The Prodigy of Us

  

  

 

  

Plot

The protagonist is a young precocious girl who lives on a colony outpost.  One Cycle her pet cat scratches a fellow colonist, who subsequently convinces the local Legion Public Safety officer to euthanise the cat. Despite acting with the best of intentions the Legion member is outwitted by the protagonist who frees the cat and sets out to depart the colony with the cat to prevent its euthanisation. 
On her journey she meets a member of the Vizierate, who cautions her that her fellow colonists will be missing her and her contribution to the colony.  Horrified, she returns to the colony just as a Naki assault is incoming.  On arrival, the rest of the colony has taken shelter and she and the cat are left to seek what shelter she can find in her old home as the Naki assault rolls in.  The home is shown collapsing around her under weapons fire and she is knocked unconscious.  Meanwhile, in the shelter, her parents are seen fretting over her disappearance.
The action then shifts to an extended dream sequence wherein remnants of the house are shown landing in a fantastical land where she is welcomed as a heroine, as the falling house has killed the Naki assault squad that was about to decimate the land. 
The local Governor tells her that she must go to (Zargonia – this part looks dubbed over) where she can advise the authorities of what went on here.  She sets off on a fantastical journey collecting several quirky companions as she goes, before being rudely awakened to realise that her quirky companions are only fantastical representations of her fellow colonists.  Waking up, she realises that the best thing she can do is build a better life on her home colony world with the skills she possesses.  She helps avert the real Naki assault using her guile and courage, but is unfortunately killed despite her actions saving the colony.  At the end, her parents are shown mourning her loss, but very proud of their daughter’s heroics.