was a man. The holoimage itself was an avatar designed to give nothing away, a blurry, shadowy silhouette of a humanoid figure that stood with its hands behind its back, featureless save for a pair of burning white eyes in an otherwise blank face. This was the only image the patron had ever shown, and so long as he – or she – kept providing payment and resources, the Commander was content to allow him – or her – his privacy.


    "I am disappointed in you."


    "Even my resources, extensive as they are, have limits; this is not a loss I can easily absorb. I had thought you had matured from the brute you were in the Alaelam Wars under my guidance; it seems I was mistaken."


    "You sought to save your own life because you have no desire to die; the benefit to me was a secondary concern. Consider yourself fortunate, however, that your selfishness is not without benefit in this particular instance. I have another task for you, and a chance for you to find some measure of redemption."


    "I do not intend to allow a new monarch to ascend, and this tournament offers a unique opportunity for us."


    "You aren''t one of their nobles, and I don''t have time to sufficiently ingratiate you with a guild in order to earn their patronage. No, the tournament is only an excuse – it means that, for the first time in decades, all, or almost all, of the titled nobles of the Dozen Stars will be gathered together in one place." The patron''s eyes glittered. "I think you can understand the opportunity this presents for us."


    Yes," the Patron said. "This is my command to you – go to Carann when the time comes. I can arrange for you to be granted clearance that will get you to the planet''s surface, and I will trust your stealth technology to do the rest. You will enter the palace and, at the final round with the eyes of the entire Kingdom on you, you and your soldiers will kill the contestants and every noble of rank in the audience. The Dozen Stars will watch in horror as its entire ruling class is decapitated, along with their hope for the future. If you succeed, the Kingdom will splinter and soon fall, with minimal further effort. And even if you fail, the damage you do to the duchies'' succession will be catastrophic. At long last, the Kingdom of the Dozen Stars will be finished either way, and your labors of the past two decades will not be in vain."


    "But as a reminder…" he raised his hand and made a gesture in the air; the Commander knew that he was tapping keys on a control panel on his end which the holo didn''t show. A moment later, the Commander collapsed, screaming, his cybernetics sending out waves of unbearable pain through his body, pain so great that it seemed that a few minutes of it would be enough to destroy him entirely… and then it was over, and he was left panting face down on his floor.


    "I had you remade, Commander – I could just as easily have you unmade. Attempt to betray me again, or to save your own life at the expense of my plans and know that what I have given you just now is but a taste. I dislike invoking the lash, but your recent performance makes the reminder a necessary one. Don''t make it necessary again. Am I clear?"


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    dueling for the crown was not what I had in mind."


    is an honored tradition of our Kingdom. I supposed you could say we''re just being true to our heritage."