Unfortunately, no stroke of genius claimed him.
Including class time he was training 7, sometimes 8 hours a day, he and the others pushing their bodies, minds, and schedules already, even with the assisted recovery offered by their CADs. What’s more, he’d somehow gotten himself paired off with Aria Laurent, Galens’ most impressive student in decades, according to Valera Dent herself. Measuring his improvement in the last month compared to the 2 weeks prior to that—in which he’d only trained with Viv and Catcher—Rei could say for certain that pitting himself against the strongest his class had to offer him had certainly offered a significant advantage to his progress.
Something tickled at his brain, then, and he considered that thought. Could he find a way to make his sparring with Aria more challenging? Maybe he could ask Michael Bretz to teach him how to make a partial-call, and try to take her on without his greaves, or defenses?
No. That was stupid. He’d never landed a blow in any match against Aria, much less put up enough of a fight to think he could take on more.
Still… There was something there… Wasn’t there?
After another minute of struggling with his own thoughts, Rei gave up with an aggravated “Ugh!”, shoving himself off the bed again to pull out the chair and take a seat at the desk as he tugged his pad free from his bag. Setting an alarm for himself for 2000, he considered taking advantage of the time before training to finally make adjustments to his NOED—he hadn’t yet had any real cause to play around with the software—but decided the campus Security Center wasn’t the place to be making possibly-illicit changes to his school-designated neuro-optics. In the end, he settled instead for starting on what classwork he already had. It felt weird being glad John Markus had assigned them a paper on “Varied Evolutions Within Types”, but Rei was happy to have anything to think about as he pulled the research prompt up.
As the SCT feeds continued to flit and flicker in the corner of his vision to his left, Rei started working, only barely able to suppress wondering if he’d screwed himself more badly than he was willing to admit.
*****
The fact that the brig’s food was as good as the mess hall’s was the first—but hardly the last—pleasant surprise Rei received that initial night in lockup. At nearly exactly 1900, about an hour after he’d reported for discipline, a tray of beef stew, bread, and varied roasted vegetables slid into the room so abruptly he’d almost fallen out of his seat when he’d jumped. As he’d stared at the dinner he only just caught a narrow slot in the bottom of the glass wall vanishing from sight again, and he realized that some kind of solid projection must have shielded the opening at all other times.
He worked as he ate, content in losing himself in research on how Sabers could either sport a narrow, single-handed blade—like Catcher or Mateus Selleck wielded—or a larger two-handed weapon closer to a Mauler’s Device—like the one Major Albert Connelly had shown off at the start of the CAD-Assignment Exam. It was lucky, in the end, that he’d had the earlier wherewithal to set an alarm to remind him to get changed, because he was in the middle of a fascinating account by a former Intersystem Champion who’d been able to use Arsenal Shift to change back and forth between these two forms freely—and to great success—when the notification that it was 2000 blazed across his frame. Deciding he could call it a night on his schoolwork, Rei put his pad away before pulling his combat suit out of his bag, grimacing as he realized he hadn't had a chance to wash it after Squad-training. Running the fabric through a quick cycle in the ion shower, he changed quickly, folding his uniform onto the table before starting to warm up in what little spare space the cell had to offer.
He had 3 hours a day. Even if it was only going to be against simulations, he wasn’t about to waste even a second of the time he had to not fall even further behind.
2015 arrived, and almost on a timer the feeds Rei still had running on the entry wall flickered and vanished as the glass become translucent again. The officer who greeted Rei with a nod from the other side of the barrier wasn’t Becker, but instead a stout, young man who addressed him the moment the cell began to open.
“Cadet Ward, I’m Warrant Officer Jetson. It’s your allotted training time. Follow me.”
Rei wasn’t given the opportunity to salute or agree as the man turned and started moving north up the hall before the wall had even completed its opening. Hopping over the last foot of descending glass to hurry after the warrant officer, Rei fell in behind him wordlessly, allowing himself to be led to a stairwell at the back of the building. They took one flight, then another, almost reaching the landing and the door that must have led to the fourth floor before his escort spoke again.
“You have until 2200, at which point either myself or another observational staff will escort you back to your cell.” Jetson made the landing. “Any interaction with other cadets other than your training partner is strictly prohibited. Is that understood?”
“Uh… Yes, sir,” Rei answered uncertainly, a little confused as he, too, cleared the top of the stairs. “Am I being assigned a partner, then? I was under the impression I would only be able to use simulations…”
The warrant officer paused, looking around at him even as he reached one hand for the door hand. “Assigned? No. We don’t assign partners. Yours arrived a little while ago.” He looked Rei up and down, then, appearing to break form a little as he frowned. “I have to say, though… The lot of us were surprised when she showed up…”
“What do you—?” Rei started to ask, but then the door was being opened, and the room beyond it blazed bright enough for him to take it all in at a glance.
Four standard-sized Dueling fields comprised the entirety of the massive, open chamber, each claiming one corner of the floor with a bare buffer area between them. The ceiling was low—even lower than those of the East and West Centers—and crossed with dozens of lights to illuminate every corner of the space, as though the observing officers standing on each wall Rei could make out wanted to offer no shadows their charges might try to hide in. Three of the fields were already in use, manifesting in the standard neutral-white of a flat training ring. A pair of second years—a Saber and Lancer, identifiable by the red-on-green of their combat suits under their Devices—had each claimed one area, and were moving in arching blurs against multiple simulated enemies who looked a good deal more competent than the martial-arts projections Rei had been forced to battle with in his last months at Grandcrest. On the third field, two third years in impressive full-body CADs were sparring so ferociously it took Rei a moment to make out the heavy axe and sword-and-shield of a Mauler and Phalanx.
And on the edge of the fourth field—the one closest to the door Jetson led Rei through now—Aria stood waiting, her red hair already in her fighting bun, Hippolyta’s bands gleaming green from where she had her hands on her hips as she watched them enter.
“Hey,” she said cheerfully, like nothing at all was strange about her appearance. “Glad to see you haven’t been shanked yet.”
Rei, for his part, could only mouth at the air as he gaped at her, not comprehending. How in the MIND’s name had she managed to pull this off? To convince Reese to give her permission…
“I remind you that Cadet Ward is being disciplined for violation of student code, Cadet Laurent,” Warrant Officer Jetson spoke up firmly. “You are here to train, not banter. Keep your jokes for his release, if you would.”
“Ah,” Aria’s face went a little red, and she saluted the man briefly. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”
Jetson nodded before looking to Rei. “As I said, you have until 2200. All of us observing are B- or A-Rank Users, and you have permission to request feedback and instruction if you desire it. Someone will tell you when your time is at an end.”
Then, before Rei could thank the young man, he was walking away, moving to take an empty place along the closest wall so that four correctional officers in total now stood to watch the training silently.
&nb
sp; Deciding he was being left to his own devices, Rei hurried over to Aria.
“What you are doing here?” he asked in as quick a whisper as he could, not wanting to be berated for delaying. “How did you get Reese to give you permission?”
Aria’s flush of embarrassment hadn’t quite left her cheeks, but she managed a mischievous smile all the same. “Not telling. Girl’s got to have her secrets.”
“You sold your soul, didn’t you? There’s no other explanation.”
Aria sniggered. “Sure. Let’s go with that. Now come on. You’re gonna get me yelled at again.”
Indeed, despite the brevity of their exchange, Rei could tell every eye of the observing officers—including Jetson’s—was trained on them in disapproval.
“Do you have field control?”
Aria nodded, and with a flash of her NOED the plating under their feet glowed white, then lifted a yard off the ground.
“Standard FDA?” she asked as a small menu of options scrolled over her frame.
“Yeah. I get the feeling our spectators won’t be pleased if we try anything fancy.”
Aria nodded, making a few quick selections. “I’m very likely a little out of favors after this, so that’s probably a good call.”
Behind her Rei saw a red starting circle begin to glow against the white of the solid hologram under their feet, but he was too busy frowning at her to notice, voicing his question just as the NOED vanished from her eyes.
“Aria… Seriously… What did you do?”
Aria’s smile fell a little as she met his gaze, and she looked to be considering saying something.
Unfortunately, however, that was when they clearly reached the limits of the correctional officers’ patience.
“You two!” Jetson barked. “If you’re going to do nothing more than stand around talking all night, I’ll have you both removed and Ward’s training privileges revoked for the rest of his brigging!”
Rei and Aria both jumped, stepping away from each other at once.
“Don’t worry about it,” she answered him in a hiss. “It’s not a big deal.”
Then she turned and jogged to her starting position, forcing Rei to do the same, leaving him less than satisfied as he followed her retreating back over his shoulder.
*****
Rei was pretty sure, after the first couple of bouts, that he’d done a decent job of alleviating some of Jetson’s and the other officer’s confusion as to why he—of all the first years—had earned himself the coveted position of Aria Laurent’s training partner. It wasn’t like he miraculously managed to land his first blow on her that evening, or anything of the sort. As his specs improved he felt like he was getting closer to forcing her to use Third Eye again, but he was still a ways from that yet. Rather, it was more the struggle Aria had in taking him down that Rei thought might earn him at least some measure of approval from the observers.
Phalanxes—even prodigies—were not built for speed. Their Cognition was excellent, coupling marvelously with the innate Defense value of their Devices, but if Aria could be called lacking in an area it was her ability to end a fight with a faster opponent. Rei, of course, was not faster, but he was fast enough, and it was—after all—how quick he was in other ways that had proven the challenge for her, that had made her fight to keep him as her partner that day in the hospital.
She’ll change her pattern now.
The thought flashed across his mind even as Hippolyta’s spear came a hair’s breadth from gutting him. Rei leapt back, keeping an eye on Aria’s right leg. On cue his NOED flashed red around the limb as the kick came at his face, but it wasn’t this blow that worried him as he bent away from it. The last two times she’d used this combination of moves, Aria had followed up by turning the momentum into a twisting lunge straight for his abdomen. He’d deflected both attempts, having seen this exact pattern before in their recent sessions, but this time he suspected a variation.
Sure enough, instead of a lancing strike, Aria powered forward with her shield shouldered, looking to slam him further back.
Rei sidestepped, dodging the devastating power of the charge by inches. He punched at Aria’s exposed shoulder, but unsurprisingly the shield was already being repositioned even as he drew his arm back, and Shido’s claws bounced harmlessly off the red-and-gold steel. In close proximity Aria had lost her reach advantage, and so she ducked and swept at his legs with her spear, trying to knock him off balance. Rei sprung back to flip onto his left hand, simultaneously clearing the weapon and putting some distance between them again as he finished the somersault to land on his feet. He would have preferred to stay close, obviously, but if he’d jumped straight over the sweep Aria would have caught him with the shield in midair, just as she had numerous times before.
The spear wasn’t far behind him, and Rei was forced to dodge and weave as he kept his arms up to defend his face, his D1 Speed finally enough to avoid some of Aria’s attacks. Quickly, though, she drove him back, and before he knew it Rei was being herded around the outside edge of the field, unable to stand his ground for more than a second under the barrage of blows. Still, he waited, expecting her to go for a wide sweep at his left side in an attempt to slam him into the perimeter wall, which would undoubtedly win her the fight shortly after.
He was surprised, therefore, when the finishing blow came from head-on.
The cut swept up from below, the spear blade arching from Aria’s shins to try and catch him low, where his guard was lacking. Rei barely managed to dodge out of the way, waiting for the twist that would bring the spear around from the side. Instead, however, as the weapon curved up and missed, Aria shifted and spun into the blow, and Rei thought he caught an odd movement of her hand along the shaft of the spear.
That was only an instant before the bottom of the haft, the blunt end of the solid steel rod, caught him squarely under the chin as it ripped up in the exact same arc the blade had taken.
Rei was glad for his steadily improved reactive shielding, because otherwise he was pretty sure he would have bitten half his tongue off. As it was the weight of the hit lifted him clear off his feet, almost straight up in the air as his head snapped back, and he didn’t have a moment to register the red script that announced whatever injuries he’d sustained when a crushing force took him in the abdomen. He realized—through a rapid muddling of his thoughts as his neuroline adjusted his cognitive function in response to what had to be a simulated concussion—that Aria had followed up this successful attack by backhanding him with her shield even as he’d been in midair.
The result, of course, was Rei flying backwards, ricocheting off the curve of the invisible wall inside which they’d been dancing around, then landing to tumble once, twice, three times over the projected white of the floor.
Through the haze of the concussion Rei scrambled to get to his feet, but even as he managed it a blur of green light told him it would be too late. He was actually able to dodge the first follow-up blow and deflect the second, but his limitations failed him when he was too slow to see the shield swing around at him low. The edge of the heavy steel caught along the outside of the knee, and this time he did make out the injury notification as the leg erupted in pain.
Right femoral fracturing registered.
Right knee soft-tissue damage registered.
Applying appropriate physiological restrictions.
Rei felt his leg go mostly limp, but it was irrelevant given the fact that he was already falling. Indeed, he hit the ground hard, but the impact wasn’t fractionally as painful as Aria’s shield fell after him, slamming into his chest even as he bounced off the field floor.
Mercifully, the match ended there.
“Fatal Damage Accrued. Winner: Aria Laurent.”
“Ugh!” Rei coughed, rolling around on the ground for a few seconds and clutching at his heart until the simulated pain subsided. “You—urk—you always go for the chest. My poor ribs are—cough—actually goi
ng to break, one day.”
“I doubt it,” Aria said with a snort, offering him the end of Hippolyta’s spear. “Every week you get a little faster. I’m not going to be able to catch you at all, pretty soon.”
“Just keep surprising me, and you won’t have any trouble.” Rei found his breath again, and eyed the blade of her Device warily before grabbing hold of the haft and allowing himself to be hauled up. Once he was standing, he rubbed at his chin pointedly. “That up-cut with the butt of your spear was excellent. Totally blindsided me.”
“Variety is key against you, I’m learning.” Aria grinned. “But thanks. Lieutenant Imala has been pushing her spear-using Phalanx to take advantage of the fact that we have reach to play with.”
“Ah, so that’s what happened…” Rei said with a nod, recalling the odd shift he’d seen in her Device before it had clocked him in the jaw. “You slid your grip up as it spun, so the range changed on me. Damn… Your sub-instructor is good.”
“Really good. She sometimes takes three of us on at a time. We’ve never won, and she doesn’t even bother with a full-call.”
They chatted like that for a little while, giving themselves a brief reprieve to recover. Their bouts were getting longer and longer, with Rei typically not letting Aria take him down in less than a minute and a half anymore, and despite their earlier disapproval the observing officers seemed willing to turn a blind eye on reasonable conversation so long as it was between matches.
If anything, what was stranger was how every time they separated to start a new fight, Rei felt that same disappointing twinge he’d experienced when Viv had been the one to answer his request for coursework…
Despite his urgency, despite his feeling that every minute of training he could get in was going to count if he wanted to overcome whatever Dyrk Reese threw at him in the first round of the Intra-Schools, Rei could not find it in himself to care about these breaks they took. It had occurred to him, after their second or third bout, that this was the first time he’d actually gotten the chance to be alone with Aria. Maybe not in the true sense of the word—four observing staff and the other students hardly allowed for any real privacy—but it was the first time he’d stood on a field with just her, the first time they could count themselves to be doing something simply “together”.
Iron Prince: A Progression Sci-Fi Epic (Warformed: Stormweaver Book 1) Page 56