The Outlaws

Chapter 1: ”Extradition Hearing”

Early one afternoon in the country of Violeska on the planet Marvillista, along the Conjunk neighborhood, where the Thoriums live, a delivery robot with a parcel in hand comes.

“Hey, Mr. Robot! My house’s here!”- A shrill voice outside interrupts Jovie's precious short nap before he resumes his tutoring in an important place in the afternoon. It’s the voice of his mother, Sev Thorium. After receiving the goods ordered two days ago, she immediately runs up to Jovie's room, repeatedly knocks on the door, and shouts:

“Wake up, boy! The delivery robot delivered an item that I’d ordered for two days. I want you to come out here to see and show me how to use it. I have to bring it to the extradition hearing later.”

Jovie was woken up by his mother's high-pitched screams even though he is wearing wireless headphones and turning the volume to be high, so he opens his eyes, sits up from the multi-purpose pillow, and shouts:

"Come on, that's a freak."

“What do you mean? What you said is smearing the reputation of the Administration, you know."

Jovie immediately clarifies:

“I didn't mean that. It's just because... I don't think it's worth your attention."

“Then do you swear that you never have bad thoughts about the empire?”

“Come on, mom!"

A silence falls over the house after his words in ten seconds before Sev's voice breaks out:

“Do it and I will trust you."

Jovie can't remember how many times he has to swear to Sev, that anytime he does something wrong to her, he has to do it. He suspects that she has received some kind of privilege from the government before, which is why she always has such a cult attitude.

He looks back at his multi-function pillow and looks back at the minutes he spent napping through the “Sleeping Time” system.

30 minutes is the number that appears on the pillow screen. He turns on the "Dream" mode to review his earlier dream, the familiar dream in which he was the main character, where the imperial soldiers were pointing their guns at him, next to them was a robot with a pair of shoes. Her red eyes were staring at him. This extremely scary dream has been repeated many times, which always makes Jovie feel like a harbinger of the future. He immediately turns off the "Dream" mode, then turns off the power of the pillow, too, and shouts:

“OK, I swear, on allegiance to the empire.”

"Oh right! That’s a relief. I'll wait for you downstairs."

After washing his face and getting dressed, Jovie quickly goes to the escalator down to the first floor. As soon as he reaches the living room, he sees his mother struggling with something. So curious of himself, he asks:

“What are you doing, Lady Sev?”

When Sev sees her son, she replies cheerfully, handing the item to Jovie:

“I just received my order that ordered yesterday, I don't know what to do with this one. Come over here and teach me how to use it."

Jovie gets it from her mother. Looking at it for a while, he suddenly says:

“Oh, why did you buy this camera? This one is very expensive and popular on the market, but how do you know how to order it?"

“I was introduced to it by the boys of our neighbors. It is quite beautiful, isn’t it? Everyone gives compliments on its versatility.”

“Wow, I didn't expect that you are so stylish. But why would you buy this expensive one like that? Even young people nowadays don’t dare to buy it. Someone thinks, at that price, they can buy many cheaper things.”

“Sometimes, you have to pamper yourself a little bit. I haven't bought anything all these years."

"There's something to buy. Listen to me, there's no need to do that. Before, I used to buy things for you, didn’t I?"

"That's true, but none of the gifts I bought made me satisfied. That's understandable because you’re not female."

Jovie looks at his watch and cries out in alarm:

"Oh no, I'm late. My student is waiting. I must go now."

“Hey, Jovie. Doing me this little favor doesn’t take you much more time.”

“I’m sorry. Time flies so fast, you know!”

“Is your student important or your mother important?"

"Mother is always in my heart, but the other student is also important. If she reflects poorly on me, I will be fired. Understand my situation, please!

“Wow, if this guy can mess your life up, he must be so noble. Tell me quickly, who are you tutoring?"- Sev asks excitedly.

“Hey mom, I can't tell you about it right now, that student told me to keep it a secret. Just an important person." – Jovie says as he put on his shoes and heads to the door.

"Well, you’re a man of your word, indeed. But I can’t believe that you ignore my little favor. I spent 20 years raising you, now it’s how you show your gratefulness to me, isn’t it? So awkward!" - Sev frowns and laments.

"Come on, don't say that!" Jovie says.

“If only your father were here…”

Hearing that, Jovie suddenly feels a little moved, looks at her mother with indignation, and says:

“Why do you mention him here? The man followed that damn passion, left his wife to work hard to raise his child alone. He's not your father."

Sev sees that Jovie is so rude when talking about Jode, and immediately expresses her displeasure:

“Don't talk to your father like that! Either way, he's your father. The fact that he left is also partly because of us.”

"Stop there, Mom!"- Jovie bellows- "You don't have to justify him anymore. He has never been a pillar in this house. When I was ten years old, he threw all responsibilities on your shoulders and disappeared 10 years ago. I don't have a father like that. Now I'm more mature, I have a decent job. It’s safe to say, without him, I could still take care of you, mom."

Seeing that the quarrel is tense, Sev keeps her tone down, says:

“I’m sorry. I should not have mentioned him in front of you. I gotta go now.”

Jovie feels a little guilty for raising his voice at his mother just because of this, so he changes his tone, approaches his mother and says sweetly:

"I'm sorry, too. You don't deserve to hear such words. How miserable you brought me up, I know clearly, and I am very grateful because of that. You’re the most important person in my life. It's almost time, let me take you there. It's dangerous to go alone. Firstly, I'm teaching you how to use the camera while walking. "

"OK, so let's go before it's too late."

They embark on a 300-meter journey to the event that all Violeskans expect- the extradition of the most dangerous man on the planet- Hochi Dwelryton- to Violeska. Along the way, Jovie attentively instructs her mother to use the camera while glancing at the crowd standing a long way along the main road leading to the "Central Court of Violeska" - the headquarters of the empire and the four special districts, confirmed 3 years ago. It is not difficult for Jovie to see the joy and excitement on the faces of each Violeska resident. They are smiling and chatting on the street, holding E-newspapers that they have just bought from a little newspaper salesman

It’s titled “The Journey to Capture Hochi” and marveled at the entire process of chasing and encircling him through motion pictures in the newspaper.

Some people laugh loudly and said to themselves: "Huh, this guy deserves that, he is a top threat to the empire", others point at the newspaper, whispering to those around them: "You know, Hochi is constantly spreading defamation of the empire everywhere even though he was previously a citizen of Violeska.” Another adds:

“Yeah, he thinks as an educated person, he can go to any country and instill in people's heads distorted and reactionary ideas about the empire, and even incite hostile forces to oppose the imperial army. Many people have died because of his crazy ideal".

And finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for arrives. A big Urium-covered vehicle is approaching in front of the welcome of the people, next to them are royal soldiers armed with armor and weapons to their teeth.

Jovie and Sev stand in a prominent position in the crowd cheering, clapping their hands and chanting: "Move forward, boys! Long live, Violeska Empire!". Jovie wants to know about the prisoner sitting in the armored vehicle, so he takes out his 5D glass issued by the government and tries looking inside with it. Turning on the "See-through" mode, Jovie has no trouble recognizing that it's Hochi. He’s tied by a super-strong chain made of Urium and sits on a mobile chair with high security without stirring inside the armored vehicle. Sitting in front is General Babilo, those next to him are his driver and bodyguard. Babilo looks somewhat amused, he looks at the crowd on both sides of the road, chews candy and smiles.

Suddenly, one guy comes out of nowhere and shouts:

“You bastard, Hochi! Go outside and confess your sins. Dirty traitors.”

Those around him start responding in unison and pull out their cameras to take pictures when Hochi is about to appear, including Jovie's mother. A few seconds, after the crowd simultaneously have demanded Hochi's arrival, from inside the armored vehicle, General Babilo steps out, stands proudly on the roof and takes a deep breath, shouting loudly:

“Oi, people of Violeska!”

His powerful, majestic scream surprised the crowd. As a result, they raise their hands to the sky, jump for joy, and shout his name:

“Brave Babilo! The boy who was born in Belthorn has an angel soul and a warrior spirit!"

The warm reception from the crowd makes Babilo smug. He thinks that people see him as a savior and a hero, so he has such extreme expressions. He clears his throat, then turns to his bodyguard and whispers:

“It's time to speak. Stop the car and give me that one."

The bodyguard quickly understands, takes out the loudspeaker, then give it to Babilo, and stops the car. Babilo picks it up and puts it to his mouth, saying:

“Today I,General Babilo, has brought back the spoil after years of searching. I want to thank the Royal Cavalry standing next to the vehicle to escort the dangerous prisoner and also the fallen soldiers on the battlefield, the consensus and support of the people of Violeska, of course. After that, I will show everyone the face of the extremely dangerous prisoner I have just captured, who has launched rebellions in the world, including the 4 special zones of empire. That person's name is Hochi Dwelryton."

Then he points at the bodyguard in the car, orders him to open the roof and activates the elevator to take Hochi the prisoner from the car to the outside. The elevator slowly pushes up. Hochi finally makes a debut in front of everyone sitting on a chair without any moves, his body, arms and legs bound and motionless. But even in that uncomfortable state, he still sits upright with a cold face, his eyes are closed without blinking, his body doesn't even try to struggle. Those attitudes of him surprise many people, including Jovie. Suddenly, Hochi opens his wide eyes, looks up at the sky, smiles and says:

“What weather! I can feel the sunlight shining and penetrating my skin.”