Joule's smile faded. "Is something wrong?"
"What was that about this being a good plan?" Kira asked Raider.
He shrugged. "So, we don't let anyone talk to him."
"Yeah, that's really going to work," Kira scoffed, taking Joule's shoulder and marching him out of the room. "Let's go, Jin."
To Kira's relief, the drone followed. Though it looked like it was flying backwards as its "eye" continued to point in the wrong direction.
"What's going on?" Joule asked.
"Nothing to worry about," Kira answered. "Jin's just working through a few minor bugs in his programing. Practice for when we reach the Tsavitee's home planet. You had something to show me?"
The question did the trick.
Joule forgot about the J1N's unusual behavior. "Devon and I, actually."
"Have you been practicing the exercises Selene showed you?"
As someone who shared the same affinity as Selene, Joule would greatly benefit from her expertise. But only if he put in the same amount of work.
"Every day that we've been on ship. Devon has actually helped. She suggested I find someone to break my shields over and over again. Doing so would help me build their strength. Wren and Talon have been supervising to make sure our activities don't threaten the safety of the Wanderer."
Kira nodded in approval. "That's actually a good tactic. Selene did something similar when we were kids."
Of course, back then, Selene had been desperate to strengthen her natural abilities since her shields were the only thing standing between her and the beating their overseers would give her should they fail.
Kira and the rest of the forty three had been tasked with breaching her defenses over and over until Selene could stand against pretty much anything. As a result, Selene saw unparalleled growth, finding new and unexpected ways to use an affinity most deemed useless.
"Devon's getting stronger too. His attacks are much more powerful than they were at first. Even his seon'yer agrees," Joule continued.
Kira nodded. "That’s not surprising."
She and the rest of the forty three had seen similar benefits. It was why their overseers had favored that method of training.
Joule led Kira to the cargo bay and the impromptu training facility that had been set up there for their use.
The familiar sound of something striking against something else greeted Kira as she stepped into the room. Wren looked over from where he was practicing a katta, a series of set movements each Tuann were taught when they began training. The movements varied based on which fighting discipline a warrior learned.
As a warrior grew, they developed a personal katta, one that was unique to them but showed influences from those who trained them.
The most knowledgeable of warriors could look at an individual's katta and tell not only their style of fighting but the name of their mentors as well.
Compared to Wren, Kira's own katta was a mishmash of styles. Many of which were heavily influenced by humanity's martial arts. She'd started to weave in Tuann elements—Wren's in particular—but it was still rough. Nowhere near as graceful or elegant as her seon'yer's.
Finn and Talon sparred in the corner. Their weapons were the source of the thumping sound Kira had heard earlier.
At her arrival, Finn looked over, acknowledging her with a nod. Just barely blocking the fist Talon aimed at his face a second later.
"Better pay attention, old friend. You wouldn't want to embarrass yourself in front of your sword," Talon teased.
Finn flung Talon's fist away from him. "The day has yet to arrive when you can get the drop on me."
The oshota sparred, dancing across the floor in a beautiful display Kira felt lucky to witness. Every move was the height of perfection. Nothing wasted. Just pure brutal efficiency as they went for each other's weak points.
Seeing them like this, Kira was reminded of why the Tuann, their oshota especially, had such a dangerous reputation in the rest of the galaxy. They were the epitome of what it meant to be a warrior.
Few would be able to match their skill.
Kira could count on one hand the number of humans who could get close. Most of whom had died on Rothchild.
"This way," Joule said, heading to the opposite corner where Devon and Graydon stood.
She shook her head as she started after Joule. Maybe once she got done checking out his training, she could ask Talon or Finn for a spar. Either man would be a worthy opponent.
Maybe it would help work out some of the restlessness plaguing her.
Tuann weren't meant for inactivity. They needed violence or sex to maintain their equilibrium.