General Cosma stood at the head of the small shuttle just behind the pilot's chair lording over her domain with a steely eye. Her soldiers sat stiffly in their seats with their weapons resting softly on their laps. The rest were aboard the human ship patrolling and ready to quell any sense of uprising. She knew better than anyone the kind of problems humans can cause. Break their spirits, not their bodies, they have this way or rebuilding themselves when you break them apart.

She had proof of that too.

The human "Captain" Slumped on his knees at the center of the ship. His hands were tied behind his back, his wrists locked to the ankles of his legs. His head was bowed, the human did not move. She was quite pleased with her soldiers, with herself. After the war she had spent many long hours planning her revenge against the humans. She was forced to learn about the squishy disgusting creatures in her search for answers.

The Galactic Alliance should not have made access to medical and psychological studies so widely available. With the help of the rest of the Drev they had perused these documents to find the truth of humans, their true weakness. Sickness wouldn't do, injury wouldn't do. Physically, the creatures were surprisingly hard to kill, and she didn't wish to kill them.... She wished to do something worse.

She could see it now in the posture of the human, the defeat written alone the lines of his body as he lay kneeling at her feet. The human that had killed her mate, and the closest human to the Galactic Alliance she could think of. The other Drev tribes spoke with each other about alliance with the galactic community, a thought that made her skin crawl and her insides burn. The last thing she wanted was an alliance, she wanted war, she wanted to destroy them all for what they had gone and done. It would take much longer for her plans to unfold on a galactic level, but, for now, she would take her personal revenge.

Looking down the line of her soldiers, she caught sight of the bright metallic blue shape hunched in the darkness of the back corner. It was quite a beautiful color for carapace, rather rare, but it hardly mattered when the height was taken into consideration. Cosma's daughter, Sunny. Compared to her elder brother, since birth had failed to maintain family expectations. Even despite her good breading, she had been born to short, to stubborn, and with too much a mind of her own. She had embarrassed the family repeatedly for years and years bringing Cosma to the brink of just letting her go in the volcanic lands. She wasn't a particularly good soldier, but she had played her part this time.

She was a good spy.

Cosma had come up with the idea during the night while reading over one of the papers, slowly trying to peace out the strange alien language coming across something called "pack bonding". Apparently humans had the capabilities to socially bond with pretty much anything. It was strong enough to bond with other species, and even with inanimate objects. They were known for being surprisingly gullible and trusting if given the right circumstances, so she thought..... it couldn't hurt, but who would be expendable enough to try.

A daughter desperate to win her mother's favor perhaps? Yes.... That would be good enough. She would be small enough for the humans anyway, less threatening.

And it had worked, Worked so much better than she could have imagined. She chuckled at the thought. The human actually seemed to have thought they were allies, friends even. Oh how niece could he have been. Like a Drev could ever be friends with a human. Besides, even Sunny wouldn't have been stupid enough to foster such a bond. Friendships weren't for rue soldiers, and Sunny was desperate to be a good solider.

Outside, in the vastness of space, the reflected light of their moon broke through the darkness cutting through the window and onto the human's porcelain skin. It was a stomach churning sight, like the dried skin of a maggot, or a mossworm. She stepped forward grabbing the human below the chin and lifting his head.

He didn't bother to fight against her hand. One green eye stared bleakly out at her from the creature's face. She turned his head towards the window, "See that, worm." The green eye failed to focus for a long moment, she shook him, "The moon." The human pupil locked onto it, and an odd dark shadow upon its planet-side surface. She let him go, "The Galactic Assembly does not have a monopoly on technology. Our scientists developed it, a device that can sense and disrupt warp tunnels, quite the feat don't you think?"

The human said nothing dropping his head once again, "We've been waiting for you for a while... did you know, information is also sent through warp tunnels, your radio signals. They wouldn't make it across the universe otherwise. Much faster than that ship of yours, but if you have a signature, you can catch them. That Vrul of yours is a very astute little weevil, and he has a habit of recording your plotted courses in his transmissions to the Galactic Assembly, Isn't that interesting?"

The human said nothing slumping even further towards the floor. The maggoty skin on its face was wet under the single eye.

Uh.... Pathetic. She walked past the creature kicking it over with a kick of her foot. It hit the deck with a clatter and a grunt. The soldiers that sat around looked on in humorless boredom. At the back of the shuttle Sunny was turned away.

"Daughter, come here." Cosma snapped.

When Sunny didn't move immediately, she was hauled to her feet, "That was an order, soldier." She hissed

Sunny looked at her with a blank expression. Her golden eyes, So much like Cosma's, were blank and unseeing as she stared straight forward.

They were entering the atmosphere now, and the shuttle rattle and jerked around them. Sunny reached for the side of the shuttle wall to steady herself. Cosma watched the movement as she did. Something was strange about her daughter, something in the way she moved. It was oddly.... Predatory, not like a warrior, but like something else, was it the way her eyes moved, slowly tracking the moving landscape both inside and outside the shuttle. Whatever it was, it was hardly the Drev thing to do, and it made her uneasy. She would have to speak with Sunny about that in the intervening hours.

The shuttle landed against the stone with a rocky thud that jarred the two of them forward. Cosma took a few steps forward to balance herself. Sunny kept her grip against the outer edge of the shuttle. As the engines shut off and began to cool, Cosma slapped her hand against the release button, "Watch the worm." She ordered her soldiers, pushing outside and onto the rocky, moss covered face of the Drev homeworld.

Behind her, Sunny took a few hesitant steps pausing to look up at the sky and the volcanic ash which blotted out the sun. The landscape was awash with the red haze of the filtered sunlight. Distant dwelling crouched in the moss interwoven with small specks that were, clearly, other Drev.

Cosma walked the two of them away from the ship pausing to look down at their village, just on the outskirts of the fertile belt. She liked it here, with their backs against the volcanic lands, they had a greatly defensible position. She didn't bother to look at Sunny as she stared down at the village, "Your report, soldier."

There was a long silence, Cosma turned to look at her with annoyance, and only then did Sunny speak, "You got what you wanted, what is there to report?"

Cosma's movement was almost too fast to be perceived, and the slap landed with a sharp crack Sunny's head jerking to the side. Cosma stepped back arms crossed a muscle in her cheek twitching, "Don't you dare backtalk me, I want to know why it took you so damn long! You were out there almost a year cavorting with the creature that killed your father. And it seems that a year hasn't done anything to curb your insolence."

Sunny slowly turned her head back to look at her mother, "I don't fly the ship, General, I don't decide where we go; that's the captain's job. Plus we stopped on Earth for a few months, and that wasn't in my power either."

Cosma barked a sharp tone of bitter laughter, "Taking orders from humans..... wait..... earth you say?"

Sunny paused, "Yes?"

Fire sparked in Cosma's eyes, "You've been to their homeworld?" When sunny said nothing Cosma began pacing very suddenly and excitedly up and down the outcropping, "You know where it is, you could take us there. Oh daughter..... this is better than I could have planned." She turned to look at Sunny, "Do you understand what this means?"

Sunny shook her head as Cosma beamed teeth gritted, "You have finally managed to do something right."

Cosma turned away unaware of Sunny's reaction if she had one at all, the possibilities of knowing the location of the human homeworld was too exciting. She had so many plans, plans that would be fulfilled all thanks to her daughter. Who would have thought something so ludicrous, but it was true.

***

Captain Vir knelt at the center of the ship head hanging low, heart hanging even lower. How could he have been so stupid, so trusting? It was so obvious, you couldn't trust a Drev, especially not the Drev that mutilated you on the field of battle, and now he was going to die, his crew was going to die, all because he was so stupid and so trusting.

He felt hot tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, once he would have fought them down, but he let them flow freely now, what did he have to loose, his dignity? That was already gone. Small dark droplets thudded softly against the shuttle's metal floor. His entire body hurt, his soul hurt, and he was attached to it, the LEG, a piece of her, the very symbol of his idiocy and trusting nature. He desired nothing more than to rip it off and throw it across the room, scream and curse, rip this entire damn planet apart. The Courts had been right, he had been a fool, he should never have brought her aboard the ship. Inside his chest, his heart twisted with a terrible constricting beat that closed up his throat like that bitch still had him around the throat.

He squeezed his eyes shut as thoughts of his fallen crewmembers flashed through his head. Krill lying lifeless over the seats. His lieutenant bloodied, his coms expert twisted into a horribly painful position, and his dog lying whimpering and unable to move. The surge of hatred that followed those images could have torn him apart, would have torn him apart if he let them, but instead the flow of tears only increased in intensity as he stared at the floor below. Around him the Drev soldiers stared on in silence.

A loud clatter at the back of the shuttle, and he glanced up from under his bowed head to see the General step in, trailing Sunny in her wake. He could barely look at her, the traitor, could barely look at those blank, and unfeeling eyes. The general stopped to stand over him hooting with sadistic glee as she dragged him to his feet by the hair. He gasped in pain and struggle against her. He tried his best to keep his feet as she dragged him towards the exit, "Look at what you've done, worm." She laughed, "You've condemned your entire species to destruction. You idiot, giving away the coordinates of your home planet." More cutting laughter, "Once I'm done with you, your planet is next."

Even to his own ears, the sound Adam let off in response to the revelation was horrible, a strangled sob mixed with a pained scream, not physical pain, but horrible psychological pain. His cry broke across the open space bouncing outwards and down the hillside. Heads snapped upwards to look at they passed, as he was dragged down the dark obsidian pathway ad towards the center of the village where a large circle was carved into the stone.

He was thrown to his belly there tears wetting the rocks turning the black stone blacker and washing away the dust. His mother had been right, and now, because of him, they were all going to die. His brothers, his sister, his Neace and nephew, his father. He had condemned them to death

What had he done?

Around the circle, other Drev had begun to congregate, watching the spectacle with their impassive, angular faces multiple hands and arms still occupied with their earlier tasks, now forgotten. The traitor stood in front of him, but he couldn't look at her.

The general stepped over him, still laughing as she raised her staff, and brought it down against him with a hard crack. He gritted his teeth against the pain, unwilling to give her anymore satisfaction with his cries.

She chuckled, "Don't worry, worm, I'll make this slow." She lifted her head to the other Drev, ranting and raving like a madman speaking of revenge, of her dead mate, of the war. As she spoke she grew in frenzy. Looking around, the captain was confused to find the Drev staring on blankly, a blankness that covered..... something more.

Her rant grew to a crescendo before she leaned down, "Earth is next," She hissed, and then spit out a string of umbers at him. For a moment, he couldn't tell what the words were supposed to mean. Suddenly, it dawned on him..... Coordinates. His heart sank, but, something was wrong. He ran the numbers over in his fuddled mind for another long minute. As he did, his heart quickened, he ran them again, and as he did once, twice, three times, a sharp bark of laughter broke from his throat.

The general stepped back in shock and confusion. The laughter grew from choked to manic, until he was howling with it. The tears that now ran down his face were tears of mirth, he looked up at her through bursts of laughter, "You.... Idiot."

Anger in her eyes, the general lunged forward slamming him back against the stone. He felt the leg of his pants rip as they caught against stone. The breath was driven from his lungs, and the laughter cut off.

"What are you laughing about you insolent maggot."

"Those.... Aren't.... coordinates to... earth." He choked out through his gasps. She stared at him uncomprehending. He couldn't help the laughter, "Those are the coordinates, for the black hole in Messier 31. In other words NOT coordinates for Earth, but the supermassive black hole at the center of Andromeda you absolute fuckwit, not even in the right fucking galaxy."

The laughter broke from his throat again.

She stood in terrible anger jabbing her staff towards him, "You LIE you-" She paused suddenly, her eyes dropping down to his legs, and the torn fabric. Her eyes widened and then narrowed.

With a quick jab, she cut the fabric the rest of the way, and the two pieces fell apart to reveal the glittering prosthetic, and the metallic carapace, which covered it.

A gasp filled the square, the General froze in place her body tensing fire igniting in her eyes. She turned towards Sunny who stood outside the circle. Her blank expression had grown to one of absolute and sadistic satisfaction.

"What did you do....." The general choked out.

She bared her teeth at her mother in a very human snarl, "What's wrong, mother, did someone ruin your execution."

"YOU, YOU...." She suddenly deflated, taking a deep breath, "No matter, I can still duel him. It will be like an execution anyway, and THEN. I deal with you."

"No mother, you deal with me NOW."

Her voice rose so the entire village could hear, "General Cosma, I Weapons Officer Sunny challenge you to a duel!"