Children of the Skull

A Galactic Police cruiser overpowers a pirate ship, destroying two escape pods that try to flee the scene. One escape pod is captured. It contains twenty boys - the sons of the hated and despised pirates. Policemen are not welfare officers, so the boys are sent to the dreaded Callisto Juvenile Detention Centre to be held pending resolution of their case by Galactic Welfare authorities. To set a terrifying example of discipline, Kragg, the commandant, orders the execution of one of the older boys. His younger brother protests, but the execution goes ahead anyway. Only then does Kragg discover the boy was a hostage, not a pirate. He has executed the son of a powerful member of the nobility. The remaining boys are now in terrible peril as Kragg plots to get rid of them.