Invasion: Shadowmark Episode 1 by Alex Bratton

Author:Alex Bratton [Bratton, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Antimatter Books
Published: 2018-07-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

THE INSIDE OF THE CONDARRI warship was as black as Condar itself and as long as two football fields. The only light filtered through the narrow window in the hull, one of a line of windows down a narrow outer corridor that led to rooms and halls aboard the ship. Calla peered through the thick stone onto the Earth below. The rest of the ships were placed in the cities, towering over their new dominions like spikes thrust up through the Earth’s crust.

Spikes that would rise out of the ash to overtake the lush planet.

Somewhere below, Dar Ceylin was putting the last pieces into place, sending out last-minute orders. He hadn’t slept in a month. In the back of her mind, Calla wondered if the commander had forgiven her. Not that she needed his forgiveness. She had done away with the traitor he had called friend, and Dar Ceylin had yet to thank her for her loyalty.

Instead, he had bested her in combat. Again. She still burned with her public humiliation. Her mission above the Earth felt like a consolation prize instead of a right she had earned, but it was important, and she would complete it with honor.

The air stirred, blowing her hair. Once short-cropped for convenience, it now grew long over her shoulders, hiding her strong, beautiful face. Calla turned. Nothing was there. The ship had little ventilation, only enough oxygen to keep her alive. Her gaze fell on the circular glyphs—the adarria—etched into the stone bulkhead. One of them glimmered golden before going dark again. Did it sense her anger toward her commander?

The adarria’s presence surrounded her at all times, even when she was on Earth. Linked telepathically through the identical symbols etched into Calla’s skin, the alien hieroglyphs comforted her rather than scared her.

She turned back to the Earth, the blue orb against the void of space. With each passing minute, her excitement grew. Soon, Dar Ceylin would give the signal. The last three days of waiting had been torture, but it was a delicious type of anguish, the kind that fueled Calla’s sleep-starved body during her constant vigil. Ever since the day had arrived, she had paced anxiously up and down the corridors, checking windows. She couldn’t have slept now if she wanted to.

Dar Ceylin had waited until the militaries of the world were in place before the Condarri struck. He wanted to wipe out the human defenses in one fell swoop.

After hours of silence, the go-ahead came as a thought. The signal she had been waiting for wasn’t heralded with a war cry. Hybrids didn’t need elaborate speeches, either. A simple command. Although a whisper in Calla’s mind, it was swift and strong, leaving no room for doubt.

<Strike in two hours.>

Calla slapped the window in excitement and grinned triumphantly on her way to tell her masters.

Earth’s civilizations would fall.

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