Peter Prellwitz - Shards Book One

I walked over to the range and hefted the gun. He followed me.

"Here's the safety, load indicator and sonic sighting. When the indicator lights, you've acquired target lock."

"No laser sighting?"

"Nope. Sound sights are lighter and they don't give off that telltale beam which can also be locked onto for return fire. Also, the range of a weapon this small is short, so the sonics are accurate enough. Aim it like this…"

He stepped up close to me and put his right hand on my shoulder, extending his left arm out along mine.

His face was alongside mine, a little higher. It made me vaguely uneasy. I shrugged him off a little bit, and he backed up, his ears burning.

"Sorry! Didn't mean anything. I just wanted…"

"Please. It's all right. I should apologize. I'm still uncomfortable with…? I let my voice trail off.

He laughed.? Me, too! I've heard all about it. Everyone has. I suppose we're all kinda walking on eggshells first time we see you. It's gotta be pretty hard… you know…? He gave me a fatherly smile, and it felt very good inside me.? Let's try again, okay?"

"Okay. I've got the training, by the way, but thanks for the assist. Have you any targets?"

"Wouldn't be much of a range if I didn't, would it? Agnes! Give our young guest something to shoot."

Dutifully, a standard bulls eye appeared about one third of the way down the range, perhaps twenty meters. I lifted the gun and shot, not bothering to aim. The gun kicked hard in my hand and a tone went off. The target, a floating hologram, indicated with a gold ring where the bullet had gone. On a target one meter in diameter, I was about half way in. I cursed quietly. But not quietly enough, because my new friend's eyes got wide. Blushing from my lack of control with both mouth and gun, I lifted the gun again and fired. Closer but not good. The third shot drifted out further, and by the time I fired the ninth and last round, I was missing the target completely and the gun was getting too heavy to lift.

"I can't believe how heavy this thing is already!"

"Sorry. I picked out the lightest slug gun we have. I don't think it'll work for you. Your hands and arms don't have the strength. You'll be stronger in a couple years, but it's not going to change much."

"I'm beginning to get that idea that more and more. I'm big on flexibility but short on everything else. I don't think this is the one. Anything lighter?? I handed the gun back.? I just realized, I haven't asked your name."

"No problem.? He reloaded the gun with a flick of his wrist and handed me a second gun.? I'm Darrin Woodside. Just call me Dusty. Don't have a rank. At least, I don't use it. When you're the only one that can fix everything, rank doesn't mean a whole bunch."

"All right, Dusty. Let's try number two. Energy based, isn't it?"

"Yep. This one's pretty slick. It fires plasma, so its gotta kick, and she pulls a might high and right. But she's also got a two second recharge cycle, a slightly oversized power pack, and does more damage than you'd think. Give it a try."

This gun was far lighter, though nearly as bulky. I activated the sonic sight and snapped on the charge cycle. A small tone gave me cycle complete and a second tone told me I had target acquisition. Aiming a little low and left, I squeezed the trigger.

The gun bucked hard and the hologram disappeared. In its place was a gold ring nearly a meter and a half in diameter. Not too big on subtlety, I concluded. This was what we called a percentage gun. Pull the trigger enough times and the percentages were always on your side. Aiming in anything other than a vague direction was a waste of time. I shut off the charging cycle and handed it back to him.

"Uh… no, thanks. I prefer to have the option of identifying who I've shot. Maybe even ask the dead body questions. It's kinda nice to select targets with a little more, um, discrimination."

"Ah! We have an artist! A lady after my own heart! Then this is the one for you!? He handed over the third and final gun. Just its feel told me he'd saved the best for last. Like the blunderbuss, this was energy based, with similar control. As with the other two, it had a sonic sight. Best of all, its weight was perfect, and the balance very centered. A quick gun. I smiled and nodded. He grinned in agreement.

"I knew you'd like it. It has nowhere near the power of the other two, but if you prefer accuracy, she's the one. It's pure energy, so no kick. The range is pretty good, and the sonic sight is an improved model, with greater range and faster target acquisition. To top it all off, the recharge is only about four seconds.

Give it a try."

"Target.? I snapped on the sonic sighter and started the charge cycle. The standard hologram bulls eye appeared and I fired. The gun made no sound, nor had any kick as a hazy, thin beam shot from the gun.

It was a single burst, but it went true, missing the center by less than ten centimeters. Four seconds later, there was a hole two centimeters closer in. After a minute, a dozen gold rings overlapped each other and the bulls eye. I shut the gun off and passed it back.

"This is the one, Dusty. Can you hold it for me until Corporal Lendler can put her John Hancock down?

? At his stare, I giggled.? Okay, an ancient phrase. Hold it until Susan releases it."

His face cleared up.? I can do you one better. Come over here.? He led me to a small recess in the wall. Less than a half-meter cubed, it was coated on the inside with what looked to be featureless white plastic. It looked like a microwave, sans door, carved into the rock. Even the controls looked like it should have said bake, broil, and warm. He placed my gun into it and turned on the machine. It illuminated, but didn't seem to do anything else. After a few moments, the light went out and he retrieved the gun.

"Now, stick your hand in there.? Being left-handed, I put that one in. He activated the machine and the light came on. My hand tingled a bit. After a few moments, a large rod lifted from the floor of the recess.

"Grab onto the rod. Use all your strength and try to squeeze it into two in the middle.? I did so. It was soft and pliable, but stiffened as I squeezed. I put all my strength into it, and finally had to give up, having made it less than halfway through. When I released the rod, it snapped back to its cylindrical form and sank back into the bottom.

"Good, now move your hand around for a few seconds. No particular way, but try to do all three axes.

Turn it over a couple times, too.? I did so and, after a few seconds, the light went out and the tingle faded.

"And now we do both.? He handed me the gun and, taking my hand, put it back in. He activated the machine and had me move my hand and gun around for about thirty seconds. The light shut off a final time.

"Great! Stop by and pick her up tomorrow and I'll have it customized for your grip and strength."

"Thanks a lot, Dusty!"

He waved a hand.? No thanks needed. I enjoy using my skills for a change. Mostly, I get gorillas who only want power, power, power. There's only about five or six who prefer quality to quantity. So it's my pleasure, Abigail. By the way, if you want to have Lendler stop by later, she can 'put her John Hancock'

down then and not need to be here tomorrow."

Thanking him once more, I left in a very good mood, though I was a little ashamed of the way I had shrugged him off when he touched me. He was sweet.

Agnes opened the door for me, and I stepped into the hanger. It had been pretty active about twenty minutes ago, but I hadn't paid much mind. After finding out that Susie was still not in the compound, I wandered around, spending the time to figure out this little piece of my new world.

The front end of the cavern on my side back to where the ramp led up to Dr. Barrett's office was filled with a dozen armored vehicles. I climbed into one to take a look at the controls, but it yelled at me, so I just did an outside visual inspection. They were all hover vehicles, and looked built for quick strikes, with speed acting as armor.