Wooo, new one up and adam! Got a trick question for you all - can you guess what the title to this one is, simply by context? I'll I'll translate it by the end, but give it a try - no cheating now! =P
Guest: Yes well, it made him the man he is now, despite all the pain. And I hope so as well - I might do something for it, but it'll be a different story entirely. And I wouldn't even know when I'd get around to it - got a few more things and stories to handle before that ^^"
Oakenshield34: Like I said, he will tell her about all four of them - eventually. And great! I'll work on that soon (but right now I got stuff piled up to chapter 10 something so please don't hold it against me if it's not around all that soon ^^)
This is probably the first of five chapters like this I'll be making. Because this was a lot of fun and I love exploring some more =3
As always! Read, review and enjoy~
His kind must be calm and collect at all times. Steady and precise in every movement. Know his surroundings and follow them.
Otherwise he will lose someone.
"Blast, out of ammo again…" Turm grumbled, hearing the empty clicks of his cannon.
"Ain't the only one…" Jezdec sighed, putting his carbine back down. Pion followed soon after, a small frown on his face.
"I'm almost out too," Rex added in, one of his dual blasters already dead. Seconds later, the other one gave out and he let out a breath.
"Bish is still going," Jezdec nodded to the sniper, who hadn't spoken or even turned to his brothers since they started.
"And look at that – perfect hits on all of 'em," Turm was impressed, seeing the scorching holes of the targets.
"Not all of them," Bishop answered, pulling the trigger and hitting the center again. But he frowned, clearly not liking it. "I'm off on a couple."
"Really? I can't see it…" the others tried to get a closer look, but to them, it seemed as if he hit the perfect center each time.
"I did a sensor check – Bishop's right," Mortimer walked towards them, mug of caf in one hand and a data pad in the other. "It's barely an inch off, but it's there."
"Meaning it's not perfect," Bishop said back steadily, taking another shot. "That one hit."
"Indeed it did," Laquin shook his head, not believing the cadet was so good at seeing his own shots.
"Bish, brother, don't be so hard on yourself. You're a way better shot than any of us," the 'knight' tried to reason.
"If I don't hit good enough, it won't take the enemy down. If the enemy isn't down, you're all in danger and you might get killed," the sniper looked at his brothers, eyes hard. "I'm not about to let my sloppiness get in the way."
"…Don't push yourself over the limit. A not perfect sniper is better than no sniper," Rex said, realizing they wouldn't be getting the man to stop soon.
"Hmph, don't wait for me," Bishop looked back through the scope and took another shot.
"Tch, off again," Bishop frowned, reaching for the next pack of ammo, when a furry hand got to it before him.
"That's enough for today," Mortimer held the ammo, looking at the cadet. "I bet you can't even feel your arm anymore."
"…" the sniper remained silent, looking at the trainer. It was unusual, for both of them, to be alone like this. It's either the whole squad, or Rex, so neither was sure what would happen.
"…You clearly won't stop working on this…" Laquin sighed, shaking his head. "How about we make a little deal?"
"Such as?" the cadet set down the rifle, moving his fingers to get the numbness out.
"There are a few sniper qualified cadets around who've been itching for some action. We can have a small competition, see which one is the best. You could prove how good of a shot you are, meet others like you and exchange some tips, and hopefully make yourself better."
"Sounds interesting. Will Jet be there?" Bishop gave a small grin, arms crossed. He wasn't about to beat around the bush with this. And he did like the idea.
"Yes he will and every other sniper from all years. Those who accept anyway," Mortimer had his own small grin, arms behind his back.
"Fine by me. Just say when and where."
"Very well then. I'll ask the others and see what we come up with."
The mess hall was relatively empty, a couple cadets still milling about or just hanging out. Bishop just grabbed his tray and sat at the empty table near him. It was a strange feeling, being so alone for the first time in a long time…
"Hey, Bishop!" he looked up at the voice, a smile making its way on his face.
"Lander, Jewels, what are you doing here?" he asked as they sat down opposite him.
"Well, we were mostly left to ourselves today, but Mortimer let us go early. Cody is stuck on hand-to-hand with Bull and he had something to ask Jet," Lander said, mixing together his food. That way, he can pretend it's warm.
"Ah, that so…" the sniper grinned, poking is own meal.
"What about you? All alone here?" Jewels leaned on the table. "Don't tell me Mortimer had you do something extra?" he pointed his fork at the younger man.
"No, nothing like that. The rest left early is all – I stayed back," he explained in short, seeing the two shared a look.
"You guys are all always working so hard."
"Hah, well, Jezdec sure doesn't. Turm occasionally just loses focus for anything extra and Pion… well, he has his own thing. I swear, he has those Mando'a books stacked in his locker…" Bishop shook his head, finishing his meal mostly.
"Yeah well, Bull likes to just mess around too. Cody can be really into it or just 'nah'. Depends on the day and task I guess," Jewels laughed.
"To each his own, right?"
"Aye," they lifted their drinks, clicked them together and drank what was left.
"Agh, no fair!"
"Totally fair!"
"Guys, c'mon, keep it down."
"We better head to bed soon – it's getting late."
"I see you're all having fun without me."
At that, four cadets looked up, towards the one coming at them. Bishop smirked as he walked, easily seeing that Rex was in the lead at Sabacc and Turm just won a round.
"Finally! We thought we were gonna need to wait till morning for you," Jezdec laughed, moving to the side to allow his brother a seat.
"What, you waited for me?" Bishop actually sounded surprised, sitting down.
"Of course we did. You were really intense back there," Pion said, giving an assuring smile.
"…Right," the sniper looked at the side for a moment. He should tell them. But why did he feel like he shouldn't?
"What's wrong?" Rex gave him a concerned look.
"Nothing. I just," he fumbled, suddenly unsure how to speak. "See, I um… I um…"
"Bishop?" the fact Bishop was stuttering made them all worry. He never does that.
"I'll be in a, um, competition. For snipers," the sniper hadn't felt this awkward in a very long time. "Mortimer suggested it."
"That's awesome!" Turm grinned, dropping his cards. "You're totally gonna beat the others!"
"Haha," Bishop gave a shy grin, rubbing his neck. "I don't know… There'll be plenty of older ones around…"
"C'mon, Bish! Where'd all your confidence go? Did you leave it in the fresher or something?" Jezdec nudged him in the shoulder.
"I just… When I first heard about it, I was so sure but now… Like," he paused, seeing they were just waiting for him. "I just feel like, if I don't give it my absolute best, I'll be letting you all down…"
"Bish," Rex set a hand on his shoulder. "You can never let us down. No matter what happens, the fact you're even doing this? It's awesome. Do what you do best, but don't break an arm doing it."
"Haha… Y-Yeah, I guess you're right…"
"Hey, this is like, the first time you got really… into something. I don't think I've ever seen you nervous like this before."
"C'mon Jez, let him be! He finally found something to enjoy."
"Guys, please, quite!"
"We should all head to bed now."
"…You guys are the best, know that?"
"Okay, okay, okay…"
"Bish, just breath. Breathhhhh."
"Don't shake him around!"
"Guys, he doesn't look so good…"
"Just calm down, relax…"
"What's the holdup in here?"
"Bish isn't feeling good."
"I'M FINE!"
"…"
"…"
"I'll just- I'll go now…"
He felt four pats on the back as he walked, gripping his rifle tight as he left the room and entered the training area. The others who were gathered turned to him, some surprised, a few nodding and most just analyzing. Of course. They were all the same type as him. Asses, understand and overcome. Wonderful…
"Welcome to the party," Jet offered a hand, which he took. "Not the last one though."
"Good to know," Bishop nodded back, taking a spot by the Ghost Squad member.
"Oh, if it isn't little Bee," the Chess Squad member felt his heart skip a beat as he saw the next cadet to walk up.
"Eagle…" his eyes narrowed and hardened. He should have known Champion would have sent one of their own. How stupid of him.
"Friend of yours?" Jet asked by his side, eyeing them both.
"Yeah, we go way back, don't we Bee?"
"Stop calling me that."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings?"
"Oi, cut the chatter!" a four-year called, frowning. "If you kids want to insult each other, take it somewhere else."
"Everyone finally here? Good," Sadix, one of the few Human trainers, called as he stepped forward, addressing the cadets. "Those of you gathered, believe yourselves to be good snipers. Today, you'll get to prove that."
The ground rumbled and lowered itself a couple meters down. After it stopped, a shooting gallery was raised, but there were only two lanes.
"Listen up cadets," Bric took Sadix's place, looking down at them. "You'll be paired up with one of the other contestants. The goal is to hit the target in the center, using as few shots as you can, because you only get 5. And you have five stages to finish," there were some calls of protest before Mira stepped up.
"In battle, you and your fellow soldiers won't get a second chance. If you miss, someone will die," her eyes scanned the snipers, all who completely understood. "If you're out of shots before you're done, then you're out of the competition. Those who are left, get to refill and move on to a different challenge," she finished up. "Aim well."
A robot flew to each cadet and they randomly pulled out a data chip, with their number on it. There were fewer cadets than the trainers thought, since a couple of them refused to come. They'll just have to make do with what they have now.
"Huh, looks like we just missed each other," Jet mused, looking at his number 5.
"Seems like it yeah… But who did I get then?" Bishop had the number 3 and wasn't sure who he'd be facing.
"Well, I know I got Numb – that's gonna be fun…"
"Is he good?"
"Used a fork to hit a falling piece of string and pin it on a wall."
"…"
"Yeah."
"Good luck then. You just might need it…"
"…You too it seems…" Jet was looking past his friend, and Bishop followed his eyes. They both knew number 4 just arrived.
"Well, well, well, it's little Bee," Eagle smirked, hands on his hips. "I can't believe I lucked out so much that I got you in this challenge."
"I'll make you regret saying that," Bishop glared at the man, jaw locked.
"Really? Cause this time, there's no lil Rexy around to save your sheb," Eagle brushed past him, laughing. Jet was close to grabbing the Chess man, when he remembered this isn't one of the impulsive and aggressive ones.
"Don't let him get under your skin…" Jet tried to reason, seeing the anger in the eyes.
"…He's been there for a while now…" was the only answer before they were called for the set up.
"Aw crud…" Turm whispered, seeing his brother in line. "He's up against Eagle…"
"What? You've got to be kriffing me!" Jezdec almost jumped over the fence to see.
"You shouldn't worry – it's Bishop. He'll keep a cool head…" Rex had his arms folded, but everyone knew he was tense.
"Yeah, but you know perfectly well how Bishop can't stand any of those di'kute…" Pion showed his concern, looking from the trio to the sniper.
The targets were fast moving, with random pauses and starts. The speed would change and the direction could take a turn instantly. And to add, there were different sounds coming from the targets, just to confuse them further.
"Don't worry Bee, I'm sure you'll at least skim the target," Eagle snickered as he took his spot by the box.
"…" Bishop gritted his teeth and gripped his weapon tighter. He couldn't focus, not with the anger beneath the skin. And he was so close-
"Go Bish! Show that di'kut what you've got!" the sudden call snapped him out of his mind and he twisted his head around. He let out a shocked laugh at what he saw. Jezdec was leaning over the fence, with Turm holding him back so he wouldn't fall over, Pion was giving him a giant ass smile and Rex was the constant calm and assurance.
"You can never let us down. No matter what happens, the fact you're even doing this? It's awesome. Do what you do best," he recalled the words and grinned, turning back to the targets. Yeah, he could focus. Thanks to them…
"Ready?" Mortimer looked at the two, eyes lingering on his student a moment longer.
"Set," the targets were lowered and prepared.
"Aim," they buzzed to life and the two looked through their scopes.
"Fire!" instantly, Eagle let a shot fly, but it missed as the target made a sudden stop. He fired again, skimming it. A third shot hit the outer ring because it changed directions. It was only on the fourth shot that he finally managed to hit the center.
"Damn, they're stupid fast…" he hissed, tossing his weapon aside.
"You're just slow," Bishop whispered, not even taking a shot yet. Not yet… not yet…
"One," he said to himself, pulling the trigger and hitting dead center.
"Two," he fired again, to everyone's shock before Mortimer could even stop the targets. The trainers shared a look, but the Lasat shrugged, a smirk on his face. Again, a perfect center.
"Three," the target tried to move, but the sniper anticipated it, getting another shot in.
"Four," this one hit the exact same spot as the first one.
"Five," the final one landed right above the first and fourth, actually bending the metal.
"And I'm out," Bishop didn't even hesitate, looked at Eagle who was still blinking at the targets with a wide open mouth. "An eagle just got stung by a bee."
"…Despite that… interesting performance, I'm afraid you're out of the competition," Sadix was trying to hide his grin but was failing. Damn cadet had guts.
"That's fine," Bishop shrugged, grabbed his rifle and walked away.
"…" Eagle was still a bit too stunned to actually say anything.
Up top, the rest of Chess Squad was cheering and yelling, laughing even as Eagle slowly made his way off the field.
"Boy, he sure let them have it," it was only then that they noticed a familiar squad there as well.
"Ghost Squad – we didn't even see you," Rex blinked, surprised.
"We were behind, waiting for Jet's turn. Didn't see you until Jezdec almost jumped down," Cody explained, grinning.
"Why'd you do it?" Jet asked as Bishop passed.
"…I have my things – things I'm good at. Things my brothers need me to be good at. So when someone tells me I'm not good at it? Then I will not hesitate to destroy them."
"Hehe, yeah, fair enough. Sad you're out so soon though – thought we could have a go at it."
"We can always try next time we have training together. I'm sure Mortimer won't mind."
"It's a deal then. Now I just hope I don't embarrass myself," the two shared a quick fist-bump as Jet entered the stage.
Cut! Heh, I couldn't help myself. I hope you all found this interesting - exploring some more of these dorks. Because the others will get their turn. Oh and the title translates to "Sniper" so kudos to those who got it right! The rest - kudos for trying! You all rock!
Thanks a lot for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Do review what you thought about this one - I'd love to hear about it!
Till next time~