Phantasm 1: For the Light of the Stars (two)

He was of the gang Hyena and, put bluntly, he was an evil man. He pretended to be a religious fanatic to hide behind his acts, a member of an order that saw humans as the only children of God and attacked aliens because they were seen as the offspring of Satan, but here he was betrayed as he could not hide from the truth of his own thoughts. No, he got a thrill purely from his acts and carefully chose his targets to disguise his real motives. He was an assassin primarily, but also partook in his own operations, raping species compatible with humans because he enjoyed the terror of his victims before he killed them. He disintegrated their remains to remove all evidence, genetic or otherwise. One of his worst crimes was the destruction of a Chalnoth embassy on Minar IV that killed five hundred diplomats and injured many more, including children and civilians. Amongst his personal list of violence was the repeated torture of a Lanuri woman; he kept her locked in a cage for months with limited fo od and water while he savaged her. A sadist, he raped her while he cut into her with a ritualistic Lanuri blade, enjoying her blood on his flesh as much as her struggle. It only ended when he tried to dispose of her as he did all the others and failed.

Laura felt anger flare in her and she lost control. His heart and his breathing ceased as one, and his eyes bugged. She applied more pressure. He soiled and defecated himself, spilling his bladder and emptying his bowels.

Trapped inside his mind, Laura was forced to continuously relive his acts. With each slice of a blade, each violent penetrating thrust of him, it felt like it happened to her. Laura wanted to do more to him, wanted to inflict the horrors he had in turn inflicted upon his victims. But she did not, control returned, and she even released this part of her hold on him. This was no way to die and it was not her place to punish him. Laura was here to to take his life from him, nothing more.

And that’s what Laura did, her objections firmly pushed aside. With one powerful sweep she reached into him, destroying what he had done and who he had been, taking away all his instincts and removing what might have been imprinted upon his soul. There was nothing but a body left and that alone was not enough to make a person, a life. Only flesh, not intelligence, nothing left inside.

When she was confident there was nothing left, absolutely no trace of a defining aura, Laura withdrew back into herself. She felt weakened by the ordeal and wanted to rest but she was to proud to admit that weakness, forcing herself to endure instead. The prisoner had collapsed under the strain, his body loosed and floating, droplets of urine circling in the environment; his face was overrun with thousands of bloody cracks caused by the pressure she had applied. Other drops of crimson were airborne.

"The idea was to wipe his mind, not desecrate him," said Noah.

"But it’s done," said Laura. "Check if you don’t believe me."

"Oh, his mind is quite dead," said Noah emphatically. "But what you did to him wasn’t necessary, even if maybe he deserved to be tortured. It isn’t the place of a Chosen to emphasise with his victims. Your own emotions can get thrown straight back at you."

"I know, I found out that much. It won’t happen again. I won’t let it happen again," said Laura.

"No. I’m sure you won’t," said Noah.

Laura noticed then that Shamir and Josh had also finished. The other two prisoners were as lifeless as the first but the drama was present with neither of them. Laura already regretted what she had done. She’d faced her demons, succeeded for now, but there was no doubt she’d face them again in a different form. She wondered absently if either of them felt remorse. Shamir maybe but probably not Josh.

"Let’s get someone to clear up this mess and dispose of the bodies," said Noah.