Free Laser by Viola Grace

Chapter One
     
     
    Recruiter Norz watched the Terran news report and fought the rage welling inside him.
     
    The explosion killed nineteen humans in the Volunteer Centre on Nineteenth Street. The number of injured is estimated at thirty-four humans and an undisclosed number of aliens.
    Resistance groups are claiming responsibility for the destruction and law enforcement is seeking the truth behind the claims.
     
    A knock on the door brought his head up. “Yes?”
    “Recruiter Norz, there is a man here who wishes to speak with you. He has been searched and scanned.”
    Norz settled himself and nodded his head. “Let him in.”
    A burly human male of approximately sixty years came in and sat across from him. His hair was dishevelled and his cool blue eyes were red from weeping. Signs of grieving were all over him.
    “Sir, my name is Andrew Kellner. My daughter, Lee, was in the explosion this morning.”
    Norz slowly blinked and lowered his head. “I am sorry for your loss.”
    “She isn’t dead. Not yet.” Andrew ran a hand through his hair. “She is on life support and badly injured. If there is anything you could do, I would sign her into your custody and send her into space in a heartbeat.”
    Norz blinked. “Did she fill out an application?”
    With tears seeping down his cheeks, Andrew reached into his coat and pulled out a bloodstained sheaf of papers. “They found this when they found one of her arms.”
    Norz took the papers and flipped through them. He quickly went to his tablet and drew up a custody transfer. “Sign this and come with me.”
    Norz got to his feet, and when the human had signed the document, he walked with him. “Now, take me to your daughter.”
    As they left his offices, he called his assistant and ordered full medical transport to meet them at the hospital. If the protestors didn’t want humans leaving, they were going to have a fight on their hands. This woman was destined for the Nyal Imperium Guardian Research Station. He just hadn’t told the Imperium yet.
    Kellner was calm on their drive. He watched for the hospital and tensed when he saw the crowds. “Why won’t they just stop protesting?”
    Recruiter Norz smiled, “Because they are afraid, and fear generates aggression. While your Champions managed to gain your entry to the Alliance, they were not able to return. Nor were the other members of the two thousand. It is why we insist now on applications that indicate willingness to depart and aptitude for life away from Earth.”
    “Have you run into this before?”
    “The terrorism? Yes. It is usually a small portion of the population. Since this event, we thwarted four other attacks that were supposed to occur at the same time of day across the globe.” Norz sighed. “The locals in the areas under threat have reacted accordingly.”
    Their escort vehicle pushed through the crowds, and they followed. Bodyguards kept the crowd back as Norz and Kellner left the transport. Norz was used to the Terrans towering over him, and he waited for the med team to join him before they pushed into the hospital.
    Kellner led them through the halls where staff either tried to stop their progress or stood aside against the wall to let them pass.
    Norz winced at the chemical smell of the building and rode in the lift with members of the med team and Kellner.
    They arrived at the floor where Lee was obviously being treated.
    When they saw the human with them, the doctors rushed toward Kellner.
    One said, “Sir, you must decide.”
    Kellner nodded. “I have decided. I have turned her care over to those who actually want her to live.”
    He pushed past the physicians and led Norz to a room where a bevy of machines were pumping, wheezing and scrubbing the blood of the creature in the bed.
    Norz had seen battle wounds before, but the devastation of the body was incredible. He walked to the head of the bed and called the healer forward. “Stabilize her and get her into stasis.”
    To his