Last Chance: Myn and Lara - pt. 19


In preparation for his early session on the range, Myn dressed casually in a cream-coloured long-sleeved shirt with a dark navy vest of a soft nubbly material, worn over a pair of the tailored slacks Lasca Terrine had picked out for him. The sky was just lightening when he made his way down to the practice ranges for his appointment with Thera Larsen. He carried his rifle in its case, although he only brought it to illustrate optimal settings to the other distance shooter.

Thera was already set up when he arrived, her hair pulled back into the high ponytail that gave her oval face a somewhat severe look. She scowled over at him, and Myn schooled his face into a noncommittal expression of polite interest. Inside he burned to ask her whther she was aware of her father's questionable dealings, but he knew to do so would be to futher alienate this young woman who saw him only as a rival.

"We weren't properly introduced yesterday," he began, but she cut him off with a cold lift of her shoulders.

"So?"

"Well, so let's remedy that," he replied firmly. "I'm Ardmin, you can call me Myn."

She looked over her rifle at his proffered hand, as though considering whether to shake it or shoot him. At length she lowered the weapon and shook his hand gingerly. "Thera." She met his eyes with a viper green gaze. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way," she said brusquely, "But I don't need your help."

His mouth quirked a little at the corners: this introduction was almost identical to the reception he'd gotten when Corran Horn had found out Myn would be flying with the Rogues. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, Lieutenant, but I don't think you belong here," Corran had said. He knew the former CorSec agent had had some issues with Myn's record, and he was glad he'd eventually proven his commander right, and his fellow Corellian Rogue wrong on a few of those points.

Thera Larsen was something of a different matter. Here was a strong and independant young woman who felt threatened by Myn's greater proficiency with her chosen weapon, who'd been placed in the awkward position of having someone she thought of as a rival foisted upon her as an instructor. Myn knew it was nearly impossible to teach someone who actively disliked their instructor, or resented those skills, so the best thing to do would be to get her to want him to teach her.

Keeping his eyes on his case, Myn knelt and began prepping for the session. "I understand you think I'm some kind of a rival," he said quietly after Thera finished her round of shots,"But I have honestly never competed in this sort of thing before." He was pleased at how her whole posture changed when he made that admission.

"But you're so good!" she replied, her whole bearing displaying her honest surprise. She paused from setting the target back another fifty metres, "How did you manage to do it then?"

Myn shrugged as he undid the fastenings on his weapon's case and slid the rifle free. "The usual: training and practice," he replied as he adjusted the sights, and checked the charge. "I did a tour with the CPD."

"Sniper?" she asked, all her animosity falling away to reveal quite an attractive young woman.

Myn nodded and then stood straight and assumed his stance.

"Did you ever take down a living target?"

How many times had he been asked that question? Myn's eyes closed and his head sank a fraction lower, but he answered as he always did: with the truth. "Yes," he said calmly, opening his eyes and seeing only the unmarked target hung some two hundred and fifty metres distant. "Three times."

While she rocked back on her heels at the revelation, Myn drew a single breath to focus himself, then squeezed the trigger and neatly holed the target.The single burst and its result served to silence Thera and she looked up at him wide-eyed.

"Can you teach me to do that?" she asked at last, looking to the target.

"I can try," Myn replied, "If you'd help me out with a couple of things that have been puzzling me about Coronet City..." He hid his elation that the first hurdle had been passed with such ease, aware that it would be a difficult task to grill Thera covertly if she knew her father was a dirty cop.

Twenty minutes later, Thera's father found them in the compromising position of stance adjustment. Myn had his arms around the tall blonde's shoulders and was sighting down the barrel of her weapon with her, their cheeks practically touching. "That's it, just relax. You've got him in your sights, he's pinned down. Now just relax and let it happen."

The young woman squeezed her trigger, and the target sizzled just where the heart would be on a living being. She glanced around at her instructor, and caught sight of her father, but Myn immediately redirected her attention back to the target. "That was good, now do it again, just like before." She turned back to her practice, and Myn turned to face Rithkin.

It was hard to bury the anger he felt at the sight of this man, this betrayer, but Myn had gained some perspective during the night, and the morning's session with Thera. Rithkin had at least done everything he could to keep his family out of things, for Thera had not the faintest clue what Myn was dancing around when he tossed out leading comments.

The young Rogue felt his face settle into the familiar but unwelcome mask of cold he'd worn all the while he'd struggled with the emotional crises of losing his squad and commission, and then Lara. It had been several weeks since he'd felt the need for it, but her realised here, it could mean the difference between a successful investigation and a disastrous discovery.

"Good shot, sweetheart!" Rithkin congratulated his daughter as Myn approached. "Looks like it's progressing well," he commented to Myn, his eyes still on his fair daughter.

"It's going very well," Myn replied shortly, examining the man's face for some outward sign of the corruption within. There was none. He was a proud father, watching his child excel. "She's a fast learner."

"Yeah, all of my kids are," Rithkin replied with a chuckle, "No clue where they get that from."

Myn was spared having to reply by Thera's presence at his side. "Myn, I hesitate to ask, but could I...?" She gave his rifle a significant glance, where it rested on the arming ledge. Myn excused himself from Rithkin's presence and moved over to assist Thera with the unfamiliar weapon.

"Whew, it's heavier than it looks," she remarked.

"It's got a modified anaerobic barrel and firing mechnaism," Myn explained, pointing out specific features, "Doesn't require oxygen for any of the functions. Also, the intensity setting is very precise, that's why it uses a manual screw with a lock, instead of a computerised scale... There's a blast reducer on the emitter, so it's quieter and harder to spot in the dark." He explained each special feature as he went about adjusting the weapon for her use, sizing the scope to her preferred placement, and making minor adjustments to fit the weapon to her better.

"That's a pretty impressive weapon, son," Rithkin remarked, once Myn had stepped back to let Thera test the rifle out.

"I've made quite a few modifications myself," Myn replied, keeping his voice unexpressive.

"Huh," the older man grunted as Thera neatly holed a fresh target, her shot low and to the right of centre.

"The sight's perfectly aligned, Ther'," Myn called out, "So you can see how your own gun has biased your shooting. If you want to tighten up across the board, or if they use standard issue arms for the competitions, you'll want to keep in mind that you're compensating for your personal weapon's tendencies."

Thera's response was to fire off four more shots, each progressively closer to the centre of the target. When she was done, she lowered Myn's rifle and turned a radiant smile on her instructor and her father. "Wow! It's heavy, but so nice!"

Myn relieved her of the rifle's weight, and set about aligning it back to his preferences, while Thera and her father discussed the morning's session. He took another series of practice shots, just to make sure he'd gotten all the details, but it was more the force of good habit than any real need. Myn knew his rifle better than most mechanics know their favourite hydrospanner.

The three of them trooped up the stairs from the range, Myn not seeing how he was going to be able to avoid Rithkin's invitation to buy him breakfast, especially after his stomach had growled so loudly in protest to his half-spoken refusal on the grounds that he wasn't hungry. "Ah, c'mon, Ardmin. The place'll be empty at this time of the morning," Rithkin cajoled, and Myn realised it was still very early. Hardly anyone was on the streets as they stepped out into the crisp light of day.

He needn't have worried, as other things were to intervene between him and any peaceful breakfast. The trio had barely taken three steps on the open street when a speeder roared down the street and a sudden instinct told Myn to dive for the duracrete, hauling Thera with him.

The sizzle of blaster bolts ripped through the air all around them, exploding chunks of the masonry wall behind them.Thera's blaster was in her hand, and she was back on her feet sprinting after the speeder with her father, even as Myn yanked his rifle free of the case and rolled to his knees behind a sidewalk planter. He got off two good shots, but then the speeder had careened down the street and rounded a corner, Rithkin and Thera racing after it in hot pursuit, blasters in one hand and CorSec badges in the other.

~*~


part 20

Back to main page