The Shadow of Csilla
The Mahporeem Imperial Remnant had hired Shade as an assassin, intelligence asset, and instructor. Of the three, the last was proving the most immediately demanding. Killing a dangerous person was usually a matter of preparation followed by several very decisive seconds. Teaching twenty recruits how not to become that person's easiest target required considerably more patience. Shade stood near the edge of the training floor in dark armor stripped of anything unnecessary for the exercise, her long black and silver braid secured behind her while crimson eyes followed the recruits moving through the mock urban environment ahead. This was their final exercise of the morning, and they had been told there were observers somewhere inside it. They had not been told how many, where they were positioned, or whether the objective was actually to find them. That uncertainty was deliberate.
"You're still looking for the person who's going to shoot you." Shade's voice carried across the training space without requiring her to raise it. Several recruits slowed immediately, which earned them a faint narrowing of her eyes. "And now half of you have stopped moving because I spoke. If I were the threat, thank you for identifying yourselves." A few expressions tightened. One looked mildly offended. Shade allowed neither reaction to change her tone. "A weapon is the final part of an ambush, not the first. Look for the door that should be closed and isn't. The reflection where there shouldn't be one. The civilian who has watched your patrol twice but never the storefront beside him. The vehicle that's been parked long enough for condensation to disappear from every other windscreen." She gestured them onward. "If you wait until someone points a rifle at you before deciding something is wrong, you've given them most of the useful part of the encounter."
The exercise resumed, and Shade moved along the perimeter rather than shadowing any particular recruit. Ronhar had asked her to train special operations personnel, and she had no intention of producing soldiers who merely memorized her preferred answers. Mahporeem already knew how to teach people to shoot, move in formation, breach doors, and follow orders. Shade was interested in the spaces between those things, the moments when instructions ran out, and somebody had to recognize that the situation in front of them did not match the one described in the briefing. One recruit noticed a maintenance hatch that had been opened since their first pass and quietly redirected his partner without announcing the discovery to the entire room. Better. Another became so focused on checking rooftops that he nearly walked past the simulated courier carrying the exercise's actual intelligence package. Less better. Shade made a note on her datapad and resisted the temptation to rescue him from the mistake.
When the scenario finally ended, Shade let them collect themselves before stepping into the center of the floor. "Nobody died, which places this morning comfortably above several operations I've attended." Dry humor touched the words as her gaze moved across the recruits without lingering on anyone long enough to turn the lesson into public humiliation. "Some of you found threats. A few of you found information. Those are not always the same thing, and knowing which matters more is part of the job. We'll run this again tomorrow, and I won't promise that anything will be where you found it today." She tucked the datapad beneath one arm and gave them the faintest smile. "That's enough for this morning. Go eat, rest, and try not to spend the entire time inventing ways to beat tomorrow's exercise. I'll only have to change it." A moment later, she added, "Dismissed. I'll see you tomorrow."
Valery Noble
"You're still looking for the person who's going to shoot you." Shade's voice carried across the training space without requiring her to raise it. Several recruits slowed immediately, which earned them a faint narrowing of her eyes. "And now half of you have stopped moving because I spoke. If I were the threat, thank you for identifying yourselves." A few expressions tightened. One looked mildly offended. Shade allowed neither reaction to change her tone. "A weapon is the final part of an ambush, not the first. Look for the door that should be closed and isn't. The reflection where there shouldn't be one. The civilian who has watched your patrol twice but never the storefront beside him. The vehicle that's been parked long enough for condensation to disappear from every other windscreen." She gestured them onward. "If you wait until someone points a rifle at you before deciding something is wrong, you've given them most of the useful part of the encounter."
The exercise resumed, and Shade moved along the perimeter rather than shadowing any particular recruit. Ronhar had asked her to train special operations personnel, and she had no intention of producing soldiers who merely memorized her preferred answers. Mahporeem already knew how to teach people to shoot, move in formation, breach doors, and follow orders. Shade was interested in the spaces between those things, the moments when instructions ran out, and somebody had to recognize that the situation in front of them did not match the one described in the briefing. One recruit noticed a maintenance hatch that had been opened since their first pass and quietly redirected his partner without announcing the discovery to the entire room. Better. Another became so focused on checking rooftops that he nearly walked past the simulated courier carrying the exercise's actual intelligence package. Less better. Shade made a note on her datapad and resisted the temptation to rescue him from the mistake.
When the scenario finally ended, Shade let them collect themselves before stepping into the center of the floor. "Nobody died, which places this morning comfortably above several operations I've attended." Dry humor touched the words as her gaze moved across the recruits without lingering on anyone long enough to turn the lesson into public humiliation. "Some of you found threats. A few of you found information. Those are not always the same thing, and knowing which matters more is part of the job. We'll run this again tomorrow, and I won't promise that anything will be where you found it today." She tucked the datapad beneath one arm and gave them the faintest smile. "That's enough for this morning. Go eat, rest, and try not to spend the entire time inventing ways to beat tomorrow's exercise. I'll only have to change it." A moment later, she added, "Dismissed. I'll see you tomorrow."
Valery Noble