Broken Song (22 page)

Kate looked proud of herself.  “See?  She cheats.”

I shook my head. “But how?”

Kat shrugged. “The best we can figure is that phenomenon she always describes when in battle, when she says it feels like time slows down as she fights?”  She pulled up a visual record of a battle on the display, the Stand of the Sisters.  All those centuries ago when Kara and I stood together against the Ragnarok and their human conscripts. 
I still find it odd that I have lived for centuries.
  She pulled up both nanite diagnostics and a vitals overlay over Kara's image.  “Now watch.”

In painfully slow motion I watched a male Ragnarok behind Kara, swinging his carbon blade down at her.  Her eyes shifted as her head twisted around to see him and she slapped the blade aside harmlessly with her open palm as it flew downwards, in what should have been a killing blow.  Kate was highlighting the nanite diagnostics against Kara's brain activity.  There were spikes in both as her nervous system reacted almost instantly with the spikes.

Kat smiled at me.  “It seems that since Kara has had five thousand years more than any other evolved Valkyrie dealing with our evolved nanites.  They have formed some sort of symbiotic neural network with her brain.  In battle, they are constantly analyzing and feeding her data and assisting in reaction speed, faster than thought.  So really, it isn't things slowing down in battle.  It is just that her brain and reactions are sped up so much in times of stress that it just feels like that to her.  I'm sure over time our crafty little nanites will adapt the same with us, but for now, she alone has the advantage of literally assessing the situation at the speed of light during battle.”

She grinned at me then wandered off to join a sparring session.  With Arin at my side, I watched the battle play on the display at a quarter of normal speed and watched as Kara even adjusted her body as she took a blow, to minimize damage she took.  Multiple instances of her strikes adjusting in mid swing were now evident, and she had actually somehow crouched instinctively enough so that a Ragnarok blade being thrust toward her heart from behind went through her shoulder instead.  I grinned because I knew that blade, I gave it to Hajart the Master Loomer years later.

I looked back over my shoulder at the Demon as she took on all comers in the training room with her staff, then thought to her across our link, “Cheater.”

She actually snorted as she fought, and may the war gods forgive me, but I laughed when she replied across our link, “I love you too Inatra.”

When the training session expired we all made our way out of the room, I thought I was the last one.  Just as I heard a horrific crunching sound behind me, I realized Arina was not by my side, I looked back in the training room to see the force measurement device crushed into a sparking and smoking ball as it started its own repairs.  Arina's shield bubble around it faded as my mate smiled innocently at me when she walked past and out of the room. 
Oh come on!!!