from the Varshoo, but they knew nothing about them. They’d traveled
a long way to get to their target system, having originated entirely outside
the local geography…which was why the mercenaries had no knowledge of them
either.
Levi took to the lower side of the ridge, dodging
between trees as he followed a dry creek bed yet stayed out of view underneath
the spotted canopy, pacing the wash some ten meters or so from the edge. Jenna
could tell from his movements that he was getting tired, but his speed hadn’t
flagged yet, which meant he wasn’t too fatigued. If it started to drop off
she’d slow him even further to make sure he wasn’t going to tank on her later,
but he was holding up better than she’d thought he would. Halfway through their
run she thought he’d been overcooking it, but apparently he was a bit more
robust than she’d realized.
Then again, running at night always made things seem
faster, even when using Pefbar, for you couldn’t get any distant visual markers
to calibrate off of, just the quickly moving terrain nearby. Jenna had already
worked up a good sweat, which she could feel soaking into her minimal clothing
underneath, but she wasn’t feeling taxed and could have sped up a bit without
wearing herself out if need be. Levi might be one of the most advanced Archons
in Star Force, but she and the other mages were far beyond him, not just in
psionics, but in physical skills. Had there been a trailblazer here her role
would have been reversed, for they were likewise ahead of her, but few others
were.
She’d gotten used to being one of the dominant ones
and took to that role well, regardless of whether or not the Archon was with
her kin on a training stint or fighting who knew what race out on the frontier.
Other than the Voku, no one else even had a chance going hand to hand with her
level of skill, meaning that wherever she went she had the advantage, and the
outcome of the battles wouldn’t depend on her outfighting her opponent, but in
maneuvering the conflict into situations where she could apply her advantage.
She could kill 10 tanks single handedly if she got to
them one at a time, coming in from anonymity and getting the jump on their
pilots, but go straight in at 10 of them on a wide open battlefield and her
armor would quickly be tasked with keeping her alive long enough to run away.
She could own any hand to hand confrontation, no matter how many individuals
were involved, but Jenna still had to pick her fights…which was why they were
going into the Varshoo-held city on foot, hopefully keeping any interactions a
personal affair and not inviting any of their tanks or aircraft to the
occasion.
They made their way along the ridgeline without
incident, other than a few annoying soft spots in the ground that would sink in
on contact and threaten to trip you up. Jenna had started to press her Pefbar
down into the ground to see the little rodent tunnels to give her some warning,
but eventually just said ‘screw it’ because at the speed they were running she
didn’t have enough time to focus on such small details. Her balance was good
enough to recover when it did happen, as was Levi’s, so she just stuck behind
him a couple of steps and ate up ground until they got to the city’s edge.
The padawan slowed, finally, and began to recover his
strength as they crept up towards one of the dirt roads, keeping trees between
them and the city lights as Jenna mentally pointed him to a spot with a little
bit more elevation. On top of it was a guard post, but the two minds inside
were bored and half asleep, so not a threat. Not wanting to risk an alarm,
Jenna had them move a quarter mile around the perimeter to the north and enter
the city there, sprinting across the dirt road and sliding into one of the
building alleys that were for pedestrian traffic only.
Given that it was on the outskirts this one didn’t
have anyone using it, so the two armored Archons jogged down it with
a long way to get to their target system, having originated entirely outside
the local geography…which was why the mercenaries had no knowledge of them
either.
Levi took to the lower side of the ridge, dodging
between trees as he followed a dry creek bed yet stayed out of view underneath
the spotted canopy, pacing the wash some ten meters or so from the edge. Jenna
could tell from his movements that he was getting tired, but his speed hadn’t
flagged yet, which meant he wasn’t too fatigued. If it started to drop off
she’d slow him even further to make sure he wasn’t going to tank on her later,
but he was holding up better than she’d thought he would. Halfway through their
run she thought he’d been overcooking it, but apparently he was a bit more
robust than she’d realized.
Then again, running at night always made things seem
faster, even when using Pefbar, for you couldn’t get any distant visual markers
to calibrate off of, just the quickly moving terrain nearby. Jenna had already
worked up a good sweat, which she could feel soaking into her minimal clothing
underneath, but she wasn’t feeling taxed and could have sped up a bit without
wearing herself out if need be. Levi might be one of the most advanced Archons
in Star Force, but she and the other mages were far beyond him, not just in
psionics, but in physical skills. Had there been a trailblazer here her role
would have been reversed, for they were likewise ahead of her, but few others
were.
She’d gotten used to being one of the dominant ones
and took to that role well, regardless of whether or not the Archon was with
her kin on a training stint or fighting who knew what race out on the frontier.
Other than the Voku, no one else even had a chance going hand to hand with her
level of skill, meaning that wherever she went she had the advantage, and the
outcome of the battles wouldn’t depend on her outfighting her opponent, but in
maneuvering the conflict into situations where she could apply her advantage.
She could kill 10 tanks single handedly if she got to
them one at a time, coming in from anonymity and getting the jump on their
pilots, but go straight in at 10 of them on a wide open battlefield and her
armor would quickly be tasked with keeping her alive long enough to run away.
She could own any hand to hand confrontation, no matter how many individuals
were involved, but Jenna still had to pick her fights…which was why they were
going into the Varshoo-held city on foot, hopefully keeping any interactions a
personal affair and not inviting any of their tanks or aircraft to the
occasion.
They made their way along the ridgeline without
incident, other than a few annoying soft spots in the ground that would sink in
on contact and threaten to trip you up. Jenna had started to press her Pefbar
down into the ground to see the little rodent tunnels to give her some warning,
but eventually just said ‘screw it’ because at the speed they were running she
didn’t have enough time to focus on such small details. Her balance was good
enough to recover when it did happen, as was Levi’s, so she just stuck behind
him a couple of steps and ate up ground until they got to the city’s edge.
The padawan slowed, finally, and began to recover his
strength as they crept up towards one of the dirt roads, keeping trees between
them and the city lights as Jenna mentally pointed him to a spot with a little
bit more elevation. On top of it was a guard post, but the two minds inside
were bored and half asleep, so not a threat. Not wanting to risk an alarm,
Jenna had them move a quarter mile around the perimeter to the north and enter
the city there, sprinting across the dirt road and sliding into one of the
building alleys that were for pedestrian traffic only.
Given that it was on the outskirts this one didn’t
have anyone using it, so the two armored Archons jogged down it with
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