Dinner With Family

by Hiroyuki Morioka

  “You don’t have to give me that look,” grumbled Samson. “I know how to love a living creature, too, you know.”

  “So do you want it?”

  “No, it’s fine. I don’t want to give mine Lord something extra to worry about.” Just then, a call-received beep sounded from Samson’s wristgear. Samson squinted to read. “Oh, it’s a letter from Vice Hecto-Commander Sobash.”

  “His pen’s always at the ready.”

  “Actually, I heard about this letter directly from the Vice Hecto-Commander himself. Was wondering what became of it, since it was taking so long to arrive. I’m sure it traveled far, and for no reason.”

  Just like my journeys, you could say, mused Jint.

  When Trample-Blitz Squadron 1 returned to the imperial capital, dozens of mass-produced Caubh-class assault ships were already off on familiarization voyages.

  The two Senior Ship Commanders and the Senior Staff Officer of Trample-Blitz Squadron 1 were promoted to Kilo-Commander. Roiryua was assigned to Saubh Dtirér Mata (Trample-Blitz Squadron 2), and the other Senior Ship Commander, Clapaimh, was assigned to Saubh Dtirér Bina (Trample-Blitz Squadron 3). The Senior Staff Officer, Semlaich, was made the Commandant of Saubh Dtirér Gona (Trample-Blitz Squadron 4).

  In addition, some among the staff officers, all of whom now had valuable experience under their belts, were assigned to the new squadron command centers, and some were appointed as ship commanders; those officers left the command center of Squadron 1. The Ship Commanders were allocated to the new squadrons as well. Not even Squadron 1’s flagship, the Lymcaubh, was able to stay with Squadron 1.

  Only Commandant Atosryua was left at the Glagamh Saubr Dtirér Casna (Trample-Blitz Squadron 1 Command Center). And the Flicaubh was the only original ship that stayed in Squadron 1.

  As a matter of course, Atosryua set up a provisional command center on the Flicaubh, but in this situation she was no different from a freeloader. The “provisional command center” consisted of a single starpilot’s quarters.

  “I’m going to be made Senior Staff Officer?” Sobash couldn’t believe his ears. He’d come to pay her a visit, curious what she was doing holed up in her quarters, only to discover she was working out the personnel shifts.

  “Correct,” she said, sipping her tea. “This isn’t favoritism.”

  “But why, ma’am?”

  “You’re better suited to being a staff officer than a commander. Not that you weren’t an excellent commander, but as an assistant and advisor your skills will shine even more.”

  “I know you wouldn’t have picked me if this were just favoritism, Commandant, but I’m afraid it hasn’t sunk in yet,” he told her from the heart.

  Sobash was a merchant. Ever since he was young, he’d thought he’d stand at the top — and that he’d only be working for others for a very tiny sliver of his existence.

  “If you don’t pass muster, then I’ll fire you without hesitation, so don’t worry.”

  “That’s a relief,” he said, again with all sincerity.

  The electricity of the battlefield was gratifying, particularly at the beginning of his tenure, when the fresh new sense of danger kept him sweating and on his toes. But as of late, he’d had his fill. He missed his free-wheeling days as a trader. It was too much to hope for such an unfettered lifestyle in a time of war, but the urge to be a supply ship captain and serve at the rear while taking it easy grew with each passing day.

  But if someone wanted him on the frontlines this badly, his personality forbade him to decline. Now, even if he dove back into his ideal world, the fact that he disregarded her best-laid wishes for him would gnaw at the back of his mind and suck the joy out. At the end of the day, it was just easier to prioritize the will of another over his own. If that other person (i.e., Atosryua) truly had need of him, that was to be appreciated. On the other hand, if he ended up focusing all of his efforts on what turned out to be a flight of fancy, then misfortune would darken the doorsteps of both parties. Thankfully, Atosryua seemed to be the type to acknowledge her own mistakes without friction.

  “I’m happy to hear that.”

  “Who will be commanding this ship? I’m curious.”

  “I think you know full well,” she laughed lightly.

  Sobash likewise laughed. She had him pegged. “It’s really her, then?”

  “It is,” she asserted.

  “And are you planning to make the Flicaubh the flagship?”

  “That, I won’t do,” she said, waving her hand no. “The new Ship Commander wouldn’t like that.”

  Lafier was plowing through vast quantities of text. Tide-of-war reports for each zone, technical information (mostly about weapons), proposals from the frontlines, Empire production reports...

  Prior to her return to the military, the Royal Princess needed to play catch-up. Other starpilots had been fighting while she was on leave. But it wouldn’t take too long to catch up — the tide of war had frozen in place. She had half a mind to think it was out of convenience for her and her break. Sure, there had been frequent skirmishes here and there, but no large battles. That was typically how interstellar wars played out anyway. A huge flashy clash where both sides threw everything they had at each other, followed by a lull (that should not be confused for a ceasefire). Then one side would have its preparations in order, leading to the next gruesome bloodbath. The larger the scope of the war, the longer the lulls tended to be.

  Thanks to that, Lafier seemed to be reenlisting just in time for the next battlefield. She had no idea what the Three Nations Alliance was up to, but each of the reports was telling her that the Empire’s preparations were near complete.

  A small window appeared on the screen. “Lafier,” said Jint. “I’m back now.”

  “Ah. That was quick.”

  “My leave period’s over now. I had him come to the spaceport.”

  “You’re not hungover?” Lafier was slightly disappointed.

  “You’re really merciless, you know that?”

  Lafier was on a cargo passenger ship, the Sneugh Amhéc. Now that the Hyde Countdom was stable, the circular route around Ileesh Monarchy was reopened, and it was this route that the ship plied. The Sneugh Amhéc was currently moored at the Delktu Spaceport in the Vorlash Countdom.

  Jint had been at the spaceport to deliver a cat to his old friend. There was still time until departure, so she thought he might be chatting at length with his friend, but he actually came back early.

  “How about you? Are your studies coming along all right?”

  “Yes. They’re coming along much faster than yours.”

  “I don’t think mass calculation standards have changed since I went to school. I am a quartermaster starpilot. By the way, how are you for a tea break?”

  “That’s a good idea. How surprising, coming from you.”

  “All right, coming through.”

  The door opened that second, and he let himself in. A black-and-white kitten was perched on his shoulder.

  “That leaves me with just this little guy to find a home for.” Jint carried the kitten down to the chaise.

  “Shall I adopt it?” she said, voicing what had been on her mind for a while now.

  “You don’t mind?”

  “I don’t think anyone would notice if the number of cats here increased by one.”

  “Sweet. Why don’t you name it?”

  “This one’s a lady cat, right?”

  “I don’t think she’s old enough to be called a lady, but yeah, she’s a she.”

  “Would it make you uncomfortable if I named her ‘Lina’?”

  Jint’s expression was difficult to describe. “But that’s not an Abh name.”

  “Your name isn’t an Abh name, either. Besides, her siblings probably haven’t been given Abh names.”

  One was probably given a Martinese name, the other, a Delktunian name. “Good point.”

  “So, is it okay with you? Do you dislike the idea?”

  �
�You can’t do that,” he grinned. “I’ll want to take her with me.”

  “That won’t do. She’s my cat. I won’t let you get away with her.”

  “Right you are,” Jint nodded. “‘Lina.’ It’s a nice name.”

  “Do you really mean that?”

  “I do.”

  “Do you not regret it?”

  “You mean how I decided not to stay on my home planet?” Jint stroked Lina’s fur. “I’ve made up my mind not to regret it. You’ve seen my past. If I raise the floodgates on regret, there’ll be no end to it.”

  “You’re one of a kind,” she said, her admiration quite genuine. “Everyone knows regret doesn’t help, but it’s a rare feat to be able to successfully swallow it down.”

  “I just decided not to cry over spilt milk,” he shrugged. “That doesn’t mean I’ll actually be able to. But you don’t have any regrets, right?”

  “I do.”

  “You? Regrets?” said Jint, amazed. “I didn’t know that. So even you can regret.”

  “I feel like you’re mocking me right now.”

  “I’m not. Really. Now c’mon, let’s head back. To the Star Forces we go. Because once again, it’s the only place I have to return to.”

  “Yes, let’s go back. For me, the Star Forces has been something like a home to me from the beginning,” said Lafier. “Incidentally, what happened to tea? How long do you intend to keep me waiting?”

  Ecryua had been promoted from Vanguard Starpilot to Deca-Commander. It wasn’t so much her work attitude on the Flicaubh, as it was her brush with death on the Basrogrh that made the difference. She owed her promotion to wartime — if the Empire had been at peace, she would still have been a rearguard starpilot. She wasn’t particularly moved by her promotion, though. She just thought that if she was going to be made a Deca-Commander, she’d have liked it to have come after frequenting a military academy. Who knew how many students’ cats would be there to pet.

  Ecryua had been given not just a high rank, but an advanced-level position. Deca-Commander Idlia was now a Vice Hecto-Commander and the Ship Commander of one of the newly constructed warships, leaving Idlia’s old position of Vice Commander-cum-Navigator for Ecryua to fill.

  It seemed there had been an unofficial announcement from the personnel department about using this opportunity to have Ecryua experience being a gunner, but apparently, Sarérh Raica (Former Ship Commander) Sobash strongly opposed the notion. Ecryua didn’t particularly want to be a gunner, but she had no idea why Sobash had taken issue with it.

  Idlia was hardly the only starpilot to be shuffled around. There had been a mass shakeup in personnel. Even the Clerk had moved out. Today, a new ship commander and clerk would arrive.

  They were gathered at the arrival deck for the gangway welcome. It was, of course, Ecryua’s job to gather everyone together. It was a strange feeling.

  At last, a smallcraft came side by side with the ship. The Ship Commander and Clerk descended.

  A whistle was blown, and the starpilots saluted in unison.

  “I am the Ship Commander officially appointed to this ship, Vice Hecto-Commander Ablïarsec Néïc Dubreuscr Bœrh Parhynr Lamhirh. It’s a pleasure to be in your hands,” greeted the new captain.

  “I am the officially appointed Clerk, Quartermaster Vanguard Starpilot Linn Ssynec Raucr Dreuc Haïder Ghintec.”

  I’m going to be battling alongside them again, thought Ecryua. Am I happy about that?

  Once the brief ceremony was over, Ecryua dismissed the crew, and then stared directly at Jint’s face.

  “Uhh, what is it?” Confusion crept on Jint’s face.

  “I told you we’d meet again. And soon.”

  “Oh, yeah. You were totally right.”

  “And the cat?”

  “Sorry. I didn’t bring him with me. Thought it’d be kind of selfish to take him into war, you know?”

  “Where’s Mechanics Starpilot Samson?”

  “At my star fief. He’s got work there.”

  “What about your work there?”

  “I don’t have any work to do there anymore. My battle’s over. I plan to aid in the Empire’s battle now.”

  “You were fighting?”

  “I guess.”

  “Did you win.”

  “I don’t really know yet.”

  “Bring the cat. You just need to return it before we set sail.”

  “But I’m kind of busy...”

  “I’m your superior now.”

  “Aren’t you mixing up the official and the private?”

  “So?”

  “Okay, okay.” Jint gave in.

  Epilogue

  Even cats dreamt from time to time.

  In his dream, Dyaho surveyed his new domain. However, he could only remain for a short while. Immediately after making a circuit patrolling, a familiar pair of hands came to scoop him up from his slumber. That act alone did not rankle him, but when he caught wind of the fact that the hands were attempting to stick him inside a cage, he wriggled and writhed.

  It wasn’t that he disliked being in the cage. In fact, he could even be said to enjoy it. He simply wasn’t in the mood at times, and this was one of those times.

  “Sorry, Dyaho, this’ll be goodbye for some time,” said the housemate. “I was planning to live together with you at the new manor, but that’s not in the cards anymore. You can rest easy, though. I won’t be taking you with me to every corner of the galaxy anymore.”

  Now awake, Dyaho opened his eyes, stretched, and leapt off its fluffy cushion toward the hallway.

  They were at the Cats’ Refectory in the Royal Palace of Clybh. Dyaho was sure what happened in his dream happened in reality, but a cat’s sense of time was not so solid, so it didn’t have a clear idea how much time had elapsed since then. It felt like the distant past. In reality, its domain hadn’t changed in many moons. It had come to regard this place as something of a safe haven.

  Sercruca had once been nice around him, but she’d gradually turned aggressive once again. Dyaho was hard-pressed to care anymore, though. Cats were not monogamous, after all. Before now, he had no real choice in a mate. Now, he had his pick of the litter.

  They were Dyaho’s true family. They could be annoying, but whenever Dyaho went to sleep, he was relieved to have them around. His friends were gathered at the drinking fountain. They weren’t doing anything in particular. They were just lying languorously down. Dyaho joined them. He sipped of the water, and laid himself down.

  Such idle comforts. Such easy living.

  He recalled his housemate, and hoped he, too, might roll in the lap of indolence.

  Then Dyaho fell asleep again.

  Afterword

  What do I even say, I wonder? Sorry I kept you waiting. Here’s the book.

  Time flies at a blistering clip, let me tell you. After the second book came out, I got hit by “CREST is getting an anime,” followed by “it’s getting a manga,” “it’s getting a game,” “it’s getting a Korean translation”... and now BANNER is getting an anime, too. I even hear news from across the Pacific about an English-language dub of CREST.

  And what have I been doing during all this? All I did was write one longform novel and several shorts.

  Don’t get me wrong — it’s not as though I began to dislike writing BANNER. But it is true that it prevented me from going back out into the world. While I chained myself to my desk, I realized I was turning over ideas that I wasn’t sure would lead anywhere.

  To all of you who were looking forward to the book coming out, I truly apologize. And while I’m at it, I might as well apologize over something else: When I wrote in the afterword of the last book that this was the “Dyaho Trilogy,” many readers took that to mean that BANNER OF THE STARS would stop at three volumes. The idea of the “Dyaho Trilogy” isn’t meant to be taken one hundred percent seriously, but it’s technically accurate. BANNER isn’t just the story of Dyaho; the Dyaho Trilogy is just one of the segments of the large
r saga.

  There’s still more story to BANNER.

  Throughout the rest of this afterword, I’ll be assuming readers have already read the rest of the book, so if you don’t want any story spoilers, then I ask you save the afterword for later.

  My initial concept for the Dyaho Trilogy was to describe the events that coincided with the rare tiger-striped cat born in the Clybh Royal Palace getting dropped off at the Hyde Count’s Manor, which was where the trilogy was to end. Dyaho would obtain a family in the Hyde Countdom, and see out the rest of his days there. His owner, Jint, was also going to stay in his home system, while Lafier was going to return to the battlefield. In other words, the plan was to depict Lafier and Jint’s first true parting.

  But when I put that onto the page, it ended up sucking the joy out. I think that’s probably one of the reasons it took so long. That aside, I just couldn’t progress things as planned, so ultimately I decided to keep them together. As a result, Dyaho was now the one to settle down in his place of birth, not Jint. Pretty different from what I’d originally imagined, but all the same, I managed to wrap a bow on this section of the saga.

  From here on out, I plan to focus more on the tides of history roiling between the stars than on the personal affairs of the characters. There will be more opportunities to paint the pictures of the opposing nations in greater detail, as well. I’ve expounded on various aspects of the Humankind Empire of Abh, but I haven’t depicted the other interstellar powers much at all (which is not to say I didn’t give them any thought).

  The Humankind Empire of Abh and planar space navigation are inextricably tied. After all, a power like the Empire would seldom come about without it (or any other hypothetical form of faster-than-light travel using warp points). Actually, I’ve forgotten whether I came up with the Empire as a power capable of ruling over a world where planar space navigation is possible, or whether I came up with planar space navigation to make the concept of the Empire work. Either way, they fit each other to a tee.

  It was a relief I was able to make sense of the world-building and mechanics there, but what about the enemy nations? It’d have been lame if I made their political systems exactly the same as the Empire. So I pondered whether a nation-state with modern-society sensibilities could possibly arise in such a world. I’ll spare you the long process; I concluded that, while it wasn’t impossible, it would be more difficult to maintain for larger-scale polities. It wasn’t a conclusion I was thrilled about, but I did have fun thinking up conditions I could apply to make such a society viable. The more I came up with, the farther away the nations of my fiction veered from my image of what a nation-state entailed, but that wasn’t a bad thing. These nations which advocate for democracy share much in common with what the average modern Japanese person would associate with a democracy, but they also differ in myriad ways.