Chapter 25: Guns, Knives and Bear Hands

After spending a few weeks in the Castle with Shield and Zaytsev I decided to talk with Henrietta, try and see if we could catch up after being away for a year. She personally invited me to a dinner in her dinning room. I dressed up in my dress blues to ensure that I was somewhat presentable in the presence of Royalty. Kind of reminds me when I met the British queen a few years back after winning a tour of the Palace. The room was massive with all the decorations you would expect for royalty. All around was an interesting array of colored ornaments, carpets and curtains ranging from dark blues to light purples. The Table itself was hand crafted with amazing workmanship focused on the legs and side, all kinds of symbols and carvings giving it a very warm and artistic feel. The Table was wide enough to fit 8 people and was already filled with enough food for a feast. I personally think the chefs over did it since only Henrietta and I would be eating but I can't deny how good it looks.

Baked potatoes, a golden brown turkey completely filled with stuffing and all sorts of cooked and steamed vegetables. There was also wine and water that was in jugs, ready to be pored into goblets made of gold and silver. It was truly an amazing sight but after how good room service has been lately I'm starting to get used to it. I really need to remember to train harder these days because all of this food is going to make me fat. I've already started growing a belly and was 5 to 10 pound heavier. I really need to calm down with the food and pick back up on m training otherwise I'll be too fat to fight a war.

Henrietta herself had one of her maids help her into her seat, motioning for me to sit in the chair directly in front of her. A servant was about to get my seat for me but I waved them off, I never did like things done for me. I sat down and immediately began digging in.

Henrietta, who was eating very mannerly and much like... well, royalty, stopped and stared at me eat. I held my fork in a fist like grasp, my head leaned into the food and began scooping up the food as fast as I could. I barely chewed and every now and again would chug down my water, allowing the servants to fill it back up. I stopped for a second and looked at the stunned Henrietta.

"What?" I asked, not sure what she was looking at.

"I hope you are being treated well, if you are starving I will have our chefs cook for you more often." Now it just hit me.

"Honestly, the past few days you guys have been fattening me up. You need to tone it down a notch otherwise I'll be too out of shape to fight." We shared a small chuckle.

"Then why do you eat like that, it seems some what barbaric." She said.

"It's kind of how we learned to eat from the beginning of training and honestly I got used to it. During training we would have very little time to eat so you had to eat as quickly as possible. Kind of became a major habit after a while." I said and tried to eat more civilized. Henrietta chuckled at my naivete at courtly manners. Sue me, I'm a soldier not a politician.

"But as a Captain I would assume that you would be better accommodated and treated well." She said.

"It's not that simple." I said. "In the Military you get paid very little, even at such a high rank I am only paid at a middle class salary, almost 80,000 a year. I guess you would consider my pay similar to that of an average Commoner. Not to mention a lot gets taken out of it, like taxes, allowances, insurance, hazard etc." I told her as she looked shocked.

"Are you joking?" She asked with surprise. "Such a high rank here would grant you instant nobility and prestige." I laughed a bit.

"Don't forget, our cultures are very different. The Military is not seen as a form of nobility. Even high ranking officers are seen as nothing more than resources to be used in war. We're all expendable in some way or another. It's a system of equality, only the highest ranking officers are granted certain privileges. All I need is one rank up to reach that kind of authority, which would be the lowest rank of Admiral."

"Interesting, do you ever want nobility status?" She asked, confused about the ways we treat our people.

"Not really, I've never wanted anything more than what I have to be honest. Besides, the way you guys have been treating me is making me lazy. Remind me when we're done eating to continue my training." We both chuckled. For the next few hours, even after we ate until we were full we just sat there talking. I told her about my year at home (Leaving out the fact that I became a member of DEVGRU, not that she would know what that is exactly) and she began talking about her responsibilities and duties as queen.

I could tell that as we talked she felt much more at ease, like a heavy burden has been lifted from her shoulders. Not that I blame her, she's had so much to do and so much thrusted at her at such a young age. There's not many people she could really talk to and let her guard down without seeming weak in front of her subordinates. A feeling I know all too well. As an Officer you have to basically be a god, completely flawless and fearless in the face of death. Crying, complaining and fear are all seen as a weakness and that can damage the moral and respect of your men. There were many times where I had to hide my feelings to appear stronger than I really was in order to complete the mission.

After the long conversation a servant came up to Henrietta and said that she was needed.

"Please excuse me sir Riptide." She stood up and bowed, I did the same.

"I got ya, duty calls." I said knowingly. I decided to escort the queen to her destination before taking my leave, an act she was more than happy to receive. Walking this close next to her I could smell the perfumes and other such scents that was amazing on her. It became a bit difficult to breathe as I walked next to her, just enjoying the company that we shared. On her face was a gentle smile that showed she was generally relaxed. After arriving at the destination, which was a meeting room for the highest ranking nobility I took my leave and began walking back to my room to get dressed into attire more suited for Physical Training.

As I neared my room I heard a bit of ruffling and struggling inside. I put my hand on my P229 that was hidden under my dress shirt just in case I needed it. I slowly opened the door and my face dropped instantly at what I saw. Saito and Louise were the last people I expected to see and by the shocked looks on their faces I could tell they knew I was there.

Louise was on top of a shirtless Saito, a whip in hand and I could see a few red marks on Saito's chest. Their faces instantly turned red and Saito stammered to explain the situation.

"Th-this isn't what it looks like." He stammered. Shaking my head and trying to remove the image from my eyes I closed the door and heard shuffling on the other side, no doubt Saito trying desperately to put on his shirt. I'll just wait until he comes out before going back in. The door opened and there was a now fully clothed Saito with Louise behind him. "I swear it's not what it looks like." He said desperately.

"I don't care, but if you guys are going to do you masochism thing I would appreciate it if you did it in your own room. Speaking of which, what are you doing in my room?" I asked with authority.

"Well you see... we heard that you were visiting and I just wanted to talk with you again. And then Louise wanted to come and then I said something and then she got angry and then..." His muttering was beginning to annoy me.

"Never mind. I don't want to know." I said. I walked back into my room and began to talk with Saito and Louise.

It's been almost a month now and the Scouts were finally finished their physical training. After a month of hard work Joshua was finally making progress. No longer the dead last he began finishing and performing averagely. Of course that's still not nearly good enough so I have been working him harder than most of the others.

By now only 10 men remained, the rest dropped out on request and could not handle the training. It's kind of funny, these men were so eager to prove themselves but most dropped out because the training was too hard. Surprisingly Lawrence was still in the game so apparently he had a bit more balls than I thought. These last few days he has been severely faltering but he's still here. Perhaps I was wrong about him, not the first time but it would be pretty impressive to see him pass.

Today it's time to learn about shooting, how to fire a gun and how to properly maintain it. For the moment the standard issue Rifle was a newly made "Wales Repeating Rifle", named after the former prince and modeled directly off of the Winchester repeater. It fired a .44-40 round and was effective up to 300 meters. It could hold 10 rounds in the tube and one in the chamber. Aside from slight improvements from the original it is almost an exact copy of the Winchester. NATO wanted to ensure there was at least a good 100 year gap between our technologies so this was the best candidate for technology.

I myself had to learn this gun inside and out before teaching it, as a Ranger I'm expected to know nearly every weapon system in the world, especially since the 75TH are Special Operations capable.

The first thing I began teaching was how to field strip it. While lever action weapons are more durable than modern weapons and less prone to damage they still need to know how to properly clean and disassemble to weapon. Every man is taught safety and trigger discipline, never to have their rifle pointed at anything they're not ready to shoot and never have their finger on the trigger. Most passed with a few guys having trouble but after hours of practice they became somewhat sufficient at the job.

"Today we will be learning how to hit a target at range. you will all be taught how to fire your weapon and hit with accuracy and efficiency." I motioned to the shooting range while every man stood in formation with their unloaded Rifles on their shoulder. "In order to pass you must have a 90% hit ration by the end of the week at 100 Meters, any questions?" I asked as Lawrence sounded out.

"How is it possible to hit a target that far with a musket sir?" He asked.

"These aren't Muskets Private, they're Rifles. A marksman can hit a head sized target at 300 Meters no problem. With some practice hitting a man sized target at 100 Meters should be as easy as walking." Many of the men looked at me in disbelief so I though a demonstration was in order. "Alex, a Rifle please." My second in command gave me one of the Wales Rifles. I took 3 bullets and loaded them in, giving the lever action a good cock and took aim.

The target was a piece of thick steel in the shape of a mans torso, if you hit it a loud bang will be heard to tell you if you hit it. Taking aim through the rear sight I lined it up with the front post. Steadying my aim so that the front post was clear and the target was blurry I fired the gun, almost instantly a loud ping of metal on metal echoed through the camp. Ignoring the awes of my men I quickly operated the Lever and took another shot in less than a second, once again hitting the target. A second later another shot and I cleared the chamber, satisfied with myself.

"I was able to do that since I was 6 years old, I expect perfection from you." I said loudly at the stunned recruits. They immediately got back into formation and lined up, ready to fire at the targets. After so much rehearsing they managed to load the weapon easily but did not operate the action until they were ready to fire.

"The Muskets you men are used to firing are very different from these. These weapons have what is called a rear iron sight, you line it up with the front iron sight and it makes hitting the target easier at long distances." I said. Muskets and even older Rifles back in the day didn't have a rear iron sight, only a front sight post. It made it very difficult to hit a target at range but of course that didn't matter with the volley tactics of old warfare.

"Look through the rear sight, and make sure that the front sight is in focus. Your target must look blurry and the front sight must be clear. Line up the center of the front post with the center of the rear sight and slowly squeeze the trigger." When the men were ready they put a round in the chamber and fired. Only 1 ping was heard and that was from Joshua. Joshua as it turns out used a Musket since he was very young and was one of the best shots here, excluding US personnel of course.

Everyone was a bit shocked that the weak and incompetent Joshua managed to get a good hit. Looking through a scope to get a better look at the target I noticed that he hit the arm of the target and not center mass. I immediately told them all that for every miss they would have to do 5 push ups each. Since Joshua's shot was a wound and not a kill it counted as a miss, however he did not complain or protest.

I ordered them to fire again and they operated the lever, taking aim again and firing. Joshua only got about 20% of his shots in the torso and had the highest score. He still failed of course but as far as weapons handling he showed the most promise. Lawrence on the other hand was slightly below the class average. I sighed to myself and knew that there was going to be a lot of work ahead of me.

After a week of constant training the men have become somewhat proficient at firing weapons. Most could hit the target consistently at 100 Meters and other were flawless. Joshua being the top of the class in that respect. They also learned how to use the White Revolver (Modeled after the Colt .45 Single Action Army), the Celtic Rifle (Bolt action, modeled after arguably the best bolt action Rifle the Lee-Enfield) and the Aristotle Shotgun (Modeled after the Winchester 1897 Pump Action Shotgun). Now it was time for them to learn hand to hand combat.

Possibly the most important skill for every soldiers, since man first walked up right till now, has been hand to hand. Guns and swords will fail you, they will jam, break and you may even drop them. A soldier that can't use his hands in combat is nothing more than a timer, ticking away to his death. In the event you lose your primary and secondary weapon you must be able to adapt and fight hand to hand, either with a knife or your own 2 hands. Had it not been for this skill I would be dead several times over.

Everyone was arranged in the fighting pit, a wide circle that everyone stood on the edges, made up of soft sand to make a soft impact during training. Everyone was paired up with a partner of similar height and build to learn how to fight. 1 man was given padded leather gloves and a leather torso guard, this let his partner able to hit him at full force without hurting him.

Using Alex as my punching bag, I began to demonstrate the proper technique to punching and elbowing.

CQC is very different from many martial arts. Various Asian styles of Martial Arts have the user performing complex maneuvers and actions to give a good result. Depending on the style there could be jumping, spinning and exaggerated ducking to get the opponent off guard. This philosophy developed from 2 things. Peasants at the time were not allowed to learn Martial Arts so they began disguising their moves as dances, which is where you get many of the complex jumps and spins. It was also used as a form of meditation. The complex moves strengthen the body and spirit, allowing for greater expression of energy and power.

As nice and fancy as those are they are no practical at all in warfare. Take it from experience, it's hard to even walk in 100 pounds of gear let alone jump and spin. Even though the Albion Army won't have as much equipment as us they could be expected to wear 30 to 60 pounds of gear, depending on the mission. It's also a waist of energy and dangerous. Doing complex kicks and spins can tire you out quickly, you want to take out an enemy as fast as possible while at the same time using as little energy as possible. Plus, doing a high kick or spin can put you off balance and turn your back to your enemy. Never turn your back to the enemy and never lose balance. If he gets the advantage in a grapple fight you're as good as dead.

CQC is very simplified, the idea is to create distance from the enemy and use your firearm to take him out, or get him on the ground and take him out if the gun is not usable. You don't have to kill your enemy, just ensure that for the next few hours he's not getting up.

After an hour of rehearsing different punching and kicking methods I had them switch the pads to allow the other guy a turn. This continued for another hour and they were getting the general idea. It would take a week at least to be less than proficient but we're on borrowed time here.

Then we switched to grappling, a somewhat new type of fighting in Halkeginia. While there are styles of grapple fighting in Halkeginia, they are no where near as detailed and viscous as this. With the use of Magic and code of honor in weapons and swords the Halkeginians viewed hand to hand combat as useless and barbaric. I could tell from the insults and jeers of the watching Nobility that they thought it was hilarious to watch us "Play in the sand like children". However the Commoner crowd watched in fascination at the practice. Some of the younger teens and children even tried copying it, though we had to stop a few of them because they began hurting themselves. Seriously, this is dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

Every so often a recruit would wave at fawning Commoner girls and had their pride swelled. They felt like Nobles and greater than they ever have been. I had to constantly stop the training and make them do push ups because they kept getting distracted, much to the crowds amusement. I really wish that we could do this in private but Albion was clear, they wanted everyone to know of their Army and how they trained. Even though they are adopting our customs they are still held back by the monarch, honor filled Noble system.

The men were doing well though, they are getting the hang of basic take downs and grapples. A few times we had to stop and call a medic because a guy got hurt on the fall or someone got a bloody nose. Much to the amusement of the Nobles, who were insulting us for being weak by catering to these men's every injury. The way we train our men is to avoid injury, needless injuries just effect a soldiers long term health and makes him less effective in the field. Which is why even something as small as a sore shoulder had o be taken seriously. In fact in Ranger school, we risked expulsion if we ever tried to hide an injury or soreness. Halkeginia was different, it was more barbaric (Irony) and believed that men had to tough out the pain. Of course they had no knowledge of modern medicine so they didn't realize the long term effects of performing with injuries.

The following few days I also trained them how to properly use a bayonet, a long gun with a knife attached to the front, acting as a spear. The knives were made of flexible wood with a leather wrapping. By now you probably realized that much of our training equipment is provided by Albion. It would have been better to use Rubber and plastic equipment but by having them make their own materials it insured that they would have a more long lasting industrial independence.

The men learned the basics of thrusting and butting. The angled grip of their Wales Rifles made it very easy to use as a spear, not as effective when using a pistol grip with our weapons. The men rehearsed and rehearsed these drills over and over again, each time getting slightly better than the last. Repetition is the key to anything in life.

Now it was time for my favorite exercise, fighting. Using imported training gear from the US, Football (American) Helmets, head to toe pads and big rubber batons it was time to put all the spearing to the test.

2 men are picked and dressed head to toe in the sports armor, then given their batons. 1 side was red, the other black, representing the but and barrel of a gun. The course is simple, go in swinging and whoever doesn't fall over wins. It's also a good way to relieve stress from all the training. First up was Lawrence and Joshua, I intentionally had them fight each other.

"All right you two, when I say go come out swinging and don't stop until I blow the whistle." The nodded in affirmation. The crowd was now placing bets on who would win. Some of the people who have been watching these regularly put their money on Lawrence but Joshua got quite a few fans. Lawrence smiled like an idiot and flexed for some of the girls watching and I would make him pay for that later. "Go!" I said quickly.

Joshua, his attention on training ran up and socked a clueless Lawrence, who didn't react fast enough to block because he was too busy paying attention to the crowd.

"And that's what happens when you focus on women and not training Lawrence." He bowed his head in shame as the crowd laughed and the girls giggled. "20 push ups and then you'll try again." Sucking up his hurt pride Lawrence did his push ups and got back up, ready for round two.

The second I said go they both came out swinging this time. Lawrence was about 30 pound heavier than Joshua so in weight he had the advantage. Joshua however had one hell of a no quit attitude and that made him very tough to take down.

Because of the cumbersome pads and awkward weapons the fight was very clumsy and funny to watch. It ended with Lawrence falling on top of Joshua, who lost his balance when he got body slammed.

Blowing my whistle to end the fight I had the next 2 guys come up. It all went that way for a while, clumsy fighting and ending with both man usually falling to the ground. Like I said, this is more to relieve stress and have a good time beating the shit out of someone then actually being practical. It's also one of the only training methods where you can fight all out like in combat and have a low chance of hurting your sparring partner. It's more of a mental exercise than a physical and practical one, teaching the body to go 100% instead of holding back and not hurting your partner.

After that I told them to assemble to receive orders.

"Tomorrow is going to be your qualification test. A simulated mission to learn how to fight effectively and apply all of your knowledge to the job at hand. You will be put under extreme stress and will have to endure long nights. No one may pass without completing this simulated mission. Tomorrow you will receive your briefing and are allowed to take any weapon and equipment you need. You will also be assigned team leaders and specialists based on your scores. Get some rest men, you'll need it." As they cleared out I went about finalizing the mission details that they would have to pass. This will garentee that their skills are put to the test.

End Chapter 25

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