By Her Own Two Hands (Semi-Open)

---

Where we last left off, Kirin had just exiled her children, stripping them of their titles, and denouncing them as traitors against the Principality. In doing so, she attempts to secure her bloodline's future against what is to come...

"Alas however," Kirin begins to say while during back to the procession of attendants and honored guests, "that is not all that I must protect my beloved country from."

"For those not familiar with Yukkirian history, through the Treaty of Xia that ended the era of the warring princedoms, to the modern day, there is but a single recurring theme throughout the centuries. The Principality was formed because of this theme; a necessary disposition in order to assume order and control over the three princedoms. The Regency and its Court was a measure taken to ensure the continued preservation and survival. The IYG, a testament to that resolve. But at the basis of this theme, is something far more sinister than that of survival."

"Manipulation. Corruption. And greed," Kirin says with almost no hesitation, "are a staple within my country."

"That theme of which I spoke of..." Kirin says while completing the encirclement of the Lord-Warmaster of the West, Heir Apparent to the Regency to the Left of the Golden Throne, and son of her sister, Akinu Aizo.

"Is the Remnant."

She draws her handgun from her holster and aims it squarely at Akinu's forehead. A wave of uneasy looks emanate from the shift of the conversation. Looks of uncertainty riddle the rank and file of the assembled IYG personnel. But as the White Shields move to protect visiting officials, ranking High Ministers and Court officials, there appears next to her, a man who is no man.

Within the realm of the Principality, there is but a single organization independent of almost all oversight with exception to the Regents themselves. Their members are shrouded in mystery; all evidence of them existing erased from most digital records. They have but one purpose: To enforce the will of the Regency when all others fail to. The Imperial Magistrate, headed by senior members called Judges, they are members both part of and not part of Yukkirian society. They are stripped of their personal identities in order to protect both themselves and those whom they care about the most; their families and friends. In their place are fake names, fake jobs, and sometimes, even a fake family.

Short of those serving in the IYG, no one makes a bigger sacrifice than do the officials of the Magistrate. And the only time people learn of this sacrifice, is when they are buried. Glory and honor to the Principality. At the price of their very own lives.

So steps forth that man or woman senior-most of them all. He is shrouded in a black wispy-like outfit. As if the shadows themselves walked in shined leather boots. His hands are covered by white gloves; both to protect his or her identity and to symbolize that they are the final solution. And where his face would be, is a mask.

When he or she speaks, the mask acts like a voice distorter. Morphing the voice into something metallic and robotic. It is not human. Another precaution against manipulation and for the protection of the organization.

"Akinu Aizo, of the Most Noble House of Aizo, Scion to the House, Lord-Warmaster of the West, and most esteemed member of the Imperial Court. By the authority granted to me by the powers that be, you will show me your hands," says the Judge.

Akinu knows what the consequences are for disobeying a Judge. Should the Imperial Magistrate ever have to, it has the power to even find the Empress guilty of treason. The punishment for such disobedience some say, is worse than death. Because no one knows what happens to you truly if you choose to disobey a Judge.

The Empress is the only one who knows. And even then, nothing is certain.

Slowly, he puts his hands up in a show of surrender. A Lord-Warmaster being frisked by a Judge in front of a live audience of attendants, nobles, retainers and guests. Here's a sight you don't see every day.

The judge looks to the Shields at his side and they move to take off the Warmaster's gloves. Discarded they are to the ground; symbols dirtied by the dusts of time. The Judge begins to pull down each sleeve... to reveal something so damning that the first word out of the Judge sounds almost like a python curling around that fabled tree in the gardens that once were.

"Traitor," spits the Judge. A single word, so full of venomous and malicious intent, that those nearby would've recoiled from the Judge had they no spines made of steel.

"White Shields, protect my house!" commands the Empress. White Shields across the assembly draw their guns against retainer and noble alike, sending the courtyard into panic. Others move their bodies close to their charges; the Regents, the admiralty, and ranking officials whom finally began to grasp why they were summoned.

The Principality stood upon a knife's edge overlooking damnation and heaven. And Kirin, was about to jump.

"Akinu Aizo, you are charged with treason against the Principality of the State of Yukkira," Kirin states out flatly, never taking her eyes off of her beloved sister's son. Shu Asukara, standing next to Akinu, is quickly pulled out of the way by a nearby White Shield member. His face had gone white as a sheet. He could not think properly. Perhaps, maybe, this is just a bad dream. Maybe it was. Hopefully it was. But he knew that it wasn't.

Orochi was paralyzed. Not only had she just witnessed her sister exile her own children, but now her own son was being charged with conspiracy against the state with irrefutable evidence upon his arm. "No... not my son," she barely whispers into the wind. Kaori quickly runs to Orochi and embraces her. What was Kirin thinking? Did she plan all this? Of course she had, but had she thought about the consequences of her actions? What about the consideration of her own feelings? What motives have moved her to break the status quo? Why not save her children and leave everything else alone? Things had gotten bad, but this is madness.

Or is it?

"My Empress! Rightful Inheritor of the Golden Throne," Orochi begins to plead while being held back by Kaori, "Kirin! Please! Spare my son! He knows not of what he's done!"

Kirin closes her eyes for a moment. She could stop now. While she still had leeway to turn back. If there truly were any left to be taken. But she takes a deep breath, and opens her eyes. They shine with resolute defiance. Tears well up but are not shed like like surface of the lake in that place. In that place she holds so dearly.

Although this might cost me my life, at least in my death, I can prepare a better home for my children to come home to, Kirin thinks.

"The punishment for your crime, is death, Akinu."

"No! Kirin stop! There has to be another way!" Orochi begs.

Akinu's breath comes in short and shallow. He thought he was doing the right thing. By joining a legacy bigger than his own. By giving reason for all of what Yukkira needed. To ensuring the continued survival of the state as it stands today.

By becoming a monster necessary to the existence to the Regency itself and by extension, his own.

"I only did what I thought was best for all of us, my Empress," Akinu says.

"The law does not give exceptions to good intentions," states the Judge.

"She is the law! Do not presume your place Judgemeister!" rebukes Akinu.

"And it is my duty to uphold the law, traitorous scum!" renounces the Judge.

"Silence!" Kirin commands.

"Today, I instigate that which should've been done from the beginning," she says.

Akinu shakes his head, "My Empress-"

"Don't... Akinu," she says, interrupting him.

"... once you go down this road, there is no turning back," he finishes.

"Kirin! Upon the name of my forefathers! I swear..." Orochi says already in tears.

Kirin again, takes a deep breath while closing her eyes. She does so out of respect. She does so out of fear. Uncertainty looms beneath the waves of the ocean. And in its depths is potential that can bring about change both welcome and naught with but a single action.

She opens her eyes and looks to Orochi.

"I hope you understand why I'm doing this Orochi... I am sorry."

Akinu sucks in his breath, knowing it will be his last. He wonders if he lived a good life. If it was a life worth living. Or if all was for naught, and something even bigger was beginning to take place.

An unintentional martyr. A consequence of hap-stance. An accident.

"Judgement has been cast," states the Judge.

The world holds still for just a moment. A drop of morning dew falls from a tree in a courtyard. The waters of the lake stays still for just a moment. And the earth holds its breath...

As Akinu calls out, "FOR THE EMPR-"

Turning back to Akinu, she cuts his praise short with a single pull of the trigger. A bullet pierces through his skull and exists out the other side. A single gunshot. A leap of faith. Or a dive into hell.

Orochi screams out in pain as her beloved son's lifeless body kneels over; his lifeblood spilling from him.

And all the world begins to turn again, as the surface of the lake ripples and the darkness engulfing the ocean floor rises up to meet its taker.

Kaori is in tears. Shu stands silently. The Court itself becomes paralyzed with fear. As voices then shout in return,

"For the Remnant!"

And are cut down by White Shields. Some who were not targeted attempt to draw their weapons to fire upon the usurper of the status quo. Only for a hail of fire to gun them down where they stand. Word begins to spread that something terrible has happened. That the earth itself tore asunder to reveal a world of darkness fit for anarchy.

And somewhere in the mountain ranges of Yukkira, a lone figure looks out at the sunrise.

"And so ends the Principality as we know it," says he.

"Upon this day," starts the Judge, with the other ten standing behind him in rank and file, "We of the Imperial Magistrate of the Regency of the Imperial Court, declare a Purge per the wishes of her majesty, the Empress of the state of the Principality of Yukkira."

"No longer will the Remnant be tolerated in any capacity. Nor its enablers, that of the Red Brigade of the Imperial Yukkirian Armed Forces. Henceforth from this day, members of the Red Brigade and Remnant alike will be found and executed for conspiracy and treason against the state. No rock will be left barren. No cave not searched. No crevice nor crack small enough to hide from the righteousness that is her's to wield alone."

"Starting today," Kirin says for all still present to hear, "I will secure the future of our sons and daughters with my own two hands. I swear this to you, upon my name as the Rightful Successor to the Golden Throne. May the heavens have mercy upon my fell deeds today and to come."

"Starting today," Kirin says while White Shields begin to disperse across the courtyard and throughout the princedom of Mei,

"I follow in the footsteps of my daughter."

A few hours after the Imperial Magistrate declares the Purge and the Red Brigade as outlaws...
"TACTCOM TACTCOM. This is Firebird 2-2."

"TACTCOM copies Firebird 2-2."

"We've got non-responsive units moving south-southeast along heading 5-4-1-1."

"Non-responsive units? Say again Firebird 2-2?"

"I repeat, unannounced air patrols moving south-southeast along head-"

"THEY'RE ENGAGING!"

"Firebird 2-2 missi-"

"I've got friendly fighter craft engaging my patrol! Send reinforcements immediately!"

"Firebird! Status report!"

"TACTCOM! TACTCOM! Tier 1 and 2 MPEs have engaged heavily armed hostiles attempting to move through gateway 0-5-A! Requesting deployment of QRFs to the Katani-Meian border!"

"TACTCOM TACTCOM. AWACs and static intelligence patterns have been compromised. Recommend switch to daylight-savings time."

"TACTCOM TACTCOM! COMSAT is currently being hacked from the inside..."

---

Chaos begins to overcome the streets. The truth is out and cannot be taken back. The Remnant and Red Brigade begin the fight of their lives. "Declare martial law and call up all reserve personnel," Kirin says to an officer nearby. The officer nods and runs off towards a set of buildings on the other side of the courtyard. It is mostly empty now, save a few.

The visiting admiralty, commanders, and foreign dignitaries, under close guard by the White Shields, still stand at attention, in addition to a few ministers of the Court and Kaori.

"To my friends and allies," Kirin begins, "I am deeply sorry to have brought you here today under these circumstances."

"My home is in trouble, and I know not how to save it alone. Leave nothing to doubt; what I have committed to today, will be the death of me, my sons and daughters, and that of civil order within my country for the coming months."

"Tradition," she says, "will be the death of a culture."

"However, there is another way," she says looking at each man or woman in the eyes, "throughout the Principality's history, time and time again, others would step up to help us in our time of need. Now, more than ever, do we need you to step up; as allies and friends to the Regency."

"We kindly request you aid us, in our darkest hour."

"Gunmetal 0-4-1 to Raptor 2-2, requesting bay drop at marker! Danger close!"

"Raptor 2-2 confirms bay drop danger close. Making a pass."

Amid the hell-torn skies, amid streaks of flak and rising smoke, an eagle swoops down from the clouds to herald both salvation and ill-omens in a single motion. Sweeping between buildings, the pilot finds the marker, ensures proper targeting algorithms are working in tandem, and commits. A fast-moving ASM breaks free of the rafale and as the bird tilts up to avoid slamming nose-first into a building, the missile hits the enemy hard point, sending rubble and broken bodies up into the air.

"Move up! Move the line up!"

She aims down range as her cohort begins to break position following the aftermath. Soldiers begin to break from cover amid the cross-fire coming from up ahead. Behind them, a Jaguar Keiso Sokusha (light armored car) rolls out from behind the corner of the block behind the advancing forces.

"Forward units, Hellhound is going loud," says the force-lieutenant in charge of the Jaguar crew. The turret on the Jaguar swivels around to face the direction of the target building and opens fire. Its Jigoku Hi (Hell Fire) heavy machine gun rips through the cover that the traitor forces were using. Some attempt to flee the barrage only to be sawed in half by the deadly hail. The LIMP gun sounds off once, putting a shell into the pavement, sending debris and body parts up into the air.

Spying an enemy soldier breaking from cover, the operator twitches her finger once, slotting a sniper round right through the man's chest, ripping it open. The body spins sideways before falling lifelessly to the ground.

"TACTCOM! Gunmetal 0-4-1 is converging on the target building! Be advised that we have met heavy resistance thus far!"

"TACTCOM copies Gunmetal 0-4-1. Be advised that we're tracking multiple enemy columns making their way towards your position. We are attempting to get reinforcements to you but like your cohort, have met heavy resistance from enemy forces.

"Gunmetal copies!" She manages to say before a man ahead shouts, "HIT THE DECK!"

Every man or woman quickly dives to the ground as a Byakko Type-64 sounds off from the direction of their target building An explosion not to far to the right is the result, causing a nearby building to quake as another one of its support columns is blown out.

"OH SHI-" and the Byakko roars again, this time putting a direct shot through the center of the Jaguar. A gaping, smoking, hole is left where the driver should've been, and the Jaguar goes silent. Enemy infantry follow-up behind the Byakko, assisting the tank by putting more lead down range. Dirt and rumble begin to rain down upon the covering loyalist forces; few attempt to return fire as the fusillade is thick and unrelenting.

"We can't afford to be pinned down here in the middle of the road!" she says talking into her radio.

"Raptor 2-2, we need you to put another round down on the ground this instant!"

"I'M A LITTLE BUSY HERE! I'VE GOT TWO BOOGIES CHASING MY TAIL AND MY PARTNER JUST GOT BLOWN OUT OF THE SKY!"

"Damn it!" she says slamming the ground.

"TACTCOM! I need a rain check at coordinates N-9-1-4-4-E-7-5-1-1! Danger close!"

"COME ON YOU SON OF A B-*BLEEP!*!" interrupts the rafale pilot.

"TACTCOM to Gunmetal. Be advised that the rain check will level the city block."

"JUST DO IT! There's an enemy tank column straight ahead of us!"

"Gunmetal I won't authorize a-"

"JUST F-*BLEEP!* DO IT!"

The operator is silent for what feels like an eternity. And then finally, "rain check in sixty seconds."

"You heard the man! sixty-seconds!" she says while swinging up out of cover. A stray round manages to nick her helmet off her head, leading her hair flow into the wind. Aiming down the scope again, she manages to put two more enemy combatants down before having to duck back down to cover.

"Cohort! You are Imperial Guards! The finest of the Principality! You shall show no fear!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Through the darkened hell-scape, against the onslaught of flying lead, Imperial loyalists soon begin to take calculated turns breaking cover and returning the favor. A true firefight erupts as men on each side go down in spurts of blood. Fires rage all around, and the enemy tank's Sokusha (Rapid Fire) machine gun barely stops to breathe.

"I'm going to try and take a shot," yells one of the guardsmen. Equipping his shoulder-fired RPG, he pauses for a moment to try and draw a bead on the enemy tank in his mind before popping up out of cover. Just as a bullet punctures his right-shoulder and chest, he manages to fire off the RPG before falling to the ground gasping for breath.

The grenade screeches down the street towards the tank. But just before it slams into the tank armor, the reactive armor of the tank explodes, prematurely exploding the grenade before it can hit the tank.

"MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!" yells a man next to him, "MEDIC!"

"The medic took a hit to his leg! He ain't getting up any time soon!" responds another.

"Where the hell is Jun?!" yells back the man.

"Jun got KO'd by the shell. He's out for the count!"

"Goddamn it!" says the soldier trying to apply pressure to the chest wound.

"Move private," says the female operative. The soldier obeys as she quickly crawls to the man. "Help me rip his shirt off and grab the antiseptic from my back pouch."

The soldier hastily attempts to rummage through the operator's back pouch, only for her to say the following,

"Pat a cheek one more time and I'll make you wish you'd been shot private..."

"S-s-sorry ma'am," says the man.

After doing all that they could for the wounded soldier, the operator and her comrade continue to trade fire with the enemy hunkered down the street.

"Breaking cover!"

"Covering!"

A man taking cover behind a bullet-shredded column, after a moment, bolts from his position, drawing enemy fire. Another man peeks his head out from cover and fires another RPG. The projectile though, goes wide and instead sends the enemy troops ducking out of the way. The commander of the tank, unbeknownst to the loyalists, is spitting mad.

"Them delusional dogs just tried to knock us Hungdao!"

"We got 'em right where we want 'em! I'm swinging around Paulo!"

"HIT 'EM GOOD Hungdao!"

The turret on the tank swivels around with a round already loaded into the chamber. But from the sky comes a chorus of screeching wails like banshees following the appearance of streaks of fire.

"Rain check!" shouts the man who just broke from cover.

"HIT THE DECK!" she says ducking lower into the impact crater.

"But the deck is f-*BLEEP!*-ing is being hit!"

"Shut it Yera!"

Explosions follow at the base of the target building, destroying the enemy Byakko and its support squad. The building groans as the foundation is shattered in several places, and the building leans first to the left, then more to the right.

"TIMMMBER!"

The building topples, like a giant of yore being smote by divine lightning. It cracks and breaks open as it crashes into another neighboring building, smaller and stubbier than it. The top half shears off and lays atop the roof of the nearby building, while the other haphazardly stays suspended above the broken street below it.

"Gunmetal 0-4-1 to TACTCOM. rain check is good," she says into the radio.

"TACTCOM copies the good rain check. Be advised that the other enemy columns that were converging upon your position have been engaged by friendly forces across the theater. You are clear to knock on the door."

"Cohort! Move the line up! Clear to knock!" she says aloud.

"Raptor 0-2-2 back on station. A nearby element got to me just in the nick of time. Air space is clear for the moment."

"Good to have you back Raptor 0-2-2. Let's push these bastards out of Bisho!"

"Yes ma'am!"

She heralds the rain with her footsteps. A force to be reckoned with, both proven by skill and inherited by birthright. She is the sister to the Empress, profound and pure and a descendant of that ancient bloodline established since before the current age.

She is the Regent Orochi Aizo, Crown Princess of Katan.

And having lost everything, she has nothing else to lose.