​     They rose two hundred feet in the air, then jetted north.

     "Bye," Niki said. She, again, turned invisible. 

     Trevor went along. "Bye. You've got the jewel?" 

     "I had to get it. You were taking forever. You've been in this simulation for ten minutes already, Trevor."

     "I know. I am just not in the game today." 

     "You're in your fourth year. This is a rookie sim. You took a hit, for God's sake." 

     "I know. I hate it."

     "Let's step on it and get this thing over with." 

​     They saw it before them in the sky.

     Their goal. 

     It glittered silver, and it looked like a portal to another dimension.

     The idea was to get the jewel Niki had on her into that portal. 

     Problem:

     Between them and the portal hovered fifty algren soldiers, each determined to keep Niki and Trevor from acheiving their mission. 

     That was when Trevor first felt glad Niki had joined him. 

     This next part was going to be a whole lot more fun with her at his side.

     They decreased their speed as they reached the soldiers.

     Trevor and Niki wanted to get as close to the portal as they possibly could before the algren realized they were there. 

     Trevor got about halfway before he maneuvered wrong and grazed the arm of an algren soldier.

     "They're here!" the soldier yelped. 

​     Time to fight.

     Their stun lines were useless against algren armor.

     Therefore, it all became about blades and laser-knives and four years of hand to hand combat training.

     Both Trever and Niki moved quick, and never in the same direction for more than a moment or two. 

     They sliced at algren all along the way. 

     The drew closer to the portal, closer...

     We're going to make it, Trevor thought. We're going to make it all the way to the portal without taking a single...

​     "Ow!"

​     The edge of a blaster blast caught Trevor in the leg right above where he'd already been wounded, and, you know, "Ow!" He'd need an Azure healer after this exercise was over, an exercise that was going all to hell. A part of him felt like calling the whole thing off, take the maximum penalty and just try again the next day, but...

     There. 

     They found themselves beyond all the defending algren. The soldiers were still in hot pursuit, but now both Trevor and Niki had a clear shot at the portal.

     They commanded their anti-gravs to get them there as fast as possible.

     They didn't go at the portal like speed skaters now. 

​     No, now they went at it like Superman, like ​Thor.

     They flew at it horizontal to the ground, so fast that Trevor could no longer breathe. 

     And, man oh man, did Trevor love that.

     Because that was the whole deal to him. It was why he chose to stick with the interdimensional warrior-in-training life, besides the fact that, on Earth, he was wanted for murder, because he never felt so strong, never felt so free, never felt so much like himself, as when he brought himself right to the razor edge of what he could possibly be. 

     He all but reached the portal, and his heart raced. His soul raced. Within moments, this training exercise would be over, and, after getting his evaluation from the Azure, which he knew wouldn't, couldn't be favorable, he knew himself of at least four tactical errors he'd made, he'd grab a shower and maybe a little something to eat before...

​     WHOOOOOSH!

                                                  CONTINUE