CHAPTER 4Polar North was more than a garden. Buried deep in the ice sprawled the insulated conglomeration of the heart of Earth Confederation, a town-sized complex that swallowed Varl as an amoeba would engulf a morsel of food.
“Hold the stance!” Selim was a machine of bone, muscle, and iron-like sinew. He was a master of unarmed combat with the trained ability to spatter a drop of sweat beneath his fist while leaving the skin untouched. “Now!”
His left hand lashed out, followed by his right, then the upward jerk of his knee, the sudden batter of his head—blows Varl warded, dodged, and turned from their targets in unthinking response.
“Good,” the instructor commented. “At least as far as it goes. Now I’m going to hurt you.”
His face did not change and neither did his eyes. It was merel
