Silhouette will be released on Saturday the 16th and you can pre-order the novella right now on Amazon. Below is a preview of the book. I hope you enjoy it.
Prologue
“We have murdered our leader, slain my friend, and now we must witness it.” The dark-skinned woman in voguish military garb walked away from her council table. She revealed a hidden screen from behind a bookshelf and initiated the recording. The video played for all of the council to see.
The recording began with the perspective of a fly on a wall in a stately office. On one side of an ancient desk sat a man, and on the other a mystery. The man wore a blue suit with a red tie. Sweat dripped from his brow. The strange being across the desk was lanky, yet alluring, and sat perfectly still.
“This agreement will protect Erde from further atrocities and bring culture and new technologies to our world,” said the man. He was Archon Pewts, leader of humanity’s most populated planet. “No nation was ever ruined by trade, they say.”
“Indeed,” said the alien being through an unmoving, vocalizing orifice. The only part of its body which moved were its scanning eyes. “Giving us permission to enter your planetary sphere will allow us to stop others from harassing your world. Granting us access to your DNA library will prevent my people from scavenging for it along all of the human lands. We Pheeb will come to your world, Erde, and share it with you. Your humans will be welcome to visit our worlds once you are capable of reaching them.”
“Our technology isn’t there yet, Ambassador,” said the Archon, “but with your help, it soon will be.” The Archon raised a glass of clear liquid to the being from the Pheeb.
“I will toast with you to that,” said the being. It raised its glass but did not drink from it. “Now, let us sign and make our promises official.”
A shadow slithered out from behind the grey, silver-lined draperies and darted around the table, sliding behind the alien being. Arms extended from the darkness and struck hard at the alien’s neck. The Pheeb recoiled, but the shadow jumped high and wrapped its arms around the being’s head, pulling down with its momentum over the back of the chair, breaking the creature’s neck. The Pheeb fell from its seat and collapsed to the floor, still and lifeless.
“No!” bellowed the Archon. The most powerful man alive jumped from his seat and backpedaled, pushing himself up against an immense window which overlooked the night lights of the capital city. The pitch-black figure rose from its kill and walked toward the Archon. “No! What have you done? We would have been protected. Erde would finally have been safe from….” A blade crossed his throat. The Archon slid down the window and sat against it, his hands pressing tight into the gushing wound.
The shadow threw the blade to the ground and walked over to the room’s shelving. It plucked the camera from its hold and ended the recording. The video paused on the final scene: a black silhouette looked into the camera, and over its shoulder the Archon had collapsed into a pool of his own blood.
Chapter 1: Shades of Home
“Millennium V, a Leviathan class cargo ship was hijacked at 2300 standard yesterday en route to Erde by way of Fujisan. Yarlian gangs, we believe. They wanted nothing with the ship, only its contents. Killed the entire crew. Jettisoned their bodies. Took every last ounce of cargo aboard and left the hollowed out vessel to float through the cosmos. Contractors from Erde were sent to recover the ship.” Ticker stood at a large, wooden dining table as he addressed his peers. Heavy curtains covered the windows. Assorted table lamps supplemented the soft lighting of the homey room. “Erde was furious. Leaders demanded action by the Intergalactic Senate, but their voices went unheard. The people of Fujisan could only mourn their losses without aid from the community. They don’t have the resources or technology to go after the attackers.”
“That is why we are here,” said Presider Folami. “Humanity needs representation in the Senate. For too long we have been ignored by the intergalactic community at large. Our individual worlds do not have the necessary resources to defend themselves against alien threats. We need strength, unity.”
“Cooperation,” said the shadow in the doorway. All faces at the table turned toward the apparition. The figure melded seamlessly into the darkness of the room beyond. The shadow stepped forward, revealing its petite frame. Its matte-black suit blended with the shadows, and as it walked into the bright lights of the meeting chamber it still appeared as if it was caught in the shade.
“Yes,” said the Presider. All eyes turned back to the Folami. “Cooperation. We are all here, every one of us, because we strive to rebuild the Cooperation. There are a dozen human worlds, and each one is under constant threat of alien misconduct. Yarlian gangs continue to raid our trade ships, all but uncontested by our own defenses. FF scavenger ships pilfer our unprotected satellites and space stations. Planet Nye is enslaved by a Burmin mining corporation. Secretary Richards, your planet’s moon has become an established outpost for an unknown entity without your permission. People, leaders within your homeworlds, the time to act is now.”
“But how we act is important,” said a stocky man in a brown suit which was adorned with golden pins. “This woman in the black outfit, she is an assassin. She murdered Archon Pewts by your orders. She’s been the cause of other deaths, havoc, and destruction. We have yet to even see her face, so how can we trust her? You call her an ally; I call her a menace. We cannot continue to be so ruthless. Political negotiations are the path to rebuilding the Cooperation.”
“We must do what is necessary, Minister Rivera.” The Presider’s voice erupted with rage and sorrow. “Victor Pewts was a man I called friend. He was a good man, a man with a family, but he was leading Erde down a path that would only worsen humanity’s standing in the galaxy, one that would divide us even further. He acted as he thought was right for his people, but he failed to see the larger picture. His beliefs could not be swayed.”
“And at the upcoming Erdian Delegation Meetings you seek to replace him,” said Rivera. “You killed a world leader so that you could succeed him.”
“We are at war, Minister.” The Presider struck the table with her fist. “Humans are politically insignificant. One of our planets is enslaved and no other entity cares to take note of it. Our people—not Erdian, not Nyian, not any one planet—but all of our people, humans, we are being mistreated and murdered by numerous alien factions without the intergalactic community even batting an eye for us. We must act now before humanity is reduced to nothing more than a scattering of tribes as the alien factions take over our worlds, one by one.
“Our operative Silhouette is a vital key to our success. She does what needs to be done by the Presider’s command, my command, like the Enforcers of the past.”
“The Enforcers were more than assassins,” said Rivera. “They were diplomats as well. One would have the sense to enter a discussion at the very least before killing someone in the name of the Presider.”
“We do not have the benefit of the power the Cooperation once held long ago where we could spend time on political discussions,” said the Presider. “No one outside of this table fully knows who we are and what we are striving to achieve. You, the other leaders here at this meeting, and I deal with the politics. Silhouette handles everything else. I will say no more on this topic. We have more reports and planning to get through.”
The Presider looked around the table and met the eyes of each individual. Once satisfied that none would voice anymore concerns, she turned her attention to the shadow in the room. “Silhouette, you may leave. I will speak with you later.” Folami waited for Silhouette to exit, holding on to the silence and tension in the room until all of the world leaders at the table returned their gaze to her. “Ticker, thank you for your report. President Dawkins, how went your talks with the Ethnarch of Revel?”
“As expected, Presider. He sees no benefit in joining our cause.”
Silhouette left the safe house, sneaking through the city’s dark alleys and then crawling through a window into an abandoned building’s basement. She stripped off her shadowsuit, which was similar to peeling the darkened skin from a ripe banana, and pulled out a pair of flats and a periwinkle dress from the purse she had stashed in a rusting file cabinet. She rolled up her shadowsuit, tucked it inside the purse, and carried it over her shoulder as she exited through the back doorway. “Guess I’ll head home for a bit.”
* * *
Susan Singh stepped through one of the public gates at Mercado Square, her encrypted identification cards preventing the transit system from tracking her movements, ensuring that no one could follow her. A series of transports later and she was on the other side of Erde. She always took the long route home.
Her apodment hovered high above Crater Bay, a cube among thousands which slowly orbited around the bay area. The cities below were electric, full of bright lights and regulated chaos. The bay waters were a dark pit of tranquility in the heart of it all.
Sue entered her home, removing her dress and flats as she walked through the living space. Her skin was white as cotton, marked only by dark bruises, many old and some new. She undid her ivory hair, letting it fall to its full, wavy length, and with her fingers she caressed the translucent strands, massaging her scalp as she entered the bathroom and stepped into the steamwash. She took a quick peak at the mirror before it fogged over and saw that her small frame was well toned, but she also noticed that her hands were scraped and scabbed, the dried blood matching her crimson eyes.
She bathed and rinsed. The drymoist passed over her body like a ribbon of desert wind, followed by a spritzing of coconut-scented moisturizer.
Sue pulled on her nightwear and sat in front of the mediabay. Displayed were all of her favorite media outlets. The Presider, Erdian Vice Archon Folami, and perhaps soon-to-be Archon of Erde, was featured on half of the stations. Sue’s eyesight focused on a particular broadcast and the mediabay brought that station to the foreground.
“Yes,” said Folami. “Victor Pewts was one of my dear friends. His family and I had gathered many times over the years, and though he is our Archon, his family had always treated me as one of their own. He was like an older brother to me.”
“My condolences, Vice Archon Folami,” spoke a reporter, “but now that Archon Pewts is gone, do you see yourself as the next Archon?”
“That is for the Erdian Delegation to decide,” said Folami.
“But you have not always been in favor with many of the Delegates,” said the reporter. “The position is yours by right. Do you fear that the Delegation will stray away from tradition and vote for another to take Pewts’ place?”
“Now is not the time for such talk,” said Folami. “My friend, our leader, is dead. Let us respect him and his family by giving him some time of remembrance before we move onward with the politics. Give the man that much. Erde was not built in a day. It will not collapse in a day either.”
The mediabay sensed Sue’s waning interest and suggested other outlets for her viewing. Sue’s eyes scanned the sidebar and found a sci-fi movie she had been meaning to watch. “Warlocks summoning sentient souls to possess robots and take over the universe,” she said to herself as she read the description. “Sounds like a perfect popcorn flick to me.” The bay selected the movie for her. She nodded off before the title screen had faded away.
* * *
Brrrrzzzzzp! Brrrrzzzzzp!
The mediabay buzzed. Sue pushed the throw pillow off of her face and sat up. Her movie had paused and been thumbnailed to the corner of the display. Through bleary eyes, she focused on the center of the screen where it read “Boss Lady Calling…” in gradually enlarging text.
Brrrrzzzzzp! Brrrrzzzzzp!
“Answer,” said Sue. “Yes, Presider?”
“Hello Sue. We need to meet. I’m already down by the edge of Crater Bay. Can you be at Coyote Hills in fifteen minutes?”
“Be there in ten.”
Sue slipped on her shadowsuit and left her apodment. One of Presider Folami’s personal transports was stationed outside of the doorway. Sue stepped onto the transport’s loading platform and sat in its lone seat. The stabilizing cushions puffed up, filling in around her body, and the transport shot off towards the public gate nearest to Coyote Hills.
The transport landed and Silhouette hustled over to the bayside park. Coyote Hills was one of the few places around the bay which had not yet been inundated with city lights. Despite the late hour Silhouette was able to quickly locate the Presider standing near a dry creek bed and saw that not another soul was out wandering the park. Silhouette was standing next to Presider Folami before the woman noticed her, but Folami did not startle.
“Presider,” said Silhouette.
“Sue.” Folami turned to look at her Enforcer, but all she could see was darkness. Silhouette peeled off her suit’s headpiece. Her bright hair gleamed in the dim moonlight, and her head appeared to hover in the darkness. Folami’s brown eyes met Sue’s red stare. “You must be well acquainted with the recent upgrades to your ocular implant, seeing as you found me so swiftly in the night.”
“I’m still getting used to the vision enhancements and stuff, but at least no one can tell that I’ve had the illegal modifications done. My Ocu isn’t just the standard media player that everyone else on Erde is getting installed these days, that’s for sure. ”
“No one will ever know.” Folami stepped forward and gave Sue a hug. “How are you, Susan?”
“Fine, Presider.”
“But are you well, Sue? Really? We haven’t been conversing lately, not as much as we once did.”
“There has been a lot of action recently, Presider. A lot of progress. The Cooperation has gained some serious momentum in the last year. We’ve been busy, is all.”
“That we have, Sue. Rebuilding the bridges of humanity is a difficult task. It has been taxing on us all.” Folami grabbed Sue’s hand. “Victor was a good man, but sacrifices must be made. For humanity to stand, we must be united. No individual is more important than the freedom and security of all sixty-billion of us spread across the dozen worlds. We are being dissected by the scum of the galaxy, decimated through our own self-created division. We must stand together.”
“I couldn’t have said it any better myself, Presider.”
“And you, Sue. You have had to sacrifice more than many of us. You have had to put aside your emotions, your heartache, for a long time. And your family. For all of these years that you have been by my side, I have known your true desire. I have asked you to bide your time, and you have done just that.”
“I’ve done what I’ve had to for the Cooperation, just as you have, Presider. My family will be free the day the Cooperation is reborn, and if that day comes later rather than sooner, well, then at least I know the people of my planet will one day be free. My father is a strong man, strong enough for himself and my brother. They’ll dig the mines for as long as their bodies can hold out.”
“Your mother was strong as well,” said Folami. “From the stories you have shared with me, she was stronger than anyone could have asked of her. She struggled through her sickness to care for her family. Your mother remained resilient as she stared down Death himself. She kept you out of trouble and helped build you into a strong person, despite her weakening body. She surrendered her remaining strength and put it into you, Susan. She sacrificed herself for you and your family. I believe it is time for you to make right the reason for her sacrifice.”
“Presider?”
“Susan. We have been preparing for this mission for a long time, the one only you and I have ever discussed. This is a task which will remain strictly confidential; not even the members of my council will know of this.” Folami put her hands on Silhouette’s shoulders and met her eyes.
“Susan. I want you to infiltrate the Burmin slavers on Planet Nye and destroy their Juggernaut, the orbital command ship of the invasive alien party. As you already know, the Juggernaut is not only the Burmin headquarters for the planet-side forces, but also a hub for Burmin galactic transport and communications, the keystone that holds together their planet-wide domination. It is time for you to free your family.”
Sue stood speechless. Her mind raced with thoughts and questions, and she turned away from the Presider, looking off into the dark hills. She watched the tall brown grass as it undulated in the soft nighttime breeze. The wind was brisk, salty. She turned her eyes to the stars above, focusing on the few twinkling lights she could see between the hovering apodments overhead.
“Why now, Presider? After all this time, all of this waiting. Why now?”
“In a few days time I will be elected as Archon of Erde by the Delegation. In a few weeks the inauguration ceremony will take place. In a few months many of my new policies will be voted into law and some real progress will be made. I am sure of all of this, and I can assure you that everything will go according to plan. I will make it happen.
“At the time when my aptitude as Archon is widely known, and my more radical ideas are called into question, it will be the aid that Erde gives to Nye which will propel the desire for cooperation among all of the human worlds. There will be an outcry of support as planet after planet joins our cause in the wake of Nye’s liberation. We will eradicate the Burmin menace from our section of the Verse, and then the Yarlian gangs, and then the rest of the scavengers and thieves that plague our space. But the liberation of your homeworld, Susan, that will be the spark which ignites the fire.”
* * *
Sue returned to her apodment where she grabbed her homehub tablet and swiped over to the appliances. Coffee. She flicked on the brewer, knowing that a long night of thinking lay ahead of her. A red square blinked in the corner of the tablet, meaning that someone had left her a recorded message via facemail. Sue activated the message and her friend’s face took over the screen. Sue swiped Linn off of the tablet and the image was projected in front of Sue as she walked around her home. The message played and Linn’s image followed Sue. When Sue directly looked at her friend they made eye contact, otherwise Linn’s image moved off to the side to avoid being in the way.
“Hey lady,” Linn’s voice rang out from the tablet. “I have to cancel our plans for tomorrow night. All of a sudden, Elise decided to have another party for her bridesmaids. You know if I blow off her gig she’ll have a fit. I don’t get this whole parade up to the wedding crap, but it is what it is. At least her douchebag groom won’t be there. Whatever. Let’s reschedule for Saturday? Get back to me. There’s this awesome beer garden down in Fusion Valley I haven’t shown you yet. We can hit up the Laugh Track after. Anyways, face me back!”
Linn’s smiling face disappeared from view as the message ended. A cup of pressed coffee waited on the counter. The aroma was light, floral, heavenly. Sue took the hot coffee, placed it on the parlor table, and then she cozied up on the couch, triggering the mediabay to resume the movie she had started earlier. Her coffee cooled as the opening scene unfolded. Sleep took her before she could take her first sip.
* * *
Thoughts raced through her mind as she transitioned from deep sleep to waking panic. The world spun. Her mind felt pressurized, like it was going to explode. Was she going to die? Memories of her family clashed with the possibilities of her pending decision. She could feel her thoughts as they overworked her brain. They were like a colony of ants running around inside of her skull. They itched. They stung.
Sue noticed that she was hyperventilating. Her fingertips were going numb. Calm, she thought. Calm down. Breathe. Her thoughts were out of her control, but she could restrain her breathing. Slow breaths. Her heart was beating too fast. She covered her face with a pillow and inhaled. Deep breaths. After a minute of focus, she had it under control. By concentrating on her breathing, Sue had also slowed her racing mind. She had regained her composure.
She had only then noticed that her alarm was beeping, and so she shut it off.
Could she do it? The mission was too big. Too much. What was Folami thinking? Her family: her father, her brother. She could save them. Smuggle them off of the planet to a safe place. But take down a command ship? Rescue a planet of people? Alone? There was no way. How could she ever presume to take on such a responsibility?
There was little time for her to recover from her panic attack as she had to get ready for an appointment with her trainers, not unlike any other weekday morning. Stand-up grappling was today’s focus. It was a grueling exercise and she hated it. Because of her small frame, grappling nearly any opponent was an uphill battle and she would never win a wrestling match, but there was reason for the training. She only had to pull her opponents close, eliminating any reach advantage they may have over her. The goal was to hold her enemies long enough to stab something into them or punch their throat.
She arrived at the gym, and during warmups she knew that her head was not going to be in it today. Her instructor took advantage of her distant mind and twisted Sue into some painful holds. She could not stop it, but she did not quite want to. The pain was a useful distraction and helped her focus her thoughts.
Worrying accomplished nothing. Sue had been waiting for this opportunity ever since her freedom was purchased by the Presider. She could set her family free, or at least she could try, and she needed to try. Sue was knocked down by her trainers, taking open palm strikes to the chin and wooden staffs to her sides. She was pinned into agonizing positions and held until she screamed, and through the pain she transformed her fear into fuel. Instead of fearing what she could lose, she focused on what could be gained. Now was the time. There was no longer any doubt in her mind as to what her decision would be.
Sue left her dojo with her body beaten, but her mind strengthened. She set off to meet with the Presider.
* * *
“When do we begin?” asked Sue. They met at one of Folami’s residences, a modest house set in the foothills of large, snow-covered granite mountains. It was the house where Leslie Folami had raised her adopted child, Susan Singh. The house they had both called home.
“I will soon be inaugurated, and so you must begin your journey immediately.” Folami moved a sheet of fresh baked cookies from the oven to the counter. “I’ll be signing bills into law before you even arrive on Nye. You’ll have some months to complete your mission, but when the time comes for Erde to attack the Burmin, you must be ready. Syncing the timelines is crucial, all must line up tactically and politically for this to work. Here,” Folami took off her oven mitts and reached into her pocket. She handed Sue a data drive. “Load this into your Ocu.”
“Anything new?” asked Sue.
“An updated timeline of events, a comm code so you can send me an encrypted message from inside the Juggernaut, the most recent information we have on the Burmin, and the coordinates of a man we’ll call X. He will provide you with more intel than we could have ever hoped for.”
Sue loaded the information wirelessly into her Ocu, the data becoming instantly accessible to her mind and stored for future use. “That’s quite a few things, Presider.”
“Sue, please call me Leslie. We’re alone here.” Folami put two of the cookies onto a plate. “Here, have some.”
“Sorry Leslie, and thanks.” Sue took a bite. Warm gingersnaps were her favorite. She could not help but continue to chew as she spoke. “So go on, explain the new things.”
“The timeline better lays out what I expect to transpire over the next six months politically, and when I need your mission to be completed.
“You will use the comm code to relay to me when to launch our attack on the Burmin with the Erdian armada. The Juggernaut must be destroyed or disabled before our fleet can move in, otherwise that behemoth will devastate our forces. Put together a plan and notify me forty-eight hours before we should attack, and there will be no contact before that to prevent the Burmin from breaking the encryption and tracking your location. I will not respond to any messages you send, and so you must trust that they will go through.
“You can read over the new intel on the Burmin when you find time. It’s not much, but I expect you will receive a great deal more from X. Your transport will depart on Sunday. Toruk, my pilot, will take you most of the way, and from there you will be launched in a dropcraft which will land in an abandoned quarry. There should be minimal Burmin presence nearby, but you will have to quickly vacate the area and make your way to the provided coordinates. You will find a farming residence. Inside will be X. He will give you all of the intel he has gathered on the nearby Burmin compound and anything else he can provide. I trust the man, but be cautious. We do not know if he is being watched.”
“Land on planet, get intel, infiltrate the Burmin compound, find my way up to the command ship, blow it up somehow, but give you a call before I do,” said Sue. “Got it.”
“Yes. Do not be overconfident, Sue.”
“Oh, I’m not. I’m scared as shit that I’m going to fail. If I don’t make it…”
“Sue.”
“If I don’t succeed, Leslie, Presider, you will still work to free my family, right?”
“Of course. Not only your family, but the entire planet of Nye, and all of humanity. We are all prisoners in one way or another as the situation currently stands.”
“I’m not talking about your life’s work to rebuild the Cooperation and unite humanity and all that. If I fail, I want my family’s freedom to be your top priority. Leslie, do I have your word on that?”
“It would be the least I could do for you. Yes, you have my word.”
“Thank you.”
“Leave now and prepare for your journey, Sue. You will be gone from this world for quite some time.”
“What about my stuff and my place?”
“They’ll be taken care of. Do not worry about your things. Be at the safehouse by dusk on Sunday. I’ll see you then.”
* * *
Sue flipped over the sushi restaurant’s menu, unable to make a choice. Her eyes were unfocused, distant.
“Would you pick something already?” said Linn. “The waiter’s going to be pissed if he comes back and you’re still not ready.”
“I just don’t have much of an appetite,” said Sue.
“Well, I’ll order for you then. Here he comes.”
“You two ready now?” asked the waiter.
“Yeah,” said Linn. “I’ll have the grilled soba. Get my girl here the Frostarc assorted nigiri plate and we’ll both have a double vodka with a splash of plum juice.”
“Linn! I…”
“That’s all for now,” said Linn. The waiter nodded and walked away. “You’re feeling down and I’m going to bring you back up. All drinks are on me until you start smiling again. What’s up anyway?”
“I, uh… it’s work,” said Sue as she brushed back the hair from her face. “I’ve had a big project dumped on to me all of a sudden. It’s a lot to think about, lots of stress.”
“Work is work. Don’t let it ruin your social life. Leave it at the desk.”
“If only it were that easy. Look, I’m going to be gone for awhile.”
“Awhile?
“Yeah, a long awhile. They’re sending me to another planet to do some research. It’s out in uh…it’s in a remote place. I won’t be back in the bay area for a long time and I won’t have any way to call you either.”
“Well that blows,” said Linn. “How long is it? Can you turn it down?”
“I don’t know how long, not for sure. Six months if it all works as planned, much, much longer if it doesn’t. Much longer. And no, they’ve got me pretty much locked in.”
“Government stuff?”
“Yeah, government stuff. I can’t really turn them down or I’d be in big trouble.”
“Is this because the Archon is dead?”
The vodka arrived just in time. Sue gulped some of it down, winced, and then took another swig. “Yeah, pretty much. Kinda sorta all about that.”
“Damn,” said Linn. “Well, it’s not like you haven’t disappeared on me before.”
“A little bit different this time, but yeah.”
“Ok. Well, finish that drink and let’s get another round. We’re hitting the town tonight.” Linn raised her glass and Sue did the same a moment later, clinking them together. “To tonight, because nothing matters more than the here and now!” Linn worked her way down her drink. Sue finished hers shortly after.
“I don’t feel better yet,” said Sue. “We better order a couple more.”
* * *
Thank God the Presider said to meet at sunset. Sue did not wake up until noon, and she struggled to remember how she had made it home. Flashing memories of last night’s wild party lights pained her aching head while her sore thighs and ass reminded her of the hours she had spent on the dance floor. She and Linn spent most of the night together, but there was one man who had grabbed her attention by the night’s end. She had fun with him, that was for sure. They danced together and later found a quiet place. She was alone with the dude for a couple of hours, but at some point Linn had called her and came to pick her up from wherever she was. She remembered getting into the car, both women laughing over something while the driver took them…somewhere. They got more drinks at a casino or someplace, and then….
She made it home, and that was all that mattered. Linn had left her a wakeup text. “Be safe on your trip,” it said. Sue was inclined to check her bank account to survey the night’s damage, but what did it matter? She would either be dead or have everything taken care of by the Presider. Nothing on Erde mattered anymore, but that was not true; she knew she was just being dramatic. It’s just that freeing her family was all she could think about now. Uniting humanity was a bonus, sure, but even that paled in comparison to finding her father and brother.
“Oh yeah,” Sue said to herself, grabbing her homehub tablet and flicking through the presets. “I almost forgot how smart I was.” She activated the hangover mode she had put together. All of the lights in her home dimmed to their lowest setting, her windows shaded themselves, coffee brewed, breakfast meats sizzled on their own, and on low volume a morning talk radio station started to play. The only thing she had to do for herself was reach over to her armchair and grab another pillow to put over her head. The crisp, cool pillowcase on her cheek was refreshing.
* * *
“Where is she?” asked Toruk.
“She will be here,” replied Folami.
Silhouette stepped forward from an adjoining room, fully covered in her shadowsuit.
“You’re late,” said the Presider.
“I was waiting to see how many people would show up,” said Silhouette. “You didn’t tell me that the pilot was going to be here. Will anyone else be stopping by? How much does he know about the mission?”
“You knew that Toruk would be your pilot for this assignment. He has been informed of nothing beyond his role to play, and no one else is here. Only us.”
“Good to see you again as well, Silhouette.” Toruk stood tall and was dressed in his formal pilot’s outfit, helmet and all. “Still spooks me every time you pop out of the shadows like that.” Susan knew the man; he had acted something like an uncle to her when she was still a child in Folami’s care, but he did not know who Silhouette was, and she had to keep it that way.
“Sorry,” said Silhouette. “Your presence surprised me is all. Can’t be too cautious.” She looked into the man’s dark brown eyes and wanted to say more. Sue did care for him, but Silhouette did not. It was business. Silhouette turned back to the Presider. “So nothing has changed, then?”
“Nothing,” replied Folami. Only the Presider knew who Sue was both with and without the mask. The lives of Sue and Silhouette remained separate, the Presider being the only link between the two.
“Toruk,” spoke the Presider, “I have no more directions for you. Will you please go prepare the ship for departure.”
“Yes, Madam Vice Archon.” Toruk left the safehouse and Folami stepped closer to Sue. “Toruk has been by my side for decades, and you’ve known him since you were a child. You do not need to be so discourteous toward him.”
“I know,” said Silhouette. “But I don’t want to reveal who I am. I’m afraid that if I talk with him I’ll give myself away.”
“A good Enforcer is diplomatic,” said Folami. “It is a skill you must improve upon. We will work on it when you return from your mission.”
“I have a couple of weeks cooped up in that ship with him to look forward to,” said Silhouette. “I’ll have to have some sort of conversation with him, I suppose.”
“Consider it more training, and a chance to get to know a man from another perspective. You will soon be longing for conversation, no doubt. This will be a long, lonely mission for you.”
“Yeah, unless I find my family.”
“You know that will be unlikely. Remember that freeing the planet will bring freedom to your father and brother. Do not endanger your mission by jumping off track and searching for them. Stick to the plan, Sue. It’s the only way we can ensure your family’s safety.”
“Yes, Presider.”
“Be safe. Be cautious,” said Folami. “Above all else, come home.”
“I am going home, Leslie.” Silhouette’s eyes welled up and her lips quivered. She scanned the area, saw no cause for alarm, then pulled off her headpiece and looked with affection into Leslie’s eyes. “But I will come back. I promise.” They hugged and whispered goodbyes to one another in a long embrace. “Thank you,” said Sue, “for everything.”
Sue pulled her headpiece back on and left the safehouse. The ship’s engines hummed a pleasant buzz and the moon was a full, bright beacon in the sky. She felt the humidity in the air, smelled the sweet flowers of the garden, tasted the salty tears which had dripped down to her mouth; Sue focused on her senses, wanting to fully experience what might be her final moments on Erde. Toruk waited in the cockpit, letting Silhouette take all the time she needed. She looked over to the nearby skyscraper skyline and followed the buildings up to the dark sky above. After all of these years, she thought, I’m going home.
You can purchase Silhouette on Amazon. The ebook is $2.99 and the print edition is $6.99. If you give it a read please leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads!
