Marque of Caine – Snippet 34

by | May 29, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 34 Alnduul had reached the craggy stone face. “That might be a closer analog,” he agreed, just before he stepped forward, shifted quickly to the right. And disappeared. “Do not be alarmed,” his voice assured....

Marque of Caine – Snippet 33

by | May 27, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 33 Thlunroolt leaned forward. “Is it extortion to simply ask that, just as I have promised you my silence, you promise me yours in this instance?” He glanced sideways at Caine. “Besides, unless I miss my guess, you...

Marque of Caine – Snippet 32

by | May 24, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 32 Chapter Twenty-One April, 2124 Rooaioo’q, BD +66 582 After three hours, Thlunroolt finally moved again, tilting his head upward to study the sun overhead. He picked up his walking stick, turned to look out over the Breeding...

Marque of Caine – Snippet 31

by | May 22, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 31 Riordan suppressed an impulse to rush out into the water in an attempt to disrupt or chase off the geel. It was a pointless reflex here, one that had been evolved for, as Thlunroolt put it, a different reproductory paradigm. But as...

Marque of Caine – Snippet 30

by | May 20, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 30 Thlunroolt kneaded the head of his walking stick. “The rite is an outgrowth of their inability to breed, to cull, naturally.” Thlunroolt’s lids nictated rapidly, quivered. “They use their own younglings, still...

Marque of Caine – Snippet 29

by | May 17, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 29 Chapter Nineteen April, 2124 Rooaioo’q, BD +66 582 After three hundred meters, the dense cover–mostly goldenrod trees and five-meter tall clusters of day-glo green tubules–began thinning. “Silence, now,”...

Marque of Caine – Snippet 28

by | May 15, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 28 Chapter Eighteen April, 2124 Rooaioo’q, BD +66 582 The second planet out from BD +66 582, a K5 main sequence star, actually had a name: Rooaioo’q.  Somewhat larger than Earth, but not quite as dense, it had both...

Marque of Caine – Snippet 27

by | May 13, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 27 Chapter Seventeen March, 2124 Second-Five, Zhal Prime (BD +71 482 A) Riordan awoke with a start. He was in his quarters. Alnduul was standing close to the room’s iris valve, his eyes as somber as they had been in the dream . ....

Marque of Caine – Snippet 26

by | May 10, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 26 Riordan landed into the first long stride of his sprint toward the complex. Creatures approached from either side: Alnduul hit the leaders. Most of the others skittered to a halt, fighting over the soon-to-be-carcasses of the ones...

Marque of Caine – Snippet 25

by | May 8, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 25 Riordan waited for one of the snake-gliders to roll over and was rewarded with a glimpse of the manipulators. They were reminiscent of a shark’s claspers, except they were longer and stronger. That was also when he saw one of...

Marque of Caine – Snippet 24

by | May 6, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 24 Chapter Fifteen March, 2124 Second-Five, Zhal Prime (BD +71 482 A) The Dornaani ship faltered at the last moment, its nose tilting down to port as it kissed the surface of the pond. Steam roiled up from that area as the attitude...

Marque of Caine – Snippet 22

by | May 1, 2019 | GannonSnippets, Snippets

Marque of Caine – Snippet 22 Chapter Fourteen March, 2124 Second-Five, Zhal Prime (BD +71 482 A) Ironically, the shift to LP 60-179 marked the end of the most uneventful periods that Riordan had ever spent travelling between the stars. The transit itself was so...