RealSlimShadowen

Upper Earth orbit September, 2196 46 hours after destruction of orbital bombardment platform Vigilance "It's one of those Silencers!" When he woke up, the Silencer realized he was tired.  It was a sensation he was not entirely used to.  Months with the Resistance had gotten him used to bad sleeping conditions--he doubted anything softer than a box spring would be suitable for him to sleep on anymore. "He's not moving, either." Even so, almost two days of nonstop physical activity, and then almost two days stuck in a cramped crash couch, was a new low.  He couldn't have gotten more than fifteen minutes of REM sleep—disturbing dreams alre

"What good will that do?" The voice was snide, bitter.  A sigh.  "Should not have let them go." "Vittek…"  This voice was patient.  "…shut up."  Or not.  "Civilians, not rebels.  Keep making noise, Command will nail us." The Silencer holding the rank of Captain, the junior officer after the Major and Colonel, was not paying much attention to the argument.  His thoughts were turned inward.  It was the same argument they'd been having for the past week.  A week with scavenged food, little sleep, and dirty water.  It made no difference to Silencers, but even they had their comfort zones. A snort, accompanied by mechanical distortion.  "Rememb

"Oh, God."  Layla stretched, then paused to look at the thin, hard man she'd known only as Joey, but whom she'd counted as her closest friend, for over two years.  "I can say that, right?  Oh God?" "Oh, yeah," he said.  She looked over his shoulder to see he was reading an electronic copy of some book the Resistance had somehow smuggled onto the moon—Starship Troopers, by someone named Heinlein. She turned away, the book already forgotten as she ran her hands over the plain top she wore.  "God.  God God God.  Jesus, Buddha, Allah.  Deity Of Your Choice, it feels good to get out of that prison uniform.  Have I mentioned that?" He smiled, fl