The night was dark and misty, and a pair of curious eyes watched a man's black-clad figure through the glass pane in the door. They belonged to a teenage boy of slight build, with a skinny and frail body topped by an almost overlarge head covered with thick black hair. His features were handsomely unremarquable, like a dummy's, but his eyes stood out. They were tiny and pale, the pupils torn wide open, as if he had trouble seeing.

The moment the man was out of sight down the street, the boy pushed the door ajar, slipped out of the empty building and jogged in the opposite direction, sticking to the shadows and clutching a thick, square package wrapped in plastic bags to his chest. He was obviously in a hurry. His breath came out in short bursts of steam that mixed in with the fog as he glanced around him, his eyes constantly searching the streets for anyone who might wonder what a teenage boy was up to, out this late at night. Best not to be seen.

Finally, he reached his destination. It was a tasteless cubic steel-and-glass office building that looked as out of place amongst it's elegant stone neighbors as a rocket ship, and a rather squat one at that. Although it appeared to be empty, the boy was awaited. As soon as he stepped up to the door, it was buzzed open. Without hesitation, he pushed it, slipped through the gap into the dark entry, bypassed the elevator and started climbing the stairs.

When he arrived at the top, he found himself in a front room with three identical doors. Here, he hesitated, breathing slightly harder than before from his climb. But then the door on the right opened a crack to allow a set of eyes similar to his own to peer through, then swung open to reveal a middle-aged man who could have been the boy's father. He had the same large head and his pupils were enormous against the surrounding white. When they rested upon the boy, a flash of recognition went through them and he swept the door back to allow the boy entry before silently shutting it. Inside the windowless room, he gazed again at the teenager and spoke with a low voice in a language as of yet unheard by any human.
„Have you got them?“
„Of course“, the boy answered disdainfully. „It was easy. Their security is terrible.“ Smiling slightly, he walked to the lone table in the center of the room and placed the package on it.
„See for yourself.“
With visibly trembling fingers, the man slowly unwrapped the plastic bags and revealed a large sheaf of paper. Reverently, he read one by one the printing on each, and with each new sheet, his face darkened. Finally, he pushed them back.
„It is much as we thought. The empress will have to be alerted immediatly.“
The boy frowned.
„So there is no hope for the earthlings?“
„There might be. Most of the species of this planet are innocent. If her majesty is agreeable, we might be able to save some of them.“
„And the humans?“
The man gestured wearily at the stack of paper.
„They are insane. They play with forces beyond their control. I have never, not in all my travels of the universe, seen such a talent for destruction. If allowed to run unchecked, they will one day destroy this universe without ever knowing what it contains. No, they must be annihilated.“
He wrapped the paper in the plastic bags again.
„Come. Let us leave this planet. Get back to home. We must show the results of these „nuclear bombs“ to the empress. She will decide.“
He glanced at the watch on his wrist, which he had acquired to keep track of the time he spent on this godforsaken planet. It informed him that according to humans, the 21st of December would start in a few minutes.