Relkili Steel, Book one in the Star Lyathe Series:
Relkili is the second planet from the Lyathe star in the Hyleitan system. This star has burned extremely hot for many centuries, spitting plumes and fire balls regularly for longer than anyone could remember. Surprisingly, life was able to flourish even under these circumstances on even the closest planets.
There are eight planets in the system, Itaan, Relkili, Pisal, Neusa, Nosa, Nohal, Syle and Freer.
Most of these planets struggled with the intense heat and reduced resources that this heat caused. One day, two brothers on Relkili were experimenting with various minerals that were being mined in their home country and almost by accident discovered that one particular mineral – once hardened, was far stronger than the bricks that they had previously used to build their homes with. It could be turned into almost anything that they wanted once processed properly in liquid, powder as well as solid forms. They found in later years, that this mineral … is what has protected their planet from Lyathe’s evil tantrums and the people here vow to help their neighbors survive.
They named their find rse3199 or relkili synergetic energy 3199. People on and off their planet attempted more than once to steal the original compound recipes which led to more than one war … one encompassing four planets.
After that war you would think that they would have learned. But … there are still some things that must be repeated over and over and over again … until it hardens like relkili steel. Their leader sent warriors called comporadors to investigate their newest growing problem.
Those who suspected collusion decide after years of denial … to make a concerted effort to find out about the more solid of the rumors that had reached the Lumiere’s fortress by infiltrating one of their own facilities. They sent one of their best commanders in with a small group to find out if there was any truth to what they heard of disappearances, deaths and large scale thefts of rse3199. To find out once and for all if the long held and often repeated suspicions of the Lumiere’s premier general had any validity.
Four comporadors stripped themselves of everything that gave their military an edge and stepped into the lion’s den as vulnerable as any other migrant worker. What they uncovered there would challenge nearly every aspect of their lives. They realized that this was not merely about rumors of missing or murdered workers but a large underground movement replete with the collusion of government officials from several states. This was a movement that could topple their entire society. And they weren’t having it.