"Glory: The Uxel Herum Saga" by Alain Gomez (Novelette)

Genre:  Young Adult Science Fiction

Type of Short Story:  Novelette

Summary:  Book 4 of the Uxel Herum Saga

Uxel Herum's plan to infiltrate the Imperium capital world quickly begins to go awry. While she initially hoped to act as a spy for the strozzi she is now little more than a glorified prisoner. Will she be able to complete her mission... alive?

Excerpt:

The cargo ship lurched and Uxel glowered at the oversized Imperium thug piloting her vessel. The human was clearly uncomfortable trying to sit in a pilot’s chair that was designed for a bac. Her bird-like species preferred perching to sitting. It seemed ridiculous that she couldn’t take the lead on the controls and just have the thug give her directions. But no. “The colonel’s command was quite explicit,” the thug had said.

Her head twitched and she glanced around the cockpit nervously, a mannerism Uxel hated but seemed to have no control over when she was stressed. She hoped for the umpteenth time that Urgon had both received and understood her message. Her entire future hinged on that one little data pad.

How strangely life could turn out at times. The colonel’s offer to have her replace Urgon Shebel and tune ships for the Imperium was almost irresistible. A job like that would give her everything she ever dreamed of: wealth, power… respect. A few years ago she would have jumped at the chance without so much as a second thought. Who cared if she ended up selling out her people and her beliefs in the end? So long as it made her an easy quave.

But she did have a second thought. She had several second thoughts. In that moment Uxel realized that she had changed. Whether or not it was for the better remained to be seen. Perhaps she had become shrewder with age or perhaps Lady Valkon and the strozzi sense of honor had rubbed off on her. Deep down an insistent voice said that she owed the strozzi more than a quick betrayal. If power and respect were what she craved she would not find it through this Imperium job offer. The colonel could sugarcoat the deal all he liked but it didn’t change the fact that she would be nothing more than a peon or, worse still, a prisoner.

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