Time to look in on the other side of this game... ------ Chapter 10. Shagrath: "Prime Monitor Shagrath. I thank you for coming so promptly." He executed a perfect Six-and-One. "When your Imperial Majesty commands my appearance unexpectedly, I must presume it is urgent." Emperor Galata Nin Salrein returned his salute with a distracted air. "I believe it is." Shagrath watched without comment as the Emperor rose from the Throne of Seven and stretched. At his full height, Emperor Galata was more than six centimeters taller than [ Continue reading... ]

Something had gone wrong with Sasham... ------   Chapter 29. Shagrath: Restraint. Restraint. Patience. Are these not the lessons I have learned over the years of my penance? Do not let them be lost. Shagrath repeated this to himself several times until he was sure he could maintain control. Such things were so contrary to his people's nature. Yet there was no choice. So much had been lost before due to impulsive actions. That was why he was still here, with these creatures, following their actions and mimicking their behaviors. He [ Continue reading... ]

And after that last chapter, it's not so surprising that Varan's starting to sound a little... OFF now... -----   Chapter 27. Varan: Dr. Sooovickalassa gave a hiss combined with a chiming rattle as that fantastic golden crest rippled; this was, I'd come to learn, an R'Thann's equivalent of an exclamation of awe. "Stable your abilities two weeks have been," he said. You appear to have reached your peak – and an impressive peak it is. On a sideband which he probably didn't mean me to see, I could also hear Possibly as strong as one of [ Continue reading... ]

It's time for us to hear from our fine upstanding Prime Monitor... -----     Chapter 26. Shagrath: Varan dodged out of the way of his kick with startling speed. Even though he'd been expecting it, the swiftness of the Navy Commander's reactions caught him momentarily off-guard, and gave Varan an opening to deliver a cannonlike kick to his back. I actually FELT that, Shagrath mused, as he somersaulted across the floor, regaining control before hitting the wall. The Commander's enhancement abilities appear to be fully the equal [ Continue reading... ]

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... ]

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... ]

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... ]