Guardian of Empire

by Kylie Chan

  Fumi folded us to New Nippon. The Japanese had made tailored alterations to the planet: the entire landmass, bigger than all the combined land of Earth, was in the shape of the original Japanese island group. They’d even had the terrain altered to be identical; the planet’s only continent was a giant copy of the original Japan. There’d been some argument about making it earthquake-prone as well, like the original islands, and the dragons had talked them down to having mild earthquakes similar to the controlled ones on Earth. The landmass was sparsely populated for a colony planet; they had very strict rules about who could live there permanently.

  The four cat ships were firing on New Nippon, focusing their beams on the capital, Edo, and an orbital Marque sphere, the size of a small moon, was protecting the city with a massive energy shield.

  ‘Let’s go before Marque runs out of juice,’ I said. ‘Alpha team—’

  ‘They respectfully request that you hold off until they’ve finished their experiment,’ Marque said.

  ‘What experiment?’ Imran said.

  ‘They’re trying wasabi instead of chilli.’

  ‘Is it working?’

  ‘No,’ Marque said, sounding amused. ‘Good thing they have an orbital instance of me to protect them, otherwise Edo would be toast by now.’

  ‘Let us know if we need to move in and hit the cats,’ I said.

  ‘Look,’ Leckie said, pointing at the cat ships. They’d stopped attacking Edo and had turned over, the symbol of surrender common to most species in the Empire.

  ‘They surrendered?’ I asked Marque.

  ‘They haven’t said anything. They just turned over,’ Marque said.

  We shared a look.

  ‘Even though the wasabi was ineffective?’ I said.

  ‘Yes,’ Marque said. ‘The last two cat attacks did this as well, but they turned over after they’d been boarded and it was too late to negotiate. Are they using the dragons as a taxi service to get them home when they see us coming?’

  ‘That suggests they know that we can incapacitate them. Are they communicating through interstellar distances? I thought they couldn’t do that,’ I said.

  ‘I’ll see if there’s something around here that’s quantum-entangled,’ Marque said. ‘They’re definitely too far from any other cat ship to be communicating at the speed of light or slower.’

  A few spheres whizzed out of Fumi’s ship to check the area.

  ‘Let’s ask them if they surrender,’ I said. ‘Open a channel.’

  ‘Done.’

  ‘This is Colonel Choumali of the Dragon-Human Military Alliance—’ I began, but they interrupted me.

  ‘Return us to our home system immediately,’ the cats said.

  ‘Permission to come aboard and discuss returning you?’ I said.

  ‘Agree to take us back to our home system.’

  ‘We agree,’ I said. ‘May we come aboard?’

  The cats didn’t reply.

  ‘We need to be physically on your ship if we’re going to take you home,’ I said.

  ‘Come,’ the cats said.

  I switched to local comms. ‘We’re fully loaded with chilli bombs. If they decide that wasn’t a peaceful invitation, we can hit them with the chilli and take them home anyway.’ I indicated the five most experienced soldiers and we gathered around Fumi. ‘Let’s go pay them a visit.’

  ‘Before you go, Colonel Choumali,’ Marque said.

  ‘Yes?’ I said, putting my hand on Fumi’s shoulder.

  ‘The leader of the wasabi force was Prince Haruka, and he’s still on the largest cat ship. Princess Masako carried him there.’

  ‘Wonderful. Let’s go.’

  Fumi folded us over.

  ‘By your leave, your Highness,’ I said when we arrived on the main cat ship. Prince Haruka and his small team, all in head-to-toe, black, human-fabricated armour, were standing on the bridge facing off with the senior cat crew. Three of the most senior cats had come down from their platforms and stood across from the New Nippon soldiers, who were holding micro-bombs.

  Haruka was easily recognisable; as a dragonscales he was taller than average for a human, and his armour indicated his rank. They all wore black nano-fibre suits, but his was enhanced by large golden chrysanthemum motifs surrounded by gold wave-shaped filigree, and he had two Japanese-style swords held in place by a gold silk belt. Their black armour was splashed with the bright green wasabi – powdered Japanese horseradish. A goldenscales dragon stood behind him, her head lowered with submission. She was only a metre and a half long, much smaller than the rest of the dragon population, and her bright yellow scales marked her as a dragon servant.

  ‘Colonel Jian Choumali. Again arriving too late to protect the people of Japan.’ Haruka flipped his faceplate up to show his impeccably made-up face. He was furious. ‘We did not give you permission to board this ship.’

  ‘The cats did,’ I said, and his expression grew darker.

  ‘Where’s Masako?’ Fumi said. ‘She has three times the charisma I do.’

  ‘She is on her way, Highness,’ the dragon servant said.

  Masako folded onto the ship, and the goldenscales servant hurried to stand behind her, her head still bowed.

  ‘I was transporting the rest of the New Nippon teams off the cat ships,’ Masako said. ‘Hello, my darling Fumi. Colonel Choumali, good to see you.’

  Masako’s scales were a dark metallic gunmetal colour, and her eyes were jade-green. Her form was a standard four-legged shape without wings, and she had a lithe, snake-like body. She was the Empress’ oldest daughter, and nearly as charismatic as the Empress herself, a skill that grew with age. She was one of the first dragons to be fitted with the – then experimental – soulstone. She would have been an adult when the huge cat fleet left their home system three thousand years before.

  ‘Hello, honoured cats,’ she said, and took two-legged form.

  One of the human soldiers moaned gently. A dragon’s two-legged form appeared to be what every individual found the most attractive, and the body language changed to match the viewer’s species. For me, her illusory two-legged form was the most spectacularly beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Her serene, mid-brown face had large, expressive jade-green eyes and her hair, frizzy like my own, floated down to her waist and was a shining cloud around her head. Her human form was similar to the Empress’ own: small breasts and long legs, muscular and lithe with very little body fat. She smelled wonderful, of fresh spring breezes and rain on grass.

  She spread her hands in welcome, her voice warm and velvety. ‘I am the Empress’ first-born dragon child. I greet you on behalf of the Dragon Empire. Please, allow me to fold you to my home planet so we can show you our hospitality and peacefully negotiate your return to your home system.’

  The cats just stared at her, then a couple pulled weapons and shot at her. Marque blocked the energy beams.

  One of the cats stepped forward. Its fur outside the grey cat jumpsuit was slightly longer than most cats’, and was patterned in a striking silver and black tabby colour. ‘Take dragon form. Your lies do nothing but irritate us.’

  Masako changed back into four-legged form and bowed her head. ‘I apologise. I just want to communicate with you.’

  ‘We don’t want to communicate with you,’ the cat said. ‘Take us home.’

  ‘How may I address you, honoured sentient?’ Masako said.

  ‘Captain,’ the cat said. ‘Take us back to our home system.’

  ‘Why did you bother attacking the planet if you were planning to immediately surrender?’ Masako said.

  ‘Transport us to our homeworld,’ the cat said.

  ‘I will be happy to, provided we can speak to you when we get there,’ Masako said.

  ‘What? Wait!’ Haruka said. ‘You can’t let them get away with this!’ He threw a bomb that exploded with green powder – the horseradish. I didn’t feel it, still in my protective gear, and the cat ignored it.

  ‘That wasn’t very nice wh
en they’re talking terms,’ Masako said. ‘Back off, my love.’

  ‘Fuck you, dragon,’ Haruka said. ‘They killed my family!’ He drew his sword, and Marque restrained him with an energy barrier.

  ‘Goodness, that is extremely bad manners,’ Masako said mildly. She bowed to the head cat. ‘I apologise for the human’s behaviour, he is young and impulsive. I am Princess Masako, I speak for the Empire. Call off your fleet attacking my homeworld, and we can talk and trade.’

  ‘Speak to our leaders,’ the captain said, and leaped gracefully up to its control platform.

  ‘Is that an invitation to parley?’ Masako said.

  ‘Take us back to our homeworld,’ the cat said. ‘Or we will attack this planet again. I do not have rank to speak to you. Speak to our leaders.’

  ‘Finally,’ Masako said, and turned to us humans. ‘Ready to act as an honour guard? Let’s go visit their homeworld.’ She nodded to Haruka. ‘I suggest that Fumi fold you home to New Nippon before we leave, your Highness. Your royal personage is too important to put in danger.’

  ‘No!’ Haruka stomped backwards and forwards inside his energy barrier, still holding the sword. ‘You can’t do this for them. Let me out of here!’ He spun and pointed the sword at the cat captain. ‘They killed my brother!’

  ‘Please stand down, Highness,’ I said, trying to calm him as he radiated raw fury. ‘The cats have surrendered.’

  ‘We have not surrendered,’ the cat captain said. ‘We have what we wanted. Return us to our home system.’

  ‘You only need to ask if you want us to help you,’ Masako said. ‘We’d be happy to carry you around – if you agree to stop attacking our people.’

  ‘Return us to our homeworld immediately or we will destroy this planet,’ the captain said.

  ‘Bomb them with chilli!’ Haruka shrieked. ‘They need to suffer!’

  ‘Highness . . .’ one of his team said, his voice mild.

  ‘Remain silent!’ the Prince said.

  ‘Take us to our home system and then leave,’ the cat said.

  ‘Fumi,’ Masako said. ‘Take the Prince and his team down to New Nippon and we’ll head out. Take Miko with you.’

  ‘I want to stay with you, Highness,’ the servant, Miko, said.

  ‘No, little one, go with them so you’ll be safe,’ Masako said kindly.

  Miko bobbed her head. ‘Highness.’

  The Japanese team put their hands on Fumi’s shoulders. She went to Haruka, who backed away from her. Marque held him still while she touched him. Miko put her nose on Fumi’s butt.

  ‘New Nippon will not forget this outrage,’ Haruka said as they disappeared.

  ‘We will transport you home, then arrange for the creation of a peaceful relationship,’ Masako said to the cat captain. ‘May we establish a diplomatic post on your planet?’

  ‘What is that?’ the cat said suspiciously.

  ‘We post a group of our people on your planet to liaise with your government. We can talk any time and start trade treaties.’

  ‘No. You may not inhabit our homeworld, it is for us,’ the cat captain said. ‘Return us to our home system and then leave.’

  ‘As you wish. We only want peace between our people. We can place an embassy in orbit as well.’

  Once again, the cat didn’t reply.

  Masako went to the nose of the ship and folded it to cat space. She reappeared in the bridge, smiling a dragon smile.

  Marque provided me with a heads-up visual of the planet below us with geographic and climate data surrounding it; the cat ships had no displays of external space. The cat planet was larger and warmer than Earth, and mostly desert; they pumped their water from aquifers that filled the sandy soil. The cities on the night side were dimly lit, making sections of it glow faintly. One of the deserts on the day side was covered with a massive black stain that shone in the reflected light of their red dwarf star; it was the size of a continent on Earth and the dragons had speculated that it was a huge solar collector to provide the cat society with energy.

  ‘There,’ Masako said. ‘I have brought you home. Can we talk now?’

  ‘Carry the rest of the ships then leave us,’ the silver tabby said.

  ‘If you like,’ Masako said, and she disappeared. She reappeared with each of the cat ships, one by one. It only took a few minutes as we stood uncomfortably with the cat crew. When all the cat ships were in orbit around their planet, Masako returned to the bridge.

  ‘Can we go down to the surface and visit?’ Masako asked the cat captain.

  The cats on the bridge fired on us, and Marque protected us from the energy weapons.

  ‘Please stop firing, we’d like to talk,’ Masako said.

  I took out a chilli bomb and hefted it. ‘Orders, Highness?’

  ‘No, Colonel, don’t attack them when we’re so close to peace,’ she said.

  ‘You have two minutes until my energy shield goes down,’ Marque said. ‘I suggest you fold out.’

  ‘Not when we’re so close!’ Masako said. ‘Please stop firing on us; we’ll give you anything if you call off your fleet.’

  The cats continued to fire on us. The energy shield in front of us became warmer.

  ‘Eighty seconds,’ Marque said. ‘This is pointless, Masako.’

  ‘Gather around me and prepare for fold, everybody,’ Masako said, resigned. ‘We’ll come back on my ship.’

  We put our hands on her and she folded us to her own ship. It was nearly as big as Shiumo’s exceptionally large ship; the gallery of Masako’s ship was a hundred metres wide and long, with completely invisible walls and ceiling giving us an excellent view of space around it.

  ‘I want to go straight back,’ Masako said. ‘Are you all prepared to come with me? Have your bombs ready, just in case.’

  ‘We’re good, ma’am,’ I said.

  ‘All right, let’s go,’ she said, and folded to the nose of her ship, then took the ship back to the cat planet. We arrived above it, with the four cat ships we’d just transported hovering in the sky next to us, dwarfed by Masako’s enormous ship.

  ‘Ask them for permission to visit the planet on their broadcast frequency, Marque,’ Masako said.

  ‘Just go down, don’t ask their permission,’ Leckie said. ‘We can gain valuable information.’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘The last thing we need now is a symbolic invasion. What do they say, Marque?’

  Marque’s voice changed to metallic and emotionless. ‘This is our homeworld, it is for us. No other species are welcome.’

  ‘We just want to come and talk,’ Masako said, her voice high-pitched and sweet, using every scrap of her impressive charisma.

  ‘Leave,’ the cats said.

  ‘My son Oliver – no. Marque, say Oliver’s name in cat, then “can come to your planet and speak to you”.’

  ‘That one is not a cat,’ the cat said. ‘It is corrupted. Be merciful and destroy it.’

  ‘Any suggestions, Masako?’ I said.

  ‘Can we come closer?’ she said. ‘Would you like some potatoes? We have plenty.’

  Marque relayed for the cats. ‘Leave immediately or we will destroy your ship.’

  ‘We just want to talk,’ Masako said. ‘Can we see you?’ She lowered her voice. ‘Mute me: I could really use a click right now, Marque, are any clicks free?’

  ‘I’m looking,’ Marque said.

  An enormous beam of energy erupted from the planet and hit us with a blinding flash that caused stars in my vision for the split second before Marque blacked out the skin of the ship. The heat from the blast radiated from the walls around us.

  ‘I can’t hold this for long,’ Marque said. ‘Masako, they just destroyed all of the ships next to us. They wiped out four of their own ships to attack us.’

  ‘Please stop firing, we’d like to talk,’ Masako said.

  ‘They can’t hear you, they closed the channel,’ Marque said. ‘You have two minutes until the atmosphere inside your ship is too hot
for humans. I suggest you fold out.’

  The heat from the skin of the ship became stronger and we humans moved into the centre.

  ‘Eighty seconds,’ Marque said. ‘This is pointless, Masako; you already gave them potatoes and a dragon scale. Just go.’

  ‘Prepare for fold, everybody,’ Masako said. ‘I don’t want to risk you. This is a breakthrough – let’s build from here. Reopen the channel, Marque.’

  ‘They’re not listening,’ Marque said.

  ‘I’m trying anyway. I am Princess Masako of the Dragon Empire,’ Masako said. ‘We would like to talk in peace with your people. We don’t want to fight. If you are willing to negotiate, use the scale we have provided. We will return with gifts for you.’

  We all waited for a reply, and nothing happened.

  ‘Well fuck this, let’s go home and I’ll report back to my mother,’ Masako said, and folded us to orbit around the Imperial Capital without even moving to the nose of the ship. ‘What a bunch of assholes. Gather together, dear humans, and I’ll take you home.’

  ‘Why does Prince Golden Flower Spring Blossom Haruka hate you so much?’ Leckie asked me as Masako took the first of our team back to Barracks. ‘What did you do to him? He’s not old enough to have been in the Earth-based service with you, is he?’

  ‘No, he was born on New Nippon, his father was an original colonist – apparently they needed a member of the royal family along when they established the colony,’ I said. ‘His big brother was one of the children that died in the first cat invasion of New Nippon, nearly thirty years ago. He blames me for the loss, well aware that I had nothing to do with it and needing someone to blame for it anyway.’

  ‘Well that makes a lot of sense,’ Griffith said.

  ‘Nothing about Haruka makes sense,’ I said.

  ‘Is he a dragonscales?’ Leckie said. ‘He has the scales on his temples – I thought all the dragonscales were women?’

  ‘Yeah, my girlfriend’s a dragonscales and she said they’re all hermaphroditic females,’ Griffith said.

  ‘Haruka’s the first dragonscales in the Japanese royal family,’ I said. ‘His father had a fling with one of the early dragon visitors. The minute Haruka turned five and his soulstone was attuned, he demanded that he be moved to an engineered body that was one hundred per cent male. He made their lives miserable about it.’