A prisoner, serving his sentence alone on a flight to Proxima Centauri has to take on a preteen girl as a passenger on the return flight.

SYNOPSIS:

Prisoner Aaron Jones is on a solo mission to Proxima Centauri. The habitable section of the ship is 2x2x1000 meters. His flight to Proxima Centauri is almost over. His sentence ends when he completes his return flight to Earth.

The craft is close enough to Proxima Centauri for practical 2-way communication. The Centauri dispatcher tells Jones he will be taking Kathleen Rawat, a 12-year-old, on his return trip. Jones protests and mentions his criminal record. This doesn’t matter to the dispatcher the protocols are clear. The dispatcher warns to Jones to stow and mark all adult material.

Jones complies but thinks the marking will attract rather than deter a pre-teen woman.

Jones meets Kathleen at the craft’s entrance. She has a crew cut and is wearing blue coveralls. Katheen tells Jones she likes to be called Kat.

Light beams propel the craft and Jones and Kathleen are on their journey to Earth. Kathleen lets her hair grow and experiments with hairstyles and nail colors. As her 15th birthday approaches, relative to the ship, Kathleen decides she wants to be called Kathleen.

Kathleen asks Jones what was his crime. Jones replies “Child abuse”. Kathleen runs from Jones. She avoids him for a while. Then she researches Jones and looks in the storage bin marked “Adult Material”.

The bin has the Bible and memory devices of the books of the Bible and commentaries.

Kathleen listens to the trial judge’s ruling. The Judge rules the prosecution’s statement, “the law is the law”, is correct.

Kathleen tells Jones he didn’t do anything wrong. She mentions his lawyer got his wife off with some education while he received the full blame.

The voyage is complete. Jones will meet his spouse at the port. Kathleen will be flown to France where she will meet her guardians. Kathleen asks if she can keep in contact with Jones. Jones tells her, “Of course.”

LIGHT PRISONER JONES