Star Force: Internecine (SF55) Read Free Page B

was
realizing that their psionics were really only crowd control for low level or
small enemies and not a true threat to the big guys.
    Which was why there was tier 3, with the change in
eyes to match. Bigger size had its disadvantages too, and number one of those
was agility. Vermaire was fast, mainly due to his endless training, but his
higher mass required more power to redirect because of his momentum and the
same was true of larger opponents…which was why the Archons had decided not to
use the physical enhancements that the Knights did. They wanted their original
small size and created the Knights so Star Force would have the best of both
worlds.
    Now, go up against an Era’tran and you were in
trouble, but as far as small movements go the Archon would have the advantage.
Boost that advantage high enough and you could theoretically evade them
forever…though takedown power would still be lacking.
    Jumat was that takedown power, and Kex was the
agility.   Throw in Sav as an upgrade to both and you’d be at another level entirely, not to mention
the other tier 3s.
    But without any data on Kex or the other undiscovered
psionics it was still a question mark as to what exactly Jason could do with
it…and it was quite a surprise when he finally got to the track and painfully
started to jog that he found his stride to be completely messed up. It was like
his body had been switched out for a new one and his timing was completely off.
    But it was a fast off…with him covering ground awkwardly, but quickly.
    He hadn’t started the timer, so when he finished a
couple of laps he stopped and painfully stretched out a bit, with his body
still adamant that moving was a bad idea. He stepped back up to the start line
and triggered a holographic pacing icon with his normal workout speed and hit
the start button, with it shooting out ahead of him at speed while it took him
a moment to accelerate.
    He was tired…very, very tired, but he kept pace with
it easily for a mile before he stopped. The lack of sleep was really grinding
on him now, on top of everything else, but his excitement overrode that all and
he readjusted his holographic tracker to match his personal record for the
mile, which was a 2:24 on the track. The turns slowed him down a bit as
compared to a straight line run outdoors or on some of the linear tracks, but
this was the one he had access to in their training area and he was going to
make the most of it. He set the program and started it, taking off at race
speed and waiting for the pain explosion…which didn’t disappoint.
    And his stride was so floppy there should have been no
way he was going to hold a lap at pace, but somehow he came around with the
marker and stayed with it up till the halfway point. Then he ignored the pain
and pushed harder, with his stride seeming to smooth out a bit and him pulling
away from the marker on the third lap.
    The fourth one was where he ran out of gas, with the
ascension and lack of sleep getting to him, but he swam through to the finish
and managed to stay ahead of the hologram, recording a 2:21 pr as he crossed the finish and dropped to the track, curling up in a ball as the
pain began to get worse as the numbing stress wore off and he got the full
sensory load.
    Totally worth it ,
he told himself. He was a physical mess right now and had just ran faster than
ever before. The thought of how fast he might be once he recovered made him
smile in spite of the pain, with him knowing that Paul was going to be soooo jealous of him now…on top of the fact that he was top
Archon.

 
    When the eventual update made its way through the
relay network to Plenx Paul wasn’t onboard ship to
see it. He’d gotten the naval situation stable enough that he’d left command in
the hands of Admiral Caster, the most junior of all the Admirals within the
fleet. Given Paul’s own naval skills having an experienced Admiral on the same
ship was deemed a waste of personnel, so Paul always took