Rifleman's Creed

Posted on Thursday 6 July 2017 @ 06:43 by Lieutenant Colonel Kachiko Bayushi

Mission: Escape from Dark Ventures, Sav's Tail
Location: Marine Barracks, Firing Range, Deck 12
Timeline: Current
1062 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Cai frowned.

She was expected to graduate from Starfleet Academy at the conclusion of this Cadet Cruise of sorts. Yes, she was the only Cadet aboard, but it qualified as her Cadet Cruise since she had challenged almost every course from her first two years of Academy classes, which jumped her up to her Junior year of classes. That year and the two trimesters of her Senior year so far had flown by faster than she had thought possible, her final trimester of the Academy to be spent aboard the USS Merlin with Colonel Bayushi, a dear and close friend and oddly enough a genetic cousin of her mother's.

Staring down down the length of the compartment she was laying on her stomach in, she tried to get the tritium-lit duranium peg between her and the Cardassian shaped and hued object on the other end of the long compartment lined up.

Breathing very slowly, she suddenly took in a deep breath then holding it when both the target and sight lined up, a pale green finger slipping inside the trigger guard to rest lightly on the trigger of the Compression Rifle that was nestled in the crook of her shoulder.

Exhaling slowly, she tried her best to avoid flinching as the rifle lobbed a blue-white ball of compressed anger at the Cardassian phaser target. Half a second later, a second glob of utter hatred followed it's sibling. The first shot struck the 'Cardassian' in the left shoulder area, the second three inches right and two inches above the first shot, spanging off of the hardened backstop.

"Stop jerking the rifle after your first shot, Cadet," Staff Sergeant Hernandez chided the girl. She fought back the impulse to rip into the Cadet. Cai was a Marine Cadet and expected to be able to handle shouting and a dressing down, but Rita also realized that Cai Sun was still a girl and she knew that the youngest learned best through firm but measured instruction, not shouting and threats. She was expected to be hard on Cadets, but that could wait until the Cadet had gotten settled in. Rita looked forward to turning this girl into a proper good Leatherneck.

"How did you get through Boot shooting like that, Cadet Sun?"

"I didn't have trouble before. There's something about this rifle that's getting to me," Cai responded with a low voice. Rita held out a hand, "Hand it here, Cadet."

Rolling to her back, Cai stood before proferring the rifle with both hands, "The weapon is loaded and locked, Staff Sergeant."

"Thank you, Cadet," Rita smiled. Cai Sun was the most learned and responsible Cadet she had overseen, especially for a sixteen year old girl. Stepping to the side away from the light green Cadet, Rita swiftly shouldered the rifle, flicked off the safety and sent six rapid pulses of 'Screw You' in the direction of the Cardassian target. The first struck, the second missed and the remaining four had properly compensated for the rifles imbalance.

Lowering the rifle, Rita safed the rifle, popped the energy magazine from the magazine well, before reaching forward, popping the phase emitter assembly from the rifle barrel.

"You weren't kidding. I'm surprised that you hit anything at all, Cadet. Stand fast, I will return this piece of shit to the Armory and return with something that should be more equipped for this exercise," Rita didn't wait for the acknowledgement from the quarter-Orion girl, spinning to the hatch and promptly exiting.

There was a low chuckle from the darkened corner of the compartment behind Cai. Looking over, she blanched as the Colonel seemed to melt out of the darkness, "Ma'am! May I ask how long you were there?"

Laughing now, "Sorry about scaring you, Cai. I got here about two mikes before you and the Staff Sergeant. I decided to see how you fared. Also, the instruction rifle was supposed to be imbalanced. I need you to learn how to feel when your service weapon is misaligned."

"You weren't supposed to be able to hit that first shot," now Kachiko looked faintly mystified. "Let's see how you fare with a properly tuned rifle."

Melting back into the darkness, her voice sounded in Cai's head, "~Don't acknowledge me or let the Staff Sergeant know that I'm here. You're not the only one I'm observing here.~"

Cai just nodded once silently towards the dark corner, before turning back to the hatch, awaiting the return of Staff Sergeant Hernandez. Her mother, the diminutive half-Orion fighter pilot Commander Karsel'lyn Lylyl-Llytherraias, had been pleased to hear that Staff Sergeant Hernandez was aboard. She had said, "I served with Rita on the London, before Major Bayushi came aboard. You will do well to follow her lead and her instructions. The Sergeant is as professional as they come and downright frightening when crossed. She will make a Marine out of you yet, CaiCai."

That was the only time her mother had spoken positively of her choice to take the Marine Officer path. She really wanted Cai to try to avoid combat if at all possible, forbidding the girl from the Fighter pilot path entirely. Commander Lylyl-Llytherraias loved, no, exulted in flying fighters. However, the profession had brought the diminutive former slave nothing but grief over the years she'd served.

Slipping into Parade Rest, Cai awaited the return of Rita Hernandez and an appropriately aligned rifle. As she waited, she wondered how her mothers were doing, her birth mother, Karsel'lyn having been wed to the lovely Chinese human lady, Captain Sun Mei Xiang. Cai hadn't seen her other mother in some time, off commanding the Akira-class USS Shanghai, aboard where Karsel'lyn had served as the CAG before taking an assignment as a senior instructor at the Starfleet Fighter school. Unfortunately, Lyn had been grounded after surviving a deadly accident as a Danube-class Runabout had ignored local flight paths and collided with Lyn's Valkyrie-class fighter.

Lyn's gunner, a long time family friend, had been killed in the collision, a fact that pained the Fighter pilot more than she had been willing to admit to Cai back at the Academy, the last time that her mother had visited her.

Perhaps she would be able to get ahold of the Shanghai over subspace this evening and could speak to her other mother.

Then the hatch opened, heralding the Staff Sergeant's return.