Free Ghosts of Lyarra by Damian Shishkin Page A

blur until it looked stationary once more. Then with a flash of blinding white light it belched out a massive plasma round that flew out of frame in a blink of an eye. The screen then shifted to full view once more of the Husk ship, which begun to turn in an attempt to evade the oncoming assault, but it was far too late. From weapon fire to impact it had taken fifteen seconds and the plasma charge struck the bow of the Husk ship just off to the right of center. The energy shields buckled in a fraction of a second and the round gutted the ship from stem to stern. Not even the heralded defence cannons of the Lyarran system had this capability; the whole room stood in silent awe at what had been witnessed.
    Sara stood back with a smug look on her face. She had shown those who had threatened, ever so subtly, that Earth was no one’s doormat. After this demonstration, she also knew that those same worlds may become adversaries but it was a risk that needed to be taken and a statement that needed to be made. She ended the video feed as the cheers from Jupiter Command were the only sound echoing in the Grand Council and reverted the room into an uneasy silence.
    —
Lyarran Throne World Havyiin; Grand Council Chamber
    Iana was initially scared when she saw the image of the Husk vessel; her heart sank as she feared Terra Sol would be doomed to a repeat of the tragedy five years ago. With no Aen and no Lyarran intervention she feared the worse. But when the weapon fired and the vessel was all but obliterated, she felt vindicated in her saving the humans. It was their ingenuity that had advanced the Lyarran defence technology to further its effectiveness.
    But as the silence remained in the room, she remembered the plan and how even with this unexpected interruption, that it needed to be followed. She had seen the link of the Prophets activate, and as others dismissed it as nothing abnormal she noticed that the background was indeed different than usual. Now that Terra Sol had made their point, it was time for her to give her performance.
    Before she was able to say a word, the transmission from the Prophets let out a squeal and a few clicks, one after another, that seemed to echo louder and louder. The feed seemed to be broadcasting across the Empire as a whole; her friend was truly pushing the limits of his plan.
    —
Temple of the Divine Light; Guild World Ryas
    Aen was impressed by the human’s show of force as it would further accentuate what he was about to say. To add to the effect, before he went live he had the AI make the feed go live across the entire stretch of the Empire. He remembered a saying from an Earth text: ‘go big or go home’ and he decided to do just that. He let the microphone squeal as he opened his helmet mic too close to that of the holo-link and the sound of the feed being uploaded everywhere began to echo repeatedly. It was now or never!
    With his hood cowl hanging over to mask any semblance of the Ifierin armor, he stood before the projector and let it load his image. Within a few seconds, all eyes in the Empire were looking at him and he was sure to give them a show.
    “It is you I seek,” he began as the growly voice was distorted by the helmet’s electronics to both add effect and disguise his identity. The words rattled off every wall and staggered back more than a few listeners in a beginning of a speech that would be remembered in Imperial lore for all time.
    —
Lyarran Throne World Havyiin; Grand Council Chamber
    “ It is you I seek ,” the figure began in the image, “ But as you cower in the shadows I cannot see you. For some time I have been aware of you; your plans were not as secretive as you imagined. But I was where I wanted to be; alone with only the whispers of the Dark God himself to keep me company. I was happy being isolated, for the first time in my life I was at peace .”
    “ I had turned a blind eye to the darkness you created; to the madness you sought to bring to this