the orbit of Collizon. Just as the Xanart had predicted, the stream of super-heated plasma was able to emerge from the yellow dwarf star and cover the required distance to the intended target. It was a shame to have to kill Claggit and his assistant; they might have been of some limited value in future weapons development. But, the theoretical basis for the emitter weapon was now known to the Bardomil scientific community, which meant that bigger and more powerful weapons could be developed. And, more importantly, they could be developed without the risk of betrayal by aliens whose loyalty to the Empress was, at best, questionable. There would be no security leaks from the Imperial Ordnance Laboratories about this new emitter weapon.
The one remaining question was now whether the plasma stream would still have enough destructive power to wipe out everything on the inhabited planet. The scientists with their computer models and complex calculations had assured the Empress that there would be sufficient strength in the plasma flow to engulf Collizon three times over. The proof of the pudding, as the Empress well knew, would be in its eating. Computer models had been wrong before and costly mistakes had been made. But, this was one project the Empress was determined to see work. The scientists, like the senior military Officers were huddled at their stations hoping for a good outcome to the test. When the consequence of failure was a short trip out of an airlock, checking, double-checking and even beyond triple-checking became a way of life.
Silently, her black-orb eyes shining with anticipation, the Empress sat on the edge of the large throne. Scanning the four curved screens in front of her, she counted down the minutes and seconds until the super-heated plasma impacted with the atmosphere and surface of the planet. When it finally struck Collizon, the Empress stood up, her beautiful angelic face twisted in a snarl of evil delight. Fixing her gaze on the second screen, the Empress saw the live-action images of the destruction of a planet with millions of living creatures on it.
The first snaking tendrils of plasma swept in from the solar eruption and, for a few moments, it looked like the planet’s magnetic field was going to protect the vulnerable world from the scorching horror. But, to the delight of the Empress there was just too great a volume of super-heated matter. The initial fingers, deflected away by the magnetic field, flared up like huge white hot waves crashing against the seashore as they surged out into space. With her fists clenching and her face growing into a mask of anxiety, the Empress watched as the following waves of plasma overwhelmed the magnetic field and were drawn down by the planets gravity, through the atmosphere to the defenceless surface.
Within moments, the deep emerald green oceans began to boil and evaporate causing a huge billow of white steam to radiate away from the first impact site. Fractions of a second later, the following waves of super-heated plasma scattered the ocean steam as it began to lick voraciously at the golden land masses of the planet. The great waves of searing death splashed onto the surface of the planet, and within a few seconds were sending out a front of surging plasma that rapidly spread away from the impact that covered almost half of the northern continent. Like a puddle of white hot liquid being forced outwards by more liquid being poured into it, the plasma wave began to sweep around the planet.
On the planet surface, the humanoid Manuch and all of the other living creatures in the path of the scorching onslaught spent their final moments in abject terror before succumbing to the mercifully short sting of instantaneous incineration. From her throne, safe aboard the Taurai, the Empress watched in vicious delight as the great fiery puddle spread even further across the golden surface of the planet. The doomed planet, set on its course billions of years before,
The one remaining question was now whether the plasma stream would still have enough destructive power to wipe out everything on the inhabited planet. The scientists with their computer models and complex calculations had assured the Empress that there would be sufficient strength in the plasma flow to engulf Collizon three times over. The proof of the pudding, as the Empress well knew, would be in its eating. Computer models had been wrong before and costly mistakes had been made. But, this was one project the Empress was determined to see work. The scientists, like the senior military Officers were huddled at their stations hoping for a good outcome to the test. When the consequence of failure was a short trip out of an airlock, checking, double-checking and even beyond triple-checking became a way of life.
Silently, her black-orb eyes shining with anticipation, the Empress sat on the edge of the large throne. Scanning the four curved screens in front of her, she counted down the minutes and seconds until the super-heated plasma impacted with the atmosphere and surface of the planet. When it finally struck Collizon, the Empress stood up, her beautiful angelic face twisted in a snarl of evil delight. Fixing her gaze on the second screen, the Empress saw the live-action images of the destruction of a planet with millions of living creatures on it.
The first snaking tendrils of plasma swept in from the solar eruption and, for a few moments, it looked like the planet’s magnetic field was going to protect the vulnerable world from the scorching horror. But, to the delight of the Empress there was just too great a volume of super-heated matter. The initial fingers, deflected away by the magnetic field, flared up like huge white hot waves crashing against the seashore as they surged out into space. With her fists clenching and her face growing into a mask of anxiety, the Empress watched as the following waves of plasma overwhelmed the magnetic field and were drawn down by the planets gravity, through the atmosphere to the defenceless surface.
Within moments, the deep emerald green oceans began to boil and evaporate causing a huge billow of white steam to radiate away from the first impact site. Fractions of a second later, the following waves of super-heated plasma scattered the ocean steam as it began to lick voraciously at the golden land masses of the planet. The great waves of searing death splashed onto the surface of the planet, and within a few seconds were sending out a front of surging plasma that rapidly spread away from the impact that covered almost half of the northern continent. Like a puddle of white hot liquid being forced outwards by more liquid being poured into it, the plasma wave began to sweep around the planet.
On the planet surface, the humanoid Manuch and all of the other living creatures in the path of the scorching onslaught spent their final moments in abject terror before succumbing to the mercifully short sting of instantaneous incineration. From her throne, safe aboard the Taurai, the Empress watched in vicious delight as the great fiery puddle spread even further across the golden surface of the planet. The doomed planet, set on its course billions of years before,
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