Hey all! Welcome to chapter three. In this, Sam learns how to shoot. If it's painfully obvious that I know nothing about guns, I apologize.

Disclaimer: All Mass Effect related content in the following text is the property of Bioware. I own Sam. I think.

I wake slowly from my first 'night' aboard the SSV Normandy. At first I don't even realise that it's 'morning', what with the utter absence of light from the cabin as I slowly crack my eyes open only to be met with utter darkness. I conclude that I've woken early and try to get back to sleep, only to give up on it two minutes later when I hear the faint clicks and whirs of the various mechanical and electrical systems that make up the Normandy.

Getting out of bed, I decide it's probably best to get into the clothes I arrived on the Citadel with before I leave the cabin, but as I clamber to my feet, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I realise that some kind of uniform, not dissimilar to Kaidan's grey uniform, has been left on the desk by the bed. Huh, that's generous.

Well, best make use of this, and I change into the uniform, noting the considerable weight that is of a type that I'm simply not used too. Well, consequences of not keeping to a military fitness regimen, I guess. Armour is going to be…fun. That's what the training is for, I suppose.

I walk out of the door, operated by a simple panel on the side-It'll be interesting to see how the door mounted locks operate, and take the route back to the CIC, where I find Shepard walking around seeming irritated by something. She looks up from the datapad she's looking at intently and walks over to me "Ah, Sam. You're awake, good, you overslept."

I frown "Really? My apologies, I couldn't tell what the time was, it seems I need to adjust to life aboard a ship"

She nods "It's fine, for now. You missed breakfast, though, and Dr Chakwas will need to see you soon to figure out what needs to be done to get you into fighting shape. Although I do have some good news for you-it looks like you might, depending on how good an assessment Dr Chakwas gives you, be able to come along on Feros."

What? That's odd. We should be going straight to our first destination, unless Hackett has ordered Shepard off to do something crazy. "I take it this is what is irritating you so much?"

She seems surprised "You can tell? Well, yes, I suppose so" sighing, she taps a button on the datatpad and it powers down, the orange interface vanishing into the borders of the device "Admiral Hackett" oh great "of Alliance Command has requested that I take the Normandy to dispatch some of the Geth outpost that have suddenly been noticed popping up in the Armstrong Cluster."

I shrug "Well, as worrying as the Geth incursion is, it does make sense to send in the Normandy. It's fast and quiet, as well as being well crewed. How long will we be in the Armstrong Cluster?"

She shrugs "From the report, the incursion isn't very deep. We could be here for a week or so, assuming nothing nasty pops up."

I raise an eyebrow. I've always liked to think I take to things quickly, but giving me a week to be ready for combat seems…overly optimistic. I say as much, and Shepard simply waves a hand "I need you to be able to shoot a gun, not make it dance. We'll see what can be done" 'Make it dance'? Not a phrase I expected to be hearing from Shepard, but what the hell "But later. For now, report to Doctor Chakwas."

I nod, not bothering to attempt a salute, and turn towards the door leading down to the crew deck. So, side missions. Huh, that's somewhat unexpected. Well, I'm not going to complain if it means I can be there for the main story missions…I'm going to have to stop thinking of it as a story, I suppose. Real people are aboard the Normandy now.

Thinking along these lines, I grind to a halt halfway down the stairwell as I suddenly remember Virmire. Shit. I had forgotten entirely about that. It shall be…interesting, for want of a better word, to see who meets their end there.

I'm still standing halfway down what is not exactly the most roomy stairwell in the galaxy, and plus it looks a little odd. Getting moving again, I pass Kaidan on the way onto the crew deck, and he nods at me as I pass, which I return. He doesn't speak, and continues on his way up the stairs to the CIC. The Geth outposts will be interesting to hear about, especially considering that Tali can essentially complete her pilgrimage as soon as it's done. Oh wait, Ashley is going to be kept behind…that certainly isn't going to go down well with her, and I get the feeling she's going to make that perfectly clear to me.

I enter the Medbay, and Dr Chakwas looks up "Ah, Mr *********, you're just in time. Please, follow me." She turns around and walks over to one of the consoles to side of the medical beds. She presses a button and a series of panels opens up in the wall above the bed, revealing a complex machine that comes sliding out of the wall to rest above the bed in a surprisingly familiar fashion, where have I seen this before…oh great, it's a futuristic MRI scanner. I hate those things.

"This shall be a fairly simple procedure, Mr *********, please lie down and we can begin" she says this as she pulls the bed out from underneath the machine, clearly inviting me to lie down on it. I do so, and she pushes the bed back underneath the machine.

Yeah, this is bringing back memories of MRI scanners. What would they need a brain scan for, though? I'm pretty sure I've given no indication of there being anything wrong with my head, although I'm not overly certain about that one myself. Might just be a precaution, I guess.

I wait for a moment, expecting the horrific noises of an MRI to begin at any moment. But they never come, instead I feel a strange sensation of what feels like water washing over me. Startled, I try to move but find myself unable to do so. I don't panic, but I can feel the start of it beginning to grow as the sensation of being immobile gets to me. Fortunately, the source of my immobilisation turns out to be some kind of virtual mesh, seemingly a scanner of some kind. So not a brain scan, a full body scan. Well, that certainly simplifies matters.

I had walked into the Medbay expecting a rather long procedure, but Dr Chakwas has me out of the scanner in around ten minutes. She retracts the machine and then we begin to go over the results together.

"Most of this is fairly standard…human male, around six foot four, average build, no noticeable health problems beyond that…is there any history of hereditary disease in your family?"

I think for a moment, then shake my head "As far as I'm aware, no." She takes this down and nods at me.

"Well, we're nearly done, I just have a few psychological questions before we start discussing what needs to be done to get you fighting" oh, lovely.

"Firstly, tell me about your childhood. Not specifics, but what was it like? How were your parents? School?"

I sigh "Well, I grew up in London, both my mother and father were there, I assume that's what you're asking, and it was very stable. My father worked at a University, and my mother stayed at home. There was never any arguing, at least none of the kind that would actually cause some kind of lasting effect on me."

"My father was determined very early on that I would read. With paper, you understand, nothing virtual. As a result, I've always been more intellectual than anything else. I suppose that's also the reason I wanted to be an author."

"At school I was…good. Not brilliant, I never had the commitment or the patience to be truly brilliant in an academic sense. I developed a liking for science and history. Never liked physical education or the more cultural subjects, which is why I never really developed any real muscle mass. I was quiet, but not in the traditional sense. I spoke when I had something to say, no more, no less. I had difficulty making new friends, my personality was often…incompatible with the people around me. I wasn't alone, and I was never bullied. There is little more to tell beyond that, I did well in exams, went to university, studied physics. Never got very far, I was too focused on my writing."

Dr Chakwas simply nods at this, and I realise I may have made an error in revealing I studied physics. If they need me to do anything scientific I doubt I'd be of much use, considering I have no idea how the subject has evolved over the last 170 years. Plus, it's an alternate dimension, so I don't even know if the laws of physics are the same. Dr Chakwas doesn't say anything in regards to this however, instead she hits me with a question I had not been expecting "That's an excellent psychological background, but I am slightly concerned that you may be an extremely mild egotist."

Wow. That's blunt, then again she is paid to be. She's not entirely wrong, however. "I had an IQ test when I was thirteen that returned a result of 161. Even if you have no idea how to use that intelligence, learning that you have it is always going to have an effect on the way you look at the world, Doctor." She seems impressed, but merely nods and continues. I appreciate that. I dislike it when people comment on IQ. It's just a number, it doesn't translate into anything unless you make it translate.

"Well, as long as it isn't allowed to develop too far it shouldn't become a problem. Now then, we should discuss what needs to be done to get you into a condition where the Commander can use you in the field." Oh, this should be interesting "It's actually not as bad as I had feared." Wait, what? "Your weight is good, and doesn't need much improvement. Your muscle mass isn't as good but that can be fixed without much effort. You're to go to the Normandy's gymnasium between these hours"

Here she hands me a datapad, informing me I'm to spend roughly three or four hours a day, based on the hours here. That'll be a change of pace, alright. "That's all, really. You should be ready physically by the end of the week. I can't speak for your training, however. That will be the decision of the Gunnery Chief. For now, though, start the exercise regime. You'll need to work hard to get ready for the enemies you'll be facing. Oh, and you're to report to engineering for weapons training three hours from now."

I get up, thank her, and leave, thinking I might as well get that first bout of fitness training done before meeting Ashley. I then realise I don't have a damn clue where the gymnasium is. I didn't even know the Normandy had a gymnasium, although it makes sense now that I think about. Soldiers don't stay fit just because they're soldiers. Plus, you never see any real sign of crew quarters in ME1 either, so I guess it makes sense the Normandy would have more 'real' aspects in, well, real life.

Too my relief, Kaidan is walking back down from the CIC as I walk out of the Medbay, and I walk up to him, hoping he knows his way round the ship. "Hey, lieutenant."

He breaks his stride and looks to me "Sam. You've had the meeting with Dr Chakwas, I take it?" I nod "How is it? Any idea when you'll be ready for service?"

I shrug "It's not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Dr Chakwas estimates that, if I keep up the exercise, I should be physically ready by the end of the week. Whether or not I'm combat ready by then is down to the Gunnery Chief."

Kaidan nods, but he doesn't smile, typically. "I'm glad to hear it. I take it, then, that you're looking for the gymnasium?" I nod, surprised that Kaidan was able to guess my intent. "Follow me, then." With this, he turns away and walks back around the way he came towards the elevator to engineering.

He then walks up to a door which I swear wasn't there in the game. Makes sense, I suppose, the space would be redundant in a game, but since actual crew are on this ship now, it must be filled with the, well, the crew part of the crew deck.

The door opens to reveal a long corridor with several doors opening off to the side and one large door at the end. The corridor only serves to reinforce a feeling I've been having since I woke up: the SSV Normandy is too blue. Never thought I'd have a good word for Cerberus, but they know how to design a ship.

Kaidan turns to me, snapping me out of my thoughts as he speaks "This is the main part of the crew deck. To the side of this corridor are doors leading to sleeping quarters where the majority of the crew sleeps when they're off shift. At the far end of the corridor, through the large door is a room where the crew relaxes when not working or sleeping. The first door on your left in there is the way into the gymnasium." He pauses "Well, good luck. I hope you do well with the Chief, I get the sense the two of you are…not going to get along."

I shrug "I can be civil if she is. Thanks, Kaidan, I'd best get to work." My use of his name does not go unnoticed by either me or him. Thankfully Shepard said his name back when she met Tali and I on the Citadel, so I at least have a legitimate reason to know his name.

"Of course, Sam. I hope to see you in action soon." I nod in thanks, and we part ways, him presumable off to the corner of the crew deck where he…does whatever he does, and I off down a corridor that didn't exist on the SSV Normandy, so far as I can remember.

Walking through the door at the far end, I'm struck by the fact that this room must surely be directly above the drive core, based on my mental layout of the Normandy. Ah well, probably for the best if I don't ask any questions about that-just in case.

Oh, it seems as if the Alliance treats its crew reasonably well when they're not on duty. My first observations of the Normandy's crew deck can only be described as impressive. Not luxurious, but that's to be expected, it's still the military, but at least comfortable. This is good. The crew shall need the morale booster in the future, if not now. Wait…oh yeah, it won't be this crew fighting the Collectors, and then the Reapers. Never mind! Still, the principle is the same.

I break out of my pointless thought process and hurry through the central area of the crew deck towards the door that Kaidan pointed me towards. I've never really been in a gym before, so I have no idea what to expect from this. Or even some faint idea of what I'm supposed to be doing.

The room I walk into is small, but not so small as to be cramped, and filled with enough fitness equipment that I estimate two or three people could fit in here without any discomfort and have enough room to work out. Looking around the room, I see what appears to be a treadmill, and decide to start there. At least I know what I'm doing with that.

I walk out of the room, tired but happy thanks to the endorphins, three hours after I started and realising I'm probably going to have to meet Ashley in the uniform. Ah, well, the showers provided in the gym are more than functional, so that shouldn't be a problem. I walk quickly down the corridor back towards the elevator down to engineering. I do have some faint notion of the fact that I haven't been told specifically where I'm supposed to be going besides 'Engineering', which isn't especially helpful.

I enter the elevator and it slowly moves down towards engineering, where I find to my surprise a crowd of heavily armed people gathering around the Mako. Looks like the Normandy has arrived at the first Geth Heretic base.

Garrus is closest to me, so I walk up to him. It's odd; it seems as if the artificial two squadmate limit has disappeared here, which is nice to see. I imagine it's going to result in some weird balancing issues considering enemy forces are supposed to work with three people. Or there will just be more Geth/mercenaries/Cerberus/whatever to fight us. Also a possibility. Anyway…

"Hey, Garrus. You guys off to the first of the Geth bases?" Garrus turns, and he's wearing a helmet. I never really like turian helmets, I've no idea why, it's just an irrational dislike. Oh, there's a reason, his voice is oddly synthesized as he speaks.

"Ah, Sam. Yeah, we're getting ready to head down. Dropping from a couple of hundred meters up will be…interesting. You're on your way to meet Ashley?" When I nod, he chuckles quietly "Well, I'd be careful if I were you. She doesn't seem to be best pleased that's she's been kept behind from this one to teach you how to shoot." I wince, as if she didn't dislike me enough already.

"Well, then, I best not keep her waiting any longer than I already have. Good luck down there, Garrus." He nods in gratitude and I turn away, looking for the place where I'm supposed to meet Ashley. I really can't think of a place, based on my knowledge of the games, where there might be enough space to carry out weapons training. Of course, there probably isn't a specific room, it's not like the Alliance regularly picks up civilians. Or, maybe it does. I wouldn't know.

I start to look around the engineering deck, well aware that the time Ashley wanted to meet me at is now long gone. I decide to look for any doors that weren't present in the game, that's probably my best bet.

After about five minutes of looking, I finally find one over by Ashley's workbench-which is probably where I should have started, but oh well.

I walk through the non-canonical door and find myself in a long room, seemingly a jury-rigged shooting range with a couple of crates scattered about, some weaponry on a worktable at my end of the shooting range, and a pissed off looking Ashley Williams. Well shit, looks as if Garrus was dead on, and I really, really wish that he wasn't.

"Where the hell have you been?" She half shouts this, which strikes me as slightly unnecessary. Then again, she was already angry at me for effectively keeping her back from this mission. Then again, she could have told me where to go at some point…

I keep my voice neutral as I speak, trying not to cause further offence. "Well, Chief, it helps if you tell someone where to go when you ask to meet them." Trying not to cause further offence was probably not helped by saying that.

She doesn't even bother responding to that, simply beginning to speak "Well, kid, I don't want to be here, but it isn't my decision. The Commander says that I'm to teach you, and I follow her orders. I want to make it clear, though, that I firmly believe that you're going to be a waste of my time and a waste of Shepard's time. But the decision isn't mine. Are we clear?" Well, I definitely feel welcome.

I shrug, trying not to show how annoyed I am by that little speech of hers "If you can be civil, Chief, so can I." That seems to placate her a bit, which is good enough for me. She nods in acceptance of this, and turns towards the crate with the weapons. She picks up a pistol-I don't recognise the model, my memory of Mass Effect is sadly not archival-and turns back to me.

"Right then. Before we get you shooting anything, I need to be sure that you can fire a gun without breaking every bone in your arm" she pauses for a moment "Wait. Do you actually know how to hold one of these things?" I'm sure that would be considered an insult by anyone else, but since it's accurate for me I'll let it slide.

"Only weapon I've ever held is a bow" she raises an eyebrow "Yeah, I know it doesn't really count as a weapon anymore, but I did some archery when I was younger. Casually, nothing professional or anything. But the instructors always taught that knowing how to hold a rifle helped with learning to aim." Of course, they meant the long, thin rifles of the pre-twenty first century variety "Don't know if that helps." I somehow doubt it will. Considering I'm talking about a bow that was used 170 years ago…sideways through dimensions.

"Well, it might. We'll get to that later anyway, for now, recoil training. Here." She steps forward and proffers the pistol. I take it, and am surprised by how…warm it is. I had expected to feel the cold firmness of metal underneath my hand, but instead I can feel heat emanating from somewhere inside of the weapon. My surprise must have shown on my face, as Ashley chuckles lightly-a change of tune. "Were you expecting something else?"

I hesitate before answering "Something colder. And more metallic, this feels…like some kind of plastic."

Ashley nods "Yeah, most new recruits do to. I'm no engineer, so don't ask me what it's made from, but the heat is down to the firing systems. But, anyway, we should be getting on. Just point the gun down the range, and fire once. Don't worry about hitting anything, the fire isn't live." She stops to think about something, then says cautiously "Try not to break anything." Gee, thanks.

I take a deep breath, and raise the pistol so that my arm is level with my shoulder. I look down the 'range' and finger the trigger, exhaling deeply before I apply a little pressure-

BOOM

And with that, I go sprawling, the gun flying out of my grip as the recoil kicks my arm back, nearly knocking the joint out of position. I land, shoulder first, on the cold metal floor of the shooting range. My head knocks backwards onto the floor, sending ringing noises through my ears as I let out a small yell of pain. I hear the gun clatter to the floor somewhere to the side, but that's fairly low on my list of priorities at the moment.

I lay there for a few moments, gasping for air as I wait for the pain to recede. There's no imminent pain in my arm, so I don't think it's broken, but it really doesn't feel as if my shoulders in the best shape. And it feels like I'm going to have to take Dr Chakwas up on that offer of concussion medication later. After a couple of minutes, I slowly begin to rise to my feet, hobbling slightly as I do so. Ashley just stands there, her expression blank.

I let a smile flicker across my face "Well, that certainly wasn't what I expected." I wince again as a burst of pain flashes from my right arm. She frowns, and I wonder what I did wrong for a moment before she speaks.

"What, no broken bones? Most don't get anywhere on their first day because they spend half of it in the medbay." Wait, was she hoping to break my arm to get off of teaching me? I…won't say anything, but that better not have been her motive.

"Well, the shoulder hurts like hell and I think I might need that medication Dr Chakwas told me about for concussions, but besides that I feel fine."

She seems startled, and pauses for a moment to look me over. Perhaps being able to deal with the recoil…I won't say easily, because it still hurts like hell, but at least I'm not back with Dr Chakwas again. "Well, then, if you're sure you're feeling fine" I confirm this "Then we'd best carry on." She goes to retrieve the pistol and ands it back to me. "This time, I'll start teaching you how to control the recoil. Now, stand the way you were just now."

I dutifully assume the position, arm elevated so the pistol is level to my shoulder, but I keep my finger well away from the trigger. I'm nervous enough after that display, thank you very much. Especially considering the fact that my ears are still ringing. "Ok" says Ashley "Your first mistake is that you're gripping the gun far too tightly. You need to loosen your grip before you fire, and then tighten it to prevent the recoil from hitting you too hard. Understood?" I nod, and she steps back, before telling me to fire.

BOOM

It's not as bad this time, my shoulder gets throw back and the gun goes flying again, but I don't actually end up on the floor. I'm pretty sure that I forgot to tighten my grip after pulling the trigger, and I say as much. "Yeah, well, there's not much I can do to help you there. You're just going to have to get used to the sound of gunshot before that problem goes away, and that can only be done slowly."

I sigh, and nod in understanding. It wasn't as if I seriously expected anything different. "Ok then. What now?" Ashley smiles at me, though there is a slightly vindictive lilt to her voice as she speaks.

"Well, Sam, we practice!" Of course we do.

Over the course of the next four hours, Ashley and I very, very slowly work to get my reaction to the gun recoil under control. We go constantly, with one five minute break when Ashley had to go get a replacement pistol after it hit a wall one too many times.

Eventually I begin to show signs of being able to keep the gun in my hand when I fire, which is definitely an improvement, although the kick is still enough to make continuous fire completely useless.

At this point, Ashley decides the best way to improve my shooting is to, well, give me something to shoot at. To this end, she drags what appear to be a pair of traditional practice boards, the ones with the outlines of s human body on, and then rings like on an archery target to indicate points scored.

She sets them up by propping them up against a couple of crates positioned at the far end of the range, and then simply tells me to shoot them. After about ten minutes of shooting, stopping to let the shoulder pain fade, and then shooting again, Ashley stops me and we walk up to inspect the damage.

It's...suboptimal, to say the least. Most shots fall outside the outline of the body, and those that fall within are really to spread out to be indicative of anything. "This might be effective against and unarmoured human, Sam, but against a shielded Geth this is just going to get you killed." She sighs and turns to me "The only way to get the accuracy up is to work on that kick." Her expression softens slightly, which strikes me as being more alarming than anything else "You did well today, considering it's your first time shooting. Come back here tomorrow at the same time you were supposed to be here today, and we'll get back to work."

I thank her, and turn to leave, but before I walk out the door, she calls after me "Sam" I turn to face her, and she says "We can get you into the field in a week. We'll have to skimp on rifle training, and probably ignore other weapons entirely, but we can get you ready in time." I nod, and walk back to Engineering.

Life continues in much the same way for the next couple of days. I don't see much of the rest of the crew, what with their schedules being so radically different due to them being busy with the Geth bases. Every morning I get up, rush breakfast, go to the gymnasium, and rest for half an hour before heading down to engineering to continue with the shooting practice.

On the second day, Ashley continued with recoil training, and by the end of the session I was able to sustain continuous fire from a stable standing position without the shots spraying too much. It was an improvement, definitely, but I wondered if I was really progressing fast enough to be useful by the end of the week, especially since the ground team had taken out the second Geth base that day. At this rate, they'd be done in three more days.

Nevertheless, Ashley remained scarily optimistic, and I did briefly return to my concern that she was rushing me through just so she could get into the action herself, but I concluded she wouldn't really do that. Hopefully.

On the third day, I walked in to the shooting range to find that Ashley had jury-rigged a system to try and get me into the rhythm of shooting from cover. She had, working with Tali I think, got a group of primitive combat drones, which I personally don't remember seeing before ME2, but what the hell, to bob up and down, firing a small non-lethal bolt of energy whenever they were out of cover. At least, that's what Ashley said. From, I might add, just outside the room.

I had been outfitted with a shield capacitor for this one, but no armour, to better simulate combat. I was just thankful for the extra protection.

I nod at her from my position behind a crate, and she presses a button on her Omni-tool, closing and locking the door to the room, but more importantly, activating the drones. They let off a very particular electronic whir as they move, but this sure doesn't give me any clues as to how high off of the ground they are, as I discover when I poke my head over the top of the crate and immediately get forced to duck again as a blue bolt of something goes zipping over my head.

Sighing, I realise I'm going to have to experience pain at some point, although preferably after my shields are down, and take a deep breath before leaping up into a crouching position and taking a couple of shots at the nearest drone before quickly getting back into my sitting position behind the crate, not waiting to see if I hit the drone or not as a hail of energy bolts sail towards me through the air.

I breathe quickly in and out, not out of exhaustion, but simply out of the bizarre feelings I'm experiencing because of this scenario. Having never shot before in my life, this situation is completely alien to me.

I allow my nerves to calm down, and then repeat the process, noting that the drone I had shot at before was still there, and then taking another couple of shots at it, this time keeping control of the recoil and sending the drone's component parts crashing to the floor. Excellent.

Ducking back down, this time not sitting but crouching with my head just below the rim of the crate, I take a couple of pot shots around the side of the crate, not seriously expecting to hit anything, which contributed to my surprise when I heard one of the drones make a loud whirring noise in complaint. Not disabled, but definitely damaged.

I continue to play this game with the drones, before, after taking down a couple of the drones, noticing a pattern. The drones seemed to have been programmed in such a way as to bob up and down behind the crates in small groups, spread out, yes, but still in groups. Two of those groups have already been damaged, giving me a tactical edge, if I can exploit it.

I stop shooting for a few moments to try and get a sense of when exactly these groups moved. It seemed as if there were always two groups above the crates and capable of shooting at me. So it was simply a matter of decimating those two groups and then focusing on the last one when they were the only ones left.

Hah! Easier said than done, as I discover when I try and figure out the timing of the pattern. I hadn't taken a direct hit to the shield yet, only glancing blows, so when the first bolt flies into the shield over my stomach I nearly topple to the ground in shock as the energy bursts and 'dissolves' over the shield, creating a crackling effect over the whole of the shield. Well, that's an issue.

Over the course of the next ten minutes, I slowly figure out that the time each group has above the crate is about eight seconds. After waiting to allow my shields to recharge, I count out eight seconds and quickly rise up from behind the crate to fire at the group of drones.

As I had predicted, there are four drones visible, and I let out a couple of wild shots at one of them, with luck making one of the shots strike the drone dead on, causing it to let out a sad little whirr before deactivating and collapsing into a heap of mechanical parts on the floor behind the crate.

I duck back down as the drone's fire at me, and then count out another eight seconds before rising back up and bringing another drone tumbling to the floor.

Rinse, and repeat.

Before long, the first two groups of three combat drones have been destroyed, and now I have plenty of time to steady myself before I have to fire. It doesn't take long before the final three drones are on the floor, and I can stand up and appreciate my success.

I'm actually quite pleased with myself there, especially for figuring out the pattern of the drone attacks. It seems that Ashley's optimism might be well founded, even if I do say so myself.

I hear the door click and slide open to my side, and Ashley walks in looking as if she's trying to suppress the impressed look slowly spreading across her face. "Well, Sam, that was excellently done. I'll make a soldier of you yet. Oh, and good work with figuring out the pattern, I hadn't expected you to actually get that.

After the drone exercise, Ashley simply had me go over some of the basics of recoil management and accuracy from cover, before telling me to go and rest, saying that we had finished with the pistols for the moment.

The next day, I headed down to engineering only to be handed an assault rifle. Oh dear, this could be interesting. "Ok then Sam, same way you started with the pistols. Just point it down the range and fire so that we get a sense of how you'll be handling the recoil." I nod, and turn to face down the cleared range.

I bring the assault rifle up so that the stock is digging into my right shoulder, and my left hand is gripping the underside of the 'barrel' of the weapon. This gun is definitely made of metal, with the same plastic covering as the pistol over the grip. I put my finger on the trigger and fire.

It's not quite as dramatic as with the pistol, the assault rifle doesn't go flying across the room, I don't go sprawling to the floor-thankfully, as I never did pick up that concussion medicine, but the stock of the rifle kicks back and nearly breaks my shoulder, and I definitely hear a cracking sound that I'm certain is a clear sign that something's fractured. I howl in pain, which is much worse than even the landing on the Citadel, and grab my right shoulder.

Ashley rushes over, and, after assessing the damage, drags me up to the crew deck to see Dr Chakwas, even though I feel fine by the time we get up there, apart from a slight panging of pain in my shoulder.

It is probably for the best, however, as the Doctor soon discovers that I have a small fracture in one of the bones in my shoulder, but she's able to fix it just as she fixed the fracture in my skull four days earlier. I realise that this is the most injury I've ever received over such a short period of time. Well, I should probably get used to it, what with everything that's going to go down in my immediate future.

After thanking the Doctor returning to the shooting range, Ashley guides me through the basics of gripping an assault rifle. Turns out I was digging the stock too far into my shoulder, a common mistake, I'm told.

After a couple of hours, I'm able to fire the assault rifle without fracturing anything, although it's completely useless shooting, as Ashley demonstrates when she gets out the practice targets. Eventually she sends me away, telling me to let my shoulder heal, as we'll need to work quickly to get me ready by the end of the week.

The next day, the fifth day of my weapons training, I'm given some basic pointers when it comes to accuracy. It's not easy, given that I could barely keep the pistol under control and the assault rifle is much more powerful, but after nearly four hours hammering away at it something eventually starts to give, and by the end of the session I'm at least capable of keeping the fire within the boundaries of the practice targets, even if it is still horrifically spread out.

As I'm leaving that session, I bump into Shepard on the crew deck, and, realising that she should be down on Solcrum taking out the main Geth base, and then realising I shouldn't say Solcrum because then she'll ask how I know about the main Geth base, ask her if she shouldn't be fighting Geth at the moment.

She blinks at me in confusion, and then realisation dawns on her face "Oh, right, of course, you've been training with Ashley. No, there were only four Geth bases that the Alliance could find, and we took them out while you were training over the last few days." And what of the main Geth base, Commander, I don't say "But we were suspicious. There was no sign of any form of command and control anywhere, so we're just checking some other star systems in the cluster to see if we can spot anything bigger." Ah, of course! Solcrum was simply revealed on the Galaxy Map as soon as you take out the final Geth base in the games, in reality the Normandy has to go looking for the Geth HQ. I wonder if Shepard will give Tali the information she needs. "So, Sam, how is your training progressing? Will you be ready by the time we arrive on Feros?"

I shrug "The Chief seems to think so, and I'm inclined to take her at her word. Although I won't be going in with a shotgun or a sniper rifle of any kind, as there isn't enough time, apparently."

Shepard nods "That, I was expecting. Just make sure you're ready with your other weapons, and you'll be fine." She begins to turn away, then stops and turns back "Oh, and by the way, I'll be inspecting the final day of your weapons testing, so do be prepared." She smiles and walks off. All that does is tell me Ashley has something planned for the final day. Wonderful. Well, that'll be interesting to see in two days.

The next day is another drone test, just like the one I had for the pistol training, although it does seem as if the drones have been programmed differently so that they move more randomly, which does make my life slightly harder as I can't just draw a pattern telling me when to shoot. More simulating of real combat though, I suppose.

Oh, and the Normandy found Solcrum today, and the team landed and took out the final Geth base, meaning that today is also my last day of formal weapons training before I through whatever unholy trial Ashley has me go through tomorrow. I don't find out whether or not Shepard gave Tali the Geth data or not. I hope so, it would be good to know that Tali's Pilgrimage gift is secured. Just in case life throws a curveball and she doesn't find anything in time for ME2. That would suck.

On the final day of weapons training, I walk down to the shooting range in engineering not really knowing what to expect. What I definitely was not expecting, however, was that I would walk in and find almost all of the room that I can immediately see is filled with crates towering over my head, making the room seem very dark. It's laid out exactly like the ship missions were always laid out in the game, which is horrifying in itself, but what really makes me nervous is the fact that the table has been moved closer to the door, and lying on it are the assault rifle, the pistol, and the shield capacitor I've been using on the drone training days.

Alongside that there's a datapad with something written on it. I pick it up and try to read what's written on it, squinting as the door closes, and locks, behind me, and I'm forced to adjust to the darkness. The message is simple and mildly terrifying.

Think you can find me?

-Ashley.

Thanks for reading! All feedback is appreciated, please review!

Oh, and sorry about the wonderful plot device known as the 'long side mission'.