Challenge #02519-F329: For the Greater Good

Several Enforcers of Pax Humanis teamed up and took down a pirate's ship. They were tearing the ship apart from the inside-out when one hears crying in one of the cargo holds. Tearing the hold's doors off, they find dozens of children, human and haven-worlder, locked in cages with price tags already printed on the tops of them. Now they have children to care for, and the potential buyers? Were about to get a lesson in what it meant to mess with the innocent on Pax Humanis's watch!
Before anyone gets any really bad ideas, this harkens back to a disgraceful era in human history when children were sold off to become zoo attractions. Or, if they had odd deformities, sold to circuses to be part of the freak shows. -- DaniAndShali

[AN: Actual shitty things Humanity has done to other(ed) Humans. You can google this yourself. Actual children - usually children of colour - were exhibited in zoos like animals. Though the freak shows used to contain the crown stars of circuses, it wasn't that great to know your own parents sold you for profit. Nowadays, the deformed have to fight tooth and nail for any assistive devices/living helpers they need and get stared at when out in society. Hooray for progress? /end rant]

They had been sent to deal with space pirates. They knew what to do with those. Though the Faadraxi had thrown up their hands and pleaded incapability when the Alliance attempted to get them to enforce Galactic Law... they were quick to attempt amelioration when Pax Humanis was put into play. Too little, too late, by far.

Now, a suspiciously military-esque Faadraxi vessel was dead in the water, so to speak, with a team of five nasty brutes making certain there was nobody left to pull any stunts by methodically pulling the ship to pieces. Bulkhead by bulkhead, they searched the vessel. They found drugs, porn, secret stashes of pastries and treats, photos of home that also included suspiciously military backgrounds. Those were good evidence.

What they also found was the very interesting violation of Cogniscent Rights in the hold. It was full of cages, and every cage was full of children. Children of every Alliance race bar the Faadraxi themselves. If the pirates weren't already eliminated with prejudice... let's just say that many of this Pax Humanis crew wanted to violate the remains; or somehow revivify the deceased to kill them again, only much, much slower this time. It took them every effort to record the scene before they began to fix the damage.

There were, of course, teams of Mediks and Therapists on board every Pax Humanis vessel. They often live in stately luxury with every creature comfort they could want or need to ameliorate the stress of the mission. Of course, the actual Pax Humanis agents have their own ways to de-stress, and they very frequently get them, especially on the job. They would be needing all available amenities for this.

PH Agent Thom fought the desire for blood. Now was not the time. "Gentelthem," they said. "We must all remember that these are not targets. Summon the helpers and get these helpless out of here. Gently."

There were many of the Pax Humanis who understood the difference between deserving prey and undeserving innocents. There were others who were simply... allowed off leash in a targeted area. There were one or two amongst this pack who gleaned joy off of others' fear and Thom kept a sharp eye on PH Agents Erl and Jaz. The others used all their practice on soft voices as they undid the locks or cut hinges off the doors.

There would be a lot of transference violence against the empty cages at a later date, but that wasn't important. What was important was getting the undeserving innocent to a place of safety, comfort, and respite.

The Mediks and Therapists thronged, ushering children beyond the bad place full of menacing people and into much cleaner, much nicer areas where they could wash, get a check-up, and some comfort food. What Havenworlders were present were Level Two or lower[1], so they could withstand some implied carnage in their passage from pirate ship to Pax Humanis vessel.

They would be okay, Thom knew this. At least, they knew this on an intellectual level. What gave Thom problems was... a surprise parenting instinct. Sure, Thom kept hunting dogs at home on one of the Pax Humanis Reserve Planets, raised them from pups and so forth, but... these were people. Thom didn't 'do' people.

Not before today.

Some of them were so small. They should feel sorrier for the large ones, folded up and incapable of much movement inside the standard cages, but the littlest ones... The ones who trembled in the exact middle of their wire cubes, whimpering as the big tough Humans worked to get them out... Those were the ones who flashed through Thom's mind every time they closed their eyes.

Thom was... worried. That was a big deal for them.

They weren't puppies, to hold and bathe and bottle-feed and keep warm close to their chest so they could hear Thom's heartbeat and think their scent was 'home'. These were children who had homes and families and plans for their lives. Thom couldn't just... take one and treat them like another pup. Children needed more than a pup needed.

Thom kept telling themself that for a week. Then they finally snapped and waited for a non-appointment Therapist to see them on the exact border between Agent-space and Non-agent space aboard the Swift Retribution. Nervously playing with their own fingers. Anxious about something for, perhaps, the first time in their life.

Therapist Jan opened the door. "Thank you for respecting our safe space. Lounge three is empty for a discussion."

They must all be assuming this was some crisis that Thom needed to solve. Thom let them assume, since it kind of qualified. This particular cluster of feelings had certainly never happened to them before.

There was tea, and soothing white noise, and an image of a vast expanse of nature in the window-screen. All things to help Thom feel at ease so they could get to the part that had them uneasy.

"The little ones," Thom began, "and I mean the really little ones... what's their... overall condition?"

Therapists like Jan were used to Agents speaking in technical terms for things they weren't used to expressing. He smiled warmly and said, "All the children's needs are being seen to. We have a complete -if printed- nutritional profile for each of them, they're hydrated and cleaned, of course. We have to regulate their rest cycles, and -yes- they are receiving therapy."

"What about... the haptic side. I remember little babies need... haptic feedback."

This earned Thom a very analytical look from Therapist Jan. "You're feeling... concern... about the smallest of the rescued children?"

"I know... usually I don't sweat the little things, but these are... these are so little. They're not puppies you can just leave with a surrogate, they need... things. Haptic feedback. Sociable interaction. Educations. Softness. I want to make sure they have those, but... I'm... I've got..." Thom gestured at themself. "Problems."

Therapist Jan was looking up things on his data-reader. "You have nurtured small life-forms before... It's good that you recognise the difference between a pup and a child in respect to needs. It's the punishment aspect of your personal boundaries that has us concerned, even though some of the children have been asking about you."

"Just me? Or... many of the Agents?"

"Surprisingly, many of the agents. You aren't alone in feeling concerned about the children. Agent Erl has expressed a concern that some of the Human children might grow up to be like her."

Erl? Worried about anyone other than herself? That was just wrong on a cosmic scale. It boggled Thom's mind.

"She's also one of the many who have expressed interest in... visiting."

Visiting? "That's... possible? We're allowed? Wait. We're dangerous. We should never be allowed."

"We can arrange supervised visits in the Soft Lounge, provided--"

"Tell me all the rules," Thom demanded, then realised Therapist Jan was just about to do that. "Sorry."

Agent Thom was in their Long Skins, with soft socks and special gloves that kept his skin bacteria to themself. They sat on the soft floor and waited. The door opened, and there was one of the tiny little lizard people. Thom remembered them as a curled up creature too sluggish and too scared to move. They had been concerned enough to bring the Mediks right to that cage, rather than improvising something like carrying the cage or its lining to the Mediks.

It was an unfamiliar relief to see this little one upright, bright-eyed, and gleefully active. They were barely as tall as a Human toddler.

"Hello," cooed Thom, carefully staying still.

"Big scary hoo-mans!" The little lizard yawped, and ran right into Thom's chest, skinny arms wide. "Thank you, big scary . hoo-mans."

Kids were the same everywhere. They could tell when someone was safe. This little one, named Dyr, helped Thom learn how to hug her, and all was well with the universe once more.

[1] The levelling of Havenworlds and Deathworlds both depend on how extreme the conditions are in either direction, with level 5 being the most amenable or most hostile respectively.

[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Vicheslav]

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