It's been many, many, years since the Pax Humanis agents attacked the pirate ship and freed the children. Some of the children, with permission of parentals and guardians, kept in touch with the agents who became friends with them. Sometimes even being allowed to visit in person, carefully of course.
@internutter/challenge-02519-f329-for-the-greater-good -- Anon Guest
Cem sprang back into full excitement mode when the dark sky changed to the unique glow of atmosphere. They were finally here! Unty Thom's planet! Ze was going to see a real log cabin and meet hunting dogs and Unty Thom was going to let them pet a deer! And they would go fishing on a lake and maybe swim there too and Unty Thom was going to show them wilderness survival and all the cool stuff.
But first, a temporary livesuit that would let hir do all of that whilst closely monitoring all the vitals. Little Havenworlders, no matter what they had been through for epigenetic experience, still needed protection from lots of things. Bacteria and disease were only part of it.
This was a Pax Humanis planet. Where all of the most dangerous Humans were kept apart for everybody's safety.
These were people who, when they weren't hunting animals, hunted people. Bad people, true, but people all the same. People who had had lives and choices and routinely made choices so bad they had to be removed from life in the Alliance. Life at all, actually.
Like the pirates who had once taken a very small Cem from hir home. Pirates who had put Cem in a cage with four others like hir. Pirates who had tagged hir and the others for auction.
Pirates who were a suspiciously military lot from the Faadraxi Conglomerate. The entire polity was under close scrutiny, now, and still paying reparations.
There were airlocks, and full body scans. Cem had to stand on a revolving platform in hir Skins as machines scanned hir for every possible measurement, including how fast ze was growing.
Then Cem was allowed to choose a paint scheme. Unty Thom had told hir about this. Camo print because the animals could only see in greys, but bright and vibrant colours so that other hunters would know ze wasn't prey.
Pink and blue and primrose too... all in an eye-gouging neon.
Unty Thom was dressed in bright rainbows with a clashing floral overlay in the pattern. "It's my little pup! How you doin' Squeaker?"
Cem rushed into the arms of possibly the most dangerous Human in the area. Hands that could crack open requ nuts with no bother lifted hir gently into the air and held hir aloft for almost a little too long.
Unty Thom carefully cradled hir as they had been taught so many years ago. Obsessively gentle, because they knew they could harm hir with any thoughtless motion.
"Remember," said Unty Thom. "You and your folks are allowed to call time out on anything. You got your offensensitivity shielding, you got all the survival stuff in your suits... And I'm gonna teach you how to use a real knife." It gleamed like a gem in Unty Thom's hand. Simultaneously beautiful and deadly. It was still in its presentation box, and suspiciously Cem-sized.
"I remember," said Cem. "Only point the blade at things you want to cut. And keep it sharp, 'cause there's nothing deadlier than a dull knife."
Unty Thom chuckled as they put hir down. "Those are the basics, kiddo. Today, you're stepping up into the more advanced classes. How to carve stakes for a bivouac, that sort of thing."
Cem's parentals squeaked nervously, and turned as one to the Safety Associate, who just nodded.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / inxti]
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