Power Games

by David Applegate

  Katerina sighed and said, “Yes, so would I.”

  “Please don’t be upset, but I heard you’re having an affair with a ballerina?” Freya asked. She looked down at Katerina’s breasts bulging out of her low-cut gown.

  Excited, Katerina brushed Freya’s long green hair and asked. “Are you bi?”

  “Well, not really, but Masako hates to sleep alone.”

  Katerina put her hand on Freya’s shoulder and asked, “Would you like to have a cuddle with me?”

  “Um, I don’t know.”

  Katerina tried to hide her disappointment with a smile and said, “If you change your mind, let me know.”

  “I will,” Freya said as she headed inside.

  “Tell Masako I will do what I can to stop him from harassing her.”

  Freya turned and said, “I wish Kaede would fix him like he fixed Takahiro.”

  “I have mixed feelings, and I am not sure if the rumours are true, but I understand why he did it, and I wish there were more men like him. But I fear everything he does is an illusion.”

  “I told your husband he only tells me what I need to know.”

  Katerina shook her head. “Oh no, I was not asking for him.” She looked away and said, “Never mind.”

  “What happened to your lady friend?”

  Katerina sighed. “She and her friends ran off with the head of a motorbike gang. She called me a bitter old lesbian.”

  “Would you like to come in for some tea?” Freya asked.

  Katerina’s eyes widened. “Are you sure Masako wouldn’t mind?”

  “She will be home soon.”

  “Not to be nosy, but I heard Masako went to a private clinic last week. Is she sick?”

  “Don’t tell anyone, but she is thinking about getting her height increased.”

  “Why? She is a beautiful woman.” Katerina said as she headed in,

  Freya said, “I know it sounds silly. But when I heard Elves meet their wives young and grow up with them, I had hoped that is why I was hired. So many Lords have either a giantess or a Dwarf for a mistress.”

  “I promise you I will take good care of you both,” Katerina said.

  As Freya started to untie the bow of Katerina’s gown, she asked, “What did you have in mind?”

  “When he is eighteen, suggest he use his privilege to ravish me, and in return, I will present you and Masako to him.”

  “Oh?” Freya asked as she slid the dress off Katerina.

  Katerina wore a corset. She stepped out of her dress, turned to Freya and said, “Many already compete for his attention, and right now he has Sora and her friends to focus on. Trust me. You need to wait patiently.”

  “Make yourself comfortable, I will call Masako and make us some tea,” Freya said before heading to the kitchen.

  ✽✽✽

  Kaede and Nori waited for Abelle to settle in the front room. They walked into his closet and Kaede pushed on the rear wall in two places. The panel clicked and popped out. Kaede slid it open, and they entered the far end of a large room with a large screen on the left wall and a large sofa against the right. Those two walls each had two doors. Kaede slid the panel closed and pushed it in. When it clicked, he headed to the door in the far wall.

  Kaede entered a small break room with an exit on the other side; inside were a couple of house guards at the table, with Lady Emi on the sofa. They all stood when he entered. There was a wall panel showing various video feeds of the halls, including one showing the door to Kaede’s room. The room had a coffee machine, a table and chairs for six, a sofa, a refrigerator, and a snack machine. Kaede waved to the house guards and invited Emi inside.

  In one of the bedrooms, Mako and Miko were laying on a large bed, watching a martial arts movie on a massive wall screen.

  Emi followed Kaede into the kitchen. Sora and Akiko were baking a cake, while Izanami handed Kaede a cold fizzy drink. Nori opened one of the dozen refrigerators in the large kitchen; it was a magical device full of bags of chips, sweets, cakes, and bowls of fresh popcorn; each was fresh and only slightly chilled.

  Nori turned to see Emi with her hands behind her back, he gulped, and said, “Hello Mum.”

  “Relax sweetheart, Kaede invited me,” Emi said.

  Izanami came over and said, “Hi.”

  “Does the Emperor know Kaede’s closet connects to the house Guard’s break room?” Emi asked.

  “No,” Izanami replied.

  “Now I know why Toshiko made sure we never used it,” Emi replied.

  “Sorry, I didn’t tell you,” Nori chimed in.

  “Oh, relax sweetie,” Emi said. “I told you not to tell me.”

  “What’s behind your back?” Izanami asked.

  “Oh, the workshop finished Nori’s school shoes,” Emi said and produced from behind her back a pair of black shoes.

  “Thanks,” Nori said, he looked around and asked, “Where is Kaede?”

  “Oh, he is using the sleep chamber,” Izanami replied.

  “Have you slept already?” Emi asked.

  “Yes,” Izanami replied.

  “I did not believe napping six times a day for twenty minutes each time in the chamber replaces a night’s sleep, but after a few weeks, I feel so much better,” Emi said.

  “Yes, it beats sleeping for six hours, and we get so much more done,” Izanami said.

  “Nori? Why are you not, napping?” Emi asked Nori.

  “Mum,” Nori whined.

  “Well, if you leave it too long, I will put you in myself,” Emi said as she tapped Nori’s nose.

  In the main room, Hitomi relaxed on the sofa with her feet in warm water and smiled as Nori sat on the comfortable chair, pulled off her shoes and tried on the shoes.

  ✽✽✽

  In another bedroom, Toshiko, in a knight’s uniform, with her quarterstaff, closed the door and locked it. They went through the closet into a dojo. While Kaede put his silver pocket watch on a tripod stand in the middle of the room, he turned the red hand to one hour and clicked it, Toshiko went into the change room. After she came out in a padded Gi with head padding, Kaede changed into the same padded gear. The time was close to 1 am. They each checked their mouth guards and wrapped their hands with a strip of long cloth. When ready, they bowed to each other.

  They sparred for an hour, first unarmed, then with a quarterstaff, a wooden sword, and then with naginata. Kaede and Toshiko fought long and hard, only stopping to change weapons. Each strike was hard, and each landed a few blows on the other, but only on padding. After an hour, they went to separate change rooms and showered. When Toshiko came out, Kaede retrieved his pocket watch and closed it.

  They returned to the bedroom, and the time was 1:15 am, and Kaede got into one of the six pill-shaped chambers in the middle of the room. Kaede handed Toshiko the watch.

  Toshiko looked at the watch face. Under the time was the digit “5” in green. “I noticed you used the watch five times today.”

  “I know I asked you before, but will you tell me why Lilith made the pocket watch of time for my grandfather?” Kaede asked.

  “Lilith made it as a reward for helping her, but he took it the wrong way.”

  “Are you sure he has not changed it?”

  “Yes. Unlike you, Takahiro can only activate his watch three times a day.”

  “How odd. Having two days inside of one is fantastic.”

  “I did not make you a pocket watch of time with unlimited activation so you could use it as a toy.”

  “I love fitting an hour into one second.”

  “Yes, but each time you use it, you add one hour to your life.”

  “Not like I will die of old age.”

  “No, but everyone knows you are growing up too fast.”

  “I would get nothing done if I do not use it.”

  “I told you, only four hours a day. How many hours have you used it today?”

  “Eight.”

  “Why?”

  “I want to double my tr
aining.”

  “We need to tell Hitomi.”

  “Why?”

  “So that she can de-age you. I don’t want you walking around fully grown before you turn eighteen.”

  “Oh,” Kaede said as he walked over to a capsule.

  Each capsule had a padded base with the top half a clear lid. Each chamber stood on a stand, and as a magical item didn’t require electrical power. At one end of each was an analogue timer that counted from zero to sixty minutes. Kaede set it for twenty and got inside.

  “Wait until you’re eighteen in the eyes of the people, or they will turn against you,” Toshiko said.

  “I will,” Kaede said.

  Toshiko tapped Kaede’s nose and closed the lid. The dial slowly began to unwind counterclockwise back to zero. As Kaede floated in the middle of the chamber, surrounded by a soft glow. Toshiko set the timer on the sleep capsule beside him and got inside and closed the lid.

  ✽✽✽

  Just after sunrise, Emi headed to her car, Katerina called out, “Lady Emi, got a minute?”

  “What’s up?” Emi asked.

  “Can we talk in your car?”

  “Sure.”

  Once Emi shut her door, “I don’t know who to talk too.”

  “Are you in trouble?”

  “My Bethany is alive,” Katerina replied.

  Emi gasped. “Are you sure?”

  “Patya found her. Actually, she found him. She lives in a villa outside New Marseille. She married the local lord; they even had children together centuries ago. Nowadays he chases skirts, while she runs a small hotel with a café and brothel.”

  Curious, Emi asked, “What did Czar Petrov do?”

  “He went there. Sat in the café and ordered a coffee. Bethany came out, called him Daddy, and asked if he had a warrant.”

  “Isn’t she public enemy number one?”

  “We haven’t been at war with the Dökkálfar for thousands of years, and the charge of treason has a high burden of proof. He is trying to make a case against her now, not for the past.”

  “Did he arrest her?”

  “No, he didn’t even talk to her. He left,” Katerina said. She clasped her hands, looked down and sucked on her bottom lip.

  “Are you afraid?”

  “Yes. I don’t think Patya plans to arrest Bethany. I fear Patya will kill her.”

  “Are they sure it is Bethany?”

  Katerina nodded, looked at Emi and replied, “I am.”

  Emi realised the situation. “How long have you known?”

  “I never told anyone, but a thousand years ago Bethany came to watch me perform ballet.”

  “Have you spoken to her?”

  “When I tried, she ran away.”

  “Patya has a bad reputation, but are you sure he would kill his daughter?”

  “It is a long story, but yes, the tension between them is that bad.”

  “I don’t know how I can help.”

  “I don’t care that she is a Dökkálfar; I don’t want her to die. I know Takahiro has known about the Dökkálfar for a long time and refuses to talk to them. But given his search for Lilith, does he talk to them?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Please, the rumour is Kaede got hold of Dökkálfar technology and that he hired you to work on it.”

  “No. I do magical research.”

  “You and I both know Kaede is in charge. I fear if I asked for a favour, that he will think it was the reason I agreed to teach him.”

  “I will try.”

  “Please do, the war is over; we all lost. It is time for both sides to talk.”

  Chapter 30

  December 10, 11,573 New Guam Air Base.

  Kaede, Sora, Akiko, Izanami, Mako, Miko and Nori along with Takahiro, Hiro, Toshiko, Freya, Masako, Abelle, Emi, and Kenta were lifted to a starship in orbit, by a space-lift. An officer escorted them to a galley. They sat and watched the wall screen. It displayed a view of the world below as the ship shifted orbit. Within an hour, the vessel deposited the group, using the lift, on the edge of a massive airbase on New-Guam, in the New-Pacific Ocean.

  “When do you take off?” Takahiro asked Kaede as they left the space lift.

  “In a few days. Rudolf will inflate and inspect the balloons. I need to wait for the onboard computer to download and analyse data on the weather, so we know the direction of the wind at different altitudes around the planet, so we know when to take-off,” Kaede replied.

  “Are we walking to the base?” Izanami asked, her foot tapping as she looked around.

  “No, Rudolf should be here,” Kaede replied.

  Abelle looked around and saw a line of six-wheeled open buggies headed towards them, and said, “Look, there he is, coming from the hangers.”

  They turned to see Rudolf driving the lead buggy, with a Reinhart house guard driving the rest.

  Rudolf pulled up and came over to Kaede, “Prince Kaede, welcome to the New-Guam Sky Force base, don’t be fooled by what you see, most of the base is underground.”

  “How are my balloons?” Kaede asked as he walked alongside Rudolf over to the vehicle.

  “The balloons are being filled with just enough helium to float, and when done I will inspect them, but their computers need your code to be unlocked,” Rudolf replied.

  Kaede got in the front beside Rudolf. “How do you like my electric buggies?”

  “They are amazing, and they are saving me a fortune on fuel. I like the fact the buggy is so light that it only takes two of us to lift one, but some are worried it could blow over in a monsoon, and this base doesn’t close for any less than a category five storm,” Rudolf replied.

  “You can make them heavier by filling the floatation tanks with water, and if you need to float, pump it out,” Kaede said.

  “Why are they so light?” Rudolf asked, “We don’t need them to float.”

  “The army, navy and others do,” Kaede replied.

  “How waterproof are they?” Rudolf asked.

  “Don’t worry, its electrical and electronic systems are sealed. In a storm, pull the canopy out from under the back seat, unroll it, and it is easy to click into place. Once turned on, it goes hard and seals,” Kaede said.

  “How?” Hiro asked.

  “The cabin is a polymorphic material, and the buggy has a system that shapes it,” Kaede replied.

  “Poly what?” Hiro asked.

  “It is an amazing new material. The buggy’s softcover doesn’t need struts, and it is no problem if someone puts a top from one vehicle on another, just as long as they are the same model. Just insert all the studs into the slots and then turn it on. The system checks the device identity, then applies a series of charges to its matrix, which act a muscle, only they work to shape the material, which then stays hard until a charge is applied to soften it,” Kaede replied.

  “Yeah, we have been having fun with that,” Rudolf said.

  “Speaking of fun, what do you think about my all-terrain electric trucks and electric tow-vehicles?” Kaede asked.

  “So far, we haven’t been disappointed. I am sure we can do a deal,” Rudolf replied.

  “Where are my balloons going?” Kaede asked as he saw two trucks with crates headed to different hangers.

  “Each balloon will be unpacked and inspected. You need to be ready every morning because once we start filling the balloons with helium, you need to get aboard. We will put in just enough gas to allow it to take shape. Then each balloon will be towed out by truck to the launch point, where the two tankers will fill each craft as fast as they can,” Rudolf said.

  “Don’t the balloons rise faster than you can fill him?” Hiro asked.

  “Yes, they do, but we can fill the tank to three quarters before needing to release it. As for the rest of the gas, it is in bottles around the outside of the cabin; they will complete the process as the balloon rises. Once empty, I release them,” Kaede said.

  “What will Yaotl say about you tossing gas bottles int
o his ocean?” Hiro asked.

  “The bottles have parachutes on them, and they float. I have a boat off the coast to retrieve them, and it is not Yaotl’s ocean no matter how many times he says it is,” Kaede replied.

  “Just like that?” Hiro asked, getting in behind Kaede. Takahiro sat behind him, Toshiko and Freya got in behind them.

  “Kaede and Izanami are licenced pilots and qualified to handle the craft. To be sure, I have a couple of my Banshee Interceptors, and a transport carrying Sky-Commandos, to follow each balloon. Should anything go wrong, a team in a HALO Suit will use jetpacks swoop in and grab them,” Rudolf replied, putting his foot down on the accelerator. The buggy was very quiet and fast. The base was huge, and the group of hangers and control tower in the middle were far away.

  “I thought I knew all models of spacesuits. What is a HALO Suit?” Hiro asked.

  “You forget about your year training to be a pilot?” Rudolf asked.

  “No,” Hiro replied, slightly embarrassed.

  “I will give you a hint. It is not one of the regular flight suits,” Rudolf said.

  Kaede turned to Hiro and said, “A HALO Suit is a light-weight armoured suit worn by the Sky-Commandos for a jump from High Altitude or Low Orbit. They use a full-face protector with a rebreather and a jetpack with a two-hour flight-time,” Kaede said.

  “Would that be enough if your balloon is falling?” Hiro asked.

  “Relax Hiro. I put together a crack team of professionals trained in hostage rescue and counter hijacking to babysit your son and Izanami,” Rudolf said.

  “How do you know?” Hiro asked.

  “My team worked with Rudolf’s team to make changes to the balloons and Izanami, and I did drills with the Sky-Commandos. If anything goes wrong, they have more than enough time to get to my craft, get inside, grab me, and get out,” Kaede said.

  Toshiko put her hand on Hiro’s shoulder and said, “Relax, Kaede and Izanami were great, they did a couple of rescue drills with the team last week, my only fear is him jumping out of a plane so that they will fly in to grab him.”

  “Well, the free-fall grab was awesome. I took some notes, and I have ideas to upgrade your HALO Suit,” Kaede said.

  “Send me the details,” Rudolf said.

  “I’ll go one better; we’ll do a joint project, no need to commit today. I’ll show you the tech I have and have my ideas in concept art. I am sure we have what you need to improve flight, improve your armour, cutting tools, and air mask,” Kaede said.