Page 140 of Shadows of Stardust

That tightness sticks with me as Marva leaves the chamber, as I find an unoccupied seat to wait, as the Council files back in an hour later.

And even when I get my vote, it doesn’t entirely loosen.

In the end, I get nine hands.

Enough. It’s enough.

It’s also a reminder.

A reminder of how deep the issues within the Aux run. A reminder of the work ahead—work that may not even be completed in my lifetime, but that’s necessary, right, worth the effort.

“Are we done here?” Veren asks as the Council prepares to wrap up the day’s business. He hasn’t looked at me since the session resumed, but I tuck away my blade-sharp need for vengeance.

His time will come, and I look forward to figuring out how to one day serve him the justice he’s earned for himself.

“I suppose we are,” Riddik says, raising his gavel to strike the conclusion of the session.

But I’m not done, and though I’m more than ready to take up the mantle of leading this new commission, there’s something I need to do first.

“Chairman Riddik.”

The old male turns, good-natured exasperation clear on his face, but I press on.

In fact, I barely even see him, barely see the Council, barely see anything in front of me as I reach in triumph for the demand I already know he’ll acquiesce to.

All I see as I prepare to give it are a pair of tear-damp emerald eyes and shoulders squared against a universe not known for doling out mercy. I see a flash of dark brown hair walking away from me, one last glimpse of skin marked by violence and hope.

“Before I step down from active service, I’ve got one last mission I’d like to run.”

43

Roslyn

The apartment where I spent most of my life before enlisting with the Sol Alliance is nearly empty.

Most of the threadbare furniture that used to fill the place has been sold. The cupboards have been emptied. I haven’t done the best job of cleaning, but oh well. After today, it’s not my problem.

A single suitcase is all I’m taking with me. It’s all I have to take with me.

And maybe that’s not a surprise.

Did I ever have a life here?

Sure, I lived here and grew into an adult here, but I can’t say it was much of a life.

I survived.

I survived the harsh Severin suns and unrelenting heat. I survived meager rations that left us sick with hunger on more than one occasion. I survived until I was eighteen and could leave to try to make something better of this life I’ve been given.

I won’t examine too closely whether I’ve succeeded at that, but at least for today, I’m still surviving.

Savvie is surviving. Mom, well, who the hell knows if she’s still surviving, but she made her own choices.

And tomorrow, I’ll leave this place for good.

There’s a little plot of land waiting for me on a planet called Terra Spei, and a contract with a builder to construct a home. Something small and cozy, just enough, looking out over a brilliantly forested valley, if the photos the company sent are accurate.

God, I hope they’re accurate.

---