WEBVTT - Emissary

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<v Speaker 1>Following it's a production of my aren't pointing off. This

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<v Speaker 1>episode contains depictions of strong violence, drug use, and sexual coercion.

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<v Speaker 1>A second oil age. There's power in making people wait,

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<v Speaker 1>in reminding them just who's the immovable object. After all,

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<v Speaker 1>It's a time tested strategy. I barely crawled out of

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<v Speaker 1>bed in time to grab my buzzing communit. It was

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<v Speaker 1>a calendar invite from half my In the end, he agreed,

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<v Speaker 1>without further discussion, I'd have my meeting with Asia Marsh.

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<v Speaker 1>I shot home a dose of basilisk and slid back

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<v Speaker 1>into my sweat stained clothes. The drug tightened my senses,

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<v Speaker 1>silencing the voices in my head, even as they brought

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<v Speaker 1>the ghosts of Atlas into sharper detail, the echo of

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<v Speaker 1>voices and footsteps that seemed to crawl the vents and

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<v Speaker 1>reverberate through the metal itself. I refused to give in

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<v Speaker 1>to their hallucinatory charms. Jack's tight lipped as ever brought

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<v Speaker 1>me to the summit room. It was, as best I

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<v Speaker 1>could tell, a small mess hall with all visible security

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<v Speaker 1>features ripped out. All the tables had been folded into

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<v Speaker 1>the walls, and a cramped stage accommodated whatever sort of

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<v Speaker 1>community theater made life easier on the Abystle plane. And

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<v Speaker 1>there I sat for an hour, my weapons sheathed and

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<v Speaker 1>my god slaying tattoos, covered with cap, kerchief and zipper,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, like a proper ambassador. I glowered at the

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<v Speaker 1>two empty chairs. I tried to pull up one of

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<v Speaker 1>Vaile's stories on my communits, but realized I'd never bothered

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<v Speaker 1>to download a fresh packet. All I had were fragments.

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<v Speaker 1>They were watching, of course, not you Dex this time,

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<v Speaker 1>but the other power here on Atlas station. I wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>sure how. There were no cameras, but the stage side

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<v Speaker 1>door didn't open until I started to pace. They didn't

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<v Speaker 1>walk in until I was good and agitated. The Naiads.

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<v Speaker 1>There was no denying their identity. Each was a paa

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<v Speaker 1>on of human beauty. The female, as if intentionally invoking

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<v Speaker 1>the mythic siren, wore a skin suit that clung immodestly

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<v Speaker 1>to every curve, unzipped to her stern um, Thick black

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<v Speaker 1>curls danced like seaweed around the flawless symmetry of her countenance.

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<v Speaker 1>Her male cohort wore a simple red track suit, though

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<v Speaker 1>it did little to conceal the statuesque musculature beneath his

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<v Speaker 1>skin was flawless, his jawline and lips like features carved

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<v Speaker 1>from stone. The couple took their seats, each with the

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<v Speaker 1>grace of a dancer, and without so much as a

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<v Speaker 1>single word, as if it was almost too easy to

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<v Speaker 1>roll my eyes at them. Mere physical charm was nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>Then I felt them reach out to me with the

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<v Speaker 1>waves of their psionic influence. Nereids are essentially tritons, or

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<v Speaker 1>a genetically modified variant on the species. They're augmented in

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<v Speaker 1>much the same way as recombined humans, only instead of

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<v Speaker 1>adapting a human to the deep, their change adapts a

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<v Speaker 1>triton for the surface and grants them certain nobilities, heightened reflexes,

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<v Speaker 1>increased strength, and above all, psionic powers. Everything I'd been

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<v Speaker 1>conditioned to counter and resist. The tattoos were supposed to

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<v Speaker 1>help too, visually and perhaps non visually as well, depending

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<v Speaker 1>on who you asked. Command had briefed me on the

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<v Speaker 1>science the highly specialized wave emanation that probably started as

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<v Speaker 1>a communication method in an aquatic species, but it's scary.

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<v Speaker 1>A sleep prepared me for how it felt to have

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<v Speaker 1>the pleasure circuit of my brain, teased and caressed by

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<v Speaker 1>their delicate pulsations. Their physical presence alone did nothing for me.

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<v Speaker 1>But as the waves intensified, I felt the remnants of

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<v Speaker 1>my sexual desire began to stir. It was something I

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<v Speaker 1>hadn't felt in years. The female nread reclined in her chair,

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<v Speaker 1>rolling her shoulder blades back and coiling as if to strike.

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<v Speaker 1>But my fingers didn't even itch for a knife. I

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<v Speaker 1>almost wanted it to happen. The male leaned forward, thick

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<v Speaker 1>fingers sliding over his knees, eyes breathing me in lips.

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<v Speaker 1>I flexed one of two phantom muscles in my body,

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<v Speaker 1>and a subdurmal dose of vasilisk exploded into my bloodstream.

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<v Speaker 1>The n area waves died away almost immediately. The mail

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<v Speaker 1>opened his mouth to speak. You just sit there and

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<v Speaker 1>look pretty. I'm here to talk with your boss, and

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<v Speaker 1>so you shall. Basia batcha gorbe via cuddlefish, Darya call

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<v Speaker 1>cuddle cat cuddlefish as nazera gin miss lay a cave

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<v Speaker 1>on a calm shad Zamonica said, I hope be Daniel.

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<v Speaker 1>How does your tackle me back? Fash mless sav don't

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<v Speaker 1>find bary b website at Hatman Emerus, Cuddle Cat, Cattlefish,

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<v Speaker 1>fresh bit Eat, Barret Tatty last on it now seek

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<v Speaker 1>me at off the Vote Room, Rise and shine at

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<v Speaker 1>Las Station. Here's to another safe and productive week. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>keep the lights on up top and that safety street

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<v Speaker 1>going as long as possible for those events of it right.

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<v Speaker 1>A few announces was to kick things off. First of all,

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<v Speaker 1>we are aware of the hub connection end technicians are

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<v Speaker 1>looking into it. Looks like I have hardware malfunction on

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<v Speaker 1>our end, but we'll have it up and running in

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<v Speaker 1>no time. I know, I feel you. I'm imagining to

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<v Speaker 1>catch up on Dress Wars two. I think Daphne's got

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<v Speaker 1>it this season, but we'll get everybody's sinking before the

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<v Speaker 1>week's out. Grid Teams six and eight, there's a schedule shuffle,

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<v Speaker 1>so please check in via communit before you report today.

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<v Speaker 1>A UV is working a double on Grid nine, so

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<v Speaker 1>please adjust travel is necessary. Arms three and four, you're

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<v Speaker 1>both in the ship in rec news. Game night is

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<v Speaker 1>moving to Thursday to accommodate our town, which I'm pretty

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<v Speaker 1>stalked about. Auditions begin this Thursday day, and yes, the

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<v Speaker 1>simple scripts are available until we're able to link back

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<v Speaker 1>up with the service, and what is this talk on

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<v Speaker 1>Tuesday on our Thursday. Well, it's happening. It's the least

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<v Speaker 1>we can do to make up for the connection issues. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd never seen one of the encapsulated before. What stepped

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<v Speaker 1>into the room was more machine than flesh, a mechanical

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<v Speaker 1>quadruped coupled with a great glass egg. The legs were

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<v Speaker 1>highly articulated, but the cramped quarters of Atlas had to

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<v Speaker 1>prove difficult, for it was better suited for a flooded environment.

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<v Speaker 1>Within that bubbling tank, a faint humanoid body coiled like

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<v Speaker 1>a thing, preserved a periodic hissing suggested a highly specialized

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<v Speaker 1>life support system. Asia Marsh was a relic of the

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<v Speaker 1>days before the Naiads, back when the only way to

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<v Speaker 1>facilitate communication between the languageless tritons and the humans was

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<v Speaker 1>something more radical. The walker positioned itself before the stage.

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<v Speaker 1>A hologram emitter in the robotic bass unfolded an image

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<v Speaker 1>into the space between us. Shattered marble assembled into the

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<v Speaker 1>likeness of an abstract human. Thanks for penciling me in.

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<v Speaker 1>You can call off your GOONSPS don't to please you.

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<v Speaker 1>More names from ancient literature devoid of human language. The

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<v Speaker 1>tritons had always embraced the trappings of our sea myths.

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<v Speaker 1>They were coming on a little strong. They have relented,

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<v Speaker 1>but that will remain here for the duration of our meeting.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you know why I'm here more than you? I

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<v Speaker 1>think That's why I gave you a few minutes alone

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<v Speaker 1>with them, to feel out their powers, at least what

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<v Speaker 1>we're willing to reveal. And of course we finally have

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<v Speaker 1>the chance to experience the much doubted epathist conditioning. That's

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<v Speaker 1>not my business, of course, it is the Brooklyn disappearances,

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<v Speaker 1>nearly preat for a papist to test one of its

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<v Speaker 1>agents against marian zionics, the powers that be in you next.

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<v Speaker 1>You know full well that Peter Brooklyn absconded with his

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<v Speaker 1>triton lover. What No, there's You don't think it's possible.

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<v Speaker 1>You think every human subject we request is an unwilling participant.

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<v Speaker 1>Did he even tell you this was his second summons

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<v Speaker 1>to the Deep? I don't care how you package it.

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<v Speaker 1>I need to know where he is. M M. I

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<v Speaker 1>can tell you where he is, but that will do

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<v Speaker 1>you little good. He walks in the deep now within

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<v Speaker 1>a suit of proteus arm and arm with one. He

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<v Speaker 1>calls Alice. Your master's well as skew little about this

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<v Speaker 1>when you return where is he? You are a weapon's

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<v Speaker 1>test agent, Palm. Your master's considered you broken, and so

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<v Speaker 1>like me, you've been intervened upon by you deck technology.

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<v Speaker 1>Jesus Christ, just hand him over to serve a purpose.

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<v Speaker 1>Her naryed guards stood to either side of her, now

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<v Speaker 1>still unarmed but tensed to move. Part of my brain

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<v Speaker 1>tight with basilisk, mapped the surest ways to cleave each

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<v Speaker 1>creature's heart. Very well, that's it, of course, I told

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<v Speaker 1>you this was all mere pretext. I can arrange for

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<v Speaker 1>his delivery to the station and you can take it

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<v Speaker 1>from I'm sorry, who are you? I turned and saw

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<v Speaker 1>tabitha veil striding across the room toward us. Blonde hair

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<v Speaker 1>swept behind her. She lashed out her left arm, and

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<v Speaker 1>the flesh unfurled like sailcloth or a membranous wing, unfolding

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<v Speaker 1>from the semblance of a human arm, and then the

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<v Speaker 1>flesh tightened into a scimitar. I opened my mouth to

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<v Speaker 1>say something. She pushed me aside, and in horror, I

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<v Speaker 1>watched the blade slice Glenna's beautiful head from her shoulders.

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<v Speaker 1>Twin geysers of blood erupted from her severed arteries, and

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<v Speaker 1>her body fell to its knees. Opus rushed the attacker,

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<v Speaker 1>but the veil Thing ducked his grapple with inhuman speed.

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<v Speaker 1>It brought the claw like appendage around in a vicious

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<v Speaker 1>arc and sent his head rolling across the floor as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Blood fell like rain. I drew a knife in each hand,

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<v Speaker 1>flipped the left into throwing position, but the thing that

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<v Speaker 1>was veil awash with gore was already stabbing its weaponized

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<v Speaker 1>arm through the side of the egg shaped tank, shattering

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<v Speaker 1>glass and skewering the flesh within. The bodies finished tumbling

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<v Speaker 1>to the floor. The heads rolled to a stop, eyes

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<v Speaker 1>blinking like moth wings in lantern light. The veil Thing

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<v Speaker 1>withdrew the vicious limb from the tank and turned to me.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a story for you, m h. The second

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<v Speaker 1>oil age was produced by Robert Lamb, Alex Williams, Lauren Vogelbaum,

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<v Speaker 1>and Josh Stain. This episode featured Angel Masters as snov Pon,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum as Tabitha vale Gina Rikiki as Asia Marsh,

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<v Speaker 1>and Robin Bloodworth as kin Hoffman, supporting voice work by

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<v Speaker 1>Anna Hosnia Intro Altro, and supporting music created by The

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<v Speaker 1>Weirding Mondule. Learn more at Module dot bandcamp dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Music for the Cuttle Cat Kittlefish Media segment Baby Duck

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<v Speaker 1>Bill by Jacob two Tou provided by King Deluxe Records.

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<v Speaker 1>Learn more at King de Luxe dot c A. For

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