Gabatrix: Veleshar

Chapter 8: Planning Ahead Part 1

The sounds of gunfire could be heard. It echoed in the shooting range of the ship's centripetal ring.

It had been the following morning. Scott was in his uniform with a set of headphones over his ears to protect his hearing. In his hand was a prototype rendition of the gigant. It was dark and gray, carrying a heavy slide. The barrel was already overheating, and the third shot registered a misfeed, jamming the slide.

"Damn...," Scott said to himself. He looked at the slide and ejected the magazine, or at least tried. His hand went to the grip as he had to pull it out. A caseless round was stuck outside the firing chamber and magazine.

There was more gunfire to Scott's left hand. The teenage girl, Cio'dejdra, held a large revolver, making a series of shots down the firing range. Because the room was so large, the floor would curve slightly upward. There was a series of projected images depicting various silhouettes of Yutilians and Shal'rein to shoot at. The rear back had a bullet catcher that would collect the bullets as they hit it.

As Scott was trying to clear his gun, he could see Cio'dejdra take aim at a Yutilian silhouette. She made a shot into the chest before pulling the trigger again, her tongue held to the side as she heard a click.

"No....," she remarked as she pulled the gun and ejected the cylinder. There were two rounds in her gun. She pulled the caseless rounds out and saw that the hammer had struck them but didn't ignite the primer.

"Your hammer spring is too loose," Scott told her. "It's soft striking it."

"I know.....tighten," she tried to say.

"To be fair, you're doing better than I am. Ten shots in and four jams." Scott focused on the targets again. A silhouette of a Shal'rein appeared in the target display. He reinserted the magazine and placed the spare bullet into his pocket before racking the slide. With a new round chambered, he aimed down the red dot sight and pulled a trigger.

BANG.... The gunshot hit the left shoulder. Scott could see that the slide was locked back. The entire polymer frame had cracked, rendering the gun useless.

"Ugh....still needs more work."

Scott saw that Cio'dejdra had left the range and returned back to the table to work on her revolver. The door slid open as Yui'to stepped in. A hint of a smile could be seen on her face as she walked over to the range. The man lowered his gun at the targets, ejected the magazine, and made sure his gun was empty before turning to her.

"A broken gun...," she remarked as she stepped next to him.

"Yeah, you should give praise to Cio'dejdra," Scott said. "She's closer to finishing her gun."

"You are building a gun that your military didn't use?"

"Yep....this is my first try, though."

"I would recommend using 'Olaya.'"

"That resin? It's brittle."

"By itself, yes. When mixed with the 'Folw,' it produces a hard polymer."

"Hmmm....I hadn't thought of that. And....I need to check the springs and ejector as well."

Yui'to walked over to one of the firing ranges. She assumed a shooting stance, unholstered her handgun, and, with little aim, fired four shots in less than two seconds. At a range of less than 10 yards, all shots were directed at the silhouette, near the heart, with little spacing between each registered hit. The Shal'rein woman holstered her firearm and looked back at Scott.

"Showing off to me?" he asked her.

A smile appeared on her face. "Yes..."

Scott walked away from the range and toward one of the tables. "So....," he commented. "What brings you to the firing range?"