Not all of my training related to the rules and guidelines of how things were supposed to be for me, now that I was a Warrior Lycothan… one of the guards in the very prison where I'd once been a prisoner. It was important, and Lartara did her best to keep Eira and I focused on it. And I could see the importance on it, as it did relate to keeping discipline and avoiding "unnecessary harm" coming to those that were still prisoners. And in the back of my mind, I was well aware of that need, particularly whenever I saw myself in the mirror. The massive Amazonian build that rippled with muscle and power, even in my more human like appearance. I was huge when compared to who I was before I'd become a Lycothan to save Casey, or 997295 as the "rules" said she was to be identified as. Many of the rules were there to make sure that the prisoners weren't to be attacked or abused physically.
And the physical aspects of my training was relate to a lot of that. Lartara had some access to some rather interesting high tech devices, likely developed by some Servant Lycothan as a training tool to help new Warriors know how to restrain their greater strength. They were sort of like a robotic drone covered in a soft foam. It also had a host of sensors within the foam that were connected to a computer in its "head," which wasn't much more than a solid metal sphere with no features or images. Other than that, it looked like it had been built to resemble an average human with the joints for the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and even fingers and toes were detailed in the foam that covered the inter frame. Eira and I were then put through various paces on practicing restraining techniques and grips that would be needed to either restrain someone who fought back or move them along. I didn't expect any new prisoners to arrive at the facility, but it was possible.
I also figured that if Alpha Jinara was going to continue using me as a way to go after former friends, it'd make sense to be aware on what could be managed. So far there hadn't been a problem where I'd have to use any sort of force, but there was still the times where I could see at least some of the hurt on my former fellow prisoners, particularly with Amanda, or 995403. I didn't want things to come to that, but I also knew that I didn't have that much choice. In this, I had to go along with the rules and regulations, as anything that might put an end the war and conflict wasn't possible at present. So, I'd followed along with Lartara's instructions with regard to handling the dummy that had been brought into the same training room that Sartari had showed me. It then followed with Eira and I going through our paces with practice holds and moves.
"Such move would dislocate a human shoulder and the strength used would risk cracking of the wrist bones," the drone spoke out in a robotic monotone making Eira jump after attempted one hold with what Lartara described as a struggling prisoner.
"It knows human anatomy?" I asked to Lartara who stood on the edge of the mat.
"And all its strengths and weaknesses," Lartara answered, "we started getting them a week or so after I became Captain here. Apparently in some of the other camps, some of the guards got a little rough with the inmates. These were to be a safety measure that would help us weed out those don't know restraint."
I nodded with some degree of interest. It reminded me of something that Sartari had said about how some guards "washed out" with regard their training. That some either proved to be too irritable or brutish would be sent out to the Warrior Units that were still on Earth in the active parts of the fighting with humanity, where it wouldn't matter if they got too rough, or would be transferred to other combat units outside of Earth. They might still rise through the ranks according to the lessons on protocol that I'd gotten, but the odds were that those Lycothans would more likely meet a rather gruesome end in some battle, particularly if it was against someone with any degree of technology.
"I went too far... didn't I?" Eira asked to Lartara as she released the robotic dummy.
"With regard to the specific scenario... yes," Lartara nodded, "as the "prisoner" was only struggling lightly on way to a recruitment session. As such you would not need to use that much force to restrain the "prisoner." If the prisoner were to have attacked a guard or a fellow prisoner, the force used would be within acceptable levels. But all of this is within a parameters that relate to your now greater levels of strength."
"I'm sorry, Captain," Eira said looking down at the mat for a moment.
"Don't apologize, do better," Lartara commanded, "that's why we have the training dummy. Do it again. Restrain your strength to what would be necessary for control of the prisoner and no more. And remember, a human arm and shoulder functions in much the same way our arms and shoulders function."
"Yes, Captain," Eira nodded and then returned to the training dummy, which was standing behind her.
"You are escorting the prisoner from her cell to a recruitment session when she begins to struggle to pull away," Lartara stated the situation, "what do you do?"
"I retain a firm yet gentle grip of both arms to hold the prisoner in front of me," Eira reciting the specific hold that Lartara had demonstrated earlier in the drill, "both arms are to be pulled back so that the wrists are held together at waist height. I am to hold them together with one hand while holding a grip on the shoulder with the other."
"Then do it," Lartara instructed.
Eira then turned and moved to grip the dummy, reaching for its wrists and then sliding the arms back, though this time a bit slower than before and slowly twisting so that the elbows bent as they were supposed to. Once she'd gotten the dummy's wrists together, she wrapped her right hand to hold both wrists together and then sliding her left hand up to grip the upper part of the dummy's left shoulder. She then pulled slightly. It wasn't much, but enough to prevent the dummy from falling forward, though from what Lartara had shown us when she'd demonstrated what the dummy could do, I didn't think there was much chance of it falling. The foam it was made of didn't look like it had any "muscle" but the feet were pretty much flat and the internal frame likely had some hydraulics in it to hold it erect. As Eira finished the move the computer in the dummy diagnosed the moves and then announced its assessment.
"Strength levels would inflict intense pressure and discomfort, but are within tolerable levels for the human skeletal system," the "dummy" spoke, "manipulation of the joints would be considered effective and odds of dislocation would be low... though it could be possible that a normal human might still feel some measure of discomfort."
"Good, Eira," Lartara commented calmly, "much improved over your previous attempt. And in time as your training progresses you'll remember how to do it by heart... and sometimes, we'll have you and Harkaal practicing this on your own while the other works on other aspects of your training. For now, while you're both newbies... best to keep you together."
Eira nodded and stepped aside, letting the dummy's arms fall to its side. She then then stepped off the mat as I stepped onto it. I circled the dummy for a moment, though it made no movement. After a moment, Lartara repeated the same scenario that she'd tested Eira with and had me perform the same maneuver on it. Hesitant and not wanting to do anything that would cause undue harm, particularly if Alpha Jinara's games remained and I had to do this with people I remembered from when I was Haley and considered them to be friends, mimicked the same moves that Eira had just gone through while moving the dummy to a point where it couldn't escape.
"The strength level might be appropriate to prevent complete escape, however, should the prisoner be determined to escape or fight back the prisoner could escape full control and thus could escalate the situation, doing harm to herself or to the guard," the "dummy" diagnosed my actions, "Outside of that, the moves would prevent serious injury."
"You must retain some measure of force, Harkaal," Lartara said firmly, "I know you may be concerned doing harm due to your size. Sartari has had the same fears at times when its come to handling prisoners... but even she knows that she can't just let them loose."
I nodded in acceptance of the instruction. My reasoning for holding back so much was more in that I remembered who I was, which Lartara understood. And I could see some look in her eye that reflected that knowledge, as Lartara also remembered who she was. Eira, however, didn't remember who she was. I knew that much, as when I'd first come into the barracks before my receiving the gift from Lartara, Eira had looked at me in much the same way as many of the others had. The same predatory and teasing look with a lack of shame in the new her. To a certain extent I had to practice that look, but to Eira it seemed like it was second nature to her, which meant that when she became Eira, her memories of being Emily died.
But, while Lartara and I could remember our human pasts and felt we could personally trust Eira, there was some concern that if that sort of reveal became widely known that we could get in trouble. Particularly while an Alpha like Jinara was in charge of the facility as a whole. Jinara was the sort that had always struck me as a bully and the sort of thing that I'd truly resisted, but she had power and other Warriors might follow her. That was the thing that Lartara feared, and privately I'd gained some of the same fear. The situation was such that what Human resistance groups were out there would probably never be able throw out the Lycothans, which meant that reforming things to benefit all sides would mean supporting moves that would change the nature of how Lycothans governed Earth. I could guess that that was part of what Nillara and Jaxar wanted to do. Reform how Lycothan Earth would be governed, but then that was at best a guess, and like Lartara had said to me once, "Alphas can be hard to read."
"I will try again, Captain," I addressed Lartara and released the dummy again.
I then repeated the same motion, reaching for the wrists of the dummy and gave them a stronger squeeze, though remembering that the goal wasn't to do harm. I moved slightly quicker in moving the arms back so that they were crossed behind the dummy's waist and then moved to get one hand up to hold the dummy's shoulder while the other restrained both wrists.
"The strength level has increased, and would prevent any possible loss of control," the "dummy" spoke in diagnosis of my actions, "though it would be noted that the prisoner would still be able to shake and resist and it would thus take time to gain control."
"Was the force sufficient to prevent loss of control or the situation from escalating?" Lartara asked.
"Yes, it was within the acceptable range, though on the lower levels," the "dummy" answered, "more force would be advised as guidelines would prefer a lack of a fight. A fight would only lead to injury... or something worse."
"And there we have the things you two will need to practice on," Lartara said slowly, "Eira to restrain herself... and Harkaal not to over-restrain herself. You'll both need to keep in mind as we continue through our introductory practices."