Shanji

They had killed and raped her mother - and now she held the fate of two worlds in her hands - Poor Kati! She was a barbarian child, she was violently orphaned, she was taken captive by the Emperor's men... and she was not quite human. Taken into the Emperor's court, she saw the glitter, and she saw the secret city where people labored from birth to death. And she learned that another sun was closely approaching, pursuing its own trajectory... which on its last occurrence had brought unimaginable turmoil, and this time would bring pitiless invaders! Then she found that she was to lead the armies that might save the planet... that she was the Warrior Empress, whether she wanted to be or not, her nose hooked into a cruel beak, her eyes glowing an eerie red. A tale of barbarian courage and imperial splendor. Of a girl who shared the heritage of two races, and found she was born to rule both! (from the back cover of the Baen Books first edition)