Lt JG Imril - Five Rounds Rapid!
Chris Taylor
(( Holodeck 1 - Deck 2 - USS Artemis-A ))
(OOC: I removed Imril’s tags from what appears to be a section of one-on-one instruction)
Storm: If you know your tendency is to drift left, you can make corrections more easily.
She made eye contact with the Bactrican, making sure they understood what she meant.
Imril: I thought I’d broken that habit in the Academy. Thanks for the note.
Storm: Roy, I’ll want to see your stance one more time.
Roy nodded, the line of his shoulders settling as he stepped back up to the firing line. He adjusted his stance deliberately – one foot slightly ahead of the other, knees soft, elbows tucked.
Bancroft: Like this? ::beat, quirking a brow:: Feels a little… wrong.
Storm closed the distance between them. Her eyes moved from point to point, gauging his stance. Then, about three feet away, she stopped.
Storm: Your trigger finger looks stiff. ::She held out a hand to stop him:: Don’t pull the trigger now, but when you do pull the trigger, do you yank it or caress it? If you tend to yank at it, I want you to try caressing it. Imagine it were a woman, I hope you wouldn’t grab her and pull her to you, but you’d reach out gently and draw her close.
Imril paid firm attention to Storm’s instructions, knowing they could prove useful to them even if they weren’t directed at them. But the metaphor she was using suddenly got awkward for her. Her mouth hung open, and her eyebrows drew in.
Storm: I mean… you know. If you prefer women. I suppose it would be the same otherwise.
Stepping off to the side, she said…
Storm: I’m going to watch from over here. I want to see you shoot again; let me know when you’re ready.
She stood only slightly in front of Roy but way off to the outside, so he couldn’t hit her unless he tried.
She was still within throwing distance of the phaser, Imril noted to themself.
He inhaled slowly, let half of it out, then held. Eyes forward. Focus tight.
Bancroft: Ready, ma'am.
Storm: Give me five shots this time.
The instructor and other student watched his mechanics as he began. Five shots later, Storm asked:
Storm: What’s your opinion of the Lieutenant’s shooting, Imril?
Imril: It looks fair to me, Lieutenant.
Imril felt like Storm had caught something she’d hoped her students would see. But whatever it was, the engineer hadn’t caught it.
Bancroft: Response
Walking back up to the wall, she stood just off to the side of the target.
Storm: First off, do you always close your left eye when you shoot?
Bancroft: Response
Storm: Don’t. Shoot with both eyes open. It may feel awkward at first. But over time, it will help improve your aim. Next question. When you aim at the target, where are you actually looking?
Bancroft: Response
Storm’s lips curled up as she listened to Roy. She took a step over in front of the target.
Storm: Now, look at the target. ::She watched his eyes:: No…I’m not moving. Look at the target.
Her head slowly tipped up and down.
Bancroft: Response
Storm: Look through me at the target. And when I eventually move, I want you to do the same thing still. Look through the target. ::Turning to Imril, and walking to the side.:: Your turn, Lieutenant. Five shots at the target.
Imril waived until after she’d taken her new place before disengaging the safety.
Now all eyes were on them. A marked difference from when they and Roy had been shooting simultaneously. And Rym, they know understood, would be expected to critique their shots as they had his. Maybe he’d have more to say, maybe he wouldn’t. They weren't exactly intimidated by this knowledge, but it did make them more conscious of their every motion as they readied to shoot.
The raising of their phaser to face the target.
The resetting of their pose to accommodate Storm’s prior instructions.
The furrowing of their brow to trim their view down and remove distractions.
The slow, deliberate aiming of the weapon.
Looking ‘past’ the target, through it, as Storm had stated to Roy.
The minute adjustment to the right to compensate for any unintentional drift the other way.
Before pressing the trigger, Imril psyched themself up with a line which was part and parcel of the holoprogram that they’d mentioned.
Imril: .oO(I am the law!)Oo.
Five shots left their phaser in short order. Three burn marks took form scattered across the target’s left ribcage, Imril’s right. The last two landed more-or-less in the target’s belly. Each circle cooled to Operations gold as the others shared their thoughts.
Bancroft/Storm: Response
Imril: I think I did alright. But I could have done better.
They tended to think that of a lot of things.
Bancroft/Storm: Response
Imril: I didn’t completely re-aim for every shot, no. I made adjustments based on where the last shot hit. Too high, angle lower. Too far right, go a teeny bit left. Accuracy versus speed of fire is always a trade-off, I know.
Bancroft/Storm: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant JG Imril
Engineering Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240110I12