Read Online Star Force: Evacuation (SF50) by Aer-ki Jyr - Free Book Online
Authors: Aer-ki Jyr
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did as asked, working with her for another 15
minutes with little progress, but each failure and mistake she made was
something Riona could use to calibrate, thus the experience, while
disheartening, was for a purpose and she understood that. She also knew that
Paul knew, meaning there was no ego involved. He was pressing her to force her
into a situation where she could learn from mistakes and kept the pressure on
so that she would keep making mistakes and challenging her current limits.
That was the sort of thing a friendly Archon did, but
if you didn’t have the right understanding in place beforehand it could be
misconstrued as hazing, for Paul sought out any and all opportunities to
exploit her weaknesses and really grind in the failure. Fortunately the two had
gotten used to each other quite fast, helped in no small part by the battlemeld
sessions, though for this workout that would have been counterproductive.
When he’d finished pummeling her they switched up,
with her pelting him and watching how he responded. Riona didn’t hold back
either, throwing three and four at him at a time and Paul having to block them
with small shield projections only…no all-encompassing shield that she knew he
was capable of summoning up. Still, she couldn’t get any through until she
added a Fornax blast and caught him off guard, bouncing two off his taught
chest.
He looked over at her with a wry smile. “Cheater.”
She was about to say something when the intercom
activated with a repetitive tone. Both Archons glanced at each other as Paul
walked over to the side and hit the comm. “Yes?”
“They’re here,” the Admiral said pithily.
“On my way,” Paul said, turning the comm off and
walking out of the training room and eventually the sanctum onboard the warship
with Riona at his side. The two eventually made their way up to the bridge as
the main holo was depicting the arrival of several dozen massive ships, each
far larger than the Adamant and
bullet shaped, much like the old school Star Force jumpships had been, save
these were shiny chrome in color and looked not to have a single protrusion,
bump, or dent on their hulls.
“How are we set?” Paul asked.
“All fleets are on standby.”
“Have they made contact yet?”
“No.”
“Do so, and route it to the nexus,” Paul said, heading
over that way. Riona followed him and stood a respectful two meters back to
stay out of the holocomm when it activated, showing a small version of a Voku
with its pointy head and thick, muscular arms. Its skin was pitch black and it
had but one eye, that one a deep green and wide set like a visor, for it
appeared to be made of crystal rather than flesh. Riona didn’t know if that was
a natural growth or a mechanical implant, but regardless it made the Voku look
intimidating…despite the fact that they were the size of Knights and larger.
“Greetings, Warlord Paul.”
“Morning, Cal-com. Glad to see you could make it.”
“I have no greater mission of importance at the time.”
“Which group are you personally traveling with?”
“That which proves the greatest challenge.”
Paul smiled. “Same here. Our
ships are a bit slower than yours, especially some of the transports we’ve had
to scrounge up. Do you wish to jump with us or ahead of us?”
“We will not attack until you are there, so there is
no need to travel separately. We will escort you to the divergence point.”
“How soon before your full fleet arrives?”
“Only moments more.”
“Our two largest ships will bracket the convoy. The Ultrix will lead, I will bring up the rear in the Adamant .
Work your ships into the formation wherever you like.”
The Voku bowed his head slightly. “As
you wish. Jump when you like, we will follow your lead without further
communications being necessary.”
“What is your full ship count?”
“There will be 37 conglomerates arriving. We will not
reform prior to the last segment of our journey.”
“Very
minutes with little progress, but each failure and mistake she made was
something Riona could use to calibrate, thus the experience, while
disheartening, was for a purpose and she understood that. She also knew that
Paul knew, meaning there was no ego involved. He was pressing her to force her
into a situation where she could learn from mistakes and kept the pressure on
so that she would keep making mistakes and challenging her current limits.
That was the sort of thing a friendly Archon did, but
if you didn’t have the right understanding in place beforehand it could be
misconstrued as hazing, for Paul sought out any and all opportunities to
exploit her weaknesses and really grind in the failure. Fortunately the two had
gotten used to each other quite fast, helped in no small part by the battlemeld
sessions, though for this workout that would have been counterproductive.
When he’d finished pummeling her they switched up,
with her pelting him and watching how he responded. Riona didn’t hold back
either, throwing three and four at him at a time and Paul having to block them
with small shield projections only…no all-encompassing shield that she knew he
was capable of summoning up. Still, she couldn’t get any through until she
added a Fornax blast and caught him off guard, bouncing two off his taught
chest.
He looked over at her with a wry smile. “Cheater.”
She was about to say something when the intercom
activated with a repetitive tone. Both Archons glanced at each other as Paul
walked over to the side and hit the comm. “Yes?”
“They’re here,” the Admiral said pithily.
“On my way,” Paul said, turning the comm off and
walking out of the training room and eventually the sanctum onboard the warship
with Riona at his side. The two eventually made their way up to the bridge as
the main holo was depicting the arrival of several dozen massive ships, each
far larger than the Adamant and
bullet shaped, much like the old school Star Force jumpships had been, save
these were shiny chrome in color and looked not to have a single protrusion,
bump, or dent on their hulls.
“How are we set?” Paul asked.
“All fleets are on standby.”
“Have they made contact yet?”
“No.”
“Do so, and route it to the nexus,” Paul said, heading
over that way. Riona followed him and stood a respectful two meters back to
stay out of the holocomm when it activated, showing a small version of a Voku
with its pointy head and thick, muscular arms. Its skin was pitch black and it
had but one eye, that one a deep green and wide set like a visor, for it
appeared to be made of crystal rather than flesh. Riona didn’t know if that was
a natural growth or a mechanical implant, but regardless it made the Voku look
intimidating…despite the fact that they were the size of Knights and larger.
“Greetings, Warlord Paul.”
“Morning, Cal-com. Glad to see you could make it.”
“I have no greater mission of importance at the time.”
“Which group are you personally traveling with?”
“That which proves the greatest challenge.”
Paul smiled. “Same here. Our
ships are a bit slower than yours, especially some of the transports we’ve had
to scrounge up. Do you wish to jump with us or ahead of us?”
“We will not attack until you are there, so there is
no need to travel separately. We will escort you to the divergence point.”
“How soon before your full fleet arrives?”
“Only moments more.”
“Our two largest ships will bracket the convoy. The Ultrix will lead, I will bring up the rear in the Adamant .
Work your ships into the formation wherever you like.”
The Voku bowed his head slightly. “As
you wish. Jump when you like, we will follow your lead without further
communications being necessary.”
“What is your full ship count?”
“There will be 37 conglomerates arriving. We will not
reform prior to the last segment of our journey.”
“Very
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