Varan had allowed Vick to do... something... to allow him to fool Shagrath... and apparently he wasn't even to know WHAT... ----- Chapter 24. Varan: I focused my attention on the test bar. Of one piece with this test chamber's wall, the bar had embedded strain sensors to return data about how much force was exerted on it. As the chamber itself was completely sealed, only a window allowing a view inside, any force it registered would have to be delivered by psionic means. "How hard to you want me to pull?" Not hard at first. [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 23
March 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Sasham Varan had a really big problem... (this chapter is crucial for understanding what happens to Varan over the next few chapters) ----- Chapter 23. Varan: "Evaluation you ready for are," Dr. Sooovickalassa said. That was, in a way, a relief. The past few days had been filled with hidden tension – tension mostly on my part, but I sensed there was some for the R'Thann exile as well. Given the conversation I'd partly overheard, I wasn't surprised. Failure to produce the desired results and an inclination to arguing was [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 22
March 21, 2018 By Leave a Comment
There was another point of view or two in this book, wasn't there? ----- Chapter 22. Taelin: He wandered the halls of the Mel'Tasne estate, not quite sure where he was going. Treyuusei was off at the Dellitamas, since their vacation had been put on indefinite hold – the only thing I really hold against Sash, but it was hardly his fault – and now Varan himself was no longer available. Wonder what the hell they've been doing to him. He was so secretive, it was like they'd put a vacuum-seal on his mouth. That worried Taelin; it wasn't [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 21
March 19, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Sasham Varan had apparently survived a very dangerous encounter... ----- Chapter 21. Varan: I got away with it. That thought was just about the only one in my head for a long time after Shagrath left. I could still barely believe it. A combination of luck, my newly-awakened powers, and – I was sinking sure – the fact that Shagrath suspected nothing was what had saved me. If he'd even wondered about what I thought enough to bother, the mind I'd felt brush me with its uttermost edge would have torn my barrier apart like [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 20
March 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment
And let's see Varan from someone else's point of view... Chapter 20. Shagrath: He felt the new-built barriers around the human's mind quiver. The smile grew ever so slightly wider, though the man could hardly suspect the reason for the smile. No doubt he believed that his barrier remained a blank wall, and he himself in perfect control. Let him. At the moment, it was important to let him feel less threatened, to explain all the things around him with plausible half-truths, and discover how well the R'Thann's treatment had [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 19
March 14, 2018 By Leave a Comment
While being a lab animal, Varan had made a nasty discovery... ----- Chapter 19. Varan: Aching pain. Fear. Red-black light. Mumbling voices, whispers, shouts of half-understood words, thundering nausea in my gut, horror waiting, waiting to emerge when I could remember the reason. I heard a gabble of nonsense: …wait to get Off of that you will isn't the HEY THE READINGS JUMPED hope she doesn't catch TC Conversion Radius 10,119.5, that's a little Oh, sink it, I'll have to I'LL LET THE PRIME MONITOR KNOW Six and One… Only it was [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 18
March 12, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Varan had been asked to do something incredible... ----- Chapter 18. Varan: "Discomfort feeling now you should not." The R'Thann scientist said matter-of-factly. I felt there were considerable grounds for me to disagree, but I suspected he meant from the procedure itself. Strapped down by form-fitting metallic shackles to a pallet at the center of a nightmarish array of emitters, sensors, processors, field-generators, and other devices, injectors integrated into the armlocks, I was far from comfortable and, despite all [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 17
March 9, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Time to find out exactly what the Prime Monitor, and the Empire, want from Varan... ----- Chapter 17. Varan: For the third time I entered the huge, enclosed sub-laboratory which seemed to be solely the domain of Sooovickalassa. The second time had been a few days ago, to run some additional tests which hadn't taken nearly as long as the first set. I had been able to talk with the reptilian scientist for a while, these tests apparently being much more a matter of having me present to be scanned rather than having me actually DO [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 16
March 7, 2018 By 1 Comment
Well, we had this point of view once before, it's time to look in on her again... ----- Chapter 16. The Eönwyl: With a distant whining screech, her eponymous starship disintegrated and reassembled itself. Where am I? The D-scanners determined her position relative to the calculated exit point and an overlay on her vision system showed that Picket 10 should be nearly dead ahead of her… and she realized that there was in fact a brilliant almost-star in that exact position. Great Darkness, I can see it! Even as the D-comm [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 15
March 5, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Varan was waiting for results of his testing, but at least it was in a comfortable place... ----- Chapter 15. Varan: I emerged onto the sun balcony where one of the servants had told me breakfast was being served. Thank the Eternal that it sounds quiet. No mob this morning. Treyuusei was actually cooking, to my surprise – and gratification, as I got closer. "Sweet Sevens? Trey, you shouldn't have!" "You're going to be spoiled the whole time you're here, Sash, so get used to it." "I don't dare get used to it, Trey; [ Continue reading... ]
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