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The Competition
By : logsig123
Category: +M through R > Mass Effect
Views: 4311 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0Disclaimer: I do not own the Mass Effect series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from this story. - Chapter List
I glance at Garrus, next to me, then at Thane and Legion. Consciously or not, the four of us are standing at ease--or something approximating it--facing Master Sergeant Harris. He stands at parade rest, with his hands crossed behind him, eyes glaring straight ahead, feet apart by exactly the regulation distance. That pose is him. It's how I always see him, in my memories.
I remember twenty-four young Marines, shivering for hours in the freezing rain, while behind them he spits icy disapproval into their ears. Hands numb, fingers useless, barely able to grip the rifle, let alone hold it steady. Shots missing the target completely, lost in the growing darkness. Shaking, blinded by exhaustion, whimpering with the effort of every movement. And his voice like a knife in the back. It will be a hundred times worse. A thousand times worse. Heat. Cold. Hunger. Fear. Unbearable pain. None of it matters. What matters is life or death, in your hands. The life of your target, or the deaths of your comrades. The life of your target, or yours. He was right, of course. "Gentlemen--and geth, " he begins. "The course before you is divided into three sections." His voice is gruffer than I remember it, coarsened by age, but each word is still clearly enunciated, and pitched to be heard by far larger groups than ours. He turns and begins to pace slowly to the left. "The first section consists of targets at known distances between 200 and 800 meters, in a standard firing range configuration. You will fire from prone, seated and standing positions, both supported and unsupported. I expect that this will all be very familiar to you." He about-faces and paces to the right. "The second section consists of dynamic targets at unknown distances. There will be both friendly and hostile targets. Some of the targets may be mobile or in partial cover. You will gain points for each hostile hit, and lose points for each friendly hit. There will be a time limit. Obviously, it will be to your advantage to shoot quickly, but accurately." He turns to face us again. During this last speech, his measured pacing has brought him exactly back to the spot where he started. I wonder if anyone else has noticed. I remember those lessons as well: the constant drilling to develop our instincts for time and motion. How fast is that guard walking? How much time do you have to set up your shot, before he passes behind the building? If you shoot, where will his body fall? How strong is the wind now? Is that vehicle on the ridge approaching or moving away? Is it downwind? How far will it have moved in the time it takes for your shot to reach it? How long do you have until it gets too dark to see? When to shoot, Marines, is just as important as how. Yeah, he was right about that too. "The third section of the course is designed to test your skills under conditions of extreme physical and emotional stress. It will be difficult, and dangerous. Few have passed through it unscathed. Fewer still have emerged victorious. You will be tested to the utmost limits of your ability. You will learn much about your comrades." He pauses. "And you will learn much about yourself." Next to me, I sense rather than see Garrus flaring his mandibles in amusement. I suppress a smile. To anyone who has had the privilege to know him, the Master Sergeant has earned the right to his little flourishes of speech. But it's refreshing to see him through another's eyes.- You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
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