It was a strange, sudden surge of empathy for a man she had once feared. Without even realising what she was doing, she moved closer.
She leaned over his command seat, the scent of her perfume mingling with the sterile ozone of the bridge.
She reached out, her slim, delicate fingers trailing softly across his face, brushing a stray lock of hair away from his forehead.
"But you must realise," she continued, her touch lingering longer than was strictly professional, "winning a few battles is far from enough to actually control a planet. You've won an apocalypse yourself, Hye. You know the blood and sweat it takes to hold a world. You know exactly what would happen if some random race came out of the blue and tried to snatch the kingdom you built with your own two hands, right? The resistance would be eternal."
