The general sat in his office with the plans for his next strike spread across his desk. The war had been going on for long enough. Their opponent had really never stood a chance, but they were dumb, naive. They didn't know when to give up and now, they would pay for it. The war would end tomorrow; the general would make sure of it. All hope of resistance would be squashed. You see, it's hard to form a rebellion when every rebel is dead.
The general smirked and leaned back in his chair. The heretics had done better than he had expected. They had killed a few of his men and had even come close to invading the general's own domicile, but he had just been humoring them really. The rebels had no idea of what he had hidden in his facility, but tomorrow, tomorrow they would know.
Sometimes he impressed even himself.
The general stood up and started towards his coat. After all, he had a big day tomorrow and it would be a shame to sleep through it. Almost the moment he reached his coat he heard a voice from across the room.
"Going home, general?"
The voice had a disturbing quality to it. The general could not tell whether it was man or woman, young or old. Odder yet, the voice spoke softly, but the general heard it as though they were speaking right into his ear.
The general turned on the spot searching for the person who dared step into his office. He pulled out his gun and walked to the middle of the room.
"Who are you?" the general demanded, "Show yourself coward!"
Again the voice spoke as though it was standing right next to him.
"So easy to be brave when you're holding a gun isn't it," the voice remarked, "How would you feel if it was to… disappear?"
Almost as soon as it was said, the general was holding nothing but air in his hands. For the first time fear started to creep towards him.
"Show your face," the general commanded, keeping his voice steady, "Face me like a man."
"Like a man," the voice mused, "What makes one a man? Or better yet, what makes you a man?"
The general slowly turned in circles attempting to locate the voice.
"Is it your brawn, your courage, your guns?" the voice spoke slowly as if it had all the time in the world, "Or is it your insouciance as you plan the murder of thousands of unknowing people."
At this the general felt some of the fear ebb away as anger replaced it.
"Those unknowing people are traitors to their country," he spat, "They are renegades who have betrayed the government which protected them. Every last one of them deserves to be burned as apostates!"
"Every last one. What of the children who get caught in the crossfires? Do they too deserve to be burned?"
"I don't give a damn how old they are," the general snapped, "Anyone who has relations with a traitor will be labeled as one."
"And that my dear general, will be your downfall."
The room's temperature seemed to drop ten degrees as the voice stepped out of the shadows. It was a hooded figure, with a black cloak that dragged on the ground behind them. The hood covered all but the lower half of their face, leaving their mouth revealed. They weren't all that big, but they nevertheless had an intimidating quality to them.
The general bit down his fear and stood his ground. "My downfall?" he mocked, "I am the most powerful man alive. No one is ever going to bring me down."
The figure walked towards the general. "You may be the most powerful man alive, but you are not the most powerful soul."
"And I suppose you are?" the general scoffed.
The being grinned and their smile sent shivers down the general's spine. The figure moved until they were standing face to face with the general. They then slowly reached up and lowered their hood to reveal the rest of their face.
The general's eyes widened in surprise. It was a girl. Not a woman even, just a girl. Her skin was dark and her short hair was an icy shade of grey.
The girl's eyes were yet the most disturbing thing about her. They were dark but had flecks of crimson and lapis throughout them so that it looked as though she held the galaxy in her eyes.
"Yes general," she whispered, "I am."
The general's breath caught in his throat. Her eyes seemed to be holding him in place, preventing him from shrinking away from her.
"You know it's almost cute. You think that you're scary with your big guns and your armies," the girl leaned in closer and the general could feel the cold of her breath as she spoke. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, dear General, but I've seen scary and you don't have his smile."
The general's heart raced and he felt a drop of sweat roll down his forehead.
"Your reign of power is over General," the girl announced, "I came here hoping to give you a second chance, but you have proven that you do not deserve one."
The general attempted to defend himself, but he was frozen. It was as if his mind was disconnected from his body and he no longer had control.
The girl stood in front of him and raised her hand as his heart stopped.
"Good-bye General."