Inheritance / Whakarerenga

"whakarerenga:1.(noun)leaving behind, desertion, abandonment, forsaking, discarding.2.(noun)inheritance, bequest, legacy."Definition from Te Aka Māori Dictionary

Marys, a renegade ex-cop, moves to a space station known as the Thorn, which is ruled over by a mysterious figure called Black Rose. Her life in shambles after bending the rules in order to do her job, Marys takes up as a private eye on the station. This is merely a front for her real purpose: she is on the hunt for Lisia Helianthe, the woman who wreaked destruction on her planet with a brutal civil war, taking everything she wanted before vanishing. In her search for retribution, Marys becomes entangled with a synthetic being called Xen who needs her help. But no matter how far she may be from home, Marys's past will not go ignored.

[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] 2024

Sensitive content: references to an abusive past, references to historical sexual violence in backstories of certain characters, references to and descriptions of mild violence, reference to and depictions of death.

There are no scenes depicting sex, but there are allusions to sexual relationships.

This is a space noir with a queer romance.

This novella is a part of 'Floraverse', a loose connection of light sci-fi/space opera writings which I will be adding to over the years.

[sequel novella planned!]

[unrelated short story in the same universe, published in Headland Journal April 2025:https://headland.org.nz/issues/issue-23/liliflora/]

[further short stories and novellas to come...]

NO AI TRAINING is permitted on this work of fiction. Copyright Hiria Dunning 2024