"So, does that mean I can’t go outside?”

I asked Boris crossing my arms over my chest.

Standing at my chambers, I could only ask him such a question, otherwise I didn’t understand why he stood right on the threshold as if he forbade me to go outside.

"Yes, Sigrin. You are not allowed to leave the palace."

Boris said, shaking his head and turning away slightly, he added quietly.

"Otherwise we will have to commit genocide here again to save you.”

"Yes, I understood, I understood everything.”

I answered with a dissatisfied sigh.

"I really hope so."

"So what should I do now? I checked all the weapons and the radio station. I’m free now.”

"Take a walk."

Boris said seriously and abruptly put his hands on my shoulders.

"Just no nonsense, okay?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I understand, you don’t have to remind me.”

I waved him off and at the same time decided to ask before leaving.

"Will this plan really work?”

"Not convinced."

Boris answered honestly.

"Super."

Sighing again, I put on a desperate smile.

"So it's all or nothing."

"You can visit the princess"

Boris advised me, but I, in turn, thought differently.

"There was some kind of line outside her bedroom. And as far as I know, her father died. I think she’s not feeling well right now. Don’t you think it would be a good idea to visit her now?”

"I don’t know. And it doesn’t concern us anymore. We made a deal, all we have to do is do our part and get out of here. It’s simple. At least for now.”

Boris’s words sounded very optimistic, but to the same extent I saw notes of fear on his face. He was afraid that nothing would work out, however, at such moments I begin to act.

Alsisian sedative in action.

"Everything will be fine."

I said, slightly tilting my head with a smile and affection.

"No matter what happens, we will remain human, and this is the most important thing.”

"Are...are you drunk?"

Boris asked with a frown, and was lightly hit in the chest, after which he heard a chuckle from Will behind him.

"Fuck you."

I said in the face of a laughing Boris and slammed the door, going out into the corridor of the palace.

"Well, I'll go get some fresh air."

"Make sure you don't kill anyone."

"Cold."

I answered again, rolling my eyes.

"Good night."

The sun was setting, and at that moment I wanted to take a walk. All day I checked the weapons and devices for damage, it’s not surprising that I was very tired from this, but for some reason I didn’t really want to sleep. I definitely understood that I needed this now, knowing what would happen tomorrow.

I wanted to visit Ilif because it might be the last time we see each other again. To be honest, I didn’t have much hope for Boris’s plan. It was not clear why he even thought of this so late. Perhaps he has already discussed this with Granid, but perhaps he has not asked him about it yet. In any case, the next day will show how everything will go.

I'll be fine with them. Calm down, Sigrin. Breathe in and out and calm down.

I told myself while doing breathing exercises while walking along the corridors of the palace.

In one of the courtyards right outside the window, people were bustling around, carrying some things, training with weapons like spears and swords, working out orders and much more that soldiers usually do. Perhaps there was no less fuss going on outside the castle walls in the city itself, but I couldn’t know that, and to be honest, I didn’t think much about it. Boris solved all the complex problems, and I’m just a naval engineer, it’s better for me to solve the problems of the technical part, which is what I was already doing today.

I just walked around and looked at what locals usually call luxury. Paintings, patterns on the walls, figurines on busts, knight's armor placed on both sides, trophies, living rooms and much more. And although I didn’t really like all this primitiveness and poverty, I enjoyed breathing the local air. It was so fresh and literally everywhere here.

On Earth, on the Moon and on a ship, one could only dream about this. Even on Alsis, people do not live on the surface, but underground because of the star, occupying a third of the sky and scorching everything that its hellish rays can touch. People on many planets breathe processed air because not all planets with life have people able to adapt to it. Well, the Earth is still experiencing the consequences of a nuclear disaster a thousand years ago.

By the way, because of the Alsisian sun, people on Alsis are black as coal, but on this planet such people are usually called damned, which, to be honest, I didn’t particularly like to hear. At least, unlike the Sapardonians, I was lucky. At least I could leave the planet, but people with Sapardon, due to a lack of vitamin D in their bodies, are locked within their ice planet and any attempt to leave the atmosphere ends for them in painful death from cosmic radiation.

They also call me damned. Ha!

Continuing to walk along the corridor of the palace, I decided to go out into the garden courtyard, and there I already began to regret that I dared to think about staying here because annoying mosquitoes had already begun to fly at me. Meanwhile, the palace servants lit torches along the stairs and corridors so that they themselves would not get lost, and at those moments I enjoyed the view of the starry sky that was unfamiliar to me.

If I knew stellar geography, I could even determine which of the stars is burning the surface of Alsis into the glass.

I was thinking and suddenly I heard a man’s voice behind me.

"Constellation Raven."

Turning back, I saw a man in a black robe. It was as if he had been hiding in the shadows all this time and only now decided to show himself in the light. At first he alarmed me because he hid his face under a hood, but then, remembering something, I realized that he was one of the king’s advisers.

"You scared me."

I sighed with relief and, unbeknownst to him, I placed my palm on the holster of the pistol.

"Forgive me. I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s more likely that you’re the one scaring you with your appearance.”

Well, as always.

I growled irritably.

"Are you interested in knowing why I’m black? If anything, I’m not cursed. I was just born this way. All the people from my... my village are like that.”

"Village of the Damned...interesting."

The man said and, coming closer, unexpectedly for me, he took off his hood and introduced himself.

"Forgive me for my discourtesy. My name is Dougman, what is your name, lady?"

His face...

I was somewhat taken aback when I saw the simple, unremarkable face of a middle-aged middle-aged man.

I expected that he would have a reason to hide his face, but in reality he is just an ordinary man with a very curious look.

"The victory."

I introduced myself, looking at him incredulously, but judging by his crossed arms, it was clear that he just wanted to talk to me.

"And I have to repeat, I’m not cursed.”

"And I’m not a saint to burn you.”

The man said smiling.

"Anyway, nice to meet you."

"Mutual."

I smiled back and finally decided to ask.

"So why did you decide to talk to me?”

"There's actually a good reason for that."

Dougman suddenly frowned, taking a step closer to me.

"The fact is that the king wants to kill you all."

I trembled when I heard these words from him. It’s not that I wanted to hear this on an ordinary walk, but still I was very scared that it was true and could happen at any time.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"For what?"

I asked quietly and received a very disappointing answer.

"He does not trust you, none of you, not even the old wizard, who betrayed his duty to protect the home of the royal family. The companions of the respected Granid are too strange and cause nothing but fear in His Majesty. The King wants to kill all of you as soon as the agreement comes to an end.»

"You mean...tomorrow?"

Dougman twitched slightly upon hearing these words and asked:

"Why did you decide that it will be tomorrow?"

"Because tomorrow there will be an assault."

I answered, turning over thoughts in my head.

If the King wants to kill us, then... then we need to warn Boris about this now!

Thinking about this, I was about to run to the palace, when Dougman suddenly grabbed my palm and immediately stopped me.

"Is he really right?"

Dougman said looking straight into my eyes.

"You are hiding something that you don’t want to tell anyone. You are afraid that someone will find out the terrible truth about you, am I right?”

"What the..."

I whispered, taking out a pistol behind my back.

Calm down, Sigrin, everything is fine. You need to calm down. No deaths. Don't do anything stupid.

My heart was pounding wildly, and behind me I heard a light stomp. Turning my head in the opposite direction, I saw a couple of people in the same dark robes. Unlike Dougman, they did not come forward, but stood further away, in the shadows. I saw perfectly well that they were armed, holding blades in their hands.

Somewhere above on the palace balcony I heard the characteristic sound of a bow string being drawn. I didn’t see this man anymore, because it was too dark there. Perhaps there were other people around me, but I couldn’t know for sure. I was surrounded, I had no chance to escape if I made a rash action.

What... what should I do?!

I started to panic inside myself.

I was incredibly scared. I was so afraid now that I removed my palm from the handle of the gun, returning it back to the holster, and then suddenly heard Dougman’s words, which continued to hold my palm tightly.

"You know, I actually kept something from you."

"What are you talking about?"

I asked, not understanding anything.

"I am a close associate of the king, one of his faithful advisers. I have the power to convince Draun of my decision if he understands who you really are.”

"R-really?"

I asked tremblingly and Dougman nodded in response to my question.

So what should we do?!

Inside myself, I continue to go through options for action. I could now kill Dougman, run and immediately inform Boris that tomorrow they will try to kill us all and then a lot of blood will be shed again. Or I can trust this stranger and tell him something that will calm the king and prevent another massacre.

I... I don't want this anymore.

I said to myself and shook with fear.

I don't want any more deaths.

However, Boris made it clear to me that I should no longer act like a hero or do anything without his permission. I couldn't do this in order not to repeat that nightmare. I had to do something.

But what?

While I was thinking, Dougman pulled me towards him and asked, highlighting every word that came out of his mouth:

"Who are you?"

"I... we...."

I swallowed my saliva out of fear.

A? Wait a minute... he is a close associate of the king, his adviser, and he says that his king wants to kill us. And... is this true? What kind of suspicious guy is this? What does he really want? Are these cultists? What's happening? What if he kills me and our people as soon as I tell everything?

I didn't understand what was happening.

Now the simple-looking man seemed very gloomy to me, his face expressed not just curiosity, but the very thirst for knowledge. He longed to understand who was standing in front of him and who we all were. He squeezed my hand tighter in his hand and with wide eyes tilted his head, letting me know that he was not going to wait any longer.

S-scares.

I was shaking and yet, having found those crumbs of strength, I decided to do it.

"W-well."

I said nodding.

"I'll tell you everything."

Dougman, hearing my words, nodded and smiled gloomily.

"I'm listening."

***

Outside the city, an impressively sized native army was gathering. There was little time left before the attack, literally a few hours. The plan must be carried out as accurately and correctly as possible, otherwise it will all be over for us, and we will never be able to return home.

"Farewell my friend, I will remember you."

Itami said with sadness in his voice, sitting on his knees and saying goodbye to his communications station, which had served him faithfully since the beginning of his entry into the 127th Army.

A platoon stood around him and made a hand-face gesture looking at the touching farewell of man and machine, but personally I didn’t care. People can become attached to objects, and Itami, having lost the object of connection, will simply end up becoming an ordinary soldier of the 127th Army and nothing more. Although at first glance it really seems stupid to say goodbye to objects, yet watching this there was something that really struck a chord inside, if not all of us, then certainly me.

It's like they're tearing off a piece of you.

I thought, coming closer to the signalman and patting him on the shoulder.

"Okay, that’s enough. I didn’t write down the message to waste more time on your... funeral.”

Laughter was heard behind him, and anger, or rather just resentment, appeared on Itami’s face. Even if he can colorfully explain the reason for his "grief”, no one will understand him, so he chose to silently obey the order.

"Come on, Itami, you'll have a new one later."

Will said, barely holding back his laughter.

"Yeah, but…"

Itami wanted to say something, but didn’t.

Instead, he lowered his head and walked away to the side, just like me.

"Okay. The communication station is ready, now we just need to do the finishing touches"

I said and began to turn to Granid, who was standing with me on the tower to the side.

"We need to get him up."

Now it was night, our main task at the moment was to contact the 127th Army and return to the main forces to await further instructions. Our journey from the shuttle crash site to the landing of the entire army could take up to a year, and with possible battles against the natives, even up to three years. We could not afford to waste so much time, especially with the limited amount of available ammunition.

Therefore, we decided to do things a little differently by suddenly choosing a new path, the shortest one we have. Since long-distance communication does not work, we decided to use a classic beacon with a message. To do this, we reconfigured the Itami radio station to repeat the same signal.

The only problem is that the surface of the planet, or rather its horizon, will prevent radio waves from reaching the 127th Army, mainly because the signal will be weak and even a light barrier will simply reflect this radio signal. That is why the radio station needs to be raised into the sky, or to be more precise, straight into space, where it will broadcast the message without delay. In theory, a signal from space will reach the 127th Army without any problems, but I can’t know this for sure.

Moreover, we need to keep the radio station in the sky for several hours before the command of the 127th Army can determine the source of the signal and send a group of rescue shuttles with military support after us. The very launch of a radio station poses an even greater problem than anyone can imagine.

Granid, hearing my words, thought about it, and then nodded his head and said:

"I can do it."

Will heard Granid's words and decided to add something:

"We need to make sure it doesn’t burn while flying into space.”

"And also to stay in the sky the whole day, in one place.”

Fred added and then turned to me.

"Even if this absurd plan works, what is the likelihood of its success? The 127th Army may not exist at all.”

"You already said that."

Ripun said, remembering his recent prediction, and we, looking for a brief moment at the orange-eyed prophet, returned our attention to each other.

"You're right, Fred. Things could go wrong at any moment, but we still have to try. We need to buy enough time before the general sends shuttles after us."

"If he sends it."

Forn said with skepticism.

"Would a general even send support for a platoon of soldiers?”

"If he needs information about the planet, he will."

I answered, but I wasn’t sure about it myself.

Fred didn’t answer my words and just returned to the others. We stood aside while Granid thought about how to send an object into the sky and leave it there for a long time safe and sound. I immediately told him that it was better not to put him into orbit as a satellite, but the old wizard didn’t even understand me, then I had to explain some things related to space, including the endless fall and rotation around the planet.

Having explained a little scientific things to him, I came closer to him and asked a question:

"Any ideas?"

"Magic is a powerful force, but not so omnipotent. I can’t imagine how to enchant this box so that it just hangs in the sky for a long time in the realm of the Gods. But what’s more pressing is that the Gods themselves won’t be angry that you’re invading the heavens ?"

It is quite possible if they really exist.

I thought and nodded.

"We don't serve these «Gods», so let them be as angry as they want."

"Will your people cross the racial border if they hear the ra-di-o call?"

"I think if the shuttles go into near-planetary orbit, then quite well.”

I don’t think that the boundary of the races will stretch beyond the atmosphere, so just in case, I warned the general in a message to send shuttles through outer space.

"Hmm~…."

Granid started thinking again, and in the meantime we were waiting for what he could come up with that would send the radio station into space and make it hover in the sky. This continued until Furgur came up the stairs to the tower with the princess in his arms. The soldiers, a little confused, bowed in different ways, some only slightly, while others fell to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the stone, but I just greeted.

"Greetings, Princess Ilifreeta. Why are you awake?"

"I heard you need help."

"Yes, we need help, but I think you’re unlikely...”

I suddenly stopped remembering something.

Her ability of telekinesis... how far can she lift such a heavy object and hold it in the sky for a long time?

"Sorry."

I said, still deciding to clarify the situation.

"We need to raise the communications station into the sky and keep it there for a long time, at least a day before reinforcements from the army arrive here.”

"Will it arrive?"

The girl said in the arms of the adventurer, slightly surprised.

"Oh, that’s right, I forgot that you are people from heaven. You know how to fly.”

You can argue with this, and yet I didn’t. Instead, I decided to clarify what kind of help the princess could provide.

"I understand you want to use your telekinesis to lift an object into the sky, but are you sure you can?"

"Boris?"

Will said, catching my attention.

"What's the matter?"

I turned in his direction and saw how the communication station was levitating, breaking away from the stone and rising slightly, starting to move away from the tower higher and higher. It was difficult not to comment on this with a slight smile on his lips.

"I see, princess, you can."

"But I want to ask for something in return."

Said the golden-haired one.

"So what?"

I asked, expecting something impossible, but to my surprise the request turned out to be very feasible.

"Heal me, raise me to my feet and make me a queen."

Except for the last one, everything turned out to be quite doable, but I don’t know whether it’s worth helping her to carry out a coup. With such sudden revelations, all that was left was to swallow saliva. If the king had heard her words, then the last neutral representative of these lands would probably have hunted us. However, a little later she calmed me down, explaining the following:

"Draun is ready to give the throne to me, but in return I must show the faithful servants of the kingdom my strength. It is called the «punishing hand», and you call it «telekinesis». I want the people to recognize me as the queen and then my help will be repaid."

I didn't have to think long. This is beneficial for both of us and I could only agree.

"Okay. We will heal you and help you become queen."

That's what we decided on. After some agreements, we all stood at the top of the tower and watched the communications station rise into the star-filled sky and disappear into the darkness. The signal is already starting to broadcast and help will soon arrive for us. However, I do not know how long it will take for the military support group to assemble. Maybe the general will decide not to waste resources on us at all, or they are all really dead.

As always, I had only one thing to do: hope for the best.