Guarded (#2 Post-Order 66 Series)

Guarded - Part 10

The air around the palace was still and stifling, like the calm before an immense storm. It was as if everyone inside the palace grounds were holding their breath while the rest of the galaxy carried on normally beyond the outer walls. Typho and his guards had kept the assassination attempt secret, and much to the surprise of everyone, Kestia had agreed it was best to not make the Empire's bold attack public knowledge, stating she was certain it would only antagonize them and hasten the inevitable.

A few days after the gala, Echo stood guard behind the queen as she met with various groups of people in one of the larger palace meeting rooms. They'd claimed that the throne room was under some renovations that had taken longer than expected, hiding the fact that construction droids were frantically repairing the windows and a new desk was being brought in to replace her blaster-burned one.

Despite Kestia's outward appearance and demeanor, Echo could tell she was carrying the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders. He knew Tech had taken his guard shift the day before and had come back to the room without a word, going straight to sleep. Hunter and Wrecker were on edge, and Crosshair slunk in and out of the room without so much as acknowledging anyone. He was still going about his guard shifts, but the only time any of them saw him was when he was entering or leaving the suite, helmet in hand.

Kestia was in the middle of bidding her audience farewell, shaking hands with a smile on her face as they exited the room one by one. Once it was just the two of them, Echo noted how heavily she leaned against the table. "Are you alright m'lady?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "Yes, I just haven't been sleeping well. For some reason."

"You've got a little bit before your next appointment. Why don't you sit down and I'll see if we can get some caf brought in for you."

Kestia met his eyes and gave him a small grateful smile. "Thank you, Echo. That would be lovely."

Once the caf arrived, Echo shut the door to give them some privacy and sat across the table from her. Even with the massive gold headdress she was wearing and the robes with large shoulder pads, she seemed smaller today, more tired, less imposing. She sipped quietly, her eyes out of focus on a point on the tabletop.

"Kes," he said quietly.

Her eyes snapped to his, and he could see the sadness that she carried in the rest of her body reached her emerald irises as well.

"It's going to be alright," he said with more confidence than he felt.

She gave him a small laugh. "I appreciate your optimism, but I think we're about as far from 'alright' as we can be at the moment."

"They haven't come yet."

"But they will."

He knew it was true, and there was no point in denying it. "Have you made contact with outside forces?"

"We've been trying to reach my allies in the Senate, but I've come to find that most of the people I considered friends aren't as reliable once the Empire gets involved. Our mutual friend from Alderaan is about the only one that seems to believe me and be willing to help, although he and I both know there's little he can do. Still, he's trying to come up with something, but I fear it will be some political measure that the Empire will steamroll without hesitation. We're on our own, Echo."

He chuckled, and she raised an eyebrow at him inquisitively. "Seems to be a running theme with us these days," he said quietly, tracing his gloved finger in patterns on the table. In the weeks since Tech had given him his cybernetic limb, he'd made great strides in adapting it to his neural network. It still bugged out on occasion, but his dexterity had improved greatly, and he relished being able to do small things like run his finger along a surface or pinch or scratch at things. Kestia watched his hand before settling a little further into her chair, allowing her posture to slip slightly from its normal rigidity.