The Trilisk Ruins

by Michael McCloskey

  ***

  Every fourth day was grappling day on the ship. Telisa arrived in the gym area early, carrying a workout bag.

  She broke open the recloseable top, took out a spray bottle of artificial skin, and gave the tops of her feet a quick layer. Telisa found that she tended to bleed all over the mat from tears in her feet if she didn’t strengthen the skin there. Magnus’s feet were covered in thick calluses that prevented the problem. When she’d asked about it on the voyage to Thespera, he told her it had taken years to thicken the skin on the tops of his feet.

  Magnus came in. He stripped off his Veer skinsuit, leaving him in thin black stretchy pants. Telisa stole a look and smiled. Training days like this were one of the rare times he could be observed out of the protective suit.

  “Hi. How’s it going with Shiny?” he asked, grabbing a pair of white gi pants out of his pack.

  “Oh, he’s been pretty helpful pointing out a few details about the artifacts. The big thing is just having my link back. It’s hard to use any of our equipment without one.”

  “Yeah. We’re pretty dependent on the links.”

  Telisa could tell from his tone that he was thinking about the disadvantages of depending on their links in combat.

  “What’s it like, grappling with the skinsuit on?”

  “Close to the same. But elbows and knees don’t hurt, even with weight behind them. It’s harder to get a choke or a joint lock, but it’s still possible. It’s mostly just that the little things that make you uncomfortable aren’t there. So you can’t train with one or your stomach won’t harden up right, for instance.”

  Telisa nodded. She took a VR hookup out onto the floor and lay down on the mat. They each usually went through about an hour of virtual lessons and practice before warming up for real and grappling against each other.

  “See ya in a few,” she said and hooked in.

  Telisa found herself in a beautiful training building made of glass and wood. Light streamed in from outside, a bright sunny day on a tropical island. Palm trees were visible through the giant windows, swaying in a breeze that couldn’t be heard.

  Telisa faced herself on a matted floor. For weeks she’d been fighting herself, overcoming her own weaknesses. Each time the computer upgraded her virtual opponent with her own tricks and added new ones. Telisa learned the new tricks and shored up her weaknesses by fighting the model of herself.

  She stepped forward and grabbed the enemy at neck and arm. They stepped around each other, pushing and pulling, trying to throw each other off balance. Finally Telisa stepped inside and tried to trip her opposite. The attempt failed, and she got thrown off balance but managed to twist so that they both fell onto their sides next to each other.

  Telisa tried to wrap her leg over her opponent’s legs, but unexpectedly, her mirror image grabbed her foot and then moved back from her to twist it. The pain rose rapidly. Telisa tried to ignore it, but something snapped in her foot, so she tapped her opponent’s leg, indicating submission. Her replica released her foot, and Telisa pulled it back and massaged it. It didn’t seem broken despite the snapping sound. She decided it must have been a tendon sliding over a bone ridge. The foot felt sore.

  “Legs, huh? That’s cheating,” she said, even though she knew it wasn’t true.

  “Breaking an opponent’s foot would be a desirable outcome,” the computer replied.

  Telisa shook her head and started again. By the end of the session, she’d figured out that it helped if she pulled herself toward her opponent, trying to bring her leg close and grab onto her enemy. But applying the same hold to her duplicate’s foot eluded her.

  She cut the link and returned to the real training area. Magnus sat nearby, involved in his own training session. Telisa took a drink of water and stretched until Magnus finished.

  “Okay, let’s hit it,” Magnus said.

  He rolled forward onto the mat and stopped before Telisa. They started on their knees, grasping each other at neck and elbow. The combat proceeded as a familiar ebb and flow of forces, bringing Telisa alternately forward and backward. Telisa knew that pitfalls existed in either direction. If she went off balance toward Magnus, she could be brutally pulled down and find herself in a lock with an arm choking her head. If she were thrown back too far, then Magnus could take a top mount.

  After a few moments Magnus decided to force the issue. He pushed forward and to one side, sending Telisa reeling away. He dashed to her backside. Telisa rolled to face him, although he had passed her legs and now held a superior position over her, pinning her on her back. He kneeled with his knee pressing down into her stomach, making breathing difficult. Telisa concentrated on defense, keeping her arms up to protect her head and neck.

  He pressed forward mercilessly, pressing his other elbow against the side of her jaw. Telisa growled at him in pain and frustration. She pushed his elbow away, but he brought it back a few seconds later, pressing again. Telisa ignored the pain and grabbed at his legs instead, rolling toward him. She fishtailed her body out from underneath him, pushing away with her arms.

  Magnus slid smoothly back over her and brought his leg around, taking a top mount. He grabbed one of her arms and pried it back. Telisa knew she didn’t have long before he would apply a lock to it. She wrapped one of her ankles over his and threw him to one side with her hips, rolling with the motion.

  Now Magnus lay on his back underneath her, but his legs still trapped her. She slipped her knee along the inside of his leg to pry it back, passing his guard. His powerful arms came forward to take hold of her gi, preventing her from mounting him. Telisa faked an attempt at attacking one of his arms, threatening to apply a lock.

  When Magnus responded to the danger, she changed her tactic and shot her other leg over his knee, taking a full mount. She settled onto him, keeping her center of gravity low to make herself hard to throw off.

  Telisa tried to control one of his arms again, but Magnus was too strong. Her thin arms, although toned, seemed inadequate to take control of his heavier limbs. Under her mount, Magnus presented her with his stony elbows, keeping her from his throat. She stilled for a moment, breathing steadily.

  Vaguely some part of her became aware of the hardness of his groin cup under her pelvis, reminding her of other things she had experienced in the crash tube with her opponent in similar positions. She relaxed, molding more of herself against him.

  Magnus sensed her subtle change in mood. He opened his elbows and allowed her to press his arms back over his head. She felt a flutter of a noncombative emotion in her stomach.

  “Let me show you a new hold I’ve thought of,” Telisa said, bringing her face close to his.

  Magnus looked into her eyes. “By all means, instruct me.”