Rigel Rising

Stage 18- High Road

"Come, Rae! I want you to meet our emperor!" Tempus said excitedly, and to my horror, he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards where the ruler of Veralia is sitting on one of the v.i.p top boxes of the Baldurian Palace ballroom hall surrounded by armed to the teeth guards by the dozens.

"I don't think this is really a good idea, Tempus," I whimpered as the soldiers surrounding the emperor suspiciously let us through but with their fingers still firmly on the trigger of their heave assault riffles.

"Don't worry, he's cool!" my companion reassured me as we finally reached the right side of an awfully bored-looking main in his mid-forties looking who clearly doesn't want to be here at all, "Your Majesty!"

The emperor looked up, and his face suddenly brighten when he saw Tempus, "Ah, my boy! What a sight for these sore eyes. I see that you are also sent here against your will, just like me!"

"Your Majesty, please..."

"What, are they going to remove me from my position just because I complained loudly?" he asked jovially before stretching his arms, "Who will sign those detestable stacks of paper if I'm gone? I highly doubt anyone will want my job as a glorified stamp machine."

The emperor then realized that Tempus is not alone.

"And who might this be, Tempus?"

My companion shoved me in front of him, and I am forced, against my will to genuflect to the point of groveling, "He is my date, Your Majesty. Rae Casio."

"And judging by the way he kneeled, a Regeinlander," the emperor noticed how I forced myself to give respect, but I don't hear any hint of anger from him, "What did I tell you before, my boy? Never force someone to bow in front of me. Respect must be earned, not given."

But Tempus just laugh when I stood up and kissed the ring of the man who ordered the destruction of my home with utmost pain in my very being, "It will only be a matter of time before the kingdom basks in your glory."

"Enough, Tempus," the emperor said quietly when he realized that I am reaching the end of my patience, "Why don't you leave the two of us for now so we can get to know each other better? It is not every day I can talk to someone from Regeinland."

Tempus blinked and was about to complain, but his eyes met the emperor's, and he just bowed respectfully before leaving me against his will, "By your leave, Your Majesty."

"I will send someone to get you once his audience is over," the leader of the empire said happily as he glanced at his guards, "You all take a hike as well. I am sick and tired of all of you hanging around me day in and day out."

"But, Your Majesty!"

"Unless I am so powerless, I can't even give a direct command to my "personal guards" and can't expect to be followed?" he asked them, and like Tempus, they reluctantly bowed and moved away from us but not too far away.

Just far enough for them not to hear what we are talking about.

"Ahh, now that's fresh air. I am suffocating since I arrived here with all those guards the Imperial Ministry has sent to "secure my wellbeing." What a drag," he griped before looking in my direction, "Well, now that it's just the two of us, why not tell me your real name, eh?"

A chill runs down my spine as I began to cold sweat while looking at the still smiling fatherly emperor.

"Maybe I should introduce myself first? Forgive me, I am so used to everyone knowing who I am, I forgot the basics," he offered his right hand, and I accept gingerly, "Nero Veralia of the Empire of Veralia. Charmed, I'm sure."

I nodded as I opened my mouth and told him my real name, "Caerus Finis, Your Majesty."

"Now that's better, isn't it?" he asked to which I nodded in confusion, "I am finally able to meet the one who destroyed my entire First Fleet in mere seconds personally."

I didn't reply as he turned his gaze towards the dance floor where countless Baldurian and Veralian nobilities and members of the high society from both nations are dancing the night away, "How did you know?"

"Please, I may be a lame-duck ruler compared to Regus and Yekaterina. I still have my sources," he answered nonchalantly before smiling a little, "Don't worry, it's our little secret. I won't tell anyone, especially someone from the military or ministry. Hah!"

I furrowed my brow and inclined my head, "Why, Your Majesty?"

"Why? I'll tell you why. It is fun to watch them lose their heads trying to figure out who the heck in the kingdom is commandeering that admittedly one of a kind ship of yours," he said matter-of-factly before lowering down his voice, "Just between you and me, I really like that ship, Rigel, right? Really put us in our place for throwing our numbers around."

I blinked at him as I cannot believe what he is saying, "That ship, no, I, murdered thousands of your people without a second thought, Your Majesty."

"Yes, that is true. Yet still, my empire killed off hundreds of thousands of colonists among other royal soldiers who didn't manage to escape our attack back at the Regina Space Colony," he pointed out clearly as he looked clearly sad, "I don't have the moral high ground to accuse you of being a vile murderer when my hands are as bloodied as yours, my boy."

"So it's you who ordered the attack?"

He nodded and shrugged his shoulders, "Technically speaking, yes. You see, the Imperial Ministry and Imperial Army brought the papers for me to sign and give approval. It is already planned, prepared, and ready to be executed. To have the signature and stamp of the emperor is nothing but formalities. Yet still, I did sign it so you could say that it has my blessing."

"So that's your situation back at your homeland, Your Majesty," I replied with a pity on my voice that he noticed as he chuckled and clapped my shoulder rather harshly.

"Don't make it sound more pitiful and pathetic than it already is, my boy. I know this might sound self-righteous, but I always believe that enduring my position means that there is always a final check on my government. Without me at the top, the ministers and generals can do a lot worse, and I don't think after the attack on the space colony of the kingdom, you will disagree that they are all capable of concocting things far beyond your worse nightmares."

I took a deep breath and shook my head, "I don't understand why the empire attacked suddenly. It is unprovoked and immoral."

"Immoral, yes, I will agree that much. Unprovoked? Not so, my boy," he corrected me as I looked at him in confusion, "You see, my empire has been begging, yes, begging, the kingdom for decades to allow us to buy farmlands in Regeinland, but your government stubbornly refuses. You see, Veralia might be a superpower, but it is on a steady decline. Drought, famine, and lack of natural resources to feed our growing population drive us all to the edge. We just want to support our people, but the kingdom doesn't want us to get stronger in their own words. To me, I just wanted to feed the hungry imperial children on the streets, but your nation won't allow that. We tried to buy, beg, coerce, and the next thing I know, my people are clamoring to get what we need by force."

"And as their emperor, you have to do something about it," I said quietly, to which he nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. I personally arranged a meeting with your king, but his hands are tied as much as mine does to the whims of his council members who agreed to take a tough stance against my country. I cannot ask the principality for help. They have a commonwealth to feed. But Regeinland's food production is way more than it actually needs. I will be lying if I said it didn't make me feel resentful..."

"And so your people choose war."

"You can't blame them. An empty stomach makes you angry, wrathful, and unreasonable. We have been under food rationing for a decade now, and they said enough is enough. Parents can't just sit by and watch their children starve, can't they? So many imperials enlisted in the military applied for the shipbuilding complexes, and the result is what you see in your travels thus far, my boy. The might of the Imperial Armada."

I nodded slowly as I slowly begin to understand his reasoning. He didn't try to force his beliefs on me. He just told me his people's point of view and let me decide for myself.

"So the kingdom brought this war upon itself, huh."

The emperor quickly shook his head, "Oh, I wouldn't get that far, my boy. I quite understand them, truth to be told. If I am in their position, I will do just the same. Who wants a strong rival?"

"But this is no longer about competition. This is a humanitarian problem..."

"It's neither here nor there. It is also my ancestor's fault for not enforcing family planning amongst our citizens. We just let them have more and more kids until they, and the empire, can no longer support them."

I didn't have anything to say, so I just remained quiet, and we both watched the dancers enjoy the music as if it is the only thing that matters aside from their partners.

"No matter where they go, pain and grief follow. The only things that await them are sadness and sorrow. For the moment they are born, their lives are for someone else's tomorrow. Pity, not those who are powerless, pity the Irradiateds who must live and die for the benefit of others..."

The emperor recited the poem the matron of the orphanage I am in once told me to always remember and never forget.

An ancient oral saying passed down from one Irradiated to another. From an Irradiated to his son or daughter. So that they will never forget the suffering our lives entails us even if we are beings wielding demigod powers.

"That was the last words of my mother before she died," he said quietly as he closed his eyes, "The empire was crumbling right before her very eyes. But she was Irradiated, someone with uncanny political and social skills beyond our wildest dreams. She bought me some time, delayed the inevitable. Something impossible for a mere mortal. But in the end, her abilities brought her nothing but a life of sorrow. She told me countless times that the only thing she is thankful for in her life is that I was not born with powers like her."

I smiled sadly and looked down at my hands, "There's no happy ending for someone like us. I know that."

"You know, Tempus is never a sociable kind of person. Many describe him as aloof, cold, and distant. Imagine my surprise when he brought you here with him," he then opened his eyes and steeled himself, "I guess misery does love company. Though this may be naive and gullible for me to say, I hope you two will find happiness. I never dreamed of sending someone as young, as promising as him in the frontlines, but his abilities dictate otherwise. I pray that you will never have to face reality, Rae."

He then snapped his fingers, and then suddenly, the guards rushed towards us and pulled me up from my seat, "This audience is over. Bring him to Tempus."