The Abiding Force: A Knight of the Empire (Star Wars)

3: Coup

The upper city burned. In the far distance Val could hear the report of blaster cannons disgorging their bolts as Adrass and Kidann forces fought vicious skirmishes across the sector. Smoke rose in billowing clouds from destroyed aircraft and vehicles while the streets were clogged with fleeing civilians and troops heading toward the front.

The clan war had begun quietly enough, attacks in the night, guards slaughtered at their posts on both sides. Fear and paranoia spread amongst the lower ranks, trigger fingers got itchy and blades were unsheathed. Eventually the first spark caught, somewhere along the borders of the territory. The Imperial garrison was withheld, it's commander isolating the force inside the fortress near the Emperor's spaceport. Communication with Imperial command was confused and sporadic, Adrass troops had seized the relay stations and sabotaged them early in the fighting. Of the 40 Imperial Knights assigned to the system, only 6 answered Tae Kidann's call for aid. The battle lines were set and all that was left to them was to decide that battle's outcome.

The Adrass struck the first blow, pushing the Kidann forces back. Initial losses had been terrible, the Adrass mercenaries eschewed the normal rules about the treatment of prisoners. The commanders of Kidann's forces had been prepared to answer the Adrass in kind, but Tae had overruled them. Now, as the Kidann forces rallied behind the small contingent of Knights led by Korta increasing numbers of prisoners filled the lower level prison blocks of the Kidann tower. Val watched from his father's side in the command center as they were marched through the gates far below.

The displays of the city painted a grim picture for Adrass forces. They had not had an answer for the Knights, nor for the Ebon Spring company. The two elite forces had fractured the Adrass offensive and opened a gap in their lines. Korta was reporting from the front every couple of minutes, the Adrass palace, a hollow reflection of Kidann's own ancestral home, was now visible in the near distance.

A stray cannon bolt struck a nearby tower, blowing a gaping hole in its side and setting it ablaze. Val hoped that the inhabitants had fled before the fighting started.

"Val, go check on your sister, she'll be bouncing off the walls no doubt." Tae said, not sparing his son a glance as he read through the reports on the screen in front of him. Val thought of protesting, but a look from Ben silenced him. Val loved his sister, but that did not mean he wished to be her keeper. He turned and strode quickly from the room, hoping to return before Korta reached the palace.

He took the turbolift down three floors to the residence. He was greeted by the smell of burnt flesh and the screams of the wounded. The medical facilities below were overrun and any empty space that could accommodate them was in use. Val forced himself to look at the men and women that had sacrificed so much for his family. It brought him nothing but shame, made him feel a coward hiding in their safe and fortified stronghold. He promised himself that he would never allow himself to feel such again.

It was a moderate walk from the turbolift to Zeya's room. The window was covered by the heavy blast shielding now and a digital display was installed projecting a view of the Imperial Gardens on Raeth. Zeya turned to look at him as he entered from her position on the floor. She was holding the necklace Jae had given her in one hand. Her face betrayed embarrassment, as if Val had caught her in the middle of something.

"You okay?" he asked, some suspicion leaking into the question. Zeya looked uneasy, her lie apparent before the words had left her mouth.

"Yeah I'm fine, just playing." she said with a nervous smile. She radiated that nervousness, not just about the battle raging outside either, she was concealing something from him. Val crossed his arms and leaned against the wall next to her door.

"Playing huh? Well can I join you? I'm pretty bored." he lied, now curious as to why his sister was attempting to deceive him. Zeya's smile twisted into a scowl. "No, you wouldn't like it, you'd think it was dumb." she said quickly.