by J. J. Green
Carl was watching her. He opened his mouth to speak then seemed to change his mind.
“Were you going to say something?” Jas asked.
“We should go through to the ship. We’ve got to jump. Mars won’t let us get away easily after that little stunt.”
“Was that all you were going to say?”
Carl shook his head. “Now’s not a good time.”
Jas winced at the ache in his eyes. Her heart was in her throat. “Maybe it is.”
He looked up, hopeful. “What is there to say, Jas? You know how I feel.”
“I do.” Her pulse was thumping in her ears. “And...I feel the same.” She carefully put the Paths down.
Carl moved closer. “You said once, until we get rid of the Shadows, it wasn’t a good idea to move ahead with a relationship.”
“I did say that.”
“But,” Carl went on, “isn’t that a good reason not to delay being with someone? Because we don’t know how much time we have left.”
He was right. Jas couldn’t argue with him, and she didn’t want to. But that old dread she felt was rising up in her again. She knew where it came from, and it was something that a trip to Mars couldn’t fix. She looked down.
“Jas,” Carl said softly. He brought his face close to hers, so that his lips were millimeters from her mouth. But he stopped. He didn’t kiss her. He was waiting for her to make the move. She had to decide.
She was frozen. Her feelings for Carl were equally matched by her terror of repeating the emotional devastation she’d experienced once before.
The moment was over. With a barely audible sigh, Carl moved away from her.
Jas couldn’t bear it. She couldn’t bear to let him go. Before Carl could move out of her reach, she grabbed him and kissed him. He held her close, his hands pressed into the small of her back. She was in his arms, his lips were on hers, and she didn’t want the feeling to ever end.
“Guys,” someone exclaimed.
With a terrible wrench, Jas and Carl moved apart.
“Sorry, guys.” Phelan was standing in the cabin. He’d entered unnoticed by either of them. “We need to jump, now. Mars Patrol ships are only ten minutes away.”
“Krat,” Carl exclaimed and ran out. “Get to your jumpseats, both of you,” he shouted behind him as he left.
“Where are we going?” Jas asked Phelan as they ran to the flight deck.
“Ganymede.”
“Ganymede? Why?”
“That’s where the Council told me to go.”
“You heard from the Council?”
“A message packet came through while you were on Mars. They traced me through my parents’ records. They’re going to meet us there. Prosper’s plotted the jump, but we need to get out of here fast.”
They burst onto the flight deck. Carl was already in the pilot’s seat. Everyone was strapped in and waiting for them.
“Get in your seats,” Carl barked, his hand hovering over the controls. The screen at the front of the deck displayed the surface of Mars. Four patrol ships were in view and growing rapidly larger.
Below them was Valles Marineris, Jas’ birthplace, a place she had feared returning to for so long, only to find that the ghosts of her past existed mostly in her head.
They jumped.
Shadow Battle
Chapter One
They’d been waiting for longer than an hour in the cold, bare meeting room at Ganymede Outpost for the Transgalactic Council officers to arrive. Jas Harrington rubbed her arms and tried for the hundredth time to find a comfortable position on her hard plastic chair.
“I thought they’d be waiting for us,” she said to no one in particular. “Why did they tell us to meet them here if they weren’t here already, or nearby? If they set out from halfway across the galaxy after they sent their message, we could be waiting or days, or weeks.”
The rest of the crew of the starship Bricoleur were ranged around the room. Carl, the pilot, had given up on attempting to fit his lanky frame into the too-small seats, and was leaning against a wall, his arms folded across his chest. A bulge around his middle was the sleeping form of his alien friend, Flux, inside his shirt.
“They won’t be coming by ship,” he said. “Council staff travel by Transgalactic Gateway. It’s instant.”
“Is it?” Jas had heard of Transgalactic Gateways, but she didn’t know much about them. Their use was restricted to Council business only and the technology was a well-kept secret. “So how come they’re taking so long?”
“Krat knows,” Phelan Lee, captain of the Bricoleur, muttered.
Next to him, his sister, Sayen, yawned. Jas envied the woman’s skin augmentation, which made her impervious to air temperature extremes. There was no way Jas could feel sleepy in that icy room. Though the government station at Ganymede Outpost had been built deep beneath the surface of the frozen moon, she’d detected little increase in warmth during the long descent by elevator.
Jas had also detected a little frostiness in the official who had met them on their arrival. It had caused her to wonder if Shadows had infiltrated the facility, but it seemed safe enough for the time being. Jas speculated that it might be living in freezing conditions that had made the Ganymede staff stand-offish.
“Well I’ve had just about enough of this,” exclaimed Dr. Sparks, rising from his seat. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to ask where our quarters are so I can get some sleep.”
“You can’t,” said Sayen. “You know all the important information about the Paths. You have to be here for the meeting.”
“I don’t think it’ll matter too much if I slip off for a while,” replied the doctor. “As Jas said, it could be hours until the Council officers arrive. It’s been a long, harrowing day and I can’t keep my eyes open a moment longer. Someone can come and get me if they want to talk to me.”
“Don’t go,” said Sayen. “If we have to find you and bring you back here, it’ll waste time.”
As Dr. Sparks and Sayen bickered back and forth, Jas frowned. She’d never liked the doctor and the more she got to know him the colder her feelings grew. Not only was he a bigot, but despite the efforts she and others had made to rescue him from his informal imprisonment on a Martian scientific research station, he hadn’t yet expressed any gratitude to them nor any sorrow about the alien empath who had died to save his life.
Sparks said, “It doesn’t matter what you say, I simply have to rest. Just send someone for me when the officers arrive.” He went over to the door, but when he opened it, the Ganymede official who had greeted them at their arrival was outside. She drew back, her eyebrows rising at the sight of Sparks.
“Um...the Council managers are here,” she said. “They’re on their way over. Could you move some chairs and tables back to make room for them?”
The woman indicated the furniture in the half of the room nearest the door. Jas wondered how large the creatures were.
They stacked chairs and tables in the corner while the Ganymede official stood at the open door watching the corridor. Her face broke into a smile as the Council officers presumably approached, though her smile was actually more like a grimace.
Jas sat down once more as scratching sounds from outside signaled the officers’ imminent appearance. The odor of vanilla invaded the room.
As the first officer appeared through the door, Jas sat up in her seat. She’d encountered many aliens during her career in deep space security, but nothing compared to what she was seeing then, not even in her worst nightmares. Coated in a bronze exoskeleton and walking on ten pairs of articulated legs, the Transgalactic Council officer was massive and insectoid. On either side of its head were two huge compound eyes, and it had sharp mandibles for a mouth.
The alien was followed into the room by another of the same species, though this one was a little larger at around two and a half meters tall and wide. The third to enter the room was larger still, and its carapace was golden. The vanilla scent they gave off was st
rong and threaded with spicy undertones.
“We apologize for keeping you waiting,” said the golden alien. “We had some urgent matters to address before we left.” Subtle flowery aromas wafted across the room. Jas wondered if the creatures used their pheromones to communicate.
“I’ll be back in a little while,” the Ganymede official said before leaving them alone to talk.
Jas had battled long and hard and many people had died and been injured to get word to the Transgalactic Council that Earth was being invaded by Shadows right under the nose of its government. Her hard, uncomfortable seat was forgotten as she leaned forward to hear what the Council was going to do to help her fellow humans.
“Firstly, we must introduce ourselves,” the golden one went on. “My English name is Martha, and my colleagues are Rahul and Peter.”
As the humans also introduced themselves, Sayen sent Jas a sidelong smile. The aliens’ appearances were certainly at odds with their mundane names.
“For reasons I will explain shortly,” Martha went on, “we do not have much time. The message we received from you about the invasion of Earth was short, and we require more information. If one of you could briefly outline your first encounter with the organisms you call Shadows and the related events up until you arrived here, we would be most grateful.”
The others turned their eyes to Jas. She was the one who had first discovered the existence of the Shadows on a far distant planet what felt like a very long time ago. She took a breath. She didn’t know how she was going to tell the Council officers everything that had happened over the last few months briefly, but she began to speak.
As simply and concisely as she could, she narrated the important incidents, like the fight aboard the prospecting ship, the Galathea, the battle on the colony world, Dawn, and their encounters with Shadows on Earth as they attempted to inform the Council about the invasion.
The officers were silent throughout her story, though judging by the aromas that drifted around the room, they were speaking with each other as they listened. Sayen, Carl, and even Dr. Sparks added in extra points as Jas spoke.
When she related their re-encounter with the Paths on Mars, Rahul interrupted her. “Pardon me, but may I ask where these Paths are at the moment?”
“They’re aboard my ship’s shuttle in the docking bay on the surface,” Phelan replied.
“I see,” Rahul said. “It seems to me that, according to what you told us about finding these creatures within a Shadow trap but unaffected, they are extremely significant. We must speak with them urgently. They may be the breakthrough we’ve been looking for. Their information may give us an advantage in the battle.”
“Battle?” Sayen asked.
“Yes,” Martha replied, “we are about to engage militarily with these dreadful invaders. Regarding your story, we had thought that Earth had so far evaded attack, but apparently we were wrong. I would like to thank you for everything you’ve told us. Your information is most useful. I will record the coordinates of the planets you mention before we leave. Now, we have only a short time remaining, and I must use it to explain the galactic situation with the Shadows.”
The creature settled down on its many legs.
“The Transgalactic Council first became aware of these invaders several Earth years ago, though it took some time for us to understand the nature of the menace. At first, it appeared that hostilities between galactic civilizations were increasing. Throughout the galaxy’s history, there has never been a time it was entirely at peace, but attacks and invasions were the highest they’d been for a long time. Our military arm, the Unity, stepped in as a peacekeeping force wherever possible, but its resources were stretched thin by the numerous conflicts.
“It was not until we were alerted to thousands of individuals who claimed that their family members, friends, and colleagues had been taken over by unseen forces that we began to suspect that these aggressions were not exactly as they seemed. Our investigations also revealed the presence of Shadow traps on many worlds that were in conflict with other civilizations. The coincidences mounted up.
“Further investigations continued, and as soon as the realization dawned as to what was actually happening, we responded. So far, we’ve identified hundreds of planets that the Shadows have taken over. The Unity, together with the military forces of so-far unaffected planets, are attempting to destroy the invaders and rescue surviving citizens. We have reclaimed some worlds, but for every planet we free from the Shadows, another two appear in its place. As we speak, the Unity is on the verge of yet another battle. We came here directly from a meeting to finalize the battle plan.”
“But what about Earth?” Jas asked. “What are you going to do to help the people of Earth?”
“According to the information you supplied,” Martha replied, “we are in no doubt that Earth is indeed in the midst of a Shadow invasion, but I am afraid that your world is one of many civilizations in need of our aid. We cannot do anything immediately, but when the Council can spare the resources, we will do all we can to help.”
“What?” Jas exclaimed. She thought of Erielle and Makey, her friends who had returned to Earth and to fight the Shadows there. Were they even still alive? How long would they have to wait before help arrived? She stood up. “That’s not good enough. Earth needs help now.”
Carl said, “Jas, I don’t think—”
“No, Carl,” she said. “This is wrong.” She swung around to the aliens. “Why do you think we went through so much to contact you? Earth’s a Council ally, isn’t it? Humans are entitled to its protection. People are dying as we speak. You have to help us.”
The Council officers didn’t reply immediately. Scents of warm chocolate and acetone filled the air as they talked among themselves.
Martha said, “We understand your position and we sympathize with Earth’s plight. Be assured that we will do everything in our power to fulfill our obligations to come to its defense as soon as we are able. But at the moment we simply cannot. A massive fleet of ships controlled by Shadows is currently approaching a highly strategic region of the galaxy. Every vessel at the Unity’s disposal has been amassed to stop them. If the Unity prevails in the ensuing battle without heavy losses, we may be able to dispatch a force to address the situation on Earth.”
Carl straightened up from his position leaning against the wall. “Is it too late to join the battle?”
“I’m not sure,” Martha said. “I doubt that engagement with the enemy has commenced yet. Why? Do you wish to fight?”
Carl said, “I’d like to, especially if it means Earth might receive help quicker. I’m a pilot.”
“What?” Jas exclaimed. “Wait a minute.”
“Do you have combat experience?” Martha asked.
“Yes,” Carl replied.
“There may still be time for you to take part in the battle if you leave now,” Martha said. “We can open a Gateway to the Unity recruitment point. I’m sure the officers would be happy to see a trained combat pilot. There is a scarcity of them.”
“No,” Jas said. “Carl, don’t go.”
Chapter Two
The Transgalactic Gateway opened in the meeting room. Though it was Jas’ first time seeing one, she was too distracted by Carl’s imminent departure to take much notice. It had all happened so quickly.
He avoided her pleading gaze as the green mist that heralded the Gateway began to form.
“Carl,” Jas said. “please don’t go. It’s too soon. We’ve only just arrived from Mars. You need to rest up. It’s too dangerous.”
He only glanced at her and shook his head slightly, as if telling her not to interfere.
“All right, I’ll come with you then,” Jas blurted. “I’ll fight too. I’m sure the Unity can find something for me to do.”
“I am afraid that we need you here for the moment,” Martha said. “We need further information on the Paths. Sadly, I do not think this battle will be the last. I am sure there will be many
more opportunities to fight the Shadows in the future. For now, you can be the most useful to us by telling us more about the Paths.”
Jas was numb. It had been only hours before that she and Carl had kissed for the first time after a growing closeness between them that had lasted weeks. She hadn’t imagined that he would be snatched away from her—that he would choose to leave her—so soon.
“Carl, please,” she murmured, her heart tearing in two. Phelan, Sayen, and Dr. Sparks looked away, embarrassed.
The green mist had coalesced and began to lazily swirl into a spiral.
Finally, Carl turned to her. His face grave, he stepped over and touched her upper arm. “I’m sorry, Jas. I have to do this. The Shadows killed my parents. I have to fight them.”
“Please prepare to step through the Gateway,” said Martha. “It will be open for only a few seconds.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Carl said. “I’ll be back as soon as it’s over.” He kissed her briefly and returned to his position in front of the whirling mist.
The ache in Jas’ chest was unbearable. A thousand words rose to her mind and were dismissed. She couldn’t speak as she struggled to understand why Carl had to leave her. Maybe if she’d had a family, she tried to tell herself, she would do the same. But she had no family. She only had him.
The scene blurred before her eyes. She didn’t see the moment when Carl stepped into the mist. She only heard the others’ quiet goodbyes. By the time she wiped her vision clear, he was gone.
After a moment or two, Jas realized that Martha was talking to her.
She swallowed. “What did you say?” she asked the alien.
“I said, I would like to see these Paths. I know of approximately two thousand and seven hundred sentient species who live in our galaxy, yet I have never heard of anything that matches your description. And according to what you have told us, these creatures have extensive knowledge of the Shadows.”
