The people who kill their kings are cursed in front of their gods (ancient saying).

In two days, there will be elections. The people of Betelgeuse VII will chose their new dictator. All over the planet, people want the ruling dictator, Caligula XIII, to be judged for all what it done. The dictator knows that, after a short trial, it will be sentenced to death for violating the constitution and for diverting money. What people don't know is that the star, Betelgeuse, will soon go supernova. So, the dictator helped the former dictator, Caligula XII, to secure funds for terraforming a planet around another star. Caligula XII, during this time, reigned on the moon of Betelgeuse VII, where it made a lot of money from activities that were illegal on the planet. However, some money is still needed to finish the terraforming process. When the dictator will no longer reign, the one which will take power will dissolve the autonomous region of the moon. Then, there will not be possible to divert any more money.

Caligula XII knows that, if it comes to the planet, people will kill her too. But it is the only way. If nothing is done, the new planet, Betelgeuse S, will not be habitable. Also, since all terraforming occurred with technology from the Pleiades and knowing that the Pleiades Empire will like to annex the planet, it has to do something to register this planet as an independent state and convince the ISA to build an orbital station. All can be done with the help of bribery, which means more money.

On the moon, Caligula XII, which is a transgender woman, puts on black clothes, like those for a funeral. Then, it says short:

"Delta, you will be the new dictator of Betelgeuse S. Take a spaceship and go there. Etna, you start to evacuate people from the moon and take anyone to the new planet. It is time to tell our people what they have been working for. I go to the ISA orbital station and talk to them".

"Now?" asks Delta. "The elections are coming. People will kill you".

"Don't you think Caligula XIII did already enough? It suffered too much, while I stayed here and enjoyed freedom. I take a million CC with me, to pay the ISA for the new base".

"Ok, but try to return before the elections".

"How much money do we need to finish terraforming?"

"55 millions CC", answers Delta.

"That money will come tomorrow".

Caligula XII takes its personal spaceship and flies to the orbital station. There, it offered the money and made the official arrangements. Within two days, a new state will form, Betelgeuse S. Then, within an Earth year, the ISA will build an orbital station and a base on the surface. The former dictator spends a whole day on the orbital station, talking with officials of the ISA. Everything goes just according to plan.

Then, Caligula XII takes its ship and flies to the planet. It is the election day. It knows very clear that it will not return. The tension is huge. People will judge it like a traitor and will request the death sentence. As it lands on the surface base and starts walking towards the dictatorial palace, people gather around and shout:

"Death to the traitor!"

"Justice to be made!"

"Where is the money?"

But the former dictator doesn't look at them. It walks towards the palace, which is not too far. It enters and goes directly to the throne room. There, on the throne, Caligula XIII is sitting, with its long yellow dress and with the iron crown, receiving audiences.

"What brings you here?" asks Caligula XIII.

"We are almost done", answers the former dictator.

"Almost?"

"We are short 55 million CC. All the rest is done".

The dictator lights a cigarette and says:

"So is my life. Tomorrow, I will take off this crown".

"I know", says the former dictator, also lighting a cigarette.

"You say 55 million CC? Are you sure?"

"Yes, exactly that sum of money".

"Ok. As the ruling dictator of Betelgeuse VII, I order a money diversion of 100 million CC, right now. The money will come to the moon within minutes. Transaction proceeding now!"

The dictator goes to an interactive panel and approves the money diversion. Since everything that happens in the throne room is public, everyone on the planet can see it. People will be shocked. At the end of its life, the dictator diverts such a big sum of money, 40% of the state budget, to a separatist region, without any explanation.

"This is the last day of my life", says the dictator. "I want to rest a bit. Today, I will have no more audiences. I know this is a violation of the constitution, but so be it! Once I have confirmation that the money has been sent and received by the moon, everyone is free. We will close the palace".

To make sure that the money has been paid and there is no way anything can happen, both dictators stay in the throne room for a few hours. Then, they go, without saying a single word, to the forbidden building.

All the way, people stand along the road, shouting, saying bad words to the dictators. Everyone is angry on them and everyone wants their death. But, nobody dares to attack them. After all, this night, the elections will end and the results will be made public. Then, both will face their deaths. Both enter the forbidden building. There, surrounded by plasticized sheets of paper depicting the real measurements of the star interior, done almost a hundred Earth years ago, lies the neutrino telescope, the only device that can see inside a star. The telescope shows what is happening. Betelgeuse will not hold on for much longer. carbon fusion has ended in the core and now it is continued in a shell. Soon, neon fusion will start. Both dictators watch this. The star managed to survive this long, but it will not resist much longer.

They stay for hours inside and talk a lot.

Then, they come to Caligula XIII's house. It is their last night of life.

Can you sleep, knowing that tomorrow you will be sentenced to death? For the ruling dictator, time has passed. With each day, it knew that death will be the end, but also the end of all suffering. All these five years were a nightmare, with so many people screaming, with public accusations, with so much harassment. All will end soon. At least, its mission will end: to secure funds, so that the people will have a new planet to live on.

Caligula XIII sits near the window, smoking one cigarette after another. Outside, people celebrate. A new dictator was elected. It is a feeling of relief, that finally, all the suffering will come to an end, but it also is a lot of anxiety. It doesn't want to die. But, even now, people want its death, they scream this on the streets. If only they knew what all this was about... If only they knew that all this was done to save them, to offer them an alternative... but they don't know. And even if anyone will tell them, they will not understand. It will be a terrible shock for them to hear the truth. And after all this time, the crowds want to see those who are guilty, brought to justice. It has to be done, it has to end here.

Caligula XII lies on the bed, in a lonely room. The image of so many people, screaming angry and asking for its death, is something that made its mind blow.

"What was in your mind, girl", it asks for itself. "Couldn't you just sit on the moon and flee with everyone to Betelgeuse S?"

No, that was not the option. The terraforming process required money. Without that extra 55 million CC, everything would be lost. Where could they get money from? Without going to the orbital station and paying that bribe to the ISA, the Pleiades would have annexed the new planet. Everything would have been lost.

But knowing that tomorrow you will face a death sentence...

The former dictator starts crying. Wouldn't it be wise to run back to the moon? No, it would not be a good option. In the morning, the new dictator will take power and will ask for all criminals to be brought to justice. It will send ships to the moon. Evacuation of the moon cannot be made so fast. Up there, Etna is loading people, equipment and anything that can be saved, to large ships that go to Betelgeuse S. It is vital to distract people from the planet, until the evacuation is done.

"I must die here, so that Etna can have time to evacuate the moon", whispers Caligula XII, crying.

Outside, people are shouting. The former dictator hears them. Maybe, they will not let her pass. But even if they will, it will be a shame for her to runaway. After all this time... It feels a deep respect for the ruling dictator, who sacrificed its life and endured all this for five years. The former dictator cries for hours, it rips its own clothes and starts to beat the bed with its fists. All, until dawn comes.

Both dictators did not sleep a single minute. So did the people outside, who watched them, not to get away from justice. As morning comes, both get dressed with black clothes, like if they were attempting a funeral. Well, it will be, their funeral. They try to eat something, but cannot swallow anything. Only a few cigarettes make their way to their bodies.

"We sacrificed our lives for the people..." says Caligula XII. "And these people are the ones who will kill us".

"I know", answers Caligula XIII. "But let's do this faster. I cannot wait much longer".

They get out of the house and move to the palace, to the throne room. There, they see the newly elected dictator. It appears as a man and it is a man in all aspects. Its name is Dove Thor. He is born on Betelgeuse, but is not a transgender person, but still, he is gay. Well, on a planet that is a paradise for transgender people and rare sexual minorities, that is something normal. Dove is a tall, creole and respectable man, wearing a white costume with a tie and clean shoes. He has short hair and his beard is shaved.

"Greetings", he says, watching the two former dictators coming.

Caligula XIII takes its iron crown off its head and puts it on Dove's head, saying:

"You are now Caligula XIV, the new dictator of the free state of Betelgeuse VII. From this moment on, I am a free citizen".

The new dictator adjusts the crown on its head, then says:

"It is a honor for me to wear the iron crown, that was worn by the whole Caligula dynasty. As the new elected dictator, I promise to all who voted me, that I will not disappoint you. I will restart the economy, make it grow again and bring justice to all the problems our state is facing. And I will start it right now".

"You know what you have to do", says Caligula XIII. "So, do it quick. I know what is the punishment for what we've done".

"That is my understanding too", says Dove. "But why?"

The two former dictators don't answer a single word.

"Knowing that the punishment is death, why did you do this?" asks Dove, again, lighting a cigarette.

"For our children", says Caligula XII. "They are now safe, in the Empire Of The Pleiades".

All this is a lie. Well, at this point, both former dictators want the end to come faster. A long trial will force them to tell the truth. And when that will happen, things will not be well. Caligula XII might still want to save its life, but when she looks at Caligula XIII, with its bloody eyes... its look only says 'Do it faster! Kill me and do it without much interrogation'.

"I never knew you have children. But you sacrificed your lives and made the whole state angry, only for that? Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, do you really think your children will do things right where they are? Maybe, they will waste all money you stole from us, on gambling. And then? What will happen to them?"

Caligula XIII looks Dove straight in his dark eyes, with the look of a zombie.

"Listen, dictator, people will judge me for this. Now, please, do me a favor. I want to end this thing sooner. Can you send us to death faster? Everyone knows that we are guilty. I mean, why to interrogate us? Why to make things last longer? Just take us out of life".

Dove - Caligula XIV thinks for a few seconds and says:

"I understand that there is no or almost no way we can recover much of the money you stolen. So, I agree. It will not be a long trial. The public execution will take place today at noon. Until then, you will be token to the central square and exposed to the people. At least now, you will see those who you should serve, who voted you and who trusted you all this time".

Things go exactly this way. The two former dictators are token to the central square. There, they stay, tied with ropes by a tree. People gather around them, insulting them and spitting. This keeps on like forever. Time flows very slow. Caligula XIII is patient, waiting. On the other hand, Caligula XII is crying.

Then, at noon, Caligula XIV comes and says:

"I condemn you both to death, for violating the constitution, for not thinking about the people who you should serve and for money laundry. In fact, you did it all with your hands. What you both did is a scar on our history, that people will not forget soon. Your hands are dirty with blood. Our blood. I don't want to execute you and nobody wants to kill you and take all your sins. So, you both are condemned to drink poison and die, taking your own sins with you to the afterlife".

Saying this, Caligula XIV unties them and gives to each one a glass with poison. Not thinking much, Caligula XIII takes it and drinks it fast. Then, in a minute, it falls on the concrete and dies. Caligula XII refuses, but all the people shouts at it. Very scared and crying, it takes the glass and drinks. One more minute and both dictators are dead. All around, people shout of joy.

"It is a sad day for all of us", says Caligula XIV. "What they did is very bad and I hope nobody will ever do this again in our future. I want them both to be buried now, without any funeral. No priest is allowed. They must go to hell together with their sins".

**********

The next day, Caligula XIV sends ships to the moon, to annex it and make it an official part of the state. However, all is abandoned there. All people went away and he does not know where they left.

After four more days, he decides to enter the forbidden building. He promised that in his campaign. So, he takes the press and opens the door, wanting to show the whole planet what was kept secret from their eyes for such a long time. But, as gets inside, all he can see are plasticized papers, from the time of the founder of Betelgeuse VII, Caligula I. They show what was going on inside the star at that time. There are also other plasticized sheets of paper, made by Caligula XIII. They all show that Betelgeuse is dying. He notices the neutrino telescope and the daily measurements done by the former dictator.

"So this is it", says the ruling dictator, in front cameras. "It appears that the sun will go supernova. Instead of telling us the truth, they decided to lie. They saved their children and left us all here to die! What a shame!"

The dictator leaves the building, but the press remains. They discover a goodbye letter, written by the former dictators, placed near the neutrino telescope:

Dear people,

Caligula XII and Caligula XIII.