Degranon

"Hachen? Why?" Argen yanked back on the laser pistol, causing it to fall. As it hit the ground, a beam of light shot upward, burning into his father’s shirt. "No!"

***

Returning home from Valcine University, Taldra saw the crowd that had gathered near Life Unit. After disengaging her craft from hoverlane mode, she piloted it to her reserved parking area, jumped out, and ran into the crowd. Somehow, she knew it involved Argen. She sensed it in the worst way, knowing it without possibly knowing or wanting to know.

And there he was, being dragged away by the Maintainers, his head bouncing around.

"Let him go!" she screamed.

Several Maintainers rushed to her side. One of them, a bearded black man with a thin face, touched her shoulder, but with a firmness that felt more like restraint than greeting. "Dr. Lorfeltez, we’ll need to find you a counselor. There’s tragic news."

She pointed at him. "I don’t want a counselor. I want my son." It suddenly occurred to her that Hachen should have returned and would probably have noticed the commotion. "Why didn’t you contact me, or my spouse?"

The Maintainer shook his head, looking sincerely hurt by what he needed to tell her. "Dr. Lorfeltez, we can’t release your son, because he just shot Dr. Naldod. I didn’t want to tell you this way." His hand remained on her shoulder.

She pushed his hand away. Her mind rushed with thoughts and feelings she couldn’t comprehend or express. "Are you rusted all the way through? Argen doesn’t have a gun."

He held his hands in front of her. "Dr. Lorfeltez, please, we don’t understand what happened either." One of his hands again rested on her shoulder.

Before she knew what or why or anything else, Taldra landed a forceful punch squarely on the Maintainer’s nose. As the other Maintainers grabbed her arms, she shouted legally un-permitted curses and called out for Hachen and Argen.