When Icarus entrusted Numa with the task of training new recruits in the art of war, she did not think it would be so chaotic.

Bly was a great officer, but dealing with young people is very different from dealing with professional soldiers or programmed droids. The clone was incapable of making the young people listen to him, much less do what he wanted. Being a teacher or instructor is a gift, a gift that Bly seemed to not have in the slightest.

Bly: - No no no, Stella. You must raise your elbow higher. Martin, grab the handle of the gun higher... But not too high. Tub! The gun in front! That's not a toy miss... -
Numa hadn't even made it to the training room and she could already hear the clone's screams in the distance. The cadets were mostly adults who voluntarily enlisted in the ranks of the resistance, or the occasional teenager who was interested in learning. Stella and Toba included. Although the latter, in the opinion of many, was too young to learn how to use weapons, but in a galaxy at war, some moral concepts are shattered after the first blaster is fired.

Numa stopped behind the line, watching as Bly did everything possible so that those who were practicing shooting with their weapons in stun mode would hit the target that was about forty meters from his positions. Some were able to hit their targets, others were even able to hit right in the center, but most missed considerably.

Bly took deep breaths to remain patient. He was a commander, not an instructor, and he was used to things going as smoothly as possible according to plans. But dealing with recruits was much more complex than the rookie clones that usually came to his battalion. Luckily, a voice came to help him.

Numa: - Having problems, commander? -

Bly: - Lieutenant Numa. How good to see it. Actually, yes. I'm having some trouble. - The two separated from the rest to talk more calmly.

Numa: - They are not clones, commander. He must start with the basics before ordering them to fire at a target. -

Bly: - I do what I can. I have never coached cadets. And it's been years since he was trained. What I already know is more something in my subconscious that I don't know how to explain to you. -

Numa: - Well... The commander ordered me to come and give him a hand. -

Bly: - Go ahead. I'm still not making much progress so far. -

Numa: - Good. Let's start with some motivation. -

While Bly didn't first understand what "motivation" Numa had in mind, he soon understood when the Twi'lek asked Numa to come to the front. Using the youngest of the group to demonstrate how easy the shooting test would be might not be a very good idea, but if he succeeded at least it would have a fairly positive result. Or at least that was what Numa hoped.

Despite her young age, the young Nelvaan woman did not hesitate to take the E-5 rifle as soon as she had it within reach, but even greater was Numa's surprise when she saw how Toba reloaded the weapon and configured it for single-shot mode. , one of the two that had that model of rifle.

What Toba didn't tell anyone was that she ordered the drodie to teach her how to use weapons. After all, she had the rank of commander before the mechanical units, and any request from her the droids would fulfill without rebuttal. Privilege that Icarus did not remember him possessing.

Still, using the weapon correctly is another story. The B1 droids and commando droids fired their blasters from waist height, something they did using assisted firing programming. One that in the B1 was so cheap that it caused a great dispersion when taking a shot. Not like the organic eye, which when aligning a target with its objective had a greater probability of hitting the target. Commando droids had optimized aim assist, but not without errors.

The B2 droid fired by raising its arms and aligning its cannons with its arm and its optical sensors, which allowed it better aim compared to its predecessor units. Not to mention the droidekas, whose weapons so separated from the optical sensors gave them one of the most disastrous aim of the entire Separatist army. Something they will compensate for with their overwhelming rate of fire.

Icarus attempted to rectify these problems, but a software update was not enough. Although droids now had an accuracy increase of up to fifty percent, many of the problems fell into the droids' own design. Something he wouldn't be able to mend.

Numa: - Very good. Mouth of the cannon in front. Butt over the shoulder. Firm hands. Align the crosshairs with the objective... And shoot. -

The Nelvaana followed the instructions to the letter, although when she fired she couldn't hit the target.

Toba: - It's very heavy. -

Numa:-Yeah. It is. And you are very small. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be playing with your friends? -

Numa: - No. I want to fight. I want to be able to protect everyone. I want to protect Miss Miraj, Wag Too, Mirana, Papa, everyone. I don't want... I don't want to lose... anyone else... -

Everyone was aware of her words. Toba was referring to Boil and her attitude was understandable. Numa understood her the most of all those present, and she had a hard time telling him to turn around and leave the war to the adults. But she Numa would not be able to order something that she herself would not be able to fulfill. But she at least had something on her mind.

Numa: - I have an idea. Why don't you come with me and we'll see how the others are doing? This way you can learn and when the time comes you will be more prepared than the rest. What do you say? -

Toba hesitated for a moment, but in the end she ended up agreeing to her proposal. Numa began to instruct the rest of the cadets while the Nelvaan watched everything in great detail. The results of Numa's instructions were so optimal that even Bly became overly excited.

Bly: - Perfect. That's a better shot. Now they just have to saturate the shields and they will be able to hit the target. -

Stella: - Saturate the shields? -

Numa: - Step by step... commander. -

The Twi'lek's tone seemed more like a scolding than advice. That was the reason why Bly had such a hard time instructing cadets, because she was always quick to demand results. Also... Shields? What shields was she talking about? That was a question that was asked a lot.

Maybe it was better to show than explain. Numa advanced to the front and stood next to the shooting targets. Everyone looked at her confused, and when they least expected it, she ordered Stella to shoot her.

Stella immediately refused, arguing that she was crazy. She had hit fourteen of fifteen targets, for an accuracy of ninety-three percent. Asking him to shoot him was crazy, even when the weapons were in stun mode. But the Twi'lek seemed to know what she was doing. Or not...

After much insistence, Stella carried out the order, but she was greatly surprised when she saw the energy ring deviate from her path, impacting quite far from where Numa was.

Stella couldn't believe it. She was sure she had aimed correctly. What happened? She was so intrigued that when Numa told her to nonsense a second time she didn't hesitate to do it, even though the result was exactly the same.

Everyone present asked for an explanation. They watched the Twi'lek in shock as she approached as if nothing had happened. Did she know that Stella would fail? Did she do it intentionally? Did Stella not have the courage to shoot him? Of all of them, the most confused was Stella herself, who was convinced that she had done the right thing, but she couldn't explain how she could have failed in that way.

Numa: - And that... was the shield that Commander Bly was referring to. -The clone noticed the scolding between his words.

Toba: - What was that? -

Numa:-I just answered that question...-she said with a poker face after a sigh. -The protective chest plates of her are usually equipped with a small shield. As Commander Bly mentioned, it is necessary to saturate those shields before you can hit the target. -

Toba: - Oh... That explains why everyone has such bad aim. -

Bly and Numa looked at each other, and it was impossible for them to sustain a laugh at the girl's innocent phrase.

Bly: - Small. Bad aim in this century. That is very clever. -

Numa: - Still... for those who are not familiar with war it is a quite logical thought. -

Numa: - So? Do stormtroopers have good aim? -

Bly: - Not exactly. I wore one of those stormtrooper helmets for a while, and I have to admit that they are quite uncomfortable, more so than the Phase 1 armor. Plus those glasses don't let you see anything. Still, hitting a target five times in a row to saturate his shield is no easy task. -

Numa: - If I remember correctly... Stormtroopers have a 1st generation shield, right? -

Bly: - Correct. The 1st generation is almost useless. B1 droids also have 1st generation shields. We clones used the 2nd one, and face 2 had an improved version. -

Numa: - Even we rebels use a 2nd generation shield. -

Stella: - But... Why doesn't the Empire protect its soldiers better? -

Bly: - The truth is... they don't care. They prefer numbers to efficiency... That's why they will never be better than clones. -

Numa: - It's possible. But instead it is a much larger army. -

Bly: - And numbers eventually surpass any technique. Yes... that's something I've learned over time. Besides... we get old too quickly. -

It was clear that this affected the clone, and it was not without reason, since many of the clones did not have a pleasant ending once the wars ended. They should have been heroes... but they were hardly treated as trash.

Numa: - Good. So you better train these recruits before you're not able to lift the blaster. -

Bly: - Hey! A little respect young lady! -

Numa: - Come on grandpa! Or do your knees already hurt!? -

Bly: - You will be... -

The little joke was enough to free up some attention and make the clone regain his spirits a little. And once everyone was able to get over the laughter, the training continued with the same rigor as before, and with the help of the Twi'lek, the cadets soon showed clear improvement. They couldn't let the droids do everything... Could they?