The Crime of Protection

*A Standalone Short Story with No Cliffhanger!*

After almost a year on the run, Avi, a fugitive from a human colony, is caught by a team of cutthroat cyborg bounty hunters to face trial for murder back on the planet of Zethron. Exonyie is the alien commander responsible for escorting Avi back to Zethron for her day in court. At first Avi shies away from her jailer Exonyie, because he is a member of the species she despises and distrusts. However, she slowly begins to warm up to him when she sees firsthand a compassionate side that she thought cyborgs lacked. Exonyie faces a tough moral and emotional dilemma when he learns that Avi’s crime was simply taking up arms to protect her family from a rogue authority figure. He must decide if he will bring her back to Zethron safe and sound or defy everything he stands for and help her escape.