Read Online Star Force: Headstrong (SF72) by Aer-ki Jyr - Free Book Online
Authors: Aer-ki Jyr
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to make going forward she would always strive
for more. Because that was the Star Force way and, above all else, she wanted
to repay them as much as she could, knowing that debt could never fully be
repaid. They had saved her from darkness and given her a place in the light…and
she was going to defend and support that light in any way, shape, or form she could, in perpetuity.
6
January 3, 2880
Aphat System (Bsidd
Region)
Nym
Jenran took a deep breath and set himself, eyeing the
target at the end of the run-up. When the tone sounded he took off running, not
at full sprint, as he’d learned previously, because while he needed speed he
also needed control and accuracy. He had 55 meters to work with and got up to
decent speed in half that, then transitioned into a ‘floating’ stride as he set
himself into a forward lean, finishing with his last few strides sending him
into a partial lunge forward.
He hit the target head first with his body at about a
40 degree angle to the ground then bounced off it and landed haphazardly to the
left. The Protovic flipped around into a tri-point stance and shook off the
momentary disorientation with a twitch of his head, then ran off to the side to
touch a finish pedestal. This challenge was two part, with the level of impact
being measured as well as the recovery time, and as soon as he hit the pedestal
with his glowing red/green hand his score was displayed above it in holo.
Jenran frowned. His combined score had gone up 16
points, but his kinetic impact had decreased 7. It seemed that no matter what
he tried he always lost ground in some way.
He hit the reset button on the side of the finish
pedestal and walked back to the start point, set himself again, then took off
running. He hit the wall in a similar manner, impacting it with the exoskeleton
cap on his head where a Human would have had hair, but if one of them had tried
this they’d knock themselves unconscious or snap their neck. Jenran didn’t have
to worry about either because when he impacted his exoskeleton ran down the
back of his head and connected to his torso, so as long as he held his form
there wasn’t going to be any bending involved.
The bounce coming off the wall was uncontrollable and
somewhat random, but others had learned how to at least predict it so they
could stay on their feet and get to the pedestal almost instantaneously. His current
bounce sent him neither left or right, but rather
returned him directly opposite his momentum path…which was a rarity. It bounced
him back half a meter and he fell flat on his face.
Jenran climbed to his feet and jogged the few steps
over to the finish pedestal on the right, for there were two to accommodate
which way you bounced off the wall. He’d been screwed by the reverse direction
immediately, and as a result his score ended up being junk…yet his kinetic impact
had gone up 21 points from the previous run.
“Having trouble?” a voice asked from nearby.
Jenran turned around and saw Kleeva watching him. “I can’t get a handle on this.”
“Your head is more rounded, so it’s going to be harder
to apply a predictable hit,” she said, walking over to him and hitting the
reset button on the pedestal. “All males are.”
“They don’t have the same difficulty that I do,” he
complained.
“Watch me,” she said, running back to the start and
reversing direction with a single foot plant that turned into a light sprint.
When she hit the wall head first her flatter cranial dome rolled her to the
right. Her shoulder hit the wall, then her body rolled across it and she landed
on her feet already moving towards the finish pedestal. She slapped the button
and got a transition time less than half of what Jenran had been scoring on his
best runs.
Kleeva tilted her neck to
the left, with a soft pop sounding as her exoskeleton readjusted. “See what I
did?”
“You stayed on your feet.”
“No…well yes, but that’s not what I
for more. Because that was the Star Force way and, above all else, she wanted
to repay them as much as she could, knowing that debt could never fully be
repaid. They had saved her from darkness and given her a place in the light…and
she was going to defend and support that light in any way, shape, or form she could, in perpetuity.
6
January 3, 2880
Aphat System (Bsidd
Region)
Nym
Jenran took a deep breath and set himself, eyeing the
target at the end of the run-up. When the tone sounded he took off running, not
at full sprint, as he’d learned previously, because while he needed speed he
also needed control and accuracy. He had 55 meters to work with and got up to
decent speed in half that, then transitioned into a ‘floating’ stride as he set
himself into a forward lean, finishing with his last few strides sending him
into a partial lunge forward.
He hit the target head first with his body at about a
40 degree angle to the ground then bounced off it and landed haphazardly to the
left. The Protovic flipped around into a tri-point stance and shook off the
momentary disorientation with a twitch of his head, then ran off to the side to
touch a finish pedestal. This challenge was two part, with the level of impact
being measured as well as the recovery time, and as soon as he hit the pedestal
with his glowing red/green hand his score was displayed above it in holo.
Jenran frowned. His combined score had gone up 16
points, but his kinetic impact had decreased 7. It seemed that no matter what
he tried he always lost ground in some way.
He hit the reset button on the side of the finish
pedestal and walked back to the start point, set himself again, then took off
running. He hit the wall in a similar manner, impacting it with the exoskeleton
cap on his head where a Human would have had hair, but if one of them had tried
this they’d knock themselves unconscious or snap their neck. Jenran didn’t have
to worry about either because when he impacted his exoskeleton ran down the
back of his head and connected to his torso, so as long as he held his form
there wasn’t going to be any bending involved.
The bounce coming off the wall was uncontrollable and
somewhat random, but others had learned how to at least predict it so they
could stay on their feet and get to the pedestal almost instantaneously. His current
bounce sent him neither left or right, but rather
returned him directly opposite his momentum path…which was a rarity. It bounced
him back half a meter and he fell flat on his face.
Jenran climbed to his feet and jogged the few steps
over to the finish pedestal on the right, for there were two to accommodate
which way you bounced off the wall. He’d been screwed by the reverse direction
immediately, and as a result his score ended up being junk…yet his kinetic impact
had gone up 21 points from the previous run.
“Having trouble?” a voice asked from nearby.
Jenran turned around and saw Kleeva watching him. “I can’t get a handle on this.”
“Your head is more rounded, so it’s going to be harder
to apply a predictable hit,” she said, walking over to him and hitting the
reset button on the pedestal. “All males are.”
“They don’t have the same difficulty that I do,” he
complained.
“Watch me,” she said, running back to the start and
reversing direction with a single foot plant that turned into a light sprint.
When she hit the wall head first her flatter cranial dome rolled her to the
right. Her shoulder hit the wall, then her body rolled across it and she landed
on her feet already moving towards the finish pedestal. She slapped the button
and got a transition time less than half of what Jenran had been scoring on his
best runs.
Kleeva tilted her neck to
the left, with a soft pop sounding as her exoskeleton readjusted. “See what I
did?”
“You stayed on your feet.”
“No…well yes, but that’s not what I
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