"Keeping your head down on the desk is hardly becoming of the Empire's third princess your highness." A lady-in-waiting stood over a young woman in an elaborate regal dress and her head on the desk. A sigh escaped her lips. "I understand that the colony you saved from gross corruption of an imperial noble didn't end up the way you expected. But you must maintain the decorum of an imperial princess!"
"It is fine." The princess waved off her attendant. "I heard from an... information specialist... making a mistake endears me to the people. Surely showing a few flaws would bring me benefits?" The attendant shook her head.
"I...I can't accept that answer princess!" Her voice wavered a little. "I... Rebbeca Restora... will not allow the chance for the other candidates to criticize you!" The princess looked up with a bright smile.
"Fear not Rebbeca. The mercenary union really likes the project I worked on. And I ensured they knew the Restora family is at my side." The princess's smile slipped into a grin for a second. "The... neutral... union may just have better communication with your family in your star system. But who knows? Maybe your family has been blessed with some talented pilots recently?" Rebbeca paused for a moment. Then her eyes widened.
"So that was..."
"Perhaps... perhaps not..." The princess giggled. "I am merely a selfish imperial princess who does things on a whim. The environment being quite ideal around your systems is just a... coincidence!"
"*sigh*... all the more reason to ensure your success your highness! You must be on guard from attacks from the opposing factions."
"Fear not dear Rebecca. I am quite on guard from political attacks."
"At the very least you are acting like royalty now... even with that blatant dripping double-speak." The princess eyes peeked to the side for a bit. Then lightly placed a finger on her chin. A sigh escape from the princess's lips.
"My tasks taunts me." The princesses hands pressed against Rebecca's back. "Trust me dear Rebecca. I am deeply grateful for your loyalty and trust. Truly!" The princess gives Rebecca a swift slap on her back.
"Your highness! That hur-... feels tingly?" Rebecca's eyes shifted in confusion.
"Ah! A sign of your peerless devotion and efforts to me! But you must rest!" The princess continued to shoo away an unbalanced Rebecca. "I wish for you to remain a reliable subject. Quite impossible without rest. Go on now!" Rebecca got pushed out of the room and the door slid shut. The princess pushed a button on a visual panel.
"Do-not-disturb mode" appeared in the digital panel. The princess gave a quick stretch and headed to her desk. Sitting at the desk the princess softly laid her head onto her luxurious table.
Focused eyes from the ceiling shadows of the study gazed upon the princess. Suddenly blades from the ceiling rushed towards the princess. All blades heading towards her head. With a shimmering translucent light the blades bounce off a sphere surrounding the princess. She looks up with a grin.
"No need for this tiring charade anymore. Why don't you all come down now?" Four assailants jumped down from the corners of room. They landed in front of the now standing Princess. "I wonder who sent you?"
"Gun her down! Her personal shield won't last long!" One darkly cloaked assassin declared. The four unveiled their silenced sub-machine guns. Lasers showered the princess. Each laser bolt caused a shimmer of light pulse on her shield. The princess merely stood there in a confident and regal air. Two seconds... four seconds... ten seconds of laser bolts. The rain of lasers stopped. "How? There is no power source that size that could withstand that attack." The princess giggled.
"It is quite in poor taste to bring cosmic horror to a... realistic space opera. I understand that feeling." Then an ethereal purple dragon with specks of lightening faded in to view from behind the princess. "But when has a royal ever really needed to play by the rules?" The eyes of the assassins widened in horror as they froze in shock.
"R-Run!" One shouted as electric bolts shot everywhere and struck the assassins. The room lights fell dark as the screams of agony were suddenly cut off muffled by the building's systems slowly shutting down. The glow of the ghostly spirit dragon dimly lit the room in silence.
"That was quite satisfying!" The princess smiled at her spiritual dragon companion.
"While I did enjoy this... entertainment... you probably didn't need me as a power source. You have an item pouch. An item where it's inside volume capacity is vast compared to the room it takes up on the outside. And you decided to stuff a large ship generator in it. "
"Oh you are much better than any lifeless generator." The princess patted the dragon. "Besides! Don't you find this place fascinating?" The dragon nodded.
"Your words ring true. In my many long years as a spirit I never dreamed of reaching the lands beyond the heavens." The dragon frowned. "Many long years seeing many lands, cultures, and kindgoms rise and fall. The cruel emptiness and size of the lands beyond the heavens makes all of that feel meaningless."
"You have plenty of time to discover more!" The princess smiled. "I will be sure to show you many places in my Empire!" The dragon raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? So you think the Empire is yours already?"
"That's not quite true." She placed a hand on a nearby window. "I merely wish for the Empire to thrive."
"Haha! Even in the crushing empty vastness of the beyond-heavens you seek to bring fortune to the civilization that raised you?" The dragon looked toward the spot where the assassins once stood. "I guess your Lady-in-Waiting has some covering up to do?" The princess looked towards the dragon.
"Is Rebecca unharmed?"
"She is merely asleep in the hallway outside. You were the one that slapped that electricity-activated sleep spell on her." The princess breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good news to hear. Rebecca might need to call a few favours to hide the fact that this assassination attempt failed." Slowly the lights came back online as a clamour of distant rushing foot steps could be heard.
"Time to return to my spot!" The princess promptly returned to her desk and put her head down on it. The dragon scoffed.
The dragon shook its head as it faded into the shadows. "The Majesty that rivalled great rulers of my time. Dominated the air mere moments ago. Gone like a forgotten dream."