Chapter 12 (Part 2)

The watcher shook his head. Even if she'd made one FATAL mistake, it wouldn't be fair not to give her one more chance...she WAS family after all.

Elsewhere....

Fire and pressure and the scream of tortured metal. Intense fires blazed across the emerald green landscape reducing forest and grassland alike to fields of smoldering grey ash. The defenders were caught off guard by the wind and many perished in the smoke and fires, writhing in agony. The day was turned to night, but laser and plasma blasts flew through the air, turning the night into day. From both sides rang out shouts of pain

Intense fires blazed over the vast emerald green landscape. Trees were reduced to piles of smoldering ash, the resulting wisps of smoke blinding the army who was desperately trying to hold the invaders off. Laser blasts screamed through the smog, yells of pains came from both sides, yet little casualties had been sustained on the invaders. The sudden attack had caught the inhabitants off guard and within a few hours, the entire world which was lush and full of life had been reduced to a burning inferno.

A rabbit was brutally tossed to the ground as the leader approached. Elsewhere the battle raged, but here it had been won. There was a circle of calm amongst the chaos. The assembled ranks of military might parted smoothly as a figure approached. When the rabbit looked up it was to see a plasma rifle pointed straight at his face.

"Anything to say, before your demise, rabbit?"

"You'll...never triumph...Shell..."

"Foolish words, so very foolish. I believe I already have won. I am feeling merciful, take him away, perhaps he will see the folly of his position in a day or two. In the meantime, let him suffer for his words."

Devan was amazed; almost half the rabbits had switched allegiance as soon as he'd arrived. The natives, a species of rather diminutive rats, had seen this all before when his original campaign had... faltered, as far as they were concerned it was a simple change of who was in charge. Planets seemed to fall over themselves in their rush to be conquered.

And yet... something was wrong. It wasn't like the old days, when you could rely on just a few hundred core fighters to control a world... this was a full blown military occupation, he ruled thousands... millions now, and it was as if somehow... they were waiting for something, some purpose or direction, as if he, Devan was of no consequence and the whole effort was for something greater....

Foolish of course, but he couldn't quite remember why he was doing this, he couldn't remember much of anything come to that, it was as if his brain had become detached from the rest of his body. He saw the world drained of color, heard things through wads of cotton wool, felt as if he were wearing a spacesuit. It was all this stress, all this work, getting him down and stressed out. When this was all over he could get some proper sleep, how long had it been since he'd last slept in a bed, a proper bed? The dreams didn't help either.

Devan noticed that the noise had died down; the battle front was now miles ahead of him. Most of the rabbits had surrendered, they were brave, not foolish. Victory was minutes away. Now he knew why he did this, for the taste of victory, for the thrill of winning and the burning desire to rule. Fire blazed across his mind s he prepared the words of yet another victory speech

And deep within his mind, the small part of him that looked out an analyzed the world wondered what he was doing and curled up even further in on itself.