In Alien Hands: Crashed

Crashed - Part 14

I woke up refreshed, but still anxious for the court case. It was set to be done by lunch, I could have her off planet by dinner. I scarfed down a quick breakfast, put on my newly purchased suit (I hated suits) and drove to the court house with Peri.

It was like every other courthouse in the universe, boring. Marble floors, pillars, yada yada. You've seen it once, you've seen it a million times. Serious looked aliens filtered through the halls, focusing solely on the task ahead of them.

Peri and I arrived at the court room and arranged our files. Tech support was setting up two monitors for the case, one for the dog-man human rescue owner, and another for Holli back at the quarantine facility. The other lawyers arrived shortly after us, glaring at me like I used to beat her with a stick or something equally horrible. I chose to ignore them While the judge entered.

We both stated our arguments. Peri spoke about how Holli (he put extra emphasis on using her name) was loved like a child by myself and about how happy she was with me. He went on about how her life with me was far more similar to her life on earth, how healthy she was (he used the vet records from the planet where I met her), and how unhappy she was with her current care.

They argued that the alien contact (referring to me) was bad for a human, how she had been hurt while under my protection, and that she must be tremendously bored all the time at home if she was just handed her meals.

I went on about how she got a variety of meals, that she got time to play and do different things, how she wouldn't have to do all that work just for a meal on earth. All while we made these arguments, a live feed of her was shown on the screen. I watched as she struggled with the new feeder for over an hour before giving up and sulking in her bed. The lawyers gave it no mind, but I could see she was hungry. I raised my hand.

"Yes?" The judge inquired.

" Holli hasn't been able to eat all through this hearing, I've been watching. I'd like to request that she be given an easier puzzle back at the facility" I asked. The judge simply nodded, someone in the crowd watching pulled out a phone and called the facility. Sure enough, they have her an easier puzzle. I was happy to watch her quickly solve it and begin eating.

It was over shortly after that. The jury decided I was more caring towards Holli, and that I was better equipped to care for this individual. No one involved with her care that day noticed that she was going hungry, besides myself. I was rewarded custody of Holli and given a free ticket back home. I thanked the judge profusely before driving to the facility to take her home.

When I got there, she looked like she was about to eat the pile of pellets she had managed to free. Puckle had explained that She needed to be sedated, at least until She arrived at the airport (at which point She could legally be loose) She seemed confused, but happily took several steps towards me, until she saw the needle. At which point, she bolted.

I tried to coax the cowering Holli back over to me, she didn't want to. She knew as well as I did why I wanted her to come over, and she wasn't having it.

"We could just dart her." An assistant quipped . I was not happy with this, I have him a dirty look.

"It's okay, Holli. Holli, I'm just going to give you a shot to put you to sleep, then I'll take you home to meet my family." I cooed. It seemed to work, She took several steps towards me. I was determined to do this on her terms, She had been forced into things enough since we crashed. I asked her for her arm, which I held still while Puckle injected her with the sedative.

It works fast, She immediately started to go limp. I quickly turned her around so she'd fall against the bars, managing to do it just in time to keep her from hitting her head on the hard floor. I went inside the cage and lifted her, happy to have her close again.

It was a short trip to the space port, I was told they had an area where I could bring her out of sedation. I wanted her awake with me the whole time, I wasn't going to have her first introduction to my home planet be waking up in a strange place. I was given a new collar for her wrist, which I placed before she was given the injection that would wake her up. I held her while she slowly came to, happy the ordeal was over.

Published 11/3/18