Academy of Arkanis [Translation]

Chapter 17

Quincy found it fascinating to watch his classmates' behavior change with the mere presence of Brendol Hux. The head of the academy had decided to pay a training visit to the graduating class, as there were only a few weeks left before the final exams. Commander Hux and Officer Davids had been strutting through the training hall for some time, eyeing the students in training.

They had started the unit with shooting drills, then moved on to hand-to-hand combat with weapons, and now they were training in unarmed hand-to-hand combat. The presence of the two officers caused different reactions among the students.

Some, including Chyler and Leonidas, performed at their best and outgrew themselves under Hux's stern gaze. Others went down from their nervousness, such as Dexter and Jyn, who weren't used to having to behave and show a non-existent, good side. And then there were the students who did everything they could to avoid attracting the attention of the officers and would have preferred to be invisible. Quincy counted himself one hundred percent in this category.

Surprisingly, Armitage Hux behaved as inconspicuously as possible in the presence of his father, and even though Quincy had no idea how Armitage did it, he always managed to stay on the opposite side of the hall from his father.

Genya's behavior in this training was a special case in itself. The brown-blonde acted as if she didn't even notice the officers' presence. She cheered quietly to herself when she did particularly well in an exercise and cursed when she missed when shooting. Quincy didn't know whether to think Genya was particularly brave or particularly stupid.

"Lynn! Stop dreaming and start!" his teacher's exasperated voice snapped Quincy out of his thoughts and he winced, startled. Quincy had once again been assigned to work with Jyn in this training. By now he was sure that the partnering was no longer based on weight, because Jyn had gained ten kilos of weight in his almost five years at the academy, and not all of it was muscle mass.

"Put some effort into it, Lynn! We want to be on our best behavior!", Jyn growled at him and Quincy swallowed. They both knew that it didn't matter if Quincy tried hard or not, Jyn was going to win this fight no matter what.

The hall had been specially set up for Commander Hux and Officer Davids' visit. The floor tiles, about one square meter in size, had been set at random, varying heights. This uneven floor was meant to simulate a rocky surface and make hand-to-hand combat more difficult, as it meant that one had to concentrate not only on one's opponent, but also on the ground below.

Quincy was glad that Officer Davids had somehow managed to convince Commander Hux not to implement his initial suggestion that the floor plates should move as well. So now Quincy and Jyn were facing each other on two floor plates, while the other students around them had already started their hand-to-hand combat, and even though Quincy wished for nothing more, he knew he could not escape this situation.

Jyn first punch had been so obvious and slow that Quincy at first thought it was a trick to hide another move. In the end, however, it had simply been a lousy punch that even Quincy was able to block. Jyn and he were on two platforms that were side by side and the same height.

To Quincy's left was a floor slab about eighty inches above his, on his right it went down about two feet, in front of him was Jyn, and behind him the slab was elevated enough that Quincy couldn't climb on it. The next time Jyn attacked and tried to pull his legs out from under him from his right, Quincy dodged him by swinging onto the slightly higher platform to his left. Surprised that he had actually managed to do this, Quincy missed the moment when he could have attacked Jyn in turn.

Jyn used those few seconds to launch a brutal attack. In a powerful move, he climbed onto a platform that was still a bit above Quincy's and before the white-haired boy even understood what was happening, Jyn had already jumped off his platform.