Vari's Choices

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “I see,” Lariah said, tapping her finger against her chin. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to work on math tomorrow.”

  “Why?”

  “Because right now you’re going to ride your new pony,” Lariah said. Her dracon hearing had picked up the sound of the horse’s hooves several minutes ago, and she knew they were about to top the hill in front of them.

  “New pony?” Vari asked, stunned. “But I don’t know how to ride.”

  “I know, which is why today is the day you get your first lesson.”

  Lariah stood up in time to see Saige ride into view with Lariah’s horse, Nahia, and a red pony trailing behind her. Lariah looked back in time to see Vari’s face light up in an all too rare expression of joy and excitement.

  She really didn’t know what Vari’s future held. But she did know that whatever it was, it was going to be important and extremely difficult. Lariah couldn’t change that and sensed that trying to do so would be a mistake. What she could do, however, was help make sure that Vari had as many happy memories of her childhood as possible.

  Chapter 5

  Declan, Jay, and Kai left the Roar Room and headed down to the rec deck. Vari had mentioned a preference for working out early, just as they did, so they hoped to catch her in time to invite her to breakfast.

  When they stepped out of the stairwell they saw Lanok standing before an observation window with an intent expression on his face. As they approached he turned toward them, shaking his head slightly.

  “Good morning, Commanders,” he said long before they reached him.

  “Good morning, Lanok,” Declan replied. “Is there a problem?”

  “No, not at all,” he replied with a rueful grin. “I’ve just never seen anyone move as fast as Vari without the use of magic or technology. My daughter has described it to me, but it’s truly astounding to witness.”

  Declan covered the last few steps a bit more quickly, but was disappointed to find that Vari had finished sparring with the bot and was putting things away. “She’s that fast?”

  “I’ve never seen a human, or near human, with her natural combination of speed, strength, and agility,” Lanok said. He turned toward Declan. “Sparring with her will be exciting, even though I’ve no doubt she’ll hand me my head.”

  “Are you serious?” Kai asked.

  “Completely,” Lanok said, smiling with what could only be anticipation.

  “You don’t appear to mind the idea,” Jay observed.

  “Not at all. I’m quite looking forward to it.” Lanok looked through the window at Vari again, missing the surprised expressions on their faces. Declan had several questions he wanted to ask, but someone called Lanok from across the corridor.

  “Excuse me, Commanders. I’ve kept my Jujitsu class waiting long enough, it seems.”

  “Of course,” Declan replied, his attention drawn to Vari as she stepped out of the training room. One of the many things they’d noticed about her was that she didn’t smile often, so when her immediate reaction upon seeing them was to smile, it gave him hope.

  “Good morning,” she said. She glanced quickly at the observation window, then back to them. “Were you watching?”

  “I’m afraid we arrived too late for that,” Jay replied. “Lanok was watching though, and was impressed with your speed and skill.”

  A faint blush tinted her cheeks. “I had lots of time to practice when I was a kid.”

  “You began learning the Secret Art as a child?” Jay asked, curious but not surprised.

  “Yes, when I was five.”

  “Interesting,” Jay said. “I’d have guessed tiketa to be your first discipline, considering your mother’s expertise in it.”

  “It was,” Vari said with a little smile.

  “How old were you when you began?”

  “I have no idea. As far back as I can remember. Mom would show us a move, then my sisters and I would practice it over and over until we learned it. Then we’d go back and ask for another one. It was a game to us. Up until I was four, of course. After that we all continued to learn, we just did it separately.”

  “Would you like to have breakfast with us?” Declan asked abruptly.

  “Yes, I would,” she replied before giving herself time to think about it. “I’m starving, and in desperate need of caffeine.” She glanced down at herself. “I probably should go shower and change, first.”

  “That’s not necessary,” Declan said. “At this hour of the morning almost everyone in the cafeteria will be dressed much as you are now.”

  “That’s right, this is a working ship,” she said, falling into step beside Declan, automatically making sure there was a safe distance between them. “I’m still thinking in terms of liner etiquette.”

  “Having never been on a passenger liner, we can’t compare the two,” Kai said from right behind her, noting the careful distance she put between herself and them, just as she had before.

  “I don’t think you’d like being on a liner at all.”

  “But you do?” Declan asked, pressing the call button for the elevator.

  “In some ways, yes, and in other ways, no,” she replied, doing her best to hide her nervousness at the thought of another elevator ride. “All liners are not exactly the same, of course, but in general private bathrooms are available in first class rooms only, and they’re barely large enough for someone my size to squeeze into. Even the biggest staterooms are cramped and tiny, the beds are barely more than cots with thin pads that masquerade as mattresses, and they’re slow. They usually take about twice as much time to get somewhere as it takes a ship like the Bihotza or even a yacht would take. Even longer for a ship as large as the Leaper.

  “On the plus side, the food is good, there’s always entertainment of some sort going on, and there are thousands of fascinating sentient beings from all over the Thousand Worlds and from all walks of life to watch and listen to. Best of all, I never have to inconvenience anyone to take me where I want to go.”

  The elevator arrived and Declan gestured for her to enter first. She hesitated briefly, then stepped inside, moving to a back corner like she’d done before. A quick glance at the men seemed to indicate they hadn’t noticed, which was good.

  While Kai pressed the button for the cafeteria deck, Declan wondered if Vari was aware of how much she’d just revealed about herself. Probably not, he decided. The endorphins from her workout were more than likely responsible for loosening her tongue.

  “Pandora still isn’t ready to show herself?” Kai asked.

  “No, but she’ll come out soon. Even she can only stay confined to one room for so long.”

  “Did you speak with your fathers this morning?” Jay asked

  “Yes, I did. They’re relieved I’m off the Leaper and doing so well, though they seemed a little surprised when I told them you were able to help me strengthen my shield.” The elevator door opened, capturing her attention, so she missed the expressions on the men’s faces when she said that.

  Once they were all off of the elevator she checked to be sure they were alone before continuing in a lower voice. “I’m curious about Marcel. Did you find his memory crystal?”

  “We did,” Declan said grimly. “He’d gathered sensitive information on various governments and their high ranking officials that we have in our system because this is a diplomatic vessel. If that Information were to be leaked, it could have serious political results. It would also discredit us, personally, as well as Jasan.”

  Vari winced. “Has he been a member of your crew for a long time?”

  “No, thankfully, he hasn’t,” Declan said, turning toward the cafeteria. “About six months is all.”

  “Do you know who he’s working for?”

  “He’s either a very good actor or he really doesn’t know,” Jay said. “Since this ship doesn’t have a brig, we placed him in a hibernation tank which we’ll turn over to the authorities when we reach Jasan.”

  Jay hurried ahead o
f them to open the cafeteria door and she entered at Declan’s side, already scanning the other diners. Finding nothing suspicious, she followed Declan back to the same table they’d used the previous afternoon.

  “Were you guys working out this morning too?” she asked when they were all seated.

  “Yes and no,” Declan replied. “We were in the Roar Room.”

  Vari had a sudden urge to see them in their alter forms, and tried to imagine what they’d look like. Would they be leopard spotted like the Dracon Princes and their sons? Or would they be golden, or chocolate, or black, like other dracons she’d seen? She knew their brothers had been leopard spotted, but that didn’t necessarily mean they were, too. As much as she wanted to know, she didn’t ask. They’d want to know why she was so interested, and she had no answer for that.

  She picked up a menu, glanced at it quickly, then set it down since she already knew what she wanted. The Dracon-Bats didn’t bother to look at their menus at all, a stark reminder that they lived full time on the Bihotza. A little of her good mood slipped away.

  “We searched on the vid terminal last night and could find no mention of a Secret Art,” Jay said after the waiter brought them coffee and took their orders.

  “I’m not surprised.”

  “Is it really so secret, then?” Declan asked.

  “No, it’s not secret. If you search under its true name, En Dairii, you’ll find information. Not a lot, but some. The main reason you’ve never heard of it is that it’s just not very popular.”

  “Why not?”

  “Mostly because it’s an extremely difficult discipline to master.”

  “What makes it so difficult?”

  She looked at them curiously. “You really want to hear this?”

  “Definitely,” Declan said. “We are first and foremost dracons and, like all Clan Jasani males, we’re warriors. A new form of hand to hand fighting is always of interest to us. And it would be nice to have a little understanding of what we’re seeing later.”

  “All right,” she agreed, then took a sip of her coffee while trying to decide where to begin. “The first thing you should know about the Secret Art is that it’s not a hand to hand discipline. It’s weapon based.”

  “What weapon?” Declan asked curiously, sure that they’d never seen Lanok or Vari wearing a weapon.

  “It’s called dairi, which brings me to the second thing you should know. The term Secret Art doesn’t mean the art itself is secret. It means that it’s an art that focuses on the use of dairi, a word that means secret. The original name for the discipline translated into Standard was to wield a secret weapon. Now we just call it En Dairii which means Secret Art.”

  “That’s a clever name,” Jay said.

  “It wasn’t meant to be a name so easily misconstrued, but we don’t exactly advertise its true meaning, either. If you search for En Dairii, you’ll find a little about the discipline’s history, and an invitation to learn more through direct contact with a proficient.”

  The waiter delivered their breakfasts so conversation stopped for a few minutes. Jay took the time to shuffle through his extensive knowledge of weapons, including a large number of primitive weapons once used by different peoples of different worlds. He came up blank, which surprised and intrigued him. “What exactly is a dairi?” he asked once the waiter was gone.

  “Instead of trying to describe it, I think you should wait until you see it,” she said. “I will tell you that today’s dairi are based on an ancient weapon designed to be worn in the open without revealing itself as a weapon.”

  “That’s a common concept,” Kai said.

  “It is,” Vari agreed.

  “How old is the Secret Art?” Declan asked.

  “About three thousand Standard years on the world it originates from. The dairi of today has little in common with its namesake other than the hide in plain sight concept, though. Over the past few centuries it’s changed a great deal due to advancements in technology. The dairi we use now are smart-weapons, each with a biological connection to its owner.”

  “Biological?” Jay asked in surprise. He’d never heard of such a thing.

  “My dairi are created for me, specifically. They’re designed to act and react to my body, my movements, my touch, even my DNA. No one else can use my weapons, and they will only perform to whatever my current level of training is.”

  “Your level of training?” Kai asked, confused.

  “A beginner’s dairi will not cause injury when used because the bio-chip injected beneath the student’s skin restricts the weapon’s capabilities. When the student graduates to a higher level of expertise, the bio-chip is updated, and the same weapon becomes more capable, and more dangerous.”

  “I want very much to know more about these dairi,” Declan said. “But we will wait until after we see them, and you, in action. So I’ll ask the other question I’m most interested in knowing the answer to.”

  “Which is?”

  “You mentioned something about Lanok being a Red Set. What does that mean?”

  “It’s his rank within the discipline, which is quite high. I believe there are only about fifty others who hold that rank in the Thousand Worlds. He’s a highly respected proficient of the Secret Art, as is his daughter who holds the same rank.”

  “She’s the one who trained you, correct?” Kai asked.

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  “What is zentsu?” Jay asked.

  “Like most disciplines, the Art teaches a student to be more aware of his or her surroundings, to make use of all senses, not just sight or sound. Zentsu takes that concept further.”

  “Further how?” Jay asked. Vari set her fork down and reached for the coffee carafe to refill her cup before offering it to the others.

  “Do you know that if a person becomes blind, his other senses can become stronger, sharper, and more sensitive to make up for the loss?”

  “Yes, we’re familiar with that,” Kai replied.

  “Zentsu is based on that phenomenon. The word zentsu means senses.”

  Declan frowned. “Do you mean to say that you must render yourself unable to see, then fight?”

  “Basically, yes.”

  “That makes no sense,” Kai said. “We’ve been in our share of battles and we’ve never once had to fight in total darkness.”

  “You misunderstand,” Vari said. “The purpose of zentsu is not to teach you to fight in darkness. It’s to increase your other senses to such a degree that it renders lost senses an advantage rather than a hindrance.”

  “I don’t see how that could be possible,” Jay said.

  “Imagine you’re in one room, and your opponent is in another. Your eyes aren’t helping you since you can’t see through the wall separating you. In fact, they’re hindering you by feeding you useless information that’s almost impossible to ignore because sight is a primary sense. But if you close your eyes, effectively blocking that sense, you can focus on the more subtle information coming from your other senses. Sound, scent, even the feel of air brushing against your skin. That is zentsu.

  “With practice, you’d be able to discover not only your opponent’s exact position, but the location of his heart, and the carotid artery in his neck. With a fully activated dairi you’d be able to cut right through the wall and strike your opponent with either a restraining, disabling, or killing blow, whichever you choose.”

  “How does one even learn to do such a thing with enough speed to make it practical?” Jay asked.

  “It’s difficult,” she admitted with a little grimace. “But once you learn to train your mind, it gets easier.”

  “Even with our dracon senses, I doubt we could accomplish such a feat,” Declan said. “It sounds impossible.” Vari dropped her eyes and raised one shoulder in a noncommittal shrug.

  “From what Lanok said yesterday, you have some skill in zentsu.”

  Vari set her fork down again and pushed her plate back. “I do.”


  Declan wanted to ask more about it, but her body language told him that she did not want to pursue that particular subject further. So, as curious as he was, he asked a different question instead. “Is your telepathy an advantage or a disadvantage to you?”

  “It’s definitely an advantage, but I never use it while I’m being tested, and never in a spar unless my opponent is aware of it and I’m practicing a specific move. In a real fight, I use it without hesitation.”

  Declan, Jay, and Kai looked at her in surprise. She didn’t understand why until she replayed her last words in her mind. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. She could hardly believe she’d made such a careless mistake. Apparently her hormones were eroding her common sense.

  “Sorry,” she said, choosing her words with care. “I would use it without hesitation.”

  The Dracon-Bats smiled, but instead of relief, she felt guilty for deceiving them. She hadn’t lied, exactly, but her words had been carefully chosen to imply a meaning different from the truth. Just as she’d been taught.

  The urge to tell them everything was so strong that she barely managed to resist it. She reminded herself that she’d taken oaths, and was surprised when that didn’t feel like a good enough reason. It was knowing that they’d be disappointed in her if she broke her word that truly kept her from blurting out everything.

  As disappointed as she was in herself, she felt a little disappointed in them again, too. But this time she wasn’t sure why. Before they could ask any more questions, and tempt her further, she looked up at the clock on the wall. “Oh, look at the time. I need to go prepare for my spar with Lanok.”

  “Prepare?” Declan asked.

  “I know it’s just a spar,” she said, pushing her chair back and standing up. “But Lanok is trying to inspire his students so I thought I’d dress the part,”

  “I’m sure Lanok will appreciate the extra effort,” Kai said.

  “We’ll see you on the rec deck,” Jay said just as she started to walk away.

  “Okay,” she said, her lips stretched into a smile.

  She left the cafeteria and headed for the stairs while trying to understand the reason for her disappointment. After all, she was the one keeping secrets from them, not the other way around. As far as she was aware, they’d done absolutely nothing to earn her censure. And yet, it still nagged at her. She has half way to her room before it hit her.