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Combating that line of reasoning was the simple fact that T’Pry
T’Pry
She followed Sandesjo into the main room of the woman’s quarters. While anyone living on Vanguard had the option of furnishing their personal living spaces with whatever items they might have brought with them from their homeworld or previous assignment, A
“Would you like something to drink?” Sandesjo said, making her way to the food slot set into the wall behind the dining table. “I made myself some tea.”
T’Pry
The voice, Sten’s, clawed once more from the depths of her mind, interrupting her before she could reply to Sandesjo’s offer. It required sheer force of will for T’Pry
Why must you torment me at every turn?Her mind hurled the question at the dark mass she could sense moving to envelop her consciousness.
I will never stop,Sten chided her. Not until you submit. You belong to me.
T’Pry
You will never be free of me,Sten said, each word a hammer blow to the inside of her skull. Eventually, you will relent. I have eternity on my side.
Then you will spend eternity in the grips of frustration and defeat,T’Pry
The food slot’s door slid upward, revealing a cup sitting atop a saucer and filled with a steaming beverage. Sandesjo retrieved it before turning and setting it on the table near the chair opposite the one before which her own tea sat. Seeing T’Pry
“Join me?” she asked.
Submit,Sten challenged, as he had each day for decades.
Never.
Sandesjo’s smile seemed to have a calming effect, and for a moment T’Pry
Ignoring the tea, T’Pry
It was not until she sensed herself falling forward that T’Pry
T’Pry
Hearing Sandesjo’s confused query blending with her own thoughts, T’Pry
The momentary telepathic co
T’Pry
She had hoped that any physical activities she pursued with Sandesjo might bring with them some fleeting psionic contact which might offer some insights into the woman’s true identity. Even with that goal in mind, T’Pry
My mind to your mind.
The words rang in T’Pry
No!
Without her conscious control, T’Pry
My mind to your mind.
Sten! No!
T’Pry
Our minds are merging.
Their naked bodies were intertwined, their faces centimeters apart, and T’Pry
Our minds are one.
The meld took hold and Sandesjo’s expression went slack, and T’Pry