Sins of Empire: CH 2 PT 3

"Get to the escape pods!"
Kara looked up as the bulkhead above her gave way and came down upon her. There was no chance to use the Weave, the metal pinned her to the deck, piercing her back with its jagged points. She cried out in pain, looking in agony at the escape pod, mere meters from her position. Commander Delas stood in the hatchway, looking back at her. There was a look of anguish on his face as he looked back to the pod and then at her. She could sense his conflict and resigned herself to her fate. She would die here. Then he turned and ran towards her, kneeling besides her and putting his hands beneath the hull plating.
"What are you doing?" she asked him. "Save yourself."
"You're a Knight aren't you?" he growled as he strained.
"Of course I am." she snapped, what was he? Stupid? She was wearing the armor of the Imperial Knights for Weave's sake!
"Then use your damned power and help me lift this thing." he snarled as he continued to lift. "Before we both get killed!"
Kara looked at him in disbelief but did not question. She concentrated, using the pain in her back to find focus and channeled the Weave about her. The bulkhead began to lift off of her, slowly, but it was moving.
"That's it." Commander Delas said encouragingly. "Just a little more."
Then the bulkhead lifted with far more strength than Kara should have been able to muster given her injured state. Commander Delas' arms were around her then, he lifted her up in his arms and turned to their savior.
"Your Majesty, I thought you'd gotten to an escape pod already."
Kara turned around and looked up at the Emperor's chiseled features as he put his hand on Commander Delas' shoulder.
"Commander, I am giving you a promotion to Grand Admiral. The Grandees need new blood and my niece will need a friend."
Kara blinked, and she felt Commander Delas' equal confusion at the comment.
"Sire, we must get you to the pods." Delas prompted.
The Emperor shook his head. "No, get the Lady Knight to safety. I need to ensure that our enemy does not find our secrets."
Kara discerned the Emperor's intentions and jerked against Delas' firm grasp. "You can't your Majesty! You cannot die!"
"I must destroy the slip-steam drive lest they use it against us. Grand Admiral, as your Emperor I order you to evacuate immediately."
Delas looked at the Emperor remorsefully. "I'm sorry sire, I should have taken into account the power requirements before allowing this."
"It's no matter Grand Admiral. The Weave works in strange ways, my niece is meant to fight this war, not I, and she will need a friend upon the Council of Grandees. Live well."
With that, the Emperor vanished beyond the rubble, dropping it to the deck again as Delas turned with Kara in his arms.
"No!" she screamed. "Your Majesty! You can't!"
"Be silent Knight." snapped Delas. "You can't help him now."
"Release me!" she roared, shoving against him. She achieved her goal, however her legs would not support her own weight and she crumpled to the ground miserably.
"I've failed." she wailed helplessly. "I was the only Knight of the Guard assigned to his Majesty's well being and I failed!"
The hand, when it hit her, was a shock. She looked up at Commander—or was it really Grand Admiral now—Delas as he stared at her coolly.
"Pull yourself together Knight. What is your name?"
"Kara." she murmured meekly.
He knelt before her, his gray eyes meeting her blue. "Kara, I am going to pick you up and carry you to an escape pod and we are going to get to safety."
She nodded mutely, saying nothing more as he picked her up and carried her to the escape pod he'd abandoned. She didn't understand why he'd risked his life for her, looking down at his hands as he strapped her into the shock seat she could see the cuts and burns on his hands. He had to be hurting, she could feel his pain in the Weave. He sat down across from her and slumped down as the pod fired into space.
'Never again, I will not fail again.' his mind snarled harshly.
Kara's eyes opened and she sat up in bed, looking around her sparse quarters. It was a dream. Just a dream. She could still feel the heat on her face though it was only in her mind that the flames existed. Her injury had been healed using elixium and prosthetics and she could now walk again as well as she had then. The only difference now was who she served. No longer was her allegiance to the Empire or whoever sat upon the throne of the Twin Suns. She owed it to the man who had given her life back to her. Grand Admiral Noah Delas had her loyalty until death, her life was no longer her own and for him she would suffer any number of indignities and perils for him.
She stopped then and tilted her head to the side as she realized that something was not right with the shadows in her room. She sighed and gathered the Weave about her, slamming an invisible fist into her would be attacker. The Knight was pinned to the wall with bone crunching force as Kara slid out of bed. She never slept unarmed or nude, wearing sweat pants and a tank top at the very least with her blade under her pillow. It was in her hand now, she squeezed the pommel and the blade extended to its full length as it crackled to life with the energies of the Weave.
"Have the Imperial Knights grown so desperate that they no longer seek honorable combat?" she asked.
The young man, a novice apparently, stared at her with a mixture of hate and fear. "You are a traitor."
"To whom?" she asked idly, tired of this conversation that she'd had with so many before this one. She did not wait for his answer, shoving the tip of her blade into his stomach. His eyes widened and then went slack as she twisted the blade in the wound. He was well trained, he did not cry out, but no one could endure pain forever and he passed out moments after his skin was pierced.
Calmly, Kara picked up her set and spoke into it. "Medical to Uldreth's private quarters." she said simply.
"Yes Ma'am." came the prompt reply.
Kara contemplated the boy she'd pinned to her wall dispassionately. It was convenient being an aid to a Grandee. No one ever asked any questions. They simply did what you asked and let someone else worry about the rest. She was not about to let the Imperial Knight's deprive the Grand Admiral of her services. She felt that there was still much she had to do in his service before her life was hers once more. Nothing would stop her from fulfilling that service. Not even her own order.