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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2296328" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 228: View From AboveKet Halpak stood quietly on the balcony outside the hallway where Marix was being kept. It was quiet. Or rather, quiet again. Just a few moments ago the sound of one of the battery’s firing was quickly followed by a loud explosion. His eyes had not scanned the horizon long before finding the black plume of smoke and dust rising off at the city’s eastern edge.    Looking back now, Ket knew it had been naive to assume that the boy would arrive after the defenses were up and ready. But that was not the way of things. It was no surprise that he boy had already been on his way by the time Ket had sent out the word to fortify as much of the city’s border as possible(since it would be insane to land in the city itself, and the boy couldn’t have been that stupid). But that starfighter had come out of hyperspace before even the Mrrakesh ships had been in position. That, of course, made reaching the planet itself even easier.    It was pure luck that the ship had set down off to the east. That had been the area where the defenses were at least mostly finished. But they proved to be of little effort, it seemed...there were no reports coming in from the droids, which meant the boy wasn’t dead, and also meant they didn’t know where he was.    With a quiet sigh, Ket leaned forward on the railing and surveyed the city with eyes and a little touch of the Force. That young man was out there. He would be coming this direction, too. His link with Marix was strong...that much was obvious. Perhaps that was what Ket had sensed earlier as being so different about her. There had been rumors that made their way to him about Marix and this boy...    He hadn’t even taken the time to really think about them. It would explain much. In fact, it would explain everything...especially that new something he had sensed, and even seen, in Marix. She truly had changed then. Ket had assumed, just like the entire Empire, that she would end up in some political marriage. Even with his knowledge of her nature as a Tam’day’u, it was expected...she was the Empress-to-be after all. But never would Ket have thought she’d actually be capable of any emotions...and the rumors told of emotions far more complicated than most. It was beyond his understanding why these things made it harder to bring himself to what had to be done.    The both of them had to be killed. They were too dangerous, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill him given the chance. A moment ago, Ket had sent a large group of the war droids towards the eastern section of the city. It was unlikely they would all find this Jedi, but at least a few would. Anything to slow him down and prepare the large, cental building of the city. Already, the lower ground levels had all accesses barricaded and heavily guarded. That wouldn’t be enough. Roofs of nearby buildings raised up almost as high, which meant that nearly ever single level of this huge place was a possible access point.    Which, of course, just made things more complicated. There were thousands of these droids, yes, but they were already spread thin. This city was huge, and while there had only been a handful of losses in the initial landings, twice the number of droids Ket had brought with him wouldn’t have been enough to completely secure it. The only reason he came with so few was because he knew the Alraxians well enough to know they wouldn’t put up much of a fight if he attacked at the right time. They’d rather run and hide, scratching with dulled claws from the relative safety of their homeworld. Which meant that was the next place to strike.    Next, after Marix and her Jedi were dealt with. It always came right back to that.    But before his mind could wander any farther, Ket heard a noise behind him. To be literal, it wasn’t a noise, but rather a lack of noise that had caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he nodded to Nine as she stepped over next to him, “Enjoying yourself?”    She smiled that dangerous, fanged smile that even Marix had never mastered, “Of course...it looks to me like you could use a little help with keeping uninvited guests away.”    Ket shrugged, “You have your job to do, I have mine...there’s nothing to worry about. Now, tell me, how is that Knight we captured doing?”    “I haven’t killed him, if that’s what you’re implying,” Nine almost snapped, easily catching the sarcasm in Ket’s voice. But her tone evened out again, “He is well. As far as he can see, I am his little Empress. Give me another hour and he’ll eat off the floor if I ask him to.”    “Ask him...?” Ket raised an eyebrow at that, though suppressed a grin.    Nine tilted her head to give him a calm, yet still dangerous sideways glance, “You would be amazed how much easier it is to control someone when they think they have free will.”    “Are you implying you control me?” Ket asked, knowing she wanted him to say it and genuinely curious at her answer.    The smile that grew on Nine’s face confirmed his thoughts, but she didn’t answer his question. Instead, she turned back to looking at the plume of black smoke, “He will be here soon. Would you like me to kill him or are you still relying on those toys of yours?”    Ket was silent for a long moment. Finally, he forced himself to think on the immediate problem instead of deflecting it for looking ahead at what would happen next. After a short minute, he said calmly, “Finish with that Knight and then take him to one of the ships. The sooner you leave for Alraxia, the sooner this will be done with. I will follow as soon as I can...the droids will tire and delay Marix’s Jedi, but you are right. They will not kill him. I will wait here and deal with him when he arrives.”    “Don’t play with him like you did with the Empress. He isn’t a match for you, but don’t give him the chance to steal the upper hand,” Nine commented as she turned and left.    He didn’t watch her go. Instead, he continued to look out over the city. She was right. Ket would need to accept the possibility that this so-called Jedi was a threat. He would have to keep his arrogance in check...and he could. Of course, it was always best to remind himself of that. It was too easy to let his ego get the better of him when dealing with the rest of these Alraxians. He simply was better than the rest of them. He’d been trained that way! But this boy was not Alraxian...in fact, he was the poison that had changed everything.    Without this boy, Marix would likely still be the same, and none of this would have happened. It would have been so much easier. At least it was interesting, though.</blockquote>

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