“Are you paying attention? This is important.” Vang’s voice ripped through my thoughts like an explosion, bringing me back to the conversation at hand.

I refocused on the Admiral’s red face. Dammit. I had done it again. These daily lectures with Vang were boring as hell. Sure some of the information was interesting, some even exciting, but the majority was just plain dull. It didn’t help that my thoughts kept going back to what happened with Chief Hon, even though it had happened almost two weeks ago.

The worst part was that Vang acted like it had never happened. Anytime I would reference it or ask about the Fazha Rebellion, he would just move on to a different topic, or just stare at me with those hard cold eyes, until I gave up and changed the subject for him. His Coercion Dome-ni in its full glory, no doubt.

The only evidence that anything had happened was my constant Zahnian shadows. I had two of them always standing outside my door, and if I left my room, they would follow closely behind. It very quickly took the fun out of exploring the ship any further, so if I wasn’t with Vang in his office, I was usually hiding in my room––at least that way I was mostly guaranteed privacy.

Benite still came once a day for my treatments and random Zahnian’s showed up twice a day with food, but at least I could set my watch by them––if I had one. Benite and my meals always showed up at the exact times each day.

My lessons with Vang were exact as well. Right after my treatment with Benite, I came straight to his office. We then spent the next three hours in lectures. We would stop for a short break for refreshment, and then be back at it for three more hours. By the time we were done, my mind was usually fried anyways, so going back to my room and crashing was usually the best I could do––at least that’s what I told myself.

My life had turned into a bleak existence, and I wasn’t sure how much more of it I could take. But this was Vang’s show, and I had found that it made my life a lot easier if I just let him run it. And honestly, I didn’t feel like I had much fight in me these days. Most of the time I just felt numb and just went through the motions.

One thing I had managed to learn about myself was that I found I could completely zone out, and still manage to pick up the conversation that Vang had been droning on about. I wasn’t sure if the ability was tied to one of my Dome-ni’s, or if I was simply learning to adapt to my new way of life, but it saved me on many occasions in the last few weeks. Thank goodness for that at least.

“You were telling me about the thirteen noble houses, and the difference between the Kings and the Imperial Family.”

Vang gave me a doubtful look as he tapped a meaty finger on the table. “Then let’s test that knowledge, shall we? What role specifically do the Kings play in the Empire?”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I had done that once, and then had to endure a twenty minute lecture on how I wasn’t taking these moments of study seriously and that I showed a deep disrespect to the Emperor and the entire Empire by not doing so. Yep, hard pass on that one thank you very much. So I schooled my face, took a deep breath, and plunged into what I knew Vang was looking for.

“There are twelve Kings each of them ruling over an assigned Kingdom of planetary systems. The size of each Kingdom varies as well as the resources available to them, but most of the Kingdoms do specialize in a resource or trade.

“An example would be the smallest Kingdom of Norvok with only seven livable planetary systems, but they have the largest trade of perishables in the Empire and is one of the biggest source of food for all of Ethia. King Ja-mene’s primary role is that of agriculture administrator for the entire Empire.”

And I went down the list of the rest of the eleven Kingdoms. This stuff I actually listened to because I found it somewhat interesting. By the time I wrapped up with the Kingdom of Wynn and explained in detail the long list of valuable resources found from the Kingdom’s rich mining worlds, Vang looked a little bit impressed.

I grinned at that. For once, I hadn’t gotten a negative response from the Admiral.

“And what method do the Kings use to inform the Emperor of business within their Kingdoms?”

“The Kings’ Council, which is held every two Dyniss lunar cycles usually on Dyniss, but on occasion they are held on a random Kingdom’s capitol world. All council meetings are closed sessions with representatives of each Kingdom and with at least one member of the Imperial Family present. Each King does (or should have) an Heir, Crown Prince, or a suitable stand in that can act as his second at council meetings, as does the Emperor, which will eventually be one of my duties when I’ve had enough training.”

Vang nodded. “That’s good-”

But I already anticipated the Admiral’s next question, so I didn’t wait for him to finish. “There are two distinct military entities in Ethia. The Zahnians, which answer solely to the Emperor, and which you and this ship are a part of as you have explained multiple times. The Zahnian Legion protects the Imperial Capitol of Dyniss and polices the fifteen planetary systems that makes up the central seat of Imperial power.

“The Vanguard is a much larger military simply because it is operated and shared by all twelve Kingdoms. This pool of resources is used to protect and police all twelve Kingdoms, including the Outer Reach that serves as a barrier between the Empire and the greater universe.”

Vang looked like he might say something again, but once more I cut in before he could say a word, because obviously I knew what his other next question would be.

“That leads us to the Civil War started by a bitter disagreement between the then Emperor Zaxen Zahn and the Kings. This was the one and only time when the two militaries clashed in a bloody war that eventually led to the Ethian Cooperation Treaty put in place by my father Emperor Ghar Zahn just over two hundred years ago at the beginning of his reign.”

I paused after that, because it was still sinking in that the average Ethian lifespan was more than triple that of Earths. Did that mean I’d live to be three hundred or more? I marveled at that idea. What would I do with an unexpected two hundred plus years?

Now that I was quiet, I realized that Vang was quiet too. I shot him a look. He sat there in his chair with an air of approval. I narrowed my eyes trying to see the trick. Certainly there was an unexpected question he was going to launch at me at any moment? Because that’s how the Admiral and I rolled.

But the Admiral simply nodded and said, “Excellent. You are ready.”

He then tapped at the rectangular display on a silver bracelet. The same accessory I had noticed everyone else on the ship but me seemed to have. A display of what appeared to be names projected in a holographic image right before the Admiral. Vang touched a name that caused a still image of a man to appear for only a moment before the Admiral barked out an order.

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“We are ready.”

He then tapped the bracelet again to end his message.

“I am?” I said, not quite believing him, and yet a spark of excitement shot through me. “Wait. What exactly am I ready for?”

But Vang was already out of his seat and marching for the exit of his office. He stopped at the bridge to give a few short-clipped orders, and then after a brisk walk through the corridors with my shadows falling closely behind––of course––we arrived at my room. Vang entered. I followed to find a new set of clothes all laid out for me.

I had been wearing exactly the same uniform as that of Vang and the other Blue Coats––only there were no dark blue markings across my upper chest, which I have since learned showed the rank and station of each person.

Now it looked like I had graduated to a new set of clothes. I was immediately drawn to the bright blue fabric laying across the low platform. It was a far cry from the dark blue of the Zahnian uniforms. I walked over and picked it up. There was a delicate thread of gold woven into the brilliant cobalt. Strange bright loops and curls decorated the entire backdrop of blue. I marveled at the workmanship. It was obvious a lot of time and care had been put into producing such a work of art.

I shook out the fabric. It was a long coat just like the one I wore, but far more elegant and even a little lighter in weight as well. It was hard to miss the golden crest on the right arm of the coat right above where the black mark on my arm would be. I abruptly turned my gaze to the other clothes on the table. These were all black, but the fabric was probably the softest thing I had ever touched. It was like touching clouds. I put the coat down and picked up the black pieces––a shirt and pair of pants.

“Get dressed. I’ll wait.” I heard Vang from behind.

I suppose the idea of privacy didn’t really register with this guy, and I wasn’t about to ask him to leave so I could change. So I quickly undressed, and unceremoniously dropped the darker blue stuff on the floor.

I paused as my eyes caught the black mark on my right upper arm. I was still uncomfortable with it, but I was learning to deal with a lot of things I wasn’t entirely alright with.

“Is there a problem?” Vang asked from behind me.

“No.” I responded as I reached for the soft black pants.

A few minutes later, I was fully dressed in my new clothes. I had to admit that I liked them a lot better than the others. These felt like they were made especially for me. The cobalt and gold coat actually felt like it fit, instead of me being swallowed by it like the other one. The lightness of the fabric was a welcome change too.

I noticed a pair of black boots and slipped those on as well. They weren’t as comfortable as my Sketchers, but they didn’t feel nearly as clumsy as the other boots that I had been wearing the last few weeks. I grinned as I faced Admiral Vang.

I was surprised by the look on Vang’s face. He seemed a little bit stunned. The Admiral stood there for a moment as if trying to decided what to say. Then he seemed to snap out of it and came up to me. He grabbed the delicate hooks on the collar of my coat and hooked them into place, bringing the top of the coat firmly closed.

“You bear an uncanny resemblance to your father. More so than the other Imperial Princes.”

“Oh?” Was all I could manage to say. I wasn’t used to Vang being so personable.

“Well, except for the hair.” Vang gave a sad shake of his head.

My once close cropped hair was now nearly shoulder length. That was one of the other “benefits” of my treatments. It had made my hair grow like crazy.

“The hair is much too short for a man in your station, but the Remaker does have its limits I suppose. Two weeks is just not enough time to accelerate follicle growth to the proper length of an Imperial Prince.”

I decided to stay silent about that. I was sure Vang didn’t want to hear my opinion on the matter, or the fact that I felt like a shaggy dog with sudden shoulder length hair. The Admiral stepped back. He gave me one long approving look.

“This is how you will appear before your father. You will stand tall like I instructed, and you will only speak if you are asked for a direct response. Is that clear?”

I nodded.

“Excellent. We should be arriving at the Ethian border within a few hours, after that it will only be a matter of a day’s travel and we will arrive at Dyniss.

“For the remainder of the trip, there will be no more lessons, but I expect you to review all you have learned and be ready to present yourself in your best manner. The Emperor is less tolerant of mistakes and outbursts than I am.”

The Admiral didn’t wait for a response. He whirled around and quickly exited the room.

I was left contemplating Vang’s last words. I realized that perhaps Vang’s gruffness had been a kindness, especially if my father was a stern as the Admiral made it seem. The Admiral had simply been preparing me for what to expect from the Emperor. I shivered as my mind wandered for the hundredth time about how my meeting with my birth father would go. By all that I had heard of him so far, I wasn’t expecting a warm welcome.

I was worried about that. I don’t know why exactly. It wasn’t like I needed his approval or anything. I was who I was, and I had learned to appreciate myself without needing the validation of others. Thank you mom and dad for that one!

But still, my mind churned, playing out different scenarios, wondering exactly how this would go, and what exactly he was expecting of me? I knew he needed an Heir, and he wanted me to play that role, but was that really the extent of it? I was his son after all, and I’d been missing for twenty years. What if I wasn’t what he expected?

What if I completely failed in his expectations? That made me stop and think. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He had three other sons. He could get one of them to take my place. A glimmer of an idea started to form. What if I could convince him I wasn’t the right candidate after all?

That put a lightness in my thoughts. Would he let me go back to Earth if I washed out? I shook my head. It was too early to think such thoughts. For now, it was enough that I had a plan, something that brought me the first rays of hope since I had learned my fate from Vang. I couldn’t help but smile as I slipped off my coat and set it off to the side.

I went to the the bank of drawers I had found the second day on the ship. The were built into the wall, and only a slight indent at the side of the drawers even showed that something might be there. A press of the circular indent and the drawer extended from the wall. Inside were all my Earthly possessions, including my clothes and Sketchers.

On the top of everything was my wallet and a small notepad I always carried with me to have on hand for the randomly inspired idea. Luckily, I had just replaced my notepad only a week before I was taken from Earth, so most of the pages were blank. At least, they had been.

The last few weeks I had been taking notes and doodling in the pad as a way to decompress and record some of the amazing things I had observed so far of Ethian technology. The engineer in me felt like I was a kid in a candy store, and I wasn’t even sure where to start with all the questions I had. But I also knew that while on this ship, I wasn’t going to get many, if any questions answered, especially not after what happened with the Chief. So I tried to figure out what I could on my own, and I made notes of what I wanted to explore more.

I leafed through the notes and diagrams I had already made. The tiny pad was over half-way filled. But it wasn’t the technology I was interested in right now, I was after something else. I stopped as I found what I was looking for. My eyes falling onto the sketch I had made of Anna.

Pain stabbed at my heart, but still, I couldn’t help but stand there staring at her soft features just like I remembered them. Had anyone told her yet of where I had gone? Hell, did she even believe them?

I cringed to think how that conversation had gone, and how she reacted afterward. I’d abandoned her, or at least that’s how she’d see it. Hell, that’s how I saw it. I’d abandoned them all, and I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye.

My sight started to blur and I closed the notepad. I tossed it back into the drawer and paced the floor not able to look at it any more.

Suddenly, the excitement of not having to sit through any more of Vang’s lectures didn’t seem so great. At least when I was busy, I didn’t have time to think of the mess I had left behind. I could feel the four walls of my rooms starting to close in on me.

“The hell with it!” I exclaimed as I whirled around and exited my room, not even knowing where I was going or caring that my shadows followed closely behind.