Date: 22 BBY – Liberation Campaign, Siege of Kadavo: Hour Four
The once-proud throne hall of the Zygerrian Empire now stood in broken silence.
Its gilded columns were cracked. The royal tapestries that once depicted centuries of slaver conquest now hung in tatters, stained with dust and blood. The grand obsidian throne had been shattered—split at the base and left crooked in defiance of the monarchy it once served.
Amid the ruin, Cain entered.
His dark robes fluttered faintly behind him, boots clicking softly on the polished stone as he stepped across shattered tiles. Light from the burning city beyond streamed through the broken archways, casting the room in a haunting glow.
He stopped beside a shattered statue of an old Zygerrian warlord, glancing down at it briefly before lifting his eyes.
Seris and Maul stood at the center of the hall, surrounded by wreckage and the barely-living remains of the noble court.
The Queen herself was slumped against the fallen throne, bruised and broken, her crown lying in a puddle of her own blood.
Maul's hands were red, but his breathing was calm.
Seris, hair still tied in a tight braid, stood tall—shoulders squared, eyes unshaken. She turned as Cain approached, and her face softened.
Cain took in the room, his gaze lingering on the piles of wreckage and moaning figures still breathing.
He exhaled, tone dry.
"I hope some of them are alive. We do need someone to stand trial. Basic formality."
Maul raised an eyebrow.
"Trials? I'd call this justice."
Cain stepped closer, kneeling beside a still-breathing minister who had voted to execute slaves by the thousands just weeks ago. The man was missing two fingers and an eye, but he still breathed. Barely.
Cain didn't help him.
"Because the galaxy needs to see it," Cain said quietly.
"The people who suffered under their chains need proof that justice was done—that these monsters were real… and that they were brought low."
He looked up at Maul with calm certainty.
"Sometimes death is too easy."
Maul's lip twitched in a faint smile. "Hmph. Spoken like someone who's known pain and learned from it."
Cain stood, brushing dust from his sleeve, and turned to Seris.
He paused.
The moonlight caught the side of her face—sweat-dappled, dust-smudged, her silver eyes still burning with power. The torn edge of her silk gown fluttered in the breeze, its elegance at odds with the warrior within.
Cain smiled, almost boyish for a moment.
"You look beautiful," he said quietly. "Trying a new look?"
Seris blinked, caught off guard.
She smirked, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly as she pulled her braid over one shoulder.
"No," she laughed softly, letting some tension drain from her shoulders.
"But… thank you for the compliment."
They stood there, quiet for a breath. In the space between falling kingdoms and rising empires.
Victory Echoes
A flicker lit up Cain's wrist communicator.
Commander Cody's voice came through the holo-feed, crisp and resolute.
"Command—this is Cody. The last tower has fallen. Outer city resistance is crushed. The local barracks surrendered. We've secured the capital."
Cain nodded, responding evenly.
"And the civilians?"
"Freed. They're flooding into the open spaces around the central square. Barriss and the Healing Corps are setting up triage and safe zones with help from some of the former slaves. The wounded are being cared for. We're moving quick, Commander—just like you taught us."
Cain allowed himself a small smile. "Good work, Cody. Hold the perimeter. We'll join you soon."
The holo faded.
Cain stared out one of the broken archways, watching as the Eternal Alliance banners unfurled over the outer spires—white suns blooming behind the symbol of the Dawn.
Paladins and soldiers helped carry the wounded. Medics treated the freed with soft hands and open hearts. Droids and volunteers distributed water, food, cloaks. Others set up temporary shelters in the city's central plaza.
It looked like the beginning of something.
Cain stepped forward slowly, standing beside Seris and Maul. The smoke of battle lingered on the horizon. The people—once enslaved, beaten, used—were singing in the streets below.
He closed his eyes.
"We broke the chains…"
A pause.
"Now we build something so this never happens again."
Seris looked at him.
"And if it does?"
Cain opened his eyes, gaze hard.
"Then we rise again. Stronger. Smarter. Together."
Maul folded his arms, his tone dry.
"You sound like a prophet."
Cain chuckled, faintly.
"No. Just a tired soldier with a long memory."
The moonlight turned gold as the first Alliance beacon tower came online, casting a pale glow across the ruins of the throne room.
The Zygerrian Empire had fallen.
Its chains lay shattered.