Gannon Snippets

Marque of Caine - Snippet 47 Chapter Thirty-One May, 2124 Orbiting Glamqoozht, BD+80 238 Irzhresht looked away from the six holographic readouts that were positioned around her head and reflected in her large eyes. "Third Arbiter Glayaazh is aboard." "Thank you," Alnduul rose from his cocoon-couch. "Please instruct Ssaodralth to escort her to my briefing room. We shall join her presently." "We?" echoed Riordan, who was studying a holograph which tracked the relationship between power plant activity, drive settings, and fuel endurance. He had...

Marque of Caine - Snippet 46 Riordan felt a vague chill creep down his spine. "What kind of effects?" Nlastanl waved a hand. "That we cannot say. We know very little of them, and I am not permitted to share more than I already have. But be assured: these symbiopods constitute a greater peril to your race than the Ktorans." Riordan leaned back. If Nlastanl was telling the truth--and the other three Senior Arbiters had become equally somber--then this warranted separate consideration. "How is that you know what's in a Ktoran cryo--er,...

Marque of Caine - Snippet 45 Eyes shifted toward Glayaazh. She spread her fingers wide upon the table before her. Her voice was soft, almost entreating. "Caine Riordan, just because the Custodians possess an investigatory capability, it does not invariably follow that it is always wise, or practical, for them to employ it." Riordan frowned. "Are you suggesting that the Custodians chose not to investigate the Ktor, despite suspecting them of misrepresenting themselves?" The patient look on Glayaazh's face told him he'd missed something. "Or is...

Marque of Caine - Snippet 44 Guessing that its large body was highly resilient to blunt force blows, Caine aimed low. He swung the tube sharply, snapping his wrists over just before impact. The tube split as it smashed into the large yoomdai's left leg, just below its hock-analog. A surprisingly loud crack punctuated the creature's staggering fall, but it did not make any other sound. Riordan swung the weakened tube around as quickly as his impact-numbed shoulders could roll. But not in time. The smaller yoomdai, startlingly swift, was...

Marque of Caine - Snippet 43 *      *     * "So it was a unanimous decision to send that monster after me?" "It was," Nlastanl affirmed. "We determined to send the creature--a pess*kss--to intercept you after learning that your cognitive acuity would be enhanced if your body experienced the biochemical cascade that your physicians call the 'fight-or-flight' response--" "What?!" "--which would enable slightly longer conversations." Alnduul, who had arrived less than a minute after Riordan, surveyed...

Marque of Caine - Snippet 42 Chapter Twenty-Eight May, 2124 Glamqoozht, BD+80 238 Five days later, after Caine and Alnduul met the escort sent by Nlastanl, they emerged from the interface terminal into yet another perfect day on Glamqoozht. But only briefly: the junior facilitator who had overseen their processing followed them out of the building. "Senior Mentor Alnduul. My apologies, but there is an inconsistency in the registry data for your shuttle. We require your assistance." "And I am required to meet with twelve Senior and Regional...

Marque of Caine - Snippet 41 Chapter Twenty-Seven May, 2124 Glamqoozht, BD+80 238 Nlastanl was the first to realize that Riordan really did intend to remain silent. The Senior Arbiter raised a finger to still disapproving murmurs. "Perhaps there is a middle course, Caine Riordan." So, Nlastanl either has less disdain for humans or less resolve. "I'm listening." "Let us formally agree to an exchange of information. We shall answer your concerns regarding Elena Corcoran. In return, you will share what you know regarding the two locations we...

Marque of Caine - Snippet 40 All four creatures walked calmly toward the disks that jockeyed lazily, endlessly, along the margin between the concourse and the slideway. Caine realized he'd been staring. "What . . . what are they?" "I am unfamiliar with two of the species. The last pair of quadrupeds are, however, are familiar to me from my perusal of--" "No, no: I mean, are they intelligent? Are they protected species?" Alnduul's narrow tongue made a buzzing sound against the inner surface of his lamprey-mouth. "They are not sapient. They are...