Chapter 108

　　"We have wounded. Is there a gathering point for the survivors or passage to a safe zone?" Kal asked, nodding to the Guard to acknowledge his salute.

　　"There are no safe zones. All of Terra is under siege. The Guard is being pushed back on all fronts." Another Guard replied, stepping forward. She removed her helmet. Her face showed bruising and blood from the intense fighting.

　　"Where were you taking the survivors?" Mare asked, also removing her helmet. The Guard was shocked at her appearance, snapping salutes immediately.

　　"Princess Marella! We didn`t know you were here!" The Guardswoman exclaimed, her eyes wide at the princess wearing a tattered Imperial Guard Exosuit with a Sniper Variant Lasrifle in hand. They never expected the Princess to join them on the front lines.

　　"Before communications were cut, we were ordered to escort survivors to a storage warehouse that`s been converted to a bunker. When they built the town, there were some underground caves the designers expanded to use as storage for the celebrations. There`s a lift down not far from here." She continued.

　　"Who`s in charge, Uncle Argyle or Augustus?" Mare asked. Behind her, the others stared at the young woman. The revelation that she was the Princess who they had gathered on Terra to celebrate was stunning. Mare ignored it for now, focusing on the Guardswoman`s response.

　　"Neither. We haven`t heard from either of them since this started. But there have been rumours&" She cut off, not willing to voice them.

　　"About?" Kal prompted, leading her to sigh loudly.

　　"Justice has been seen amongst the invaders." She explained, giving the Princess a pointed look. Mare inhaled sharply at the statement.

　　"I don`t understand." Kal replied, looking from the Guard to Mare.

　　"Justice is Argyle`s personal Mech. If it`s with the invaders, and he hasn`t been seen&" Mare trailed off as realization came to Kal.

　　"It`s a coup?" Kal voiced the concern they all shared.

　　The Guard members looked uncomfortable at the statement. They owed allegiance to the Emperor and potentially one of his children in the event of his death. They could be following someone who led a coup against the Empire if things worsened. It wasn`t something they wanted to think about.

　　"What about the Emperor?" Mare asked.

　　"Unknown, the Palace is under assault. Most of our remaining forces have gathered there. From what we heard before we lost contact, things were dire."

　　"Emperor Forefend! This is going from bad to worse. What are we going to do?" Talha asked, her voice coming across as mechanical and tinny from her suit`s communicator.

　　"Gather everyone together. We`ll push through to the bunker. Fast and quiet." Kal ordered, taking the lead. Mare nodded at his words. Kal had more leadership experience between them, and the Guard seemed happy to have a Noble directing them again.

　　"What about the Seraphs? They`ve been flying overhead, wasting anyone they see." Another Guardsman asked. Kal thought for a moment before coming up with a plan. He turned to John, who was wearing a backpack filled with supplies they had taken from the Assault Carrier`s weapon locker.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

　　"How many explosives do we have?"

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　　The Imperial Palace, home of the Emperor who ruled every human in the galaxy, was under attack. For the first time since the founding of the Empire, an enemy had breached Terra and spilled blood on its sacred soil.

　　Even during the Rebellion, which many considered the Empire`s greatest trial, that hadn`t happened.

　　Thousands of Mechs assaulted the few population centers that remained on Terra, while tens of thousands of invaders in Exosuits and body armour landed in drop pods. The horizon beyond the palace was filled with black smoke, and the skies above were lit by the burning fires and energy weapons unleashing their devastation on the planet.

　　The Guard knew that help was coming and reinforcements would arrive from Mars and across the Galaxy within the hour. They just needed to hold on.

　　But their enemy was determined to wipe out every trace of life on the planet, and an hour could be forever in a battle.

　　The hall of mirrors in the Imperial Palace rattled as another flight of Mechs soared overhead, holding the line to prevent the enemy from reaching the Emperor.

　　Deep beneath the palace, miles below the surface in a bunker so secure that it was unimaginable that it could ever be breached, lay the Emperor`s Inner Sanctum.` A repository of knowledge, historical artifacts and the Hub of the Imperial Net, where all information is funnelled into.

　　It was where Aurelius, Humanity`s Emperor, spent most of his time. The man himself had been calculating the future, predicting far-off events and trying to manage humankind`s course through it when word of the attack reached him.

　　He had watched Borealis Station be destroyed. Even with all his amassed knowledge, he had never predicted that a few discontent rioters and rebellious civilians of Unshackle Terra` would launch such a strike on Terra.

　　Augustus` agents had infiltrated their organization years before, and Aurelius knew their motivations and capabilities better than anyone. It was inconceivable that this was their plan. Another agent was at work.

　　More concerning were the reports that Argyle was amassing a fleet with thousands of Mechs and enough equipment to obliterate Kalen Caledon. That fact had only been revealed shortly before the assault on Terra, leaving him again helpless to act.

　　There were hundreds of small pieces of information, strings of plots that spun a web with multiple conclusions. Argyle was leading a coup, or Augustus, or perhaps both simultaneously.

　　Word had reached him that Justice had been seen in the skies above the resort town, attacking Guard Mechs. If that were true, then perhaps Argyle really had betrayed the Empire. It was a Mech that only a member of the Royal Family could Pilot, keyed to their bloodline.

　　It was not a Titan, but the restrictions were similar, the power of Justice too significant to be left to just anyone.

　　But Argyle had not been seen or heard from since before the attack. The same was true of Augustus. Neither of them demanded his surrender or the death of Kalen Caledon, who they presumed would be his heir, simply because Aurelius planned on having the boy meet with the Envoys, a silly notion that Amara had confided in him only minutes before.

　　Aurelius stood before a large holo screen, watching the assault on Terra while numerous calculations ran through his mind. He was missing something, some hidden variable that explained everything. It was maddening, and until he discovered it, he would be unable to think or do anything else.

　　It was a flaw of his that very few knew, a single-minded obsession to understand everything, to be correct. He was aware that it would harm him and the Empire, but it was a flaw he could not repair, a defect that had been with him for centuries.

　　What was he missing?

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　　Alexander walked the halls of the Imperial Palace, incredibly pleased with how things were going. As he walked, the world around him burned, and blame had already been placed on the Royal Siblings, Argyle and Augustus.

　　He had left so many fingerprints and threads leading back to both of them that the waters of truth were muddied beyond any mortal`s ability to pierce it. Hopefully, his father was just as confused. He wouldn`t want to ruin the surprise.

　　The time of the Grand Reveal was coming, and he cherished the thought of his Father`s face as he watched the Empire crumble, the confusion and despair in his eyes as he saw the thing he had worked his entire life to maintain fall to the ground.

　　The anticipation was ecstasy. Alexander longed to open it like a child looking at a wrapped gift, but the time wasn`t yet ripe.

　　Whistling a jaunty tune, Alexander sauntered through the deserted hallways.