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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2286971" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 225: Right and WrongHe knew he should kill her. There was no other word but stupid to describe leaving her alive. She wouldn’t hesitate to take another piece of his life from him. It would be even more foolish to think that she would not have the chance to do it eventually. It would come. It always did. Which is why she needed to be killed now, when she didn’t have the upper hand.    Ket sighed and looked at Marix. Really looked at her. Beat up, scratched and burnt, with dried blood along multiple wounds that hadn’t been given the chance to be remorphed or even healed naturally. Yet she sat with a strength that only Marix could project. Perhaps that was why he couldn’t just kill her then and there. Respect. And to a point, he did respect her. He could see so much of himself in Marix. She could have been just like him. She could have followed the same path...yet she didn’t, and it baffled him as to why.    She had seen the same things that he had. Marix had experienced just as much torture at the hands of her own people as Ket had...possibly even more, considering that she was the daughter of the Empress...former Empress, actually, but that was a minor technicality. Why did she fight to protect the very people that treated her as little more than an ends to a means they wouldn’t even accept existed?! It made no sense...and yet, she did. Maybe Ket had missed something along the way...or perhaps Marix had. One of them had, he was sure of that, at least.    If Ket wasn’t sure that she would be as uncooperative as possible, he would have asked her directly. He would have found out why, and then been satisfied. Or maybe not. Things were rarely that simple. But at least then Ket could kill her without any hesitation. Was that the problem? He wanted to know more? But that was too simple. It was one thing to take the Alraxian Capital world, sending war droids in to kill anyone that resisted, and even to kill the Empress in what was, technically an honorable fight.     However, it was something completely different to sit here across from the girl...no, woman who could have been in the same position he now was. This had been his partner in only two missions, and technically, that should have meant nothing. But by then, it did for Ket. She should have been a friend and someone he could trust...could have been. But she wasn’t. She was his enemy...and now, she was the Empress. She had to die. And it needed to be done quickly before things got more complicated.    Still, though, Ket sat across from her in the empty, nondescript room where she was being kept. Nine would have no problem killing her. She would do a good job, an even enjoy it. But Nine was busy...somewhere else not far away with the emerald haired Knight that had been fighting with Marix. Nine had, at first, just been observing the young man, but her twisted mind took hold fairly quickly. He had no idea that Nine was not the Marix he expected...and so Nine was using that to both learn little bits of information and use him.    Because of this, Nine hadn’t left that room for the last however many hours it had been. She was obviously enjoying the little ruse and her new toy far too much. Ket couldn’t help but wonder if that would cause a problem, but decided against acting on it. Keeping Nine busy was a good thing, as he had learned quickly that when she became bored, she grew agitated, and that usually meant attempting to pick fights just because she could.    But that was all distracting him from the task at hand. Before he could move on from this planet, Marix would have to be killed. This was a fact that he couldn’t escape, no matter how many times he attempted to avoid it. And there was another reason she would have to be killed soon. If given too much time, that boy would track them down. Ket could handle the boy without trouble, and even he and Nine could deal with both Marix and the boy, but there was still risk involved. Enough risk that it wasn’t worth allowing it to happen. Kill Marix...kill the boy...end the two only remaining threats within the Empire.    It was so simple, and yet he still didn’t do anything. And then, suddenly out of no where, Ket understood why. If he killed Marix here, bound and gagged, tied up and broken...weak and injured...he would be no better than her. It would be no different than how she had treated him. No different the Mrrakesh...who he still hated, but had found himself making use of to get exactly where he was now. And it was her fault. Her fault because in a situation just like this, she would have killed him and offered no mercy at all.    Ket was not Marix. He knew what was necessary, but also could feel what was right and wrong. To kill her in cold blood like this would be wrong, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it despite how sensible it was. It would likely be a mistake that could cost him everything...but that still didn’t change his actions.     Slowly, Ket got to his feet. After one last, long look at Marix, he turned and left the room. Leaving her alive like this meant he had other priorities. Defense would have to be increased all over the city and in obit. The Mrrakesh starfighters would be needed now. He could not kill Marix, but he could kill the boy and achieve the same result.</blockquote>

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