“Hm…” Aileen considered everything that she knew about making plasma. “Why don’t you try using air around you?”
Adrian shook his head. “I can’t grab hold of it. Somehow I can contain my own blood in gaseous form, but air? No way. I need it compressed, and I can’t pull or push on it. And even if I could, it would take me more energy to turn it into plasma. I can heat my own blood much easier than I can the air around me.”
“I don’t know,” Aileen said, now intrigued. “Isn’t there anything else in the data from the sphere?”
“No. They talk about what the abilities are and how they can be used once you already have them, not about how to make them,” Adrian said, frustrated.
“What were they using it for? And where did they get it?” Aileen asked. The People were known to have copied the abilities of other races.
“From a race of beings that evolved it as a defense mechanism against much larger predators. They weren’t intelligent, and I got the idea to use my blood from them, as that was what they did. But our ancestors obviously added things so that that wasn’t necessary. Otherwise I have no idea how they could do it like what I saw in the sphere. It obviously still worked, but they must’ve added a system where they didn’t need to use their blood. I just can’t figure out what it is,” Adrian said.
“Well, nothing is coming to me right now, but I promise to think about it. I can’t wait to be able to do that,” she said as her eyes wandered back to the pillar.
“But not for a while yet,” Adrian said as he stood up. “Come, I have a bit more energy left. Let’s see if you can land a punch when I have a handicap.”
Aileen twisted in mid-air and swiped with her leg towards Adrian’s head. He moved a step back, letting her foot pass in front of his head, and then he stepped close as she landed. The moment her leg touched the ground, she turned, throwing a wide punch. Adrian moved to the side and threw a kinetic blast at her shoulder, deflecting her punch. Then he reached for her other hand, turned, and threw her over his head and to the ground.
She landed hard, but the armor took the brunt of it; she barely felt it. She threw a kinetic blast from the floor directly into Adrian’s head, which made him stagger back. Her Sha was nowhere near strong enough to do the things he was able to, though, so instead of him flying away as she would’ve, he took a single step back. Aileen rose to her feet in an instant and started attacking him with quick, short jabs, all of which he blocked. Then she saw him try to goad her into a trap, and remembering his training, she plunged into the trap, allowing him to counterattack.
She took a punch to the chest, but as his fist connected, she made it stick there by expending the rest of her energy supplies. Then she threw a counterattack over his now defenseless side. Her punch flew and connected with his head.
For a moment, both of them stood there frozen, and then he stepped back. His helmet retracted, and she saw him looking at her with pride. And that made her feel wonderful. She retracted her own helmet and grinned at him.
“That was very good, Aileen. So you did listen to me,” Adrian said warmly.
“I did, and thank you.”
“It won’t happen again, naturally. But good job,” he said jokingly.
Aileen narrowed her eyes and went to attack, but he moved away.
“You want to fight some more?” he asked.
“I managed to hit you, but it still means nothing…” Aileen said sadly.
Adrian tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“I am nowhere near as strong as you are. That punch wouldn’t have even slowed you down,” she explained.
Adrian studied her. “That is not true.”
Aileen gave him a doubtful look. “Of course it is true, you must have noticed.”
“You only think that you are weaker. And that comes from the simple fact that you are holding yourself back. You don’t know how to use your body, how to coordinate your muscles and movements in order to get the best results,” he said, and then sighed. “I think that I have neglected teaching you some of those things. I’m going to need to find a way to teach you how to control your own body, how to be consciously aware of everything your body does. But the biggest reason why you are weaker is because you think that you have limits, and that is what is holding you back. Limits are an illusion; the human body is capable of so much more. You need to let go of your preconceptions and allow yourself to push past that boundary.”
Aileen’s face turned skeptical. “I would love to learn all that, but I doubt that I will ever reach the level you’re at.”
“You will, in time. Now get ready, we are not yet finished.” He gave her barely a second before he threw himself at her.
Chapter Thirty
May – Sanctuary
“The Trivaxians have been progressing well,” Tomas heard Nadia say, and he abandoned his place at the window, turned, and walked back to his desk.
“How are their colonies doing?” he asked. The Trivaxians had expanded their territory greatly in a short amount of time. Which wasn’t surprising, really; they had the population, and with the help from the Empire, they had the technology.
“Well, they have been setting up mining operations in systems rimward from Trivax, and are already in talks with Clan Dai Ven for trading agreements. As well as with Warpath in order to provide a steady workforce in the Sol sector. And they have taken a three life-bearing planets for themselves. They have a small number of people there, and soon they will start expanding and sending more people,” Nadia answered.
“Good.” Tomas knew that adding the Trivaxians into the Empire would boost their colonization efforts and give them an enormous workforce. There were far more Trivaxians than there were humans or Nel—at least the Nel that were a part of the Empire.
“And the people they sent to the Fleet and Army Academies are adjusting well, as is the faculty. In a couple of years, we will have Trivaxians fighting alongside our current troops,” Nadia added.
“How are things going in their home system?”
“The fabricators we provided them have sped up their plans substantially. In a year or two, they will have facilities to match Sanctuary, only with a greater workforce,” Nadia answered.
“And I am afraid that we will need all that workforce. I’ve received a message from Adrian,” Tomas said seriously. “He has encountered another race relatively close to Sol. They appear to be a part of a larger group, and they also have advanced tech. At least on the same level that we have now with what we got from the sphere.”
“Hostile?” Nadia asked.
“No. But we still haven’t found the Ra’a’zani. And the galaxy is filled with intelligent races; not all of them will be peaceful. We need to be able to defend our people.” He paused, then turned to look Nadia. “I want to increase our colonization programs, provide incentives to the Clans to expand aggressively in all directions.”
“I doubt that you won’t be able to convince them,” Nadia said with a smirk. “They will jump at an opportunity, especially if you give them incentives.”
“I also want to bring the Guxcacul and Nel into the Empire, as fast as possible,” Tomas said.
“I thought that you wanted to wait until they asked.”
“I did,” Tomas said hesitantly, “but us meeting this new race that has existed in space for thousands of years before we even realized what stars were… it makes me nervous. We need to be strong. The only reason why we are strong is because of the technology we’ve gained from the sphere. And if I go to the Guxcacul and Nel and convince them to join us on our terms, we get more people and boost every area of our advancement.”