They were in the bullet room.
Oh, it wasn't called the bullet room. The room was actually BR5215. Of course, the only ones to actually call it that were the Conatix personnel and the Turian mercs. The kids, however, just called it the bullet room solely for the fact that it was one of the only places on Gagarin Station that was safe for live ammunition.
Kaidan stood, alone, on the far end of the room while the others looked on from the side of the room. Vyrnnus stood facing Kaidan with his pistol drawn.
"The task is not difficult," he barked to the class. "All you have to do is maintain a barrier."
Kaidan hated barrier work. It was easy to get distracted and accidentally drop the barrier. It was easy to just run out of energy.
Not to mention, it did nothing to halt or distract the attacker. It was just, purely, defensive.
He threw up his barrier and gritted his teeth in concentration. He just had to hold until the pistol ran out of ammo- approximately 15 shots...unless Vyrnnus put in the extended mag (then it would be 25).
This was the third time he'd had this test. The first time, he'd only been able to hold against seven shots before his energy dropped. The second time, he had enough energy for twelve. He felt confident that he could hold...as long as there were only 15 shots.
The first shot rang out and Kaidan felt the impact on his barrier, even as, in the back of his mind, he registered Rahna's gasp.
The first shot was never bad.
The next shots came in rapid succession. Then they were up to twelve.
He could feel his energy lagging.
A huge part of him wanted to just let the barrier fall and take the shot. It'd hurt like a bitch...but it wouldn't be the first time (and it probably wouldn't be the last time either). However, another part of him (smaller, but stronger) wanted to prove to the Commander that humans could persevere...that he would persevere.
He would not be intimidated.
Kaidan drew every iota of energy he could to him, leveled his gaze at Vyrnnus, and held on.
Now, Kaidan wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but he thought that he saw the Turian give a small nod of approval before he released the final three bullets.
Even after the final bullets, Vyrnnus and Kaidan stood, still at attention (Vyrnnus with his gun up and Kaidan with his barrier). At that point, it was almost a battle of wills.
After a minute or two, Vyrnnus lowered his gun and nodded. "At ease, Alenko. Bars on the table- max...six," he stated before turning to look at the others.
Once Kaidan released his barrier, he stumbled a bit, trying to stop the room from spinning. He was, honestly, trying to keep himself from passing out. After taking a moment (thankfully a moment that he didn't get berated for), he walked over to the table and picked up all six energy bars.
"Sanders," Vyrnnus snapped out.
Kaidan watched as Zack took up position and brought up his barrier.
The first shot rang out.
Zack and he weren't super close, but they had hung out a few times. He was one of the youngest amongst their class- meaning he was the last to get his implant. Meaning he wasn't as experienced in using or controlling it.
He wasn't ready for this level of barrier work.
The shots continued as Kaidan ate his energy bars. He already knew how this would end- a trip to the medbay for Zack after being berated by Vyrnnus.
With the fifth shot, his barrier began fluctuating.
With the sixth, it was flickering.
With the seventh, Zack was shot.
Had he maintained his position, he would have been shot in the arm. Unfortunately, to the horror of all the humans in the room, he had stumbled and took the shot right through the throat.
As Zack crumpled to the floor, Kaidan rushed forward to Rahna as almost everyone else stood still. She buried her face into his chest before he could say a word and sobbed.
Vyrnnus lowered his gun casually as he looked at the dead boy.
"Take this as a lesson," the Commander informed them. "I am not here to coddle you; I am here to teach you. Life will not go easy on you and nor will I. If you are too weak to survive, we will remedy that.
"Class dismissed."
