Coauthored by Ikate Keda Studios, TheCountryWarrior
???? A.D., less than two weeks after the Lancers’ first baptism by fire
Aboard Daheim One.
Children were a joyous, but destructive force. Loud, generally looked out for themselves, hard to talk too reliably, thought they knew everything and could handle the world. Impossible really, and yet the world needed their chaotic presence to continue the way it had for this long. Two children in particular, were sneaking about the habitation module.
“A’ight Jacob!” The girl whispered loudly. “Da coas’ is clear! Where we goin’ anyway?” She asked, as the boy came out with what looked like an old L85 over his shoulder on a sling. A classic sight. A child doing something they probably weren’t supposed to do.
“ ‘eading to da range Mandi,” Jacob said, doing a bit of a duck walk as he ran. “Mum went ta da rah’el. Er’one is off doin stuff, means it should be emp’y. Den Ah’ll be able ta use dis, and show mum ah can!” He said, looking around at another intersection. “Come on Mandi!” He said, waving her along and starting to run again. It was strange. He was trying to run like a soldier not getting seens, and his sister’s legs were running wild trying to keep up.
Juan had been spending time among his collections, mostly reading, when he heard scurrying in the halls. A certain part of him assumed it was children, there were plenty on the ship, but a small part of him wanted to make sure all was well. He knew it made him seem paranoid, but he quietly walked over to the door of his room and slowly peeked out. It was a tiny soldier, and… a tinier soldier. Only one was armed, with what looked to be an airsoft gun. Kid after his own heart he thought, and he knew what he had to do.
He walked to his wardrobe, and put on his basic body armor in case the kid had a loaded weapon. He grabbed a toy machete he had kept from childhood, and put a bandana around the lower part of his face. Now an evil pirate, he walked out of the room, and started to snicker mischievously as he stalked the children, toy machete raised high. He used cover, and also being a more aware adult, remained unseen, looking to see if these kids had any knack for ‘survival’. Even if survival in this case meant a toy sword in the back.
“Come on!” Jacob hissed, looking down one corridor, waving Miranda along. “Yer slowin me down, ‘urry up!” He said, looking back at Miranda.
“Is not my fault!” Miranda huffed, catching up to him panting as she did. “Yer goin too fast! Ah’m doing me best!”
“Yer goin tah git me caugh’ you’s are,” Jacob said, starting again, Miranda groaning in frustration as she tried to keep up again.
“Bandit” kept his distance for a while longer, before closing in slowly. It wasn’t hard, the children were ironically distracted by pretending to be aware of their surroundings, and he was now only a doorway behind them. With a shout, he leapt from the ‘shadows’! He put on his best pirate yell, a bellowing yet accented noise of scariness! “YAHHHHH!”
Both children turned quickly and screamed at the sound of the adult yelling behind them. Miranda fell over as her body tried to run faster than her legs would let her. Jacob, having his new gun, fumbled with it trying to do something, before dropping it on the ground. The magazine popped out and he just stood there, looking at it with a frown on his face. “Dat wasn’t s’posed tah ‘appen…” He said, sounding dejected.
Juan chuckled, and pulled the mask down. “Don’t worry about it kid, easy mistake, and mostly my fault at that.” He picked up the weapon, locking the magazine in place and handing it back. “Nice weapon you got there amigo, you looking to get in some practice? Is that why you’re stalking the halls with a loaded weapon?”
“Ah was ‘eadin to da range,” Jacob said, kneeling down to pick the airsoft rifle up. “Mum finks ah’m a kid dat can’ ‘elp ‘imself. Ah wanna show ‘er dat ah kin ‘elp meself. Ah just… Need da prac’ice, is all,” He muttered, slinging it back over his shoulder. It wasn’t hard to tell he was sore about dropping it.
“Well, I finks dat was real mean of ya!” Miranda said, getting up and rubbing an eye. “Scaring dusties like dat! Wha’ would yer muvvah fink if’n she knew you was scarin us like dat!” She asked, an impressive scold on her face despite her small size.
Juan giggled to himself, and pointed to her face. “She’d probably look like that at me, and then smack me. And I would deserve it, but she’d understand.” He stands up straight like a true soldier and offers the weapon to the boy. “Pick up your arms trooper! The enemy is at the gates, and he’s got the jump on you! You and your family’s survival depends on your next actions! What will you do?”
Jacob looked at Juan, then at the rifle. “Well… Ah would shoot’cha,” He said, looking at the rifle. “But ah ‘aven’t figured out ‘ow ta make it shoot. I fought da ship ‘ad somefing stopping baps from firin outside da range er somefing,” He shrugged.
“You don’t even know ‘ow to use it?!” Miranda asked, looking at Jacob in disappointment. “You was sayin dat ya knew what ya were doin! Das why ah came along!” She groaned, slapping her forehead in childlike exaggeration. “Ah’m going tah storeh time wif Mr Monty, Ah’ll see ya at ‘ome,” She said, turning and running down the hallway.
Jacob scowled, letting out a frustrated huff. “Fine!” He said, looking at the ground. “Ah’ll go put it back den…” He said, starting to walk off.
Juan chukled, and walked with him for a bit. “Don’t worry kid, you’ll get the hang of it. Then you’ll be the coolest kid onboard! You know, I’m a soldier myself, who better to teach? Wanna head to the range and get some practice in.”
Jacob stopped and looked at Juan. “Las’ time someone offahed ta ‘elp, mum near ripped ‘is ‘ead off. Ah dun wanna git ya in trouble wif ‘er too.” He sighed.
Juan shrugged with a mischievous smile. “Buddy, I am perpetually in trouble with your mom, this is just icing on the cake. I may be one of three people she can’t completely beat up on the ship, let’s do it! I have no fear!”
Jacob thought about it for a minute. “If mum can’ beatcha up…” He said, smiling. “Den ya can’t git in trouble! Dah does make sense!” He said, looking at Juan excitedly. “Are ya really gonna show me ‘ow tah use dis?” He asked. “Ah just want mum to know she dun ‘ave to worry bout me!”
Juan nodded approvingly, and turned down the halls towards the range. “That’s real brave of you brother, your mother would be proud!” Juan takes the child to the range, chuckling to himself at the small child holding a whole-ass gun walking down the halls. The image just seemed funny to him.
At the range, he got the kid a booth with a circle target. “Alright boss, basic gun safety time. Finger does not rest on the trigger casually, ever. I don’t care how cool you think you are, accidents happen to the coolest people. If you accidentally shoot someone, even with the non-lethal pellets, your mother will be very upset with you and throw me out of the airlock. Second, keep it in safety mode when not in a dangerous situation. Once again, stops the possibility of an accident. Third, when not being used, keep the ammo and the weapon in two seperate locations, that way your own arms can’t be used against you. Fourth, hand me the thing.”
Taking the weapon in his arms, he felt it’s weight and whistled. “This thing will build up your muscles in no time, damn! Alright, hold it like this, and breathe slowly.” Juan spent a while teaching the kid about the basics, and they did eventually get to a bit of shooting.
Jacob held the rifle, looking down the range and took a deep breath. “Okay…” He said, squaring up a little better. “Fingah off da trigger until Ah’m ready tah shoot,” He said, digging his cheek into the stock of the weapon. “Keep bofe eyes open… Safety off…” He said, messing up his shooting stance a little to work the safety, but kept the rifle down range. He had been paying attention. “Press da triggah when you wanna shoot…” He said, doing just that, the airsoft gun firing, the blowback making him take a step back as he flinched. “WOAH!” He shouted, looking at the gun. “Da was awesome!” He said, looking at Juan, then down the range. “Did I ‘it anyfing?!”
???? A.D., less than two weeks after the Lancers’ first baptism by fire
Aboard Daheim One.
Children were a joyous, but destructive force. Loud, generally looked out for themselves, hard to talk too reliably, thought they knew everything and could handle the world. Impossible really, and yet the world needed their chaotic presence to continue the way it had for this long. Two children in particular, were sneaking about the habitation module.
“A’ight Jacob!” The girl whispered loudly. “Da coas’ is clear! Where we goin’ anyway?” She asked, as the boy came out with what looked like an old L85 over his shoulder on a sling. A classic sight. A child doing something they probably weren’t supposed to do.
“ ‘eading to da range Mandi,” Jacob said, doing a bit of a duck walk as he ran. “Mum went ta da rah’el. Er’one is off doin stuff, means it should be emp’y. Den Ah’ll be able ta use dis, and show mum ah can!” He said, looking around at another intersection. “Come on Mandi!” He said, waving her along and starting to run again. It was strange. He was trying to run like a soldier not getting seens, and his sister’s legs were running wild trying to keep up.
Juan had been spending time among his collections, mostly reading, when he heard scurrying in the halls. A certain part of him assumed it was children, there were plenty on the ship, but a small part of him wanted to make sure all was well. He knew it made him seem paranoid, but he quietly walked over to the door of his room and slowly peeked out. It was a tiny soldier, and… a tinier soldier. Only one was armed, with what looked to be an airsoft gun. Kid after his own heart he thought, and he knew what he had to do.
He walked to his wardrobe, and put on his basic body armor in case the kid had a loaded weapon. He grabbed a toy machete he had kept from childhood, and put a bandana around the lower part of his face. Now an evil pirate, he walked out of the room, and started to snicker mischievously as he stalked the children, toy machete raised high. He used cover, and also being a more aware adult, remained unseen, looking to see if these kids had any knack for ‘survival’. Even if survival in this case meant a toy sword in the back.
“Come on!” Jacob hissed, looking down one corridor, waving Miranda along. “Yer slowin me down, ‘urry up!” He said, looking back at Miranda.
“Is not my fault!” Miranda huffed, catching up to him panting as she did. “Yer goin too fast! Ah’m doing me best!”
“Yer goin tah git me caugh’ you’s are,” Jacob said, starting again, Miranda groaning in frustration as she tried to keep up again.
“Bandit” kept his distance for a while longer, before closing in slowly. It wasn’t hard, the children were ironically distracted by pretending to be aware of their surroundings, and he was now only a doorway behind them. With a shout, he leapt from the ‘shadows’! He put on his best pirate yell, a bellowing yet accented noise of scariness! “YAHHHHH!”
Both children turned quickly and screamed at the sound of the adult yelling behind them. Miranda fell over as her body tried to run faster than her legs would let her. Jacob, having his new gun, fumbled with it trying to do something, before dropping it on the ground. The magazine popped out and he just stood there, looking at it with a frown on his face. “Dat wasn’t s’posed tah ‘appen…” He said, sounding dejected.
Juan chuckled, and pulled the mask down. “Don’t worry about it kid, easy mistake, and mostly my fault at that.” He picked up the weapon, locking the magazine in place and handing it back. “Nice weapon you got there amigo, you looking to get in some practice? Is that why you’re stalking the halls with a loaded weapon?”
“Ah was ‘eadin to da range,” Jacob said, kneeling down to pick the airsoft rifle up. “Mum finks ah’m a kid dat can’ ‘elp ‘imself. Ah wanna show ‘er dat ah kin ‘elp meself. Ah just… Need da prac’ice, is all,” He muttered, slinging it back over his shoulder. It wasn’t hard to tell he was sore about dropping it.
“Well, I finks dat was real mean of ya!” Miranda said, getting up and rubbing an eye. “Scaring dusties like dat! Wha’ would yer muvvah fink if’n she knew you was scarin us like dat!” She asked, an impressive scold on her face despite her small size.
Juan giggled to himself, and pointed to her face. “She’d probably look like that at me, and then smack me. And I would deserve it, but she’d understand.” He stands up straight like a true soldier and offers the weapon to the boy. “Pick up your arms trooper! The enemy is at the gates, and he’s got the jump on you! You and your family’s survival depends on your next actions! What will you do?”
Jacob looked at Juan, then at the rifle. “Well… Ah would shoot’cha,” He said, looking at the rifle. “But ah ‘aven’t figured out ‘ow ta make it shoot. I fought da ship ‘ad somefing stopping baps from firin outside da range er somefing,” He shrugged.
“You don’t even know ‘ow to use it?!” Miranda asked, looking at Jacob in disappointment. “You was sayin dat ya knew what ya were doin! Das why ah came along!” She groaned, slapping her forehead in childlike exaggeration. “Ah’m going tah storeh time wif Mr Monty, Ah’ll see ya at ‘ome,” She said, turning and running down the hallway.
Jacob scowled, letting out a frustrated huff. “Fine!” He said, looking at the ground. “Ah’ll go put it back den…” He said, starting to walk off.
Juan chukled, and walked with him for a bit. “Don’t worry kid, you’ll get the hang of it. Then you’ll be the coolest kid onboard! You know, I’m a soldier myself, who better to teach? Wanna head to the range and get some practice in.”
Jacob stopped and looked at Juan. “Las’ time someone offahed ta ‘elp, mum near ripped ‘is ‘ead off. Ah dun wanna git ya in trouble wif ‘er too.” He sighed.
Juan shrugged with a mischievous smile. “Buddy, I am perpetually in trouble with your mom, this is just icing on the cake. I may be one of three people she can’t completely beat up on the ship, let’s do it! I have no fear!”
Jacob thought about it for a minute. “If mum can’ beatcha up…” He said, smiling. “Den ya can’t git in trouble! Dah does make sense!” He said, looking at Juan excitedly. “Are ya really gonna show me ‘ow tah use dis?” He asked. “Ah just want mum to know she dun ‘ave to worry bout me!”
Juan nodded approvingly, and turned down the halls towards the range. “That’s real brave of you brother, your mother would be proud!” Juan takes the child to the range, chuckling to himself at the small child holding a whole-ass gun walking down the halls. The image just seemed funny to him.
At the range, he got the kid a booth with a circle target. “Alright boss, basic gun safety time. Finger does not rest on the trigger casually, ever. I don’t care how cool you think you are, accidents happen to the coolest people. If you accidentally shoot someone, even with the non-lethal pellets, your mother will be very upset with you and throw me out of the airlock. Second, keep it in safety mode when not in a dangerous situation. Once again, stops the possibility of an accident. Third, when not being used, keep the ammo and the weapon in two seperate locations, that way your own arms can’t be used against you. Fourth, hand me the thing.”
Taking the weapon in his arms, he felt it’s weight and whistled. “This thing will build up your muscles in no time, damn! Alright, hold it like this, and breathe slowly.” Juan spent a while teaching the kid about the basics, and they did eventually get to a bit of shooting.
Jacob held the rifle, looking down the range and took a deep breath. “Okay…” He said, squaring up a little better. “Fingah off da trigger until Ah’m ready tah shoot,” He said, digging his cheek into the stock of the weapon. “Keep bofe eyes open… Safety off…” He said, messing up his shooting stance a little to work the safety, but kept the rifle down range. He had been paying attention. “Press da triggah when you wanna shoot…” He said, doing just that, the airsoft gun firing, the blowback making him take a step back as he flinched. “WOAH!” He shouted, looking at the gun. “Da was awesome!” He said, looking at Juan, then down the range. “Did I ‘it anyfing?!”