Stowaway

A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an spaceship, aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected.

Stowaways face dangerous situations. Since they are not legally on board, they must sometimes spend long periods without water or food when traveling by ship, risking death. Deaths from hypothermia, caused by the extreme cold, or anoxia (lack of oxygen) are also possible and probable.

To Stowaway is the main method of travel for members of the Gal Drift society, but other groups such as “Non Cits” or Criminals might chose to stowaway. Usually hiding in Freight containers. This is of course a very dangerous way to travel. Humane and law abiding Freighter Captains might turn a Stowaway over to the Law ( and trialed for trespassing). Many Captains might expose their freight bay to the vacuum of space if they carry freight that needs flash freezing (such as grain) or Minerals, machine parts or Ore. Captains and ship operators of small or independent shipping companies might chose to sell Stowaways they find on the Slave market.

A Union Citizen with the desire to travel does not need to resort to this way of traveling as the heavily subsidized Space Bus services provide very affordable means to travel even to the furthest points of Union space. Even if the Citizen has no funds at all, travel tickets for a space bus trip to any point in the Universe can be obtained at any Space Port Mission ( all Space Port down to Class E have one) or getting one via GalNet from Space Port Missions, Galactic Samaritans, Union Association of Churches, the Galactic Red Cross, Union Travelers Aide, the John McEnroe trust and a number of other organizations providing social services. All can be found via GalNet.