Chapter 13 (Part 2)


The watch ticked reassuringly as it dangled from Devan's hand,s winging idly, but then there was little else it could be expected to do. It had been built to resemble the old, gold pocketwatches of yesteryear, complete with pointless ornate engravings on the case, and inside, a clockface that passed the day slicing time into little bits.

Of course, the traditional pocketwatch didn't display the weather, newsfeeds, current military situation or the scene from the nearest surveillance device when tapped the right way, the figures dimly visible under the gently shifting hands when they were called up. Neither did any piece of clockwork Devan had encountered contain, when it was opened, an impossible mechanism.

Clockwork was rare on most worlds because it was as outmoded as the steam engine, unwieldy, slow and inaccurate. Certainly there were the odd antiques for sale, or custom made pieces for idiots who wanted to waste their money, but aside from that, what was the point? But this, this was different. It had been made by a craftsman and a genius. Not, obviously a genius like him, but someone who'd mastered a single trick as well as it was possible to do. Under the face lay an escherian arrangement of cogwheels and gears, clicking away silently to the step of the mechanism. But, and this was the important bit, some of the cogs passed through each other, as if they were smoke or some strange hologram.

The watch was very versatile, if you knew what you wanted to see, it was only a matter of a few taps to display it. It should have been gold, or a shiny silver. Perhaps even a midnight black with vague but evil inscriptions about it. Not gray. It looked as if it were made out of hard lead, you expected it to scratch when you scraped a nail across it. If dullness was a metal, the watch was made of it. But it did weigh a lot more than it should.

*Ahem*

Devan turned and faced the rabbit in the doorway. His memory was hazy about exactly who he was or why he'd decided to join, he was a mercenary of some sort perhaps, yes, that was it. It was getting hard to remember names and faces now, his entourage seemed to change with every planet he conquered. Had it been like this before? When he'd first swept across the galaxy? Had there been a before? Curses! The rabbit was staring. He needed some sleep, he was 'zoning out' more and more often these days.

'Yes?'

'We've caught a few lizards sir, they were trying to couple the input and output vents of the main generator, whatever that means.'

'It means a big bang... Anders... wasn't it?'

'Yes sir.'

'Lizards! Whatever happened to the days when you just shot anyone with fur eh?'

'I dunno, I still do.'

'You're an asset Anders. Take the prisoners to the top of the tallest tower around here and toss them off, I want people to see a... graphic demonstration of what happens to people who are foolish.'

'F*** yeah!'

'Indeed.'


And then he was gone, leaving Devan alone once more with nothing to do but plan the liberation of Quaoar and associated systems. All night long