Infinite Stratos: Uncle Sam

Chapter 9

Exhale - fire, exhale - fire, again, again. Four targets up and four targets down. Break to the right and dive. Three targets up, exhale fire.

Blue Tears strafed in tight circles around holographic targets as Cecilia emptied her laser rifle. Five targets up and five targets down. She needed to be faster, she needed to be better. Every target hit with one hundred percent accuracy. She was one of the elite among the elite. She didn't miss. But... then why didn't she hit him?

Two holographic targets materialized behind her. With an aerial pirouette, Cecilia spun and fired off two shots. One target went down and glared back at as if it was taunting her. A black scorch mark stained the wall behind it, two inches too far left.

"W-Wha-?"

Cecilia collapsed to her knees with a gasp. "I missed?"

Blue Tears dematerialized in a flash, letting the girl collapse on the arena's sandy floor in exhaustion. With her hands free, she wiped away the sweat that streaked and stained her face. How many targets had she gotten, two hundred? And yet she still missed. A single miss and it didn't matter.

Ichika Orimura, damned Yank. The boy had embarrassed her infront of her classmates and her country. Because of some commoner, her candidate slot was now in jeopardy. Would they take her Blue Tears away if she lost her slot? It would be over her dead body. No, she had to beat the boy, prove her worth as an Alcott.

"Change type to moving, scramble target set," Cecilia commanded, reactivating Blue Tears.

"Targets set," an automated voice intoned through an intercom.

"Mark," she stated, Blue Tears reappearing in a flash.

Two targets appeared above her, moving in opposite directions. Two quik blasts and they were shattered. More targets popped up. Some varied in size, moved at different speeds, many traveled at odd angles, it was the ultimate test for a marksman like her.

Once again, everything was clockwork as Blue Tears soared around the stadium, targets rising and falling in sequence. That was until a singular projection materialized to her right. Unlike the others however, this one was flying directly towards her. Cecilia grunted in effort as she halted her momentum to take aim at the oncoming threat.

It was moving fast, faster than any of the targets before. She took aim, centering her weapon's reticle on the center of the holographic target. Exhale... exhale, her sight picture was shaking. A ghostly brown figure of an IS overlapped itself with her target. It was rocketing towards her with outstretched blades. It wasn't real, it was her imagination. Her breath hitched and she squeezed the trigger.

The target continued to move, phasing straight past her. She missed and it wasn't even close.

"God damn it! Terminate session!" She screamed, tossing her rifle away in frustration. The following targets dematerialized as the system registered the command.

She touched down and punched the ground. What the hell was that? The target was big, it was moving in a straight line. How could she miss that? She could make a shot like that in her sleep. Her breathing pattern got messed up, did she get scared? No, she wasn't scared. She wasn't scared of that damned IS. She wasn't scared of Ichika Orimura. Then- then why were her hands shaking?

She took a deep breath, then another one. "S-Scramble target set, reset session."

She had to beat Ichika Orimura. One way or another, she had to.

━━━

"Ichika Orimura?" A heavily accented voice asked.

The boy turned, identifying a purple eyed girl with a blonde ponytail. "Yes?"