“But Mum, come on!”

Ferocious Pete was a Mummy’s Boy.

Not in a weak sense. In a sweet caring way.

Ferocious Pete, the Fiercest Man in the East, loved his Mum.

Right now however, his Mum was being a tad annoying.

“You can’t leave now. There’s a million things to do. We’ve got the Imperials to harry, the Colonials to betray and the Loyalists to meet head on. It will be a busy week. And …”

His mother, beautiful still at ninety years of age, watched her son with a mixture of compassion and toughness.

“And I need you Mum.”

Raising her hand to his face required effort, but most things worth doing did.

“You are my Pete.”

And with a sigh the mother of Ferocious Pete, Fiercest Man in the East, left her little boy alone in the world.