The flood's continuing to rise. It's nearly reached David's waist and is just a little chilly, giving him the idea of forming an ice dam by freezing the falling liquid. Beginning to concentrate on the barriers around him, the flow of molecules become visible to Dave everywhere. He's intensely focused on the kinetic energy of the water and is a little successful in slowing it down. Still, there are way too many molecules, which are moving too fast for the nervous Arn to largely effect. Reaching the conclusion it's a futile plan, he resigns to think of something else. The flood's reached his chest and Dave realizes he's running out of time. Again, he's searching around the ship for some sort of switch to the fields he might've missed before. Nothing's apparent as the water's climbing near his shoulders. Now that the flood's closer to his eyes, there's an illusion it's rising faster. At this point, David's almost in an utter panic as he desperately tries remembering everything Taschin told him. With sweat beginning to pour down his face, he reasons there must be some kind of clue. Dave recalls he was told to suppress his emotions, which seems impossible at this point. As the cold liquid begins to wash over his shoulders and rise up his neck, the panicking Arn frantically searches the ship for some type of computer. It's becoming clear, some kind of machine thought's going on throughout the ship and he begins to close in on its source. The flood's now reached his chin and Dave's lifting his head in an effort to raise his mouth. It's not doing much good and the cloudy water slowly climbs up to his lip. David's finding it extremely difficult to concentrate as the liquid climbs over his mouth. He desperately takes a deep breath through his nose and watches in horror as the flood climbs above his nostrils. Unable to breath, the Arn quickly tries using the Kivon to push the water away from his face, but the weight's just too heavy. In a desperate flash, it occurs to him he must stall for time. Recalling what Taschin said about having to tweak his physiology, David focuses on slowing his heart rate down to conserve oxygen. Within seconds, he's able to bring his heart rate down to less than 10 beats per minute. Relaxing his mind, Dave ignores the flood washing over his eyes and fixes his thoughts on the ship's computer. The logic of the machine becomes obvious to him and he begins interfacing with it. Now completely engulfing his body, the water continues to climb toward the ceiling. Even with his heart rate slowed, David's becoming dizzy from a lack of oxygen. Summoning his will power, he keeps his concentration with the computer and begins giving it orders. The intensely focused Arn rapidly overrides the software, breaking free from his binds and racing toward the ceiling with all his strength. Quickly catching his breath, Dave realizes he's still in trouble as there's only a foot of space separating the flood from the roof above him. David swiftly refocuses his attention on the computer and finds the commands to lower one of the energy field walls. As that wall disappears, water's rushing out at an extreme rate and Dave allows himself to be carried out with the flood. Landing on his feet, he looks around a much bigger room. Within seconds, a widely smiling Taschin walks through an energy field in front of the exhausted Arn.

Taschin: Outstanding!

David: You nearly killed me! You're lucky I don't give you a brain embolism or something!

Taschin: Relax! You were never in any real danger! You just had to be under the illusion you were for the exercise to be effective. I can tell, you learned how to do a bunch of stuff. At worse, you'd have passed out and I would've immediately lowered a wall and let the water out. Congratulations! You performed tremendously under extreme pressure. That wasn't an easy task, at all.

David: Great! What's next? Swimming in Lava?

Taschin cracks a smile and begins to chuckle.

Taschin: No, no, no. I've other lessons to teach to you. But, not right away. You've earned a rest. Why don't you get some sleep and we'll resume your lessons tomorrow.

David: Very well.

Taschin: Good night!

David: Good night.

David taps into the ship's computer and creates a bed out of an energy field. He's apprehensive about sleeping as it's not clear to him what tricks Taschin might try to pull. Still, Dave's quite tired and passes out very heavily.

After eating a meal in the morning, David's ready to begin his next lesson. Taschin has Dave wait for him and he promptly returns with what appears to be some sort of gun. The black device is slightly longer than a hand gun, but is several inches in diameter near the front.

David: What are you gonna do, shoot me?

Taschin: Something like that. Only, this gun shoots electric shocks instead of bullets. I'm sure you're familiar with electric shock therapy?

David: Yes. And? I'm not liking where this is headed.

Taschin: Well. I'm gonna create a bunch of rooms in a maze-like fashion. You have to run through the walls and find your way around for about 10 minutes. I'll be chasing after and shooting you every chance I get. The gun won't do any damage; it'll just be somewhat painful. You're gonna have to learn to deal with the pain and keep going. If you can keep ahead of me, you'll avoid being zapped.

Dave lets out a sigh and shakes his head.

David: What will you think of next? You're diabolical.

Taschin: Very nice. I suggest you get moving!

David quickly interfaces with the computer and tries bringing one of the wall barriers down. An intense pain emanates from his back and rapidly shoots through his body.

David: Aaaaahhhhh! Son of a!

Another shot lands on Dave's shoulder blades and swiftly courses through him. Reacting, he screams and wheels around. A third shot immediately hits the startled Arn in the stomach, almost causing him to double over. Out of tension, Dave rapidly focuses on the gun, which comes flying out of Taschin's hands and lands on the floor. The Vartaxian quickly lunges for it, but David wills it toward himself. As the gun lands in Dave's hands, Taschin whips around with an intense expression and rapidly runs in his direction. Dave tries to fire the gun at the frustrated alien, but it's not programmed to work for him and nothing happens. Almost instantly, Taschin's a foot away from David and the strong Vartaxian forcefully tries a left-armed backhand. Using his considerable martial arts skills, David makes a fast attempt to block him, but the alien proves too quick. A powerful blow to Dave's face sends him flying several feet and he lands with a painful thud. Before he has time to regain his composure, Taschin's on top of him grabbing the gun away. Standing up, the Vartaxian takes aim firing a shot directly into Dave's left kneecap. Instinctively, the Arn tries resting the gun away from him again, but Taschin's prepared for that this time and has too firm a grip. He fires another shot into Dave's other kneecap. Doing a quick back roll, the distressed Arn springs to his feet and sets his mind to opening a wall again. Another shot hits him in the back and this time he stays focused on the ship's computer, in spite of his agony. One more shot lands on Dave's neck and the sensation of scolding hot knives cutting into his flesh rips up and down his spinal column. Still, he keeps his concentration and manages to get the barrier down before running into the next area. Taschin quickly follows him landing a shot into his left arm. Getting another wall down, David quickly moves on. Right behind him, the Vartaxian wastes no time in shooting the harried Arn again; this time the blow hits him in the ass. Angered, David spins around grunting and lunges toward Taschin, landing a flying kick into his stomach. The alien barely goes backward and immediately slams his right fist into the surprised Arn's face, which sends Dave flying again. Quickly realizing he's no physical match for Taschin, the challenged Arn resumes his efforts of lowering barriers. As he gets rid of another energy field, Dave hurriedly runs into the next room instantly working toward dropping even more barriers. Taschin whips through the wall behind him and lands a shot into the back of his head, which nearly sends David crashing to the floor. Still, he somehow manages to keep his concentration and gets another wall down. Suddenly, the incredibly motivated Arn seems to be getting the hang of dealing with the energy fields and puts one up right in front of the surprised alien. As Taschin slams into it, he falls backward and seems very upset. David's now rapidly moving from room to room and is learning to use the Kivon to run a few miles per hour faster than he ever could. The Vartaxian's desperately trying to catch up, but doesn't seem to be having a lot of luck. All of a sudden, the walls in front of David become mirrors that are separated by only 2 feet, or so. It instantly reminds him of a house of mirrors one would find at a carnival. A reflective barrier's missing in each area and Dave must find his way around the strange maze. Not liking this bizarre arrangement, he makes an attempt to engage the computer and clear out the walls. To the bewildered Arn's surprise, Taschin seems to have changed the computer interface and forced him to come up with a new strategy to deal with it. Walking through a hole in one of the small rooms, David's surprised by the alien who fires a shot into his stomach again. Shrugging it off, he takes another direction and begins using the Kivon to tell himself which way to go. The Arn also focuses on keeping his senses locked onto Taschin's position. While he's doing all this, Dave also makes an attempt to reengage the computer. Quickly, he finds a way around the Vartaxian's software block and adapts to the new interface. Dave brings all the mirrored walls down and is staring straight at Taschin who's standing about 30 feet away. The alien raises his gun and fires. Instantly, Dave puts an energy field in front of the shot and blocks it. The Vartaxian tries to run toward him, but suddenly can't seem to move. Making an effort to change the computer interface again, Taschin's surprised to find he's the one locked out of the machine; Dave's turned the tides and changed it on him.

Taschin: I'm amazed! I wasn't expecting that! No wonder why Trilan chose you. That, in addition to your fair mindedness. Now, how about getting me out of this field. This lesson's over!

David: I oughta let you stay there! That was a pretty harsh lesson, don't you think?

Taschin: Now, you know full well any military person has to go through physical, sometimes violent training. That's just the way it has to be. As for your cuts and bruises, you must learn how to heal them through the Kivon. That's a skill you'll desperately need in the future.

David: I suppose. If you don't kill me first!

Taschin: You'll be fine! Now, get me out of this!

Dave releases Taschin from his binds and starts concentrating on healing his own wounds. Much to David's surprise, he's able to heal himself within minutes. Taschin looks happy to see Dave's quickly recuperated.

Taschin: Excellent! Do you feel up for hand to hand combat?

David: How much do you weigh?

Taschin: 812 pounds.

David: 812 pounds of solid muscle--as opposed to 195 for myself. You'll beat the crap out of me again! I'm not that skilled at the Kivon, yet.

Taschin: I'll take it easy on you for a few weeks.

David: I've seen how that's been the pattern lately. Knowing you, you'll break most of my bones just to see how fast I can heal myself.

Taschin: Not a first. Just some minor bruises. Look, I wouldn't do anything that would put you at serious risk of dying. There's always a safety net even if it doesn't seem that way. We both know that. You wouldn't be here if you weren't tough. That's for damn sure!

David: Alright, alright. Let's do it.

Taschin: Good! But, no cheating with the energy fields.

Taschin and David square off. Lunging toward the tall Vartaxian with a flying kick, Dave aims his right foot toward the alien's midsection. With incredible speed, Taschin pivots completely around on his right foot while the helpless Arn realizes he'll miss him. As Taschin spins toward his original position, the alien renders a powerful left-armed backhand to Dave's upper body, sending him flying face first for several feet. Landing on his jaw with a painful thud, Dave desperately scrambles to his feet. Before he can even blink, Taschin does a rapid forward somersault and lands his right foot into the Arn's chest. Flying backward through the air, David lands on his ass and the momentum causes his head to slam into the ground. Dazed, he's barely able to stand up. Taschin seems to sportingly give him a moment to recuperate as the alien remains in a fighting stance. Taking another lunge toward Taschin, David attempts a second flying kick. Instantly, the Vartaxian does a flying somersault upward and gives the airborne Arn a tremendous kick in the back on the way down. Traveling close to 15 feet, Dave lands on his face again and seems completely stunned. Taschin stands over him and can only shake his head as the groggy Arn appears too hurt to stand. Slowly, he rolls over on his back and moans for a few seconds.

David: I thought you were gonna take it easy on me?

Taschin: I did!

David: I'd hate to see what would happen if you were trying! I was considered a good fighter by people who knew me. I can't believe how fast you are! How do you move so quickly?

Taschin: My people have superior reflexes relative to your race. But, you should know the Tarx are even quicker--much quicker. Just because a creature's large, doesn't mean it's slow. That's just not always the case. You're gonna have to learn how to use the Kivon to speed your own reflexes up. It's also important you learn how to direct your body's energy. When you become skilled, you should be able to focus energy behind your blows. In essence, you'll be able to punch and kick much harder and be able to attack much more quickly. This'll all take considerable time to learn.

Using the Kivon to recuperate, Dave's quickly ready to fight again. This time Taschin acts more like a punching bag and tries getting him to improve his fighting skills through the use of the Colzin device. Things progress very slowly--very, very slowly.

The days pass and soon Rummager arrives in the Martian atmosphere. David's become quite skilled at interfacing with a computer and has no trouble hacking into the Earth ship's command module. Tinkering with Rummager's data banks, he creates the illusion nothing can be found anywhere on the planet. Instead, Dave imparts false readings to the vehicle that some kind of signal's being detected on the Moon. When the information reaches Earth, the grounds control workers divert the ship away from Mars and patch in a heading toward the large white satellite.

Much to the happiness of David and Taschin, the next few months prove quiet. The Colzin seem to be doing an excellent job of keeping the vortex generators tied up. Occasionally, the computer on Taschin's ship detects Colzin reinforcements entering this area of space, but the strange aliens maintain a safe distance. They're keenly aware David Ash is nearby and dare not tip off any potential Tarx vessels there's anything of interest nearby.

Back on Earth, an unprecedented level of cooperation's been reached between the various countries and an all out effort to advance technology's taken place. Tremendous amounts of money are being funneled into space research and all other areas of industry. Unemployment's almost been completely eliminated.

David's skills with the Kivon have grown slightly. He can lift a Tenge at a rating of 142 pounds and his reflexes have doubled in quickness. Running at full speed, Dave's learned to push his body to more than 34 miles per hour and he can jump 5 feet straight up. Still, Taschin's proving an almost impossible to beat sparring partner.

Taschin: Are you ready to get your ass kicked again?

David: This time you're going down! No kid gloves! Don't hold anything back!

Taschin: Alright, but aren't you afraid I'll break your jaw again?

David: What's the big deal! It only took me 40 seconds to repair it last time. Besides, I'm a glutton for punishment!

At that, David taps into the Kivon and focuses tremendous energy into his left leg, rapidly pushing off his left foot in the direction of Taschin with a powerful burst. The novice Arn can't quite lift his body weight through the Colzin device alone, but definitely can use it to gain extra momentum. As the alien desperately tries to duck out of the way, David releases more Kivon enhanced energy from his right leg and lands a tremendous kick into the left side of Taschin's stomach. The Vartaxian winces in pain as he's sent flying several feet onto his side. Immediately, Dave's running full speed toward Taschin and gives him a painful kick in the face, sending the large alien flying again. Falling into a dive roll, Taschin swiftly reacts and kicks an onrushing David square in the rib cage with a strong right leg. Dave's sent flying backward as the crunch of bones can readily be heard. Crying out in pain, David instantly realizes he has numerous broken ribs. Taschin shows no mercy and is immediately running toward him. Springing to his feet with incredible agility, Dave dives to the left and manages to avoid a second blow from the powerful Vartaxian. Scrambling to his feet again, David's amazed at how quickly he's able to mend his broken ribs. Suddenly feeling stronger than ever, the Arn lands an intense right punch into a charging Taschin's stomach, causing the alien to double over in agony. With both hands held together David jumps about 6 feet into the air and slams his fists into Taschin's back on the way down, which instantly causes the Vartaxian to collapse on the floor in pain. Wasting no time, the alien whips a leg around and knocks David to the floor beside him. Quickly grabbing the Arn's left arm with his own, Taschin spins him around. With a loud snap, David's bone near the left bicep breaks violently, causing him to scream with tremendous feeling. With a forceful right elbow, Dave manages to break one of Taschin's ribs, causing the Vartaxian to release him. The Arn quickly lands a powerful follow-up right kick into Taschin's jaw as another bone snapping crack's loudly heard. The alien's sent flying nearly 12 feet backward and lands on his head. Dave wastes no time in charging Taschin, who rolls to the side and manages to trip him. Landing on his face, David attempts to spin around and finds he's being jumped on. Taschin's relatively heavy weight should've hurt, but, by concentrating, the Arn uses the Kivon to suppress the pain for the first time. This comes in handy, for before David can do anything, Taschin's grabbed him with both hands by the left thigh and forcefully snaps the bone. Taking the Vartaxian by surprise, Dave's already healed his left arm and uses it to slam his left first into Taschin's nose. Another cracking bone's heard as the Arn quickly escapes from the alien's clutches. Suddenly, both Dave and Taschin stop dead in their tracks. They freeze in terror as the ship's computer's picked up a Tarx droid vessel heading toward this solar system from several light years away.

Taschin: Oh no! That's not good!

Dave: The ship seems to be making a bee line right toward Mars--right toward us!

Taschin: Yep! That appears to be the case! A Colzin vessel about 3 light years away seems to have noticed and is also heading straight for us!

David: What the hell are we going to do?

Taschin: There's not much we can do! My ship's speed's no match for a Tarx ship's. We're better off waiting for the Colzin vehicle, which should be here in less than an hour. The Tarx droid will follow right behind. I guess, we have to sit tight.

David: Damn! And, I was finally beating you!

Taschin: I don't know about that! Still, you were healing a lot faster this time. How's your broken bones?

David: What broken bones? They're all healed already. Would you like me to try and heal yours? I could use the practice on others!

Taschin: Alright, I won't use the ship to heal myself. If you can heal others, it'll come in handy. That doesn't mean you've won the fight, though!

David: Of course not! Anyway, we obviously have more important things to be concerned about.

David concentrates on healing Taschin's broken bones. As fixing someone else is new to him, it takes the Arn a few minutes to figure it out. For the first time, he can sense Taschin's extremely nervous as the arrival of the Tarx vessel looms in the very near future. While David heals the alien's wounds, he finds himself having to suppress his own fear--fear that can keep him from effectively using the Kivon. Time seems to begin to drag and become excruciating.