Rigel Rising

Stage 20- Homeward Bound

"The kingdom provided me with the research and development, funds, and all the scientists, engineers, and mechanics that I will ever need. The king made it clear that he will never sell my country any armaments in fear of angering the empire. But I offered my exceptional designing skills to create a ship that will modernize their lagging space navy. A prototype ship that will be the basis for several lines of vessels capable of holding their own against the massive numbers that Veralia are capable of amassing and throwing in their way..."

Candice nodded slowly as if everything started to make sense to her now, "But you cleverly created a ship that will be so hard to commandeer while harvesting all the schematics, blueprints, and technologies from it to develop Baldur's very own spaceships."

"I promised to create an exceptional ship for the kingdom. I never promised to make it easy to use. To be honest, I never expected someone from the kingdom to even utilize it to the levels that I, its creator, never imagines," Yeka looked at me approvingly, "Tell me, Caerus, you're an Irradiated, right?"

My comrades gasped when they heard her said that, but I just shrugged my shoulders and glanced at the Rigel, "I am as much as you are."

"Nice comeback, Caerus. It really takes one to know one," she winked at me as she glanced at the princess, "Imagine my shock when this girl here asked me to create replacements for the Clowders you all blew to smithereens! As if it's that easy. Though we have the technology to reproduce them, we barely have enough materials to actually make four. Not to mention making it compatible with the gravitational perpetual motion reactor took a lot of time to calibrate."

Mariana smiled knowingly at Yeka, "So that's the real reason why the repairs took so long."

"You used some of the tungsten modular armor to make new Clowders," finished Trey as the woman gave him a thumbs up.

"Too true, children. Then it's too late for me to realize that she will use it to force her way back to your ship. I tell you all, it's not my idea!"

The princess threw a dirty eye on the woman as she stepped forward and offered her right hand to me, "So, do we have a deal, Caerus? You will let me board the Rigel. I will let you have the Clowders. Believe me, even if we sit at the center of the territorial waters of the empire and kingdom, the Regeinland is still very far from here. Without the boosters, you can expect dozens upon dozens of attacks from the Imperial Navy on the way there. The diplomatic connections of my country have told me that they already blockaded the sea lanes of the kingdom. Without the Clowders, your chances of even seeing the coastline of your homeland are close to zero."

"But what about your mother? The Grand Princess? Did she allowed you to leave?" I asked inquiringly.

To my surprise, it's Yeka who answered, "Even if I tried to stop her, she wouldn't listen anyway. I didn't even bother wasting my breath."

We all looked at her as the guards stifled their laughter as the Baldurian maintenance crew blinked and then covered her mouth.

"Oops..."

"As father used to say, you are too talkative for your own good, mother," the princess said exasperatedly before stepping back and introducing the ruler of this nation, "Her Majesty, the Grand Princess of the Principality of Baldur, Yekaterina of the House Garayev. The idiotic woman who made the Rigel and its gravitational cannon only to regret it later."

We all genuflected at her, but she waved her grimy hand and urged us to stand up, "Oh please, there's no need for formalities. I've got to know all of you personally anyways, and I must say, though I did regret creating "that" cannon and this ship, I am relieved that it's you children who take care of it."

"Now that's out of the way, do we have a deal, Caerus?" the princess offered her hand again, and this time I accepted, "Great. Install the Clowders, mother. I will embark right now."

The Grand Princess just shook her head at her daughter, who ran towards the boarding hatch of the ship excitedly after ordering her cosmo armor to be loaded immediately, "Just like her father. Welp, let's get the Clowders in place. Will you all proceed to the bridge and coordinate with my workers? It is a rather delicate process."

We all nodded and bowed respectfully before leaving.

"Caerus, you stay here. I want to talk to you as the Grand Princess."

I nodded away my crew members as they all quickly went to the ship to assist the installation of the Clowders as fast as they can, "Are there any hidden agreements or deals that I would have to know, Your Majesty?"

"Oh, nothing of sorts. I actually just want to ask if you are absolutely sure that you wanted to return to the kingdom, Caerus?"

"Yes, I am. Why?"

"Well, I am sure you are fully aware that you and the rest of your crew in this ship are considered renegades," she said matter-of-factly before glancing at the Rigel, "To be completely honest with you, I was thinking back then to not repair this ship at all, if only it will stop you from returning to Regeinland and face court-martial."

I smiled sadly at her, "You are too kind, Your Majesty. But I have already decided that I will have to face the music sooner rather than later. Maybe I can prove my innocence."

"Please, we both know here that you are already convicted before the trial even begins," she shook her head and raised her eyebrows, "A third of the highest-ranking officials of the kingdom and over half of the royal council has already switched sides to the empire. I know full well that you are under the protection of Regus, but to be frank, his own safety is questionable at best right now."

I shook my head in disbelief when I heard the greasy grand princess said that, "No. Is it that bad? Will His Majesty and the Royal Family be safe?!"

"Thankfully, the Royal Household remains absolutely loyal to the king, so that is something to consider as well. But even the most elite guards of Regeinland can't hope to face half of the Royal Armed Forces when push comes to shove..."

"Are we talking about a coup d'etat? A civil war?"

Justice's mother nodded thoughtfully, "That is my guess as well. Why bother spending so much time, lives, and resources to invade the kingdom when the empire can just let it crumble and shatter on its own. With the loss of Regina Space Colony and the new line of carriers, the army's morale is almost nonexistent. According to my sources, only the ones stationed around the capital city of Regis are loyal to the king."

"And you are willing to send your only child, the crown princess herself, to Regeinland knowing full well of the situation?"

To my surprise, she turned around and faced the wall so that no one from the ship can see her shed a tear, "Though I am the ruler of the principality and has sworn neutrality, I cannot just stand by and let the homeland of my departed husband suffer. My daughter feels the same, and unlike me, her hands are not tied. She chose to fight for the kingdom, and as a mother, all I can do is pray for her safe return."

"Once the Rigel entered the territory of the kingdom, I am absolutely sure that it will be sequestered by the Royal Armed Forces. I will be court-martialled, but I won't allow my comrades to suffer as well. I will take all the responsibility for all the actions we have made thus far. After that, I don't know what will happen to your daughter. She will be out of my sight, Your Majesty."

She just looked at me knowingly and smiled a little, "That is not incorrect, Caerus. But fate is a fickle mistress. Anything could happen and personally speaking, I doubt the traitors can find anyone to captain the Rigel that easily. After all, I specifically made it to be commandeered by an Irradiated after all as a way to keep it, and the Panthera, out of the hands of people who will use its power for the wrong reasons."

"You say that, but when all has been said and done, you have created a weapon of mass destruction all the same. Isn't that ironic? You made something so destructive, yet you don't want it to be used for the wrong reasons?" I asked cooly as she just stares at me quietly, "Once you give humans a way to kill someone, they will use it. I used it."

"And so you did. But you did because you wanted to survive, to protect, and to live. Not for wanton destruction. After firing the Panthera once, the empire stopped its tracks and was forced to rethink its actions. If the kingdom has a weapon like that, they must be careful not to antagonize it further. You saved countless of millions of lives from both sides from a bloody c*****e that would have ensued if not for a fact that you didn't use the gravity cannon, Caerus."

I took a deep breath and sighed sadly, "You wanted to show the world that the neverending animosity has produced a weapon strong enough to completely kill thousands in mere seconds. But still, nothing changed."

"It's not for you or me to say that nothing changed. It's for the people and time to decide, young captain. All we can do as Irradiateds is to soldier on. After all, contrary to popular belief, not all of our kind are saviors and paragons," she answered casually as she looked at her greased hands, "Many have to dirty their hands to save others. Some have to bloody theirs to make a change."

"Am I forced to do something for the world just because I am born like this?" I asked, and she just looked at me with utmost pity and understanding.

"That is for you to find out, Caerus," she replied simply before waving me goodbye, "Now go, the answers you seek lie to your homeland. Though I am not sure if you would like what you will find out about yourself once you get there."

I didn't get what she means by her last words, so I tried to follow her, but the guards blocked my way, "Wait, what do you mean by that?!"

"Caerus, don't go to the capital. No, don't go to the Royal Castle..."