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    Burned: Shadows of the Void, #6
    Burned: Shadows of the Void, #6
    Burned: Shadows of the Void, #6
    Ebook106 pages1 hour

    Burned: Shadows of the Void, #6

    By J.J. Green

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    About this ebook

    A Martian, a pilot, a navigator, and a colony brat battle to stop an alien invasion.

    Hostile aliens called Shadows are invading Earth, and ex-starship security officer Jas Harrington and her friends have been fighting them. But Earth's Global Government refuses to acknowledge the alien threat—it's been infiltrated and Shadows stalk its corridors.

    Only the Transgalatic Council can help humanity now, but to convince it of Earth's peril and enlist its aid, Jas needs evidence that Shadows are living among humans. She's kidnapped a government minister who she believes is a Shadow. With a living example of the alien threat, the Council will have to believe her.

    But Jas may have made a terrible mistake. Is the minister really a Shadow? If she isn't, and Jas can't prove that the invasion is happening, Earth will burn and fall, and the galactic empire will follow.

    Burned is book six in the fast-paced, action-packed Shadows of the Void space opera serial.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInfiniteBook
    Release dateApr 1, 2018
    ISBN9781386666400
    Burned: Shadows of the Void, #6

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      Book preview

      Burned - J.J. Green

      One

      Jas was having a staring competition with the Minister for Global Security. She had locked eyes with the long-haired, kaftan-wearing government official, who was tied to a rickety wooden chair. Above them both, a single bare light strip illuminated the windowless basement room. Jas wasn’t up to speed on the politics and politicians of Earth’s Global Government—her brief visits to Earth between deep space missions didn’t allow for it—but she’d been told the woman’s name was Bathsheba Dubois, and that she’d been in office for three and a half years.

      Three and a half years was plenty long enough for her to have been killed and replaced by a Shadow—a perfect copy of the victim, only inhabited by a hostile alien. What Jas had to find out was simple: was it the real Bathsheba sitting before her, or was it Shadow Bathsheba? If she was the actual Minister, Jas and her friends were guilty of the crime of kidnapping. But if it was a Shadow, Jas was one step closer to alerting the Transgalactic Council that Earth was gradually being infected and taken over by an alien menace.

      Bathsheba was the first to crack. She broke her stare, and her eyes shifted to the side. Jas gave a slight nod of satisfaction. The minister seemed to be weakening a little, and now she might respond to questioning. As part of her training as a security officer Jas had learned how to interrogate effectively, but she didn’t want to employ the harsher methods she knew. She had a distaste for them, and there was a chance the woman sitting before her was a human being.

      How did you know it was me in the car? Bathsheba asked.

      Jas straightened up in surprise. After removing her gag, she’d endured longer than an hour of furious threats and demands from the minister. Her question was the first real attempt at communication she’d made.

      The truth was, Jas hadn’t known she was kidnapping a Global Government minister when she’d attacked her limousine. She’d been trying to kidnap another, known, Shadow. Unsure of the wisdom of giving away that information, Jas replied, It wasn’t easy. You all travel in identical unmarked limousines. Maybe you should think about updating your security policy in that area.

      Bathsheba shrugged. A motorcade only draws attention to important officials. And these days, when a targeted airstrike from kilometers away is technically easy to arrange, anonymity is the best defense. It’s worked pretty well.

      Until now.

      Another shrug. Security must be constantly revised and updated as threats develop and evolve.

      She was stating one of the first principles Jas had ever learned. Bathsheba Dubois was no lightweight. She knew her stuff. But her statement wasn’t evidence that she was the real Bathsheba. The longer Shadows spent living as replicants of their victims, the more they unlocked their memories and knowledge, and the more like them they became. Jas had heard that some Shadows even became confused about who they were, eventually.

      What information could she get from the woman that would clearly identify her? Shadow Bathsheba could probably answer any question the original Bathsheba could. A certain emptiness behind the eyes or a vagueness in the gaze were some signs of a recently created Shadow replacement, but the woman showed neither of those symptoms.

      So, said Bathsheba, what’s your organization? What are you demanding for my return? You realize that the police are homing in on this location as we speak? You know, if you give yourselves up now, before it’s too late, you might be spared the death penalty.

      Are you trying to tell me you’ve been fitted with a tracker? asked Jas. That’s a lie. They would have been here a long time ago if that were the case. Don’t worry. I know all about trackers. No. No one knows where you are. No one’s ever going to find you.

      Bathsheba’s gaze wavered. Her anger had given way to fear, Jas detected, though the woman was trying to hide it. Good. Maybe she would reveal something that would give away her true identity. Tell me what you know about Shadows, she said, watching the minister’s expression closely.

      Surprise flickered over her face but was quickly suppressed. What a ridiculous question. Shadows are shade cast by objects standing in light.

      Jas’s lips thinned. Don’t waste my time and yours. You know what I mean. You know what Shadows are. The Government’s been covering them up long enough. You’ve been pretending to the Transgalactic Council that you have the situation under control, and you’ve suppressed all reports about them in the media. But they’re here, and they’re taking over. You’ve let the situation get out of hand. Or maybe your victim did.

      Wait. You think I’m a Shadow? Bathsheba sat upright. Is that what this is about? That’s why you kidnapped me? But that doesn’t make any sense. You could have informed the vidnews channels if you really thought that. You could have⁠—

      Told the media you’ve silenced?

      Bathsheba paused. Her shoulders sagged. It seemed the natural reaction of someone in her position, but it could also be the mimicry of a Shadow.

      I’m not a Shadow, said Bathsheba. I don’t know how to prove it to you, but I’m not. Listen. If you know about them and you’re fighting them, we’re on the same side. Protecting Earth from Shadows is the Global Government’s number one task. The longer you keep me here, the closer we come to losing that fight. You have to let me go so I can do my job.

      Jas snorted. From what I’ve seen, we stand a better chance without you in power.

      Her face reddening, the minister replied, You have no idea what you’re talking about. You have no idea the lengths I’ve gone to in order to fight this menace.

      Jas stepped closer and bent down so that her face was inches from Bathsheba’s. "The tests you use aren’t working. Shadows are flooding onto the planet. The parents of a very good friend of mine have gone missing, probably taken by Shadows. There are Shadows in the refugee institutions. There are Shadows in your own offices. Whatever lengths you’ve gone to, they aren’t enough."

      Behind her, the door opened. It was Sayen, looking tired and in pain. Less than a day ago, she’d had an operation to remove a tracking device her parents had placed in her. The wound had to be sore.

      You, gasped Bathsheba, her eyes widening. Then you aren’t a Shadow. I thought not when I interviewed you, but when you disappeared...

      No, I’m not, Sayen replied. Can I talk to you? she asked Jas, who followed her outside.

      Erielle still isn’t back, she said, after Jas closed the door. It’s nearly dusk. She should have been here hours ago. Something must have gone wrong. She’s been captured, or hurt. Maybe she’s stuck at the Security HQ, Jas, and she can’t get out. Maybe she’s unconscious, and she needs our help. She’s covered in invisibility spray. How are we ever going to find her? Sayen’s voice had been rising as she spoke, and her lower lip trembled.

      Let’s go upstairs. Jas locked the door and helped Sayen mount the steps to the first floor. The missing underworlder leader hadn’t escaped her mind, but she wasn’t sure what they could do. The last they’d heard, it had sounded like she was in great danger. Since then, the radio contact they had with her had been silent, even when they’d risked hailing her. But they couldn’t storm the Global Government Security Headquarters. They didn’t have the firepower. And even if they managed to get inside, what then? They had no clue

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