《Crisis》


 1. A Boy Is Born

    August 31, 1562, New Imperial Calendar.


    Sub-basement Twenty of the Imperial Palace, Imperial City, Alcyone Three.


    In the dark three female flower Elves weaved their way through the hawthorn bushes around a round white marble pool. Each was a member of the Blood-Witches, masters of the healing arts and magic. Each wore a long dark red hooded robe. Each had the hood over her head, and face concealed by a red medical mask. The Blood-Witch, in the lead, carried a staff and a medical bag, the second was pregnant, and the third carried a p¨²ca basket.


    In front of the pool was a quarter-circle marble bench seat. At the back of the pond stood a marble statue of a flower Elf maiden, holding a vase that poured water into the pool, with the overflow and filter at its feet.


    In silence, each Blood-Witch removed her robes revealing they are Flower Elves. They folded and placed her robes, clothes and underwear on the marble seat and put their boots in front of the bench. Wearing only a medical mask, they each entered the small pool. Three more Blood-Witches arrived, the new-comers stood silently on the edge of the pool and waited.


    The pool was behind a two-story wooden Japanese Quadrangle house in the middle of the island. A palisade with a walkway near the top, surrounded the house.


    The island, north of the central column, was located in a dark, massive cavern, one of the 21 sub-basements beneath the Imperial Palace. A large lake, a few metres deep, dominated the cavern. A 6-metre long Green Eastern Water Dragon rose out of the lake and watched the Witches.


    Hashimoto House Guards stood guard on the palisade. Each was well armed and armoured in a combat vest, a helmet, a 9mm handgun, stun baton, and a 7mm caseless Viper-One assault rifle. Their green tabards bore the symbol of House Hashimoto, a Green Eastern Dragon inside a solid red circle.


    Emperor Takahiro Hashimoto, a flower Elf with gold eyes and a long, thick, mane of pink hair, waited in the main room. Hiro Hashimoto arrived, bowed low, Takahiro bowed slightly and then sat.


    The Emperor sat in silence on a Japanese wooden stool with a red cushion, and he smoked a kiseru. He wore a red silk kimono with green trim, with the symbol of his house on his back; his hakama was green. On his head was the crown of the Empire, seven platinum oak leaves, joined tip to stem, to form a circle.


    His son, Prince Hiro, stood beside him. He wore an Imperial Navy uniform, five vertical gold bars pinned on his collar. Hanging from his black leather belt was a mobile phone beside a wand holder. Inside was a Wand that looked like a bamboo stalk with an onion bulb on its end.


    His dark purple jacket lay folded on a stand by the door to the courtyard. On the left sleeve was the symbol of the Elven Empire, a black, round patch with the seven stars of the Pleiades.


    The Blood-Witches watched and waited until the pregnant Witch gave birth. They gasped. Unlike other p¨²ca, this one was born with a full head of pink hair and teeth. All Elves are androgynous; thus, all males are born female, but they do not have ovaries, and they grow their male organ when a teenager.


    The Witch washed the p¨²ca and lifted it out of the water. The p¨²ca up opened its eyes and took its first breath. The first Blood-Witch carried it up the stairs out of the pool, and she placed a tag on the p¨²ca¡¯s wrist. She looked at the smart-watch on her wrist and wrote ¡®Hashimoto p¨²ca, 12:01 am September 1, 1562¡¯ on it. Then she bagged the placenta, clamped and cut the umbilical cord. The p¨²ca did not cry; instead, he looked around.


    He was wrapped and placed in the p¨²ca basket; then the first Blood-Witch handed it over to the first in the second trio. The third Blood-Witch helped the second out of the pool. The first trio dressed as the House Guards escorted the second to the house. The dragon sniffed the air, then slid silently back into the water.


    The second trio of Blood-Witches took the p¨²ca to the east wing of the house, to the clinic. As the third washed the p¨²ca, the first entered his Imperial Identification Number; she copied the sixty-four pairs of hexadecimal numbers from a message on her phone.


    The computer had a hand-held scanner, a camera, with cables to the network socket in the wall, the DNA Sequencer and the scanning booth. The computer displayed the record, it had the prenatal scans, titled Hashimoto p¨²ca, 1560.


    The second Witch took a DNA swab, placed it in the DNA Sequencer, then took a second swab. She handed the second swab to the first Witch, who put it in her medical bag. Then with the hand-held scanner, scanned the palms and soles, then used the camera to photograph him. The third Witch placed him in the scanning booth, which imaged him internally and externally from head to toe. The pictures of his body, layers of his brain, muscles, and organs, were added to his record. The DNA Sequencer finished the chromosome test, the display confirmed the newborn¡¯s gender as male.


    The First Witch printed each image, not on paper, but on a slightly green plastic, known as optical paper. Each sheet had his identification number on top. While they waited, the trio of Blood-Witches, fussed over him on a p¨²ca rug and dressed him. When the printing finished, the first Witch placed the first stack of plastic sheets into a folder in her medical bag, then printed a second batch.


    The first trio of witches was escorted by House guards down the granite walkway around the house, to the iron double-gate, with the symbol of House Hashimoto on the outside.


    Both inside and outside the gate Imperial Knights were on guard. Each was well armed and in solid white armour, with a helm with a clear faceplate. Each wore webbing that held a 13mm handgun, with an extra ammunition clip on a shoulder holster. They carried a large combat knife on the front of their vests with a pack and a claymore on their back. Hung on their belt was a stun baton, a wand holder with a Wand inside, a torch, two cuffs and a phone. The phone connected to the plug in the back of the helm. Each Knight had three gold bars on their shirt collar. They were alert, with one hand always on their Viper-Two 10mm assault rifle on three-point-strap hanging by their side. Like the Hashimoto House Guards, they all were female flower Elves.


    The Knights closed the gates as the house guards escorted the first trio of Blood-Witches through the garden, and over the wooden bridge to the massive stone column in the middle of the cavern. A small section of the wall opened to reveal a lift with ¡®20¡¯ on the doors.


    As the three Blood-Witches left the clinic, a pair of guards entered the main room to take away the kiseru and the ashtray stand. The guards then escorted the Blood-Witches into the room, the first carried a green book, the second carried a p¨²ca bag; the third brought the p¨²ca, wrapped in a yellow blanket with blue stars on it. Together they stood before and bowed to the Emperor.


    ¡°Emperor, the p¨²ca is extraordinary,¡± The first Blood-Witch said.


    ¡°Something in the results of your tests Blood-Witch?¡± Takahiro asked, his gold eyes narrowed.


    ¡°No, the analysis will be completed in twenty-six hours, with paternity established twenty-four hours later. However, the p¨²ca, only an hour old, crawled,¡± the Witch replied, she turned to the one with the p¨²ca and nodded. The Blood-Witch placed him on the floor and removed the blanket from the p¨²ca, she stood back, waited, then sat him on the floor. Kaede giggled and looked around.


    ¡°Are you joking with us?¡± Hiro asked, with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°Blood-Witches are not known for their humour; they take their duties seriously,¡± Takahiro said. He stood, faced Kaede, knelt and held his hands out. Kaede looked at him and crawled over. Takahiro lifted Kaede and said, ¡°What a fine boy.¡± He looked at the witches and asked, ¡°You have confirmed the results of the prenatal test? Is the p¨²ca a boy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Emperor Takahiro, the p¨²ca has one X and one Y chromosome. I assure you he is pure blood flower Elf in perfect health with all the Hashimoto genes, and your son, Hiro, is the father,¡± the first Blood-Witch replied.


    ¡°Excellent,¡± Takahiro replied, he handed the p¨²ca to Hiro, ¡°The charter guarantees every law-abiding citizen, one child,¡± he turned to the witches, ¡°with the witch¡¯s permission.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Emperor. It is our duty to enforce the population control law and preservation of blood-line act,¡± the first Blood-Witch stated, ¡°Should you or the crown prince require a bride, we can-,¡±. She was cut off by the Emperor, who raised his hand and spoke.


    ¡°I am aware of how keen the Blood-Witches are to see me and my son married to many females. My son had the right to choose to have a p¨²ca with a surrogate,¡± Takahiro said.


    The Blood-Witch, with the p¨²ca bag, stepped forward, removed a bottle of milk and then handed it to Hiro. She placed the p¨²ca bag near his jacket. ¡°We will deliver mother¡¯s milk daily until he is weaned or turns twelve,¡± she said.


    The Second Witch detached her phone from her belt under her robe and asked, ¡°Prince Hiro what is the official name of your son?¡±


    He looked at Takahiro, who nodded. Hiro replied, ¡°Kaede.¡±


    ¡°Prince Kaede Hashimoto,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°That will be entered into his Imperial Identification Record. We will print and send you a copy of the report along with his birth certificate, identification card and his medical record to the palace clinic, in seven days, along with your updated Family Book. By law I must inform you that it is the parent or guardian¡¯s responsibility to renew the identification card for their p¨²ca every year on the week of their birthday until they are eighteen, then it will be their responsibility every five years,¡± the First Blood-Witch said putting the green book into her bag.


    ¡°Thank you, Blood-Witches. The guards will escort you to a waiting van to take you back to Blood-Tower,¡± Takahiro said.


    Two Knights entered with a squad of guards. The trio of Witches bowed and left with the guards, the Knights bowed to the Emperor and closed the door on their way out.


    Takahiro turned to Hiro and said, ¡°Son, Kaede will have the best of care.¡±


    ¡°I know father,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Son, I am told the Night Owl will be in the dock for at least three months. Except for emergencies, let the quartermaster, engineers, and your executive officer take care of the ship. That is what they are there for,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Yes, father, I shall,¡± Hiro said rolling his eyes.


    ¡°As for your green-haired companion. Make certain your son never calls her mother. If he does, not only will I will ban her from the palace, I will pass the ring to him. Around the clock, a squad of Knights will be guarding him,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Happy thirty-sixth birthday, son,¡± Takahiro said. A guard entered from the west side; she carried a tray with a silver pocket watch. Takahiro took the watch and placed it on Hiro¡¯s jacket. The guard bowed and left. ¡°Son, I want you to have this.¡±


    ¡°Father, is that your watch?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But, this is the watch Lilith gave you!¡±


    ¡°The original stopped working over a thousand of years ago; this one is a copy I made in my workshop.¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Thank you, father.¡± Hiro bowed slightly.


    ¡°I know I told you to never ask any immortal, especially me, about the past. But if I choose to tell you something about the old Empire, I can. Do not repeat this to anyone, Lilith gave me the original watch just after she built the first spaceship; it was the last time I saw her alive,¡± Takahiro said, ¡°Do you still use the sextant I gave you when you joined the Imperial Navy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we take manual readings to confirm position, when we disengage the ultra-drive to refuel,¡± Hiro replied.


    ¡°We did the same in the First Fleet when we founded the new Empire.¡±


    "I know what you just said, but if I can ask, why were there so many sub-light ships in the Exodus Fleet?"


    ¡°We only had the resources to build a few thousand ultra-drives."


    ¡°Yes, but we can make more now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but we are still unable to build a fusion reactor able to power an ultra-wave field generator over 100-metres long. The Exodus Transport is 500-metres long, the best we could do then, is the same as we can now, a field able to bend time enough to enable the ship to travel at near light speed.¡±


    ¡°Since you rarely permit me to enter your sanctuary, if I ask, when was the first stealth ship made?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but tell no one, officially we do not have stealth ships,¡± Takahiro replied. ¡°I invented the cloaking device on Mars. It was for the Exploration Fleet, which we built before the First Colony Fleet, which later became the model for the Exodus Fleet. I know you are aware that I had Viktor assign you to the stealth cruiser, The Night Owl when you made captain.¡±


    ¡°I enjoy being a starship captain, even if it is only watching and listening to the Exodus Fleet."


    "Security is an important operation son. Any changes to routines when they stop at the waypoint stations?"


    "More ships exchange crew members with each other than the Imperial Fleet.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how many of the original starship crews remain in service with the Exodus Fleet?¡±


    ¡°Just under half. I am sure you are aware a quarter of the original crew members have refused to leave the Exodus Fleet, but they have unloaded all their animals and p¨²ca. Not just the Imperial Fleet, the Exodus Fleet calls them The Resolved, because they want to deliver their ship to their new home.¡±


    ¡°Do they socialise and work with the fleet?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What was the last known position of the Exodus Fleet?¡±


    ¡°The nearest is twenty years away from its destination, with the furthest four hundred and twenty-two years from its destination.¡±


    ¡°I know one ship is overdue from the Fifth Fleet, any news from the search?¡±


    ¡°Father, you should ask Admiral Niemi that. I don¡¯t read the classified reports that the stations and ships give me to deliver to command.¡±


    Takahiro paused, he stood and took the empty bottle from the Kaede, ¡°Admiral Viktor sits in his office; you have flown past the rows and rows of ships.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thousands of starships, each ship positioned upright, in orbit around a star waiting to land at nearby space stations is an impressive sight to see. It is rather like that time at the beach when a row of dolphins stood out of the water.¡±


    ¡°I captained the first Night Owl, son; we came to Alcyone ahead of the first Exodus fleet. I have seen them line up. It is important that you learn lessons from the Exodus Fleet. In the future, we will need to search for, and again move to a new home; worlds have a finite life. The most valuable lesson the people need to learn is for us to remain united with a mighty space fleet.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Father, you have said that many times.¡±


    ¡°Son, time is the most precious commodity in the Empire, especially when another starship has vanished without a trace. I gave you my watch as a reminder,¡± Takahiro said, he extended his hands out, Hiro hands over Kaede to him.


    ¡°Father, your plan to have the Imperial Fleet escort the remaining five Exodus Fleets has kept losses to less than five percent of the ships. The fleet has offloaded all their animals and the bulk of their cargo; we copied the electronic library on every ship a decade ago; most transfers now are of p¨²ca.¡±


    ¡°Each Exodus ship left Mars on a trip that could take 600 years, the last fleet having dismantled everything and carry relics from Mars, the first planet we colonised in the old Empire.¡±


    ¡°I know the largest faster-than-light ship we can build is the Cruiser, only 100-metre long. In the last ten years, we only lost one ship. Fleet Engineers have installed better fault detection systems in all ships. We did have in two Exodus Transports breakdown, but the Imperial Fleet rescued and repaired them. The five remaining Exodus Fleets each have full-time escorts.¡±


    ¡°Son, that missing ship is important to the Empire.¡±


    ¡°What is so important about that ship?¡±


    ¡°It was one of the preservation ships; it carried a uterine replicator, a genetic sequencer, and a genetic manipulator with a genetic material database. It was to seed a new world. Each is very expensive. Fortunately, we have a copy of the database.¡±


    ¡°A uterine replicator, is that the artificial womb?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Fortunately, we can replace the lost equipment. What concerns the Senate, is the fact that the ship vanished with no trace. It is as if it just disappeared after it departed the second repair stop.¡±


    ¡°Father, the size of the search area against us, also Ion Trails are hard to find after a year, and that is if nothing interferes with them. It is true that the radioactive Ion Trail does have a half-life of just over twelve years, but it is the dispersal rate that makes it hard to distinguish them from background radiation.¡±


    ¡°I know about Ion-Trails. I created the dispersal system on the stealth ship to scatter them,¡± Takahiro paused and stepped closer to Hiro. ¡°We need to talk about your girlfriend, don¡¯t you even dare think about getting her pregnant.¡±


    ¡°Father,¡± a long pause, ¡°I know you do not like her, I shall keep her away from you.¡±


    ¡°You know I am proud of you and that I do not mind that you did not marry. I never married. This is not about her been a giant. I myself, have a few Dwarven companions.¡±


    ¡°Her name is Freya Evergreen, Father. She is not a prostitute, nor is she a companion hired from an agency. She is my girlfriend, and she works as a translator for the Imperial Fleet.¡±


    ¡°Just make sure your son does not call her mother.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Hiro snapped.


    ¡°Hiro, it has cost me a fortune to have the Blood-Witches produce a Pure-Blood son for you. This is not just about the continuation of our house, we must ensure we never face extinction again.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡±


    ¡°Then show some appreciation. I have set up a trust fund for his care and education. When he is 18, like you, he must earn his title.¡±


    ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t choose to captain a starship?¡±


    ¡°He does not need to be a starship captain to retain his title; he can choose to serve as a Knight, a Medical Officer or as an Agent of the Inquisition, to keep his title and in time, earn a place in my court.¡±


    ¡°We should go. I arrived only a few hours ago, and the media was already waiting to see him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we will come out, but just in time to be live on the sunrise news as the lead story. I want you to place Kaede on the lawn and let him crawl.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Father.¡±


    It was a few hours later when High Lord Dain, a male Field Elf, entered the dining room of a large Manson on the south side of the lake. He brushed his long blonde hair of his ears, Field Elves have rounded ears that came up to a point near the crown of the skull. He adjusted the jacket of his expensive, tailored, blue wool suit, complete with cuff links and a smart watch on a gold band.


    His twin sister, Abel, in a Knight¡¯s uniform and his son Abelard, in a polo shirt with pants, were already seated. Abelard had a maid by his side, as he passed her, Dain¡¯s nose itched from the girl¡¯s excessive flowery perfume, he frowned at Abelard. Another servant stood near Abel, and one stood near the empty chair at the head of the table.


    High Lord Dain sat, he studied the sumptuous meal of bread rolls, eggs, various jams, sliced fruit and fruit juices with coffee and tea were on the table.


    ¡°Any major events?¡± Dain asked, tapping his tea cup.


    The maid leant over pouring Abelard a coffee. His eyes fixed on her ample breasts. He noticed she wore no bra or panties under her uniform. ¡°The girl Hiro impregnated gave birth, they are holding the press conference in a few minutes,¡± Abelard said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that, be careful what you say in public. I have witnessed Hiro with an adult, green-haired Giantess. The Blood-Witches have stated many times that an anonymous surrogate carried Hiro¡¯s p¨²ca,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°You are always defending the Emperor,¡± Dain said. ¡°Do you champion me just as vigorously when advising our dear Emperor?¡±


    Abel was sipping her tea. ¡°Despite the rivalry, the Emperor does like you, dear brother. That said, he is aware of your growing wealth and your efforts to rally support from the other major houses to replace him,¡± Abel said, placing the cup on the saucer.


    Dain grabbed the arm of the maid nearby and said, ¡°Put Hashimoto news on.¡±


    Worried, the girl looked at Abelard. ¡°Father, you blocked that network,¡± Abelard said.


    ¡°Oh, yes, I did,¡± Dain said. He released the maid and looked at Abel. ¡°Where was I?¡±


    ¡°Accusing me of being the Emperor¡¯s lap dog because you are upset that your spies have found nothing on the birth mother,¡± Abel replied.


    ¡°My father should be king, and not earn back his birthright,¡± Abelard said.


    ¡°See sister, if only those words rolled from your lips, instead, of parroting those of the Emperor,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°Brother, you must remember it was our father who foolishly squandered our technological advantage over the Ogre,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Against the will of the other Lords,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°You know the irony is without the subsequent ice wars he would still be Over-King. Remember he outlawed homosexuality, punishable by death. Instead, he took Eve, pregnant with Abelard from you and sent us to war to die,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°I do not regret killing Eve, nor our father, Abel. I am, however, upset how Takahiro replaced me,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°Takahiro built up a massive business empire under your nose. He recycled material, extracted and stored the gold until the time was right. But Dain, that was 1562 years ago, and you had already ruled the Old Empire for a thousand years,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Yes, Father saved everyone from the great flood and moved our people to Mars,¡± Abelard said. He pulled his phone from his belt and started messaging. Dain remained sour.


    ¡°Takahiro used that gold to open casinos, brothels and opium dens. He exploited the people and still does with vice. He is no better than our father, a parasite who built his wealth by keeping a share of the taxes for himself,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°At least this time you could talk about our father without smashing a teacup brother. You should have been grateful for him not killing you, but when the time came for you to show him mercy, you didn¡¯t. I do get why you killed Eve; she was evil,¡± Abel said.


    Dain stared at Abel. A beep from Abelard¡¯s phone cut the tension. Dain returned to eating. Abelard went to the screen.


    ¡°I just received a message from our news crew at the palace, the Emperor, Hiro and the p¨²ca are coming out. I sent them a message to first run adverts for our off-road four-wheel drive and the Dain Personal Desk computer. I added the slogan to the computer, the computer for the next generation,¡± Abelard said as he put his phone back on its belt holder.


    Abelard took a remote from a small table against the wall, under the large white wall panel, he pointed it at the wall and clicked on, the Hashimoto Palace appeared.


    ¡°Where are my adverts?¡± Dain asked.


    ¡°You wanted the Hashimoto Network,¡± Abelard replied.


    ¡°I changed my mind, switch it to our network,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be petty, just for once can you thank Abelard,¡± Abel said.


    Dain snorted and stared at Abel. Abelard sat and drank his coffee, ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Father,¡± Abelard said.


    ¡°Silence,¡± Dain said. He stood in front of the screen and watched.


    The scene on the television was the lawn in the front of the entrance to the Imperial Palace with a female flower Elf on camera. ¡°Prince Hiro is now on his way out of the Palace,¡± she said.


    The camera panned to the steps of the palace entry. The seven Knights on guard parted as one of the eight red, iron doors opened. Hiro wore a red kimono with green trim, the symbol of House Hashimoto on the back, with a green hakama, white tabi, and wooden shoes. He carried Kaede, dressed in a full body red p¨²ca suit with his ears out of slits in the sides of the hood.


    Hiro crossed the driveway around the statue of Takahiro, to the lawn east of the palace. He set Kaede down on the grass, faced the camera and said, ¡°This is my son, Prince Kaede Hashimoto.¡±


    Dain watched as Kaede rolled over and crawled towards the camera. Dain paused the broadcast, then as he spoke, he pointed to Kaede''s pink hair that protruded from under the hood, then to Kaede''s teeth.


    ¡°No wonder we cannot find out if Hiro broke the pure bloodline law by getting the giant pregnant, his p¨²ca appears to be two years old, the old fox has had years to bury the data, erase minds, and buy off the Blood-Witches,¡± Dain snarled.


    Abel stood, walked to the screen and tapped the screen at Kaede¡¯s wrist. ¡°If you bothered to look, the p¨²ca has a birth tag,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Why is that important?¡± Abelard asked behind her.


    ¡°The Blood-Witches would never fake birth records,¡± Abel replied.


    ¡°Then in a week we will know if Hiro broke the bloodline laws,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°No need, look at his pale-yellow skin, the almond eyes, his ears are long, thin, pointed and horizontal, and his hair the same shade of pink as both his father and grandfather. I have no doubt he is a pure-blooded Cherry Blossom Flower Elf. As for buying off the Blood-Witches, the only one who has been trying is you,¡± Abel said.


    Dain smiled and asked in a sweet voice, ¡°Oh, whatever do you mean, Abel?¡±


    ¡°I know you sent agents to Blood-Tower to try to buy information on the p¨²ca¡¯s mother, you are lucky the Blood-Witches came to me and didn¡¯t report you to Patya,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Czar Petrov is a friend,¡± Dain stated.


    ¡°Patya does not tolerate corruption. I get it; you want to replace Takahiro so much that it hurts, but I urge you to find a legal way,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Do you have a suggestion?¡± Dain asked. He tapped his tea cup. The maid filled it.


    ¡°Drive to the palace in your new four-wheel drive, give Hiro and the Emperor your congratulations in person. As a first tooth gift to the p¨²ca, give him the Dain Desk Computer you had flown in this morning. That will give you free publicity and buy you some much needed good will,¡± Abel replied.


    ¡°Very generous of you Abel,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°Also, now on, you keep your mouth shut about Takahiro and Hiro having relationships with non-Elves. Not just because many nobles hire non-Elves as companions, but because the Emperor is aware you keep company with a male Dwarf,¡± Abel said.


    Dain pondered this, and then he looked at the paused image of the happy p¨²ca reaching out. He drunk his tea in haste, handed Abel the empty cup and left the room in a hurry. Abelard watched him leave. Abel gave the cup to the maid and sat. ¡°Do you have a birth gift for Hiro or a first tooth gift for the new prince, Abelard?¡± Abel asked. ¡°There will be a line at the palace.¡±


    ¡°What about you, Aunt Abel?¡± Abelard asked.


    ¡°As a Knight, I will drive past the line in the transit lane and show my identification at the gate,¡± Abel said. Then as Abelard headed out of the room, she added. ¡°You should know my little brother as a member of the Senate can also use the transit lane, not you.¡±


    She laughed as Abelard ran out of the mansion on the phone.


    ¡°You can join me, I am sure they will be stuck in traffic before they remember they haven¡¯t eaten,¡± Abel said.


    The maids joined Abel in eating.

 2. Opportunity

    December 1, 1562, New Imperial Calendar. Imperial Palace.


    Hiro entered Kaede¡¯s room, he saw Kaede, in a night-dress and diaper, standing in his crib. Hiro raced over to him.


    Kaede lifted his arms and said, ¡°Father.¡±


    Hiro immediately picked up Kaede and ran out of the room to the knights outside, a broad smile on his face. ¡°Has the Emperor left yet?¡± Hiro asked them.


    ¡°Operator, what is the status on Green Dragon?¡± The first Knight asked.


    ¡°Green Dragon is in the top of the Tower,¡± the operator in the palace security room replied in her ear, the Knight then repeated that to Hiro.


    Hiro headed down the hall, and he carried Kaede, followed by the knights. ¡°Delay him, but don¡¯t tell him why. I want to surprise him. I know you must call ahead, but please only inform him my intent is to see him off?¡± Hiro asked.


    ¡°Yes, Prince Hiro,¡± the first Knight replied. ¡°But you have a car waiting to take you to the airport for a flight to the New-Ghana Space Centre.¡±


    ¡°Cancel the car and give my seat to someone else. If necessary, I can ride in one of the company¡¯s cargo flights out of New-Singapore,¡± Hiro replied.


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± the first Knight said.


    Hiro went down the hall to the central shaft. He placed his hand on the scanner above the lift button, then pressed up. Soon one arrived, and they entered it. The Knight whispered into her microphone as they went up three floors, to the top of the tower. As they rode the lift, a camera in the ceiling zoomed in on each of them, in the security centre an operator spoke to one of the knights outside the kitchen on the top floor.


    Emperor Takahiro had a large residence top floor of the two-kilometre tall tower; it occupied five floors, the first three were mostly bedrooms for the Empower, his security detail and companions, six female Dwarfs. Above that was the flight deck with three hangars. On fifth was a three-story high dome. It had dining tables around the two-story shaft. Stairs around shaft lead to its roof. The dome was made from a plastic able to transition from transparent to white.


    The residence of the Emperor had marble floors. Inside the central column was a pair of large red iron doors with the symbol of House Hashimoto above the metal ring knockers. Beside the doors is a security desk. When the lift opened, Hiro saw the two knights already standing. They bowed as the doors to the residence opened. He looked at the first Knight with him.


    ¡°Prince Hiro, your father, is in his kitchen,¡± one of the knights at the desk said.


    Hiro left the central column, via the iron doors, into the large foyer. He headed to the door on the north side. The two knights that were him waited inside the central shaft. The iron doors closed fast and loud behind Hiro and Kaede. The metal bolts inside the door slid into their slots with a loud clang.


    Hiro entered the kitchen. His father was in a house robe eating a bowl of ramen. A Japanese Dwarf, Masahiko, in a black, short, maid uniform with white lace trim, with a large frilly white apron, stood beside him. ¡°Son, you know I am heading to Shanghai soon and the Night Owl is preparing to depart,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Yes father, but I have something more important to show you,¡± Hiro said as he placed Kaede on the floor.


    ¡°I have already seen him trying to stand. I know how proud you are of Kaede, now you know how I feel about you,¡± Takahiro said smiling. He handed the empty bowl to Masahiko and stood, she went to the sink and washed the bowl. Takahiro came out from behind the breakfast table in the middle of the kitchen and stood in front of Kaede. He leant over and held his hands out to Kaede.


    Kaede stood and held up his hands. Takahiro, surprised, stood erect and took a step back. He pulled out of his sleeve a long thin bamboo Wand, and it had a walnut sized bulb on its end and an image of a Green Dragon on the side. He pointed it at Kaede.


    Takahiro looked at Hiro, ¡°I am not using magic,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°You are right. I see Kaede is standing on his own. I detect no magic, not even residue.¡±


    ¡°Just before I came to see you, I saw him stand, and he spoke his first word.¡±


    Takahiro returned his wand to its pocket inside his sleeve and lifted Kaede, ¡°Come with me, we will hold a press conference before we board my flight to New-Shanghai.¡±


    ¡°What about your business?¡±


    ¡°I already know what the research director will say. He will tell me how they have not found a way to reduce the size, increase power output or increase the efficiency of a fusion reactor. He will then ask me for more funds and more time. I have already decided to keep the facility open. What about your flight?¡±


    ¡°I already gave up my seat on the shuttle leaving The New-Ghana Space Centre. I can take a supply shuttle from The New-Singapore Space Centre, and the ship can send a shuttle to collect me from a space station.¡±


    ¡°You can come with me to the airport. I want you to show Kaede off to the media. You can then fly with me to New-Shanghai. I will talk to Viktor and explain why you are not racing to your ship and I will have a hyper-jet get you to New-Singapore.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, father.¡±


    ¡°Son, have your bag and spacesuit brought up.¡± Takahiro turns to Masahiko. "Masako, send for the p¨²ca carrier, then notify my transport we are bringing Hiro and Kaede with us."


    ¡°Yes Emperor,¡± Masako said and left.


    Hiro came close to Takahiro. ¡°Is she a full-time employee now, father?¡±


    ¡°Yes."


    ¡°Are you going to object if Freya stays in my room while I am on deployment?¡±


    ¡°No, just remember what I told you."


    ¡°Father, nappy,¡± Kaede said. He was wiggling and holding his arms out toward Hiro.


    Takahiro was startled. He looked at Kaede then inspected his diaper, ¡°Not only does he speak, but he also recognises you and knows his diaper needs changing,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°I can hear Dain now, he must be two years old,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°I told you to ignore him, son. I have put up with his petty jealousy for centuries. The price of our freedom is not just lives lost fighting our enemies, but the home front must battle against the fools who abuse the very freedom we fight to protect,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Dain is no fool. He knows his supporters will believe him and help him erode our market share,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Son, pay no attention to Dain. Let me deal with his rumours and insults. I dared anyone to prove he is not three months old; we have surrogacy contract with Blood-Witches witnessed by Patya, and you have a license to have a p¨²ca from the Blood-Witches. We have his DNA report stating he is a pure-blood and confirmation you are his father,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°I want to be the one to protect him from politics,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°You can express your desire to do your best to shield your son from malicious gossip from fools and bullies who go so low as to attack a p¨²ca for attention. Showing the Empire Kaede walking and talking will take the cameras off Dain,¡± Takahiro said.


    Hiro brought Kaede to the east door of the kitchen, followed by a Knight with the p¨²ca bag, they go to the mother¡¯s room between the toilets. Hiro removed the soiled diaper and placed it in a disposal bag, but when he tried to put a new diaper on him, Kaede squirmed and kept moving his legs away from it.


    ¡°No,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°Son, you need to wear a diaper,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°No,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°I am your father, and you will do as I say,¡± Hiro said.


    Takahiro behind him laughed. ¡°Son, remember the time you were thirteen and obsessed with getting a motorbike?¡± Takahiro asked.


    ¡°You refused to buy me one, so I saved my allowance and bought one,¡± Hiro replied.


    ¡°The next day you broke your arm in three places trying to jump over the swimming pool,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°The following year I won the dirt-bike championship,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Milk,¡± Kaede said holding out his hands to the Knight with the p¨²ca bag.


    Hiro held the diaper up and said, ¡°Diaper.¡±


    Kaede looked at Hiro, then he stopped moving his legs and held them out. Kaede watched Hiro put a diaper on him; once the diaper was on, Hiro handed Kaede to the Knight, who bottle-fed Kaede. Kaede started working the tabs on the diaper.


    They took the lift up one floor to the flight deck, Kaede undid his diaper and tossed it off as they left the lift. The Knight turned, but the doors closed.


    They entered Hangar One. Inside each hangar was a luxurious thirty passenger helicopter. In Hangars Two and Three, knights and staff boarded a helicopter. Each had the symbol of the Empire on the tail and the symbol of House Hashimoto on the sides. A pair of Sky-Force Officers piloted each craft.


    A Knight put a new diaper on Kaede and then dressed him in a p¨²ca suit. The Knight placed him in a p¨²ca carrier and strapped that into a seat beside Hiro, who watched Kaede squirmed trying to see out the window.


    The outer door to the hangar lowered onto arms that extended from the tower to form a deck. Kaede giggled with excitement as the helicopter started its engines at the same time as the inner shutter rolled up. The powerful turbine engines roared to full power as it rolled out onto the deck and the helicopter took off.


    One by one, the three helicopters took off. Once there was sufficient clearance, the roller doors lowered, as the outer doors raised, and the arms retracted. Each craft circled the two-kilometre tall tower until all three were airborne, they formed a ¡®V¡± formation and headed east.


    The three helicopters swapped places in the formation until they landed at the 100,000-ha civilian airport, 50 kilometres from the eastern shore of Imperial Lake. It was south of the Imperial Command and Imperial Office buildings, separated by the Eastern Highway. The parking lot had a transit tower between the ramps to and from the highway.


    Behind the wide five-story entrance were five terminals. The first three connected directly to each other by two concourses with both a walkway and light rail inside. The first, second, and third were public passenger terminals. Each had three small helipads on the roof. The fourth terminal to the west was a cargo terminal. It had one large helipad on the west side. To the east was the fifth terminal, it was only for VIPs. It had three helipads on top.


    There were six runways south of the terminals, five of them were traditional flat concrete with blast shields at one end. Four were 4,000-metres long, and the fifth was 6,000-meters long. The six and the furthest runway from the terminals was a 1,000-metre-long electromagnetic aircraft launch system.


    Waiting at the fifth terminal is a huge suborbital, it was red with a Green Dragon painted on the both sides of the nose under the cockpit. It had the symbol of the Empire on the wings, and the symbol of House Hashimoto on its tail.


    Inside the fifth terminal at the departure lounge, a group of reporters watched the helicopters land on large screens. Inside the helicopters, the passengers waited after landing for the ground crew to secure the rotor blades. The Knights were the first to depart, followed by Takahiro then Hiro carrying Kaede, Masako and the staff came out last.


    When the group came down the escalator from the roof Takahiro in the lead, waved to the reporters, who watched from behind a group of House guards at the bottom.


    ¡°Hiro, wait in the lounge, they expect me,¡± Takahiro said.


    Hiro with Kaede, the staff and Masako went past the reporters into the departure lounge, while Takahiro gave a press conference.


    A Knight placed a small blanket on the floor; then Hiro placed Kaede on it. Kaede stood, ripped off his p¨²ca suit and his diaper, then he ran naked to a female Knight, who was carrying the p¨²ca bag. He stood before her with his arms up, ¡°Milk,¡± he said.


    One of the camera crew was filming Kaede. The others pushed past each other in a rush to get Kaede on camera. Czar Petrov arrived to see Hiro and knights as they tried to capture Kaede.


    In the first floor of the seven-story palace around the base of the tower, Dain was watching the interview with Emperor Takahiro at the Imperial Airport. Dain was drinking apple juice. Dain spat out his juice when on screen was Hiro, with a diaper in hand as he chased Kaede around the VIP Lounge.


    ¡°No way he is three months old!¡± Dain exclaimed.


    A group of knights headed off Kaede, as Emperor Takahiro and Czar Petrov, watched on and laughed at them. Kaede stood facing the Knights, as they advanced on him. He turned to see more knights behind him, with Hiro in the middle; he was holding a diaper. ¡°No!¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°High Lord Dain, care to comment on the fuel program?¡± a reporter asked. Dain turned to see a female flower Elf reporter with a camera crew. He walked away. She turned to Maharajah Desai behind her smiling and asked, ¡°Do you have any comments, Maharajah Desai?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Maharajah Arjuna Desai replied and smiled. ¡°Alcyone Three is one of many worlds with little to none oil or gas deposits. We have relied on plant oils for centuries to produce various hydrocarbons. However, to meet growing demand as natural deposits dwindle, the Empire needs a new program. I believe we have in place the right programs to meet demand for hydrocarbons and maintain our high air quality.¡±


    ¡°Maharajah Desai, what to have to say about High Lord Dain comments on Prince Kaede¡¯s age?¡± the reporter asked.


    ¡°Dain is entitled to his opinion; The Charter of Rights and Responsibilities guarantees freedom of speech. I remind everyone that the first six floors of the palace are public space and in public. Lords should choose their words with great care. I believe his accusations to be false. He has raised his doubts before, and the Emperor already responded to him, he needs to move on,¡± Arjuna replied.


    ¡°So, you are not of the opinion Prince Kaede is older than the official statement?¡± the reporter asked.


    ¡°We Night Elves believe that life starts from the moment of conception; as do Flower and Forest Elves. To us, Kaede is two years and three months old; we include the two years of an Elven pregnancy. I see no reason why the Blood-Witches, the Emperor or so many others would lie. I believe the Prince was born three months ago; We Elves are exceptional in longevity, health, and intellect. We have seen extraordinary p¨²ca before, just not this young,¡± Arjuna replied.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Inside the suborbital, Hiro placed Kaede inside a p¨²ca sized capsule with clear lid. Crew strapped him in and sealed it. The capsule was strapped tight to a seat, and then the air supply was connected. Hiro wore a light-weight spacesuit and sat beside him.


    Once everyone was aboard and strapped in the sub-orbital craft was towed to the sixth runway. Once it was in position on the electromagnetic rail, the pilot and co-pilot waited for the crew to perform the final safety check. Once completed, the external shutters on all windows, including the cockpit, were lowered.


    Behind the sub-orbital craft, the blast shield raised. The tower gave clearance to launch to the pilot. He brought the engines to full power and the co-pilot activated the electromagnetic rail. In seconds the almost wingless, wedge-shaped craft was in the air and nosed up. It was near vertical as it pierced the clouds. It continued to accelerate and rose until the sky turned from blue to black. Then as it levelled out, the pilot cut the engines. They were weightless and the external shutters opened.


    Kaede looked out the window, he saw the stars and reached out with his hands. Hiro released Kaede¡¯s capsule from the seat and held it to the window. For twenty minutes, they were in zero gravity. Then the exterior window shutters were closed, and the plane descended.


    Hiro carried an excited Kaede on his shoulder as they left the plane. While they did, outside Blood-Tower a group of old Blood-Witches held a press conference to confirm Kaede¡¯s age and condemn any challenge to their integrity. The video of Kaede naked running around the VIP lounge had gone viral. Dain received many angry calls.


    A humiliated Dain issued a retraction in a phone interview. He said, ¡°I was referring to the belief by some that life begins are conception.¡±


    An hour later, he was again under fire, this time from his clan and supporters who believed in life at birth. Dain appeared on a late-night talk show on the Dain Network.


    ¡°I received unfair criticism today. I want to be clear about Prince Kaede¡¯s age. I do not doubt the Blood-Witches. I made observations about how advanced Kaede is,¡± Dain said.


    As Dain left the studio, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, then answered the call. ¡°Yes Abel?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Do you need help removing your foot from your mouth?¡± she asked in reply.


    ¡°You are hysterical,¡± Dain replied.


    ¡°Again, the Emperor has poked you in the eye. You should have expected him to have reporters from the Hashimoto New Network to follow you around in court. You only have yourself to blame. Questioning the integrity of the Blood-Witches to get at Takahiro was a bonehead move,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Reporters should not be in court. It is not dignified,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°For a thousand years, the public has had the right to be in court, and that includes the media. If you want privacy, then go to the seventh floor. Oh right. When the Emperor is not in court, his staff close the throne level. Well, you can always go hide in your office,¡± Abel laughed.


    ¡°Did you call me just for your amusement?¡± Dain asked.


    ¡°You are three points down in the polls,¡± Abel replied.


    ¡°You could not wait for me to return home to tell me?¡± Dain asked.


    ¡°True, but since you did not go with the Emperor to represent Dain Corporation, despite the fact we own the carbon processing plant that supplies Petrov Oil¡¯s plant. I have gone in your place; my flight will soon descend into New-Vladivostok. If you want to know what happened to those three points you lost, they went to the Emperor,¡± Abel replied.


    She ended the call.


    As Abel¡¯s plane descended, Dain entered his mansion, and he found Abelard waiting outside his office.


    ¡°Father, Abel left a few hours ago and didn¡¯t say where she was going,¡± Abelard said, standing.


    ¡°Relax Abelard, she called me,¡± Dain said, unlocking the door to his office. He turned to his son. ¡°I told you to put a tracker in her car and have a team follow her with drones.¡±


    ¡°She drove to Camp Bravo, I am not sure how she knew, but when Aunt Abel stopped, she stood at the gate and looked back in the direction of the drone, then it went offline. The car following her remained on the highway, but a road block with knights was waiting for them. After entering the base, she said some rather insulting things about you, then the bug inside her car went silent,¡± Abelard said.


    ¡°So, I take you want me to call General Feygold to have him release my own House Guards from detention?¡± Dain asked entering his office.


    ¡°Lady Toshiko has your guards; she sentenced them kitchen duty for thirty days for being out of uniform. Also, she billed you for cleaning Abel¡¯s car, and the ammunition used to shoot down the drone. She also issued you a fine for the drone being in restricted airspace,¡± Abelard said following his father in.


    ¡°One of these days I will hit that witch,¡± Dain said, offering Abelard a chair at his desk.


    ¡°Is that before or after you invent your magic, Quantum computers, shields, deflectors, ultra-drive, ion-gravity drive, gravity beam and hundreds of other products we licence from the Lilith Foundation, of which she is CEO,¡± Abelard said as he sat.


    ¡°They belong to me. My mother invented magic and built the first spacecraft, I was there. Toshiko was just her assistant,¡± Dain declared. He poured two brandies, handed on to Abelard and sat on the other side of the desk.


    ¡°Father, why must I remind you that your mother was-¡± Abelard said.


    ¡°Watch yourself, son,¡± Dain interrupted.


    ¡°-Tragically lost in an accident and she left the rights to all her inventions to Lady Toshiko,¡± Abelard continued.


    ¡°I am Lilith¡¯s son,¡± Dain declared, charged with emotion, he stood and walked to the fireplace. He took out a long thin chocolate coated cigar from inside his jacket, ¡°Toshiko has no right to charge me a licence fee to make technology designed by my own mother.¡± He took his wand out, lit the cigar with a flame, and then holstered it.


    ¡°I am sure the Emperor will gladly let you get in the ring with Lady Toshiko today if you like. She is an active Knight, and it has been a long time since you were in active service. Any public feud with her would lose you more support, the public loves her,¡± Abelard stated. Dain stared at empty fireplace without responding. ¡°Shall I renew your gym membership?¡± Abelard pressed.


    ¡°What? No, I will not give Takahiro the satisfaction. He has been smug ever since The First Ice War. He sat nice and cosy in his mountain fortress for centuries, then he spends five minutes on the front lines, and to everyone, he¡¯s the hero,¡± Dain said looking at Abelard.


    ¡°That is because he tamed the Dragons. After all this time, he still has them still wrapped around his little finger,¡± Abelard argued.


    ¡°Yes, because he gave them eight large, tropical worlds. There are vital resources locked away just so Dragons can frolic in the meadows,¡± Dain responded.


    ¡°The Dragon treaty granted them the same rights as other higher life forms, which enabled us to defeat the Giants, Ogres and Titans, ending the Third Ice War. He saved millions of lives,¡± Abelard said.


    ¡°What victory, he first retreats to Mars, then after the fall of Tir Na Nog he took over and followed the founders into space instead of retaking Terra,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°Why are you so obsessed with ruling one over-crowded planet that freezes over every twenty thousand years? The last one lasted over one hundred thousand years. Do you forget we have 114 star systems, with terraforming on ten worlds underway?¡± Abelard asked hoping for an answer. Instead, Dain smoked until the last question.


    ¡°Why? Because it is our home, that is why. I did not object to sending the Dwarves, Giants, Orcs, Titans, Goblins or Dragons away, nor to establishing an Interstellar Empire. No, my objection is to leaving our home to ungrateful half-Dwarf, half-Giant barbarians,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°Father, must we always have this discussion? Terra is an old world, look at how quickly Mars decayed without constant attention. We are immortals. Thus, we will live to see the day when Sol expands and engulfs Terra and all the other planets. Leaving Terra was inevitable,¡± Abelard said.


    Dain turned to face Abelard, leant over, his hands on the armrests and his face right up to Abelard''s. ¡°Yes, that is why we should have mined Terra, Mars, and the other planets of everything, not leave behind tens of billions of tonnes of carbon, iron, methane, gold, oil, uranium and other resources. We should have left those ungrateful barbarians a husk, we saved those mud-hut dwellers from the ice and floods, only to have them repay us with rape and war,¡± Dain said. He went and sat in his chair.


    ¡°Then one day we will return, with you as our king, father,¡± Abelard declared standing, he looked at Dain¡¯s smile. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to include a defence plan. The Ogres with their Orc, Goblin, Titan, Oni, Troll and Black Giant allies will attack us for violating the Dragon Treaty.¡±


    Dain walked to the door and stopped in the doorway, ¡°Abelard, you know these discussions help me think. But if I wanted the Emperor¡¯s advice, I would call Abel. Come, we have work to do,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°Father, was it you who leaked the information about the Stem Cell Program?¡± Abelard inquired. Dain walked out without answering. Abelard got up and followed Dain to the kitchen.


    In New-Vladivostok, Emperor Takahiro was on a tour of the massive oil plant with Czar Petrov, a group of knights, house Guards from two houses and engineers from technical services, Petrov Oil, Hashimoto Resources and Dain Minerals.


    ¡°This is where the powdered carbon, dissolved in distilled water, is pressure cooked in hydrogen. Each tank produces a different product. If you like a detailed explanation of the chemical process to produce different hydrocarbons, ask the engineers,¡± Patya said.


    There were four groups of engineers. The first group with Patya from ¡®Petrov Oil¡¯. The second group with Takahiro from ¡®Hashimoto Resources¡¯. The third team from ¡®Dain Minerals¡¯. The fourth group had ranks on their collar and were engineers with Technical Services, a department of the Imperial Security Agency.


    Abel arrived and stood in front of the engineers from Dain Minerals. ¡°Emperor, Czar, sorry I am late, had to hitch on a cargo flight from Camp Bravo when I found out my brother was unable to attend. I have read the reports on the carbon dioxide extractors. I read the new regulations, and they require a higher daily target meet on how much carbon dioxide they must scrub and inject as carbon into the process,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Yes, the Ministry of the Environment sets those targets,¡± Patya responded.


    ¡°Nice to see you, Lady Abel. We already toured your carbon processing plant; I am impressed. Your engineers assured me your facility is capable of meeting the new targets,¡± Takahiro stated.


    ¡°Of course, it can, the plant is state of the art; it can process timber, coal, as well as carbon dioxide and produce pure graphite in solution. It can crush asteroids and separate out diamonds and Lonsdaleite,¡± Abel affirmed.


    ¡°This is a crucial project. This project is not just to reduce our dependence on hauling liquid crude from other worlds. It is to avoid an Empire-wide fuel crisis,¡± Takahiro declared.


    ¡°I know how important this plant is. I am sad to report we are a month behind on building spaceships designed to collect carbon dust with a modified fuel scoop,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°We cannot comprise on quality, all spacecraft must use the best technology, be made with the best materials, to the highest standard and construction itself must be as safe as possible,¡± Takahiro asserted.


    ¡°My Emperor, I am not my little brother, I am not suggesting that you to reduce any standards; I am saying we need to increase industrial output and have more space docks building ships,¡± Abel responded.


    ¡°Yes, Lady Abel, I know you are not your brother. I am glad you and he are not here at the same time, for he would start arguing with you over who is the older twin. Patya¡¯s planning team took delays into consideration. We are all aware of the shortage of engineers. I have already spoken with ¨¢rni about increased training. I know your brother would rather see more immediate results by increasing the work day from six to eight hours but keep the working week six days long and no pay increase. He has called for a reduction in the number of inspections during construction, reduced hull thickness and a dozen other measures he calls cost-cutting. I fear he would have existing ships fly longer between maintenance checks,¡± Takahiro announced.


    ¡°Dain would reduce the number of holidays to just Yule and then reduce Yule to one day,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°We had too many deaths this year in the construction industry, not just in starship construction. We must work harder to reduce this. As head of the Inquisition, I have held many inquiries into workplace deaths; we must not sacrifice safety to meet demand. Let us not forget that six workers died while building this plant. I am sure Dain is not here because of that,¡± Patya said.


    ¡°Dain¡¯s response is well known, increase robotics,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Robotics has a significant level of opposition, my inquiry into robots learnt a great deal. Many worker¡¯s groups showed me how it would cost far more jobs than will be created because robots will build and eventually repair robots,¡± Patya stated.


    ¡°Yes, look what happened when we increased the level of robotics in manufacturing, clothing, automotive and consumer products. Unemployment rose, and we are still struggling a century later with the unemployment that created. The cost of retraining so many workers to re-enter the workforce in the food, service, construction and agriculture industries has cost the Empire more than the revenue increase,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Emperor, I am aware of the problem the Empire has with unemployment, we are unable to find a way to reduce the cost of relocating the unemployed from cities to small towns, they are used to the services in a city,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Yes, it will take all ministries, not just the Ministry of Business, Finance, and Economics to get many people to see the lack of services in a town is an opportunity for small business,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Alcyone Two has a shortage of farm labour, and Alcyone Four has many vacancies in factories, but their youth would rather come here hoping to become lawyers or accountants,¡± Patya said.


    ¡°We can discuss methods of getting people to return to those worlds without force tonight,¡± Takahiro said to Abel.


    ¡°I shall. I need something to tell my brother so he can present it to the Senate. Of course, if it succeeds it is his idea and mine when it fails,¡± Abel said. She stopped and looked at the large tank in front of them. ¡°Rather large for filtration, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°We have already inspected the second stage filtration process. This tank is the main hydrocarbon pressure cooker,¡± Patya replied.


    ¡°I see," Abel said. She pulled her tablet out of her back looked at it, then raced over to Takahiro. "Emperor, do you still plan on sending the crude to New-Singapore for processing and distribution?¡± Abel asked as Takahiro examined the maze of pipes overhead that connected the various tanks.


    ¡°Until we have more of these plants operating. This facility already provides fuel to the local market and natural gas to the pipeline to New-Moscow. Once we increase production, we supply the gas pipeline to New-Beijing. A third pipeline is planned to New-North Pyongan, once the plant goes to full production,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall seeing a fuel quality report, how does the fuel compare to other fuels?¡± Abel inquired.


    ¡°It is high quality, as good as natural or biomass fuel; I can provide you with a copy of the report,¡± Patya said.


    ¡°I am not against biomass, alcohol or plant oil fuel or electric cars. Chief Bela¨²nde is producing fuel from sugar and biomass, but his solution has only met 20% of the demand for small vehicle fuel,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Once this plant is operating at full capacity, it will produce 1,500,000 barrels of oil a day. We need to build eighty of these plants to meet global demand, more if any sugar or biomass fuel plants close,¡± Patya said.


    ¡°Abel, carbon and sulphur space mining is short term. Once the plant is fully operational, in twenty years, we will have atmospheric extractors globally to capture sulphur and carbon dioxide,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Good. What about those who worry about the environment?¡± Abel asked.


    ¡°Yaotl assured me if we keep the global level of sulphur and carbon dioxide well below dangerous and the air quality is good, then he will not shut down the plant. I have already increased the size of all my kelp farms,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°If only he let us reduce the size of the Sahara Desert with tree farms,¡± Patya said.


    ¡°The environment is his portfolio; Mine is treasury and internal trade, Dain had agriculture, and you have Business, Finance and Economics. Not that you cannot suggest, but you know as well as I do, that he will tell you even a desert has its place,¡± Takahiro said.


    Patya stopped, ¡°Lady Abel, my apologies, do you need my engineers to explain to you these high-pressure tanks?¡± Patya asked Abel.


    ¡°The pipes deliver pure carbon in the form of fine graphite dissolved in purified water from your desalination plant. The tanks first heat the carbon; steam is collected and recycled; then the carbon is super-heated under extreme pressure with hydrogen,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Correct, then it is filtered to remove any carbon and hydrogen gas, returning them to the boiler. We have many tanks, to simultaneously produce various hydrocarbons, depending on heat and hydrogen levels. Last some products have sulphur, and other chemicals added,¡± Patya said.


    ¡°I understand the process, and the product is good. I know you are running the plant at low power. The decision today is to bring the plant to half power, but the plastics recycling plant is behind schedule,¡± Abel said, ¡°Patya, I would like to know the why did you reduce the sulphur content?¡±


    ¡°That is one of the legal requirements from Yaotl to reduce acid rain,¡± Patya replied.


    ¡°I am aware low sulphur diesel fuel is the cause of engine damage in older engines. Dain was in Senate when we voted to approve Yaotl¡¯s changes to the Clean Air Act,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°My brother feels these regulations target him,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Yaotl is targeting pollution; he does plan to increase the number of electric vehicles produced and have cities improve public transport. Your brother has no excuses; he was present when Yaotl tabled his plan to fight pollution,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Dain feels his regulations are targeting his new four-wheel drive,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Lady Abel, I did not appoint Yaotl as the Environment Minister, he chose to be when Dain was our ruler. Nor did I demand him to find fault with everything, he does that on his own. Dain has known Yaotl for over 15,000 years, he should be aware by now Yaotl¡¯s level of commitment to the Environment, and these laws should not be a surprise to him,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°You should have designed it to the new standards,¡± Patya said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t design the Stag, Dain did,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Then he should have had you design it, the last good car made by Dain Automotive was the Model 101,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°I agree with you, but Dain ceased production of the Model 101, and I have not designed any vehicles since,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°We can discuss this back at the hotel tonight,¡± Patya said.


    ¡°Yes, when do we start construction of the second plant?¡± Abel asked.


    ¡°Arjuna wants it in New-India and Takis wants it in New-Alexandria. Naturally, Yaotl prefers we build more sugar ethanol fuel refineries, like those he built in Amazonia,¡± Petrov said.


    ¡°Yaotl knows we cannot sacrifice any more peanut oil, sugar, soy or corn, to produce fuel,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°If Takis and Arjuna do not budge, then we have them fight each other to see who gets the next plant. As Emperor, it will be my duty to host and referee,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°You mean you will make sure they don¡¯t kill each other,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°That too,¡± Takahiro said.


    They all laughed.


    Late at night, in the hotel room of Emperor Takahiro; he was sitting, with a g¨­ of sake, by the fireplace with Czar Petrov, who was drinking vodka. In front of them was a drinks trolley with Sake, Vodka and a decanter of Germanic Raspberry Brandy on top with a tray of snacks, under was a p¨²ca bag with a diaper beside it.


    Prince Kaede was on a rug, in a nightdress without a diaper. He was playing with a puzzle cube. Abel before entering removed her large handgun from under her jacket and handed it to the Knight on guard outside the room.


    ¡°You know what my brother is still angry he was deposed and given Agriculture. I am sure you know he plans to create and have you run the department of waste management when he took over,¡± Abel said, she sat on the rug, she took the cube and showed Kaede how it is solved, then she scrambled it and handed it to him.


    ¡°He had made no secret of his desire to take back the crown,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Abel, you and Dain are my dear friends, but when he lost Tir Na Nog by refusing to destroy the invading Celts at sea. We still do not know how he made the dead walk, but his actions caused the Exodus from Terra to Mars, we ended rule by a single noble,¡± Patya said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t fault you for bringing him back to life Abel, but he lost the sword of light, the ball of power and the mirror of far-talking. We still unable to replace them,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°I cannot tell you what he was thinking then. He is not happy to this day that I carried his lifeless body to a cauldron of everlasting and that the blood witches returned him to me using rebirth. He doesn¡¯t believe me that resurrection failed three times, and I am sure he is angry at me because I raised him as a p¨²ca. I believe this is second to his anger at the Emperor for saving us from the humiliation of been forced to live underground. I am angry at Dain; his peace deal with the Celts had our females forced to mate with them,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°I noticed you handed in your weapon. There is no need. You are trusted to remain armed in my presence,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°True Emperor, but I wanted to play with the p¨²ca,¡± Abel said.


    They all looked at Kaede; he was standing, cheering loudly and holding up the solved puzzle cube.

 3. Just Asking

    September 1, 1563, New Imperial Calendar. Imperial Palace.


    In a large Japanese garden on sub-basement six of the Palace, Orchids and sun lamps hung from the three-story vaulted roof. A row of cherry trees, bright red leaves, stood tall under sun lamps, either side of a path that led to a koi pond, west of the central column; it had a wooden bridge over it to an open area.


    The path, made from stones that crunched under foot, continued to a small two-story teahouse, with a small play area behind it. The tea house made from entirely of wood had a large balcony and wooden shutters over glassless windows with wooden slats in the void. Its design was a pre-industrial style, held together not by nails, but hand-carved joints and a terracotta roof.


    Inside the p¨²ca change room, Kaede sat on a rug on the floor, watched by a Knight, as he removed his soiled diaper, she tried not to, but she screwed up the face. Kaede, holding his breath, as he placed the diaper in a disposal bag. He raced to put it into the waste receptacle chute in the wall. Kaede wiped himself with wet wipes as the knight sprayed air freshener.


    The Knight watched Kaede dress, he put on underpants, instead of a diaper, and he tied his laces. The Knight held the door open for Kaede, he bowed to her and raced out of the change room, to Takahiro, he was followed by the Knight.


    In the teahouse, Czar Petrov, Lord Argon Agrovar, General Kenta Yoshida, Sky Marshal Rudolf Reinhart, Maharajah Arjuna Desai. Lord Takis Alexandris, Prince Georgi Vlasov. Lord ¨¢rni Tikkanen, General Siegfried Feygold, Admiral Viktor Niemi. Chief Yaotl Bela¨²nde and High Lord Dain were on the top floor, seated at a large table. There were three other tables, an assortment of food and drinks cover the first two, with a stack of gifts on the third. Emperor Takahiro sat in the middle of the main table with a high chair and an empty chair beside him.


    ¡°Where is my father?¡± Kaede asked as he climbed onto a high chair beside Takahiro. The Knight who followed him pushed him to the table.


    ¡°Your father is on his way,¡± Takahiro replied.


    Lady Toshiko and Lady Abel arrived together; they placed gifts on the table in the middle of the room, and then they came to the main table. They both bowed to the Emperor.


    ¡°Happy Birthday, Prince Kaede,¡± Toshiko said.


    ¡°Happy Birthday.¡± Lady Abel said.


    ¡°Have you see my father?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°You thank them for the gifts,¡±, Takahiro said, in Kaede¡¯s ear, ¡°What did I tell you about manners?¡±


    ¡°Just asking,¡± Kaede replied.


    ¡°Prince Kaede, your father¡¯s shuttle arrived at the New-Ghana Space Centre a few hours ago; however, due to the storm over Imperial City, his flight from there was diverted to New-Constantinople,¡± Viktor said.


    ¡°When?¡± A distressed Kaede asked.


    ¡°After the storm, has passed, it will only last a few hours Kaede,¡± Toshiko said.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you use magic to make it go away now?¡± Kaede asked in a high pitch shrill.


    ¡°Kaede!¡± Takahiro exclaimed.


    ¡°Just asking,¡± Kaede responded in a soft voice.


    Takahiro leant towards Kaede, but Toshiko stepped between them. ¡°It is all right my Emperor. He doesn''t understand. Let me explain it to Kaede,¡± Toshiko said. She knelt, face to face with him and said, ¡°Prince Kaede, magic had limits, and a storm is too big, even for me, the witch of the east, to blow away.¡±


    ¡°My father is trapped by the storm. Shouldn¡¯t you rescue him?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°He is not trapped; he is safe, and the storm will soon be over,¡± Toshiko said as she placed her hand on his shoulder.


    General Yoshiko leant over, ¡°Prince Kaede, perhaps you like to go outside and play with my daughters?¡± Kenta asked.


    ¡°Yes, that is a good idea Kenta. Kaede, go play with the twins and the other p¨²ca,¡± Takahiro said standing. Kaede looked at Toshiko and blinked.


    ¡°I shall take him outside. Kenta where are they?¡± Toshiko asked grabbing Kaede by the hand.


    ¡°They are playing in the park behind the teahouse,¡± Kenta said as Kaede tried to pull away from Toshiko.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to play with p¨²ca. I want to read!¡± Kaede said stopping his foot.


    ¡°You are a p¨²ca, and it is time you went outside to play,¡± Takahiro said. He nodded to Toshiko who then picked him up.


    ¡°He had no diaper on under his hakama, I can fix that,¡± Toshiko said feeling his bottom.


    ¡°I do not need one. I can change myself,¡± Kaede said proudly.


    ¡°Do not worry Toshiko, he will fetch one if he needs one, so far he has not soiled himself,¡± Takahiro said.


    Kenta stood and said, ¡°I should come, I want to introduce him to my daughters.¡±


    Toshiko held Kaede tight as he tried to wiggle his way out of her grip. She followed Kenta out the rear of the teahouse to a park with swings and a large climbing hill that had slides. Mako and Miko dressed in the same yellow, with black stripes, yukata, sat at a children¡¯s table and poured juice from a teapot into tea cups.


    Toshiko placed Kaede on the ground in front of Mako and Miko, aged six. Behind them, Sora and Akiko, aged four, came. They were pushing a stroller with Izanami, aged one, inside screaming with joy.


    Kaede looked at Izanami, ¡°Who is she?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I am Izanami.¡±


    ¡°She is small like me,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°Kaede, behave,¡± Toshiko commanded.


    ¡°I am the same height as you,¡± Izanami said, ¡°I know who you are, you are Prince Kaede, and today is your birthday. It is also my birthday, I am one, like you.¡±


    ¡°Are you from Lord Kenta¡¯s clan?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Izanami replied.


    ¡°These are our friends,¡± Mako said.


    ¡°Izanami, Sora and Akiko are from Hashimoto House,¡± Miko said as she pointed to each girl.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°We know that the home is for abandoned p¨²ca,¡± Izanami said.


    ¡°Tea,¡± Mako said handing Izanami a cup of juice.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Izanami said. She drank it down and held out the cup.


    ¡°To your liking?¡± Miko asked as she took the empty cup.


    ¡°To my throne please ladies,¡± Izanami said.


    Sora and Akiko pushed Izanami to the swing, Mako and Miko followed them, Kaede then ran after them and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°We are playing princess,¡± Mako replied.


    ¡°Izanami is the princess,¡± Miko replied.


    ¡°I can walk,¡± Kaede said, and he ran ahead and got on the swing.


    When the girls arrived, Kaede just continued to play on the swing. Izanami unclicked the restraints on the stroller, she left the stroller and climbed on the swing beside Kaede.


    ¡°So, can I,¡± Izanami said.


    ¡°I can change my diaper,¡± Kaede said.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°That is so easy,¡± Izanami said rolling her eyes, ¡°I can read.¡±


    ¡°I can read and write Kanji.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡±


    ¡°Yes way, Grandfather is teaching me.¡±


    ¡°Mako and Miko have been teaching us to read and write.¡±


    ¡°My father promised me I could make a wish on my birthday,¡± Kaede said as he swung, ¡°I will ask him to send me to school.¡±


    ¡°Well, I want to go too,¡± Izanami said nose up looking ahead as she swung.


    ¡°To go to First-School,¡± Mako said.


    ¡°You must be six years old,¡± Miko said.


    ¡°But I am smarter than you,¡± Izanami said.


    ¡°This is enrolment week,¡± Mako said.


    ¡°We will go to The Imperial Academy,¡± Miko said.


    ¡°If I had a wish, I would use it to go with you,¡± Izanami said.


    ¡°Well I will use mine to go,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°Go where?¡± Hiro asked from behind.


    Kaede jumped off the swing and ran to Hiro, ¡°Father!¡± he cried out.


    ¡°Easy, are you all right son?¡± Hiro asked.


    ¡°He is just crushed he meet someone smarter than him,¡± Izanami said.


    ¡°Ha,¡± Kaede said, ¡°I have missed you, father.¡±


    ¡°I made Sora and Akiko push me in a stroller, while you walk,¡± Izanami said.


    Sora and Akiko run off crying; Kaede said, ¡°Not so smart now.¡±


    Hiro said, ¡°Come, let us open your presents.¡±, then he turned to Toshiko and asked, ¡°Sort the girls out and then bring them inside, please.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Toshiko replied. She went after Sora and Akiko. They had fled with the stroller.


    Hiro carried Kaede inside. Kaede leant over and poked his tongue out at Izanami, who was walking behind them.


    ¡°Son, when and how did you arrive?¡± Takahiro asked when they entered the top floor.


    ¡°I hitched a ride on a patrol boat to New-Odessa, the tube train to the city, and from there the subway to the Island,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°On your own?¡± Takahiro asked.


    ¡°No father,¡± Hiro said. He turned to a Knight behind him, Hiro beckons. The Knight came to him with a small folding scooter. Hiro took it from her and then handed it to Kaede, ¡°Sorry son, I didn¡¯t have time to wrap it,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Awesome Father, thank you,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°No riding it until we get you a helmet, I will take you once the storm passes,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Can I go to school?¡± Kaede asked.


    Many laughed at Kaede, including Hiro, who looked at him confused.


    ¡°Sorry son, you are too young,¡± Hiro replied, placing his hand on Kaede¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Mako and Miko are going,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°General?¡± Hiro asked.


    ¡°Yes, they are already six,¡± Kenta replied.


    ¡°See son, they can start school when you turn six, then you can start school,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°What if I use my wish for Izanami and me to go to school?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°She will go to school when she is six,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°You promised me a wish,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°Son, what did you promise him?¡± Takahiro asked.


    ¡°Father, Kaede sent me a message, he asked me if wishes were real. I told him about birthday wishes and wishing wells. He asked me if he gets to make a wish on his birthday. I said yes, now it seems he had taken it literally,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°I see, in that case, until he is eighteen, you owe him a wish, a reasonable wish. That will teach you to be more careful what you say to him,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Yes father,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°So, I tell you my wish and blow out the candles; you must make it come true,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°Kaede, it does not work like that,¡± Hiro said. He looked at Takahiro, then at Kaede and said, ¡°It had to be something that I can do, and Grandfather approves.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Kaede, I do not think you are ready for school,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°But,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°Kaede! You respect your elders and do not answer back,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Kaede, when you are ready for school, you may go,¡± Takahiro said.


    Izanami poked her tongue out at him. Kaede asked softly, ¡°Can my friends come?¡±


    ¡°Lady Abel?¡± Takahiro asked.


    ¡°If they pass the entry examination. But seeing how smart Izanami and Kaede are, I am sure they would qualify to attend school with Mako and Miko,¡± Abel replied.


    ¡°Kaede is a boy,¡± Mako said.


    ¡°The Imperial Academy is for girls,¡± Miko declared.


    ¡°Kenta, the twins do qualify to attend The Academy for Exceptional Students,¡± Abel said. She then said to Mako and Miko, ¡°It is a school for the smartest male and female p¨²ca.¡±


    ¡°Girls, that is the school you will attend,¡± Kenta said.


    Kaede looked up at Hiro, ¡°Do I still get my wish?¡± he asked, ¡°Can I have a wand?¡±


    Toshiko knelt beside them, ¡°Sorry, but magic had limits, to use a Wand, you need to be 18,¡± Toshiko said.


    ¡°Yes, Lady Toshiko,¡± Kaede replied.


    ¡°Son, time to go open your gifts. Think what you need, not what you want,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Yes, father,¡± Kaede said, ¡°About my wish?¡±


    ¡°We will talk about your request later, son,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Good, now go open your other gifts and don¡¯t forget to thank everyone,¡± Takahiro said.


    As Kaede unwrapped his gifts, Toshiko went to Takahiro, ¡°He has found his red shirt,¡± she said.


    ¡°Pardon?¡± Takahiro asked.


    ¡°His rival, someone to challenge and inspire him,¡± Toshiko said.


    ¡°So, you think he is the blue shirt? What makes you say he is the gentle one?¡± Takahiro asked.


    ¡°He is so much like you,¡± Toshiko said.


    ¡°Am I that obvious?¡± Takahiro asked.


    ¡°After all this time, you need to ask?¡± Toshiko asked.


    ¡°The Blood-Witches selected them, not me,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°How odd, Sora and Akiko do not appear to be that intelligent,¡± Toshiko said.


    ¡°They have potential; however, their genetic disposition is sports. Abel¡¯s school program is exceptional in everything, except sports. I have convinced her to have a sports scholarship program,¡± Takahiro said.


    ¡°Am I in the way of your plans?¡± Toshiko asked.


    ¡°No, you can guide and mentor Sora and Akiko. I have my eye on Mako, Miko and Izanami. They are mostly likely to be with Kaede in the special education program. I will send him when he is ready. First, he has a little growing to do and must learn he cannot have everything,¡± Takahiro said.


    Kaede opened a gift box and pulled out a tablet, without looking he placed it on the table beside another, he looked at the card on the box and said in a dull, flat, tone, ¡°Thankyou High Lord Dain,¡±


    Hiro came and said, ¡°Kaede, don¡¯t be like that,¡±


    ¡°It is all right, my mistake, it appears the Emperor has gifted him a tablet; however, young Prince, this is the model used in private schools,¡± Dain said.


    ¡°Is it loaded with the learning application?¡± Kaede asked with excitement.


    ¡°Yes, you will need a qualified teacher to monitor exams to add the results to your Academic Record,¡± Dain replied.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Kaede said, with a smile, he placed it on top of the other tablet.


    On September 1, 1566, Sora, and Akiko, aged six; Kaede and Izanami, aged three; Mako and Miko, aged eight; was driven by Hiro, in a mini-van, to The Academy for Exceptional Students. An SUV followed them with a pair of knights, Lady Yuki and Lady Toshiko in the front with House guards in the back.


    ¡°You said we go to school with Mako and Miko, but this is their last year,¡± Kaede complained as Hiro parked the vehicle.


    Hiro turned off the engine. He turned to Kaede, ¡°Son, Mako and Miko are in their final year of First-School, next year they will attend Second-School. The same campus, only a different group of buildings to you,¡± Hiro replied.


    ¡°Why?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°Kaede, what have I told you about questioning adults?¡± Hiro asked in reply.


    ¡°Just asking,¡± Kaede replied.


    ¡°There are rules, and even the Emperor must follow the rules,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Why?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°A good leader never asks anyone to do something they are not willing to do themselves, especially a starship captain,¡± Hiro replied.


    ¡°Is that why Toshiko made Izanami push Sora and Akiko around in the stroller at my first birthday?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°Must you always bring that up?¡±, Izanami asked, arms folded, with a sour face, looking out the window, Sora and Akiko giggled.


    ¡°This is the first week of school only this week will only be short days. You get your books, uniform, load your tablet with your class program and schedule, meet your teachers and class. I collect you here in three hours, and then we have your third birthday party on the lawn of the palace. Lady Yuki is your minder, and you will do what she tells you to do,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Must I have a Knight with me all the time?¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± Kaede said.


    ¡°I always have at least one Knight following me,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°What about when I pee?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°Kaede, don¡¯t be embarrassing, you know they wait outside the toilet for you,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°If I am a boy, why am I the same as Izanami?¡± Kaede asked.


    Mako and Miko giggled, ¡°Silly, p¨²ca does not have a thing,¡± Miko replied.


    ¡°Until they are twelve,¡± Mako said.


    ¡°All Elves are born girls, most boys develop in their teens,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°What if I don¡¯t get mine?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°Then you will be a beautiful girl, like me,¡± Izanami said.


    ¡°Son, I do not want you to worry. As a Hashimoto, you always have a place in the clan if you respect the clan elder and are a good law-abiding citizen,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Why are boys rare?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°It is our genetics, Son. Accept who you are, be hard working and cheerful,¡± Hiro said getting out of the car.


    ¡°Why not change it,¡± Kaede asked.


    Hiro went around the vehicle and opened Kaede¡¯s door, looked him in the eye and said, ¡°Having a great power, means accepting responsibility. Life will be easier if you accept who you are.¡±


    Lady Yuki gets out of the SUV parked beside them, she bowed slightly and said, ¡°I will take him from here, Prince Hiro.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lady Yuki,¡± Hiro said returning her bow.


    Lady Yuki was twenty-one, had two bars on her collar. She adjusted her jacket to cover her 13mm handgun. She checked her belt. She plugged a wired earpiece into her cell phone, on her belt, then put it into her ear, attached the microphone to her collar. The whole time Kaede watched her. She knelt in front of Kaede and said, ¡°Nice to meet you, Prince Kaede, I am Lady Yuki.¡±


    ¡°Where is your machine gun?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°In the back of the SUV,¡± Yuki said.


    ¡°Why?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°Forgive him Lady Yuki; he asks many questions. Kaede do you want me to take you home now?¡± Hiro asked.


    ¡°It is all right. Prince Kaede, we are in school, and a stray bullet could hit a student. In a closed area, a large assault rifle is not the best weapon to use,¡± Yuki said.


    ¡°What if they have machine guns?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°I will use magic to move fast and create a shield,¡± Yuki said.


    ¡°Have you ever killed anyone?¡± Kaede asked.


    ¡°Kaede!¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Not today; but it is only 8:55 am,¡± she replied looking at the band on her wrist, ¡°Now I need to get you in line to collect your uniform,¡± Yuki said taking his hand.


    Hiro coughed, held out Kaede¡¯s school bag. Yuki blushed, and she took it from him, then left with Kaede, who was trying to pull out of her grip.


    ¡°Hey, hands off, he is mine,¡± Izanami said trying to get between them.


    Another van arrived, it delivered a couple of Yoshiko house guards; they escort Mako and Miko to class.


    ¡°Are we stupid?¡± Sora asked.


    ¡°No. Just do your best. Do as Lady Toshiko, and the other instructors tell you. You will visit the palace every Sunday to play,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Sora said.


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Akiko said.


    ¡°Good,¡± Hiro said.


    ¡°Abel, a pleasure to see you,¡± Toshiko called out behind them.


    Hiro turned to see Abel on the path from the front office building, she walked up to and hugged Toshiko. He removed the girls from the van, handed them their leather satchels, each contained their tablet and their identification card.


    ¡°Girls, this is the headmistress, Lady Abel. She will show you to class today,¡± Toshiko said.


    ¡°Girls I used to play for the Galaxy girls, and I will be your football coach,¡± Abel said.


    ¡°Again, thank you, Lady Abel, I hope we have not made things too difficult for you?¡± Hiro asked.


    ¡°No, my brother will stop whining like a school girl as soon as the team wins, once we have a few trophies on the shelf and he will be telling me the scholarship program was his idea,¡± Abel replied.