Submerged in the cold, coffee coloured waters of the Drezey river, one always felt isolated, entombed in this polluted sarcophagus. With a gravity of 0.36T, swimming on Wosun required more effort than on worlds with a gravity closer to 1T. This made underwater activity an excellent way of maintaining one's muscle mass and bones density. Rice farming, fishing and pearl diving were thus all vital aspects of the colony's economy.

To the children of Wosun, however, the important aspect of water on this colony was only realised once they broke the surface.

Leaping off the jetty, straight as arrows, they allowed themselves to sink as far as they dared, holding large stones in their hands and a buoyancy vest on their shoulders.

They went deep, until the sun was nothing but a pale halo above and their ears hurt, then they would release the rock and shoot upward, ears popping from the rapid changes in pressure, before exploding out of the water. For a few seconds, the laughing children knew flight. Surrounded by shining droplets, cheered by their friends on the shore.

One boy always went deeper than the others, holding tight until panic grabbed a hold of him. Those few frantic seconds invariably followed by elation as he soared high above the waves, further than any other, yet never high enough to peer over the palace walls across the river, into the courtyard where the Governor and his heirs trained every morning at dawn.

Fighting survival instinct and common sense, the boy, Oda, sank deeper, steeled himself and cleared his mind only to fail every time.

Oda came back every day from the age of eight, Drezey's cold bite seeping into his mind with every failed attempt.

Then, months before his twelfth birthday, the boy caught a speech from the governor over loudspeakers. Most of it meant nothing to him, mentions of distant battles, death of old foes, birth of new alliances. But the Governor ended his speech with a call for new recruits. He told his subjects "Death is pre-ordained, glory is not, it is yours to seize."

Nostrils pinched with a paperclip and a rag shoved in his mouth, he jumped once more. Oda did not let go. Not when blood filled his mouth, not when his left eardrum tore under the pressure. Only once his feet sank into the clay, his chest rattled by convulsions, did he let go.

He did not rise. The riverbed keeping him anchored at the bottom like seaweed. Darkness overtaking his mind, the boy felt no fear, only the single-minded determination of a cornered animal. He leaned over, convulsing and gasping in his gag, and with numb fingers dug two fistfulls of clay inches from his ankles. The bright yellow vest he wore did the rest of the work, ripping his dying body from the riverbed and shooting him towards the rising sun like an arrow.

When he opened his eyes, Oda was inside the palace's courtyard, drenched, but able to breathe. Three nobles leaned over him; a redhead boy in his teens, serious and scowling, an old man, bearded but bald, blind in one eye but smiling, and a middle aged man with a pony tail and braided beard, he looked perplex and close to anger.

Then his eyes met Oda's and the Governor's face lost all its venom. "Shimia." He whispered.

The redhead looked up, puzzled, "Father?"

Laughing, the Governor pulled Oda in closer, holding the boy in a warm embrace that seemed to concern the other child. "I would recognize those eyes anywhere. Kai," the governor said to his son, "This is Shimia Kuan's son. Your brother… What is your name, son?"

Kai stepped in, "Shimia Kuan led the rebellion, father, why would her son… What…"

The bald man shook his head and put a hand on Kai's shoulder, pulling him away. "You see, boy, when a man and a woman hate each other very much…"

Governor Jin Kué Lao helped his bastard son off the ground with a smile. Yes, this one undeniably had Shimia's wild spirit. "What became of your mother, son, where were you all these years?"

Oda worked his jaw back and forth, blood trickling down from his ears as he tried to clear out the water, to no avail. Noticing Jin's gaze on him, the boy blinked, frowned and then, loudly asked "What?!" before adding, "Why is everything so quiet?!"

Jin chuckled, "Let's get you to a medicae, boy, we can talk then." and he led the dazed child towards the palace.

"I'm actually eleven!"

"Yeh-ehp, I remember…" Jin helped Oda up the stairs, reminiscing those peace talks, a little over a decade ago, "Your mother knows how to leave marks…"

"What?!"

The palace's inner walls were paper thin, to let light through, and slid open at the Governor's passing.

"I said your mother really left her mark… on history." Gently, Jin guided Oda down a flight of stairs, towards his personal healer's quarters.

The boy gave his father a serious look, then said, "No you didn't!" fire in his eyes.

"No doubt here, young man, you are Shimia's..."

He tried to push Oda into the pure white room, but the boy resisted, grabbing onto the doorframe and yanking himself free from the man's hands "You lied!" he spat at the Governor.

"What?"

"You said she would be safe if she surrendered, that you would be together, I saw the letter!" Jin wanted to argue, to question, but with the boy deaf and angry, silence and patience appeared wiser.

"I saw her lay down her arms and kneel to your envoys, and they just shot her. They riddled her with las-shots until she was a pile of ashes!"

Jin frowned at the revelation, stroking his chin in deep thought. Oda waited, breathless in anger. Jin opened his mouth, as if to speak, but instead backhanded the boy into unconsciousness.

"Healer!" He barked into the room, "See that this child recovers all his faculties by tomorrow night!" The graying medicae came running from his chambers, across the office, a pair of naked blonds covering themselves as the door was flung open.

"Yes, sire, who…"

"He is nobody, your nephew, if you must explain to anyone…" Then, Jin froze and revised himself, "No, if anyone pries, have them killed. I will notify the Oshihei you are entitled to their services. The boy lives, or you die."

"Yes, sire."

Speaking into the collar of his longcoat, Jin marched away at a brisk pace. "I want Commander Kao in the council room at once…" Again, he stopped and corrected himself. "Belay that, have my wife's trip adjourned and bring her here, tonight."

"What of Commander Kao, sir?" Came the distorted response in his ear.

"He is not to be disturbed, by anyone… Anyone but my son Kai."