The alien wore long ornamental robes and I recognized the symbol of The Order on his shoulder. Instead of hair like most humanoids would have, he had evenly spaced black horns around his head and had light blue skin. One of the oddest things about him was that his eyes were completely white with no irises at all. The dark haired teenage boy beside him was a disappointment in comparison, because he looked human as far as I could tell.
“I can't believe that we were so lucky to meet a couple of rogues this far out from the galactic core!” The teenager exclaimed and pat his hip. “I can't believe how easy it was to take the man down!”
At his words I looked down at his waist and saw my father's laser pistol. Instead of the gleaming black it was supposed to be, it had a red tint to its sheen.
“If he had kept his primary weapon on him, I doubt our sneak attack would have surprised him.” The alien said in a gruff voice.
N-no! I thought, and my heart started to wither.
“The woman didn't provide any great threat, either.” The teenager said and held up my mother's locket.
“NOOO!” I yelled in a rage and jumped out into hallway, startling both the alien and the teenager. I did the same technique that I had done to the blankets in the compartment I had hidden in, formed a box around the teenager, and pushed with the Presence.
“AHHH!” The teenage boy yelled as he was hurled down the hallway and slammed into the wall. He bounced off and landed on the floor, and I took the opportunity to form a box around my mother's locket and pulled it towards myself. It flew thirty feet in an instant and I caught it. Since that worked, I started to do the same thing to my father's laser pistol.
“HOLD!” The alien yelled and kind of did the same thing to hold the gun in place. “That weapon is much too dangerous for a child to use.”
“Like you care about that!” I said and pulled harder.
“Ugh.” The alien grunted as he felt his own power being taxed. Unwilling to keep fighting a Presence tug of war, he quickly reached down and hit the release on the charging clip to make the gun useless.
“Ooooowwww!” The teenage boy rubbed his head as he started to get up. “H-hey! You damn brat! You can't do that to me! I'm...” He stopped talking when his master touched his shoulder.
“Calm.” The alien said and turned to face me, then noticed what I had tied around my waist. “Boy, those Light blades are not for you.” He said and tried to use the Presence to take the cylinders.
“They're not for you, either!” I nearly yelled and reached down to hold onto them, then I felt who owned them. The slender one was my mother's and the other one was my father's. I knew my box trick wasn't going to work, then I felt that I was slowly being pulled down the hallway. Instead of making a box of energy, I made a thin layer out of it that was about the size and thickness of a piece of paper, then used the Presence to fling it at the alien.
“AHH!” The alien yelled and lost his concentration as he held a hand to his cheek.
I felt the alien's shock and saw yellow blood seep out between his fingers and glared at him. “They belong to my parents! The people you just killed for no reason!”
Both the alien and the teenage boy were surprised that I could talk so well and showed a higher intelligence than my four year old body let on.
“Your parents were criminals and were fleeing prosecution.” The alien said and moved his hand. The cut had healed in only a few seconds and he used a piece of cloth to wipe off the blood. “They and their friends have done terrible things over the years.”
“I'm not listening to...”
“Quiet!” The alien said and then I felt my mouth close as the Presence pressed against it. “Luckily, you are but a child and couldn't have committed any crimes.” He said. “Unfortunately, you still need to come with us.”
“MUH?”
“What? Oh, right.” The alien said and I felt the pressure on my mouth disappear.
“Why do I have to go with you?”
“You're an orphan and...”
“You killed my parents and made me an orphan, you alien bastard!” I exclaimed and concentrated on making another paper-thin layer of energy. Before I could finish it, I felt a whack on the back of my head and fell unconscious.
*
“That wasn't necessary.” The alien said to his teenage apprentice.
“Yes, it was! The little freak threw me into the wall!” The teenage boy said. “The least I could to was hit him in the back of the head with that container door!”
The alien sighed, because it was always difficult to cull the retribution instinct in someone so young. He walked over to the unconscious little boy on the floor, then knelt down and searched him. He easily found the papers, the passkey, and the two credit chips. He picked up the dropped locket and untied the cord from his waist, and put all of the items into the storage pack hidden inside his robes.
“Give me the pistol.” The alien said.
“What? Are you kidding?” The teenage boy asked. “I was going to request it as a trophy for my first successful rogue capture!”
“Now.”
The teenage boy sighed and unhooked it from his belt and handed it over, and the alien tucked it into the pack with the other items.
“Pick him up.” The alien said.
“I'm not touching that little...”
“Use the Presence, then!” The alien said angrily.
“Oh! That I can do.” The teenage boy said and used the presence to make the unconscious little boy hover about 3 feet above the floor.
“Let's go.” The alien said. “Oh, and don't intentionally bang him into the walls or hatches.”
There was a low thump sound with a slight metallic ring.
“Oops.” The teenage boy said and held in his chuckle.
“If he is harmed in any way, you will be the one to nurse him back to health... and you will need to give up your time cycles with the Wise One this week.”
“Wh-what? You can't do that!” The teenage boy said at the same time that another thump sound was heard.
“Heed my words and follow my instructions.” The alien said, and felt his apprentice's emotions go from happy to resigned. Why can't he be like I was when I was an apprentice? He thought to himself. I was so eager to please that I did everything that was asked of me and never questioned my elders. He held in his sigh and they left the ship.
“Hey, what am I supposed to do with this thing?” The port authority worker asked and motioned to the airlock and the small ship docked there.
“Lock it up and put into long term storage.” The alien said and held a hand out.
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The port authority worker grabbed his scanner and held it under the alien's hand, then it blinked green. “Whose name do I put it under?”
“Aaron Ullir.” The alien said when he remembered the name on the papers the boy had on him.
“How long should I...”
“Long. Term. Storage.” The alien said and glared at the man. The worker nodded several times and put the scanner away as he stepped back to let The Order representatives pass with their captive.
*
“Ughhhh.” I moaned as I started to wake up. Suddenly, my head was lifted from where it was resting comfortably, then my face was mashed into the underside of a pair of quite nice breasts covered by only a thin cloth. In the next moment, my head and torso are hanging off the side of a bed and I'm watching a hooded figure with a very cute backside rush out through a partially open door. When it clanged shut, my body decided to slide the rest of the way to the floor and I hit my head on the ceramic tiles.
“OW!” I exclaimed and rubbed the top of my head, then I winced when my hand accidentally touched the large bump that was developing on the back of my head. “Dammit, that hurts. What hit me?”
When no one answered, I sat up on the floor and took stock of my situation. I don't know where I am, how I got here, or what's going to happen to me. I thought. Just like what happened the last time I was kidnapped. I checked my pockets and looked at my bare waist. I've also been robbed. I thought sadly, then a sharp pain lanced through my head.
“OW! Stop that!” I yelled and sent the push of Presence back where it had come from. A muffled 'ow!' greeted me and I laughed, because I recognized the voice of that idiot teenager. The door to the room opened and the alien came in.
“Enough playing.” The blue skinned alien said.
“I hope you're not here to steal anything else, because I don't have anything left.” I said.
“I didn't steal...”
“I was unconscious and you took all of my belongings without my permission.” I said and glared at him. “Is that not stealing, or are the rules different for you Order thugs?”
“How old are you?” The alien asked.
“Don't you know already?” I asked. “By the feeling of my head, I've been probed a lot while I was unconscious. According to my mother, who you bastards killed, you should have gathered all of the general knowledge about me by now.”
“You're very smart.”
“My mother, who you bastards killed, said my brain is like a sponge.”
The alien sighed and reached down to grab me, and I kicked out with my feet while using my Silent Walking technique. I knew it wouldn't do any damage; but, it helped me concentrate the presence around my feet and I pushed with it.
“AHH!” The alien yelled as his feet flew out from underneath him and he fell forward. I rolled out of the way and his chin got caught on the the side of the bed and it snapped his head back with a crack. I stood up beside him and looked at his body that was nearly bent in half the wrong way. His eyes looked at me and I could see the pain there.
“How did you like that ambush?” I asked and made fists with my hands. “How do you like that a four year old got the better of you?”
His completely white eyes widened as I made a box of Presence energy around my right fist and he felt the flow condense and become solid.
“Surprise, asshole.” I said and punched him in the face. Since I was only four and my fists were so small, it was the perfect size to smash in one of his freaky white eyes. The alien gargled because he couldn't scream with his throat pressed against the bed. I pulled my fist back and tried to swing again, then I grunted as I was tackled by the alien's teenage apprentice. We bounced against the bed and I felt a couple of my ribs crack as we fell to the floor and he quickly rolled over to sit on top of me.
“You little shit!” The teenage boy said and punched me in the head with his fist. I started laughing at him because his weak punches weren't worth trying to block as he tried desperately to hurt me. It made him angrier, which distracted him and that was what I wanted. I put a hand on his belly and concentrated the Presence between my hand and his gut, then pushed as hard as I could.
“BLARRRRGH!” The teenage boy threw up everything he had in his stomach. I was glad that he was so much taller than me, because his barf just missed my head. I hadn't succeeded in throwing him off of me like I had hoped, though. He put his hands over his belly and hunched over, and that put his head within the reach of my arms.
This may be better. I thought with a smile and put my hands over the teenage boy's ears and did the same thing that I just did to his belly, except to his ears. The teenage boy's eyes widened as both of his eardrums were shattered, and he screamed. His belly forgotten, he grabbed onto his ears and rolled off of me. I tried to take in a deep breath and winced because I had forgotten about my broken ribs. I didn't try to sit up for the same reason. A blue hand grabbed onto my shirt and his fingers dug into the cloth as his fingernails dug into my skin.
“ARGH!” I yelled, then suddenly there was nothing but blackness as a wave of Presence washed over the room.
*
“I think we need to keep him isolated.” A man's voice said as he held the Sleep technique in place.
“I agree.” A woman's voice said. “(Undecipherable) has been lax in his training if he would let a four year old get the drop on him like that.”
“I was talking about the child.” The man said and nodded at the side of the room, and several healers left to go into the room to deal with the wounded.
“(Undecipherable)'s care of his apprentice is also lacking, especially if the boy's first reaction is to resort to laying his hands on a young child when his master is attacked.” The woman said, as if the first man hadn't said anything.
“The apprentice has petitioned to keep the child's deceased father's pistol.” Another man's voice said.
“Seriously?” The second woman asked.
“He wants it as a trophy.”
“Dear Chaiya, Goddess of Light, please forgive their folly.” The first woman said as she gazed up to the ceiling, then she felt a comforting feeling.
“According to the report, it took several members of The Order to subdue the rogues.” The first man said.
“Ha.” The first woman said. “I read that report. The rogues didn't even have their Light swords.”
“Well, if their young son can do that much damage, I can only imagine what they did.” The second woman said.
“Nothing.” The first woman said.
“Excuse me?”
“No reports of injuries for The Order members that were supposedly present.” The first woman said.
“How much do you want to bet that it was an ambush and they slaughtered two practically unarmed people?” The second man asked.
“Why would they do that?” The second woman asked.
“I think the younger generation is starting to believe that hunting rogues is supposed to be a rite of passage for them to rise in the ranks.” The second man said.
“We need to dissuade them of that notion as soon as possible, or we're going to have quite the mess on our hands soon.” The first woman said.
“This isn't a mess?” The second woman asked and motioned to the see-through wall.
“One we can easily clean up.” The woman said. “Have (Undecipherable) and his apprentice brought to the council chamber. We'll get to the truth of this matter before the day is done.”
“What about the boy?” The first man asked.
“You can use your Extended Sleep technique so the healers have time to check over him and heal all of his injuries.”
“What injuries? He seemed fine.” The second man said.
“Can't you feel his Presence?” The first woman asked, and the man's eyes widened.
“How... how can he...”
“I believe that there's a few more things to discover about him than just his slightly pointy ears.” The first woman said with a smile. “I'll see you all in the council chamber.” She said and left the very quiet room.
*
I woke up with a splitting headache and didn't groan this time. I kept my mouth shut, because I could feel that my head was back on someone's lap. I didn't know who it was, or why they were doing it, and I couldn't give myself away by trying to use Presence. So, I just laid there and kept my breathing normal, while she lightly stroked my hair. She stayed there for quite some time, then suddenly she perked up.
I thought about saying something to her, then she carefully lifted my head from her lap. Once again, it pressed my face into the underside of her breasts, only this time instead of the smashing motion, the gentle weight of her breasts almost hugged my face. She carefully slid out from underneath my head and put a pillow under it instead. Surprisingly, the pillow didn't feel as nice as her lap did.
I waited for several moments in silence before I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at the door. It was slightly open and the hooded girl slipped out through the opening and shut it with barely a click. I had caught a glimpse of her backside in the light, and it was even shapelier than the last time I saw it. I was only four, so I knew I shouldn't be considering what I was considering, then I took a deep breath and let it out.
The room's door opened and a woman I had never seen before stood there. She had an odd uniform on, more like leather armor than anything else, and instead of the Order's robes I had seen before, she wore a kind of large cloak that could look like robes if she wanted to close it.
“I know you're awake, so you can stop pretending.” The woman said with a smile.
“What if I don't want to get up?” I asked sarcastically, and she laughed.
“You're just as curious about what's going to happen from now on as I am.” The woman said. “So, you have a choice. You can stay in there and gloat over what you did to (Undecipherable) and his apprentice, or you can come with me and we can find out how we go on from here.”
“We?” I asked and sat up, and I realized I wasn't wearing my normal jumpsuit. “Where are my clothes?”
“Being repaired.” The woman said. “(Undecipherable) tore your jumpsuit up, and there was blood and a few other things on it.”
I touched the spots on my chest where his fingernails had dug in and didn't feel anything.
“So.” She stepped back and motioned to the hallway. “Feel like taking a walk?”
“I guess so.” I said and slid off of the bed and walked over to her. “I've got really short legs so you have to walk slow.”
“I can...”
“No.” I said adamantly, and she stared down at me. “Only my mother has ever carried me. Since she was killed by The Order, as was my father, I won't ever accept any offers of help from you.” I told her. “Any of you.”
The woman's face lost its smile, and she motioned down the hallway. I stepped by her and did my best to walk without putting my hand on the wall for balance. I heard her sigh as she shut the door to the room, then she was beside me a moment later and only took one step for every three of mine. We walked down the hallway in silence as we headed towards the room where I hoped to get the answers to my questions.