Stars of Blood and Glory (4 page)

“
Katsuichi-sama,” came a deep
voice behind him. “Please, come quickly. Your father lies on his
deathbed—any moment could be his last.”

Katsuichi sighed and stared down at the
peaceful scene as if to let it wash over his troubled heart. “I
know, Kenta,” he said. “I’ll be there shortly.”

“
Very well, young master. But I
implore you, do not keep His Imperial Highness waiting.”

His Imperial Highness.
Soon, that title
would be his. The thought filled his heart with a terror darker
than the deepest abyss of the world ocean, where pressurized ice
covered the sea-bottom and the warm light of New Rigel never shone.
He took another deep breath and tried to quell his shaking hands.
Did every emperor feel this way before assuming the
responsibilities of the throne? Surely, if anyone but his bodyguard
Kenta could see his fear, he would be filled with shame. And yet,
even as he turned from the balcony to face the palace door, he did
not feel that his fear was cowardly or unwarranted.

“
Very well,” he said softly. “I’m
ready.”

Kenta bowed deeply, revealing the ponytail
at the back of his otherwise bald head. A tall, muscular man, he
wore the traditional warrior robes with the sword of the samurai on
his belt, along with the ivory-handled laser pistol of the palace
guard. The densely interwoven tattoos covering the dark skin of his
upper arms proclaimed his rank and status as one of the royal
bodyguards.

The hallways of the palace seemed narrow and
confining as Katsuichi approached his father’s chambers.
Maid-servants in colorful skirts and tall, dark-skinned samurai
stepped aside to let him through, bowing as he passed. His mind was
so full, he hardly noticed them.

The Emperor’s private chambers were largely
empty. Besides a couple of aunts kneeling on the wooden floor and
the chief advisor standing against the paneled wall, the room was
all but empty. The emperor himself lay in the center of the room on
an ornately embroidered futon, blanket pulled up to his frail chest
while the thin white hair of his beard trailed down from his bony
chin. A medical droid stood off to one side, its insect-like arms
retracted, while four recorder bots hovered silently in the corners
of the room. Against the far wall, sweet-smelling smoke trailed
from a bowl of traditional incense, while a holographic icon of the
second Buddha shimmered in the flickering light of the candles
immediately below.

“
Katsu,” the emperor groaned.
Katsuichi stepped forward and knelt by his father’s side, pressing
his forehead against the floor in a sign of deep
respect.

“
Rise,” said his father. “There
is … no time for formalities. Only a short while, and you will be …
emperor.”

Katsuichi rose and knelt
seiza
-style on the floor, ankles beneath him with his hands
resting in his lap. Kenta bowed with his forehead to the floor and
sat similarly next to him.

“
My time … has come,” said the
emperor, his eyes barely open. “It is time … to name my
successor.”

The chief advisor stepped forward and bowed,
so that his back was almost horizontal to the floor. A deep and
reverent silence filled the room as he slid open the glass case,
retrieving the ancient sword within. Chills shot down Katsuichi’s
neck, and goosebumps ran down his arms as the advisor set the sword
in the dying emperor’s trembling hands.

“
Katsuichi, come
forward.”

Katsuichi took a deep breath and bowed again,
his heart pounding in his chest. He sat up and gently took the
sword with both hands, taking special care not to drop it. The
gold-inlaid scabbard depicted a cluster of floating cities, their
cascading domes protecting the gardens and pagodas of his people
from the violence of the storms and waves. The lines of ocean gave
way to the stars and planets, with the mighty starships that had
carried his ancestors across the starry sea from Gaia Nova—and
before that, Earth.

“
Draw it, my son.”

Ever so carefully, Katsuichi pulled the sword
out of its scabbard. It felt surprisingly light in his hand, the
handle fitting so easily to his grip that it seemed like a natural
extension of his body. He handed the scabbard to Kenta, who bowed
deeply as he took it from him, and ran his finger lightly over the
blade. The steel was a dark metallic gray, with an oily sheen over
the ancient tempering that had given it its characteristic curve.
The hilt was made of polished ivory and jade, and depicted the
continents and landforms of Earth, now lost except to legend.

His father gave a satisfactory grunt and lay
back against his pillow. “Let it be witnessed,” he said softly,
“that when the sun sets on the Imperial city of Fukai-Nami … my son
Katsuichi will be the Emperor of Shinihon.”

A thrill shot through Katsuichi’s body, from
the back of his neck to the ends of his toes and fingers. His legs
went numb, and it was all he could do to sheath the ancient
heirloom sword and bow once again. No doubt, the bots in the
corners of the room would broadcast holographic recordings of the
ceremony across the entire planet, and to the half-dozen
super-stations in orbit as well. As he drew himself up, he took
care to appear confident and strong—not anxious and inadequate, as
he felt.

“
Thank you, Father,” he said. “I
will do my best to rule as you have done.”

His father nodded and coughed. In his present
state, he looked frail enough that a strong wind could carry him
away. Strange to think that he had once bounced Katsuichi on his
knee. Those days now felt like they had happened eons ago, in
another lifetime.

“
These are … troubled times,” his
father groaned. “I wish I could have left you … under more peaceful
circumstances. But we must all … rise to the duties required of
us.”

Katsuichi nodded solemnly, pressing his chin
against his chest. “I understand,” he said simply.

“
The Hameji have conquered … many
stars,” his father continued. “For nearly a generation, their
specter has … overshadowed us. We owe a great … debt of honor … to
the foreign-born warriors … who have defended us. You must repay
this debt, Katsu. You must not let it … overshadow us any
longer.”

“
Yes, Father,” said Katsuichi,
his hands trembling in his lap. “I will repay our debt to the
off-worlders.”

“
You must do … what I could not.
Even though you should lose your life … it is but a small thing. We
must never lose … our honor.”

“
I will not disappoint you,
Father. I promise.”

His father’s lips turned upward in a smile.
“Your words warm my soul, little Katsu. I am proud … of you.”

Katsuichi nodded and bowed, as much out of
respect as to hide the growing emotion in his eyes. He couldn’t
afford to let his people see anything that could be taken as a sign
of weakness in the boy that was to be their emperor.

* * * * *

Princess Hikaru sighed as her maid-servants
untied the sash around her waist and helped her out of her royal
kimono. Such a cumbersome piece of clothing—she loathed every
second that she had to wear it. She relaxed a little as her
servants helped her into her more casual palace robes, but
considering how she was forbidden to go anywhere but her private
quarters in them, they were almost as confining. It was all so
frustrating, these rules of royal propriety that kept her like a
bird in a gilded cage or a blossom in a jewel-studded
flower-box.

An icon popped up in the upper-right corner
of the holographic mirror, indicating a breaking news story. She
tapped it once to bring it onto the main screen, just below the
reflection of her face. HIS IMPERIAL HIGHNESS EMPEROR YAMAMOTO
NAMES PRINCE KATSUICHI AS HIS SUCCESSOR, the headline read,
complete with an image of her father handing off the royal sword to
her subdued and reverent brother. She smiled a little to herself.
The news was not unexpected, but it was still exciting to see her
big brother finally rising to his place in the kingdom.

Rising in a way she never would.

“
My lady,” said one of the
maidservants, bowing deeply. “Katsuichi-sama is at the door and
wishes to speak with you.”

“
Thank you,” said Hikaru. “I’ll
see him now.” She left the mirror, adjusting the sash on her own
while her servants put her things away.

The wood-panel door slid silently open,
revealing her brother, Katsuichi. His face was unusually pale, his
expression somber, but he’d come alone and that was all that
mattered.

“
Katsu!” she said, giving him a
smile and a quick hug. “Why so gloomy? Come in, come
in!”

He followed her into her
quarters and knelt down,
seiza
-style, on a cushion in front of the low-set table
in the center. One of the maid-servants pulled a silver-plated
thermos from a compartment in the wall and set it on a tray with
two cups for tea. Hikaru nearly tripped over the girl as she took
her place opposite her brother, but recovered her balance
quickly.

“
I heard the news,” she said,
kneeling on the cushion across from him. “It’s so exciting—you must
be thrilled.”

“
Thrilled?” he said, frowning at
her. “How can you be thrilled, when our father is dead?”

“
Yes, well, that’s really sad of
course,” she said, doing her best to swallow her enthusiasm. “But
now that he’s gone, that makes you the Emperor of Shinihon and the
Thousand Island-cities. How does it feel?”

Katsuichi glanced over his shoulder as the
servant placed the tray on the table and left the room. He waited
until she was gone before turning back to his sister.

“
To be honest, it terrifies
me.”

Hikaru threw back her head and laughed.
“Terrifies you? What are you talking about? Stop being silly!”

“
I’m not being silly,” said
Katsu, looking her in the eye. “It’s a heavy burden—a huge
responsibility. With the Hameji on the move again—”

“
Oh, do we have to talk about the
war right now?” she said, rolling her eyes. “All this talk of
battles and campaigns can get so tedious.”

“
Tedious or not, it’s important,
Hika. The only reason we haven’t been conquered like every other
system from here to Gaia Nova is because of the Federation. Our
samurai are strong, but our starships are no match for the Hameji
battle fleets.”

“
Yes. Well, I’m sure that
whatever it takes, you’ll find a way to protect us.”

Katsuichi bit his lip and nodded. “It’s
just—it seems so difficult. I want to save our people, Hika. How
can I do that when the odds are stacked so heavily against us?”

She took a sip of her tea and set the cup
back down on the table. “By doing your best, Katsu. Why are you so
afraid? This is your time! You’re the Emperor of all Shinihon—what
is there not to be excited about?”

“
The Hameji are not to be
underestimated. Before they slagged Gaia Nova—”

“
I don’t care. Father fought the
Hameji too, didn’t he? And yet, things turned out all right for
him. Why not for you too?”

He looked away and shrugged. Hikaru leaned
forward with both hands on the table, her heart racing.

“
Don’t be so uptight, Katsu. You
can do this—I know you can. Back when we used to play tricks on the
nurses as children, didn’t you tell me that you dreamed of being
the most famous emperor someday? Well, right now, that dream is
within your grasp—so seize it!”

“
You really think I
can?”

“
Of course I do!”

Katsuichi looked up at her and smiled. His
cheeks were no longer pale, his shoulders no longer slumped. Though
he was still the brother she had known growing up, there was
something changed about his manner—the difference between a boy and
a man.

“
You’re right, Hika-chan. I can
do this—it’s what I was born to do.”

“
Exactly!”

He finished off his tea and rose
to his feet. “You should know that I’m leaving in a few hours on
the
Divine
Wind
to lead
the royal fleet to the battlefront systems. The Hameji are on the
move, and I’m not going to stand by and let the Federation fight
all our battles for us.”

Hikaru frowned. “Leaving? But you only just
became emperor.”

“
Father’s advisors can run the
domestic affairs better than I can. They’ve been doing it ever
since he took ill, after all, and there haven’t been any problems
so far. Besides, you’ll still be around to keep them in
line.”

“
But what about—”

“
I’m sorry,” said Katsu, “but I’m
not needed here. This war isn’t just about protecting our
people—it’s about reclaiming our honor and paying our debt to the
Federation. If I don’t do that now, when the Federation needs us
most, I’ll be forever branded as a weak and shameful ruler. Do you
understand?”

“
Yes,” said Hikaru. She set down
her teacup and rose to her feet to see him off.

“
One last thing,” said Katsuichi,
looking her straight in the eye. “No matter what happens, I want
you to be safe. I couldn’t bear it if anything should happen to
you—understand?”

Hikaru bit her lip and nodded.

“
So before I leave, I need you to
promise me that you will stay safe here in the palace. Will you
promise me?”