"I was. I'd decided to clean weapon and hand-load cartridges before returning, so I shouldn't be surprised."
The course... was built for Link's particular technique, to be sure, but she considered the crates, and where the targets were, and began to formulate a plan.
She loaded the rest of the clip-- Clips! they still used damned clips for mass-produced rifles!-- and felt the ninth bullet barely restrained in the chamber. She slammed the bolt home.
She began from a standing position, rifle down. Closed her eyes. Let out a breath that steamed in the air. Opened her eyes. "Beginning operation."
She snap-raised the rifle, took the sight of the first high target that would be obscured by the crates. one.
While Natalia chambered the next round, she also enhanced her leg-- a brief exertion. Skidded to a halt behind the first crate, rifle already swung into position for prone fire. Sight. Aim. One of the low targets. Fire. Two
Chamber the next round while rising from prone to kneeling. She used the top of that crate to steady her shot. Fire. Three.
From kneeling to standing, now she used the stack of two crates for concealment and steady. Four. She bunched up and used a touch of enhancement to make the jump to the top of the stack of three crates, hitting the target she passed on the way in. Five.
Chamber, climb. Low angle, low-range shot, but she didn't need to adjust for it, she simply lowered it a little, opened fire, didn't stop. Six.
Highest point. Standing, seven. Kneeling, but more crouching for a jump than steadying her aim, which remained as steady as ever, eight.
The ninth, she knew, was directly behind her. She leapt, turned in the air in a somersault so she could turn around, and chambered as she did.
It was, to her, a beautiful, almost perfect moment as, as she'd calculated, the sights lined up at just the right time to confirm her final shot.
She landed on her feet and ejected her last casing. The gunsmoke wafted like icy mist. "Operation complete."
Natalia took a deep breath, and finally checked her accuracy. "As I said, not nearly so fast as you. ... Or quite as accurate."
True to her word, while she did hit all the targets, the hits were not quite as tight to the center as Link's. "That ninth, especially, was a bit wild."
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Date: 2024-12-15 02:43 am (UTC)The course... was built for Link's particular technique, to be sure, but she considered the crates, and where the targets were, and began to formulate a plan.
She loaded the rest of the clip-- Clips! they still used damned clips for mass-produced rifles!-- and felt the ninth bullet barely restrained in the chamber. She slammed the bolt home.
She began from a standing position, rifle down. Closed her eyes. Let out a breath that steamed in the air. Opened her eyes. "Beginning operation."
She snap-raised the rifle, took the sight of the first high target that would be obscured by the crates. one.
While Natalia chambered the next round, she also enhanced her leg-- a brief exertion. Skidded to a halt behind the first crate, rifle already swung into position for prone fire. Sight. Aim. One of the low targets. Fire. Two
Chamber the next round while rising from prone to kneeling. She used the top of that crate to steady her shot. Fire. Three.
From kneeling to standing, now she used the stack of two crates for concealment and steady. Four. She bunched up and used a touch of enhancement to make the jump to the top of the stack of three crates, hitting the target she passed on the way in. Five.
Chamber, climb. Low angle, low-range shot, but she didn't need to adjust for it, she simply lowered it a little, opened fire, didn't stop. Six.
Highest point. Standing, seven. Kneeling, but more crouching for a jump than steadying her aim, which remained as steady as ever, eight.
The ninth, she knew, was directly behind her. She leapt, turned in the air in a somersault so she could turn around, and chambered as she did.
It was, to her, a beautiful, almost perfect moment as, as she'd calculated, the sights lined up at just the right time to confirm her final shot.
She landed on her feet and ejected her last casing. The gunsmoke wafted like icy mist. "Operation complete."
Natalia took a deep breath, and finally checked her accuracy. "As I said, not nearly so fast as you. ... Or quite as accurate."
True to her word, while she did hit all the targets, the hits were not quite as tight to the center as Link's. "That ninth, especially, was a bit wild."