Pidge would have argued it was a normal trip out. You know, a drive in space. It was a load of rubbish, but that was her argument and she was sticking with it. She was in space and she hadn't found anything about her family, she was stranded with a bunch of idiots and she was driving a giant green lion. Everyone else was still freaking out about the Galra (A valid worry) and no one wanted to think of the family they'd left behind. So yeah, all valid worries.
She still needed air. So, she'd grabbed a small ship and after attaching a note to Lance who had been asleep on the sofa, drove out. A few spins as she adjusted and BAM, driving in space. She'd never seen the stars like this. It wasn't a simulation or a photo. It was actual space and it was so beautiful. It was meant to be a five minute trip. Ten tops. No one would have noticed.
She lost track of time in the stars, driving past the different planets and stars but as she drove she slumped. She didn't recognise anything. It was all so… alien to her. She'd known she wouldn't but seeing it in person made her realise how far she was from home. She had decided to wear civilian clothing for this trip, the Paladin armour didn't feel right. Wearing it was like acknowledging that she wasn't going home for a long time.
Her hands clenched as she thought of her mom, who was probably terrified Pidge was gone. Alone in that house, watching the news in hopes her daughters face would appear just so she'd know what had happened. Guilt washed through her. Her mother had lost her final child, her greatest fear fulfilled. The ship jerked to a hault, screens warning about a tractor beam holding the ship.
"Unidentified cruiser, please state your Name and Destination." Blared over the speaker.
Apparently space had police.
Quiznak.
#~#~
The Police Headquarters was a small space station built for one officer and a few prisoners. It existed only because at one point this quadrant had been a base for pirate out to attack transports and the Galran Empire had wanted to show they had control of the area. Now it was just there for monitoring traffic coming through the area. Axan had seen a lot of odd things. Eloping couples fleeing their clans. One deserter who had been promptly rearrested. One group of Young adults out to form a clan on a nearby planet to had been returned to their school with a warning. Many drunk drivers who had taken the wrong turn at a random star. This was a first however.
Axan was a standard Galra, with greyish blue skin and fur and two pointed ears on his head. His uniform was crisp and clean, marking him an officer of the Galran Police Force. He was also (although he'd never admit it) young being only 27. It showed as he was still growing and his fun still hadn't fully thickened. But as an officer he was proud to serve the Empire in anyway possible. And if he was in a position of not talking to a lot of people, even better. He sat straight, holding the pad and pen at the ready for taking notes. He'd already started, writing in silence as the Alien glared sullenly in front of him.
The Galra looked at the Alien over the datapad. It was small, with brown fur and small ears. It also wore glass over its eyes which was also a woody brown colour. Axan made a note into the electronic device, grunting when he added the charges. Driving without a licence, speeding, evading arrest and resisting arrest. The mugshot was added with a practiced swipe and finally he lowered it fully to gaze at the creature. Its species was in the database, but the information was so sparse that it was practically worthless. Hu-man, he was certain it had said. It was an odd name, but he was a traffic warden so it wasn't his problem if for once he'd been given less paperwork then he should have. There were thousands of species of aliens, he just made sure the law was followed to the word.
"Ok hu-man." He began, bringing up the next page. "Answer the questions and we can call a clan member to pick you up." This would be interesting; clan issues were always a fun mess. The clan leader should pay! The family of the persecuted should pay! Always the same arguments. The Hu-mans were oddly small so fining something half his size would be even funnier. Small creatures always tried to be threatening when it was actually adorable. The Hu-man just huffed in its chair, wrists turning in the cuffs. Well, if it didn't like them it shouldn't have kicked him.
At that reminder he added assault to the list of convictions.
"Name." He began, moving the pen to write in the box. The Hu-man had proven it had a substandard education, not being able to read or write so he would have to do the paperwork himself. Again, not a problem, he'd dealt with a fair few drunks who couldn't spell their own name. He just waited for the creature to answer.
"Pidge." It muttered, glaring at the table. His ears twitched in annoyance when it didn't follow with the proper spelling. It probably didn't know the proper alphabet either he realised. He made a guess from the sound it made and repeated the word. The Hu-man nodded quietly, apparently wanting this over as quickly as he did.
"Age." Young adult, around 23 possibly. Fur still growing, small bony build. That might be standard for its species. Still in the habit of running off and breaking all the laws without a care of how it would affect them in later life however. In his clan, they would already have been assisting loyally, working to actually get a proper edu…
"15." It whispered after a moments thought, the wish to lie being beaten by the wish to leave quickly. It knew it wasn't leaving without his say so.
His grip tightened, the changing colour of skin hidden by the thick fur coating his fingers. Underage. Still a dependent on its clan members support. Its clothes were dirty and rumpled, what he'd assumed to be a sign of ignorance and lack of proper care a sign of negligence. Small not just because of species, but also age.
He wrote the information frowning. It was possible that was an adult age to a Hu-man but the reluctance to speak said otherwise. He recognised the tone of knowing that they were about to get themselves into even more trouble. He added Underage Driving to the list not sure what to do after this was finished. He'd known the alien hadn't had a Com but had assumed it was old enough to know a contact number at least. It was hard to move past how young the Hu-man appeared now so he moved on.
Well, it at least explained why they couldn't fly straight.
"Planet."
"Go quiznak yourself." Definitely a minor. All the bravado of an idiot kit without any world experience. He calmly ignored the glare and continued the questioning.
"Quadrant."
"Go. Quiznak. Yourself." It repeated slowly, wish to leave forgotten in a moment of stupidity. He checked to make sure a cell was free nonchalantly (as if he wasn't alone on this small station where no one came) and marked it as taken. Well, this kit wasn't leaving any time soon. Pity, he'd been enjoying his free time.
"Clan contact details."
"…Clan." It repeated, tasting the word like it didn't know it. Anger slipped into confusion, furless face falling as it struggled to answer. It looked so young. On the bright side however, it was no longer trying to remove the handcuffs. Breaking the bones of a minor who tried escaping was never pleasant even when necessary.
"Your clan is also known as your familial support structure. Mother, Father, Religious Leader." He explained twirling the pen lazily. If this kid thought Axan had never been sworn at before it had lived a very sheltered existence. He had forgotten to ask gender, he noted to himself as he double checked the paperwork. When the silence continued he repeated himself slower. "Your Clan is your Familial Structure. Mother. Father. Sibling. Elder." It was biting its lip, eyes now on the floor.
There was no answer, the Hu-man just stared at the floor like it held the answers to the Galaxy.
"Pidge, I need a contact number." He pressed gently. Minors were always awkward to question and he didn't want to deal with an upset Hu-man just yet. Who did he contact for Clanless aliens? Usually the files on the species had an emergency number (because it was easier then flailing madly waiting for someone to work out what to do) but there was nothing for Hu-mans. It must be a very small species for the Galran Empire to have not made a complete working portfolio yet. Or maybe he just hadn't received a full update of it, he was stationed in what had to be the emptiest part of the Galaxy after all. There wasn't even a Mall nearby.
The creature slumped slowly until its head was on the table with a quiet bang and a groan. It was an answer at least.
He marked 'Orphan' with a sigh, already trying to plan what to do next. Put the minor in the cell and then contact… someone. The kit would need food if it was as young as it had said (Maybe that was why it had such little fur on it, lack of nutrition stunted fur growth in young ones) and maybe a blanket. Being the sole officer in this area usually meant very little work but now all he could picture was the amount of paperwork he'd need to fill in after the interview was done.
The kit would be here a while however.
#~#~
"I should have lied." Pidge groaned removing the circuit board. The cell was so rarely used that she didn't even need a tool, it just popped off. Rewiring the lock was a bit more complicated however. She didn't even have a set of protective gloves. As she worked she plucked… something off the plate which the Galra (Axel? Axan?) had brought her and then stayed to make sure she'd eaten something. It tasted like an oddly smoked fish but it was blue and wrapped in a green wrap. It looked gross, smelled terrifying and tasted great. She shoved another one into her mouth and chewed as she worked. The wiring was similar to Earths wires that a few pokes told her all she needed to know, the knife that had been brought for dinner instead removing the protective seal of the wires.
"I should have said 18, how would he have known I was lying?! But nooooo, I had to be honest…." It hadn't occurred to her to lie. It wasn't like Aliens knew the human age of majority. The wires sparked and Pidge waited with baited breath until the door didn't move. "Everyone is going to kill me." 'Going out, back soon' did not cover being arrested. No one even knew where she was. The second attempt opened the door and she poked out quietly, eating the final alien taco as she snuck. The building was quiet and out she crept, certain she could hotwire the ship and leave. Maybe she'd disable Axis'… Axam's… the Galra's ship so he couldn't chase her back to the castle.
Carrying the (rather useless) knife she walked quietly down the corridor, pausing next to doors to check inside. Then she turned trying to remember the way she'd come in. The signs were still gibberish unfortunately. A quick glance into an office revealed A… The Galra ducked over his pad holding a handful of fur as he muttered something about Kits, paperwork and useless Clans. Pidge kept going instead of being insulted in the name of her species. He had brought her dinner and a blanket after all. He seemed like a nice Galra, which was an odd thought but he hadn't needed to feed her so quickly or give her a such a warm fuzzy blanket. He could have just locked her in that cold cell and left her until someone had came to take her away. So apparently some Galra were nice, maybe that was why he was in the middle of nowhere so isolated he had to talk to a prisoner for company.
When she finally found her ship she climbed in with a grin. The Galra's ship was to the side and now mysteriously missing a few vital looking wires that were hidden in a locker she'd spotted. Last thing she wanted was to strand a guy for doing his job. Instead she flew out with a triumphant cheer, not thinking about why he hadn't closed the door to the landing area (landing bay maybe? She hadn't been able to read any of the signs) or why he hadn't disabled her ship entirely. Removing a few wires would have rendered this entire plan worthless. Instead she flew back, a panel thankfully showing an odd yet serviceable map.
She wondered how everyone would react to Pidge now being wanted by the police. Small, mousy, stay out of trouble Pidge. She giggled as she thought of Lance's face. Keith would just glower in his normal corner and Hunk would ask about the food. Shiro would be disappointed, she admitted to herself with a frown. She didn't like the idea of disappointing him. Shiro was the cool old guy you wanted to like you just because he was that cool.
She sighed and followed the map. Her mom would kill her if she ever learned what had happened. Sneaking out in a hostile area had been a stupid idea and hadn't been worth it. But, she thought looking up with a small smile, the view had been worth it. As she looked up, infinity looked back at her.
You'd never see a view like this on Earth.
#~#~
An; Not beta read, just wanted to write this quick idea that came to my head. Please let me know what you think.
Also writing at 3am is a terrible idea.