Star Wars: Wartime

Nine

After what felt like an eternity, did the others lead me towards the training room of the ship. It was a large open room with training droids and targets spread out across the room. Even some parts of the floor could extend to provide either cover fire, from the droids, or little obstacles that you would have to move over and through. Some clones were engaged in a little fire fight in the far corner of the room with some of the droids, shields shielded off the area from the rest of the room as to not have blaster bolts flying everywhere around us.

Phoenix and Blast were near some targets, seeing who could hit them with the most accuracy. Phoenix seemed to be in the lead, though it did seem as though Blast was holding back as he shot without much time to fully aim his blaster upon the targets.

"Mind if we tag in...?" Arch asked the two. Blast turned around to face us while Phoenix continued her shooting, as though we'd never walked up to being with.

"You mean turn this into a competition...?" Blast asked Arch, knowingly.

"When would I ever...?" Arch questioned Blast.

Impulse just placed an arm around Arch'd shoulder before he joined into their conversation. "All the time, you know us." Impulse seemed to tell the two with the blasters.

"Why don't you give it a try?" Blast asked me, offering me his blaster.

"Are you sure...?" I cautiously questioned him, hesitantly taking his blaster from him. Blast just sent me a smile and a curt nod, the meaning behind them was obvious to me. After all...what better way than to get on Phoenix's good side than doing something she likes...or is simply good at.

"What...?" Phoenix scoffed at me, still upset from earlier. "Don't know how to use a blaster...?"

"I do." I responded. I was trained in using one it was just...Jedi rarely ever keep up their skill with one. It's mainly something you need to know if all the training droids are currently in use, then you just get someone to shoot stun blasts at you with a blaster. Thing is...? I haven't touched a blaster in years.

"Then this should be a piece of cake for you...right...?" Phoenix asked me as she hit the target dead center. "Let's play a little game." Phoenix then gave Arch and Impluse a look. "You two can go play your own game in the obstacle course."

"I bet I can complete the course before you can." Impulse told Arch.

"In your dreams." Arch responded before the two of them left Punchline and I with Blast and Phoenix.

"I think I'm just gonna watch the show." Punchline stated as he leaned up against the wall and looked down the lanes and towards the targets.

"What kind of game...?" I questioned Phoenix, not really sure about what was just happening all of a sudden.

"We take turns shooting at the target." Phoenix stated before she shot at the target, the blast landing in the last ring of the target. It only had three rings, not counting the middle dot which was the fourth zone on the target.

"She went easy on you." Blast stated as he looked at the target.

"You just need to hit the outer ring of the target, the same ring I hit, or better." Phoenix explained the rules to me.

"Any of the rings?" I questioned her. There wasn't many rules to this game.

"So long as it's the same ring I hit or closer towards the center." Phoenix repeated herself. "And on your own target." She then motioned towards the one closest to hers.

I went up to the line on the ground, the one that marked how far away we were supposed to stand, before I held the blaster up. I aimed at the target and heard a little snicker behind me once I pressed the trigger button. The laser went just past the target, barely grazing the side of said target.

"Kind of." Phoenix stated, slightly amused. "I'll give you another shot since you actually managed to hit the target, just barely." I rolled my eyes before I aimed the blaster again.

"When was the last time you actually held a blaster...?" Blast questioned me. "Actually, when did you last use on?"

"It's been a while." I told them, truthfully.

"We can tell." Punchline butted in. "You're all tense and your grip is too tight."

"You do need to loosen up your form." Blast instructed me.

"Fine." I told them before I took a deep breath to calm myself. I re-aimed the blaster and calmed myself down before I shot the blaster once more, this time I actually hit the second ring along the target.

"Better." Phoenix told me before she took her shot, hitting the same ring that I'd just hit.

"Still going easy...?" Blast questioned her.

"Until I knew she can hit the center." Phoenix responded.

I aimed the blaster at the center of the target, fired and only hit the ring around the center. Phoenix readied her blaster, aimed just a little above the center of the target, but not by much. When she released the trigger, the laser soared into the center of the target.

"Guess we'll know if she can." I heard Punchline say from behind me, obviously watching our little game.

I took a deep breath before I aimed at the target, trying to copy what I'd just seen Phoenix do. However, when I released the trigger...the laser hit the line that separated the center circle of the target with its first inner ring.

"Not bad." Phoenix told me from beside me. "Still not completely in the center of the target."

"I did say it's been years since I last used a blaster." I told them.

"Surely you don't only use your lightsaber in battle." Blaster told me.

"The Force as well." I responded before I gave Blast back his Blaster. "Here."

"Don't mention it." Blast responded as he took back his blaster.

I went over towards Phoenix. "I am sorry, about before." I told her, not meaning to have hurt her feelings when I first met her.

"Already forgotten." Phoenix told me as she placed her blaster back on her belt. "Now...about that training mission we were assigned?" As she asked this, she looked over towards Blast. He took out a data pad before going over the details of where we were set to go. It was upon a small forest moon not too far from where Kala's mission had taken her.