Homestar Saga

Chapter 123: The Fifth Law of Power

"You don't have to do this, you know." Lissa's sword swept past Yvian's helmet. Yvian countered with a simple side-step and a stab, which her sister barely dodged. She backpedaled, gaining some distance before she continued, "You could have stayed behind."

"I won't let her control me," Yvian replied. She advanced, circling slightly to force Lissa into the corner of the training room. "I refuse to be afraid."

Lissa realized she was almost trapped. She took the only option she could, bursting forward with a diagonal slash. Yvian easily batted it aside. Her sister whipped the blade around for a horizontal strike, but Yvian was already moving. Her sword smacked into Lissa's wrist a quarter of a second before ramming into Lissa's voidarmor right where her heart would be.

"I'm just saying," the loser continued. "You don't have to deal with her again. She's not your mother anymore."

"Can you two focus?" Captain Mims chided. The human was engaged in a furious back and forth with Scarrend. The Vrrl held a katana in each hand, striking with blistering speed. Mims dodged and deflected with uncanny grace. His single sword smacked into Scarrend's upper left forearm, forcing the beast to drop the weapon. The sight filled Yvian with awe and envy. The motherless son wasn't even short of breath. "If you can have a conversation, you're not training hard enough."

"You're having a conversa-GAAH" Scarrend's quip ended with the human's sword in his solar plexus.

"See?" said the human. "Talking is a distraction. And distractions," he leveled his training sword at the gasping Vrrl, "are costly."

"I think I need a break," said Lissa. "I'm out of practice."

"Yeah. You are." Mims signaled Scarrend, and they both leaned their weapons against the wall. The human removed his helmet, revealing a face without a single drop of sweat. The motherless son. "You might want to start taking more time for yourself. You've been running yourself ragged since Brilend Prime."

"Eight million refugees aren't going to process themselves," Lissa pointed out." Her hair was satisfyingly plastered to her head when the helmet came off. "Then there's the war with the Trelg, backdoor deals with the Krog..."

"I know," said the Captain. "It's been a long couple of months. That's why you should take some time for yourself." He ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe after this run..."

"After this run," Lissa reminded him, "The Oluken are going to remove the implants on nearly a million pixen slaves. A million homeless, traumatized people that we have to make a place for." She shook her head. "The work will never end."

"That's the point I was making," said the human. "The work's not gonna end. You need to take care of yourself."

"Seriously, Sis," said Yvian. "The Oluken found a way to remove slave implants! You should be happy." The climate controlled air of the training room felt cool on her face as she put her own helmet away. "Instead you just look more stressed."

"Maybe if I had more help..." Lissa glowered at Yvian.

Yvian looked down. "I know." Yvian had spent the last few months training with Scarrend and working with the Peacekeepers on sector defense. She'd had as little to do with the refugees as possible. Now, seeing the state Lissa was in... Yvian should have done more. Or at least tried... She shrugged a shoulder. "They hate me."

Lissa's glare held for another moment before she softened. Her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Sis. It's just..." She sighed. "It's just been hard."

"Speaking of help," Mims changed the subject. "Have there been any new candidates?"

"A few." Lissa opened the cooler by the door, retrieving a bottle of water. Training was the only time Mims allowed drinks outside of the kitchen, and it was always water. She guzzled it down. "Most of the people with experience worked for the Guilds, and they were..." she grimaced.