Ser'Qiraani lost everything. Today was the worst day of her life. She's never lost like this before. Each of her plans was admirable. But today it all went wrong. Cha-Arun apparently succumbed to his desperation and lost his power. The armada of the League, approaching the Griffin, collapsed. She felt the League retreat in full force. She heard it. Trotskevich also could not stand it and dived into the "wormholes". Even his fearless officers rebelled. It was a day of grief and dishonor, the worst of the worst. All that Kossatian wanted now was to growl and roar at the top of her lungs. To take someone who comes across and tear them apart, cruelly and mercilessly. But no one stood in her way.
She ran as fast as she could to the spare hangar. It was there that the rescue capsules were stored. Cha-Arun prepared them in case they had to flee. Apparently, even such a powerful demon as he foresaw the possibility of a total collapse. The escape pods were controlled mentally. It was enough to get into such a shuttle and connect the necessary cable to the brain. The cable, as a rule, found its cherished goal on its own. After the connection was established, it was possible to send the capsule anywhere. The shuttles could even accelerate to the speed of light. They were advanced ships of a long-forgotten technology. The only thing left to do was get there.
Kossatiyka could no longer teleport. The psionic vortex that raged in the room with Cha-Arun made it impossible for her to jump. She couldn't even activate the cloaking system. So the hangar represented a great hope for salvation. If she gets there in time, she'll leave this stinky system right away. She probably won't be back anytime soon. If only with millions of ships and thousands of nuclear missiles that will destroy everything and everyone here.
But on the way to the long-awaited hangar, an unforeseen obstacle arose. She stopped abruptly and could no longer move. Owen the Burner appeared right in front of her. Until recently, they fought in that ill-fated hall. They fought not for life, but for death. And now he appeared before her, alive and unharmed.
- Well, your plan is amazing, right? Owen's question followed. "Isn't that right, lieutenant general?"
In his hands he held an Elfurr laspistol, capable of pulverizing any creature, even the most powerful-looking, with a single shot.
- As you yourself said, I must admire you, - the Burner continued his speech, without taking the otherworldly woman from the sight, - I am delighted. I admire your stupidity. And bad luck.
Ser'Qiraani growled furiously. Her eyes lit up with unimaginable fury. Of the weapons she had only one pistol, for which she quickly reached out. But at the same moment she heard Owen cock the trigger. His next move will be pulling the trigger. This movement will be fatal for the Kossatian.
"Weapons on the floor, please," the psionicist said with a grin, "Or I'll shoot him in the head." How then can you say you're amazing. If you're headless. Who would admire a headless corpse?!
With desperation and horror, Ser'Qiraani realized she must obey. She carefully took out a pistol and threw it down. At the same time, she continued to look at Owen with undisguised hatred.
- It won't save you, - she muttered angrily, - Don't hope.
- I wanted to tell you the same thing, - Scorcher smiled even wider, - This will not save you, dragon.
Ser'Qiraani's beautiful eyes flared again. Her incredibly sharp teeth popped out of her mouth.
“I am a cossatti,” the otherworlder croaked, trembling with insane fury, “No one dares to call me a dragon!”
- Exactly! - mockingly remarked Owen.
At that moment, a wonderful secret dawned on him. He immediately hurried to say it out loud. Inwardly, he hoped that this would anger the Kossatian even more.
- Dragons are noble and beautiful, - Scorcher said thoughtfully, - But you are not. You are not a dragon or a kossatian. You... are the demon we've been looking for. But still, what drives you?
Ser'Qiraani was about to explode. Owen knew that if she had a nuclear warhead in her hands, she would immediately blow it up. Of course, she could use her psionic power, but the elfurr present on the ship suppressed her. Totkhemris was strong enough to keep the Kossatian at bay even from a distance.
"I don't understand what you mean..." Ser'Qiraani snarled. "If you want to shoot, fall!" What are you waiting for?
"I want to know what drives you," was Owen's reply.
He had long wanted to know why the Kossatian agreed to this. Everyone, even the worst of villains, had a story to tell. There was no doubt that this dragon also had a secret that she would not want to reveal to anyone. But in this case, she simply had no choice.
- The coalition is evil... - the alien woman growled with great fury, - An evil that kills everything and everyone. Cha-Arun and all the other monsters, you think are right. Absolutely right. You always strive for conquest, for superiority. Completely forget that there are other beings. We are cossatti.... We have become just toys for you. The coalition will not last long. She will split. How do empires crumble? I know it, Owen.
"So you just wanted your race to be noticed?" - Scorcher asked with interest, still continuing to keep the alien beast at gunpoint.
"You know, I even liked you.... actually," Ser'Qiraani replied, "But okay... This is already redundant." Do you want to know why I did this? Marfur-Nirari showed me the future .... There is nothing bright in it, believe me. If we don't join him and the League, everything you know will perish. There is no other way....
"Because you think so," Owen retorted. "You believe it." Therefore, there is nothing bright for you! It all depends on your own thoughts! Marfur-Nirari and the League used you in the same way as Cha-Aruna. But that still won't save you from responsibility. The tribunal is waiting for you.
While the Scorcher kept his speech, the alien woman noticed that she was surrounded. Coalition agents appeared almost everywhere. Behind them, three fighters appeared at once. Left and right, two. And a little further behind Owen, the Elfurr sorceress had already drawn. She was surrounded on all sides. She no longer had any chance of salvation, even the tiniest one.
- Ser'Qiraani! You are under arrest for war crimes against the peoples of the galaxy,” Totkhemris User’Kaf’s loud words were heard, “You have the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer. seriously. You have too many sins!
- You are guilty of killing millions, - said Ishken Derkh, who appeared on the left side of the kossatian, - The destruction of half of the Griffin alone is a life sentence.