They were talented enough to officially be viewed as one of the best technomages in the galaxy and then some, yet, they were only 15 years old. All they had to do was barely touch a computer, and it was like the thing was absolutely brand new and functioning in as near as absolute perfection as existence could become. Around AI's, they immediately were at 100% health, no matter how broken down they were, and even the most rusted out garbage of a machine was suddenly as if it had become mint condition again. They loved working with machinery and wires, and it made them smile when their family brought home broken bits for them to work with. But even in the Alliance, when you're talented, sometimes unsavory individuals come knocking. Fortunately for them, so do much kinder ones, usually in time to stop the unsavory ones from doing very unpleasant things to try to force a family to give up a kid like them. -- Anon Guest
[AN: IDK about the items actually restoring to Brand New State because entropy cannot be denied]
Dereggers always make the mistake of assuming that everything else works exactly like their own polity space. It's one of the few things that make Security work that much easier. Another key factor in this is that absolutely none of them learn from the mistakes of the past[1].
Therefore, when CEO Carter Lute attempted to drag Student Eliezer off station, it was a mission doomed to fail.
The alarms sounded to Station Security staff before the two of them were halfway to Docks and Locks. They were homing in on him at speed because a child was potentially in peril. Lute's ship was shut down in dock and the airlocks kept open as a matter of course.
All because the Dereggers believed in complete freedom[2], and therefore did not take into account the Safety Bracelets and Anklets made specifically for individuals with Diminished Responsibility. They were not there to constantly monitor the wearer's location, but to set off an alarm if they went into an unsafe area.
Which Eliezer's had done.
If Lute had been silly enough to try and cut them off, the alarm would have been far more urgent and with a raised threat level.
Security cordoned off Lute and the unconscious child before he could even try to make a sovereign claim[3]. Nevertheless, he tried.
"This is my property by right of conquest."
"This is an Alliance Station," said Security Officer Noy, readying hir stunner. "Are you declaring war on the Entire Alliance?"
There was an extended moment of silence where, if there had been tumbleweeds, a tumbleweed would have slowly crossed an imaginary screen. The only activity in this space was a Cleaner that didn't understand any memos about urgent situations in progress.
Every single Security Staffer present was ready to draw and fire. More were arriving by the second. It was an obvious choice between walking to a security cell, or waking up in one.
Carter Lute drew his weapon and took futile aim.
[1] If they did, there would be less Deregger worlds.
[2] Except, of course, the financial kind.
[3] Sovereign territory extends to the loading and unloading zones of any ship in dock, owing to Galactic Alliance Diplomacy Law.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Violin]
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