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

"Serving the greater good is another," Silverburgh spat.

"I’ve seen more than the others," Laura said. "The phantasms have shown me what we do to them. They’re much more than we think of them, they’re intelligent creatures and we’re making slaves of them. I won’t condone that. I won’t take part in slavery."

"Even if that means turning rogue?" said Silverburgh.

"Yes," said Laura. "What you don’t want to understand, what none of the Chosen want to understand, is that there are other ways. There are other methods and attitudes that work just as well, we don’t have to force the phantasms, we don’t have to forge them into tools and weapons. It’s a complete bonding, they’d help us anyway."

"Our ways have worked this long."

"Perhaps. But if so then they are archaic anyway. No one has tried to listen to them. I know what they need, I know who they are. They aren’t a danger, they aren’t a threat, and neither am I."

"And they are worth wasting your life for?"

"It should be her life to waste," Shamir said quietly.

"Please, just let me go," Laura said again.

The barrel of Silverberg’s weapon focused higher on her chest. "No. I can’t let you go, Laura. You are one of us."

"For a while I thought I was, I believed I was, but I was never really one of the Chosen, not really. For a time I was a part of you, our paths crossed, but that isn’t the same. I see things differently, I analyse situations before I act. I wasn’t meant to be one of the Chosen. I was always meant to be alone. I know that now."

"You leave and we’ll do whatever it takes to find you," James Silverburgh said. "We’ll chase you across worlds. We’ll take the memories from your loved ones to learn about you, to know what you will do and where you will go. You’ll be a rogue. You will never know peace again. That’s the price of your freedom, Laura."

Laura swallowed, unnerved by the threat, but she held firm in her convictions. "If that’s what it means, then so be it."

He shook his head slowly from side to side. "But why? Why sacrifice yourself for them? They’re not like us."

"That’s reason enough," Laura answered. "It doesn’t matter who or what they are, in some way they are intelligent and no being deserves a life where they have no hope."

"And I won’t let you enslave someone else in something they don’t want to believe," said Shamir. "There’s no freedom in that."

Silverburgh frowned. "You are willing to die for them, Laura?"

"Yes," said Laura.

"Kill for them?" asked Silverburgh.

"If the need be, yes," said Laura.

"Then you are a danger, Laura, perhaps the greatest danger to us and I’m a fool for not seeing it earlier," Silverburgh said, his grip on his weapon tightening. "I’m sorry but you leave me no choice." He pulled the trigger.

A focused beam of green energy forced its way out of the nozzle with a metallic thwang that echoed in the enclosed space. Laura had no room to move and was forced to improvise, twisting so that she took the impact on her shoulder. It burnt through her jumpsuit and red-hot pain flashed through her. The bolt had hit hard but there was no blood, the heat had cauterised the wound, leaving only a nasty mess of blood and flesh and bone.