Wave Goodbye

I found him staring at a button.

"The outer defenses have fallen, is it ready?"

"Sort of."

"Explain."

"It'll send the wave out, killing any living thing outside the inner defences."

"I'm not hearing a justification for 'sort of' there."

"The wave will just keep going, through space, wiping out everything. Enemy forces, civilians, mindless creatures, everything."

"It'll wipe out all other life? Seriously?"

"I mean, the energy will probably dissipate after a few dozen light years, but can we justify-"

I leaned over and pressed the button.

Nothing happened.

"And that's why I disabled the weapon a minute ago."