Pib's parents are on a station for a while as the ship they normally work on was in for repairs, and these repairs were going to take some time. The instructor at the primary school reads the transcripts of young Pib from aboard the ship and sees the injury / kill count of the child and their jaw drops. Some of the pirates wounded, or killed, by this larval human were not exactly amateurs, or small-fry. The parents just smile. -- Anon Guest
[AN: The last time we saw Human Pib was here. You're welcome]
Understandably, the Jaunty Merchant had to pull into drydock. Even without the pirate attacks, it was more than a little overdue. Contrary to shipboard opinion, Human Pib was not responsible for a majority of that necessity. Some still joked that it was a close thing.
Now aboard Working Holiday Station, Pib was now obligated to attend the station's education facility. Socialisation and some elementary learning was important for Humans. Which was why the Ships' Humans of the Jaunty Merchant were talking with the administration for the Early Education Unit.
Educator Vees was going through the file. "Nice to see they're up with the immunoflu... that's generally a problem with far-roaming families." Flick, they turned a page on their datareader. The eyes bugged. "Oh sweet Powers That Be..."
Human Lun said, "This is about the kill count, right?"
"We can explain," said Human Orgo.
Pib, officially the deadliest toddler in Galactic Alliance space, continued methodically feeding large beads along a twisted length of wire whilst making motor noises. Educator Vees was looking at Pib as if they might explode.
"Some of it was unfriendly compounds used in ways that no adult would use them."
"Peanut balls in the air scrubber intakes," added Lun.
"Then there's the chocolate chip fire suppressant," said Orgo. "Sort of creative?"
Vees had to point out, "Some of these pirates were wanted across several systems."
Lun blushed. "Uh. Pib's pretty good at being sneaky."
There were soldiers out there with lower kill counts than this child, though many agreed that this was not necessarily a bad thing. It wasn't a good thing either, especially from Vees' perspective. They had to teach classes with this kid among their charges.
On one hand, it was illegal to restrict education to Galactic citizens just because of a record like that. Further, all other psych evaluations indicated that Pib was not a contender for the Pax Humanis initiative. That was not as reassuring as it could have been.
"I'm going to recommend extra teacher's aides for Pib's classes." One, they knew, would be dedicated to keeping an eye on the miniature menace.
"Probably wise," the parents agreed.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / pkproject]
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