for the force? I am nothing but a speck in the masterpiece that is this place's history. At least the Jedi are extinct. The Sith did the galaxy a favor by bringing that wretched order to their knees."
The twi'lek continued walking forward until she reached a door leading into a long hallway. She walked down the long, dark hallway until she arrived at a large, black double door. When Catlula grabbed the handle, she felt the expensive alloy against her fingers as she opened the door.
When the door opened, the twi'lek immediately saw two thrones, a large one for the Emperor and a moderate-sized one for the apprentice. She looked at the wrinkled skin of the Emperor and the cloak that covered most of his body; then, she looked at Darth Vader's jet-black armor and the control panel on his chest that gave him a mechanical presence.
At that moment, the pressure consumed Catlula as she walked to the thrones and knelt before the two Sith lords.
The Emperor asked the twi'lek, "Do you know how you graduated at the top of your class?"
Catlula looked up and, fearing that the Emperor would invalidate her accomplishments, frantically asked, "How, my lord?"
He answered by turning on a holoprojector on the floor that showed a detailed galaxy map and said, "This was your creation if I am correct. Please explain it to me."
The twi'lek was shocked to talk about her database and nervously said, "Y-yes, sir. I compiled information from every discovered system in the galaxy and used it to create an in-depth analysis of their geopolitical importance and situation. I made it as a replacement for the destroyed Jedi archives."
The Emperor waited until the girl finished and said, "This database has been very useful in identifying the location of rebel cells and has been instrumental in the fight against terrorism. This system and your athleticism overtook your reserved nature and caused you to graduate at the top of your galactic class."
Catlula was shocked to hear praise from the most feared man in the galaxy and replied, "Thank you, your majesty."
The Emperor continued, "Don't let your accomplishment get to your head. Many successful and bright cadets become traitors and failures to the Empire. I would like to show you what happens to a brilliant cadet after they turn on us."
Suddenly, the twi'lek heard the door open behind her. She turned her head around and saw two palace guards dressed in red, holding a defeated man wearing an Imperial uniform. He hung his head as the guards forced him to take step after step. His grey officer uniform drooped as restraints held his hands together behind his back.
The Emperor said, "This is Captain Lydask. He graduated at the top of his class last year and became a special forces officer like yourself. Lydask was a brilliant cadet, but something was wrong with him. He constantly questioned the actions of the Empire and questioned our ethics. He refused to follow orders and did not heed warnings from his superiors. Eventually, we caught him sharing vital information with the rebels. Be careful. If you do not comply, we will dispose of you."
The Emperor held his hands out, pointing them at the restrained man. The man shook in place as if his body were only going through the motions. Finally, a fire emerged from his stomach and tore a hole in his body.
Catlula's eyes opened wide as the fire consumed the man. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as cremated embers blew around. The Emperor laughed while Catlula gagged at the situation. Pieces of the man flaked off his body until he was nothing more than a pile of ashes. Catlula was disturbed and mortified while the Emperor's laughing continued.
He then ordered the guards who held Lydask, "Restrain the twi'lek."
Catlula immediately thought, "What is going on" but could not do anything before the palace guards held her wrists behind her back and pulled her lekku.
Then, the Emperor said, "Slash her head-tails." The twi'lek's mind raced with panic as the guards grabbed their knives and created a deep cut in the middle of her lekku. With the sudden jolt of pain, her racing thoughts stood still, and what replaced them was a blood-curdling yell and the loss of consciousness. The palace guard holding the twi'lek dropped her to the floor as blood covered his hands.
Catlula lay on the floor. Her hands fell perfectly beside her body. The crimson color of blood covered the lower half of her lekku and flowed onto her uniform dress. Her eyes were closed as if she were merely sleeping.
Darth Vader felt pity as he looked at the fallen girl and said to his master, "I don't think that was necessary. We didn't do that with previous cadets who graduated at the top of their class."
The Emperor shook his head in disapproval of his apprentice's questioning and replied, "As a twi'lek, she will be more likely to turn against the Empire. We asserted that she was nothing compared to us and activated her submissiveness. Now, she will know not to mess with us."
Darth Vader obediently nodded and said, "I see, master. I should not question your infallible judgment, sir."
The guards dragged her out of the throne room, leaving a trail of twi'lek blood. In the hallway outside the throne room, medics waited for the unfortunate twi'lek and placed her on a stretcher. Then, they covered her wounds, carrying her out of the palace to the hospital next to the Imperial building.