Two weeks later, Reyna rolled over in bed, miserable. She still couldn't bring herself to sleep in the middle of the bed. She still slept on her side, waiting for Diaz to sleep on the other side.
Once she was dressed, Reyna walked out of her bedroom and towards Kait's. She knocked on the door and was surprised that the door creaked open. Kait had been staying in her room more and more, grieving. As Reyna thought about it, she could count the number of times Kait left her room for anything besides food or the bathroom on one hand.
But once Reyna opened the door, there was nobody in the room.
Once Reyna left the private living quarters, she ducked as she heard gunshots. When she didn't see bullets, however, she got up and walked over to the shooting range where the Outsiders were supposed to learn how to shoot.
She saw Oscar, touching a girl, supposedly correcting her form, and Reyna looked at the girl. She then realized that that girl was her daughter, Kait. Reyna almost didn't recognize her. That small, petite girl was nowhere to be seen. The end of her hair was now dyed pink and she wore her father's hat. Reyna also noticed a tattoo on her arm, but she would scold her about that later.
Kait and Oscar were both facing a wooden target shaped like a person and Reyna heard Oscar scolding. "Kait, how many times do I have to say it?! Shoulders square and feet shoulder length apart!"
Kait rolled her eyes slightly and got into the stance her uncle said. She carefully aimed at the rifle in her arms at the target and Reyna quickly moved out of the way. Kait pulled the trigger and missed the target by a solid two feet, the bullets soaring over the target's head.
"You forgot to aim Kaitie," Reyna said, walking up next to her daughter. Kait jumped, but luckily her finger was no longer on the trigger.
Kait looked at her mom and smiled a bit, the first time she had done so since the Settlement 2 incident. "Alright, square up again," Oscar said.
"Why are you two training now?" Reyna asked.
"Well, she never got to finish her training with her dad," Oscar said. "I feel that she should finish with me."
Reyna smiled. Oscar was never the emotional type, so seeing him do something like this really touched Reyna.
They both then looked at Kait as she squared up to shoot again. Reyna noticed her shoulders were squared directly at the target and her shoulders were slightly hunched. Reyna knew that this was how Gear soldiers were trained to stand, but she also knew that Gears had armor and things to prevent bullets from hitting them in that open stance.
Oscar had a long stick in his hand and had it to move Kait's feet so they were shoulder length apart. Reyna knew this was for better balance, but it also left Kait perfectly exposed for someone to jump her.
"Ready, and...fire!" Oscar yelled at Kait. Kait pulled the trigger and managed to hit the target this time, with the bullets barely hitting the shoulder blade.
Kait looked back at Oscar for advice and he took a swig from the flask attached to his belt and shook his head. "Come on!" he exclaimed at her. "A blind man could have hit that target! Watch and learn!"
He grabbed the rifle from Kait and Reyna stepped between them. "Do you really think it's a good idea to shoot a loaded rifle after you just had a drink?" she asked, attempting and failing to grab the gun from him.
"Relax, they're dummy rounds! Do you really think I'm dumb enough to give someone who doesn't know how to shoot a loaded gun?"
Both Reyna and Kait opened their mouths to answer and Oscar said, "Don't answer that question."
Oscar then lined up facing the target and got into the same stance he had taught Kait and pulled the trigger. Kait watched in awe as the bullet hit square in the forehead. "See? Easy!" Oscar gloated.
Reyna rolled her eyes at Oscar's arrogance and he looked at her with a smug look on his face. "We'll continue tomorrow," he told Kait. "I need a drink."
Once Oscar was out of hearing distance, Reyna turned to her daughter and said, "As good of a shot as your Uncle is, he's a terrible teacher. Do you want me to help you?"
"Yes please," Kait said. "I'm tired of being shouted at by Uncle. And I think he's got some things wrong."
"You're absolutely right about that." Reyna gently grabbed Kait's shoulders and put her into a diagonal stance. "This stance leaves you less open to enemy fire. Your uncle's stance works great if you have armor protecting you, which none of us do."
She also pushed Kait down a bit and said, "Bend your knees slightly. This helps you stay balanced after the recoil. Now aim and fire."
Kait looked through the scope of the gun she was holding and was aimed at the target. She pulled the trigger and smiled as the bullets hit the target in the chest this time. "Much better!" Reyna exclaimed, hugging her daughter once the gun was lowered.
"Thanks Mom," Kait said, hugging her back.
"Now get into your stance and do it again."
For the next several weeks, Kait was trained by both her mother and her uncle. Oscar was a very impatient teacher who never fully explained his techniques and often yelled at Kait for things he never told her about. And while training Kait, Oscar also trained Gary Carmine. Being under the age of eighteen, Gary never got to train with the COG, so Oscar taught him from scratch. But because Oscar was such an impatient teacher, the only thing Gary learned was how to shoot a wall mounted turret.
Reyna, on the other hand, was a completely different story. When she wasn't busy managing the village now that Diaz was gone, she was usually found training Kait. Reyna was an incredibly patient teacher who taught her daughter to shoot exactly how she was taught. Kait had turned into an excellent shot, but Oscar would always yell that she was standing incorrectly. She had even practiced with a few of the sniper rifles Gary had brought with him.
One day, Oscar was watching Reyna and Kait as Reyna put her daughter into her stance. Oscar could not understand why Reyna taught her to stand this way. He had never seen anyone shoot like that, except-
Oscar looked one last time and, sure enough, Kait was standing exactly like how a Locust soldier would stand. Oscar wondered where Reyna could have learned that shooting style. Oscar had an idea but quickly dismissed it. This was Reyna, his sister in law, the wife to his deceased brother and mother of his niece. There was no way on Sera she could be a Locust heir, was there?
Once Kait successfully hit the target in the head, Reyna smiled and said, "I think you're good for the day Kaitie."
"Thanks Mom," Kait said, turning to leave.
"Wait a minute. Before you go, I wanted to give you something."
She handed Kait a book and Kait looked at it, confused. Kait had always been a bookworm, but she was confused by the title. King Raven Intermediate Maintenance Manual by the COG Engineering Corps. "What is this?" Kait asked.
"Read the inscription."
Kait looked at the inscription and covered her mouth. She then read aloud, "Kaitie, Your father wrote this book long before you were born. Not many copies left out there. The text is a bit dry but...reading this, I can still feel him somehow. I can't think of a person he'd more want to have this. Love, Mom."
Kait's eyes had welled up with tears and she hugged her mother, crying inrush her chest. "Thank you," she said. "I'll cherish this forever."
Reyna hugged her daughter until Kait eventuality pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. She finally left and Oscar approached her. "That was big of you," he told her. "Giving Kait that book."
"I felt Diaz would have wanted her to have it," Reyna told him. "Is that all you're here for?"
"Not exactly. I've been meaning to ask. Where did you learn to shoot like that?"
Reyna immediately froze up, thinking of the best way to answer that question. "Uh...what do you mean?"
"I've never seen anybody stand like that before. Who taught you?"
"My family taught me."
"Your family of scientists on Azura?"
"Not my parents. But some guys that works with my parents taught be how to shoot." It wasn't a complete lie, but it was far from the truth.
"I've never seen anybody shoot with that type of stance before. What were their names?"
"Uh...it was so many different guys, I don't remember their names that well."
"Alright. We better get back to town. We have a meeting today."
As they walked away, Oscar eyed Reyna. He knew she was lying, but couldn't figure out why. Besides, he had known Reyna for over sixteen years. There was absolutely no change she had kept a secret from him this whole time.
Right?
A bit of an uneventful chapter by my standards, but I still enjoyed writing it. This actually focuses on a few things from the campaign. First, how Kait says Oscar taught her how to fight and how he's lucky still speaks with him. Second, how Oscar said he has taught Gary Carmine everything he knows. Third, how Kait had said that she was taught to fight by both her uncle and her mother. I modeled the way that Oscar shoots after the squared and athletic stance for firing a rifle taught at the U.S. Shooting Academy. I modeled how Reyna shoots after consulting various images and videos of the Locust fighting throughout the course of the game.
And as a final note, the book that Reyna gives Kait is an Easter Egg in the Campaign right before the Outsider and COG fight scene. The inscription on the book is actually what the description of the Easter Egg says.