They'd just found out that Thovia had its own secrets... ----- Chapter 12 The Eönwyl:      It all makes sense now, she thought, trying to adjust her view of the world. All the oddities about these people. They are no more primitive than we are. Vick exhaled, a long, low hiss that conveyed his surprise as strongly as his thoughtvoice. A mighty weapon hidden in this sheath of night, indeed. But one city, howsoever grand – unless it be a true city of Those Who Went Before, with all their powers and mysteries intact – one city is little [ Continue reading... ]

The Eonwyl and Varan were on a rescue mission... ----- Chapter 8. Eönwyl: Ten people. Ten that just might still be alive. But the very technology that made it possible that some of the people were alive was blocking her probes. Damn Imperial shielding; the passives built into the material are too sinking good. And time was of the essence. No one knew that better than a miner, than someone who had lost friends in the horrific crushing black. She glanced coldly over at Guvthor, who was exerting his immense strength to shift a [ Continue reading... ]

Let's get our friends to Thovia, since that's where they've been heading... ----- Chapter 5. The Eönwyl: "Everyone in their positions?" she asked once more. She knew the answer, but in this case, it was best to make sure. "Secured at secondary station," Varan confirmed. I am secured and ready to administer shielding needs, Vick thought calmly. "Indeed, I am strapped in as well as can be managed. I am ready to come home." Guvthor's voice was particularly cheerful; she couldn't blame him, she felt rather cheerful herself. She [ Continue reading... ]

So, Varan was on his way in The Eonwyl's ship...   -------   Chapter 2 Varan: "You're good at that." I glanced toward my feet and a little outward – carefully, to keep from bashing my head against the access hatch – to see the Eönwyl looking up at me. "I've seen a fair amount of action out on the border, and a lot of it before I was commanding. Replacing shield coils and crystal matrices gets to be pretty much a habit." That won a quick, bright smile from her. "A duty, but one that a lot of people aren't [ Continue reading... ]

And now we see Varan from another perspective... -----     Chapter 7. The Eönwyl: The Commander's face was pale, even with his naturally dark coloring. He wasn't injured that badly physically, but there was a reason she was the one doing Vigil and not his shipmates, especially his closest friend among the rest of the crew of Border Outpost Seven. They had seen what had happened to Diorre Jearsen, and – in some ways worse – what had happened when Zakhla, Varan's closest friend aside from Jearsen, entered. They were too close to [ Continue reading... ]