24th July
16:14 GMT
Just like on Earth, when-
"
Yaaagh!"
-Lanterns spar, it doesn't take all that long-
"
Raah!"
-for a crowd to form. Fortunately the Tamaranians have the sense to keep well back, unlike a few Humans I could name. Double-fortunately, because while a few of the subtleties eluded Guy, John and Jordan they certainly had the basics down. I don't think the princesses have even seen a
recording of a Lantern before.
Komand'r
thrusts her
hands forward,
fortifying her bubble shield as my tungsten rounds strike home. The barrier cracks under the assault but doesn't fall apart, a noticeable improvement upon her earlier performance. I maintain fire as Koriand'r
flies at me,
pulses of orange light blasting towards me from her ring. I evade, letting my ring project the trajectory of each shot and move me out of the way.
Her trajectory I track by eye, firing a single flashbang round right at her face. Its proximity fuse detonates it just before it hits her, the flash-
"Agh!"
-blinding her and sending her crashing to the ground.
"Koriand'r, your ring can heal your eyes! Focus on your desire-
" I send a tendril to assail Komand'r's bubble from the side.
"-for physical wellness!
" The tendril makes contact. Oh dear, she's lost awareness of her environment again. I have
warned her about this.
Corrupt.
The barrier shuddering for a moment is all the notice she gets before construct veins appear over the outer surface.
Construct acquired.
I fold my arms behind my back as I throw her ball up into the air and then
slam it to the rocky ground.
"Ah!"
Komand'r yelps, then
pushes herself up and
forms a construct-sword.
"Komand'r, what did we say about-
"
She shoots forwards, environmental shield flaring. I'm actually
getting a little worried about her stability. I send a filament at her from the ground just behind her… Ah, she's gotten the hang of resisting those with her environmental shield, good. I float backwards, letting her approach but at a slower rate. As she flies past her fallen sister Koriand'r pulses with orange light, her eyes clearing. She looks around for a moment and then raises her left hand in a 'resume' signal. I fire a short volley of tungsten rounds at her and she leaps into the air to evade.
Komand'r approaches melee range and swings her sword at my chest. My armoury tong construct grips it by the flat of the blade before it can complete its arc and the sudden stop causes it to slide from her hands. As soon as she loses physical contact her construct fades to nothing and she barrels into my construct armour hands first.
I hear the
crack as several bones in her hands fail to withstand the impact, even through her environmental shield. Enhanced for strength and not endurance, perhaps?
She falls back, her teeth bared and glowing construct-gauntlets forming around her injured hands. No, that won't do at all.
"Komand'r, stop.
"
"I will still-!"
"No, you've lost focus. Stop. Meditate. Resume later.
"
"
I can…" She
shudders as she tries to prove my assessment wrong, momentarily showing me that her eyes are emblazoned with the orange sigil. "I…
can-."
Her ring cuts out and she falls onto a construct mattress that I've placed just below her. Her mind clear, she looks at her broken fingers
in horror as the pain finally gets through. She bites down a whimper as I raise my right hand and scan them.
"Seven phalanges. I would suggest that in future if you wish to punch a hardened target that you create the construct gauntlets
first.
"
She grits her teeth as she answers. "I will remember that."
Orange light plays over her hand as I knit the bones back together.
"Better?
"
She flexes her fingers. "Yes. I am ready to resume our mat-."
"No, you're not. Without the ability to retain your situational awareness, your effectiveness in combat will be
crippled. And this is just against a single opponent who's pulling his attacks; against a fleet that's actively trying to kill you, you
will die unless you understand the self-discipline aspects of my training.
"
She nods reluctantly, rising off the construct platform under her own power. A glance is enough to know that she
really likes being able to fly. I'm not sure if she's learned to repair whatever damage her childhood illness did, but.. I don't think I'll do it
for her. It will be an excellent encouragement to learn how to use her ring for non-combat purposes. Komand'r flies over to our starting area and sits down cross-legged, her hands meeting fist-to-palm across her chest.
Koriand'r comes closer. I haven't signalled 'stop' in her case, but she appears to be assuming that she should take a break if her sister does. "What do you want me to focus on?"
"Armour constructs. I shouldn't have been able to disable you like that. You can bet that Emperor Damyn has reviewed the fight leading to the death of his progenitor
at length, which is why you'll both be undergoing power armour training this afternoon.
"
"I have not fought in such heavy armour before. I am ..
concerned that it may impair my movements in a way which I cannot adequately compensate for."
"That's a reasonable concern under planetary gravity and in an atmosphere. You'll be in space, wearing a power ring. Trust me when I say that power ring based flight does
not care about a little extra weight from your armour.
"
She doesn't look convinced. "Will this armour stop capital ship weaponry?"
"Not the primary weapons, but if those hit you then it's your own fault for not
dodging. It
will however severely reduce the ability of their point defences to harm you, and those are
far more effective against small targets like Lanterns when at close range. Did your training on Okaara cover ship to ship combat at all?
"
"Somewhat. But it was not a particular focus. And we didn't study ways to destroy capital ships from the outside using
infantry."
I nod. No, I don't suppose that they would have.
"Fair enough. How are you finding the solar suit?
"
She tenses and relaxes a few muscles, looking at the material as it moves over her skin. "It feels.. strange. I am so used to the idea that covering my skin weakens me that I have seldom worn so much clothing."
"Hopefully it'll help get you familiar with the practice. Of course, you
can charge yourself directly with the ring, but in case you run out of charge or your focus slips…
"
"How have you managed, not being able to feel love or hope or compassion? I have tried to imagine it, but the idea is so alien to me that I cannot comprehend it."
"I can feel them just fine. Even using my ring.
"
She considers that for a moment. "You said that your ring was different to ours. Is that why we have such a problem?"
I shake my head.
"No. My ability to feel other things while using my ring comes from a… A great moment of self-comprehension I had last year when I.. saw all of my desires in their proper place. I'm afraid that I don't know if it's possible to
train people to undergo the same thing-.
"
"I am low on power."
Koriand'r raises her left hand and looks at her ring. "How do I recharge it?"
"You will
eventually get a personal lantern so that you can charge yourself. For now-
" I hold out my left hand and call my lantern out of subspace.
"-please use mine.
"
"How do I-?"
The Ophidian leaps out of my lantern and coils around her!
