Princess By Default: Episode 7 free porn video

For those who complained about the mixed up headings of the different chapters, sorry, it was a technical problem. I typed the right numbers - my keyboard made the mistakes. Princess by Default - Chapter 13 Coup and Countercoup "Lady Jasmine, Lady Jasmine." I heard the voice through a web of cotton candy. I tried to answer only my voice didn?t work. Something cool dabbed at my face. I felt my body being moved and sensed cool air against my skin. It proved impossible for me to shiver. Strong caring arms gathered me and pulled me close. I felt my breasts impact a male chest and then a hand stroked worriedly down my back. The arms that enclosed me felt like home and for a moment, amidst all the agony overwhelming my nervous system, I experienced contentment. The coolness of flesh once again rubbed my cheek. It called to me. With an effort that made all my singed neural connections scream in agony I kissed the flesh. It was a FOY flower. "Thank George," someone said then there was a sniffling, almost a sobbing, from a female in the room. "Hand me that glass." "We should give her the injection." "Only if you kill me first." The last voice had been Hawkins?. It was also the voice of the male that now had my breasts pressed against his chest. No wonder the arms holding me radiated such intense comfort - and loving worry. "Here, my Lady, try to take a sip." A straw was pressed against my lips and slowly through them. Another Herculean effort, required just to swallow, set all the nerves in my body crying out in pain. I managed a sip and recoiled slightly from the bitterness. After three or four seconds my body told me it badly wanted more. I pursed my lips and the straw came back. I needed whatever it was that was so bitter - trust Hawkins to know. I don?t know how long I was held or how many sips I was encouraged to take, but some of my strength slowly returned and the worst of the neural fires burning throughout my body receded. ?Max?? I heard a neural static of sorts then it quit. I took another deeper sip, in fact two large sips and got patted approvingly on the back - like a child who had done something good. Had I been stronger I would have teased Hawkins, as it was, I did manage to weakly touch my lips to his neck. That got me more approving pats. I concentrated on the pathways to where Max resided in my head. Not totally aware if such would work, I imagined the connections repairing themselves, getting stronger. After the effort I took another sip, then a large drink of the bitter liquid and nearly choked on it. Hawkins was quick to lower my head and pound my back solicitously. ?Max?? 'Yeah, Kid.? ?How are you?? ?Fucked up.? ?Yeah, well, okay, but do you feel different than usual?? I asked. It was great to know Max was alive. He had been the one constant in my life and without him I would undoubtedly already be dead. And with his help I could probably repair the worst of the damage. A little rejuve would go a long ways right now. ?Funny kid. Funny,? Max said finally. ?But I?m glad to hear your voice too.? As he spoke I concentrated on repairs until his voice had sounded stronger, almost normal, at the end. ?Can you do a neural rejuve, Max? The bomb burned most of my neural network.? ?Can you stand it high, Kid?? I shuddered remembering the pain of the first rejuve I had gone through. At least this one would only involve my neural nets. ?Do it, Max. The Families are playing for keeps.? Shortly after that the crushing pain of a speeded up neural rejuve hit me. The violent agony I suffered tore the heart out of Hawkins and the others around me, but it had to be. "Hawkins, don?t let . . . sedate me. I?m healing," I croaked weakly when an argument raged around me about giving me something for the pain. Hawkins patted my back affectionately and his protectiveness rolled over me like a warm welcome blanket. I felt better when my nipples were once again in contact with his naked chest. He knew my needs better than I had suspected. How long the healing process cycled I couldn?t gage - it was a fog of agony for me. Hawkins totally refused to let anyone besides himself see to my care. All nutrients I asked for had to pass his inspection first before being given to me. As Max?s rejuve slowly replaced singed neural connections in my brain and body, I consciously started directing some of the neural changes. A part of my brain structure was literally rewired to provide increased defensive capability. I had no idea how much Family talent I would be able to muster in my weakened condition, but at least defending would be easier - much easier. When I finally opened my eyes, there were over thirty people in the room with me. Hawkins was holding me on his lap against his bare chest and I was naked except for a pair of panties. I was also unbelievably weak. I lifted away from his chest and turned to see who else was present. The tension in the room was such that only a few let their eyes go to my breasts, and then just for the briefest of glances. It was my face, and in particular my eyes everyone wanted to see. "Where are we," I croaked. My question galvanized the entire room into action and a number of people started talking at once. Overwhelmed by the sudden noise, I drew back into Hawkins' arms. "Quiet!" Hawkins' shouted command brought immediate silence to the room, impressive considering that Stoneface, a naval Admiral, and many other high ranking Empire dignitaries were present. I?d seen many of them at one time or another at the receptions or in private audience with Jer?Tock. "Stoneface, you brief Lady Jasmine first, excuse me, I meant . . ." Stoneface waved off his apology for the public use of the name I always called her. "Lady Jasmine, the Families appeared with a female for inclusion into the Concubine pool as apology for Lord Kelsey?s actions. Since her arrival strangeness has beset us starting with the attack by unknown assailants directed against you. The top military commander of the empire has been removed and a Family member installed in his place. And the Emperor reversed his decision on Family hegemony over the Leffra quadrant and then declared that the female the Families? brought with them is to be his future Empress. He has even had Lady Murielle removed from his presence. And there are substantial personnel from the Federalist Union on the Palace grounds and they now man most of the key Empire posts." She stopped and everyone looked at me. What was it they expected from me? I could barely hold my own head up. "Robe," Hawkins said holding out his hand demandingly. We all waited while one of the guards shuffled things around in our makeshift quarters. I felt Hawkins light pat and understood. He was giving me time to think. My robe arrived and Hawkins made a reasonable production of gently getting me into it, a subtle reminder to all present of how weak I was. He belted it at my waist and then slowly and carefully slipped my feet into beautiful Silver sandals. "Where are we?" I asked when he was done. "In a specially constructed retreat, Lady Jasmine. There is a planetary sized price on your head, dead or alive," Stoneface said. I nodded. That was easy to believe. I was the only wild card that could possibly interfere with the Families? unbelievable coup. "And everyone here is . . .?" I let my sentence wander off as I looked around the room. "A specially chosen cadre immensely loyal to the Empire and the Emperor. Everyone here believes that the Families have somehow taken control of the Emperor and the Empire," Stoneface said looking from me to the others in the room. Head nodding confirmed her statement. "And politically, where does everyone in here stand?" I asked. They were all still looking at me so expectantly! An Admiral cleared his throat so forcibly that everyone else turned and recognized him. "The Emperor is a prisoner Lady Jasmine. We recognize you as the unofficial Empress. We will follow any and all orders you give." My mouth dropped open. When I glanced at Stoneface she nodded vigorously. Understanding dawned on me. A second in command would not have the history of having faced down the Families before. If I said the Emperor was a mind prisoner of the Families, many would at least listen initially. My being the unofficial Empress had suddenly become a necessary fiction. "That?s to the death, Lady Jasmine," said the Admiral. "If we are not successful, that most assuredly will be true for all of us, Admiral," I said solemnly. "Okay, everyone unload your side arms and dispose of weapons that can?t be unloaded." "My lady, none of us would harm you. We?ve pledged our lives to . . ." I held my hand up. "We are at war. Your assessment of the situation is correct, the Families have engineered a coup. But this is a war unlike any you have ever fought. The Families have the ability to make brother kill brother, husband kill wife and mother kill child. When they find us, they can easily influence one of you to kill me. If you believe it not, ask Stoneface. She was charged with my safekeeping and they convinced her that I should be raped. There was nothing she could do about it." "Lady Jasmine, I am so sor . . ." I waved her apology off in surprise. Stoneface was actually sobbing. "It?s important they understand," I said pointing. "Tell them." Stoneface did - passionately. Perhaps I would have to revise my view of her . . . if we survived. "But this facility is shielded by our latest technology, Lady Jasmine. It is non-detectable," said the Admiral. He was looking at me with a troubled expression. I shook my head. "Different type war, different type weapons. They will find us using the same talents that enable them to control actions of others. We need to be ready - I suspect we have little time." My comment caused the room to become tomb quiet and I found myself hoping that it wouldn?t prove to be just that - our tomb. The next couple of hours I continued to gain strength as those inside reviewed the tactical situation and at my suggestions, and my disapproval of many of their suggestions, slowly developed a plan of action. Trying to get them to think differently, to condition themselves to inexplicable actions (at least to them) was difficult. In their anger, they had the male desire for a frontal assault when what we needed was dark of the night precise surgical deletions. Suddenly the guard to my right pulled his gun, pointed it at me and pulled the trigger. It clicked emptily. He pulled the trigger again and again and again. Even knowing his weapon was unloaded, seeing the weapon pointed at me with intent to kill was totally unnerving. "They?ve found us! You all know what to do," I said. Everyone looked at the guard in amazement and slowly nodded. We watched on a screen as a flitter lit outside on the lawn. There was another circling in the air overhead. The scarcity of force was a product of Family arrogance and their need for the initial occupation force to maintain their control on the key points of the Empire and the Emperor until the main body of Tripartite forces arrived and completed debarkation. That main task force was only hours away. Whatever it was we hoped to accomplish, we didn?t have much time to do it in. At my nod, the Admiral threw open the doors and we all went outside to meet our captors. We went with our hands up. The men to be last out picked up loaded weapons just before exiting. I was projecting fear and sexual allure as strongly as I could in order to mask our guard?s intentions from the Family member I was sure was in the first craft. If I failed we were dead before we had a chance. An armed squad came towards us headed by a family member. He was dressed in black. ?How appropriate,? I thought. "Well, well, well. The Royal whore! You can?t believe how delighted I am to make your fucking acquaintance again." And with that Lord Kelsey gave me the most evil smile I have ever seen on a human face. It froze me in place! It had been a long time since I had been so frightened. I trembled, fearful that I might not be able to play my role in this drama. "Now, Madam," whispered Hawkins from behind me. "Lord Kelsey, I wish you to see the prize first." With that I carefully dropped my robe and stood nude in only my silver sandals and silver necklace. I posed with my breasts out, my hands submissively behind my back, displaying my beauty with pride of self - a pride Lord Kelsey was undoubtedly creaming his pants to break. Hard to shoot a beautiful nude - I hoped! "Yes, bitch, I?m going to enjoy breaking yo . . .?" As he spoke I whipped out the gun behind my back and shot him. Wordy bastard! Conversation wasn?t going anywhere anyway. Besides, he should have remembered he hadn?t been able to control me before. Everyone in our party dropped at my shot. Laser fire from behind us swept the meadow as a bolt of energy simultaneously slammed into the airborne flitter. The Admiral?s hand picked gunners proved their worth with extremely precise fire control. The enemy craft shot a stream of sparks hundreds of meters to its rear, engaged forward, rolled over on its back then with increasing speed dove earthwards until it slammed into an escarpment a thousand meters away. It exploded with a deafening roar. "Engage shield. Let?s move it people," yelled the Admiral. A force field sprang into place allowing us to escape the angry retaliation of a tripartite controlled gun ship in orbit. Two minutes later impenetrable fog blanketed the royal grounds, parts of the spaceport and the adjoining military bases. It was a fog impenetrable to all forms of radiation, including the latest in radar and thermal devices. It was now them or us but the advantage lay with the Families. They still had official control of the Emperor and thus the Empire. And we had no idea of how many Family members or outside forces now comprised the Families? pre-invasion force. It was obviously enough to secure all key Empire positions. And even worse for us, their main invasion force was getting closer each passing minute. "This way, Lady Jasmine." A glove covered hand reached out of the fog and seized my wrist. I found myself pulled along like a truculent child. The fog was cold, unbelievably so. Even with the special suit they had put me in I was terribly chilled. We were doing all our traveling topside - in the fog - because it was nearly impossible for the Families or their minions to find us. And there was less likelyhood of us setting off sensors! It seemed we walked and climbed for hours but part of that perception was probably due to my fatigue. Finally I felt myself lifted and set down. I was sitting on a stone bench of sorts. I had become thankful for the Admiral and his cronies. I hadn?t the slightest idea of where we were. A head leaned towards me out of the fog. "We?re going to try entry here," said a male voice. "If we can get in, we will have direct access to command center Brinka Dalt." I nodded totally unaware of who was speaking. His fog protective headgear made him unrecognizable. I managed to swallow then grimaced at the metallic taste in my mouth. The fog swirled in eddies around me and for a few moments I imagined that I was completely alone in the universe. A universe of solidarity! Of Love! At least I wished it were so. The impenetrable blackness was making me melancholy. In all my days, except for gray eyes, I couldn?t remember really being wanted. Used, abused, sometimes tolerated, I could remember, but nothing resembling warm loving acceptance. Hawkins was the closest to family I had ever known, and Robin. ?And me, kid.? ?Thanks, Max!? "We?re in! Stay close, Lady Jasmine!" A head had appeared out of the fog and shortly two arms lifted me from the bench I had been on and literally carried me into the interior. The fog was so invasive that much of it rolled in with us before our entire party was in. We traveled perhaps five minutes in hallways before we finally left the fog behind. It hadn?t dispersed in face of the interior heat as I had expected - weird stuff. Further along we found a service elevator and our entire party crowded in. If they discovered us, or had the elevators monitored, all the Families had to do was stop the elevator and the entire countercoup effort was derailed. I breathed a sigh of immense relief when minutes later we all safely debarked the elevator. I sensed we were far below the surface. A few minutes later the Admiral held up his hand and our party stopped. At his signal we all got out of our fog gear and tidied up our uniforms. In my case, right there in front of everyone, I stripped to my panties before donning a sundress with a smashing empire waist and delicate spaghetti straps. The dress had a pleated skirt of slinky gold lame. Where in the world had Hawkins gotten such a dress, and in my size? I couldn?t even begin guess. He also produced dangling jeweled earrings, sparkling wrist bracelets of diamonds and a matching diamond choker with the Imperial crest in its center. His last piece was a diamond tiara, again with the Imperial crest on it. I looked at it and then at Hawkins in awe. He had to be part magician. One of my guards held a mirror for me to do my makeup and when I finished, Hawkins quickly brushed my hair into a coif that accentuated the Imperial crest on the Tiara. When everyone seemed satisfied with my appearance, Hawkins produced a cloak - bearing the Imperial seal. It fit perfectly! I stared at him in amazement and he gave me a slow wink. I took a large breath and looked back into the mirror. One thing was certain, I at least looked the part of an Empress. I turned and looked down the hall. The next was the scary part, for other than the weapon I had, we were an unarmed party. "Empress Jasmine?" The Admiral was waving to a spot beside him. I shuddered in distaste at his use of the title but recognized the necessity. For our plan to succeed, others had to make that same identification. I walked to where he stood and scanned ahead willing my senses to maximum. Soon I detected a cluster of men inside a room. I drew back immediately - a Family member was with them. I wasn?t certain, but he seemed a minor talent. As I thought about that possibility, it made sense. I doubted the Families had had time to recognize the full potential of Command Center Brinka Dalt yet. Too many immediate fires to contain. "Two guards outside. There are three non-empire personnel inside, one feels like Family. I estimate he?s a minor talent. We can use the guards weapons," I said relaxing for a moment. "We can?t afford a fire fight in the Command Center," the Admiral said looking pointedly at me. I looked at him and sighed in resignation. I had disclosed too much in our earlier discussions and now was going to have to openly control a Family member. At least I was going to have to try. I nodded and swallowed nervously. Getting by the guards proved easy. With the slightest of prods from me, they allowed the Admiral and two others they recognized as being in their former chain of command to approach and disarm them. When their weapons had been unloaded I swallowed. Now came the real test. Entry codes had not yet changed so we walked into Command Center Brinka Dalt unchallenged. I used my talents to command those nearest the door to rise and salute the Admiral. "What is the . . ." It was the Family member. I sensed the spoor of the house of Senaak on him. A second later he sensed my presence. I lashed out at his mind. He emitted a strangled cry, moved a hand towards his head and for a brief moment fought me. Fear or perhaps anger sent energy surging through me and I felt something pop in his mind. I had control! Me - plain old unloved Farkle! "Admiral, glad to see you, Sir. What are you orders?" he said. I even had him salute. Confused by what was taking place, his two compatriots, Federalist Union by their uniforms, slowly holstered their weapons. That someone else might have the same talents as the Families was not a part of their universe. They paid for that misconception thirty seconds later when the commandos in our group broke their necks. Another commando also broke the Family member?s neck at the same time. We were taking no prisoners! "Hold," shouted the Admiral as some of the Empire people inside went for their guns. "Your Empress would speak to you!" Our calculated gamble worked in that it stayed their weapons. Our group parted and let me come forward. Hawkins swept forward, regally helped me remove the cloak and stepped back bowing. The Admiral and all other high-ranking officials in our party knelt and bowed before me. "Empress Jasmine, we pledge our loyalty and fidelity to you, to the Emperor and to the Empire." As they made their obeisance I scanned the minds of those in the room. Three were wavering on the verge of drawing and firing. Starting with the nearest one I used my talents and soon he was kneeling proclaiming his fidelity believing it his own decision. Shortly the other two were also, then all in the room were kneeling proclaiming fidelity to their Empress. "Rise everyone, and help me save the Emperor and the Empire. Someone get rid of those icky invader bodies." I saw one of the commando?s smile and nod at me as he caught my eye. Those bodies were going to become part of our booby trap. Thirty minutes later Family forces reeled from our sudden onslaught. We had completed all the necessary steps for isolating the palace from the power and communication grid before they caught on to what was happening. The moment we had that, the Admiral reached out for control of a few air and ground defense batteries. We only needed a few to initiate resistance. With my help, he got them. "You have two minutes," The Admiral said speaking into his com vid. "But we can?t. All our . . ." "You have one minute 57 seconds and no further warnings. Any personnel left in your ship dies with it." There were innocents in space, innocents on the field, and lots of Federalist Union forces and Family. And more just taking up orbit around Chaltem. The main nvasion force had arrived. I knew the Families? would successfully detain the innocents from debarking or moving their ships out of orbit or from the tarmac. The Families had no qualms about using innocents as shields. The coming clash was going to be brutal. "They come, Admiral," I said in warning. I had felt the scan of a Family member - a strong Family member, perhaps even a prime. There were a number of Family talents with him. This was one of the crisis points for our countercoup. The Families had to retake Brinka Dalt, or at least neutralize it. We had to prevent it. We could badly interfere with the disembarkation of their main force and if we were able to keep the Emperor isolated, we might even be able to rally the undecided forces into the fight, which was the key to overturning the Families? coup. More and more Family minds reached out - probed at me. As we had counted on, they were committing a major portion of their Family talents now on Chaltem to regaining Brinka Dalt and to killing me. I was the wild card, the joker that needed elimination and I was proving extremely nettlesome. One of the clever ideas which had bought us time was the opening of a number of outside doors. The fog had rolled in and filled the tunnels thereby greatly slowing their access to us. We had lso disabled all nearby elevators. I cried out as pain slammed into me. Somehow they were combining their talents. Only the distance and dense material separating us saved me. Crying and waving off help I managed to focus all my energy into my defensive shield. I never knew I screamed again and again and again. Their mind-induced pain was focused intensely on me along with a hatred that almost withered me! Somewhere in that fog of pain I came to understand their great hatred - they had seen me, an outsider, kill Lord Kelsey. And do so easily. They loathed me and they feared me. I was the unknown they had never expected. Wave after wave of pain lanced out at me. Pulsing, charring agony that sought any weakness, no matter how trivial. When their need to breathe mentally gave me respite, I found myself on the floor of Brinka Dalt curled in a fetal position, my face wet with tears. I quickly shook my head. I had to endure. I heard the Admiral give orders and knew shooting had started on the surface. That brought a vehement resurgence of the Families? attack. Pain seared me, burned me throughout my body. I endured only because I knew the slightest shift away from my mind defenses would signal my end. I screamed as neural flames burnt off my foot, screamed again when a leg was ripped from my body. The pain was getting more and more intense as they got closer. Three guards turned and pointed their weapons at me and clicked the triggers repeatedly. That turn of attention by the Families was the smallest of respites. There was no time left, I couldn?t endure any more. "Now," I cried. A horrifying explosion ripped through the hallways and slammed into the door of the command center. The floor shook and tiles dropped from the ceiling. Dust flew from every surface. The mental pain from their attack dissolved to nothing in the aftermath. No longer under attack, I took a few breaths and looked around. It seemed miraculous after all that pain that all my limbs were actually still intact and not injured. I was also back on Hawkins lap. Everyone in the room was looking at the blast proof door. I turned and looked - it had a bulge in it. "Suck on that, you bastards," said an angry voice from behind us. "Empress, are you all right?" asked the Admiral worriedly. I waved him off and pointed back to the screens he was monitoring. He gave me a parting concerned look then went back to his killing and I leaned wearily into Hawkins' arms. The Admiral gave an order and I felt the rumble of huge blast doors closing out in the hallways. We were nearly inaccessible now. Round three had gone to us - thank George! None knew, except me, how close it had really been. "Here, Madam," Hawkins said holding a glass with a straw out to me. I took a sip. It was the same bitter fluid as before. I took a larger sip coughing slightly. "Easy, Madam." Hawkins was again patting my back gently. The fighting outside judging from the scenes on the view screens was confusing. There were more armed spectators than there were active prticipants! All were trying to understand the situation. The Federalist Union troops were in a quandary. Not all Imperial troops were shooting at them, yet their simple peaceful disembarkation was slowly becoming a beachhead assault. With the defeat of their forces trying to destroy me, the tripartite had started landing men and equipment in the thousands. "Empress!" I looked up. The Admiral was standing by one of the screens. "Could you talk with General A?Taque, please?" I rose wearily, wiped the tears from my eyes, brushed myself, tidied my face with Hawkins' help, then walked to the screen. One of Jer?Tock?s generals, commander of the nearest army base I think, stared out at me. "General," I said nodding my head slightly. He paused for a moment. "Lady Jasmine," he answered neutrally. General A?Taque was uncertain and playing politics carefully. We stared at each ther. Finally I shrugged and looked at him inquisitively. "How can I be certain it is not you being controlled Lady Jasmine instead of the Emperor. There is after all a price on your head," he said. I couldn?t help it. I blame it on my state of exhaustion. I snapped. "You get off your fucking ass and get out there and kill those Federalist bastards invading the Empire!" I screamed at him. His eyes widened in shock. Whether I used my talents or it was simply the impact of my anger over the screen I?ll never know. "Immediately, Empress Jasmine. What do you wish done first?" I pointed at the Admiral. "He is loyal to the Emperor, has risked his life repeatedly and has gotten the fight this far. Take orders from him, General." "Yes, Empress." I walked back to Hawkins turned and sat in his lap. I was exhausted and the confrontation had left me trembling. He wrapped his arms around me and held me. I laid my head back into the crook of his neck and relaxed. His protectiveness washed over me and I felt momentarily safe - laughable because thousands upon thousands of armed troops on the surface wanted nothing more than to kill me - and would if we didn?t win. I heard the Admiral chuckle. "Yes, the Empress has a way with words," he said into the vid screen. "No. Leave that to us. It?s the damnedest fighting I?ve ever been involved with. Without the Empress we would have been toasted three times already. We have to clean Chaltem of all Federalist vermin first. We need to make sure those holding the Emperor know they have no alternatives." "Take no prisoners, Admiral," I said. He turned, looked contemplatively at me, then turned back to his screen. "I heard," General A?Taque said. "Remember, if the Empress said it, it?s important. The Emperor?s life may hinge on it." An hour later, someone managed food. From the reports flooding in, the fighting was intensifying as Tripartite forces continued encountering stifling resistance. Early losses for the Empire were horrendous. Enough Family cadre remained to turn early battles into almost total disasters for the Empire. What slowly wore on the tripartite force was the ?take no prisoners? order. As the casualties continued to mount on both sides, the take no prisoner?s order meant that Family, who found themselves in untenable positions, were unable to surrender (and then easily escape). Instead, they were eventually overrun and killed. And as more and more Family members died the fighting began to take on a more conventional aspect. Among all the confusion and drama, Hawkins found a cot and made a bed for me. He even fashioned a blanket curtain so I had a modicum of privacy. I looked at him with red eyes and had no idea of how to tell him how much I appreciated him. Perhaps in a special way loved him. He smiled, patted me affectionately and helped undress me then put me to bed. Somewhere around midnight the fighting turned bitterly mean. Federalist forces, seeing the inevitable, brought out everything in their arsenal, even proscribed weapons. They also went nuclear with a vengeance. Quake after quake rolled through the command center as heavy detonations wracked palatial grounds and all nearby military installations. Contact with General A?Taque was lost as well as with a lot of the gun positions near the spaceport. Had there been any reluctance at implementing the take no prisoners order at the beginning of the fight, it disappeared with the dying in the night. The tripartite even attempted to take out Brinka Dalt. We were far enough underground and heavily enough energy shielded that we rode it out relatively unscathed. All except for me - I screamed in agony as the subatomic particles that penetrated our shields impacted my nervous system. The next morning?s sun rose on a surreal scene. The palatial grounds no longer existed. Craters upon craters intersected everywhere. Forests, ponds, gardens - gone. The only thing remaining of the original grounds were some of the escarpments. And there - fighting lingered. However Imperial troops held most of the high ground and transports kept bringing in more Imperial troops and weapons. The Federalist force?s, with their Family cadres, had achieved tremendous kill ratios, had decimated nearly everything at hand, but with my help the fight had deteriorated into one of economics, the one thing the Federalist forces never had a chance at winning even with Family Cadre. By ten o?clock, except for a few snipers in underground passageways, who were being quickly rooted out, the fight was over - the invaders dead to the last man! Two hours later I found myself in an underground hallway just outside the palace. I was terrified. The last part, rescue of the Emperor was at hand. There were bound to be strong Family talents present. After all, control of the Emperor had to be the top priority of the coup. There were fifteen people in our party, the Admiral, Stoneface, Hawkins, who refused to let me go anywhere without him, the commandos, and a few other military officers. They were all wearing side arms, but as before, all were unloaded. The Admiral gave me a nod and I braced myself, the multi-frequency force fields were about to be dropped. I cried out as paralyzing fire seared me to my core. The savage and brutal attack pulsed through me like ocean tidal waves with each wave threatening to swamp me. I was again burning at the stake of neural fire. Somehow in the next fifteen minutes I was carefully herded forward into the palace proper, I have no recollection of that journey. I also came to know there were two Family members left, and one of them was the strongest I had ever encountered. And just before we entered the throne room, I knew who it was. It was the Count, the Prime of the House of Senaak himself. His power was immense- far beyond anything I had encountered before or even imagined. No wonder none in the House of Senaak had ever challenged him! One of the commandos, flanked by three of his unarmed compatriots, forced open the doors then threw his tool far down the hallway. The moment we entered, the first two commandos drew their weapons, pointed them at me and pulled the triggers. I chanced an offensive move and reached out and slapped the Count?s face mentally. Hard! He staggered in amazement and suddenly I cried in pain as he attacked with the full might of his mental powers. No one, at least since he had been very small had dared cross him or challenge him until I had done so. He was furious, enraged beyond any semblance of reason. His attack, laced with that of the other Family member was rabid. I staggered and would have fallen but for Hawkins. And just when it seemed I could resist no more, the attack lessened. Not even the Count could maintain an outpouring of energy at that level. A meaty thwack drew both the Count?s attention and mine. Fifteen feet to the side stood Stoneface. At her feet, unconscious, lay the Family?s female. A purpling bruise on the lovely face was testimony to what had just transpired. I did a double take. It was Sensha! Stoneface screamed in mortal agony. Seizing the opportunity, I reached out and literally ripped the neural connections to the Count?s eyes apart. His anger had made him careless for the briefest of moments, that and the arrogance of being unchallenged for all of his adult life. His scream of rage and pain filled the throne room and his attack hit me like a charging rhino. If he could sustain it and his great anger made that possible, he would win. I just did manage to wiggle the hand behind my back - the one holding the loaded weapon. Just when the blackness threatened to envelop me, I sensed pain in the Count. He staggered mentally, another blast of pain and then suddenly it was all over! I opened my eyes not even aware they had been closed before. The Count was on his knees with an incredulous look on his face. He was bleeding from the chest and stomach. His wounds would be fatal unless treated immediately. He was a dead man! He looked towards me, sensing my presence with his fading talents. "Who are you? Who are you?" he asked. "I?m a prime, the best of all the houses and . . ." A bloody cough racked him. "Who are you?" he asked a last time before pitching forwards onto his face. Hawkins stepped around me and shot him again with the gun he had taken from my hand, this time in the head. When he was satisfied, Hawkins quickly handed the gun back to me before turning back to the Count?s body. "She?s Farkle Dimwitty Quadpucker NimNums the 23rd, asshole. Only rift-raft like you wouldn?t know that." "Asshole?" I said weakly looking at Hawkins in surprise. He never swore. "Worst word I could think of at the moment, Madam. I?ll do better on his epitaph." His anger at the Count was palpable. If I hadn?t have been so completely drained I would have giggled. Suddenly I felt a veritable flood of anger flood the room. I turned and found its source - the Emperor. "Lady Murielle, where?s Lady Murielle?" he asked in a horse voice. The Emperor looked much the worse for wear. "They raped her in front of me, those miserable bastards." And as his emotions rolled over me I knew beyond chance that the Families and the Federalist Union had created an implacable enemy. Continued in next chapter