"What are your orders, Your Majesty?" The captain paused, hesitating to ask the next question. "Will we fire upon the city?" Holding his hands behind his back, he dreaded the answers, hoping that he wouldn't have to fire on the Empire's own citizens. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Alfred loved the Empire and its people, but the way he had been speaking previously made him nervous.
Staring at Jaslo, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Taking the telescope, he watched. He saw the Severian troops hunkered between alleys and roads, using the building as cover. Looking past them, he saw the people of Jaslo. Some walked on the streets, trying to go about their lives as normally as possible. In contrast, others peeked through the curtains, terrified of the invading force, the sight evoking memories of when the Empire first invaded the city.
