A small, wry smile pulled at her lips, disturbing the dusty coating that had settled on them. “This ship probably sent messages through space, but I can’t even use it to contact a person in this building, or a city that’s sitting just outside that wall.”
“The one story I couldn’t convincingly report. Sorry, buddy.” Her eyes strained upward into the dark. “But if I can’t get people to believe your story, at least I can make sure I don’t have to tell them its ending. Not for a good long while.”
The spaceship was starting to fade into the dusk, and the reporter cast it a regretful glance as she neared the exit. “Sorry, ship. Looks like we’re both muzzled today. I’ll come back when I know how to talk to you.”
“Do not come home.” The message lingered on the small comm screen, crushing in its cold, unbending simplicity. “The planet is taken. Do not come home.”

If you want to read the story Alexandra couldn't report, you can see a longer excerpt and grab your copy of Heroic Lies here.