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 púca 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 púca, 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 púca and lifted it out of the water. The púca 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 púca’s wrist. She looked at the smart-watch on her wrist and wrote ‘Hashimoto púca, 12:01 am September 1, 1562’ on it. Then she bagged the placenta, clamped and cut the umbilical cord. The púca did not cry; instead, he looked around.
He was wrapped and placed in the púca 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 púca to the east wing of the house, to the clinic. As the third washed the púca, 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 púca, 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 púca 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 púca bag; the third brought the púca, wrapped in a yellow blanket with blue stars on it. Together they stood before and bowed to the Emperor.
“Emperor, the púca 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 púca, only an hour old, crawled,” the Witch replied, she turned to the one with the púca and nodded. The Blood-Witch placed him on the floor and removed the blanket from the púca, 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 púca a boy?”
“Yes, Emperor Takahiro, the púca 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 púca 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 púca with a surrogate,” Takahiro said.
The Blood-Witch, with the púca bag, stepped forward, removed a bottle of milk and then handed it to Hiro. She placed the púca 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 púca 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.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“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 púca. 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 púca.”
“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 púca,” 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 púca 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 púca 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 púca 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 púca 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 púca’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 púca, 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 púca 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.