Summary: Rules for Gun Fighting in the Pegasus Galaxy.
Spoilers: Nothing.
Warnings: None really.
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis is not mine. Only the story line and any made up characters that may appear in the story belong to me.
A/N: I came across this list while aimlessly surfing the web and couldn't resist even though I'm a little bummed out because the last story I posted had well over two hundred hits but not one single review...BUT I'm not going to let that stop me from writing when inspired.
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It was early morning when Elizabeth found herself making her way towards the barracks. She very rarely had to venture into the area of they city the military personnel had claimed as their own establishing several gyms, an armory, and a few recreation areas solely for their use and their use only, but as usual John, who was currently on the mainland, had failed to turn in his latest mission report and Elizabeth needed it to complete the monthly update transmission to Earth.
Stepping off of the transporter Elizabeth took a sharp left and made her way down to the admin office – John and all of the off-world team leaders were supposed to have their own offices, but none of them with the exception of a select few ever used them so all of the administrative business of the military had been crammed into one room and deemed the admin office. The only problem with that was when you had paper work from over a dozen people in one room things tended to get lost or misplaced.
Stepping into the office Elizabeth sighed as she saw the pile of papers and folders that were threatening to avalanche off the desk, it was going to take here forever to find the report she was looking for. She knew John had written a report, that wasn't the problem like most people thought, the problem was that after he wrote them he left them in the admin office and they got buried under all of the other paper work that got left in the room.
Knowing that the sooner she got started the sooner she'd be done Elizabeth started her search for a needle in a hay stack. About half an hour later having not found what she was looking for Elizabeth was about to call it quits and just demand that John write a new report the second he got back from the mainland when the heading on a piece of paper caught her attention. Looking closer she noted that it was a copy of a memo that had been sent out to the military personnel in the city:
Rules for Gun Fighting in the Pegasus Galaxy
To all military personnel: The following is a list of rules that if followed should help increase your chances of survival. It is suggested that you take them seriously.
1. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
3. Only hits count. A close hit is still a miss.
4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough nor using cover correctly.
5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)
6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running.
9. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
10. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
11. Have a plan.
12. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work.
13. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
14. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
15. Don't drop your guard.
16. Always tactically reload and threat scan 360 degrees.
17. Watch their hands: Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.)
18. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
19. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot up you will get.
20. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
21. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
22. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
23. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with a "4."
24. Use a gun that works EVERY TIME.
Finished reading Elizabeth had to shake her head; it was times like these that made her wonder about the military psyche. Letting out a soft sigh Elizabeth placed the memo back down on the desk and turned to leave when she noticed the report she was looking for had been pinned to the bulletin board by the door with a note on top that had 'Don't forget to turn into Elizabeth before going to the mainland' written on it in big bold red letters in John's hand writing. Shaking her head again Elizabeth retrieved the report, some things would never change.