The void stretched endlessly before the Stellar Aegis, its hull a sleek crescent of black and silver that sliced through the cosmos like a blade honed by the stars. Bai Sha Roning, Crown Prince of the Ares Empire, stood on the warship's bridge, her reflection faint in the viewport's reinforced crystal. Kaiyang Star loomed ahead, a rugged jewel in the Empire's frontier, its surface a tapestry of jagged peaks and vast plains scarred by eons of storms. Lightning forked across its turbulent skies, illuminating the skeletal outlines of military outposts that clung to the planet's surface like defiant sentinels. Here, the Empire's might was not in gilded halls but in the unyielding steel of mechs and the iron resolve of those who wielded them.
Bai Sha's uniform, a tailored masterpiece of black and silver, hugged her frame with the precision of a mech's cockpit. Its collar bore the Blackbird emblem, its wings embroidered in threads that shimmered like starlight. Her crown had been replaced by a simple circlet, its sapphire a quiet echo of the scepter left on Tianshu. Little White Chirp, now a majestic Blackbird with feathers that rippled like a nebula's edge, perched on her shoulder, its crest flaring as it sensed the ship's latent energy. The bridge hummed with activity: officers in crisp uniforms relayed coordinates, holograms flickered with tactical data, and the air thrummed with the low pulse of the ship's reactors.
This journey to Kaiyang was her first official act as Crown Prince—a mission to inspect the border defenses and rally the troops. Cecil had remained on Tianshu, citing council duties, but Bai Sha knew better. His absence was a deliberate gift, a chance for her to stand alone under the galaxy's gaze. In his place, Wei Li, her sharp-witted aide, stood at her side, her tablet glowing with reports and her dark eyes scanning the bridge with a hawk's intensity.
"Kaiyang's garrison is loyal but worn," Wei Li said, her voice low, cutting through the bridge's ambient hum. "Starbug incursions have harried them for years—small raids, but relentless. Your visit will lift their spirits, but they'll want more than a royal wave. They need steel, supplies, and a leader who understands the frontier's grit."
Bai Sha nodded, her gaze fixed on Kaiyang's stormy silhouette. "They'll get more than a wave," she said, her tone resolute. "I'm not here to play figurehead—I'm here to fight."
The Aegis descended through Kaiyang's atmosphere, its hull shuddering as lightning lashed its shields. The landing field, carved into a plateau of blackened stone, was a hive of activity: mechs stood in orderly rows, their hulls scarred but gleaming; soldiers in weather-beaten armor snapped to attention; and the wind howled, carrying the acrid scent of ozone and scorched earth. General Toren, the garrison commander, awaited her, his grizzled frame unbowed by the storm. His eyes, sharp as flint, studied her with a mix of respect and skepticism, as if weighing the crown against the woman who wore it.
"Your Highness," he said, his voice rough as the planet's terrain, his salute crisp despite the wind's bite. "Kaiyang welcomes you. But forgive my bluntness—pretty words don't kill starbugs, and we've got nests crawling closer every cycle."
Bai Sha's lips curved, a spark of defiance in her eyes. "Then we'll skip the words, General. Show me your defenses, and let's see what we're up against."
The tour was a gauntlet of Kaiyang's harsh reality. Bunkers, carved deep into cliffs of obsidian, thrummed with the hum of shield generators; mech hangars, their walls pitted by shrapnel, housed machines that bore the scars of countless battles; and soldiers drilled in the rain-soaked courtyards, their movements precise despite the storm's relentless assault. Bai Sha walked among them, her boots sinking into the mud, her hair plastered to her face by the wind. She listened to Toren's reports—starbug raids, supply shortages, morale strained by isolation—her questions sharp and pointed, cutting through platitudes to the heart of each issue.
In one hangar, she paused before a battered mech, its hull etched with the faint outline of a Blackbird. Without hesitation, she climbed into its cockpit, her hands finding the controls with the ease of muscle memory. The soldiers watched, their skepticism melting into curiosity as her fingers danced across the console, running diagnostics with a pilot's finesse. The mech's systems hummed to life, its viewport glowing with a soft blue that mirrored her Blackbird's light.
"She's not just a crown," one soldier muttered, his voice carrying over the wind. "She's one of us."
At the central command post, a cavernous chamber lit by flickering holograms, Toren unrolled a tactical map. Red clusters marked starbug nests, their numbers creeping closer to the outposts. "They're multiplying faster than we can burn them out," he said, his finger tracing a jagged line. "We hold the line, but our mechs are stretched thin. Reinforcements would—"
"Reinforcements are coming," Bai Sha cut in, her voice firm but not unkind. "Two squadrons from Tianshu, fully equipped, will arrive within the cycle. But I want your expertise on their deployment. You know Kaiyang's terrain—its choke points, its blind spots. Tell me how to use them."
Toren blinked, his weathered face betraying a flicker of surprise, then respect. "You're not what I expected, Your Highness," he said, his tone softer, almost grudgingly warm. "Most royals don't ask—they order."
"Good," Bai Sha replied, a wry smile tugging at her lips. "I'm not here to meet expectations—I'm here to win. And we'll win together."
That evening, she addressed the garrison in the main hall, a vast space carved from the planet's stone, its walls adorned with banners that bore the Blackbird's crest. Torches flickered, casting shadows that danced like spirits, and the air was thick with the scent of oil and metal. Bai Sha stood before them, her uniform streaked with dust, her hair still damp from the storm, but her presence was a beacon, unyielding and fierce. Little White Chirp, now a full Blackbird, perched on a nearby stand, its eyes gleaming like twin stars, its wings folded with a quiet majesty.
"You've held Kaiyang against the void," she said, her voice ringing clear, carrying to every corner of the hall. "You're the Empire's shield, forged in storms and fire. I'm proud to stand with you—not above you, but beside you. Reinforcements are coming, but until they arrive, we fight as one. The Blackbird flies with you, and together, we'll burn those nests to ash."
She summoned her Blackbird spirit, and it soared above, its silver-blue wings unfurling in a cascade of ethereal flame. The hall erupted in cheers, the sound a thunderous echo that rivaled Kaiyang's storms. Soldiers raised their fists, their faces alight with a fire that hadn't burned in cycles. For the first time, Bai Sha felt the crown not as a burden but as a beacon, a light to guide her people through the dark.
Later, in her quarters—a spartan chamber with a single viewport overlooking the stormy plains—she received a transmission from Cecil. His hologram flickered, his imperial robes replaced by a simpler tunic, but his eyes held the same piercing intensity. "Stirring up trouble already, kid?" he asked, his tone a mix of amusement and scrutiny.
"Just keeping the starbugs honest," she replied, leaning back in her chair, a grin tugging at her lips. "You should've seen their faces when I climbed into that mech. Thought I was going to fly it into the nearest nest myself."
Cecil's smirk was faint but genuine, a rare crack in his stoic facade. "You're making waves, and not just with the troops. The council's already buzzing about your 'frontier stunt.' Keep it up—but watch your back. Kaiyang's not just starbugs. There are eyes here, too, watching for weakness."
She nodded, the warning settling like a stone in her chest. Kaiyang was a test, a crucible of its own, and she'd passed the first trial. But the Blackbird's flight was far from over, and the shadows of the frontier held secrets yet to be unveiled.