Satoru (FT)

""Many years ago my father was asked: 'Are you not afraid?' His reply? 'I know why I am here. Why should I be afraid?' Fear is born of uncertainty. We fear nothing because our purpose is clear and our path is certain. To be a citizen of the New Greater Empire is to know your place in the universe, and from that certainty comes the strength to conquer all adversity. We will build upon what my father and all of our parents have built, and our children's descendants will see this Empire last the fabled ten thousand years.""

- Emperor Satoru, Coronation Speech, 5 Gogatsu 206

Satoru (born 30 Chigatsu, 130) is the current Imperial Monarch of the New Greater Empire, styled as Emperor. The second Emperor of the New Greater Empire and the third Imperial Monarch, Satoru acceded to the Imperial Throne on 9 Kyugatsu 206 following the death of his father and predecessor, Emperor Tatsuro.

Born in the old Imperial Palace on Eienkyo as the eldest child of Tatsuro and his wife Erina, Satoru became the Crown Prince of the New Greater Empire when his father was coronated as Imperial Monarch on 8 Hagatsu 150 as part of the founding of the New Greater Empire. He was a combat pilot and later as an aerospace group commander in the Imperial Navy, seeing combat in the First and Second Imperial Civil Wars, and the War of Imperial Restoration, where he was severely wounded and discharged.

In 155, Satoru married Ikuta Yume, scion of the corpo-industrialist Ikuta family, fathering three children with her; Shoichi, Shigeo, and Shizuka. Like his father, Satoru is interested in robotics and Yashiman history, but he is also interested in xenoarchaeology, martial arts, and microgardening. As the absolute monarch of the New Greater Empire, presently the most powerful hyperpower in the Human Sphere, Emperor Satoru is widely considered to be the single most powerful human in history.

Biography
Satoru was born Kasai Satoru in 130 on Eienkyo as the eldest son of General Kasai Tatsuro (48), the third son of Toshiro, the Imperial Monarch of the Greater Empire. When Satoru was six years old, the Empire-Federation War broke out when the Federation of Sovereign States invaded the Greater Empire. During the conflict, Satoru and his family were evacuated to the Nokoribi Island Imperial Villa on Onogoro, enabling them to survive the colony-drop during the Battle of Eienkyo that killed Emperor Toshiro and the rest of the Imperial House. This disaster caused Satoru's father Tatsuro to become the heir to the Imperial Throne. On 8 Hagatsu 150, Tatsuro was coronated as the Imperial Monarch, officially forming the New Greater Empire as a successor state to the Greater Empire. As Tatsuro's eldest child, Satoru became the Crown Prince. Earlier that year, Satoru had enlisted in the Imperial Navy as a fighter pilot.

Despite strict orders from the Emperor for Navy personnel not to give Satoru special treatment due to his status, Satoru nonetheless enjoyed a level of prestige and popularity at the Onogoro Imperial Aerospace Warfare Academy as the Crown Prince. Deployed with the 1088th Fighter Squadron upon the completion of his training, Satoru eventually rose to become the squadron leader of the 1088th. During his time as squadron leader, he led the 1088th against the Imperial Frontier in the First and Second Imperial Civil Wars, fighting against the rogue Imperial regime partly led by his grand-uncle Kasai Kunio, a pretender to the Imperial Throne.

In 155, Satoru married Ikuta Yume, a scion of the industrialist Ikuta family, one of the four families that own the sprawling Mitsuhishi corporate empire. Satoru's first two children, Shoichi and Shigeru, were born in 161 and 165. Following the Second Imperial Civil War, Satoru was eventually promoted to group commander on the carrier Takayama, and saw combat in the War of Imperial Restoration. During the Third Battle of Ishigaki in 171, the Takayama suffered catastrophic damage and Satoru was nearly killed in its destruction. However, he was rescued with severe injuries and was evacuated back to Onogoro for emergency medical treatment. Satoru was in a medically-induced coma for much of the next year and missed the New Greater Empire's victory over the Federation in 172, which he would later consider one of his greatest regrets. Due to his injuries, Satoru was discharged from the Imperial Navy. Subsequently, he began taking on a larger role in affairs of the state, slowly taking over his father's duties as absolute monarch. In 173, Satoru's only daughter Shizuka was born.

Satoru's first son Shoichi proved to be highly intelligent and charismatic, and was widely popular among the Imperial public as a worthy eventual successor to the Imperial Throne. Shoichi followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Imperial Navy in 181, though as a warship officer rather than a fighter pilot. However, Satoru's second son Shigeru was highly rebellious and ran away from home numerous times on various adventures both as a youth and as an adult, mainly due to misguided ideological opposition to the Empire. Shoichi attempted to bring his brother in line by forcing him to sign on with the Imperial Navy, but Shigeru ran away after a major physical fight with Shoichi, eventually joining a heist crew in the Federation. After his first arrest in the Federation and the ensuing diplomatic crisis, Emperor Tatsuro was highly displeased and ordered Satoru to disown Shigeru. Shigeru soon disappeared from the Empire after being cast out of the Imperial Palace, travelling across the rest of the Human Sphere for many years.

Like her brothers, Shizuka also displayed strong intelligence and wit and quickly became the favourite grandchild of Emperor Tatsuro. Satoru largely kept her cloistered in the Imperial Palace on Eienkyo in an attempt to keep her from eventually turning out like Shigeru, leaving her largely a mystery to the general public. She would only start to take on a more public role in 200, when she began accompanying her father on his various tours of the Empire. Satoru began cultivating an image of being a man of the people, carrying out official visits and tours across the Empire and meeting the myriad peoples within the nation as representative of the Imperial Throne.

On 4 Gogatsu 206, Emperor Tatsuro passed away at the age of 104. The next day, Satoru was coronated as the new Imperial Monarch, and oversaw a period of mourning for the late Emperor. Early into his reign, Emperor Satoru oversaw the start of the Ice Wars on Kakigori against the Confederation of Coreward States in 210. In 226, the Second Venturan Conflict suddenly developed into the Second Hyperpower War when the Union launched a general invasion of the Empire. During this massive war, Crown Prince Shoichi, who had since become an Admiral, was killed in battle against the Union. This was a major blow to Satoru, who held a close relationship with him, and Satoru began withdrawing from his duties as absolute monarch, granting more powers to the Imperial Grand Marshal at the time, Iwashima Reizo.

It is widely believed that it was the freedom granted to Iwashima that enabled the landmark alliance between the Empire and the Federation, which would eventually defeat the Union and force an end to the war. This rapprochement between the Empire and Federation changed the face of the Human Sphere dramatically, swinging the balance of power decidedly in favour of the Empire-Federation alliance. Eventually, Satoru himself was won over and he embraced the rapprochement with the Federation, once his greatest enemy. In 232, Satoru met with Federation President Erwin Chan, marking the first time in history that the Imperial Monarch met with the President of the Federation.

At some point while Satoru was still mourning Shoichi, Shigeru suddenly returned to the Imperial Palace and begged his father for forgiveness. Far more benevolent than his father, Satoru welcomed Shigeru back into his family with open arms. However, Satoru would later officially declare Shizuka the new Crown Princess in Kyugatsu 232. Since then, he began handing various duties to Shizuka to grant himself more freedom to pursue his hobbies. In 240, Satoru oversaw the outbreak of the Second Empire-Hierarchy War, when the alien Hierarchy launched a failed invasion of the Empire. Since then, however, Satoru has been seen less and less in public and is largely represented by the Crown Princess in almost all matters of state and governance.

Late Prince Shoichi
Though long dead, his impact lasts to this day. His daughter Michiko is a famous socialite. His wife, Princess Mari, remains in the Imperial House.

Princess Sakura
Younger sister of Satoru. One of the faces of the Empire, though Shizuka has largely taken her role. Wife of Sector Marshal General Kasai Kaiba, a well-known loose cannon and warmonger.

Prince Saburo
Younger brother of Satoru. Bookish and politically astute. It is said that he is in control of the Imperial Family's finances, though other sources allege that Shizuka has control. This is believed to be some form of conflict between Shizuka and her uncle.

Political views
As leader of the New Greater Empire, Satoru embodies the ideology of Neo-Yashimanism, with his very role rooted in the historical and cultural need for a Neo-Yashiman society to rally around an Imperial Monarch.

Regarding other Human Sphere powers, Satoru maintains that the Empire is a force for peace and stability in the Human Sphere and does not seek to subjugate the rest of the Sphere, only to defend it against external threats. The rapprochement with the Federation is emblematic of this, with the two former vehement enemies coming together at last for the betterment of the Human Sphere as a whole. However, insiders close to the Imperial Palace believe that Emperor Satoru views the alliance with the Federation as a benevolent consideration to an already-beaten foe, and does not view them as equals.

Emperor Satoru is known for his hatred of the Union, partly driven by their killing of his favourite son Shoichi during the Second Hyperpower War. In order to avoid his emotions clouding his judgment in political affairs, the Emperor has delegated all affairs with the Union to the office of the Imperial Grand Marshal.

Hobbies
Like his father the late Emperor Tatsuro, Emperor Satoru has an interest in robotics and Yashiman history. He is also interested in xenoarchaeology, martial arts, and microgardening.

Besides these pursuits, Emperor Satoru is also a fan of transplanetary pinnace racing. As a former fighter pilot himself, it is believed that Emperor Satoru sees a connection between himself and the racers, who operate small one- or two-man spacecraft on interplanetary circuits.

Insiders allege that Emperor Satoru is also interested in terrestrial cross-country rally racing, and has observed some races in the past, but does not seem to be as interested in car racing as his son, Shigeo.