Silhouette (11 page)

“Now! Now! Now!”

Davi squealed in surprise and slammed the door shut. Green lever. Red lever. A bleeding Burmin clawed at the transparent door, smearing it with blood but unable to pry it open. It fired blasts from its weapon which left dark scorch marks.

“Now, Davi!”

Red buttons.

They both slammed into the door of the pod as it rocketed off and away from the Juggernaut, forcibly reminding them of how physics worked as they crawled with great effort toward the seats. Sue pulled herself into one seat and then helped Davi climb in as well, strapping them both into one shared harness.

 
The launch rockets ceased and they were now free floating with only their harness to hold them in place. Sue let her entire body relax in a moment where she had no control over their fate, a moment where she could rest her overworked everything.

 
The blood on her fingertips had dried, but the skin had already started to blister. She placed her right hand on a flat disc that she thought was an armrest. The disc turned out to be the orientation controls of their pod and she swiped her fingers along the disc, angling their view back toward the command ship to see if they were being followed.

“Burmin ships,” she said. Davi woke from a dazed stupor at her words, turning his head and half-closed eyes to the view. “You can see them launching from the Juggernaut’s belly. They look like little fire bugs.”

“They’re going to find us,” said Davi.

“I don’t see any coming our way,” said Sue. A twinkling light caught her attention as it rotated into view. “Look! The core. There it is, floating just off the rear of the command ship.” Their pod continued to rotate, and Sue’s eyes welled as two large Erdian cruisers came into view, escorted by countless smaller crafts. “The Presider did it,” she whispered. Sue convulsed as she alternated between coughs and laughs, pain seeping into her voice as she allowed herself to feel it again. Davi rubbed his eyes with the fingers on his remaining hand and looked at his sister, then back to the view in front of them.

One of the Erdian cruisers fired a laser strike that landed squarely on the floating energy core, and the resulting explosion was a massive flash of light followed by a visual ripple across the entire hull of the Juggernaut. The back half of the Burmin command ship was vaporized and blown out into space in all directions, waves of debris and energy catching several escaping Burmin transfer ships in their wakes.

Sue activated the same message she had sent the Presider forty-eight hours earlier, resending the message every few seconds as she oriented the pod and altered its trajectory toward the Erdian fleet.

“We’re in a Burmin pod, Sue. They’re going to shoot us!”

“I don’t think so. Even if my message doesn’t get through, we’re a weaponless escape pod. They would want to capture us for interrogation if anything.”

Erdian fighters moved in and picked off the few transfer ships remaining in the nearby space, then they turned to fire more upon the Juggernaut itself. Some escape pods still managed to launch from the Juggernaut, all heading toward planet Nye, but the one Silhouette and Davi were in was the only one drifting toward the human ships. Several fighters moved in and surrounded the pod: one to the left, one to the right, one above, and one below.

“Where are they taking us?” asked Davi.

“To burgers and beds, I hope” said Sue. “Then we can go wherever you want, brother. You’re free now.”

“
Bahut dhanyavaad. For everything, Sue.”

The pod was pulled into the docking bay of one of the cruisers and several Erdians ran toward the craft. Sue unlocked the pod door. She was helped out of the ship and laid on a medical stretcher, as was her brother. They were wheeled across the bay to where the Presider waited to greet them. “Welcome home,” she said.

Epilogue

“Ground troops are transferring the Burmin compounds to Nyian control as we speak,” reported Ticker. “Minister Rivera has put together an economic team to help stabilize the planet’s economy, but we’re still in the process of bargaining with the Jjask to include Nye’s resources in the trade agreement with Erde. It will take some years for the planet to stabilize.”

“But stabilize it will,” shouted Minster Rivera from his table in the audience.

“Indeed,” said Ticker with a smile, pointing at Rivera. “In other news, eight of twelve human worlds have been officially unified under one common flag. This morning’s ceremony was broadcast across all of human space as leaders from various worlds gathered on Erde to celebrate the creation of modern humanity’s first official interplanetary government organization, the Cooperation.” The grand hall thundered with applause as dozens of diplomats sitting at tables with their families and friends cheered, having already eaten their celebratory dinner and now reveling in the commencement speeches which will mark the beginning of a new era for humanity.

“Before today’s official unification, we had already been hard at work bringing security to human space. Nye is now free. Space travel between human worlds is much safer because we have fought off the Yarlian gang ships. Our allies, the Jjask, have agreed to introduce a representative of humanity to the Intergalactic Senate and stand at her side, nominating her as a representative of a unified people, and giving her a voice for all of the galaxy to hear. She will speak before the Burmin have had a chance to retaliate, giving the senate evidence of their atrocities, and halting their revenge attacks before they can begin in fear of political retaliation from the galactic community at large.”

Ticker continued with his speech on stage, and backstage, waiting to take up the microphone, Leslie Folami stood with her shadow at her side.

“How are your injuries, Sue?”

“The lesions have mostly healed.”

“Good, and your brother’s new arm?” asked Folami.

“No issues, Presider,” said Silhouette.

“Come now, Susan,” said Folami. “No one can hear us. We’re alone in this room. Pretend you don’t have the mask on for a few moments.”

Silhouette sighed. When she was on duty she tried to lock out anything related to her as a person, but Leslie was her boss and adopted mother, and Susan had to obey her, at least most of the time. “Davi wanted me to tell you that his new arm is very ‘handy’ and to make sure that you got the joke. He also wanted to thank you for covering the expenses.”

“Excellent,” said Folami. “It is top of the line, with a few modifications of course. How is his training progressing?”

“He’s enjoying it. Davi spent his entire life doing hard, manual labor. The training exhausts him, but it makes him feel good. His body craves it, you know? He’s gained a lot of muscle weight and looks way different than he did when I found him in his cell.”

“He is going to make a fine bodyguard, I’m sure,” said Folami.

“I think so. You’ll need a few of them by your side if you’re traveling all the way to the Senate.”

“That is true. I would have you along as well if you did not have other work that needed to be done.”

Silhouette nodded. “Yes, Presider. When will we have a chance to go over the mission briefing?”

“As soon as we are done here, my dear.” Folami opened the door to their room and the sound of Ticker’s voice came crashing in. “Come. He is about to call for me. Stay near, but hidden.”

Ticker finished a joke which gave the audience a chuckle, and then he wrapped up his speech. “Ladies and gentlemen, please give a very warm welcome to your leader, the Archon of Erde, and humanity’s first Intergalactic Representative, Presider Leslie Folami!”

The Presider walked up the stairs to her podium and was welcomed with gleeful admiration while her shadow disappeared into the darkness.

About the Author

Arthur McMahon is an independent author of fiction and non-fiction, publisher, and outdoor adventurer.

Arthur’s passion for writing began as a child when he found that he preferred writing essays to taking exams. Having graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, Arthur enjoys recording the world which surrounds him. His backpacking journeys and other escapades have been recorded in numerous articles and in his own published trail journal, Adventure and The Pacific Crest Trail.

Fiction never loosens its hold on Arthur’s thoughts, especially the realms of science fiction and fantasy. Frostarc is Arthur’s debut novel, and his Silhouette novellas are set in the same space-pioneering universe. Reviews have praised Arthur for his suspenseful writing and exciting action.
 

As a self-proclaimed nomad and traveler, Arthur will always have new stories to tell. His latest works can be found in print or as ebooks on
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