There was one person in the Academy who would support her bizarre plan, if Keryn could reach her in time. From the moment she lifted off, she watched Iana’s path. Her roommate flew above her and toward the western side of the field, leaving several cadets between them. Those unfortunates would be the first to fall to Keryn’s assault, a necessary evil until she reached her friend.
Once she did, the true test of friendship would begin. Could she convince Iana not to shoot long enough to explain? She hoped so. Otherwise, one of them would be eliminated far too early in the competition.
The dean told you something else, the Voice offered. He told you to find your strengths.
“I know my strengths,” she said dismissively.
Do you? Tell me how many weapons you carry right now.
Keryn frowned, not knowing what it meant. Still, she answered the question, if not in an abrasive manner. “You know damn well I’m carrying my knife and pistol.”
You’re forgetting one. You’ve trained as a warrior all your life, practicing multiple styles of hand-to-hand combat. You don’t consider your body to be a weapon?
Stifling a sharp retort, she quickly closed her mouth. Though she wanted to argue, she wondered if the Voice was right. “I can’t use strikes in the aerial joust, can I?”
If memory serves me right, and it always does, they never said you couldn’t.
Her smile darkened. The Voice was right. She assumed the restriction on strikes and kicks was an unspoken understanding, but there weren’t any explicit instructions against it. If the Voice was right, Keryn just added a deadly new tool to her arsenal. Feeling significantly more confident in her chances, she suddenly knew she’d succeed as long as she kept her wits and wasn’t eliminated before she could put her plan into motion.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed the cadet sidling along the north boundary, edging closer to her. The way he moved and eyed her meant he was looking for a quick ambush. Already, the first threat to her success presented itself. If he managed a lucky shot, she’d be eliminated immediately at the start of the joust, and all her planning would be for naught.
She couldn’t let it happen. Smiling to herself, Keryn drew her pistol and shifted position, splitting her attention between the cadet and her target in the distance.
As the horn sounded to initiate combat, Keryn launched from her position, barely avoiding a laser blast from the cadet on her right. Rolling in the air, she returned fire and struck the male Lithid’s chest. He dropped to the gossamer net, the first student eliminated in the joust that day.
Evading her first adversary, Keryn knew it was time to set her plan into action. Above her in the distance was her target. Between them, cadets flew around each other like angry hornets swarming near a nest. Punctuated by laser fire and slashed with wavering energy knives, only the occasional falling student broke the illusion of an insect swarm.
Passing through that mess wouldn’t be easy, but she had no time to waste. Firing her jets, she flew forward at incredible speed, eager to break through the airborne duels and reach the far side alive and flying.
Keryn passed between pairs of cadets deep in combat, appearing as little more than a blur as she shot through the air. She broke cleanly through them, striking surprised cadets with well-placed punches and kicks that sent them pinwheeling away, as she passed. She fired a few shots toward those beyond her reach who she thought might be threats, but those shots were more suppressive fire than laser blasts that connected. Dodging a pair of cadets engaged in hand-to-hand fighting, their wavering knives flashing in the morning air, Keryn drew closer to Iana.
She would’ve loved to spend more time eliminating the rest of the cadets in her way, knowing each one she shot was one less threat for later. Unfortunately, to stand a chance, she needed to keep to her timeline. Breaking past the last of the blocking students, Keryn found herself in open air.
Having moved steadily upward as she flew, Keryn found Iana below, engaged with a darting student who moved so quickly from side-to-side that Keryn had trouble identifying him. His fluid motions in the air left Iana on the defensive and dangerously close to being eliminated. Trying to flee his attacks, Iana launched herself straight back out of his reach.
As the attacker leveled out, Keryn saw the bony protrusions of Zalide’s high brow line. From her vantage point, she saw the haughty smile on his lips she was so eager to remove.
Tilting her body, she dived. The focused Uligart didn’t see her. For the first time, she found herself truly appreciating the aspects of three-dimensional combat, as she fell on him from above. Arching her back, she dropped directly between the fighting pair. Zalide threw himself back, stopping before he crashed into Keryn.
With only the briefest smile, she dropped into a crouch in midair and spun, extending her legs in a sweep. Her heel struck the side of Zalide’s leg, as he struggled to get his bearings. Without the confines of ground combat, the sweep of her leg didn’t drop him to the ground, but it made him spin rapidly in place.
Taking advantage of the opening, Keryn slashed both his shins with her blade, paralyzing both legs. As he stopped, upright once more before her, she saw his haughty smile replaced by a snarl of rage. Extending the blade of his knife, he swung at her in a wide arc.
Keryn quickly countered, bringing her pistol butt down on his wrist. Howling in pain, he dropped the knife into the lake. With a satisfying backhand, she knocked the snarl from his face. His look of disbelief continued moments later when she slashed both his arms with the knife, paralyzing his remaining limbs. Frozen and unable to do more than hover, he watched her place her gun against his stomach.
She leaned close and whispered, “Get comfortable in the water. Don’t worry. I’ll send your girlfriend to you shortly.”
She squeezed the trigger. Zalide grunted in anguish, as his suit tightened around him, and his jet pack failed. Within moments, the Uligart plummeted to the net, his eyes firmly locked on the Wyndgaart waving mockingly, as he fell.
Sensing someone behind her, Keryn spun, her gun raised. A few feet away, Iana stared at her, her own pistol pointed at Keryn. For seconds, they stared at each other, then Keryn raised her gun and both hands.
“I’m not here to fight you,” she said.
“If you aren’t here to fight, what are you doing?” Suspicion shone in Iana’s eyes. She glanced nervously right and left, expecting an ambush.
Keryn smiled disarmingly, keeping her hands wide to allay any thought of hostility. “I’m helping you.”
“I see that, but why?”
It was clear Iana struggled with the idea of someone helping her during a solo competition. It wasn’t surprising. When there could be only one winner, it seemed unlikely that a fellow cadet would help unless he expected to gain something. The truth was, Keryn did have something to gain from her actions.
Knowing it was now or never, she explained her plan. “I’m offering a truce.” Before Iana could protest, she added, “I know that’s not what you’re expecting, but hear me out.”
Iana scanned back and forth, watching the nearby cadets, then nodded for Keryn to continue.
“Yesterday, we fought alone, and both of us were eliminated in the bottom half of the class. It took until last night for me to realize something important about why we lost. Yes, the joust is a competition only one person can win, but alone, neither of us has the skill to come out on top. I’m ready to admit it. More importantly, I’m willing to admit I need help. Specifically, your help.”