The Stowaway

Iyami dashed along the bustling street, her dreadlocks swaying behind her as she ran. Both suns hung high in the sky; her eye slits squinted reflexively, giving her an advantage. Looking behind her, she saw him. He still had eyes on her, and he was still running.

She weaved between walkers before ducking into an alleyway, concealed by shadows from tall buildings. Her boot splashed through a puddle, coating her boot in city grime.

The data drive fit snugly in her palm: thin and lightweight. But the implications of drive’s files weighed her down.

A narrower alleyway appeared, cut through the bricks. Before disappearing into the shadows, she cast another glance behind her. Her eyes met his: fiery red, accentuated by his single, bushy eyebrow. Terror pulsed through her body, stalling her just enough for him to gain ground.

She pushed her way through the narrow brick tunnel, blindly following its predetermined path. The man’s footsteps moved rapidly toward the brick alley’s entrance, but they stopped.

Too narrow for you, big fella, she thought.

Emerging from the brick, Iyami returned to the busy street. Stashing the data drive in her jacket pocket, she dashed through the crowd. Disgruntled shouts behind her meant the man had found her again. He charged through the crowd to catch up.

Ducking into a bar, she saw her contact waiting impatiently under the spotlight of a booth in the corner. As he stood, his green ears flopped below his suit collar. He waved her over and ushered her out the back door. The cargo ship was waiting for her. She jumped in quickly, air-locking the door behind her.

She nodded to the captain as she moved through the small ship’s main corridor. Sitting in the galley of the ship, Iyami finally relaxed a little, slouching into her seat. An adorable voxal dropped down from the wiring in the ceiling; its yellow scales shimmered in the artificial light.

“Hey there, little guy,” Iyami said, scratching its chin.

Its scales were soft, emitting a sweet smell. The voxal purred, leaning into Iyami’s hand for more attention.

“Get ready,” the captain said. “We’re taking off.”

Iyami buckled her seat belt and looked out the window. As the engines fired, the fiery-eyed man leaned against the alleyway wall and watched Iyami leave the planet. Pulling out his long-range communicator, he alerted his contact on Incarus.

“Grayson, she’s on her way,” he said. “Be ready.”

Startling herself awake, Iyami bolted upright. She was the only one in the galley; even the voxal had disappeared. She reached over to the communication system and connected to the caption.

“How long until we land on Incarus?” she asked.

“We left Axara about two hours ago,” the captain said, crackling through the speaker. “Only another hour to go.”

She watched out the window; the ship seemed immobile compared to the stars. Iyami had always loved flying, but she didn’t have the chance often. In fact, where she came from, most creatures didn’t have the chance to fly. Most people never left their own city, not to mention their own planet.

Icarus was one of the most resource-rich planets in the galaxy. Oxygen ore, mostly, mined deep below the surface. Incarians didn’t own the oxygen ore, though. Axaran companies did. The resource takeover was slow. A treaty here, an agreement there. But the effects were lasting. After a century or so, Incarans seemed to be drowning in poverty, while Axara rose to galactic dominance.

Working in the mines on Incarus was the only option for most indigenous creatures, except for the few who sold their allegiances to Axara. Iyami’s older brothers started working in the mines when they were seven; Iyami was lucky enough to start working when she turned eight. The mines were pungent. Stale air and sweltering heat filled the dark tunnels. Thick dust clogged every breath, intermixed with sulfuric fumes. Dim, artificial light flickered from mining headlamps, piercing eyes that had already adjusted to the darkness of the tunnels. Lifespans on Incarus were short, and that’s the way Axara wanted it.

In fact, Iyami’s oldest brother had died in a mine cave-in. An accident, the news holograms claimed. Iyami was too young to remember it, but her mother never recovered from the grief.

After ten years of mine work, Iyami had enough. She felt compelled to do something about her situation, and the situation of her neighbors. A few days ago, she snuck out of the mines during a night shift, one of those rare nights where both suns were below the horizon. She negotiated her way onto a cargo ship, driven by an old family friend who took weekly runs to deliver oxygen ore to Axara.

Hopefully Iyami’s trip to Axara would yield enough reward to bring her family out of the mines. It might even bring her town enough relief by giving them another economic option.

But if it didn’t work...

The ship jolted as it broke through Incarus’s atmosphere. Iyami laid her hand securely on the data drive in her pocket.

The ship’s engines slowed, reducing the force that had built up in the galley.

“We land in 30 seconds,” the captain said through the speaker. “I want you to jump out on top of this building before I land on the strip below it. I don’t want anyone to grab you before you have a chance to run.”

“Thank you, sir,” Iyami said. “I appreciate the help.”

“Anything for your family,” the captain said.

Iyami stood and walked to the door. She unlatched the air lock as the ship slowed above the fifteen-level building. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open.

Grayson leaned against the crumbling brick wall at the airfield, awaiting Iyami’s arrival. He noticed the cargo ship hover a little too long over the nearby building. Pushing himself off the wall, he watched as its side door opened.

Iyami jumped and landed hard on her left leg. Limping slightly, Iyami stood and sprinted to the roof’s door.

Grayson saw her fall from the ship and sprinted toward the building; his gills flickered as he ran.

Stomped echoed off the steel walls as Iyami dashed down the staircase two steps at a time. As she neared the third floor, however, she heard another set of footsteps echo from below. She burst through a door and weaved her way through the complex network of hallways in the office building. Shrieks from behind her indicated that her hunter had tracked her path.

She entered the main foyer and ran down the wide staircase to the ground level. The double doors glided open for her as she ran through the main entrance, exploding onto the street. Iyami paused for a moment and looked left. She could run into the hovertrain tunnel; that track hadn’t run on time for years, but she didn’t want to get caught by an oncoming train. She looked ahead. Seeing the holographic calendar above City Center, she realized it was Saturday. Market Day.

Sprinting forward, she moved  in the center of the city. The market was in full swing. Tents lined the streets and plazas as far as she could see. Creatures filled the open space, milling between tents and exhibits. The smell of sweet, salted treats filled the air as Iyami ran by the luxapan tent. Smoke plumed and grease sizzled from three tents in a row, each claiming to be the best exochorizo stand in Incarus.

As Iyami moved deeper into the crowd, more creatures blocked her path. She turned behind her and saw Grayson wandering the crowd, looking frantically for Iyami.

He must have lost me, she thought.

Then, his head snapped into focus. His eyes narrowed. He was looking directly at Iyami.

Nevermind, she thought.

Pushing her way through the crowd, Iyami ducked behind a large tent and weaved her way through another sidestreet full of clothing booths. A stand full of brightly colored fabric caught her eye. The fabric was beautiful. But, more importantly, the booth looked incredibly chaotic. Iyami calmed herself as she entered the booth, moving toward the back.

“Hand-woven nitrofiber,” the salescreature said. “We’ll find your size.”

Iyami peered over her shoulder and saw Grayson wandering close to the booth.

I lost him again, Iyami thought. For now.

“How about a large head scarf and body wrap?” Iyami said.

The salescreature pulled a maroon head scarf and body wrap from a pile on a nearby table. Iyami wrapped it around her head, pulling the remainder of the fabric over her body.

“Beautiful,” the salescreature said.

“I’ll take it,” Iyami said.

She held her wrist out and the salescreature scanned her arm chip.

Iyami moved slowly out of the clothing booth, securing the cloth firmly over her head. Excess fabric hung over her eyes, forcing her to drop her head. She moved cautiously between creatures in an attempt to be discreet.

She wasn’t sure she was moving in the right direction, so she lifted her eyes slightly. She could smell him before she saw him. A rotten, dank, sewery essence. Grayson’s gills were in front of her face. They flared, sensing the smells around them.

Looking up further, though, she could see that Grayson’s eyes hadn’t found her own. He was looking far off into the distance, into some corner of the crowd.

Iyami held her breath, moving away from Grayson. She wove through the crowd artfully and absorbed herself into the mass of smells, colors, sounds, and creatures.

Iyami moved into an alleyway that was a little less crowded than the main section of Market Day. The music faded, and the crowd’s loud banter did too. Turning into a smaller alleyway, Iyami saw a young girl sitting against the brick wall with her younger brother. They both shivered. Iyami stopped and knelt next to them.

“You cold?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” the girl said.

Iyami smiled and removed her cloak. She handed it to the kids and continued her walk.

As night fell, Iyami reached the proper alleyway near her neighborhood. She found the green door and knocked twice. Someone inside knocked three times. Iyami knocked once. The green door opened.

A short creature with pointed ears stood in the doorway. He peered his head out and looked both ways down the alley.

“You weren’t followed, were you?” the man asked.

“I was, but I dodged him,” Iyami said.

The man nodded, accompanied by a smile of approval. Iyami reached into her pocket and grasped the data drive.

“Iyami,” the man said, “you’ve done well.”

She smiled with pride, and breathed with relief.

“This data drive has the power to turn our small resistance into a real revolution,” the man said.

Iyami placed her hands in her empty pockets and nodded.

“Long live the revolution,” she said.