An old, struggling, barge manages to dock with an Alliance station. The barge was widely reported as stolen from a deregger system. Who ends up tumbling out of it? Dozens and dozens of young individuals, especially kids. Who do they credit for being able to do this? The video they saw on the info nets.
@internutter/challenge-03995-j343-how-to-leave-without-notice -- Anon Guest
When something's stolen from Deregger space, it's generally code for "destroyed for the insurance money". If it doesn't turn up in a sargasso, in the hands of pirates, or in an asteroid field, it might genuinely be lost forever.
Unless it turns up limping into Alliance space with a distress beacon blaring the instant it was legally past Deregger space.
Something, to use Human parlance, stank, and it wasn't the passengers crammed into that frail tin can like sardines. That had to wait for the forensic investigation, after the freighter and its passengers were safely decanted into a much better area.
They were all kids. From toddlers to teenagers, they were certainly huddled masses yearning to be free. Most of them were also girls, or at least assigned female at birth. They came with the clothes on their backs, and the determination to make up for lost time when they got to the Alliance.
The teenagers were most surprised to learn that they could be adopted, too.
There had to be a story behind it all.
It was simple, in the end. As Mediks and Therapists gently coaxed them out of their collective shells. Every single one of them had gained access to part or whole of a series on escaping a bad life.
One of them had set up a small shrine to Jay from Pax Humanis on the ship, and thereafter in their quarters. While they didn't go as far as praying to, or leaving offerings for their idol, it was a close thing.
There was an artificial votive candle, initially powered by an inedible fruiting body. Later by batteries that they worked to earn.
"I know Jay's not a god," said the teen, laying a flower and feather they'd found before the printed still frame from one of Jay's videos. "He saved two thousand souls all the same. Saved my flakkin' life." They pointed to the picture of Jay's best-practiced reassuring smile. "That's from their vid about food hoarding. I was starving before I got those tips. I want to thank them for how I managed to get regular meals. Before we all found each other and stole an old freighter. I'm alive because of Jay."
"You can write them a thank-you letter," offered the Therapist.
"Sure I won't piss them off?"
"I'm moderately certain they'd like to hear the good they've done."
[Photo by Hari Singh Tanwar on Unsplash]
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