Marlowe escorted Chrissy and Nathaniel over to the rest of the group where Ava was standing on the firing platform. She picked up a pistol PRAC and studied it. She turned the barrel towards Jay, who ducked immediately. Ava's next swivel was met by the backs of Marlowe's hands, which stopped Ava from pointing the barrel at her.
"Miss Sinclair, I understand your enthusiasm. However, I must remind you these are still weapons."
Ava sheepishly smiled and complied, pointing the barrel down the range. She firmly grasped the handle and smiled in delight.
Click.
Nathaniel and Chrissy flinched when she pulled the trigger, but nothing came out. Ava exhaled while putting the PRAC back onto the range table.
"Sorry, Game Warden. This is the first time I've ever held one of these…PRACs? Is that what they're called?"
Ava stepped aside as Marlowe took two weapons from the table.
"Portable Resonance Amplifier for Combat," Marlowe started, presenting a rifle and pistol to her newest recruits.
Chrissy and Nathaniel gave each other a side-eye. She grabbed the pistol from Marlowe, leaving Nathaniel the rifle. Marlowe drew one of her pistols and aimed it down wind.
"To answer your questions, Miss Sinclair–"
"Please, Ava."
"–Ava, PRACs fire resonance shots. A way for the untrained to contribute, should the need arise."
Marlowe turned to Chrissy and Nathaniel. She tapped the glass chamber with another hand and turned back to Ava.
"Did the RRET teach you how PRACs work, Chrissy?"
Marlowe lowered her head, waiting for a response.
"Yes, but since I don't use them I can't remember–"
"That's a no. But since I know I won't hide such things from you."
Nathaniel coughed. Chrissy tightened the grip around her PRAC and shot a glare at him.
"Ava," Marlowe started, "PRACs are capable of firing two types of shots. Travlack is required to keep his on the slug setting, only escalating to standard should he have to. Since this is your first time firing one, I will demonstrate for you."
Marlowe drew her personal sidearm and pointed it down the range.
Tck
Chrissy's shoulders tensed. She felt a soft pinch of pressure in her head.
Click
Click
Click
Each shot connected in close proximity with each other. The pressure in her head dissipated with the hiss of smoke from Marlowe's PRAC.
"Regardless," Marlowe said, "This is why we don't hold it with our finger on the trigger. More so, point it at anything we don't plan to shoot, Ava."
"Apologies, Game Warden–and you too, Jay! I nearly put another hole in your hair. How reckless of me."
"Don't apologize, Ava" shrugged Jay. "You had no idea. It's all good!"
Marlowe slowly turned her head to Chrissy and Nathaniel.
"It could only be reckless if you pointed the barrel knowing the consequence of pulling the trigger," Marlowe stated.
Marlowe handed her PRAC over to Ava and stepped behind her. She guided Ava's hands around the handle and lined her shot down range.
"Take a deep breath, let the energy leave your hand…"
The PRAC hummed low.
"You'll hear two sounds. The first will let you know you reached capacity in the chamber."
Tck.
The pressure in her head surfaced again. Chrissy's shoulders and fingers tightened without her consent.
"The second will be your finger pulling the trigger."
Click.
Ava fired a bolt down the range and hit the target dead in the center. A calm hiss emanated from her PRAC as she squealed and held it to the sky. She brought it down, inspecting every inch of the PRAC. Chrissy's shoulders relaxed as Ava rapidly fired questions at Marlowe.
"Fascinating! I've always seen these but I've never fired one! How many stronger chambers do you have! Do they fire faster? What does PRAC stand for? How do rifles work? Which one has the most–"
Chrissy watched Ava cut herself off, place the PRAC back on the range table, and straighten her shoulders. After a deep breath, she spoke again.
"Thank you for letting me use your tools, Game Warden," Ava said, stepping off the firing platform. "They're entertaining, to say the least."
"Please, Myrtle will do. Chrissy, you're up next."
Marlowe and Ava exchanged places with Chrissy on the firing platform. She squinted down range at her blurry target and raised her PRAC.
…
Click.
It was the trigger, not the chamber. Her PRAC hissed resonance out of the side vents, releasing it back into the air. Chrissy furled her brow and glanced at the gun, betrayed.
"Not enough reso," noted Marlowe, "You can't rush it."
Chrissy held the PRAC up again.
…
Click.
Click.
-Click.
All three noises had been the sound of the trigger. A hiss from her firearm responded to her impatience.
"Chrissy," chuckled Jay, "I don't think that's how she did it-"
"That's how she did it!"
"Stop trying to do it like I did it," Marlowe sighed. "Fanning the chamber comes after you fire it normally. Nathaniel, step up beside her."
Chrissy made room for Nathaniel. She leaned over the railing and observed him readying himself.
Tck.
Tck.
Tck.
Tck.
Tck.
Nathaniel's PRAC rifle had five glowing segments on the inside.
He aimed down the sights and stood motionless.
His finger hovered by the trigger.
…
The hiss of his gun was louder than Chrissy's. Each segment on his rifle lost their light as resonance rose back into the air. Nathaniel lowered the rifle to wipe the sweat off of his forehead and exhaled audibly.
"Stop trying to go past the cap," chided Marlowe. "Once it's full, it's full. And breathe, Mr. Bosh, otherwise you'll faint before you fire."
Marlowe reached behind them and took more PRAC's off of the range table.
"I will be over by the other firing stand with Ava and Jay. Travlack will remain here."
Travlack hopped between them on the firing stand and nodded to Marlowe. A minute later, Ava's laughter could be heard in between the clicking and hissing of Chrissy and Nathaniel's PRACs.
"Watch."
Travlack held his pistol out, his hand curled around the pearl handled PRAC.
"Focus."
The glass chamber glowed. His weapon came to life with a controlled hum.
Tck.
"Fire."
Click.
A single bolt hit center mass.
Nathaniel held his rifle over his shoulder and sighed.
"Why not just cast it?"
Nathaniel held his hand out. After seconds of silence, a bolt shot from his hand and struck the target shy of the torso.
Travlack raised his PRAC and let five shots fly in the same time it took Nathaniel to fire one. His rapid shots deviated from the center to the outer rings. The hiss of his PRAC was overshadowed by Travlack's deep chuckle.
"Quicker. Efficient. Evens the field."
Travlack stepped off the firing platform and motioned for them to continue. Chrissy held her PRAC firm and willed her resonance to fill the chamber.
…tck.
She smirked.
Click.
Chrissy's shot strayed far from the target into the tree line. A familiar screech was heard bolted from the forest and landed on the range table. It was Neville, who grappled onto Chrissy's chest and chittered incessantly.
"My fault? Neville Fairfield Taniel, yae sa-nae fi din po-ge zova! Dan-"
The sound of five shots freed from the barrel stopped her. Chrissy and Neville turned down range to see Nathaniel's range target had three new marks. She turned back to see a dry smile from Nathaniel as he lowered his gun.
"Travlack," he started, "You're right. That barely took any energy."
Chrissy scrunched her nose and returned to Neville. He jumped off her chest onto the railing, and faced his back to her.
"Codole, Neville. Just…try to stay anywhere but where we're firing, ok?"
Neville chittered again and flew off.
The next two days fell into routine. The cabin at the checkpoint had enough rooms for everyone to sleep by themselves. The maroon stim sacs that were drained from her previous encounter in the cave finally regained their saturated color. Chrissy, Nathaniel, and Travlack joined Marlowe on her evening perimeter walks; they found evidence of poacher activity, residue of resonant beasts, but no reliable way to know their number. Any spare time Chrissy had was spent next to Nathaniel, in silence, firing on the range.
Nathaniel turned out to be a decent shot when he focused.
Chrissy never hit the target once despite hers.
Nathaniel and Chrissy were still firing on the mid-afternoon of the third day. Chrissy raised her PRAC, filled the pressure chamber, lined the shot and–
A clamor from the cabin caused her to lose focus. Raised voices, hurried footsteps, and Marlowe's stern voice caused Nathaniel and Chrissy to trot inside the house. Everyone was standing over a forest ranger, a dark green woman, as she lay bleeding on the cabin floor. Marlowe kneeled over her, her four hands dressed the wound simultaneously. Regis lay next to her in a pool of dried blood.
"Sherry…," Nathaniel whispered, "Sherry–is she going to be okay?"
Nathaniel moved forward but was stopped by Regis.
"Don't crowd Marlowe," he coughed.
"Marlowe," Chrissy asked, "Where are the other rangers?"
She wrapped the last of the wound and stood before answering Chrissy's question.
"They're out on their perimeter walk, I don't know when they'll be back but they better be coming soon. Jay, carry Sherry down to the basement and take Ava with you. Regis, how many were they?"
"Five, ma'am," he coughed. "Four close range, one long range–put the hole in Sherry. The one with the machete is their leader."
"Heard. Head to the basement and barricade it."
Jay and Regis complied. Ava called for Vae and threw her around her neck and moved down to the basement.
"Chrissy you're with me. If they did get followed, we cannot let them inside. Nathaniel, go to the second floor windows and support us from there. Travlack, stick near the house in case something happens to him."
Chrissy followed Marlowe, who made a warpath for the front door. Her eyes followed the trail of blood and footprints from the cabin to the forest. Following that trail was a group, led by a man wielding a machete over his shoulder.
Chrissy and Travlack tensed behind Marlowe stood with all four guns held to her side. The group of five kept walking until they were twenty steps away from each other.
"Tresspassing, attempted murder on a forest official, and poaching," Marlowe stated, "Drop your weapons and surrender."
The group looked amongst themselves and chuckled. Marlowe raised a PRAC and fired into the air–quieting the forest. She then brought her pistols down, pointed at the poachers.
"I won't ask again."
A rifle PRAC raised in response from the group, but a man with an axe stepped up first.
"We could have killed them, you know. We need the evidence–"
The poacher with the machete raised his hand, silencing him.
"We need any and all data related to the bodies in the forest you have. Without a fight. Hand it off, and we'll be out your way."
Chrissy squinted at the rest of their crew. The axe man stepped back near the man with a sword. On the other side of the leader was a woman carrying a rifle PRAC, and a man with chains beside her
"No idea what you're talking about," Marlowe stated. "Now surrender, or threatening a Game Warden will be added to your charges."
The group exchanged looks with each other. A sigh escaped from the leader.
"Wound them," he said. "Deeply. Then find the evidence."
Marlowe fired first. She let four shots ring before repositioning outside of Chrissy's view. The one with the sword raised a barrier and led a charge toward Chrissy and Travlack.
The axeman jumped and brought his hand down on Chrissy, who sidestepped the strike. She swung a hook to catch his arm, but the axeman caught her wrist with his free hand. He brought his axe up, but Travlack charged him out of the way with his shield.
A feather flew off the axeman when Travlack hit him.
A verdant green.
With yellow streaks.
Dried blood on the–
The pressure in her head built up.
Chrissy looked up to see the rifleman lining a shot on Travlack, then caught glimpses of the leader chasing Marlowe down–a glint of metal caused her to react. It was the swordsman who cut her shirt with a wild thrust.
Chrissy backed up and readied her block. She parried the next strike and caught the third, interlocking the handle with her hook. She struggled to maintain her lock as the man with the sword stepped into her. Twisting his grip, Chrissy managed to force the sword from his hand. She shoved him away and followed up with a side kick to the base of his neck, staggering him.
Before she could continue, a chain caught her arm. Though she gave up no ground, she could not pry herself free. She turned to see Travlack deflect a shot from the gunner and bring his mace into the joint of the axeman, who howled in pain.
Marlowe looked worse for wear when she appeared in front of Chrissy. Her hat had been lost in the action, and her jacket was sliced in several places. She focused fire on their riflewoman, causing her to hide behind a nearby tree. The swordsman had recovered, and Marlowe rushed to keep the attention on herself. Chrissy used a hook to pry a gap in the chain, almost free of its grip.
Travlack hit the axeman in the other knee and ran toward Chrissy. When he got close, Chrissy saw his eyes were staring past her. She turned around to see the leader bringing down his machete, but a placed shot from above knocked him to the ground.
From the second story window of the cabin was Nathaniel, who let four more shots fly. The leader rolled out of the way, only suffering another shot to his bicep. Travlack ran to engage him, leaving Chrissy still fight the chain main. In a desperate bid, she raised her hook, intent to cut the line. A slug shot hit her raised arm, causing her to drop a hook.
The gunwoman swiveled and hit the window where Nathaniel was, causing him to falter. Marlowe fired a round of shots at the markswoman, forcing her to cover behind the tree again.
Chrissy reached for the PRAC on her side, and slowly raised it toward the chainman.
Tck.
Chrissy took aim.
Click.
The bolt missed the chainman, who flinched but held his grip. Chrissy cursed and went to line another shot before a familiar battle cry sounded from the trees.
The chainman turned his head to meet the skull of Neville, who struck his head hard enough to cause slack in the chain. Chrissy freed herself immediately and shouted to Neville.
"Neville–rousa! Find someone and bring them here!"
Neville ran off and while she ran toward the chainman, causing him to run towards the axeman. His knees buckled as he stood up slowly.
Chrissy made the first move. She brought her hook down on the man only for him to block and return with a gut punch with his free hand. Chrissy wobbled back and regained herself just in time to sway a swipe to her chest. She raised her knee for a front kick–another glint of metal.
Chrissy instinctively ducked a chop to the head from the leader. She kicked the axeman in the knee, causing him to drop hard, and rolled so that her back faced the cabin. She saw Travlack restrained by the chainman, and Marlowe evading the swordsman. One of her wings had been punctured, and she was unable to disengage.
The leader walked toward Chrissy. From behind him the axeman limped up and started to make his way to the cabin. Chrissy took a step to block him but in one step the leader moved to block her.
With another step, he was right in front of Chrissy.
Chrissy blocked three quick strikes but was not able to avoid a kick to her chest, which sent her skidding. She used her hooks to stop her slide and launched herself back on her feet.
The limping axeman was almost by the entrance stairs.
Chrissy focused her resonance into her legs and blitzed, making a beeline for the axeman. She tried to take a narrow angle to minimize the distance, but the leader caught her body with his forearm. The initial impact of his arm stuttered her system.
The slam into the ground shocked it.
Chrissy fought to get up, but the leader used a knee to pin her arm to the ground. Before she could recover he reached over and grabbed her other arm, rendering it useless.
Chrissy turned her head to see the axeman limping into the entrance of the cabin.
Travlack struggled with the chainman.
The markswoman lined a shot on Marlowe as the swordsman kept her occupied.
"Let's see," said the leader, "I think I'll take a leg. Consider it even for what you did to my friend there."
Thmp. Thmp. Thmp.
Chrissy's chest started to glow hot pink. Her heartbeat became audible, which caused the leader to raise an eyebrow before a heel slammed into his face.
That was not Chrissy's heel, however.
He went skidding back toward the markswoman as a DLF inspector walked past her.
"Proca togi carafin, ranger. Using RIG goes against that order."
She looked up to see the Pale Yervite inspector with a flamberge over her shoulder. Chrissy stood in time to see the axeman backing away from the cabin as a man with a spear came out.
"Mishki-ch-emisha!", said a voice behind Chrissy.
They all turned to see the chainman and the swordsman flying through the air, both rolled and recovered toward their leader. A stout woman cracking her knuckles helped Travlack up as she walked toward Chrissy.
The inspector with the spear came and joined the group.
"Sorry for our tardiness, Travlack. Uriel was giving us directions."
"Coshki, William," said Uriel. "We're short staffed, my directions had nothing to do with it."
"Warden Marlowe," called Valyn, "Are you alright?"
Marlowe joined the group and stuffed her hat back on her head.
"Fine enough."
She spat blood in the dirt and continued.
"What took the DLF so long to send you out here?"
"Lich, bandit camps, traffickers…" trailed Uriel.
"Kidnappers, murderers, husks," stated Nathaniel.
"Muted Chorus. Anomalies. Civilians," sighed Valyn.
"As always," muttered Travlack.
"These guys are lightweights. No offense to you guys, of course," said Uriel.
William scanned the poachers and stepped forward, readying his spear.
"Are you good to continue Travlack? Ranger?"
"It's Chrissy," she said, readying her hooks, "And I'm more than good."
Travlack nodded.
William slammed the butt of his spear in the ground and addressed them. Chrissy watched a small circle begin to carve around where he hit the ground.
"You are speaking to Inspectors William Grellen, Valyn Coxa, and Uriel Clarke on behalf of the DLF. You are under arrest, do not resist."
The poachers looked among themselves. The markswoman snapped up and fired a shot at Chrissy. William moved his hand and the shot fizzled on his barrier.
"Why do I bother," sighed William.
The poachers charged forward
"Marlowe and I take the leader. Travlack, Uriel, take the one with chain and axe. Valyn, Chrissy, take the remainders."
The line reached where it had begun.
William tapped his spear on the ground. Valyn tapped Chrissy's shoulder and pointed to her right.
A smoke plume erupted from below them. Chrissy ran out on the right side to find Valyn, three steps ahead of her making a beeline for the swordsman. Valyn kicked the swordsman in the hip before slashing his arm, putting him out of the fight.
Chrissy felt that familiar pressure as she ran toward the markswoman. She took a step left to juke right, making the shot only graze her side. She gritted her teeth and closed the gap between them. She smacked the woman twice with the blunt side of her hooks, knocking her out.
Uriel allowed her forearm to be snared by the chainman. She closed the distance faster than he could retreat and stepped on his foot, preventing further retreat. A straight and a hook were all it took for him to hit the ground.
Travlack faced off against the axeman again with renewed strength. After parrying another wild strike he struck the man's knee once more. The audible snap of his leg made Chrissy flinch.
William and Marlowe were far more efficient. Four shots from Marlowe made the man raise his guard from above. One step in from William landed a spear into his thigh. The leader went to chop William but he yanked it out and sliced at the other thigh, bringing him down.
The man dropped his machete to cover the bleeding, his blood stained the ground and began to pool. William lowered his spear at the man's neck and spoke in a low tone.
"On behalf of the DLF, you are under arrest. Do not resist."
___
Language Translation:
Kutaxia new words:
"yae sa-nae fi din po-ge zova! Dan-"
(You are in the shot zone! And-)
"Codole..."
Sorry...
"Rousa!"
Search/Scour!
Ragnaband New Words:
"Coshki!"
Shut up!