"Look at you ! You started a fight with 5 people because they made fun of your alien friend, and you only got 3 broken teeth, a dislocated shoulder, a black eye and a 15 000 credit fine for the broken furniture!"
"True, but you didn't see how they looked after the fight. Totally worth it." -- Anon Guest
Of all the cells in all the security offices in all the known galaxy, she had to walk into his. "Hwell Andronicus Barrow," she sighed. "What have you got into your head?"
Hwell winced. There was a reason why he had much preferred to roam the spaceways. And this was it. "I can explain--"
"No doubt ye can," she said. "I heard the security report. You've got yourself in a pickle, sonny Jim. You picked a fight with five miners because they made fun of your little alien friend, and now there's three broken teeth, a dislocated shoulder, a black eye, and a fifteen-Day fine for the damages."
Hwell couldn't even look her in the eye. "...sorry, mum..."
"How the flakk do you expect to land yourself a family if you keep haring off on this wild child nonsense of yours?"
Hwell knew better than to tell her that he was not the family kind. That one would earn him a three-hour lecture on top of the dressing-down he was already getting. "On the plus side, I won. And ye should'a seen their poor little faces. That has to be worth the price of admission."
"Not into here," growled his mother. "They're talking about assigning you as Diminished Responsibility. They're talking about assisted care. They're talking about competency hearings, Hwell. Again."
Hwell sulked on his bunk. "You and I both know that science had yet t' uncover what's wrong in my brain," he said. "I slip through the little cracks between everyone else's pigeon holes. I have a little luck, but I'm not a Lucker. I'd like a little f--"
"Your mother is in the room."
"--ine wine?" he desperately grinned. "And for the record, my 'little alien friend' is a good enough pal to have my back in situations like this. You just wait and watch."
The local security officer entered the detainment area. "News from the identification crew, Ms Barrow. Those five miners were escaping the law for a salting scam involving several asteroid fields and one dwarf planet. The reward for their capture has paid -barely- for Mr Barrow's... sins."
Hwell made a little 'there you are' gesture with his hands. "You see? My virtues pay for my sins, mother dear. And with Ax'and'l by me side, I have a few more virtues than sins. It's perfectly normal to want to defend the fella."
"Nothing about you," said his mother, "is normal."
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Vyusur]
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