Stars of Blood and Glory (9 page)

“
Attention, ladies and gentlemen.
This is the pilot again. We’ve entered a low planetary orbit and
should match trajectories with the station in little less than half
an hour. Gravitics are fully online now, and you are free to move
about the cabin. On behalf of myself and all the crew, I wish to
thank you for choosing Shinihon Spacelines as your orbital carrier
today.”

The passenger on Hikaru’s right got up and
squeezed past her into the aisle, presumably to go to the restroom.
She took advantage of his absence to look out the window. The
horizon bent into a glowing blue arc where the planet met the
darkness of space. In the distance, little specks glistened against
the velvety black backdrop. She realized with a start that there
were other spacecraft, moving around in orbit with them. With the
bright white storm clouds covering the planet’s surface, it was a
sure thing that Fukai-Nami had submerged by now, but that was
okay—she didn’t miss it. Everything around her was so new and
exciting, she doubted she ever would.

* * * * *

Katsuichi stood in the center of the bridge,
hands comfortably behind his back as he observed the dozen or so
officers working at their stations ringing the edge of the room.
The stars shone down with their soft light through the domed
windows that stretched from floor to ceiling, giving him an
unparalleled view of the exterior of the ship. As he watched, a
flight wing of squat, ugly-looking gunboats made a slow pass around
the sleeker Rigelan cruisers.

“
Colonel Webb’s shuttle has
docked,” said one of his officers. “Your orders, sir?”

“
Direct him to the main briefing
room,” said Katsuichi. “I’ll meet him there shortly.”

He turned and walked off of the bridge, Kenta
following close behind. As he palmed open the door, he couldn’t
help but notice that Kenta’s sword was partially drawn, with half
an inch or so of bare steel showing. He gave his bodyguard a
puzzled look, as if to ask what was the matter.

“
I don’t trust him,” the old
samurai muttered. Katsuichi nodded and stepped out the
door.

The windowless briefing room was directly
below the bridge, near the center of the ship. Decorated in the
same ancient style as the Imperial palace, it featured paneled
walls and an authentic wooden floor. The Imperial heirloom sword
sat in a glass display at the head of the room, before a giant
glass table ringed by almost two dozen plush leather chairs. A
holographic projector sat in the middle of the table, while display
screens in the walls listed the status and location of each Rigelan
flight group, with organizational charts showing the line of
command down to every fighter wing and gunboat. Except for the two
of them, the room was empty.

Katsuichi walked over to the main doors
opposite the table, and waited in silence, taking advantage of the
brief moment to meditate. Footsteps sounded out in the corridor,
making Kenta grunt. He opened his eyes, and the doors hissed open,
revealing a man in an immaculate blue uniform flanked on either
side by junior officers.

Colonel Webb was tall by Rigelan
standards—almost a full head taller than Katsuichi, though Kenta
was much larger overall. His features were rugged, his sharp chin
and square jawline only slightly softened by a few days worth of
brownish-blond scruff. His deep-set eyes were a dark blue, his
golden hair trimmed short with a well-groomed mustache just below
his nose. As his gaze fell on Katsuichi, his lips turned up in a
keen smile, and he bent at the waist in a polite bow, following it
with a sharp Federation salute.

“
Your Imperial Highness,” said
Colonel Webb, speaking in Gaian. “I trust your voyage to the
rendezvous point was agreeable?”

“
As much as is expedient in a
time of war,” said Katsuichi, returning the salute. “Please, have a
seat.”

Colonel Webb followed him into the room and
sat opposite the head of the table, flanked on either side by his
junior officers. They said nothing, their faces dark and impassive.
From the way the colonel declined to introduce them, Katsuichi
assumed they were underlings performing their assigned duties.

“
I’m familiar with the deployment
schedule and have read up on all the reports I could find,” said
Katsuichi, taking his place at the head of the table. “Of course, I
trust you have a clearer picture of the situation. What can you
tell me?”

Colonel Webb frowned and looked down at his
lap, as if to apologize. The gesture made Katsuichi raise an
eyebrow.

“
To be honest, Your Highness, our
forces were about to retreat before you came. Our position here is
too close to the Hameji to be tenable, and with Federation High
Command split the way it is, we’ve received no clear directive
other than to secure the battlefront stars.”

“
No clear directive? Couldn’t
that be taken to mean that they wish to leave discretion to their
officers in the field?”

“
It certainly could, Your
Highness,” said the colonel, his voice smooth and deferential.
“However, the fleet commanders in this sector are indecisive about
which course of action to take. Many of them are ambivalent about
the prospects of success, and advise taking a more, shall we say,
muted approach.”

Katsuichi frowned. “But Eyn-Gatta is less
than five parsecs from New Vela,” he said. “If we can’t head off
the Hameji here, there’s nothing to stop them from entering the
rift and pushing straight through.”

“
And if we are defeated, Your
Highness, there will be even less to hold them back.” Though
Colonel Webb spoke with a soft, flattering voice, it was clear he
didn’t think that an attack was a good idea.

“
With all due respect, Colonel,
we can’t retreat forever. My men have come here to fight, not stand
idly by as we lose more territory to the invaders.”

The colonel shrugged. “None of us intends to
lose this war,” he said. “With a strong leader, perhaps we could
even pull off a victory at Eyn-Gatta.”

He’s trying to manipulate
me,
Katsuichi
realized.
He
doesn’t think we’ll succeed, so he wants to flatter me into taking
responsibility so that he won’t be blamed if we lose.

But that also meant he couldn’t share in the
glory if they won.

“
We owe the Federation a great
debt of honor for defending us from invasion these many years,”
Katsuichi said. “The least we could do to repay that debt is to
crush the Hameji forces massing at Eyn-Gatta. If the other fleet
commanders will follow me, I will lead them.”

“
You do realize that in the last
twenty or so years of this war, the Hameji have yet to suffer a
strategic defeat?”

Katsuichi grinned. “Neither have we, Colonel
Webb. Will you join your forces with mine?”

The two junior officers looked to the colonel
uncertainly. He returned Katsuichi’s gaze without flinching and
nodded.

“
Aye, we’ll join you. Though I’d
prefer to leave the balance of my fleet in the rear, to facilitate
a quick retreat should it become necessary.”

“
Understandable,” said Katsuichi,
nodding.
All
the more glory for the rest of us.

Colonel Webb rose to his feet, followed by
his officers. “In that case, Your Highness, I’ll return to my
flagship to begin our preparations. My men will send you the latest
intelligence to help you plan the operation.”

“
Excellent. I look forward to
working with you, Colonel.”

“
Likewise, Your
Highness.”

They saluted, and the colonel left. As the
door hissed shut, Kenta let out a long breath.

“
Are you sure this is a good
idea, young master?”

“
My father always said it is best
to keep your enemies close,” Katsuichi answered. “Besides, this is
the perfect chance to repay our debt and free ourselves from the
burden of honor we owe the Federation.”

“
Very well, Your
Highness.”

A chime announced an incoming call. Katsuichi
frowned and checked the display in front of his seat; it was from
the bridge. He activated the channel.

“
Your Highness, we have received
an urgent message for you on a courier ship from home that arrived
only minutes ago.”

“
Very well. What is the
message?”

“
Your sister, Princess Hikaru,
has gone missing. The palace staff has no idea where she may be or
what has happened to her. They have locked down Fukai-Nami but
suspect she may have left the planet.”

Katsuichi’s eyes widened, and his stomach
dropped out from under him. “Hika? She’s been kidnapped?”

“
Her servants claim that she ran
away, but we don’t know where. Our forces have been put on alert,
but no official statement has yet been made.”

But why? Why would she run away? How can this
be happening?

“
If our enemies get word of
this,” Kenta whispered, “they could use this to their advantage. I
propose we send a small, private force to discreetly handle this
problem and proceed as if nothing has happened.”

Katsuichi swallowed and nodded. He felt as if
the room was collapsing in on him, but he forced himself to put on
a strong face. No doubt he would need it often in the days to
come.

“
Very well, then. Give the
Imperial Guard full discretion, with orders to handle it quietly.
And inform me as soon as anything changes.”

“
Sir.”

As the connection switched off, Katsuichi
sighed and collapsed back into his seat with his head in his hands.
Kenta put a hand on his shoulder.

“
Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’m
sure she’ll be found and rescued.”

“
I hope so,” said Katsuichi.
Suddenly, all his preparations for battle seemed as small and
insignificant as a tempest on an uninhabited world.

Part II

Chapter 6

Roman stepped heavily through the open door
to the officer’s lounge and grunted as he took his customary seat
in the front corner. A quick glance around the cozy room showed
that all the officers were back from leave—even the new cybernetics
officer, Lieutenant Al-Najmi. She leaned against the wall in the
back, arms folded across her chest. On the foldout couch nearby,
Lieutenant Yuri Avanadze sat with his arm around his wife, the
doctor. Mikhail Konstantin, the chief engineer, sat in the chair
next to them, laughing good-naturedly at some joke. The gray-haired
drone fighter specialist, Corporal Zura Tajjashvili, sat next to
the ventilator with the smoldering butt of a cigarette nestled
between his fingers. His old, sunken eyes met Roman’s, and the two
men nodded in silent acknowledgment of each other. Though neither
of them had served in the same unit during the short-lived
revolution, they were some of the only remaining members of the
crew with enough years behind them to remember the old days.

Captain Danica Nova stood in front of the
entertainment center, which had been retracted back into the wall.
Her face was stern, her expression unreadable, same as with every
briefing. Roman detected no unusual pulse or heat signatures on her
body, no hidden anxieties or tension beneath the surface of her
commanding demeanor. With luck, this next mission would be an easy
one.

“
Men,” said Danica, nodding to no
one and yet everyone at the same time. Instantly, the room fell
silent, and all eyes turned toward her.

“
Fifteen minutes ago, I received
an urgent call from our employers at New Rigel. They have a job for
us.”

“
Good,” said Lieutenant Yuri,
leaning forward in his seat. “How soon do they want us to head out
for the rift?”

“
Actually, they want us to
withdraw from the main fleet. We are to conduct a private mission
in conjunction with the palace guard. If we’re lucky, we might not
see any combat at all.”

The lieutenant’s expression fell, and his
body stiffened. Doctor Avanadze reached out and gently rubbed his
shoulders, but Roman knew that the young man’s spirit would not be
calmed so easily.

“
Five standard days ago,” Danica
continued, “Her Imperial Highness Hikaru fled the palace on
Fukai-Nami and took a commercial ferry shuttle into
orbit.”

She keyed a command onto her wrist console,
and the holographic projector on the coffee table displayed a three
dimensional image of the princess. Roman squinted; she was a pretty
girl, probably in her late teens, with a slender, well-developed
body and eyes that betrayed a wild and spirited character. She wore
one of the fancy kimonos of the royal family, but from the
expression on her face, it seemed that she’d be more comfortable in
something else.

“
According to her servants, the
princess left the palace of her own volition. However, the palace
guard informs me that there are several rogue elements both inside
and out of this system that would readily seize her if they knew
she was unprotected.”

“
So they want us to get her
back?” asked Zura, stabbing his cigarette in the retractable
ashtray next to the ventilator.

“
Essentially,” said Danica.
“Discretion is a priority, which is why the palace guard contacted
us first.”

“
And what about the Hameji?”
asked Yuri, his lips curled up at the edges. “What about the
upcoming campaign? This isn’t a time to be chasing after a runaway
princess—not when the Hameji are almost within our
grasp.”