Stowaway

By Myles Songolo

In the heart of the Hycoran diplomatic centre, a lone Xea seeks aid in a plan that will benefit both parties involved.

But will Allara Ukero and her colleagues be up to the lofty task? Will they be able to maintain their resolve as they travel through a jurisdiction brimming with criminal activity? Because when one aligns with the Xea, trouble is sure to follow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329615410

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Stowaway

Stowaway

Stowaway

Copyright © 2019 Myles Songolo

All rights reserved.

ISBN:  978-1-329-61541-0

Prologue

The grizzled surface of Torva steadily grew brighter as Hadrix – the Hycoran sun – edged over the horizon. Hadrix's piercing blue rays vividly reflected off of Torva's blue-white surface, sending the light careening towards Freava – the Hycoran homeworld. The massive face of the icy homeworld filled the Torvan sky. Here and there, the relatively tiny shadows of some of Freava's other eighty-seven moons could be seen marring the face the icy world.

Torva itself was a sullen grey sphere of useless minerals and worthless ice fields. Its surface was equally barren, being largely covered in vast, ice-filled craters and dotted with jagged peaks that reached out to the end of the thin atmosphere. The moon was largely unremarkable save for the large network of vaults, tunnels and hangars that sat beneath its surface. This underground maze formed the Cria-Miasor, or the Torvan Cria Centre as it was referred to in GSD. The construct was one of the many off-world facilities of the Hycoran sect of diplomacy. It was here on Torva that any diplomatic envoys travelling to other planets within Hadrix or beyond DST Fortitude would begin their journeys. Every five minutes the sleek icicle-like form of a Hycoran shuttle or frigate would rise out of or land in one of several Hycoran made craters on the moon's surface.

Within the silver-grey vault network were hundreds of Hycoran. Some were diplomats, dressed in exquisite suits made of strands of platinum and gold. Others were maintenance staff, ensuring that the vaults and launch tunnels were kept in order – as even a moment of downtime could have dire ramifications. The remaining Hycoran were a mixture of managers, administration and security forces.

Inside one of the many vaults that functioned as conference rooms, five Hycoran sat around a long, rectangular titanium table. Four sat opposite one another down the length of the table while the last sat at the head of the table. All of their featureless faces were turned unstaring towards the end of the table where there sat the onyx, crystalline form of a Xea, clad in an equally dark trench coat. He would likely have been impossible to see were it not for the soft blue light of a hologram that was being projected from the centre of the table and the deep blue glow of his core.

The holographic image was that of a small space station slowly spinning in place and casting its soft blue light around the angular vault. The word 'Volyakra' written in the scratchy glyphs of Oraka – the Hycoran written language – slowly circled around the holographic station. On either side of the projection were several images composed of a curved line with two ellipses adjacent to each end.

Allara Ukero was gazing intently at the holograms. The lights danced playfully over her faceless head, giving her pale silver-blue skin a soft gleam. The room was unpleasantly warm, an unfortunate circumstance given that she as well as her co-workers were required to remain in uniform for all conferences. Her black platinum-woven jacket made the heat even more uncomfortable, as the four pairs of voice slits that lined either side of her neck felt congested and dry under the jacket's high, silver collar. At the very least, her white-gold sheath dress, silver-woven leggings and black-gold titanium boots were vented, providing her with enough comfort to zone out from the drier portions of the conference.

Suddenly the Xea man stood up, the light from his core shimmering menacingly as he began to speak in GSD.

Everything is in order. All that is required now is for us to get the Empire to approve the facility. He said, his deep metallic voice reverberating through the quiet room. He paused and