Rigel Rising

Stage 17- Tempus

"Eat. You looked like you will faint from hunger any moment now."

My stomach growled loudly when I looked down at the Balurian cuisines that the valet has put down.

Seafood of all types in different succulent and fragrant sauces and a rare selection of meats from inland.

All barbequed, fried, stewed, and grilled to perfection served with wine and four seasons juice.

I forgot I haven't eaten anything since early this morning.

I woke up early to teach several captains-in-training the principality, waiting eagerly for me back at the military facility where our ship is currently docked for repairs.

If there is one thing I have to give credit to those soldiers, they do know how to listen and learn. Never I have to repeat myself for the whole duration of our six hours lesson about ship handling.

What the Baldurians really lack is not the skills to commandeer their vessels. They lack the basic knowledge and hands-on experience to do so.

It is actually straightforward to teach them. All I have to do is tell them everything that I had learned from my friends back when I was in the academy.

Turns out that the principality doesn't have any military school whatsoever, and these captains-in-trainings are produced by their national guard poorly equipped for basic spaceship command and controls.

"I said eat, or you want me to spoonfeed you? That can be arranged..."

I blinked and quickly shook my head in horror when my handsome companion offered that and began shoving the delicious food to my mouth quickly that made him laugh.

"Really, I bet your mind is such a clutter, no wonder you almost died without even realizing it."

"No need to remind me of that," I said quietly after drinking from the glass of juice he offered, "I would really appreciate it if you don't talk about it again, ever."

He nodded and grinned, "Noted. Anyways, I never formally introduced myself to you. Where are my manners?! Tempus Orsus, a Veralian."

"Pleased to meet you, Tempus. The name's," I was about to give my real name, but then I remember what Admiral Kit reminded us several days ago, "Rae. Rae Casio from the kingdom. Thank you for saving and feeding me. I will pay you back somehow."

Tempus shook his head and waved his hand as if to say it was all nothing, "Oh, don't bother getting even. You made my stay here rather exciting when I resigned to spending my forced leave in Baldur in utmost boredom. Tell me, Rae, who are you with here?"

"Oh, I am vacationing with my aunts here," I answered without thinking fully when I remembered that the two are the eldest inside the bridge, "How about you?"

"Me? Well, I guess you will find out soon enough anyway. I am a Valerian soldier. Our higher-ups thought it would be prudent to send us here to gather the Grand Princess we will be hosting soon since our detachment was the closest in her country. Pain in the butt, mind you."

I smiled when he scratched the back of his head in annoyance. He really looked like the soldier I will never be, "I kind of guessed your profession judging by your hair and the way you move and talk. My aunts run a cafeteria near a military-based back in the homeland, and I know how the members of the armed forces act."

"Do I really stand out that much? Welp, it can't be helped. I just have to deal with it for the duration of our stay here."

"How long?"

"More or less a month," he answered simply.

"Same as mine. My aunts dragged me here so I can act as their chaperone during their endless shopping spree."

He laughed out loud and nodded in my direction, "No wonder you looked so absent-minded. You are so bored like me. You never have a chance to enjoy your vacation."

"You could say that..."

"Tell you what, I suggest we should hang out during our stay here. I think we can get along well, Rae," he offered matter of factly as I pondered on his proposal.

If I refuse, I doubt he will just let me go. That and he might do some digging and blew up not just mine but my crew's cover.

"Alright. As long as my aunts' schedules allow it, let's explore the principality as much as we can. I wanted to take my mind off the things I'd rather not deal with right now."

Like my imminent court-martial once we get back to the kingdom and how I could ever face the Royal Household after the mess I got myself into.

Thinking about it makes me just want to forget it all and stay here forever.

"Great! Now, let's finish eating and roam around so we will know where to go the next time we meet, okay?"

I nodded and smiled a little before eating again.

"You're cute, you know that?"

I stopped what I am doing and looked at Tempus blankly.

-0-

"Oh dear, did that really happened?" Cailee asked coyly as she pinched her elder sister to get on with the acting.

Tempus nodded quickly as I walked towards Candice, who looked at me in confusion when I called her and her sister aunts.

She immediately recognized my savior as an imperial soldier and is probably thinking of how best to reply.

"Now, that just won't do, "Rae,"" Cailee snarled as she nudged Candice to say something, "When we woke up, you are already gone. Now we have to carry our own shopping bags! Oh, the horror."

Finally, Candice managed to collect herself and shoved her paper bags on my chest unceremoniously, "I honestly don't know what to say! One minute we look the other way, and you are already wandering around aimlessly! This is not acceptable, "Rae"!"

"I'm so sorry, Aunt "Candy" and Aunt "Cali." I just want to explore the principality rather than going inside shopping malls all day, every day," I answered pointedly as Tempus is studying the face of my second in command and weapon's officer then returning to mine.

"I know this might sound rude, but I don't see any resemblance, no offense..."

Candice smiled widely and nodded in agreement, "Oh don't worry, none taken! We are the third cousins thrice removed of his mother, and as you can see, she, bless her soul, and her son didn't get our family's good looks. The poor girl."

"Now, now, Candy. You are the one sounding rude. Rae's mother here has, ah, what should I say, a beauty on her own level," Cailee followed as she shoved several shoe boxes on top of the paper bag piles I am carrying and pushed me to start walking, "She and her husband passed away, and my sister and I are the only relatives she has left so there you have it."

Candice quickly nodded before opening her designer bag and producing a rather expensive-looking wallet full of wads of cash, "Now, I don't want to look like we raised a freeloader here, the horror, so, can you tell us how much he owes you?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. He already paid for all of it by accompanying me the whole day. Think nothing of it, ma'am," Tempus said earnestly, which made my executive officer raise an eyebrow, "Although next time, I think it wouldn't hurt if you give him an allowance. Don't you think it's rather strange for a vacationer like him to wander around without money of his own?"

It's Cailee who answered quickly, "Oh, that's the point, dear. If we don't give him money, he won't wander around aimlessly away from the two of us while we are on our shopping spree. But then again, that's already a moot point, hmm?"

"How embarrassing," Candice exclaimed dramatically as she waved Tempus goodbye, "Now, as much as we would like to chat, I already reserved seats for us at a seaside restaurant for dinner. Best be on our way."

Cailee smiled sweetly at him and waved her hand, "Thank you again for taking care of him! Much appreciated!"

We then walked past Tempus as the sisters dragged me away as fast as possible, but my savior called out, "Can we go out while we're here in the principality?"

The two stopped and exchanged confused looks before looking down on me as I blushed uncontrollably, and they blinked at each other meaningfully.

I guess I don't need to say something as to what their answer should be.

"Of course!" Candice answered with a snide smile on her lips, "I am actually getting tired of having to look around for him to carry our shopping bags as he always wanders off completely."

"What she said, dear. He's all yours. Well, ciao!" Cailee seconded before she hailed a taxi to take us to the military facility.

-0-

"You're kidding, right?"

Candice quickly shook her head and threw me a disparaging look, "Oh, I kid you not, Trey. There I was, panicking when he didn't return for lunch, and I have to spend the entire afternoon looking for him only to find out he is out and about exploring the principality with an imperial stud!"

"Well, to be fair, we got distracted shopping while looking for our captain, so it took us too long to track him down," Cailee said truthfully as Mariana gave me a surprised look, "Anyways, let me add that the guy Caerus managed to get earlier is an imperial "soldier" stud. And here I thought we are under strict orders to lay low, and of all the boys you could have caught, it just has to be a Veralian soldier."

"Slick," Drew piped in that made Mariana giggle.

"Indeed. But are you sure he didn't know who you three really are? I just have to warn you that the empire trains their soldier better in the art of investigating more than the kingdom. I sure hope you all didn't raise any suspicion. They are so hard to keep off track..."

Candice shook her hand and laughed jovially, "Perish the thought, Mariana dear. I am the Aunt Candy of Rae here. The third cousin thrice removed from his mother. You don't have to worry about anything at all!"

"Oh, really? Now that Mariana here has said it, that Tempus boy really has to point out that we don't look like our captain at all. Not someone who can be fooled so easily, that's for sure," Cailee said dismissively to her sister, who stopped laughing and took a deep sigh.

"True. Anyways, are you serious about meeting him again, Caerus? The more you two spend time together, the more chance of you getting caught."

Before I can answer, it's Trey who spoke for me, "What do you mean, Candice? Getting caught lying or getting caught in his arms? Ouch!"

I punched the arm of our maintenance officer out of annoyance, but he just laughs it off.

"Anyways, I have to report something to you, captain," he said seriously as I finished my dinner at the cafeteria of the military facility, "The Baldurian repair team is correct. There's no way we can finish the servicing of Rigel in a matter of weeks. The damage is more severe than I thought. But the good news is they can repair it. Heck, they even have the spare parts all ready for it."

"I know this is just a hunch of mine, but the way their spaceships resemble Rigel and how prepared they are in repairing our vessel, it gives me the idea that the principality is somewhat connected to the creation of our prototype ship," Drew said thoughtfully that made us all silent.

One way or another, we will find out soon enough.