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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2273059" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 221: One More Step Along the Path...The holoscreen in the ship’s main cabin was active by the time Jyren made it back. It was also packed full of Alraxians...many of them, he noticed, looked at least slightly injured from the attack. But some things were more important. Next to him, the Redstar stood, looking up at the screen with an oddly calm expression on her face. Odd, because Jyren could feel the tension that permeated the room. There were a few small spots of calm here and there, but it was not the norm.    The screen itself showed a fairly boring landscape for the moment. It was definitely a part of the Capital, though Jyren had seen so little of it that he couldn’t pinpoint the spot. But it looked similar to the flower-like landing platforms. The holorecorder, or whatever its Alraxian equivalent was...it was close enough that Jyren wasn’t making a distinction, was placed far enough back that it was easy to see most of the area.    And off to the left, standing tall and alone was the regal figure of the Empress. She no longer wore the flowing robes from only an hour earlier, but was now dressed in a tunic very similar to what Jyren had last seen Shadow in. Shadow...it’d still been less than a day and even thinking the name hurt. Not only did it somehow strengthen the phantom pain through the link...but it caused a pain in his chest that didn’t make any sense to him.    He closed his eyes and tried to focus through it, attempting a calming technique that rarely worked. Rarely because he didn’t put much faith in it in the first place. But it did enough, bringing his focus back into the moment where it needed to be, and not off dwelling somewhere else. Jyren then noticed that at the Empress’ side was a slightly shining thing. At first, he assumed it was a small bladed weapon like Shadow had...but when the Empress shifted her weight slightly, it was easily noticeable that this blade was about the size of a lightsaber. And metal.    It was like looking at Shadow however many years into the future. The way she carried herself...her hair...the tunic with the soft gold lining. Like mother like daughter. Amazingly so. That made it all the more difficult to look at...and she was just standing there.    That didn’t last for long, of course. Her attention suddenly was up a little higher, and a familiar figure stepped into view. Ket Halpak had a very interesting profile. The stub of a tail coupled with very angular features made it hard to recognize him as Alraxian at first glance. He stood tall, with a simple cloak draped over his shoulders. Jyren then realized that something was off...as Ket was opening his mouth and speaking but there was no sound. Odd. Wouldn’t this be a better moment for Ket if everyone could hear his gloating?    Or perhaps this wasn’t just him showing off. That was too simple. Jyren had learned by now that there was much more to Ket Halpak and his actions than would normally be expected. This confrontation with the Empress was a necessary event for whatever his goal was. Obviously, though, showing off to the entire Empire was not. They would see it...and that would likely still be more than enough. But Jyren found himself wanting to know what was being said. Maybe that was the point...deprive them all of sound and you grab their attention even more so.    And then, after what was most definitely a short conversation, the real events began. Ket was the one to move forward, brandishing a much smaller blade in his quick steps. The Empress had little problem in parrying his thrust and stepping to the side, and even ducking a claw slash from Ket’s off hand. She moved like Shadow...though noticeably slower to Jyren’s eye. And Ket was moving slow. Too slow.    Though it was impossible to hear the crash of the two blades together again and again, every single Alraxian could hear it in their minds. High...low...left...right...both Ket and the Empress seemed to be evenly matched, with the two of them trading attacks. They both moved with perfectly timed precision, so much so that it almost looked staged. At first. But then, as the moments passed and the slashes from Ket’s shorter blade became faster, Jyren picked up on the real reason.    Ket was toying with her. He had to be. With every one of his strikes, it was slow enough that she was given enough time to deflect or move out of the way or parry the blade each time. At the same time, they were obvious attacks. No surprises or attempts to misdirect the Empress’ attention. It was blatantly obvious to even an amateur swordsman where each of Ket’s strikes would be. And with the Empress’ strikes and slashes, Ket always move out of the way or parried them just at the last moment. It was too perfect for him to be really trying.    But she was. Jyren could see it in the way she moved. Hard, forceful, and strong. Each step, the Empress planted her foot and swung the sword like it would be the last. Each time, he could see a fire in her eyes so much like her daughter. And yet...she knew. Jyren could see that in her eyes, too. And yet she fought on with all of her strength. She was being treated like a plaything and she knew it...yet she still didn’t give in. It was a strength that Jyren had only seen in those old holodramas. Nothing he’d actually witnessed before. It was both depressing and awe inspiring at the same time.    Things were starting to move faster, though. Slowly, Ket was increasing the pace of his attacks and his footsteps. Unlike the Empress, his were soft and constant, using his footwork much like Shadow did to almost dance around their prey. And prey was definitely the right word. And as he started to move faster, it became more and more obvious how outclassed the Empress really was. A strike to her neck was parried just away from her skin, but Ket pushed off the blade and spun to the right, the blade slashing high against instead of the expected low, where the Empress’ sword had gone.    Instead of blade catching blade, his short weapon slashed across the Empress’s shoulder. A quick look of pain could be seen, and then intense concentration as she forced her body to not attempt remorphing the metal-inflicted wound. And somehow, she rolled with it instead of giving in. Taking a step back(which was, to Jyren, the first outward sign of Ket’s advantage), the Empress lashed out with her sword in an upwards, diagonal slice. In an amazing show of skill, Ket spun over the blade, leading completely off the ground and landing off to the Empress’ now-undefended left side.    Just as his feet set down, his blade was thrusting in at her. It dug into her torso almost completely, and there was a collective gasp from the Alraxians to accent the pained look that washed over the Empress’ face. But when Ket withdrew the blade, she still held strong, turning to face him and backing up slightly...sword raised shakily in a defensive position. A few more words were said, and Jyren soon found himself getting extremely angry with Ket.    Quietly, he whispered to himself, “Stop toying with her...you’ve proved your point, get it over with.”    The Redstar heard him. She looked up to him with a somewhat shocked look on her face, but Jyren gave no response to that. She was a healer, not a fighter. Maybe she understood that Ket was just playing with the Empress...but it didn’t really matter. The outcome of this was decided before it had begun, and Jyren just wanted it to be over so he didn’t have to watch this reflection of Shadow being tortured in front of his eyes.    Then, almost suddenly, the Empress was moving again. She feinted left, and then spun the other direction, her long blade arcing out in a horizontal slash for Ket’s neck. But Ket saw through the feint. He stepped into her and ducked, the blade flashing over his head just as he forced his body into her’s and she stumbled back. In a flash, though, he was moving again. It was unlikely that many of the other Alraxians actually saw Ket’s blade thrust straight up into the Empress’ throat, as it was done with such speed that the weapon was withdraw barely a second after.    But the wide eyed look could be seen on the Empress’ face for that last moment. Her sword did not leave her hand as it would have in a holodrama...leaving her body to fall to its knees before she finally collapsed like a true leader was supposed to. This was real. The blue stain of blood covering her neck and throat, the Empress simply fell forward and hit the ground face first, though sword still in her hand off to the side. Ket looked down at the body for a long moment, then simply turned and walked off, not even acknowledging the holorecording device and leaving everyone to see the corpse of their Empress.    Inside the cabin of the ship, there was a stunned silence. No one knew what to say. No one knew what to do. Many of them felt like they couldn’t breathe. And all of them, save Jyren, felt a presence suddenly lift out of themselves. Where once the Alraxian Network had been kept calm by the emotions and will of the Empress, there was a void. A horrible void. And it wasn’t long before panic began to fill it, and soon the ship.    But Jyren was eerily calm. He stared in silence at the holoscreen for a long moment, before looking to the Redstar at his side. She was staring at him. They all were. Questioning looks in their eyes. They wanted him to do something. They wanted him to say something. Anything.Until I can no longer tell you to stay.    The words echoed in Jyren’s mind. Nodding, he looked down to the Redstar and said firmly, “I need my ship.”</blockquote>

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