Stars of Blood and Glory (24 page)

“
Lieutenant Al-Najmi has informed
me that there’s a small Federation outpost not far from here,”
Danica began. “It orbits a small rogue planet with a very low
albedo, so there’s a good chance that the Hameji haven’t found it.
The Federation probably abandoned it after the fall of Eyn-Gatta,
but if we’re lucky, there should be enough stores left behind for
us to resupply.”

Mikhail grunted. “Are you sure?”

“
We can’t be sure of anything at
this point, but it seems like our best course of action at this
point. We can’t move forward, and we can’t stay here much longer
either. But if we fall back to this base and find enough supplies
there to keep us going, there’s a good chance that we can hide out
until the Hameji pass out of this sector.”

“
Hide where?” Yuri asked. “The
Hameji are in a frenzy—they’re going to want to loot every base
that they can find. Maybe they passed this one over, but it won’t
take long for them to find it.”

“
We don’t have to stay at the
station itself,” said Danica. “The planet is actually more of a
large planetoid; its delta-V index is small enough that we should
be able to land and take off from the surface. Once we’ve
resupplied at the station, we can take the ship down and hide
ourselves until the threat has passed.”

“
And after that?”

Her lips tightened as she took in a deep
breath, her expression grim. Roman didn’t have to hear her say it
to know what the answer was.

“
I’m afraid there’s nothing we
can do about that now. If New Rigel falls, the best we can expect
is to leave the war-zone and hope that the Hameji don’t remember
us.”

A hushed silence fell across the room. Roman
rose to his feet and saluted.

“
I am with you,
Captain.”

“
As am I,” said
Mikhail.

“
And I,” said Yuri.

Danica nodded. “I appreciate your support,
men. May the ancient stars of Earth align in our favor.”

Roman nodded and sat back down. If they were
going to get out of this one, they would certainly need all the
luck they could get.

Chapter 14

Katsuichi felt as if he were living a
nightmare.

The eyes of his best commanders glanced over
at him in barely disguised terror, as if looking for some word that
would save them. Men twice his age waited anxiously for his
command, loyal servants to the bitter end. And bitter it was—none
of the reports were encouraging. The Hameji battle fleets had
routed New Vela and were now converging like a pack of
blood-frenzied sharks on New Rigel and Shinihon.

“
Most of the Federation forces
are fleeing to the Zeta Sector,” reported Admiral Uematsu. “Only
Colonel Webb’s fleet has remained to oversee the
refugees.”

“
The cowards!” shouted a
gray-haired commander. “Have they no honor to abandon their charges
at the first sign of battle?”

“
Colonel Webb is the true
coward,” said another commander, his cheeks red with rage. “But
because he positions himself in the rear, he’ll be received as a
hero while half of the refugees die under his watch!”

“
That’s enough,” said Katsuichi,
motioning for calm. “We don’t need to worry about that right
now—only the defense of our homeworld.”

The room grew as silent as death, as the full
weight of all their gazes fell on him. He bit his lip and tried to
look brave, but inwardly, he wanted nothing more than to run
away.

“
Is there nothing we can do?” he
asked finally, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “Is
everything lost?”

“
Your Imperial Highness,” said
Commander Takahashi, rising to his feet and bowing with his face
pressed almost to the table, “so long as I retain my breath, I will
fight to the last man on my ship to defend Shinihon.”

“
As will I,” said another
commander, rising and bowing all the same.

“
And I, sir.”

“
So will I, Your
Highness.”

“
Our lives are in your
hands.”

A lump rose in Katsuichi’s throat,
threatening to make his emotions break. He gripped the armrests
until his knuckles turned white and took in a deep breath.

“
Thank you,” he
whispered.

As his men returned to their seats, he
clenched his fists and pounded the table—hard. “There has to be
something we can do!” he shouted. “I refuse to believe that we’ve
lost.. The Hameji have failed to break our spirit, and with that
spirit, we can crush them!”

“
Sir!” shouted his men, filling
the room with their enthusiasm.

“
But how?” said Katsuichi, rising
to pace the space behind the table. “Where is their weak spot? How
can we take the battle to them, when they sweep toward us like a
raging hurricane?”

“
Sir, if I may,” said Commander
Takahashi.

“
By all means.”

The commander bowed quickly and looked him in
the eye. “Sir, if you remember the battle at New Vela II, the
Hameji forces demonstrated a critical weakness. After the
Federation forces were routed, several of their squadrons fought
among themselves for the spoils.”

“
Yes,” said Katsuichi, bringing a
hand to his chin. “I remember.”

“
This uncharacteristic break in
discipline shows that the Hameji fleets are not united. When your
father was still emperor, it was these internal schisms that
prevented them from coming upon us in full force. As the original
Hameji Generals grew old and passed away, several of the younger
commanders fought among themselves until Tagatai was acknowledged
as their supreme commander. If their newfound unity is only skin
deep, perhaps we can stem their tide by cutting off the leviathan
at its head.”

A low mutter rumbled around the room, some
commanders nodding in assent, while others frowned in skepticism
and disbelief. Katsuichi glanced at Admiral Uematsu and raised his
eyebrow.

“
Sir,” said Uematsu, bowing
quickly, “our most recent intelligence indicates that Tagatai has
taken his personal battle fleet to the brown dwarf Eyn-Jalla, only
two light-years from New Rigel. In all likelihood, he will
consolidate his forces there before attacking—but the window is
very short; only forty-eight hours at the longest before the rest
of his fleets arrive.”

“
Then let us take the advantage
while the window is still open,” said Takahashi, his eyes blazing.
“This may be our only chance at stopping the Hameji.”

“
But Tagatai’s position is too
strong,” said Commander Ishihara, too agitated to stay still. “He
will be surrounded by almost half the Hameji fleet. Even if we do
break through, his flagship, the
Demon of Tenguri,
is powerful enough to engage five of
our cruisers at once. It would take a miracle to defeat
him.”

“
A miracle,” Katsuichi muttered,
rubbing his chin. “We will have to rally all of the Federation
forces in this sector, including Colonel Webb.”

At that, several of his commanders rose to
their feet. “Fight alongside that spineless bastard?” hissed one of
them. “Your Imperial Highness, I hardly think that—”

“
We have no choice,” said
Katsuichi, raising his hand for silence. “As great as our spirit
may be, we will not win this battle alone. Get to your ships and
see to your men—I will go directly to the colonel to compel him to
join us.”

“
Sir,” said his men, rising to
their feet. As they bowed and left one by one, he folded his arms
and took in a deep breath. It seemed like too much to hope for—but
the fact that they were taking action gave him a refreshing sense
of control. If they died now, at least it would be on their own
terms, with their swords drawn and their enemies before
them.

All except one.

* * * * *

The sound of heavy footsteps on the hard
metal floor alerted Abaqa that someone was coming. He opened his
eyes and roused himself. After a brief moment of silence, the locks
on his cell door clicked open and the hinges squeaked as it swung
open.

“
Prince,” said Captain Danica,
nodding as she stepped inside. “How are you feeling?”

“
Better.”

The old cyborg, Roman, stood in the door, his
laser-eye steady and unblinking.

“
The healing accelerant has
helped, then? Lieutenant Avanadze—Maia, not her husband—told me
that it would.”

Abaqa shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”

“
Good.” She took a seat next to
him on the cot, while Roman folded his arms. “We need to
talk.”

“
About what?”

She took a deep breath, her expression
hardening. “The situation has become a bit … precarious.”

“
After fall of New Vela, we have
become trapped behind enemy lines,” said Roman, his voice low. “At
any moment, Hameji strike team could find and destroy
us.”

Abaqa snorted. “So you want to use me as a
bargaining chip? Exchange your prisoner for safe passage—is that
it?”

“
If we had any reason to believe
that the Hameji would honor such an arrangement, we’d agree to it,”
said Danica. “Unfortunately, if we tried to approach them with a
deal at this point, we have no way of knowing that we’d come out of
it alive.”

“
What? Are you saying that my
brothers would be so dishonorable as to kill an enemy who’s already
surrendered?”

“
That is exactly what we are
saying,” said Roman.

Abaqa bristled, but Danica held up her hand
before he could shoot back with a retort.

“
At this point, we can’t trust
anyone to act on good faith. Tagatai’s battle fleets are in a blood
frenzy, destroying everything in their path. Our best strategy is
to hunker down and wait things out.”

“
Why are you telling me
this?”

“
Because we need to work together
if we’re going to survive this,” she said. “If the Hameji find us,
they will kill us all—even you, Prince Abaqa. Tagatai’s hold on his
men is not as strong as you would like to think.”

Abaqa scoffed.
My brothers would
never destroy this ship if they knew I was here,
he almost said
aloud—but even as the words came to his mind, he knew that they
weren’t true. If his older brother Gazan found him before Jahan
did, there was no telling what might happen.

“
What do you want me to do?” he
asked.

“
There’s a Federation base at a
small rogue planet not far from here,” said Danica. “We’re going to
resupply there, then land on the planet to wait things out. We want
you to work with our cybernetics officer to monitor the radio
frequencies in this sector and alert us of any Hameji activity. If
they come looking for us, we’ll need your help to determine whether
you think we can reach out to them, or whether we should stay
hidden.”

He looked to both of them and nodded. “Fair
enough. And if they are friendly, you’ll release me?”

Roman grunted. “Only in exchange for safe
passage. As you said, you are valuable bargaining chip.”

Abaqa looked back and forth between the two
of them. Their faces looked more somber than any he’d ever seen. It
made his chest tighten, and not just from the pain in his side.

“
Just one question,” he said.
“Did—did Tagatai really slag New Vela II?”

Danica looked at him in silence for a moment,
then nodded. “He did,” she said.

“
The planetborn, then—they’re all
dead?”

“
Yes.”

The confirmation affected him a lot more than
he’d thought it would. He took a deep breath.

“
All right,” he said softly.
“I’ll do what I can.”

“
Good,” said Danica. She rose to
her feet. “Once we arrive at the station, we’ll take you onto the
bridge. The plan is to land on the surface after we’ve resupplied
and stay hidden until the Hameji pass out of this
sector.”

“
Or until they find us,” said
Roman. “If that happens, Prince, I hope you live up to your
word.”

“
Of course,” said Abaqa,
bristling. “I might be half-planetborn, but I’m still a man of
honor.”

“
We’ll arrive at the rogue planet
in a few hours,” said Danica. “Until then, get some rest. I have a
feeling we’re going to need it.”

She stepped out the door, followed by the
cyborg, who gave Abaqa one last piercing stare. As the door swung
shut with a clang, he collapsed on the hard cot, trying in vain to
process everything that had happened to him in the last few days.
Capturing the princess, falling prisoner, learning the truth about
his mother—and now this, making a deal with his enemies that would
only bring him more humiliation. And yet, strangely, he felt no
shame in making it.

Honor and glory are not the
only virtues in this universe,
his mother had told him. But the more he thought
about it, the more his entire universe seemed to be falling
apart.

* * * * *

“
Your Majesty,” said Colonel
Webb, his voice scratchy over the ship-to-ship connection. “I must
admit, it’s a surprise to hear from you so soon. What can I do for
you?”

“
I’ve come to request your help
in a joint operation that may change the course of this war,” said
Katsuichi, gripping the armrests of his command chair. “My fleet is
about to make a surprise attack on General Tagatai’s flagship, and
you are the only Federation commander in a position to assist
us.”