She shouldn't have to be tough, and if he hadn't failed his people several sun-cycles before, he'd never think twice about training her for battle. But she might need to know how to defend herself. His mother never needed to learn. No nishani in his bloodline had learned to defend herself or been exiled from her planet. And no nishani in his bloodline had failed to produce an heir the first year.

She had to learn to fight, and he wasn't sure when he'd be able to touch her as a man did his mate. If she were any woman from his planet, he would never have hesitated to take her to his bed, as he should. She hadn't protested to his touch during training. Neither had she sought him in any way since his return. She was scared of him still, and he knew it was their bond as dhjan and nishani that frightened her.

He watched her over the viewer. Nishani started with small adjustments to the battle before her, as if testing for the results of her decisions. She grew bolder quickly. He watched as her decisions turned from thoughtful to instant as she reacted to the battle. Her position at the table shifted as the program grew more complex; she dropped her feet to the ground and leaned forward, taking in the rapidly changing situation.

He leaned closer as well, watching. Nishani was not only brilliant, but she was fast in her work. As quickly as the computer tossed a challenge before her, she countered and matched it. He watched for quite a while, until the model reached a level that had taken him years of apprenticeship under his father to achieve.

It didn't seem possible that anyone could learn so fast. In the end, the computer might win, but he suspected nishani would not lose the second round. He took a long breath and relaxed, satisfied with his choice once more. As hard as it would be to push her closer to the mold of what a nishani would be, it would be well worth it.

He turned both machines off and left his quarters for the command center. Nishani was concentrating too hard to notice him when he entered. He approached and stood a short distance behind her, watching once more.

She was murmuring in a frustrated tone. Her small, shapely form grew tenser and closer to the computer as the levels increased. A'Ran shifted forward as well to see. In the end, she made a drastic over-calculation and lost the ground battle. Nishani pounded a fist on the table and made a loud sound that was most likely a curse on her planet. It did not translate, and neither did it sound like it could be anything else. He chose to overlook the idea of his nishani cursing like a man at battle.




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