Chapter Eleven
Diena finished gettingthe suit snugged, and the charge in it was palpable.Keska was smiling as Kessie and Sorooth made sure it was sitting correctly.
Ithal frowned and did the same for Diena.“Sis, you are fighting for family honour.”
“Yes, Ithal.I know.”
He nodded seriously and paused.“Do you know why I hate some Hyreno and not others?”
“Ah.I can think of one very specific reason.The colours.The colourful ones don’t make you alert, but the ones who blend in do.”
His eyes went wide.“So, Judge Techor?”
“He’s blue and stripey under his suit.If he ever offers a swim lesson, you will see.But he feels like a Hyreno and looks like a normal Aksallan, so your brain thinks he’s a dangerous spy.”
“I think that is close to the issue.Thank you.It has been confusing me since I met Tigel.”
“Ah.You were also with friends, and your mom was relaxed.It’s a good environment for meeting new people.”She twisted her hair up into a ponytail.
He hugged her.“Don’t disgrace our mother.”
“Ouch.Thanks.”
He grinned.“No problem.”
Keska smiled and looked at her.“Ready?”
“Yup.Helmets on.”She pressed the mark in the centre of her chest.The field rose around her head, and the ventilation began.
Keska nodded.“So that works.”
“My compliments to the inventor.”
“Thank you.Okay.Let’s go through the protocol.”
They stepped forward, confirmed there were two in their group, and stepped into the arming room.She took a gun rated for her size as did Keska.
The next chamber was filled with windows that showed the array of courses.The room rotated, and they looked at each other.“This is cool,” they said together and then laughed.
When the rotation was complete, they stepped toward the door, and the cartridge was provided.It was huge and locked onto the top of their guns.They stepped forward and were shown the practice targets.As one, they lifted their guns and fired.
They paused and nodded.One shot per squeeze.
They stood through the welcome-to-the-course speech given by an automated unit.There were two gateways offered to them, and they each picked one.When a chime rang, they got moving.
Diena shot at targets that popped up, slid across her path, and around corners.Her training in the program kicked in, and she moved through the course smoothly.She grinned and enjoyed the hunt until she got to the last stage, where she was going to face off against Keska.
Keska came through six minutes later and looked around the space warily.There had been an alert to warn her that the hunt was on.
Diena hit her from cover.Three shots, nice and tight.
