She was satisfied by the tone of his voice and went off, her face flushed and lit irrepressibly with a smile of her own.
• • •
Not more than ten minutes later, Jav found Mai where he expected her—on the roof. She was looking out over the eastern ruins, or at least where she knew them to be since they were invisible in the darkness. Indeed, a lone bluish bulb lit only parts of the roof with pale and limited light and painted the scene with harsh shadows that distorted and concealed.
“I missed you,” Jav said, walking towards her.
She turned around. “You were only gone for four days.”
He shrugged.
She lowered her eyes and bit at her lower lip, ashamed of herself for the dismissal. “I. . . I missed you, too.”
He stood before her and lifted her chin with one finger, raising her ghostly-lit eyes to his. Her lips parted breathlessly as she reached up, took hold of his head in both hands, brought his face down to hers, and kissed him. He folded his arms around her hungrily in response.
They kissed and touched, exploring each other for the first time, each electrified by the reality of their actions. Both had fantasized about the other, but such fantasies had been kept necessarily secret, locked away at times even from themselves. Now they were experiencing their joint fantasy made real.
Jav pulled Mai closer but he couldn’t and wouldn’t keep her from moving. All the reserve and propriety that she normally exhibited during practice were gone. She was aggressive and bursting with life now, given over entirely to her lust for him. It wasn’t that she seemed different—she seemed more, amplified, focused to a white-hot pinpoint.
She nuzzled him, tasting him and wanting more. With her hands she traced the lines of his arms, his back, his chest until finally she wrapped her arms around him and couldn’t bring herself to let go. Holding him tighter, she heaved herself up, wrapped her legs around his waist, and brought herself face to face with him, no longer needing to crane her neck. She stopped momentarily, the tips of their noses together, to look into his eyes, unable to ignore what she felt probing from below any longer. Chewing at his lip, she grinned and ground down onto him.
Standing like that with Mai clinging to him, they wriggled out of their clothes and let their naked skin revel in shared contact. Jav thrilled at the touch of Mai’s soft, pert breasts as they pressed against his chest. Mai writhed and gripped, wanting to be closer and closer, and then, unable to stand it any longer, she settled onto him. But Jav held her firmly and they slowed, sinking into something like a dream.
Their breathing synchronized and they floated for what seemed a long, long time in slow ecstasy under Jav’s control. But Mai could not be stilled indefinitely. More, more, more—the intensity of their coupling increased until they reached a crescendo release that felt, rightly, like infinity.
Mai relaxed and, with her legs still locked in place, she arched her back to look at Jav. Her cheeks, even in the cold light, were clearly flushed bright red and Jav thought it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, in this or any other life. She panted at him, smiling and trying to read his expression.
He was happier than he could ever remember being, but pensive also. Maybe there was no phantom woman buried in his lost memories. In fact, if anything, Jav was surer now that Mai was all there ever had been, that somehow she herself was the impossible source of uncanny comparison. He found that he could accept that, but in both cases his recollections, or rather his impressions, had included the undeniable feeling that he had lost her, had in fact been unable to protect her.
She was before him now, though, real and beautiful and his. He stretched forward and kissed her gently on the lips.
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The next morning they awoke in their own beds and began what would become a fairly successful ruse. If their teacher found out, there would be trouble—how much trouble neither could nor wanted to guess. So they had to keep it a secret from everyone. Doing so proved to be both embarrassingly easy and, at times, impossibly hard.
Because of their pre-existing training routine and sparring habits, it was not at all unusual to find the two of them together, either alone or in the company of another. Just as the twins were scarcely seen apart, Jav and Mai had become something of a fixture and no one thought twice about it. Even when Hol had taken over Jav’s training, it changed little.
Life in the villa, though, provided the real blessing and curse. Opportunities to be together were endless; opportunities to be alone together were more difficult to arrange. They did, however, manage in a very satisfying manner for some time without arousing the least bit of suspicion.
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Using the broad screen in the lower level lecture hall, Hol showed highlights of all the Block Two matches, but saved Jav’s for last. She pointed out successful tactics and explained why they were successful. She cited seemingly strong techniques and explained why they were in fact inferior or even potential death traps for their users. Hol was impressed with all eight finalists from Block Two, but particularly with three fighters that might be trouble for Jav: Raiber Haas who used Mantis Fist; Lara Bester, whom Jav had happened to see; and Ren Fauer, whom everyone already knew.
She looked at Mei briefly before adding, “While definitely not more skillful, the fighters in Block One, on the whole, exhibited more destructive techniques. Saya Lostrom’s Hummingbird Axe, Somner Faiks’s Nine Order Diamond Palm, and, especially, Forbis Vays’s Single Element Ghost Sword were shockingly powerful.” Now she looked at Jav with a grin, “But no more so than your AI, which you managed to avoid using. That was good and bad, Jav. Well, the bad isn’t necessarily because you neglected to use AI. Anyway, the good is that any others watching this footage as we are for training purposes will have no way to gauge your real strength. The bad, though, is that you waited too long to win your fights. With AI, you could have ended both of your fights in the first exchange. Nothing would have changed the outcome of the first fight, but the second one could have gone very differently under only slightly different circumstances. I respect your decision to go easy on your opponents, especially in a friendly competition, but if you don’t intend to kill your opponent outright, you have to defend yourself better or you’re going to find yourself dead while you’re busy trying not to kill them.
“I’m convinced of your strength. You can equal or beat just about anyone that was out there, but your defense concerns me. Against AI, your defense is solid, but not so under other circumstances. When you came here three years ago, Mai was gracious enough to point out then what more or less still holds true today: you’re almost all offense. Granted, your offense is skillful and well-executed now, but I don’t want you to lose at the final competition because we failed to balance you out.”
• • •
During the next several months, they trained specifically to enhance Jav’s defense and while they made good progress, Hol remained unsatisfied. None of the girls could touch him now, but she still could. It became an obsession with her, but she merely saw it as an attempt to protect an investment. Behind the investment of time, though was the shadow of Jav Corso, which to Hol was becoming more and more prominent. She didn’t want to see anything happen to Jav, but she had reached her limit with him and defense. Then a chance conversation with her former teammates changed everything.
Upon viewing the fights again, Kimbal Furst and Cov Merasec each saw something their students lacked, but which one of the other former Triangle Squad members might successfully impart. For Ren Fauer, it was increasing his striking power and broadening his general understanding of AI, which the Ten Thousand Paths also utilized. For Gast Froster, it was combining AI with another technique used for offense and improving his mobility. For Jav it would be improving his mobility and developing a better defense.
From that conversation, plans were made quickly, initial dates set, and a timeline established.
Jav and Mai were both excited and depressed by the development
. The things he could learn, even in a short time, from the remaining members of the Triangle Squad would be considered treasures by anyone. What depressed them was the eight months they would be apart. Each student would spend four months with a different teacher to learn specialized skills and then return to his own school six months prior to the final competition to smooth out any inconsistencies in technique that may have arisen from the extracurricular training.
They still had months ahead of them, and they made the most of their time. Eventually, because of her close relationship with Mai, Mao learned their secret, and she kept it happily. The other girls, used to seeing them together outside of training hours, were beginning to get suspicious nonetheless, but no one said anything. Hol had always been a private person. She had loosened up considerably in the last few years, but beyond direct training and a few regularly scheduled get-togethers—like watching A Fad of Me Academy, a weekly dramatization of the steamier side of life at Locsard—she kept largely to herself, and so had no idea of what was similarly occurring at her own school.
5. IMPRESSIVE ESCAPE
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Ren Fauer arrived early. As this wasn’t his first visit to Planet 1287, he was quickly welcomed and made to feel at home. Though they had met only once before, Jav and Ren were already like old friends and spent most of the day talking, sharing experiences, and finally sparring a little.
Jav could only remember the last four years of his life, but Ren listened with wide-eyed fascination to Jav’s dream-clouded tales of his involvement in taking Planets 1397 and 1398; of receiving one of Professor Cranden’s legendary seals; and of raiding the tomb-temple of a long-dead alien god. In turn, Jav learned that Ren came from a long line of Imperial policemen, was the first in his family to bear the F-Gene, and in addition to his training, was learning as much as possible about Imperial law enforcement. When time permitted, he had been allowed to participate in some cases and had already distinguished himself within that institution. Ren also let slip his attachment to a childhood friend, Brin Karvasti, who was now a promising student at Locsard vying for the graduation prize Artifact. At any mention of her name, Ren blushed, so, knowing when enough was enough, Jav offered some final words of encouragement and mentioned her no more.
Their sparring amounted to little more than playing, and before either realized it, the day had come to an end. Jav would be leaving the next morning for Cov Merasec’s school on Planet 1251, and because they had company, Jav and Mai agreed that it might be best to limit their goodbye to a single, secret kiss with the promise of a lifetime to come. They had been preparing for this for some time, and though they told themselves they were ready, separating after that kiss was one of the most difficult things either one of them had ever had to do.
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The next morning, Kalkin arrived early to accompany Jav and introduce him to Cov Merasec. From the jump deck, they flew the short distance to the compound that Cov Merasec made his home.
Planet 1251 was much like 1287 in general, but larger and with slightly stronger gravity. The artificial sun was more focused so that its light, though brighter, covered a much more limited area. In fact, it shone almost exclusively on the huge concrete cube that housed everyone who lived on the planet. At the top of the cube was a blue aurora that floated there like the low flame of a match.
As instructed, they proceeded to land their jump ship on the smooth, expansive surface of the cube’s top. When they entered into the blue light, Jav was astonished. Once inside, the light painted the sky in all directions a vivid and almost painfully nostalgic blue. Planet 1398’s sky was red but 1397’s had been blue in the daylight hours, and though his memories that far back were spotty, he felt something deep within him register that fact as significant.
“You all right?” Kalkin thought he saw the beginning of tears in Jav’s eyes.
“Yeah,” Jav replied, sniffing. “I guess I just never realized how much I missed this,” he said, making a sweeping gesture with one hand.
“The sky? It’s nice, isn’t it? Makes you forget where you are for a while.”
As they disembarked, two big men and a number of support staff welcomed them. In the lead was Merasec. He was dressed in black, but his skin was very, very white. He had aquiline features and thick, black hair slicked back in neat, wavy rows. Introductions were made and all shook hands.
Gast Froster was a little taller than his teacher, who easily stood a head taller than Jav, but unlike his teacher, he was olive-skinned and his features were small, almost delicate. His thin, short brown hair was only a shade darker than his skin and he had a very distinctive boyish air about him until he spoke. His voice was deep and commanding, but his tone was friendly enough.
Kalkin said goodbye and Jav was taken on a tour of the compound. It seemed starkly utilitarian to Jav, but it wasn’t without its comforts. All of the training was done on the roof. They had a standard gravity trainer and an assortment of weapons, many of which Jav had never seen before.
Merasec had Froster demonstrate how to use some of them, the double sickles in particular, which both teacher and student favored, and Jav was quite impressed with his ability. He noticed, too, that an odd warped and muffled sound was accompanying the sweep of every stroke.
Merasec noticed that Jav had noticed and so explained. “That’s the Wind Fission technique. One of my specialties.”
“Wind Fission?”
“Are you familiar with Vacuum Drag?”
“Yes, sir, somewhat. Wind Fission is based on Vacuum Drag?”
“That’s right. Through fast, expert handling, the blade draws the air away creating a localized vacuum, which may then be directed for a number of effects. Depending on the user’s skill, the sudden shift in pressure can produce results ranging from a paper cut to a steel-rending gash.”
“Wow,” Jav said, eyes wide.
“Well, it doesn’t quite match AI for versatility or striking power, but then that’s your teacher’s specialty. We won’t be teaching you any Wind Fission techniques—from what I understand, you don’t need them.
“Gast, come over here and show Jav the Copy Twin.”
“Yes, Teacher.” Froster trotted over and stopped before Jav. He put his hands together and bowed his head as if in prayer. His brow furrowed in sudden and intense concentration. Then with a guttural noise and an accompanying flash, there were two Gast Frosters standing before Jav.
Jav had had his arms folded and now dropped them in surprise.
“What do you think, Jav?” both Frosters said, stepping forward in perfect synch.
“Are they both real?” Jav said as he moved closer himself.
“Here, shake my hands.” Both Frosters extended their right hands and, mouth agape, Jav shook them in turn, finding them both solid and real. Now that he was so close, though, Jav could hear and feel the hum emanating from both figures. It was almost as if some subtle engine were working to keep each Froster running.
Not knowing who to ask, Jav looked back and forth from teacher to twin students and asked, “How does he do that?”
“That is what we’re going to teach you.
“Gast, grab that long-handled sickle and try to strike me with it,” Merasec said.
“Teacher.”
“Jav, you watch carefully and tell me what you see.”
Gast stepped up and swung the blade of the weapon at Merasec. Merasec flickered, appearing several meters behind his original position as the blade passed harmlessly through empty space. At the end of the stroke, Merasec was back where he started with one hand safely on the shaft of the offending weapon, holding it away from himself.
“What do you think, son?” Merasec asked.
“I think that’s an enviable technique,” Jav said, nodding.
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They saw Gast Froster off on the morning of Jav’s second day. Jav noticed that the relationship between teacher and student was more like that between father and son, and he thought it mi
ght be because, besides the staff, it was just the two of them. Hol, although she had become much more sociable over the last few years, was still fairly aloof and divided her limited attention as much as possible among all eight of her students.
After saying goodbye, Merasec wasted no time in beginning Jav’s training.
“Jav, Laedra Hol teaches you that AI doesn’t affect real space. For example, you initiate AI on a punch or a kick that’s already in motion and is most likely going to land, not on your unmoving fist or leg. For blocks, you were told that AI can only be used to cancel out incoming AI and has no effect on ordinary strikes. Is that right?”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“Well, son, think back to. . . uh, which one is it now. . . Oh, yes, the eighth form, Dragon Dances on Raindrops.”
Jav was slightly shocked to hear someone else, an outsider to him, discuss in such detail AI and the Eighteen Heavenly Claws, but he listened avidly.
“In that form you visualize expanding the distance between the soles of your feet and imaginary raindrops, right?”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“And what happens when you start to get the hang of it?”
“Through the visualization, the practitioner begins to use AI and not physical strength to resist or reduce the pull of gravity.
“That’s right. So, tell me Jav, what can you infer from that?”
Jav thought for a moment. “I suppose that with enough concentration, the practitioner could negate the influence of gravity over himself completely.”
“Which means what exactly?”
“That AI does affect real space.”
“Right. Now, son, before you go thinking that Laedra lied to you, let me just say that that’s exactly what she did. And with good reason. AI is a tricky art with many paths. If you start trying to take them all from the beginning, you just get overwhelmed by the literally infinite possibilities. Even advanced practitioners rarely learn more than their original discipline. In general, it’s just not necessary—focusing on one is usually sufficient. We of the Triangle Squad each mastered one aspect of AI alone and now that we’re retired, there’s no reason for us learn another. But, that’s not to say that there’s no benefit to be had in mixing them. In a fairly short time, you three have all reached impressive levels of understanding regarding AI so we, as your teachers, agreed that such interdisciplinary teaching was warranted.
The Artifact Competition (Approaching Infinity Book 1) Page 15