Targets in the Grass (Part 3)

Posted on 04 Dec 2012 @ 8:16pm by Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk & Crewman Athlen & Warrant Officer Evan Kell & Petty Officer 3rd Class & Trisant Myrddin

4,001 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: Vega Colony, Galileo Crash Site
Timeline: MD 06 1808

[ON]

Out of the blue it seemed as if Cyrus had materialized from nowhere to the side of Kiri. "Lieutenant Cho, may I have a word about the training?" He noticed that Panne had been almost comforting the other science officer but decided that it wasn't any of his concern. "Sorry for interrupting. I would like to get the clear on a couple things before I start haveing random phaser bolts all over the place." He chuckled and took out a PADD to write down the information.

Kiri lifted a good few millimetres off the ground when her heels leapt up in surprise, not the best inspiration of confidence. Turning she looked at the man that had come from behind her, there was no doubt about it, he size was scary. Her uncle was bigger but he was soft, this man looked just as he was, a weapon. Her eyes flicked down for a moment before she met his, her voice not quite so confident, "Okay?"

"So you were saying you just want some basic firearms and hand to hand stuff? I was wondering if you wanted me to go a little step farther, teach you guys how to say, hand the basics of a rifle, and build a defensive position out of everyday materials." He paused trying to find the words to explain. "It's more or less what you wanted, but it'll give some of the others that aren't sharp shooters, something to be able to do well and will probably make everyone feel safer as a whole." He figured by throwing the word safe into his explanation her and the others that might have overheard would consider the slight modification.

Kiri paused, this indeed could be useful, it would help them all perform better, but not everyone was like her. This was optional and, it wasn't exactly meant to be long. If there was a war with the Klingons, or anyone else chances were they wouldn't be seeing it in the next few weeks right? They weren't making ready for battle, just training, how to explain. A deep breath escaped her, shrinking her further, "I'm afraid we might now have time today," Looking up for a second she gave a small smile, "We will start losing light soon, once we have done some ranged exercises and some basic close combat training, it might be getting rather dark already." It wasn't a no but it was explaining her position, "Maybe it would be better suited to another time?" The officer was winning, the girl wanted to slink anyway and get on with it, just let him win.

Cyrus eyed her curiously and chuckled. He took a look over to where the others were firing. The light was high, but it was closer evening that he had thought. "You're totally right ma'am, I didn't think it was late as it was." He gave her a reassuring smile and gestured with his own rifle. "Have you ever used the phaser rifles before?" He asked. "I noticed that you haven't really did any shooting, are you just supervising like Lieutenant Panne over there?" He smiled and stood next to her.

"No," Kiri shook her head, "I will be taking part, as for rifles I'm not very proficient," That was honest at least. She actually quite liked shooting with a Type 2 Phaser, it was mathematics, mechanical. Type 3 not so much, there wasn't a situation where she would rather have one of those.

"No one needs proficiency to be a natural." He smiled. "You can't be any worse than Athlen." He added laughing. "The huge difference between the two is that the type 3 is a compression, so you need to brace yourself for a slight kickback." He passed his rifle over to Kiri and smiled. "Tuck it in to you shoulder and take a few pot shots at that target over there, and I'll see how you do." He gestured down the range to a mid range target. "Just try for chest shots, it's the easiest to hit." He took a step back and folded his arms, looking down range so as not to make her feel uncomfortable.

Kiri took the rifle and at first held it properly. The problem started to appear as she looked down the sight, setting the target, doing the math. Her grip drifted further and further from her body, trying to keep it away from her. As for the target, she had always been told to aim for the centre of mass, stun worked best there, or if it came to it a high power blast would vaporise the target anyway. The first shot was just to the right of the centre of the chest, the second followed further over then the third grazed it. Adjusting she finally hit it in the abdomen before missing on the left hand side, each time the rifle pulling itself side to side.

Cyrus waited carefully watching the first couple shots before turning his head slightly to watch her movements. She doesn't like touching the rifle... was his first sight. As continued watch as the rifle waved from the lack of stability and instantly knew that her grip, her shooting stance was fairly even, but she refused to hold the rifle to her.

He called her to cease fire and walked over. "Tell me...and be honest, are you scared of the rifle?" He mimicked what she had done during the firing. "Because you let the rifle leave your shoulder the more you focused on firing..."

Kiri looked very uncomfortable, it wasn't something she really wanted to talk about in front of everyone else. Lowering the rifle she look a step closer to him, looking rather ashamed. Her voice was very quiet, trying to make sure no one else heard, "Yes." But it wasn't the rifle that she was really scared of.

He patted her shoulder and nodded. "Good, you're supposed to, a rifle is a weapon and if you're too comfortable with any weapon then you shouldn't be firing it." He looked left and right before leaning in. "These things scare the crap out of me. The only difference between me and you, I'm used to using them. It's nothing to be ashamed off, you still shoot better than half the people here." He chuckled. "Now from what I see, you know how to hold the rifle, but you seem to lose focus on where your rifle placement is the more you fixate on what you need to shoot at." He offered a hand. "Mind if I see the rifle?" He also asked. "Try to explain to me what's going through your mind when you get ready to shoot."

Given the choice, she wouldn't be firing it. Handing him the rifle she fell very silent, trying to work out how she actually felt. To phrase it right to him, there wasn't really time. Watching as he held the rifle she still looked very pensive, very worried that anyone else was listening. "I line up the target," Each pause was long, taking a breath, "Check the settings, I fire." That wasn't quite accurate, "I try to kill them." There was a stun setting but if it came to the point of using a rifle, the goal was to kill them right?

He shook his head. "you're not telling me everything. There is more going on than you want to tell me, but that's fine." Cyrus shrugged. "You're calculating, you take the time to measure the distance line up the target...you're thinking more than you want me to know. You do more than just lift..." He raised the rifle. "Aim..." He glared down the sight.

"Fire." He shot a three round burst into the holotarget, all three hitting square in the chest. "If it were that simple, you wouldn't try to separate yourself from the rifle."

He settled the rifle back into a relaxed position. "It's okay to hate the thing, to hate all weapons, but just like the marines, we need them to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe ." He looked down at the ground. "I hate guns, I hate hurting people...but in order to keep people like you, and Panne, and Theron safe, I do what needs to be done and I do it as best as I can." He looked at her hard. "That doesn't mean I'm a bad person, or that I'm any scarier than anyone else, it means that I can protect the people I care about, and serve the Federation."

"Someone has Rhodes captured, threatens to kill him if you don't fire. What would you do?" He asked simply.

Kiri didn't want to be in that position, she didn't want to answer that question. She couldn't let someone else die, so she had no choice, "I stun them." She hated all the things he said, she wanted to keep people safe without hurting anyone. To her, Cyrus was scarier, larger, stronger, he knew how to hurt, that alone worried her not so much the reasons.

He took her in, observing, it wasn't hard to see that this woman was scared to ever make the decision, she didn't want to thing of that. Maybe he had been too hard one her, but something clicked...something about the way she answered, the almost blatant defiance of the two options he gave her, it made him smile.

He nodded slowly. "You have no idea how great a leader you can really be...do you..." He almost whispered, then realized what he said. "It takes a strong person, stronger than I am, to be able to make that kind of call."

"As for you finding the rifle repulsive...I can't fix that, just like I can't fix what you think I am..." He stared at her hard. "I'm not dumb ma'am, I see it in your eyes. I terrified you from the moment I opened my mouth." He said in a softer tone. "Every marine has killed, but not every marine is a killer." He added softly.

Kiri's eyes widened, how was she so obvious? Yes she didn't like the rifle but for him to know so much, was he a telepath? Despite being friends with one for two years she still didn't like even remotely the idea of someone being inside her head. Her reactions and emotions were things she tried to hide, yet she was failing so badly? Then there were the words, they surprised her even more. A conformation not only of approving her actions, what she could do as a member of Starfleet, but an officer and a leader. Similar to her promotion, it made her chest swell a little, despite the concerns she had over his thoughts about her.

"All I can say is that if you really want to keep your friends safe, your colleagues safe in a case of an emergency...don't. EVER. Let that rifle leave your shoulder, even if it kills you to touch the thing, even if you hate the very feel of the gun. If that stock leaves that shoulder before you fire you're going to miss almost every time, and during a firefight...the person that misses" He let it hang in the air before finishing. "dies, and everyone you're trying to save dies."

Those were better words than Kiri had been given at the Academy, hard and scary. They were a truth she didn't want, a reality that wasn't the one she wanted to exist in but knew was true. There was a side to being an officer on a starship that meant she had to sacrifice things. She was unable to be as innocent as she was before, maybe she had to hurt people to save others now. Her brain felt numb, all of her did. Her body was heavy, for a few seconds she was paler.

Cyrus handed his rifle back to the timid Lieutenant.

"Now stun the living hell out of that target and don't be afraid to do it. You'll never kill someone with stun bolts." He stood back.

So she had to hit the target, her mindset was different now. She was stunning someone, not hurting people, killing parents, siblings, children, friends, that was something she could do. With a deep breath she changed the setting to medium stun and almost fluidly dropped to one knee. Placing the rifle against her shoulder she pulled it tighter, so much it hurt, it seemed easier when it hurt. Aim taken she let a stream burst forth at the targets chest, then another, then a third. Most of them hit, all of her felt numb though, she felt sick, clammy.

He nodded grimly, surprised of the sudden change in her stance, her determination..and the the revulsion was clear on her face, but she wasn't afraid. That's all that Cyrus needed to see, he had gotten through to her, maybe even helped her become the leader he saw for a split second. He walked over and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. "It sucks...doesn't it." He knelt beside her. "That feeling you feel, runs through the mind of almost every single marine and security team in Starfleet. That sick worm that twists in your gut. The feeling numb and senseless...that goes away with time, but the sickening feeling...that never leaves." He looked at her and smiled weakly. "I can shoot a type 3 with a 98.8% accuracy, I was highest mark in my class, and the best marksman on the Fitzgerald, which had a marine contingent of over a hundred....and I hated every minute of it, but I do it to save everyone else the pain that you are feeling right now."

"You're not a soldier and you don't have to act like one, but you are not as frail as you think you are. I gave you two options...kill or be killed, you gave me a third option...what other wise Starfleet Admiral did that when he was becoming a Ship Captain..." He left the name of James T. Kirk out, he knew she must know.

"Think on that, and think on what he had to do." He lifted her up with little effort and turned to look at the other trainees. His back to her he turned his head and in an almost hurt tone he said. "You don't have to like me, you don't have to like what I do or how I do it, but just remember that feeling before you judge us on what we do. On what I do."

The numbness was back, all these words with meanings that were known and yet, she didn't quite understand, not right away. He knew so much about her actions, how she felt, how could he read her like this? That he knew other people felt the same, people she always felt were different, stronger, scarier. That all of them felt the same, then how could anyone fight over anything? The suffering that everyone had in every fight on both sides, why? Then comparing her to Him, that was just crazy. There were always other options, her job as a science officer was to find them, yet, was she really that impressive, did he mean it? Then when she was still reeling, he picked her up, proving her right on so many of her thoughts, leaving her completely stunned. A state that remained right up until a tiny voice crept forth, "I, like you." Her breath caught and her heart missed a beat, "You protect us, you, how hard it is, what you are forced to do," She wanted to hide now, just stay out of the way, "Sorry for being scared." She still was and that wasn't going to change any time soon, but that didn't mean she had to dislike him.

Cyrus turned back around once more to face the lieutenant and shrugged, a grin firmly on his face. "Why are you apologizing? You've done nothing wrong." He gave her an affectionate punch on the shoulder and chuckled. "Before I go and help the rest of this sorry lot, I'm going to tell you something I learned not in the academy but from my Marine CO from the Fitz. " He looked at her and in all seriousness he said. " He told me ' To be the best at what you can do, it doesn't come from a book, or from training. It comes from taking the unknown and molding it to what you need.'" He smiled. "I never understood what that meant until months later on a mission." He folded his massive arms. "It means that it's easy to fall back on the things that we are used to. The things that get us through on a day to day basis, but to be able to take something a situation that is completely out of comfort zone..." He gestured to the rifle in her hands. "And make it do what you want it to, that's what makes the difference between a regular crew member and a legend."

To her she had done something wrong, he pointed it out to her. She had been and still was prejudiced towards him, because of his size, his skills and his job. Light as it was the punch staggered her, leaving a confused look on her face as he went on, progressively getting more so. What did he make of her, why did he say such things and how true were they? There was a whole lot of think about as he walked away.

Near the back, Kell set himself up and rose the phase rifle, shooting a consecutive 3-hit burst of spherical energy right into one of the target's heads. The head lolled for a moment and then fell off, before it was replaced by a new holographic head. "That's useful," he muttered to himself, and stepped away a little. That kickback did something mean to his shoulder and he rolled it before trying again, adjusting his stance.

Nexia took the rifle and tucked it tightly into her shoulder and then spread her legs apart to shoulder distance. Her elbow she brought up level to a forty-five degree mark and turned off the safety as she tucked her other elbow under at ninety. Then as she picked a target she slowly exhaled while her index finger began to squeeze the trigger. The Selkie was starting to feel trigger depress as her hand webbing began to hinder the slow progression of the shooting actions. A second later the webbing around her index finger slipped and Nexia jerked the trigger back, causing it to fire unexpectedly. As the rifle discharged, Nexia let out a short scream and was knocked back. The target now had a smoldering groin from her errant shot, causing the young PO to giggle, as she tried to regain her footing into a standing position.

Cyrus walked over to where the Selkie landed and chuckled. He glanced over to where the smoking groin hole was and laughed more. "You're a lucky shot. Never seen that technique before..." He extended a hand out towards here. "But it's certainly effective." He noticed instantly the webbing around her hand "The webbing in between your hands slipped and caused a misfire right?"

Nexia smiled and rubbed her back-end. "Yes, Chief." as she took the offered hand. "The Master Chief in Boot camp gave me a pretty hard go-around when it came to getting my proficiency rating on phaser rifle."

Cyrus chuckled and in a single fluid motion set the Selie on her feet. "He should have given you an altered trigger. You boot camp Master apparently was dropped on his head as child. " He picked up her rifle and handed it back to Nexia. "What's your name?"

"Petty Officer 3rd Class Nexia Alona. Everyone just calls me Nexi though. Thanks for the help. What's your name?" she asked as she looked over the man.

"Cyrus Kiwosk." He rolled his shoulder and smiled. "First things first, tuck your stock into your shoulder, that will steady things for you." He raised his rifle with ease. "Like so." He extended his index finger from the trigger. "Your problem is coming from the webbing, and that's nothing you can control." He thought a moment. "Try this." He set his rifle back down on to the grass and smiled and walked over to a nearby supply chest grabbing an alternate grip. He jogged back over and took her rifle. In a couple of moments he had taken off the grip and trigger, replacing it with a side firing mechanism. "Try this, you still need to hold as you would a regular rifle, but the on the trigger hand there is a firing button off to one side. You'll be able to fire the rifle from there." He demonstrated the open handed grip needed in order to prevent misfires. "It's an awkward hold, but once you're used to it it should stop the slipping, all you'll need to do is raise one finger to the side of the trigger hole.

Give it a try." He said and folded his large arms.

Nexia took up the weapon and snugged it into her shoulder. The Selkie then set her hands in their required positions ,and slid her finger next to the firing button. "Okay, here we go." she stated nervously with a deep breath. "Center mass, right?" she asked just before she exhaled. With a flash of light and a jolt back, the Pacifican put the rifle down and placed a hand atop her eyes and squinted. "Did I hit it this time?"

Kiwosk chuckled. "Look for yourself." A small blast hole burnt clean into the torso of the target. "For future, brace your leg and lean into the shot. It'll help you stay on target." He clapped her on the shoulder. "Good shot."

Nexia looked, but couldn't believe it. "Wow. Thank-you, Cyrus." she replied as she looked up to him. "You were great."

"Agh," Kell mumbled under his breath and shook his head, rubbing his shoulder. He set the rifle down. "Whatever that is, it hates me," he said, but he didn't really look all that mad about it. "That is nothing like a mark one. Packs a mean punch though," he gave it credit.

"I wouldn't call it mean," replied Trisant Myrddin, his voice deadpan. "It doesn't even have any sharp edges. Might leave a love tap, but there'll be no bleeding." Closing the distance to the makeshift shooting range, Trisant raised his phaser rifle. Once the rifle's discharge crystal was aimed at the holographic target, he breathed in a natural breath. His hold on the under-barrel grip was firm but not rigid. Without much time, thought or consideration, he tightened a finger on the trigger and he breathed out. A couple of phaser pulses lanced towards the target. One missed it by a decimeter and the next hit the target low in the centre mass. Trisant sent another couple pulses at the target.

"Tell that to its head," Kell quipped as he reloaded the cartridge and switched his grip a little, compensating for it's kickback and aiming again. Another quick three pulse burst very kindly blew a hole in the right side of its chest.

[TBC]

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Lieutenant (JG) Kiri Cho
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Petty Officer 1st Class Trisant Myrddin
Stellar Cartographer
USS Galileo

Petty Officer 3rd Class Nexia Alona
Oceanography Specialist
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Theron Rhodes
Assistant Chief of Security
USS Galileo

CWO Kiwosk
Assistant Chief of Security
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Diplomatic Officer, VDF/SDD
USS Galileo

Warrant Officer Evan Kell
Intelligence Officer, SFI
USS Galileo

Crewman Athlen
Sociologist, SCC
USS Galileo

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