Fandom High Dormitories

When the gun club members arrived today, they'd been handwavily informed to wear old clothes that they didn't mind ruining.

"Using firearms is a privilege and a responsibility, and if we haven't beaten that into your heads yet, today ought to do it," Makita chirped at her classmates. "Today? We're doing basic upkeep on our range. We use it, so we care for it. This means washing down the counters, repainting, sweeping, and replacing targets and supplies."

Triela nodded at Makita in approval. "We're doing this for two reasons. First, as Makita mentioned, to remind you that this is a privilege. Second, to remind you just how destructive a gun can be. Some of today's clean-up will be from normal wear and tear, but a lot of it is going to be bullet damage. Pay attention to the walls, floors, and ceilings at the far end of the range. Look at the damage done at the shooting benches from recoil. It's important that you don't forget how much damage we're capable of doing."

"We've got plaster for hole-patching, paint, cleaning supplies, the moddable works," Makita agreed, already rolling up her sleeves and grabbing some plastering tools. "Let's get going, comrades!"

As usual, Triela had brought a lot of her own gear to the range today. But some of it was new. Specifically, she had a small stack of wooden cut-outs that were shaped like pistols, but were clearly props. "Today we're going to do something a bit different," she announced with a small smile. What? She liked changing things up on people.

"Today, we're playing Keep-Away!" Maki, don't smile at people like that, it's disturbing. "Or, 'what do to when the other person has a gun and you don't.'"

"Most of you are going to be new to this, so we'll be practicing. And that means no live guns. So everyone safe and stow your weapons." Triela wasn't about to risk someone getting shot during an exercise because they were waving a live gun around. "And then come collect one of these," she added, holding up one of the wooden props.

"Do not hit each other with your fake-guns, either." It needed to be said. "Now, to be honest, the best thing to do when someone else has a firearm is to get the hell out of there. Call for help, head towards a crowded area where they may be more hesitant to fire. Don't be stupid, and don't be a hero. But sometimes, that is not an option."

"Exactly. You've all been around guns long enough by now to see how much damage one can do, so if you can disengage and find cover, that's the first choice. Sometimes, though, it's not an option. In that case, the first thing you need to understand is that you only ever get one chance to do this right. Mess up, and you'll get shot for your trouble. So we're going to practice this, and Makita and I are going to be very, very picky." No screwing around!

"The wrist is small, so unless you have very good aim, try to hit them in the shoulder or elbow to loosen the grip on the gun," Makita continued, pointing out weak spots on her own body. "Get above them and drop something, or hit from behind. If you can knock them out, that's better than just disarming."

Triela nodded in agreement. "And in the absolute worst case scenario in which they get the drop on you? The most important thing to do is control where the gun is pointing. It takes practice, which is what we're here for today, but if you're fast enough you can control the angle of a gun even if the person you're up against is bigger than you." She cocked her head. "Quick demonstration?" she suggested to Makita.

Makita did not have a wooden gun; Makita had a tiny squirt pistol. Because she was an organizer and she said so. "We'll do this in slow-motion a few times, so that you can see what we're doing," she said, taking aim at Triela.

The squirt gun got an amused little eyeroll, but then Triela moved. "Remember, the most important thing is to control which way the barrel of the gun is pointing. That means you don't just knock it out of the way, you have to grab something." She turned, her body twisting to bring a hand toward Makita's wrist. "Don't just grab someone's wrist. It doesn't actually control what matters." She paused for a moment to let Makita demonstrate the fact that someone holding your wrist just made it hard to aim at them, not impossible.

Whatever, Triela would get to use it in a few minuets. She could roll her eyes all she wanted; Makita was going to pull the trigger to demonstrate that aiming was harder, not impossible. "She'd be better off striking up, under my chin to force my head back," she offered, firing at her co-instructor. "Or, really, any number of things except grabbing my wrist."

"The wrist isn't necessarily a bad grab, but only if you can get another hand in to control the gun itself." Triela reached around with her other hand and wrapped it around the gun. "That way you control the weapon. You win if you keep control, and you win if you can incapacitate your opponent without getting shot. Those are your only two options. So everyone pair up and try some things out." Her smile was a bit cold. "Makita and I will come give you some pointers."

Triela had come in early to put up new targets for this week. Full-body silhouettes, with legs and everything. Someone wanted to talk about disabling people.

Which was fine with Makita; it gave her a chance to show off her aim.

"Salaam!" she sang once everyone had arrived. "Sometimes, you cannot shoot to kill. Sometimes you have questions, but a person, they seem to think running away means they do not need to answer those questions! In these cases, it is best to shoot to disable."

Triela grinned. "It's important to remember that no matter what you aim at, guns are potent weapons. You can kill someone pretty easily, even if you're not trying to. But! There are a few things to keep in mind if you want to keep people from running away or fighting without actually killing them." Hospital, not morgue. She had one of the targets up front for illustration purposes. "First thing to know, if you're trying to keep someone alive? Don't shoot them anywhere in the torso or head. Chances are you'll do something bad if you do. Arms if you want them to drop some sort of weapon, legs if you want them to stop running away."

"I like the shoulder," Makita suggested. "It's usually painful enough that they'll drop, and you can apply pressure to slow or stop the bleeding, which is harder to do in the arm or leg. Also, if they are running, it is easier to hit than a limb in motion."

Triela nodded at Makita, then shrugged. "Like I said, there's no guarantee that someone will live just because you hit them in the arms or legs. There are major arteries in there, after all, but it's more likely than if you shoot them in the head."

"If you've got any questions, ask. Otherwise, get to practicing."

Triela had been taking Leto's advice and recording her dreams, but it wasn't really helping them go away, so she wasn't sure it was helping.

The range usually helped her concentrate.

Except today it wasn't working. Her head was pounding and she couldn't draw a bead on the target. She scowled and set the shotgun down before drawing her pistol. Maybe she'd have better luck with that.

She managed to get a couple of shots wildly downrange before her hand spasmed wildly and the pistol fell clumsily to the floor with a clatter.

That was... definitely not good.

[Open!]

Most of the time Triela found spending time on the shooting range to be quite good at focusing her attention. Not that focus was often a problem. Training, inclination, and Conditioning all combined to keep her from becoming too distracted most of the time. Which, really, was a good thing on the range since guns were not toys.

But she was still distracted by her most recent trip home, and that meant that while she was at the range and needing to focus, she was obviously distracted. She showed up early, which wasn't unusual, but then she leaned back against the wall and stared off into space. No special activity, or even tea today.

Unless someone else brought them, which would be cool.

"I know you're all familiar with them by this point, but I'm still going to talk about pistols today." She drew the one from her shoulder holster. "Pistols are small, portable, and quite deadly. They don't have the range of a rifle, or even an SMG, but it turns out that most firefights take place at ranges so short that a pistol is plenty effective. The low weight, quick handling, and ease of concealment mean that no matter what else you're carrying, you might as well carry a pistol too."

"Yep. That's pretty much it. I won't bore you with all the reasons some people prefer them as primary weapons. Suffice to say that for quite a few situations a pistol is the best choice."

Triela grinned. "So it's a good thing you're learning to use them, huh?"