Chapter 19

Shepard motioned for everybody to come a little closer. "For crying out loud, get closer people. Nobody's gonna bite you unless you ask them to. And we don't have time for any of that kinky shit, so nobody ask for it." He saw the turian, asari, krogan, and quarian look at each other in confusion. Fuck it, I'm not explaining that. They can look it up on the extranet if they're curious.

"So anyway, the way I'll be determining how 'good' you are is by timing you. I'll add time to your score based on accuracy, as determined by the scoring circles on the target itself. So shoot fast, but hit what you're aiming at. Now, since I believe in doing everything I tell my team to do, watch me and I'll walk you through how the shooting will actually go down." At this, Shepard walked up to the bench and hit the control to drop a target down from the ceiling.

"Everyone is going to start with the pistol. Then we'll move to the shotgun, then the AR, and lastly the sniper rifle." Shepard looked back at the group to make sure they were all still paying attention. "When I say go, you'll draw your pistol, and put five shots downrange, into a target at 10 meters. The timer will stop as soon as you fire the last shot," Shepard took a deep breath, then said, "like so. Go!"

As soon as he said the word, Shepard hit his omni-tool to start the timer, turned away from his team, drew his pistol, and put five rounds downrange. Quickly tapping his omni-tool again, he turned back to face his team. Looking down at his omni-tool, he read off the time. "3.34 seconds. Not bad. Now we check the big screen to see where the bullets went." Everyone looked over to one of the screens on either wall, and saw one, slightly ragged hole in the middle of the target's "head." "So there, I get to keep my time, because all the shots went through the head's x-ring."

Shepard proceeded to repeat the drill at 25 meters, and 50 meters. Both times, the "wound" in the target looked the same as it did the first time, and his times had a variance of less than 0.1 second.

"Next, you'll show me your shotgun skills. This will be done the same way as the pistol test. Same number of shots and same distances. Observe."

When Shepard finished demonstrating his shotgun skills, the 10 and 25-meter targets had no heads, and the 50-meter target had no torso. All three times came in between 8.0 and 8.5 seconds.

"After shotgun, I need to see what you can do with the AR. For the AR test, the distances will be 25, 50, and 100 meters. You'll fire five bursts of approximately three rounds per burst at each target. Watch me."

Unsurprisingly, each of the three targets had one large, ragged hole in the middle of their "chests." The three times were 3.9 seconds, 4.1 seconds, and 4.2 seconds.

"Lastly, I want to see your skill with the sniper rifle. There are a couple of differences between this test and the rest of the tests. Firstly, with the other tests, you're free to use whatever ammo mods you want. With the sniper rifles, you cannot use any explosive ammo mods. Other ammo mods are still fair game. Secondly, this test will not be timed. A good sniper will take their time, and make sure that every shot is a kill shot. 'One shot, one kill, no luck, all skill,' as the old sniper's adage goes." Shepard looked around at his team, to see if anybody else had heard that saying before. Garrus nodded when he caught his eye, and Shepard smiled at the turian marksman. Then he went back to explaining the test. "You'll fire three shots at 100 meters, three shots at 200 meters, and three shots at 300 meters. After that, you're done. If you want to keep going, I'll let you. Three shots per target at a target range of my choosing, and you can keep moving out until you miss two outta three. If anybody wants to go farther, I'll shoot with them, just to prove that I can. Everybody got it?" Everyone else nodded to him.

"Ok then. Since the targets are too far away to see with the naked eye, keep an eye on the big screens. That's what I'll be using for scoring, as well."

"Wait, Skipper, I have a question." Ashley interrupted.

"Shoot, Ash." Shepard said, laughing along with the team after he said it.

"How will you know who wins? You said you're not timing it, right?"

"Correct. I'll be adding up the points you get for your 'kills,' using standard tournament procedures."

"But if everybody's shooting the same number of shots at the same number of targets, what happens if you get a tie?" Ashley continued.

"Well, if you really want to win, you'll just have to keep shooting. I promise to push the ranges out at the same rate for everybody who wants to keep shooting. Fair enough?"

"Yes sir." Ashley said with a smile.

"Ok then. Watch me."

All nine of Shepard's shots went to the same place, right between the target's eyes.

"You all ready to show me whatcha got?" Shepard asked when he had finished shooting. A chorus of yeses answered his question. "In that case, everybody out except for Williams."

The rest of the team shuffled out to the waiting area. "Good luck, Ash." Kaidan whispered on his way out.

Ashley came out 45 minutes later. "How'd it go?" Kaidan queried.

"Not too bad. I think I did pretty good." Ashley replied with a confident smile. "He said to send you in next, Vakarian."

"Ok." The turian said simply, and got up and walked through the doors.

"How far out did you go with the sniper rifles?" Kaidan asked Ashley.

"I got two outta three at 700, but then only hit once at 800. Pretty good, if I do say so myself." Ashley couldn't help but grin widely at Kaidan's obvious discomfort at her answer. "Don't worry too much LT; you're just not in my league."

"Yeah, yeah." Kaidan responded. "Why aren't you leaving?"

"The Skipper told me nobody leaves until he's had a chance to talk to everybody as a group again." She replied. "So settle in, LT. It's gonna be a long day."

When Garrus came out, he pointed to Kaidan. "You're up, Kaidan."

"Thanks, Garrus." Kaidan said, then scrambled to his feet and headed in to meet with Shepard.

"So how far'd you go, Vakarian?" Ashley asked.

"Far enough." Was the turian's mild response.

"Come on, tell us." Ashley wheedled. "I went out to 800. Can you beat that?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. I'm sure I won't be alone in wanting to relax after that experience."

"Spoilsport." Williams said with a pout.

Kaidan came out, looking exhausted. "How'd you do Lieutenant?" Ashley immediately asked.

"Later, Ash." Kaidan replied quietly.

"Fine, whatever. You and Vakarian must have both sucked it up, because neither of you want to talk about it."

Both Kaidan and Garrus shot glares at the offending speaker, but she was too busy looking at her omni-tool to care.

"Who did Shepard want next, Kaidan?" Tali asked.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Liara, you're up."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Alenko." Liara replied formally, before passing through the gun range doors.

"The Commander requests your presence, Tali'Zorah." Liara said as soon as she exited the range.

"What did you think?" Kaidan asked quietly as Liara sat down across from him.

"I do not think weapons are my strong suit, to be honest." She said, looking ashamed. "I feel that my biotics are much stronger than my skills with guns."

Kaidan felt bad for her. She's just a scientist. And a kid scientist, no less. She shouldn't feel so bad. Maybe I can cheer her up a little bit. Looking around to make sure everyone else was engrossed in whatever they were doing with their omni-tools, he leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially to the asari. "Don't feel too bad. I'm a marine, so technically I'm supposed to be a 'rifleman,' but I rely on my biotics so much that I'm just glad I can remember which way I'm supposed to point it."

Liara laughed quietly, out of relief rather than jest. "Thank you, Lieutenant. That does make me feel better."

"You're welcome, Liara. And please, call me Kaidan."

"Okay, Kaidan. Thank you."

Wrex was already standing, pacing by the door when Tali came out. "Good. I was about to start looking for a fight."

"I'm glad I finished when I did, then." Tali said, with a smile in her voice. "He's waiting for you." She gestured to the door she had just come through.

Wrex stomped through the door, and Tali took the seat he must have recently vacated. She looked over to see Garrus staring at her.

"What?" She asked defensively.

"I was just waiting for you to talk about it."

"Why?"

"Well, you usually start rambling when you get flustered, and I can't imagine using that sniper rifle was your definition of a fun way to spend an afternoon."

"I don't always ramble! And you're not much better, Mr. Grumpy Garrus."

"Oooh, grumpy Garrus! It hurts, Tali. It hurts so much." They both started laughing after Garrus finished joking. "But seriously, Tali, what did you think?

"I think I'll stick with my shotgun, thank you. And that's all I'm going to say."

I swear she's sticking her tongue out at me under that helmet. Garrus thought as he went back to checking the extranet for the latest sniper rifle news.

Finally, Shepard poked his head out and told them all to come back inside the range. Once the team was reunited, he began his debrief. "Ok, so, you all did really well. I definitely picked my team well. Who wants me to announce the best person in each category? If yes, raise your hand now."

Ashley and Wrex raised their hands, but no one else did. "That's decided, then. If you want to know your own scores and where you fall, come see me in my cabin. I'll be there for a few hours after we finish up here. Before we get to that, though, I wanted to pair you guys up so you can spend a couple hours over the next two days boning up on your skills."

Ashley and Wrex rolled their eyes, but everyone else seemed to be taking what Shepard had to say seriously. Actually, Tali might have rolled her eyes too. I can't actually tell since I'm too far away to be able to see through her helmet. Can I even see her eyes roll through her helmet? I should try to, next time I talk to her. Shepard shook his head, picking up where he had left off.

"If I don't call your name, it probably just means that you were proficient, but not excellent. Or maybe nobody needs help. Either way, don't read anything into it." He took one last look around, then got started listing off pairs. "Good news first: everybody was amazing with their pistols, so I'm not mandating any pair-ups. You can still practice together if you want to, though. For shotguns, I'd like Ashley to work with Kaidan, Wrex to work with Garrus, and Tali to work with Liara. First named person is the 'helper,' second is the 'helpee.' For ARs, I want Garrus to work with Liara, Wrex to work with Kaidan, and I'll work with Tali. Again, the first-named person is the preferred 'helper.' Lastly, sniper rifles. I want Ashley to work with Kaidan, Garrus to work with Liara, and I'll work with Tali. Same helper/helpee breakdown."

"Ok, now before I let you all go, I wanted to say a couple of quick things. First, I made sure you guys will get priority when you come to this range to work over the next two days. Second, I want you guys to spend at least two hours, per weapon, working with your partner before we leave the Citadel. And if you think I won't know, think again. I have a great many friends in C-Sec, including those who oversee the recording devices. So I'll find out if you're cheating." He eyeballed each and every member of his team, making sure they understood the seriousness of his words. "And lastly, you're free to spend the remainder of your shore leave however you please. You have no on-ship duties for the next two days." A small cheer went up from the team at these words.

"Before you leave, please talk to your partner about when you want to get together and practice. And I'll be in my quarters for the next two hours if you want to come by and discuss your own results with me. You're free!" With a laugh, he walked over to Tali.

"Hey Tali, do you want to just stop by my cabin sometime in the next two hours and we'll figure out a time to practice together? That way you can talk to the others right now?"

"Ok Shepard." Tali said sweetly. "I'll see you then."

Looking around to make sure his team was actively talking amongst themselves and no one needed his help, he left and headed back the Normandy.