Before - Legends Recognition (Horror, OC) 3,000 years pre-TPM, Updated 10/14

Chapter 8

I knew I couldn?t make it back on my own and I was scared if I sat in my speeder much longer on the empty beach what was left of my self-control would wash away like driftwood. The compulsion to get out and go into the water was astronomical by this point.

I called an air-taxi out and got a lift home, ignoring the baleful stare of the driver when I gave him a lousy tip. Hey, I?m a gun-for-hire, not a Jedi. Gimme a break.

I stumbled inside to my place and fell back against my door. I?m sure glad I?ve been through so many harrowing and stressful situations, because I have my doubts a normal man could have retained any of his faculties after what I?d been through. It was clear that my ?symptoms?, whatever they were supposed to be symptoms of, were getting worse by the hour.

I was turning into Markos.

I wondered why the effects (effects of what? No, no, don?t think that, I couldn?t think that?) had been slower for me as compared to my friend. To make myself feel better, I kept thinking it was because I was stronger. Any other explanation was too dangerous for my fragile mind.

Let me just say that I was flipping out; my teeth were chattering and I was babbling to myself, pacing wildly around my cottage trying to come to terms with the fact that I was seeing with my eyes and someone ? or something ? else?s?

The words of Markos came flowing back to me:

The eyes, do you have the other-eyes yet?

Ohhh god, eyes not mine not mine the eyes the eyes the EYES the other-eyes?

Kaeso?oh gods?the eyes ? they?re back!

I grabbed a permlight from a plasteel container in my kitchen and turned it up to its highest setting ? and then I shone it directly into my eyes as close as possible. The agony was immediate, comparable to the chemical bath at the Esculent Empress. But this was also different?

A different kind of pain. Whereas then it had been my own physical pain ? and trust me, the permlight hurt like hell too ? now there was a secondary pain, a kind of strange discomfort that brought the nausea back. And as hard as it may seem, while I could take the extreme pain from my sensitive hazel eyes, this other feeling was absolutely unbearable.

I threw the light away with a sob, slumping back into a kitchen chair. I had now been up for thirty-nine hours, which was pushing it even for a field-experienced mercenary. I?d been up for longer, sure, but never under this kind of mental strain. The worst of it was I didn?t even feel like I could sleep. Not with eyesight that remained vivid even after my eyes were shut.

I grabbed a package from my cooler and opened it up, withdrawing a cylindrical container with a green label on it. It was colder than an Ilum snowstorm, but that was fine by me. PULSE ? SWEETENED KELP BEER ? KUWABARA DISTILLERIES, read the label. Pulse was a new liquor, the alcohol content lessened from traditional kelp beer and artificial fruit flavoring added. To me, stripping the bite out of kelp beer is a travesty, but you know how it goes. These lightweights want to pretend they?re drinking, but they can?t handle the real stuff. Pulse is an Ewok?s beer, if you ask me.

Which is why Markos and I were planning on investing in Kuwabara Distilleries, putting up ten percent of the operating costs each. The stuff was made in a ten-droid plant on Psamtik?s other archipelago. A week ago they?d sent me a sample of the merchandise before we made our big buy, but this was the first time I tried it.

You see, there are an awful lot of wimps in Adhara City. Not the hard workers down by the oceanside, the so-called natives of this planet, but the young adults and uppity types with their solar-powered speeders and pretentious attitudes. You know the type. So Markos and I figured we might as well make a few bucks off their ?refined? tastes.

I gulped down a few swallows and found it was about as I expected. You might as well just find yourself some fruit and have a cigara or two, because you?ll get about the same effect. People these days, I t

 

C?mon, Mike. Admit it! You only take so long in between updates because it takes longer to write your highly entertaining update PMs than it takes to write your deliciously spooky posts!

To make myself feel better, I kept thinking it was because I was stronger. Any other explanation was too dangerous for my fragile mind.

I guess that?s what I would be trying to tell myself, too. I love that he is able to acknowledge the self-placating dangers in this.

I also found the differing pain experiences incredibly important in context as a lead on a plausible solution story-wise? intriguing!

Pulse is an Ewok?s beer, if you ask me.

I love the SW equivalent of ?horse *ahem* urine?!!!!!!

but the young adults and uppity types with their solar-powered speeders and pretentious attitudes. You know the type.

[face_eyes_rolling] Oh boy, don?t we all? I swear, my kids are not getting a vehicle until they can at least pay for upkeep and insurance themselves! I might buy them an older car (that?s my parental prerogative I guess, but a BRAND NEW ONE? I don?t think so! *ahem* Sorry, done with rant and back on target.

I figured if I couldn?t burn my eyes out with a light, I?d drown them out with drunkenness.

Nice, Kaeso, real smart. You are barely holding on to your self control as it is so let?s get drunk enough that we don?t care if we take a stroll on the beach and become fish bait! Smooth move. And yet? he remains the incredibly human OC. Great job, Exeter!

My brain won out this time, which is less than I can say for all those times I was on patrol duty. A woman is one thing, but a slimy, grotesque bottom dweller? Please gentlemen, I insist ? she?s all yours.



OMWord!!!! Your ?I?d kill for it? rant was frellin? brilliant! I am still laughing! And the ?Oh yeah, I was talking about going mad? comment, too! ROTFLOL

*tries to control laughter to leave coherent comments appropriately sober for poor Kaeso?s epiphany*

Sorry, just can?t do it. I find his predicament too funny today. I guess I?m just that sadistic. *giggles*

Brilliant as usual, Mike! I loved every second!

 

You know, I didn't appreciate the full humor until I read that. And Pulse would probably be good only if they kept the original content but fermented it with real fruits.

?What do you mean, Hello?!? I scream, usually followed directly thereafter by pulling out a Class C illegal firearm and getting my merc mojo on.

Okay, having read Neal Steaphenson's Cryptonomicon, I now love anything that can reduce life to mathematical equations. Ergo I love the Protocol. But having read the above, I'm guessing that the biggest challenge with a contract is first figuring out what the actual job is. One little misunderstanding could make the entire Protocol for that job go wonky.

I give this post eleventybillion payments of 3500 thumbs up!

 

Great chapter, Exeter! Loved the little details about the fruity malts and the people who drink them. Interesting to see our merc's thought processes too, trying to rationalize the supernatural.

 

This post had me laughing all the way through, Exeter!

I had to go back and read it again to get the pulse comment, but when I did, I nearly choked on my drink.

Excellent post, and thanks for the PM!

 

That was one funny of a PM for one hell of a update.



I loved the tangents that our protagonist stumbles off on, it really gives you an insight into the distegration of the character's sanity. I hate fruity beer, too.


I also thought you did a great job with his rationalizations or attempts to rationlize what was happening.

This is a wild trip and I'm glad to be on it.

 

?What do you mean, Hello?!? I scream, usually followed directly thereafter by pulling out a Class C illegal firearm and getting my merc mojo on.



Merc mojo - gotta love it!

Considering the condition he's in, he's reasoned pretty well what is happening to him. Now, can he keep his head together long enough to find a solution?

 

Z - C?mon, Mike. Admit it! You only take so long in between updates because it takes longer to write your highly entertaining update PMs than it takes to write your deliciously spooky posts!

Of course. In fact, the entire story is really completely finished, I'm just holding back while I come up with new PM ideas. True story.

I love the SW equivalent of ?horse *ahem* urine?!!!!!!

I knew you'd pick up on that.

I swear, my kids are not getting a vehicle until they can at least pay for upkeep and insurance themselves! I might buy them an older car (that?s my parental prerogative I guess, but a BRAND NEW ONE? I don?t think so!

Amen, sister.

*tries to control laughter to leave coherent comments appropriately sober for poor Kaeso?s epiphany*

Poor Kaeso. Even his supposed sympathizers mock his life

Thanks for reading, Z. Wouldn't want to do it without you.

Jade - You know, I didn't appreciate the full humor until I read that. And Pulse would probably be good only if they kept the original content but fermented it with real fruits

Yeah, Pulse gives me shivers for all the wrong reasons. Just the thought...bleghh!

Okay, having read Neal Steaphenson's Cryptonomicon, I now love anything that can reduce life to mathematical equations.

Great book. I'm glad you liked the protocol...I've been trying to find a way to work it in and it finally clicked.

One little misunderstanding could make the entire Protocol for that job go wonky.

Especially when your employers don't want to actually SAY anything, for fear of incriminating themselves. So it's a lot of euphamisms, metaphors, and babbling.

I give this post eleventybillion payments of 3500 thumbs up!

And what more could a guy ask for?

Leona - Eloquence is overrated! Or so I hope.

Yeah, Kaeso's not ready to sit down yet. We're really heading into the interesting part of this story, where he starts to take action and fight back.

aldo - Thanks for reading, man. I appreciate it.

ImperialSpy - Glad you're enjoying the story. Kaeso's humor is as much a part of the tale as the horror elements, if you ask me.

oqi - It's awesome that you liked both the PM and the new chapter.

I loved the tangents that our protagonist stumbles off on, it really gives you an insight into the distegration of the character's sanity.

Of course, some of his fellow mercs might argue Kaeso was never really wrapped that tight in the first place

I hate fruity beer, too.

Yup.

BigE - I loved writing that part.

Considering the condition he's in, he's reasoned pretty well what is happening to him. Now, can he keep his head together long enough to find a solution?

Kaeso is extremely lucky in that the "condition" hasn't dehabilitated him to the same degree as Markos - into a raving madman. His mind is more or less intact, though he's obviously getting a bit rough around the edges.

Of course, the solution may be worse than the affliction...

 

Chapter 9

The sky had turned that awful dark gray color as twilight arrived, the same color as old corpses and ash. I?ll admit I never cared for the night much, though that put me at odds with most of my profession. The majority of the jobs I?ve been given over the years took place at least some point after hours, but that doesn?t mean I liked them. You see, I have a condition where I can?t see too well in fading light ? my eyes just can?t focus on a dime like they do during the day.

It?s just at night. In a holo-theater I see fine, because they dim the lights to the point where my eyes can adjust and focus. At dawn and dusk there?s just enough waning sunlight to filter through my retinas. But true nightfall is never completely dark ? just a range of darker shades ? which is why your average person can adjust in just three or four minutes. Me, well that?s a totally different story. It takes me fifteen to twenty to really correct my eyes in the middle of the night, and then every time I move it takes a few seconds for me to focus again.

As you might imagine, that?s a bit of a hitch for a mercenary. That?s why I generally don?t slap it in the middle of my resume, between Gunslings like nobody?s business and Can make a mean makeshift grenade.

The significance of all of this? Give it a rest, I?m getting to it.

The fact that night had arrived was like an ominous bolt from an unknown sniper. Eight hours had passed since I had rushed home from the Esculent Empress ? ditching Evadné, no less ? and tried to bury the truth of what was happening to me with a heavy dose of liquor. That made it three Psamtik days since I?d found Markos in a trance on the beach.

Three days during which I hadn?t slept a wink. Eighty-four hours. Now, call me crazy, but I don?t think that?s healthy. What was even stranger was the fact that I didn?t feel fatigued in the least, save for the recurring eyes-that-aren?t-mine that pop up in my head every so often.

I guess there?s one bright side. If all of this goes south and I?m a raving lunatic for the rest of my life, at least I can probably cut it as a sideshow freak in the galaxy-traveling Festival of a Trillion Suns. I can see the advertisements on HoloNet now:

New to Festrillsun ? Come see Kaeso, the berserk merc! Once a cool customer with an impeccable record, now he spends his days arguing with walls and fighting with trees! Go ahead, point and laugh! He won?t know the difference!

I decided that if drinking my hardest alcohol was akin to downing desalinated water and sleep was apparently a necessity that currently escaped me, I might as well not sit around and mope about it all night. After all, Markos was far off than I was and trapped in a claustrophobic hospital being poked and prodded by medical interns so young they could barely label their own anatomy. He could probably use some company ? at least, that?s what I told myself, though I suspect now that it was me who needed to talk to someone about what was happening to us. I couldn?t exactly explain it to Evadné or my boss, at least not without spending the rest of my life remanded to a low-gravity funny farm.

The ?other-eyes? weren?t bothering me at the moment either, and believe me when I say that was more than enough incentive to go out and get something accomplished before they returned.

I was halfway to my speeder, which a co-worker of mine had been nice enough to drop off at my cottage after my ?incident? at the beach earlier in the afternoon, when it struck me. I stopped mid-stride, mouth dropping altitude like a gunship with blown-out repulsorlifts.

I could see with perfect clarity.

Now, I was fortunate enough to have been working on Delta Psamtik that summer, because the planet has two moons whose orbits guarantee that every point on the twin archipelagos will be illuminated by at least one of them at any given time. That had meant that even on night jobs I wasn?t severely incapacitated because of my vision irregularities.

Except on a

 

Let me just gape in awe at the magnificence in which you flesh out this character. Every word is carefully placed, the manner in which Kaeso's thoughts twist and turn exploring the eccentricities that make him both human and amusing at the same time.

And then you give us this gripping plot full of unanswered questions. Fantastic, purely fantastic.

So, if you don't mind, would it be alright if I were placed on your PM list?

 

The characterizations in this story are really remarkable. Good work as usual!

Markos seems to have gone right crazy. Why him and not Kaeso? And what's up with Kaeso's eyes? Hmm...

Can't wait for more! Expecting it in a month...

 

Leona - I think it's Kaeso's voice as narrator that I love most about this fic. Again, I'm just struck with what a wonderful OC he is. And a thoroughly complex and comassionate man

I like him, too. He's got that gruff, cynical edge that he projects outward, but you really see more of him through his internal monologuing than his dialogue might reveal to others. That and he's got enough flaws to sell them on the side and make a hefty profit.

Love the comparison to a beetle

It just seemed to me exactly like the kind of person you'd find helming a subterannean desk in the dark cooridors of the hospital's psyche ward.

Art_of_War - Let me just gape in awe at the magnificence in which you flesh out this character. Every word is carefully placed, the manner in which Kaeso's thoughts twist and turn exploring the eccentricities that make him both human and amusing at the same time.

Wow! I must say, coming from an author as talented as you, praise like that is the only reward a writer would ever need.

So, if you don't mind, would it be alright if I were placed on your PM list?

You got it.

The characterizations in this story are really remarkable. Good work as usual!

Thanks, man. To be honest, since I haven't seen you in the last couple of chapters, I thought I'd lost you.

Markos seems to have gone right crazy. Why him and not Kaeso?

Why, indeed. There's definitely a lot going screwy around here. Though Markos may not have gone quite as crazy as we thought.

And what's up with Kaeso's eyes? Hmm...

Built in NVG...doesn't exactly seem like a curse, does it?

Can't wait for more! Expecting it in a month...

Not a chance! I'll have it out sooner than that, you can count on it.

Oh, and I built a pdf for AIDW and have been using it to catch up during my lunch break. It's a slow process, but I'll get there before '08. I think.

Trivia

Those of you who've been with this story since the beginning (as opposed to the so many other readers ) may have noticed that it went through a bout of multiple-title disorder for the first few chapters. It was initially known as Retribution, with the working title being Recognition (check your old PMs if you don't believe me).

The reason for this was that I initially had other plans for Kaeso, including an alternate ending that would take him down a path of revenge and punishment (hence, Retribution). However, while on vacation I came up with a different direction I wanted to go in, and so for a while at any given time the title shifted between Retribution and Recognition.

I finally settled on Recognition, the significance of which won't actually be revealed until the final chapter(s). So there's a piece of useless Recognition trivia

 

First off, sorry it took me so long to get around to your update. DRL ate my PM box.

Wow. You really set one hell of a twisted scene with the opening imagery of night blindness. I love the claustrophobic feel of this whole story.

This sent shivers up my spine.
I could see with perfect clarity.

The characterization here was simply incredible. It might have been a bit part, but you really captured this fellow and brought him to life.

I found a guy sitting behind mountains of datapads and a desk label that simply said ?Service.? He had the face of a beetle, reminding me of the man-sized gelagrubs I?d encountered on Felucia. The shifty eyes, the skin glistening with sweat, the jowls of his face resembling mandibles?it was all there. In any other situation, I?d have just stomped on the beetle and been done with it.


I could quote this whole chapter. There were so many little details and outstanding parts. You narrator has such a clear voice, it's brilliant.

I can't wait until the next installment...

The second door in front of me opened and then I stepped into the sterile cell. Markos stopped his pacing and looked up with a wide grin.

?I?ve been waiting for you, Kaeso.?


BRAVO!!!!

 

Apologies for the late reply - I've been busy running around the JC in another guise.

The sky had turned that awful dark gray color as twilight arrived, the same color as old corpses and ash.

Man, if nothing else I love the way you describe the scene to set the mood.

 

First of all, the ending was spooky in a way that the last chapter could never have been. It?s always creepy to see previously insane people look you straight in the eye and tell you they?ve been expecting you. *shivers*

Your descriptions in this chapter also stepped up to the front as far as setting the tone? very dismal and stoic. Everything from the opening salvo describing the sky to the details with his changing eye sight and the orderly?s outlook on the ward he looked after? it all worked to subtly remind us that as funny as we might find his dilemma, it is serious and worse than deadly. As a merc, Kaeso faces death routinely, and values control over himself higher than anything else. This must be Hell for him.

Not as much humor to comment on, but the humor and horror in this story compliment each other so nicely that certainly can?t complain.

Somehow, I kept expecting Kaeso to tell the ?cryptkeeper?, ?I eat beetlebugs for breakfast. Shut up and do as I tell you.? Guess that?s just me, though!

I am eagerly anticipating the next post. I suspect it will also be more mystery and more ?serious? talk, with the humor being of the sort that desperate men adopt. The ?laugh because you can?t cry? type.

I mean, possession by an undersea delicacy can?t be exactly easy on a guy.

Bravo and well done, Mike.

 

oqi - First off, sorry it took me so long to get around to your update. DRL ate my PM box.

Don't worry about it. As slow as I've been lately with updating, your PMs probably started biodegrading.

Wow. You really set one hell of a twisted scene with the opening imagery of night blindness. I love the claustrophobic feel of this whole story.

We'll be revisiting Kaeso's vision condition (learning the reason behind it), as well as his newfound sight, in a few chapters.

This sent shivers up my spine.

Shivers are good!

The characterization here was simply incredible. It might have been a bit part, but you really captured this fellow and brought him to life.

I really worked on coming up with the type of guy who would work in a subterranean wing of a public hospital, basically serving as gatekeeper for hundreds of mentally unstable patients. He seemed to me a perfect example.

I found a guy sitting behind mountains of datapads and a desk label

I could quote this whole chapter. There were so many little details and outstanding parts. You narrator has such a clear voice, it's brilliant.

I'm glad the way it's written, in Kaeso's style, isn't too distracting. This is really my first full-length story written in the first-person POV, so I wasn't really sure.

I can't wait until the next installment...

The next three major chapters are going to deal with the first real serious discussion Markos and Kaeso have about what is happening to them. This is basically the beginning of the second part of the story.

Thanks for reading, oqi!

BigE - Not a big deal at all. I'm just glad a few gents still consider themselves readers of this one.

Man, if nothing else I love the way you describe the scene to set the mood

Yeah, I think in an atmospheric story like this, the mood itself is one of the strongest elements. If people don't feel freaked out, they really can't be spooked.

Z - First of all, the ending was spooky in a way that the last chapter could never have been. It?s always creepy to see previously insane people look you straight in the eye and tell you they?ve been expecting you. *shivers*

Yes, you'll soon find that Markos isn't the man he has been in the past few chapters we've seen him.

Your descriptions in this chapter also stepped up to the front as far as setting the tone? very dismal and stoic. Everything from the opening salvo describing the sky to the details with his changing eye sight and the orderly?s outlook on the ward he looked after? it all worked to subtly remind us that as funny as we might find his dilemma, it is serious and worse than deadly.

It's a balance I've tried very hard to keep. While the humor is a huge part of this story - really, it's Kaeso's defense mechanism - I wouldn't want it to seem out of place or inappropriate, nor take away from the suspense.

As a merc, Kaeso faces death routinely, and values control over himself higher than anything else. This must be Hell for him.

That is really the core of Kaeso's breakdown here. He's so used to being able to blow up whatever stands in his way, so used to being confident and in control, that this is completely foreign to him. He's taking it worse than perhaps even a normal person might.

Somehow, I kept expecting Kaeso to tell the ?cryptkeeper?, ?I eat beetlebugs for breakfast. Shut up and do as I tell you.? Guess that?s just me, though!

The story is still young! Kaeso will run into the beetle a few more times.

I am eagerly anticipating the next post. I suspect it will also be more mystery and more ?serious? talk, with the humor being of the sort that desperate men adopt. The ?laugh because you can?t cry? type.

Yup, pretty much. This big meeting between Kaeso and Markos will be the subject of the next 3 chapters and will be very serious indeed, upping the ante and providing us with more questions. The humor will be there, but you're right

 

Well, this one took a while, but luckily for you readers I've managed to get quite a bit written ahead of this chapter so the delays will be much shorter for the next couple of chapters (no, really ).

This chapter is the longest yet, dealing with the meeting Markos and Kaeso have. This will be the subject of the next 3 chapters, so buckle yourselves in.

---

[b]Chapter 10[/b]

Out of all the greetings Markos could have given me, that was probably the one I least expected. It was so straightforward, so to the point.

So sane.

[i]I?ve been waiting for you, Kaeso.[/i]

It was also slightly eerie, hearing him say such a thing just days after I?d found him yelling unintelligible gibberish in the cellar of his beachfront cottage. It was like an episode of some holo-drama, the one where the bad guy finally reveals himself and then says something ominous just before it ends. Then you?re left screaming [i]?What?! But what happens next?! You can?t do this to me!!?[/i] By that point, they?ve got you hooked until the next episode.

Only this time it was me and we were smack dab in the middle of a no commercial-interruption Kaeso Landrith-a-thon. I couldn?t stop now and change the channel if I tried. As such, I was just a bit apprehensive on what would happen next.

It was like acting without a script. The void of the unknown, that precipice just beyond your range of sight, surrounded me and I knew it.

?Is that so,? I replied flatly.

He gestured to a padded chair in the center of the room. ?Have a seat.?

We may have been filming without a script, but [i]I[/i] was going to be the director.

?I think I?ll stand,? I replied.

Markos nodded. He walked up to me and I?ll admit I tensed involuntarily, not sure what to expect. He stopped less than a foot away from me and clasped my shoulders good-naturedly.

?It?s good to see you,? he said. ?How have you been??

?Oh, you know, not too bad aside from my debilitating psychosis and a bad case of eyes in the back of my head,? I shrugged lightly.

?So you?ve developed the sight, too. I was worried about that. When it came upon me, it was far too fast. I didn?t have time to counter it. At least not then.?

?It wasn?t exactly sunshine and yellow blossoms for me, either,? I said.

?No, I guess not. When did it start??

?The eyes? About eleven hours ago,? I told him. I still couldn?t quite get past how [i]normal[/i] Markos sounded.

Markos scratched his head and looked up at the ceiling. His lips moved as he performed a silent calculation. For all I knew, he was figuring out how quickly he could subdue me and eat my brains. After what I had seen in the past few days, I?d have simply taken this new development in stride.

?Well, I can?t say I really have the timetable for this thing figured out ? obviously it?s been different for the both of us. But I think you?ll agree that it?s getting worse, and you might not have much time,? Markos observed, walking over to a desk in the corner of the room. I noticed it was bolted to the wall and made of some soft polymer. I guess it wouldn?t do for the whackos in this medical asylum to turn on their captors with deadly implements like?a desk.

?Time?s not a problem. I have all the time in the world. That?s one of the virtues of never sleeping, or so they say,? I replied.

?So you?re not sleeping either, eh??

?Nope.?

?Neither am I. It?s obviously part of our condition, though I don?t exactly understand the mechanics behind it. Do you feel like you need to sleep?? He asked me.

?Nope.?

Markos nodded again, apparently having his own doctoral discussion inside his head. It was like he was filling out a checklist on my own personal brand of schizophrenia, and I didn?t really like it. From my experience, the only really good shrinks are the dead ones.

?Kaeso, man?you seem a bit short with me today? Is something wrong?? Markos inquired with a raised eyebrow.

In our situation, that question really should have seemed more absurd than a birthda

 

Exeter ~

It's all about the tributes in this post! Let me count the ways!

1. clasped my shoulders good-naturedly (Lando and Han on Cloud City?)
2. I can arrange that. You could use a good kiss!
3. ?Help me, Kaeso Landrith. You?re my only hope?
4. Thanks for that bout of genius, Captain Obvious.

Did I miss any of them? I'm sure I did, you are generally at least one step ahead of me.

I loved this post for so, so many reasons. The primary reason is that Markos is so danged creepy! I am not sure that I entirely trust his 'sanity'. Scratch that, I don't trust it. Not even a little.

So... the mystery deepens. The main question on my mind is how does a sea megalon inherit the abilities of a... whatever. Sith? Force predator?

I loved so many lines in this one that I am not going to pull them out - it would be too much. Things that stuck out were Kaeso's idea of 'fun' concerning Vanya and his snarking about Markos' neighbors.

The fear verging on terror at Markos' plight (lack of freedom in three days) was palpable throughout. You know it's coming, but somehow it still sneaks up on you. Kaeso is more desperate than ever to avoid that fate. I think I'd blow that d*** thing up, too.

As always, your writing is a delight to read.

Zonoma

 

Uh, I be begging to differ here, but I don't see a lot of sanity in the phrase, I?ve been waiting for you, Kaeso spoken by a fellow in an asylum.


Poor Markos--the same thing happened to Martha Stewart
He lifted up his leg and pointed to an electronic device, jet black and populated with dozens of tiny blinking lights, red to yellow, blue to green, and everything in between. I?d never seen such a thing.

?They call it an electromanacle ? the latest in physical restraint technology. Some Arkanian boy wonder in the so-called civilized part of the galaxy developed for use by prisons and law enforcement. Even better than stun-cuffs, they say.?

Great update! I really like the exchange you've built up between Kaeso and Markos. You've told us a lot about the connection the sea megalon has to them or might have to them--I don't trust the ramblings of a crazy person. And even if Kaeso thinks his ol'buddy's got it all together--I beg to differ. There's more going on here than what meets the eye. I just don't trust the source--he had Kaeso all worked up to go and kill the doctor? hmmm...

?I?m lucid. My mind is clear. For the first time in days, I feel like I have a chance to beat this thing. No blasted eavesdropping in my mind from that damned thing, no blank spots where I lose entire hours, no episodes of raving lunacy. I?m free, my own man once again,? he said. ?Don?t you see, Kaeso? I?ve found a way to sever the connection!?

yeah, I'll believe when I see it.

Brilliant work, Exe.
Congrats on your noms, this story really deserves them.

 

"and I know my marine life, especially my seafood. That thing is a sea megalon all right, or at least it was.?

This was one of the things that I found intriguing in this conversation. Now we know that the type of creature isn?t unknown to Markos, but this particular creature is different from your run-of-the-mill megalon. Why? Another mystery.

I eagerly await the next chapter.

 

Leona - I think one of my favorites things about this fic is how we get into Kaeso's head.

Then you should really enjoy this next chapter

Hmm, throughout this one I found Markos sanity almost unnerving, creepy in fact.

Good! That was the intention. He seemed almost hyperfocused, didn't he?

He has been doing some excellent theorizing and what and how things are.

His arguments are sound, his theories rational. Whether or not Markos is really all there or not, he's given Kaeso some intriguing information.

I wonder what exactly he's done to sever the control the thing had over him.

As you no doubt guessed, it's not exactly smiles and cupcakes. As I said earlier, the "solution" could very well be worse than the problem - especially for Kaeso.

Excellent post!!

Excellent comment! Thanks for reading as always.

Z - It's all about the tributes in this post! Let me count the ways!

1. clasped my shoulders good-naturedly (Lando and Han on Cloud City?)

I'm kind of astonished you zeroed in on that one, really. I originally planned the relationship between Kaeso and Markos on Han and Lando's, and this scene is really no different. They start off making cracks at each other, then kind of fall into friendly banter, then they eventually get down to business.

Of course, there was that other part to Han/Lando's relationship in ESB...

2. I can arrange that. You could use a good kiss!

I thought you'd never ask!

3. ?Help me, Kaeso Landrith. You?re my only hope?

I was going to request a ban for anything that didn't recognize that one

4. Thanks for that bout of genius, Captain Obvious.

I knew you were the only person that would catch that one.

Did I miss any of them? I'm sure I did, you are generally at least one step ahead of me.

Don't forget ?Do ya feel lucky? Huh? Do ya, nerf?? from Dirty Harry fame!

I loved this post for so, so many reasons. The primary reason is that Markos is so danged creepy!

Isn't he? The last time I got subsumed by an undersea demon of doom, I was less than half as crazy as half of the crazies in this story.

I am not sure that I entirely trust his 'sanity'. Scratch that, I don't trust it. Not even a little.

Good! Never trust anyone in this story, not even Kaeso. Not even when he's volunteering at senior centers and making inflatable baloons for small children. Actually, especially not then.

So... the mystery deepens. The main question on my mind is how does a sea megalon inherit the abilities of a... whatever. Sith? Force predator?

Force predator...I like the concept.

Att'n, folks. Recognition is now about a Force predator.

I'd like to thank my infinite wisdom for coming up with that one! No, really, it was nothing

But honestly, keep your mind along that train of thought Z. It just goes to show how intelligent all of my readers are.

I loved so many lines in this one that I am not going to pull them out - it would be too much. Things that stuck out were Kaeso's idea of 'fun' concerning Vanya and his snarking about Markos' neighbors.

Vanya's a character, all right. Markos isn't necessarily wrong about him, but keep in mind we've only heard one side of the story.

The fear verging on terror at Markos' plight (lack of freedom in three days) was palpable throughout. You know it's coming, but somehow it still sneaks up on you. Kaeso is more desperate than ever to avoid that fate. I think I'd blow that d*** thing up, too.

Yes, as someone else has said in the past, I think it's a very claustrophobic feeling. He's not behind walls yet, but Kaeso still feels them closing in on him with each passing moment.

As always, your writing is a delight to read.

As are your comments. I appreciate them!

oqi - Uh, I be begging to differ here, but I don't see a lot of sanity in the phrase, I?ve

 

Chapter 11

In many ways, this was what I had been waiting for. This is why I had studied the books Markos had gathered from the library and ultimately went to see him at the hospital. It had taken less than a day for him to completely crack under the pressure and be interred against his will. The idea that I was next and there was nothing I could do to halt that inevitable fact was a very sobering one.

However, something deep inside held me back from getting my hopes up. Maybe it was the thing, screwing with my head, but I?m not so sure. I?d like to think it was my highly-attuned mercenary brain hard at work, warning me not to be so quick to get excited yet.

There was a job I had smuggling food, clothing, and other supplies to a small outpost of the criminal organization known as The Exchange while they were working against the Czerka Corporation. I had no particular appreciation for either faction but The Exchange was willing to offer me a more lucrative contract so I stepped aboard.

The same phenomenon occurred where my senses began to tingle and I felt something was off. I checked the shipment of supplies and discovered I wasn?t transporting a full load of provisions at all. The plasteel containers were crammed full of thermal detonators, threaded by an electronic fuse wired to a comm device. The explosives were covered by a thin layer of whatever was really supposed to go in there, like battery packs for blasters, armorweave breastplates, and non-perishable food items with delicious titles such as ?Hutt Surprise?, ?Nerf Strip Steak?, and ?Soup du Jedi?. My guess is that as soon as I delivered the shipment to the storerooms and called my clients to know the deal was done, someone from the Exchange would send a signal through the comm and blow the outpost to pieces. It appeared that someone at the outpost had made their bosses quite unhappy, probably skimming profits off the top of their arms sales. Criminals committing crimes against criminals. Oh, how my heart aches.

Just another case where my merc quirks paid off, those carefully developed senses really coming in handy.

Actually?

That may not be the best example, because when I showed one of the Quarrens who ran the outpost what was in the shipping containers, he misunderstood and thought I had sent the explosives. When, under armed guard, I tried to explain that their higher-ups had planned to off them, they just got even more ticked off. So I did the only logical thing that came to mind.

I lied. I told them that Czerka had sent the explosives to stave off competition so they could establish a market monopoly. This was all very reasonable to the paranoid Exchange thugs. So while the crime stooges were off attacking the local Czerka headquarters, I escaped from the outpost and then let my clients know that the shipment was all taken care of. Boom! Last I heard both the Czerka and the Exchange operations on that world had been shut down completely ? one from a sudden swift attack by armed men, and the other from a massive mysterious explosion. In that case, I turned simple deception into the destruction of two unsavory groups and got paid for it.

Of course, it wasn?t until later when I was collecting the credits for the job that I learned I was supposed to deliver the explosives to a different Exchange outpost on the opposite side of the planet, because they had double-crossed my clients.

Oops.

I grabbed my money and put as much distance behind me before they found out what had really happened.

The point of this story is?well, really there is no point, because it was a terrible example. The actual point is, and you?ll just have to take my word for it because I?m obviously having trouble with evidence here, that I?m such a great merc that my instincts are infallible. Really!

I leaned forward too, entirely focused on what my friend had to say. ?And how did you manage to sever the connection??

?As you probably already know by now, our affliction has li