Training

by jalpari

Shiro wants Noor to begin training along with the rest of the team. Noor tries to push through the trauma of being captured and experimented on.

A/N:

Thank you for all the comments. It's great to engage with you and get useful feedback! Along with character development, I I hope y'all pick up on the hints and references as we move along.

"What did you do...back on Earth?" Luten asked Noor after they were done with their warm up.

He had noticed how smoothly Noor moved through her exercises. Every move had a purpose and flowed into the next. She may not be a trained soldier but she had potential.

"I...um...I was a dancer."

"Oh…", Luten mumbled.

There was a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"Oh?" Noor turned around to face him.

"No...I mean…"

"Listen, Captain", her eyes narrowed as she approached him. "As a professional performer, I trained every day for anywhere between 6 to 10 hours to build stamina, strength, agility and of course...hone my technique. Much like you guys do for your particular set of skills."

"Oh...yes…", Luten coughed uncomfortably.

Keith's back was to them as he ran through a set with his dual swords. He stifled a chuckle as he heard the hint of challenge in her tone.

"She has a point", Shiro grinned.

"I didn't mean to offend…", he began.

"Where do we begin", Noor placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow as she continued staring at the now uncomfortable man.

"So your entire family has been in the military?" Noor sat on the floor across from Luten.

"Yeah, all the way back to the days of monarchy apparently", Luten shrugged. "That's what my great grandfather used to say."

"Wow, that must be nice…knowing your entire family history and lineage. So you're royalty, huh?"

"I guess...", he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "you should hear some of the stories that have been passed down", he laughed and shook his head.

"Like what?"

"Like how there was a time when there were dragons!"

"Dragons!?" Noor glanced at him bewildered.

"Yeah, just good ol' family lore."

"That would be amazing though", she muttered under her breath.

"Alright, enough break time. Take your stance. Let's go through the defensive moves again."

Noor stood up, raising her arms in front of her.

"Just remember", he smiled gently and added as an afterthought, "I won't hurt you. This is just an exercise."

Noor winced as she recalled her reaction when he began teaching her the basic moves an hour ago. She had flinched at his touch as her mind threw her back to the prison and dragged her through every traumatic experience.

She had crouched back and looked at Luten in panic and fear. Shiro rushed to them and encouraged her to relax. He suggested that it was perhaps too early to begin her training. But her stubbornness had taken over and she shook her head, more determined the second time.

She nodded as she slid her right leg back and squatted ever so slightly. She prepared herself for his punches, reminding herself she was safe. Slowly, Luten swiped his arms at her one at a time. Noor blocked his attacks making sure she pushed her arm out as his arm swung down towards her. She blocked each swing with one clean swoop of her arm.

Gradually, Luten picked up the pace and began changing the angles of his attacks to test her reflexes and focus. Shiro smiled in approval as Noor kept deflecting Luten's arms with an increased intensity. He stayed in her vicinity to ensure she didn't push herself too far. He had seen the stubbornness in her eyes.

Suddenly, Luten took a step forward with his next swing, forcing Noor to step back. She paused in surprise but regained her composure quickly and kept blocking him. Satisfied, Luten grinned and kept moving forward attacking her faster from rapidly changing angles. Noor was quick on her feet.

Keith watched as she moved with a graceful agility expected of a dancer. Her transitions were fluid and she moved with precision. After a few more minutes, Luten stopped and stood back. He smiled at Noor who straightened up and relaxed her shoulders.

"Don't tense up your body like that. You'll tire quicker."

Noor nodded and took her stance again.

"I'm going to come closer to your face and chest now. You can either hold up both arms in front of your face like this and block me...", he lifted her arms and put them in the right position, "...or...you can push my arm away with both your hands outstretched in front of you like this", he adjusted her arms once more.

"Got it", Noor practiced both positions a few times.

They went over the drill for several minutes and once again Luten increased the frequency of his attacks. As they began moving, her body stiffened once more and before she knew it, she lost her balance and started falling backwards. In a flash, Luten's hand grabbed her arm and he pulled her back up before she could crash to the ground.

"Thanks", Noor frowned.

"It happens. You're just getting started."

Keith turned away and began a new round against his training bot.

"Alright, combat training is definitely good to build your strength but it's going to take a long time to get to a level where you can fight", Shiro walked over.

Noor restrained the defiance that surged through her body. She knew he was right but she couldn't help feel like she had something to prove.

Everyone here was highly trained and it bothered her how dependent she was on them. Now that she was here, she felt a tiny bit of hope that she could do something to bring the terrorists down, unlike when she was their prisoner. She never wanted to feel that powerless ever again.

"You need to hone a weapon skill", Shiro continued.

"What are those?" Noor pointed at Pidge who was whipping around two long leashes at the bots attacking her.

"Those are lightwhips", Shiro replied. "Come with me."

Noor followed Shiro to the other end of the room and a panel opened to reveal a large collection of weapons.

"These are daggers that expand into a sword like the one he is using", he pointed at Keith, "except his is a Blade weapon."

He picked up another weapon similar to Pidge's.

"There are several types of energy settings on a lightwhip. Each emits different kinds of energies that can electrocute, burn, immobilize and so on. These...are the guns we use, some are long distance, others close range. Lance was our sharpshooter but everyone had a gun on them. These are Hunk's hammers. And everyone gets this...", he picked up a wrist band, "...it's a shield."

Shiro picked up each weapon one by one and demonstrated its use as Noor watched in awe.

"Do you have a preference?"

"Umm…", Noor looked unsure, "I guess being able to shoot at someone before they get close enough to knock me out sounds good."

"Yeah", Shiro chuckled.

He watched as Noor eyed two daggers that lay in one corner.

"Those are twin daggers. They are similar to Keith's but...", he pressed the handle and a row of loops emerged, "...you can also wear them on your knuckles…"

"Like Bagh nakhs?"

"What are those?"

"An Indian weapon...like brass knuckles but with blades on them."

"Oh...well yes...like those then", Shiro pressed the handle again and the knuckles went back in.

"There's more though", he joined the daggers back to back until there was a click and the two were joined, with the blades on either side.

"Whoever wields them, needs to connect to them to be able to transform this into a double sided sword."

"Can you show me?"

"Actually", Shiro sighed, "none of us have used this one."

"Why?"

"Our Bayards came with their own weapons. This was a gift."

"By who?"

"By the Olkari", Keith answered as he walked over to them and placed his swords back on the shelf. "...when we fought alongside them on the old Olkarion planet", he continued wiping his face and neck with a towel.

"The Olkari technology integrates with everything, even with the mind of the person who operates it", Shiro held up two small pin like devices and clipped them on either side of her forehead. "So whoever uses this, will need to find a way to connect with it...using their mind, body and soul."

"Oh", Noor whispered and took the daggers from Shiro.

She clicked them the way she had seen Shiro do, and out came the knuckles. She wore them on both hands and moved them around gently.

"Maybe you could learn how to use these", Shiro smiled at her.

"Actually, I…", Noor looked flustered, "...have used a double sided dagger before...well they were props...for one my performances."

She was secretly elated at the idea of wielding a weapon as lethal and graceful as this.

"Wow, that must have been beautiful", Luten gasped causing her face to turn red.

"Yes, sounds like it was", Shiro grinned, "but for now, let's go to the shooting range."

She nodded at everything Shiro said as he showed her how to hold her gun, correct her stance, aim at the target, and then shoot. The first time she fired a shot, she was not prepared for the sheer power of the weapon. She fell back and barely managed to stabilize herself.

She felt a hand grip her shoulders and immediately froze. Her mind threw her back to every time she was dragged out of her prison cell, or pinned down while they strapped her in.

On instinct, she turned around and pushed him away. Shiro saw the fear in her eyes. He realized what he had just done, that his touch had triggered her, that she still didn't entirely trust him or her surroundings.

"Noor...I'm sorry…"

"I...I…", she fumbled for words biting her lip. "I think I need to take a break."

Keith was making his way to the shooting range when he saw Noor run out the door and rush past him. Bewildered, he jogged into the room to see what had happened.

"Shiro? Is everything alright? I just saw Noor…"

"It's all my fault", Shiro sighed, "She fired the gun for the first time and fell back and I was just trying to steady her but I think it scared her when I grabbed her by the shoulders."

"You should have seen her face, Keith", he turned around and faced him. "She was terrified of me."

"I have seen that face", Keith patted the distraught man's arm.

"Oh, right", Shiro grinned.

"Be thankful she didn't stab you or shoot at you", Keith grunted.

"She seems to be fine around Hunk and Pidge."

"And Luten", Keith added.

Shiro gave a sideways glance and saw the grumpy expression on Keith's face.

"Does that bother you?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"I mean...it bothers me that somehow we trigger her and the others don't."

"If it makes you feel any better", Shiro smirked, "she reacted the same way the first time Luten touched her during training."

"Oh…", Keith muttered.

"Think it'll go away with time?" Shiro looked at the door with concern.

"Hopefully."

"Hey Kosmo", Keith put his book aside and ruffled the dog's hair.

He chuckled as Kosmo licked his face.

"Stop it! What're you doing here, boy?"

Kosmo tilted his head and looked at Keith.

"She needs you more than me, buddy."

He patted the dog a few more times and kissed him on the nose.

"Now go on…good night."

Keith switched off his lamp and lay down, gazing at the spot the dog had been just seconds back.

He wondered if Kosmo slept on her bed the way same way he did with Keith. He wondered if he cuddled with her the same way he did with him. He wondered if she felt comforted by Kosmo's presence in the same way he had in the past.