[center][h1][color=4169E1]Minah Saden[/color][/h1][/center] [hr] [i]Diertinont System... Flonheim Royal Palace... 14 days prior...[/i] The amber halls of the palace echoed with the raucous shouts and cheers of soldiers as they tore down the blue banners adorning the walls, making way for the gold and white that should have always hung here. Duke Emicho smiled, stroking the length of his thin mustache as he pondered how best to execute his brother when there was a commotion and the doors slammed open, two of his men pulling a shrieking young man in elegant blue finery by his wrists. A nephew, perhaps, one that could be sold to the markets instead of executed. Practicality eclipsed pity in his heart; he couldn't risk anyone else rising to challenge his claim. He glanced at the two men following his nephew and his captors; not his own soldiers, but men from the Empire, stoic and subdued, calmly marching behind them, ready for a fight. No, he couldn't risk it. Not with his new benefactors watching. Moving through the grand hall as the soldiers looted and plundered for valuables, leading away prisoners in chains and taking for themselves anything seeming of value, Emicho decided to remove himself from the din and take the well-worn path to the council chambers, where the Empire's men stood watch, alongside the scarred transdoshan who came with them. Wretched thing. It ought to have been in a collar. As if it could read his thoughts, the reptile glared at him for a moment before resuming its post, allowing Emicho to slip by the guards and into the chamber, the heavy wooden door muting the chaos outside. The throne and the table still stood where he remembered, now empty of his brother and the sycophants he surrounded himself with. He took a moment to rest a gloved hand on the arm of the grand throne, and a small smile curved his lips. All was finally right with the world. He'd reclaimed his destiny. Diertinont was his to rule again, and none would dare take his family's crown again. [color=4169E1]"Such a curiosity."[/color] Emicho turned sharply to the balcony on the far end of the room, where a tall, slender figure stood silhouetted against the evening sky. Her red and black cloak almost rendering her camouflaged, the duke almost flinched before he recognized it as his benefactor and smiled. "The view is quite stunning when the sun comes up," Emicho said, casually strolling up behind her. [color=4169E1]"Yet from where we are,"[/color] the Imperial uttered, still staring out past the watch tower and the buildings, out towards the horizon. [color=4169E1]"You can't see the setting..."[/color] Emicho rolled his eyes at another curious observation from this...Guardian, was it? Something like that, yes. He'd of course been certain that he could have overthrown his brother given enough time, but her arrival after being scorned by the previous ruler of Diertinont was both fortuitous and welcome all the same. Oh sure his allies all hemmed and hawed about the arrangement and how they'd be putting themselves under this "Emperor's" boot, but they didn't understand the game like he did. He'd paid lip service to a weak ruler before while doing as he pleased, he could do it to the trussed-up admiral who fancied himself a king. And if they were all like this preening sycophant, it would be all too easy. "I'm surprised to still see you here," Emicho replied coolly after a moment to consider. [color=4169E1]"And why would that be?"[/color] Minah Saden asked, finally turning to acknowledge him with a warm smile. [color=4169E1]"My job isn't quite finished here, after all."[/color] "If you're talking about our, ah, [i]arrangement[/i], I can assure you-" [color=4169E1]"Oh that's nothing to worry about,"[/color] she said, stepping closer. [color=4169E1]"Your world is going to be a proper part of the Empire now, and I'm just making sure it all goes as smoothly as possible."[/color] She patted him on the arm. [color=4169E1]"After all those foul things your brother said about us, we wouldn't want the people to be up in arms about our presence."[/color] "Anything to make the rabble happy, I suppose," the Duke sniffed, rubbing the spot on his arm as he looked out onto the courtyard, not filled with said rabble but battle scarred and occupied by his men, with a scattering of patrols of the more disciplined Troopers, stoic as ever but occasionally glancing up at the balcony where their master stood. He chuckled lightly to himself, before he heard a distinctive scream of the TIE fighters swooping overhead. "Shame we didn’t have any of those," Emicho chuckled, watching them fly off into the distance. “A run or two would have sent my beloved brother-” [b][i]*THOOM*[/i][/b] Emicho gasped and threw up his arms as a blast of sound and air knocked him backwards, Minah remaining still as her cloak billowed out behind her. Blinking, the duke ran back to the balcony to see the mighty watchtower burning, billowing black smoke pouring into the air. “What the blazes?” Emicho ran to the balcony where his soldiers stood dumbstruck. “Get over there and put that out, you idiots!” Before they could so much as pick up their rifles and run, there was a heaving sound of crumbling rock, and the tower began to fold under its own weight, crashing along the wall and sending up a great cloud of soot and dust. Shielding his eyes as the sound of the crash faded, he felt his heart skip a beat as he heard shouting in the distance. “The devil is that?” he demanded as the noise grew louder. [color=4169E1]“Sounds like the rabble.”[/color] Minah clucked her tongue as she scratched under her chin idly. [color=4169E1]“Dear me, and they don’t sound happy.”[/color] The duke watched with mounting horror as over the walls poured dozens….no, hundreds of people, all moving in a great mass towards the palace, no symbol or flag uniting them, save for the unkempt rags of the slave and the peasant. The soldiers who rushed to save the tower were felled quickly, stabbed or sliced in a furious melee, picked off by the few blasters and rifles the mob had, or simply swallowed up by the teeming mass as it rushed towards the gates. His men that didn’t fall turned tail and ran for their lives, and the Imperials…wait…where were the Imperials? Where did they go? “Bring around the fighters,” Emicho demanded, his voice shaking. “We can strafe them, the mob will break easily. Just…” [color=4169E1]“We?”[/color] Minah tilted her head. [color=4169E1]“What makes you so sure there is a ‘we’ involved here?”[/color] The duke’s blood ran cold as he looked back at the Guardian, the gears starting to turn in his head. When she turned to meet his gaze, Minah couldn’t help but grin. [color=4169E1]“Forgive me, but I just had to see the look on your face when you put it all together. It’s simply…”[/color] she waved a hand around to search for the word. [color=4169E1]“...gratifying.”[/color] A thousand different emotions ran through Emicho’s head.”But…you said…” [color=4169E1]“If it’s any consolation,”[/color] Minah continued, strolling from the balcony and patting him on the shoulder. [color=4169E1]“You were very helpful in getting rid of the other claimants to the throne, for however long it still exists.”[/color] The duke’s temper began to rise as he stomped in after her. “But we had a deal! Why would you-?” [color=4169E1]“Simple arithmetic, your highness. The more the Empire can offer, the more we get in return.”[/color] Her brow furrowed and her gaze darkened where he could not see. [color=4169E1]“And we can offer much more to those who you put in chains. More than an old crown and a tacky chair.”[/color] The indignity. The betrayal. The impunity. Emicho felt his anger curdle. “You….you mangy whore! This is my kingdom! This is MY crown!” His hand shot towards the dagger at his hip. “If you think you’ll take it from me-” Minah turned around, and the burning anger behind her eyes made him flinch. She stepped towards him, and he stepped back, his hands trembling. Baring a teeth back in a snarl, he felt for the dagger. [color=4169E1]“Please. Do try it. Give me the excuse.”[/color] His breath shortened as Minah took another step, towering over him, hands still folded behind her back, her gaze cutting deeper than any blade. Her words came in a harsh whisper. [color=4169E1][i]“I have broken better men than you.”[/i][/color] What little resolve he had broke. Emicho’s hand went limp, and he slunk backwards, out towards the balcony. Minah’s expression changed on a dime back to her smirk. [color=4169E1]“A very smart move. That’s what made you such a pleasure to work with, after all!”[/color] Broken and defeated, Emicho looked back at her with unbridled hatred. “So what are you here for then? To kill me?” [color=4169E1]“Kill you? Goodness no, not with the Empire weeks away from a diplomatic summit with Mandalore and Corellia!”[/color] Minah laughed at the very suggestion as she turned to head towards the door. [color=4169E1]“I’m merely here to welcome Diertinont into the Imperial fold. Naturally I intended to have you in charge, but with how deeply unpopular you’ve been among your enslaved population, it seems you simply couldn’t keep a handle on power.”[/color] She turned to smile back at him one last time. [color=4169E1]“Fortunately my backup plan to arrange for your abdication and negotiate with the newly freed people of Diertinont is going well.”[/color] Emicho did not look up from the floor as Minah smiled and prepared to leave. “So…that’s it?” he asked, his voice hoarse and tired. “You want my abdication?” [color=4169E1]“Well, that point is moot sadly.”[/color] Minah turned away, a small gleam in her eye. “Because I have no choice,” Emicho mumbled. [color=4169E1]“No. Because the rebels got to you before I could.”[/color] Minah made a small motion with her hand, like the brushing of a fly off her lapel, and the duke was violently forced backwards, the air knocked out of his lungs as he tumbled over the balcony and landed hard on the dirt below. Coughing violently, feeling the blood pooling in his mouth, he heard the mob flooding the courtyard go silent. “It’s him!” “It’s the Duke!” [i]“GET HIM!”[/i] [b] [i]“TEAR HIM APART!”[/i][/b] Far above, Minah took a deep breath as she listened to the screaming fade away into the sound of the mob, before pushing the doors open. [color=4169E1]“Poor man couldn’t take losing his throne,”[/color] Minah said curtly to her men standing guard. [color=4169E1]“He was just falling all over himself.”[/color] “What a shame," the scarred trandoshan smirked. We’re done here, then?” [color=4169E1]“Indeed, Vakar. Another victory for the Empire."[/color] Minah made a gesture and her escort formed up, the trandoshan Vakar walking casually alongside her. [color=4169E1]"The rebels should be cooperative, keep the peace until the administrators arrive,”[/color] sheordered the Imperial soldiers as she strode past them, regular troopers nodding and taking positions while the ones in full helmets joined her entourage alongside Vakar. [color=4169E1]“Bring my shuttle and prepare the Justicar for departure. We’re due to join the fleet headed for Mandalore.”[/color] "So we're in the honor guard after all," Vakar commented, hoisting his E-11 onto his shoulder. "Great." [color=4169E1]"I wouldn't fret,"[/color] Minah replied, hearing the chanting of the free people through the walls as her group made their way to the shuttle bay. [color=4169E1]"I'm sure our mission there will be FAR more interesting..."[/color]