A security officer aboard a space station has a nice, quiet, day with little going on, and happily entertains a human child who is well behaved and delights in being able to pretend they're "helping". At least until the parents show up, thank the officer for finding their child, who'd been a little scamp and had run off, and their shift ends without incident. -- Anon Guest
"Well hello there, Wandering Star," Security Officer Bytto had spotted the small Human in a cold second. "Are you lost?"
"Nuh-uh," declared the kid. "I'm asplorin'."
"Oh, you're exploring." Bytto covertly scanned the kid's locator bracelets and anklets[1]. Parents nearby but not in immediate view. They hadn't raised the alarm yet, but... "Say, I need some help keeping the station safe from bad guys. Can you come with me and look out for the little ones? About you-sized?"
The kid thought about this. "Okay. I got nuthin' else going on."
"Yeah, pretty boring station after a while. Everything's grey."
"'Cept the people."
"Well, people aren't things, partner," Bytto subtly began patrolling in the parental's general direction. Aiming to go through the visually distracting areas so the kid would be less likely to notice. "When you get to the places that are all walls and corridors, it's awful repetitive."
"Yahuh. I'm bored."
Bytto bit hard down on a Parental Joke[2]. "Same here, partner. Nothing really interesting has happened all shift. When you grow up, you get to learn that that can be a good thing."
"RIKKI!" Anxious Parental Number One spotted the kid and came running. They landed on their knees so they could catch up their child in a bear hug. "Oh you scared the beans out of me. I thought we'd have to live without you forever."
"Don' be scared, Rennie. I was keepin' the station safe."
"Yup," confirmed Bytto, reading into the fiction. "Best little partner I've ever had on the job. And speaking of jobs; Human Rikki... I deputise you to keep track of your parents. We don't want them wandering off and getting into trouble, do we?"
"Nuh-uh," agreed Rikki.
In all other ways, it was a good shift.
[1] There's no such thing as missing or abducted children in Alliance ships or stations. Planetside establishments generally run by planetary law, but the wisdom of the system is generally accepted Alliance-wide.
[2] We call them Dad Jokes, but circumstances change over time.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Deklofenak]
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