The Color of Houm: Book 3: Skies of Gray by Sean Clark

Author:Sean Clark [Clark, Sean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

A Departure

THE THREE-DAY PERIOD following the Nest aggression in Bawes was an unresting state of alert. The first morning after, shifts of locals were assigned to watch the skies to the west, ready to radio the others if any craft were spotted. In the meantime, the pilots and mechanics rallied to make sure as many of their own ships were able to take to the sky.

On the second day, Niyas continued working with the others, including Dulah, to draft a message that would eventually be dispersed across the surface of Houm when the time was right. As he had done before, the frail elder presented himself before the camera, distant, unseeing eyes pointed in the direction of the lens. The dense words were read out by Niyas himself to dub the old man’s weary gestures.

On the third day, it became Niyas’ duty to address the people of Bawes. Word traveled about the streets and the camps at the edge of town, urging everyone to join the man at the town center at noon. At the promised time, the inner streets were at the point of overflowing, all eyes on Niyas at the top of the makeshift wooden platform. The older Vat man spoke with as much power as he could muster, using a radio transmitter as well to reach the nearby handsets on the same frequency.

“All of you who join me here today… whether you feel grateful or wary of the presence of my people… The Sanguine Tears… know that we will be departing very soon. Our duty takes us across Houm, to fight back against Nest just as we did days ago, but perhaps in a different way.

“Your brave Governor, Zelda Pashek, is likely at the mercy of the corporation following what happened here. Zelda and I saw each other as allies, friends even. It may be hard to believe me in a time like this one, but this path we have gone down was inevitable. We knew that one day we would have to accept the results of our actions. Zelda knew that and is likely protesting against them in her own way, even apart from us all. Regardless of her presence here, you all have it within yourselves to continue to thrive and survive. I hope, when the time comes, the message we have for this system will reach you. I already know you will be able to act upon those words, reject Nest and bring peace back to this system. It is in places such as this where the ability to do so begins.”

As Niya’s final words traveled out across the crowd, the reaction grew, some clapping, others booing or crying, pushing amongst each other in the narrow streets. Finally allowing himself to breathe, the weathered Vat man sat down on the platform, resting his head on his hands while the bustle of locals created a cacophonous melody that cut out any other sound.

On the fourth day, the Tears departed. The aircraft stationed in Bawes finally took to the ash-choked skies, all in quick succession.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.