best the challenges that he hadn’t intended.
That kind of unexpected growth is what they needed, so
the Archons and Vermaire went from being the masters back to being the
trainees…though very advanced trainees at that.
Wilson knew it would be a challenge to stay ahead of
them, but like the Archons he reveled in challenges and this was one he was
going to go at full bore, suspending most of his duties with the infantile
trainees and focusing on the advanced ones in order to give them the tools they
needed to go to limits that he wasn’t going to be personally testing for the
next few centuries.
He couldn’t help them as a peer, but he could help
them as support and as a nemesis, so he set out to design the hardest, damn
near impossible training regimens and challenges to the point that he wasn’t
even sure that they could handle it. But even if they failed they’d gain from
the experience.
And if they did somehow pull a rabbit out of the hat,
again, and make it…then they were going to see a whole new level of Archon, and
that thought alone was ample incentive for Wilson to sink his teeth into his
new and ultimately important assignment.
What was old was new again, and about to be better
than ever.
9
August 3, 2546
Solar System
Earth
Bo beat Emily back across the sparring ring, moving
his arms slightly faster than she could and being well aware of the precise
movements he was making while she was flailing with most of her blows, trying
to keep up in the punching/blocking match they had going. Every now and then
one of them would throw a kick in, but both Archons were trying to find a way
through the other’s arms so they could land a torso hit, with Bo’s Sav giving
him a considerable advantage.
But then suddenly Bo went back again, him being the
slower as Emily threw in another Yetu burst and her arms threatened to
overwhelm him with movements. He could see her blurry arms and mentally track
them just fine, but moving his own to intercept was the problem with him backstepping to give himself some more time, forcing her to
move forward as her limited Yetu burst came to an end.
Then it was back to him being the faster and her
retreating. The two danced around the ring like that for some 30 minutes before
Bo finally wore her down and landed a stiffened palm to her chest. That knocked
her back and for a split second left her vulnerable. Bo jumped on the
opportunity and didn’t let up, punching and kicking her back to the edge of the
ring and knocking her down on the boundary line.
“Took you long enough,” Emily said from the floor, looking
up at him.
“Those speed bursts are annoying,” he said,
telekinetically helping to pull her up to her feet with a firm grip on her
waist.
“Your consistency is annoying,” she countered,
dropping into a slight combat stance as the two reset to the center of the
ring. “But I’m going to find a way in.”
“You will try,” Bo said, taking a step back with his
left foot and waving the fingers on his right hand, motioning her to come at
him.
She did exactly that, but instead of going back to the
punching game she activated another Yetu burst, feeling the small reservoir of
strength in her flow out as she darted in to a punch towards his face to get
him to block high, then she dropped low and kicked at his knees, catching his
right and knocking that leg back.
Already under him she pelted his abdomen with three
quick punches before he got an arm in the way and began twisting out of
line…then he suddenly spun back the other way and knocked her arm aside,
grabbing her wrist at the same time and pinning her long enough to get a kick
of his own into her hip.
Emily went back as he released her and Bo came after
her, cycling through another round of arm to arm combat before he slipped
through and knocked her out of the ring…this time with her staying on her feet.
They both moved back to center again, this time
without any comments, and
That kind of unexpected growth is what they needed, so
the Archons and Vermaire went from being the masters back to being the
trainees…though very advanced trainees at that.
Wilson knew it would be a challenge to stay ahead of
them, but like the Archons he reveled in challenges and this was one he was
going to go at full bore, suspending most of his duties with the infantile
trainees and focusing on the advanced ones in order to give them the tools they
needed to go to limits that he wasn’t going to be personally testing for the
next few centuries.
He couldn’t help them as a peer, but he could help
them as support and as a nemesis, so he set out to design the hardest, damn
near impossible training regimens and challenges to the point that he wasn’t
even sure that they could handle it. But even if they failed they’d gain from
the experience.
And if they did somehow pull a rabbit out of the hat,
again, and make it…then they were going to see a whole new level of Archon, and
that thought alone was ample incentive for Wilson to sink his teeth into his
new and ultimately important assignment.
What was old was new again, and about to be better
than ever.
9
August 3, 2546
Solar System
Earth
Bo beat Emily back across the sparring ring, moving
his arms slightly faster than she could and being well aware of the precise
movements he was making while she was flailing with most of her blows, trying
to keep up in the punching/blocking match they had going. Every now and then
one of them would throw a kick in, but both Archons were trying to find a way
through the other’s arms so they could land a torso hit, with Bo’s Sav giving
him a considerable advantage.
But then suddenly Bo went back again, him being the
slower as Emily threw in another Yetu burst and her arms threatened to
overwhelm him with movements. He could see her blurry arms and mentally track
them just fine, but moving his own to intercept was the problem with him backstepping to give himself some more time, forcing her to
move forward as her limited Yetu burst came to an end.
Then it was back to him being the faster and her
retreating. The two danced around the ring like that for some 30 minutes before
Bo finally wore her down and landed a stiffened palm to her chest. That knocked
her back and for a split second left her vulnerable. Bo jumped on the
opportunity and didn’t let up, punching and kicking her back to the edge of the
ring and knocking her down on the boundary line.
“Took you long enough,” Emily said from the floor, looking
up at him.
“Those speed bursts are annoying,” he said,
telekinetically helping to pull her up to her feet with a firm grip on her
waist.
“Your consistency is annoying,” she countered,
dropping into a slight combat stance as the two reset to the center of the
ring. “But I’m going to find a way in.”
“You will try,” Bo said, taking a step back with his
left foot and waving the fingers on his right hand, motioning her to come at
him.
She did exactly that, but instead of going back to the
punching game she activated another Yetu burst, feeling the small reservoir of
strength in her flow out as she darted in to a punch towards his face to get
him to block high, then she dropped low and kicked at his knees, catching his
right and knocking that leg back.
Already under him she pelted his abdomen with three
quick punches before he got an arm in the way and began twisting out of
line…then he suddenly spun back the other way and knocked her arm aside,
grabbing her wrist at the same time and pinning her long enough to get a kick
of his own into her hip.
Emily went back as he released her and Bo came after
her, cycling through another round of arm to arm combat before he slipped
through and knocked her out of the ring…this time with her staying on her feet.
They both moved back to center again, this time
without any comments, and
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