The first thing they do, after removing the tracking bracelets from our arms, is to offer us a chance at self defense lessons.
We all agree immediately. Even though it means getting up in the mornings. And training for a couple of hours before we can even have breakfast. I'm not really sure what to expect from it, honestly.
But the man teaching it - a tall and lanky man named Arden - doesn't look all that strong. I can see why they picked him to teach us. I don't think I've ever met someone who has the ability to speak so...slowly, before. Every word is spoken with care and focus, and his movements are deliberate and exact.
I suppose it's a good thing.
If he rushed through it, we wouldn't really learn much.
I don't think I could learn it any more quickly than he teaches it now.
It's concerning that the resistance wants us to learn self defense. We're just trying to escape, to go home, after all.
But...
I guess it also makes sense.
If something dangerous happens, it's better to be prepared, right? So I'm not helpless and trapped if we encounter any hostility.
It's terrifying.
But maybe that's all the more reason I need to learn.
"No...no." Arden shakes his head, then turns toward me. "Stand like Sarah is."
What-
Like I am?
Eric frowns and stands the way I am. It doesn't look all that different. Except...maybe a bit more stiff and tense. But not a whole lot, really.
"Relax. Breathe out slowly. You're too tense." He moves Eric's arms and feet into place. "No. You've got to be loose."
"Loose??" Eric sounds skeptical.
"Like a snake." He demonstrates, moving from the position he's in into another stance. It's smooth and fast and-
I'm not really sure what the purpose is.
"What is this?" Mia's voice is a bit exasperated.
"Tai Chi." Arden says, and then stops and abruptly laughs.
I've not seen him laugh before.
He shakes his head. "My master would smack me for that. It's...we'll just call it Tai Chi inspired Jeet Kune Do."
I have.
No idea what either of those are or how I'd tell the difference.
Arden smiles. "You're not here to learn any style. There's no time for that even if I wanted to teach you. You're here so that if the worst happens, you've got the best chance to survive." He shakes his head, and then sighs, his brows furrowing. "...It's not about the style, it's about the movement. The motion. You're fighting an enemy that's faster, stronger, and more dangerous than you. You need every advantage you can get."
"Isn't that more Judo's thing...?" Mia asks, tilting her head.
I know the name Judo. I would not be able to say what its 'thing' is.
"Turning the enemy's strength into their weakness?" Arden glances to Mia. "It's a good guiding principle, but you won't be able to grapple with those aliens. Not in a fair fight. They're too strong and agile."
Mia sighs. "Why are you teaching this...Tai Chi or whatever it's called?"
He hums. "...I find it's a good base to start with, to utilize the principles of Jeet Kune Do." His eyes crinkle a bit. "But. It's also because this is what I know." His voice softens. "...I was a martial arts student, back on Earth. Not a teacher. And I was a bit of a rebel. Didn't have the patience for learning Tai Chi like my teacher wanted." He laughs a little. "I turned it into a bit of a grab bag. Never expected to find quite so much practical use." He clears his throat and straightens up, looking at the four of us. "You won't be winning any tournaments. But you'll have a better chance of surviving."
I still don't like that he uses 'chance'.
"Not to be rude..." Eric says with a sigh. "But shouldn't we be learning to aim those guns the guards have instead?"
"Why should it be one or the other? Legs wider." Arden puts a hand on my back. I flinch a bit, and he moves me into the proper position. I didn't realize that I was doing it wrong...but it does feel different.
"Right now, you're not prepared for combat at all. And you may face them unarmed. You can't take that risk." He walks to Eric, who he nudges into position. "But. You'll also be training to handle weapons."
He walks over to Hestia and pats her on the head. "Good job."
Hestia beams.
The lesson is long. It's tiring. And I'm not sure it, or any of them, are really helping much.
...But I do find, oddly enough, that I'm enjoying it.
The next few days, we continue to take those lessons from him. In the mornings we have the self defense class, in the afternoon, after lunch and some time spent with the resistance people and learning about the tech they've got available to them, how things are run in the compound, and most importantly...their weapons.
Eric is quite the natural at that last bit.
I'm...
Not quite as much, I guess, but I'm at least getting the hang of how it works and the basics.
I'm still working on aiming.
"You are supposed to hit the target somewhere." Eric says, walking up beside me. He looks down the hall of their homemade shooting range - they'd cleared it out just for us, actually. Apparently, there are people who come down here on the regular.
"Yeah, well, you try this!" I huff, and shoot at the target. It goes...completely wide.
Eric sighs and walks around me, placing his hand on my shoulders, and shifting them slightly. "Here, like this."
I try it again.
This time, I hit the edge of the target. Which...I'm gonna call an improvement. It's better than I've been doing.
"Well...it is the target, I guess."
I elbow him in the gut. "I don't wanna hear that from you."
"Hey, ow! Rude." He snickers, then laughs. "I'm not the target...!"
I huff, and deliberately smother the smile trying to form. "Just you wait until tomorrow's combat class and we'll see."
I know he knows what I mean.
He's better than I am with weapons, yes, but I've...actually been better than him when it comes to learning to fight without them.
It's odd.
It feels a lot like...dancing.
Which is a funny comparison, because I've always been terrible at that.
So.
Maybe it just feels like terrible dancing.
But I find myself really, really enjoying it.
It's not just the movements. It's the fact that we get to move at all. The resistance isn't much, but they're a lot better off than we were, at least when it comes to being free. It's an exhilarating feeling.
And...
There's something about those morning classes that feel like the embodiment of that.
Or maybe I'm just saying that because I'm doing well at it.
Probably that last one.
I'm still not all that great.
But it feels like it could be a good start.
With luck, I'll never need to use it, anyway.