Terminus Article 2

Some background information on my sci-fi YA series Terminus…

Sonyia Cayale is the daughter of the Majestrix and is painfully aware of this fact at all times.

She grew up in the public spotlight and learned to be careful with what she said and did. She always tries to be kind and moral. She took an interest in dancing and acting as a girl but ultimately abandoned it because she found herself the unfair center of attention. Whereas her mother is strong-willed and aggressive, Sonyia is always calm and diplomatic. She entered the Diplomatic Academy to become a politician. Because of ancient tradition, this also meant she became the Heir to the Majestrix. If Sarah were ever incapacitated or missing, Sonyia would immediately become the Acting Majestrix. Even at only twenty years old. It’s a great responsibility Sonyia dreads but stands ready to perform.

Alex Jennings has always been a bit of a class clown.

He didn’t grow up in the spotlight of celebrity the way his childhood best friend Sonyia did. His mother Priya did eventually become the Director of State, but even then he was never noticed the way Sonyia was. His father died before he could remember, leading to his mother doting on him to a degree he finds uncomfortable. Alex always had a healthy sense of humor and excelled at piloting. He decided to join the Navy to make the most of his talents. This resulted in a separation from Sonyia since they went to different schools. They grew apart a little, but never lost touch. And when Sonyia’s father died, he stole a military shuttle to console her in person.

Sonyia and Alex grew up in the same extended family and have always been best friends. Now they are both graduating and will serve together as a roving pair of policemen slash ambassadors, serving as emissaries for the government and their mothers.

But neither one of them suspects the strange connection and hidden power they are about to discover together…

Terminus Article 1

Some background information on my sci-fi YA series Terminus…

The world is ending. It will be decided by those would save it… and those would ensure its destruction.

The Great Alliance is a democratic union of sixty-five worlds and has kept the peace for almost three centuries. The Royals, people born with special abilities like strength and flight, defend the GA from enemies foreign and domestic. But their relative quiet is about to be shattered by old and new foes alike as a literal apocalypse looms in the future.

Sarah Cayale is the Majestrix, the elected leader of the GA. She is also the strongest Royal alive, but a promise to her dying mother turned her into a politician instead of a soldier. She’d rather be out fighting and feels stifled by her job. Her daughter, Sonyia, has just begun her own service as a policeman slash ambassador with her childhood friend Alex Jennings. Sonyia is competent and cool-headed and always tries to do the right thing… unlike her slightly more obnoxious friend Alex. Sonyia is from the diplomatic track while Alex just graduated from the Naval Academy.

Alfred Kayma leads the GA’s intelligence service and is a divisive figure to say the least. He’s the hero for arch conservatives and the nemesis of liberals. Sarah has an uneasy alliance with him; he quietly fixes problems without crossing some nebulous line. But Kayma hides a darker secret than Sarah ever suspected. He is the leader of a vast conspiracy with the stated goal of defeating the alien menace of the Ronains by any means possible. A new terrorist group called the Dominants has emerged with highly advanced technology and the stated goal of destroying the Great Alliance, led by a mysterious figure who may or may not be connected to Kayma…

The GA also faces more mundane opponents in addition to the Ronains and the Dominants. The Baraki are a less advanced race on their border whose religion calls for honorable death in combat, leading to constant attacks upon the GA. William London controls a monopoly on ship construction in the GA. He is already an economic threat, but little does anyone realize London leads his own conspiracy plotting a violent overthrow of the government. And that’s not even counting the everyday pirates and criminals with Royal powers.

The heroes of the Great Alliance will be hard put to keep the peace against all these foes, even if the apocalypse wasn’t on the horizon…