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[A reworking of a short story I wrote in 2009]



In a dark domed room, a woman sat, on one side of a glass barrier. Her eyes glowed a soft violet color, and her hair flowed behind her as if pushed by a gentle wind in the stagnant air of her peculiar prison. Bags hung under her eyes, and other signs of exhaustion and tiredness-- and yet she was grinning. A disconcerting grin, showing sharp white teeth from ear to ear, her right cheek raised a bit more than her left, right canine almost unnaturally long (or perhaps it was merely a mental illusion?). An unpleasant smile... as if she found the situation absolutely hilarious, despite how horrifying it was.

This despite the fact that she probably shouldn't find it so entertaining as she seemed to. She was bound in a straight-jacket and mask that thankfully (to those around her) hid her grin, but did nothing to hide the hideous glow of her eyes which reminded all that saw the smile of the memory no matter how hard they pushed it away. Her side of the room was barren, except for the plain chair which was welded the plasteel floor. On the other side was an apparently empty room, but a voice came from it. Most would miss the subtle accent, but those that do not would understand who, or what, the creature on the other side is-- a Tau Water Caste, a diplomat perhaps, or maybe their equivalent of an interrogator.

"Ma'am, we do not know how you manage such destruction, but you do so. We are forced to place you within this dome, where you can harm no-one but yourself."

"Hah-hah, absolutely hilarious, Xeno! Certainly, you picked the proper interior decorator for the job at least." Her laugh echoed through one's mind as well as through the vibration of the air molecules, as if it was not merely a voice.

The alien, had one been on he right side of the barrier, seemed to look temporarily taken aback, as if this was the first time she had properly communicated to him. His composure was regained swiftly enough, however, though her grin became wider despite this. "So the Gue'vesa has decided to communicate this time? I am honored."

"As you should be, Xeno! You amuse me, and so the honour is doubly so. I wish to play with you before your end-- I haven't cracked one of your stature's mind before... I wonder if it's a sterile egg, or if a newborn will hatch?"

More barbaric hostilities and disturbing metaphors, the interrogator thought, typical of humanity's response to this kind of situation. "Please madame, calm down. Let us not talk about such hostilities."

"Ah, if only choosing not to would stop me from doing it! Then I would never have done so in the first place. Tell me, Xeno... have you seen the afterlife?" The peculiar woman began to rock side to side, despite her bindings, as if listening to a song.

Religion again-- humans were so focused on it. A very superstitious people, but it made them easy to manipulate compared to those of cold logic. "I do not know which afterlife you speak of, Gue'vesa. Elaborate for me."

"Ah, but if it were only possible to speak of it, Xeno. But it is not, unfortunately. Words fail to describe it. But I can show you..." Her eyes seemed to flare up as she spoke of this.

More threats, as expected from a human in her position. This was turning tiresomely predictable. "Is that so? How would you do that, madame, bound as you are." Perhaps unprofessional, but they weren't going to get anything out of THIS lunatic.

"It is not so hard, Xeno. I dream of it every night. I see it in my dreams, and in my mind, and in my soul, and when I see it I must scream-- but I cannot! And now I will gift you with these same visions... I wonder which of our sanities will last longer..."

The glass shattered under an unseen force, and the alien was suddenly revealed, resplendent in the silken fineries of an ambassador. He grunted in pain as the woman's straightjacket slipped off her as if it was never fastened in the first place, and she stood there in her tattered Imperial Psyker trappings, watching the alien. She seemed... angry, somehow, like someone whom is deeply wounded and almost immaturely mad at someone else for not understanding her pain.

"You Xenos... Tau I think you call yourselves? You do not understand the Warp well at all, do you? And those that do go insane from the knowledge. Few humans do, but at least the ones that don't understand that it is a horrifying thing..."

His body floated in the air as if gravity was stripped from him. His bodyguard's limbs and internal organs orbited around him, from lower front to upper back, like the rings of a planet. "How... is this possible.. put me down!"

"I will... when I am through with you." A ball of light left her forehead, and flitted around randomly, slowly drifting towards the Tau. As it made contact with his head, the water caste member screamed in complete and utter terror, and began to shout for help in his graceful native tongue. Hearing this, Fire warrors surged into the room, and pointed their rifles at the psyker... then fired. Somehow, the shots curved around her like the plasma pulses were themselves afraid to get near her. And then without warning, the heads of the Fire Warriors exploded.

Laughing with power unrivaled in the history of this particular planet, the woman responded to the still-warm corpses and their comrades soon to be corpses: "Foolish creatures. Do not interrupt me as I enlighten this emissary."

The rest of the fire warriors began to attempt to plan a way to overtake this foe, not understanding what had just happened-- she had no weapons, and was behind blast proof glass in a room with no objects to wield, and she was tied up. How could this be happening?

"This is... insanity! Release me!" The ambassador attempted to find reason in this unreasonable vision, but was simply unable to. "Ah, the vision is almost over. And every night until the day you die, you'll receive more and more visions, as I have. And they will be stronger and more vivid-- yes, even moreso than the one I just gave you. My gift to you Xenos... for your... hospitality."

A circular section of the wall behind her blew open, smashing into some Tau civilians, and she turned around to leave through it. The water caste ambassador shuddered, trying to gather his wits. And this would be merely the beginning of his torment... "It's a pity that none of your superiors will take your vision seriously... they'll label you insane, because they do not know what you now know... what WE have seen..."

Another vision was overtaking the ambassador's mind.... and he screamed.



When the Imperial Guard liberated the planet two years later, they found him in a soundproof cell, still screaming. He kept screaming even as he was taken to the Inquisition for interrogation. Somehow, he kept screaming even after he died.

Dunno if the colors and other formatting really work as well on this forum, hrm.

Hm. Looks like no real interest in this. I'll go back to writing my Captain Taylor fluff then.

Ah, patience Melissia.

I found that a most interesting and satisfying read. Indeed, it entailed a clash of perceptions and knowledge in such a way that it was ironic. The Tau thought themselves infallible in this instance, and then they learned the truth; that they most certainly were not. Then their own system was used against them, in the case of the ambassador. Most subtle and cunning.

This was an interesting and creepy story. That poor Interrogator.

LoneLictor wrote:This was an interesting and creepy story. That miserable xenos scum got what was coming to it.

Oh yes, definitely.

I honestly don't know how Tau deal with Psykers. The very EXISTENCE of Psykers seems to clash with their worldview as I have read...

Melissia wrote:I honestly don't know how Tau deal with Psykers. The very EXISTENCE of Psykers seems to clash with their worldview as I have read...

They have no Psykers and I presume have had very little exposure to such creatures. Most of the time they probably don't know how to deal with them, for all their technological might.

Air molecules?

Pedantry aside i quite enjoyed this 'self contained' story. The writing wasnt entirely as solid as your Captain Taylor entries but still shone in places.

''I wonder if it's a sterile egg, or if a newborn will hatch?"
This line in particular i found very interesting/evocative.

Perkustin wrote:Air molecules?

Yes, the various molecules that collectively form what we call air (O2, N2, H2, Ar, etc).

I like this story.

I think it is hard to write stories this short with good drama, emotion, etc. When I tried the lack of time I had to connect with the character and make you understand him means that such emotion seem somwhat, cheesy. Thet is what I ended out with anyway. I shall keep that in mind if I write another one, don't bite off more than you can chew.

I found the, "Somehow, he kept screaming even after he died," a bit lazy though. You could have made that seem a bit more dramatic, creepy.

I like the, "for your hospitality," little bit of dark humour. Her insane sarcastic nature is almost, attractive.

Hmmmm dont buy it i'm afraid, i reckon even 'particles' would be preferable as there may be weak inter-molecular forces between the stated elements.

While i am here, i liked the description of the character, her unusual appearance made me curious about her origins etc.

I like the concept but the execution is very clunky. I would recommend reading lines of dialog aloud to yourself and redrafting them. For example, the psyker addressed the Tau as "xeno" again and again and again.

Yes, it did.

That was intended. In fact, I specifically italicized that to emphasize it.

I quite like it. Very nice story.

As an aside, I found the image I had in mind when I wrote this.



That was the image that inspired me for Azuriah's character (also why her text is purple).