Two Words: Nine Letters

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

She turned to look at her mother as her brow knitted together. That wasn't the reaction she expected. "Mum?" Truthfully she was a bit surprised. For a moment, the redhead just sat there looking at her mother, unsure how to react. "I... just, I ..." Stopping she bit at her lip, a nervous habit.

She soon came to the conclusion there wasn't much she could actually argue against. Knowing too well that she was being stubborn, clinging to her comfort zone, and to the things she knew in life. They had always felt safer than anything else. And now, being pressed outside of that comfortable space, was more than a little unnerving.

"I .. I wasn't giving up, mum. I just don't like the weapon." She sighed heavily, "And this is all new to me. It's a little scary. I'm not comfortable, and it bothers me." With one hand, she released the weapon to run a hand through her hair. "It's just heavy, awkward for me, and the recoil is more than I think I can deal with." She sighed again, "I don't think it's practical for me to use it."

A little frustrated, and upset she turned back to find another target to aim at. Still though as she readied herself, once more Galina hesitated. The recoil had unsettled her, that much was certain.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Hearing her daughter's words, Siobhan softened. Her daughter would not get a free pass, but she was using rational arguments and though in an authoritarian mood her mother would acknowledge that. So she gently patted Galina on the shoulder, trying to show her that she was not angry.


"It is heavy and bulky. You may have a point that it's not the best weapon for you. But I'd like you to try it out. You never know what fits you until you've given it a try. Even it does not become your weapon of choice, it pays to be familiar with it and other tools. You never know what threats you might face," she said, now in a softer, gentler tone. "I have some toys with me that'll be easier to handle," she added.


Then she approached Galina, gently steading her and adjusting the position she was holding the bolter. "There. Don't think, act. Let your whole body absorb the recoil. I'm holding you, it won't blow you back."

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

"Okay." She finally said, as Lina let her mother adjust her positioning. A soft escaped her lips, as she glanced ahead to the tree she was aiming for. Once more the fracture lines returned, without her command. That part still unnerved her, how it came without her calling upon it.

With another breath in, she tried her best to push away the nervousness that kept coming with the Force manifesting itself to her, through Shatterpoint. Finally she pulled the trigger. This time the recoil didn't catch her off guard nearly as much. Though it still pushed her against Siobhan fairly heavily, as she still hadn't quite managed to absorb the recoil with her full body. She had managed to at least absorb some of it with her upper body, but not so much her legs.

The tree she had selected, it's trunk had exploded brilliantly. Her chosen spot on the tree, seemed to be it's breaking point as it tumbled to the forest floor with a heavy crash. And for a moment Galina just cocked her head and stared. It seemed strange to her, how easily it had been destroyed. After all it was no small tree!

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Siobhan held Galina when her daughter pushed back against her, doing her bit to stabilise her so that she did not face the risk of toppling over. The girl had not completely absorbed the recoil and would need practice, but she had made the first step.


As for the tree's trunk, it went bang! Explosions were always nice, or so Siobhan thought. "There, that's another physics mystery for you to solve, sweetie. That thing you're firing is essentially a semiautomatic grenade launcher. The explosive bolts in it can blow up a speeder and other light vehicles. When you fire it on an unprotected human the effects are...nasty."

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina sighed softly after the tree fell. Turning, she reached to hand the bolter back to her mother. Her arms both were aching from just the short amount of time she had been handling it. Perhaps Galina would need to undergo some form of combat training to up her strenght in her body as a whole. For right now, she was far from strong in body.

"I suppose it is. Amazing what that thing can do." She gave a small shrug, "I still don't like the weapon all that much. Makes my arms sore." The redhead then nodded, "Yes, I can imagine it doesn't leave much leave of an organic body left. It seemed it would turn most limbs into nothing more than a fine pink mist in the air with that kind of effect."

"May I try something else now?" She asked, ready to move on to something that might be perhaps a bit easier for her. The bolter definitely was not her thing.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"Sure. I think you should get some regular combat training to get your strength up. I'll have a chat with [member="Tempest"]," Siobhan decided. The Dahomian was fitter and stronger than the Countess was and it would mesh well with her training of Galina. Besides, Auntie Mia could help out!


"For now, I have something nice for you," she smiled, then pulled a small, compact, scoped handgun out of her rucksack. "This is a Shatter Pistol. It's a slugthrower, but a lot more powerful than those you're used to. It fires small calibre pellets that deliver great kinetic damage due to travelling at hyper-velocity. It's based on magnetic field principles similar to a railgun and utilises a miniaturised repulsorlift system to deal with the recoil. It can penetrate most personal armour, except phrik and beskar, and even light vehicles. It's extremely silent due to sound dampeners. Main drawback is the appalling firing rate. It's best used in close quarters and medium-distance range."

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

"Combat training?" There was a little hesitation in her voice as she spoke. A part of her wanted nothing like the training she went through as a child. But there was some wisdom in knowing proper defense. "I guess it can't hurt." If it helped her protect herself from anyone that would do her harm, then it was well worth the effort. Even if it did bring back a few unwanted memories.

Seeing her mother pull the weapon out, Galina curiously looked it over and listened to Sio's every word. "Oh, I like this more already. The physics behind hypervelocity always was quite fascinating. And railguns are far too cool. Not to mention highly destructive."

Carefully she took the weapon from Siobhan, giving it a careful once over as she familiarized herself with it. "It's much lighter. Which, yes I like. That makes it a lot easier."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Siobhan smiled brightly, happy that her daughter seemed to be taking better to this. That said, combat training would happen. Siobhan just happened to have a big training room with lots of stuff to work-out with.


"You're so adorable when you get all geeky about guns and physics, you know that?" she said cheerfully, patting Galina on the shoulder. "Maybe you should apply for an internship with Elanil." This writer predicts lot of stuff going bang and does not consider that a bad thing. "Familiarise yourself with the gun, then give it a try," she pointed at a target set up on a tree bark.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina couldn't help but grin brightly, a slight pink hue forming on her lips. "Thanks mum. Just happen to really enjoy knowing how things work. It's fun." Then to the suggestion about the Eldorai Scientist, Galina lifted a brow, "I've heard rumors about her. Seems she's got a bit of a stick up her toosh. Or so the rumor goes. Not really sure I could work with someone like that." It seemed even little Galina had heard about that particular scientist. Well, she did live in the Kerrigan-Alcori household. She heard plenty of things, though she suspected her mum had little idea how much she'd overheard since Galina arrived in the Villa.

She gave a small shrug before she returned to looking over the weapon once more, familiarizing herself with every detail. Railguns and all their variants were quite mighty. That much she knew, and fully expected devastation at the first shot.

Breathing out, she shifted her position back into the firing stance. This weapon, she was less nervous dealing with. This one, she understood, and knew mostly what to expect from it. Those same now familiar lines returned and this time, there wasn't any of the fears she used to have with them. She actually gotten used to them being there. Knowing what they were helped a lot in alleviating her fears. The girl just liked to understand the things around her, that happened to her. She had a need for that after so many unknowns in her life.

Breathing out, she aimed at the target as she let the fracture lines lead her to the weakest point within the target. And then she squeezed the trigger. Cocking her head to the side, she watched the explosive power of the hypervelocity weapon, tore through the tree. Much more destructive force than she imagined as a fair chunk of the tree was now missing. "Definitely like this one." She said confidently. Certainly more her style, and a lot easier for her to handle.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"Now, now, sweetie, language. Elanil is not that bad....once you butter her up. And she has a very nice toosh." Undoubtedly Siobhan would like to grab it, but it seemed the Eldorai scientist remained wholly oblivious to her sexual advances. Ah, well, she had Elayne!


Yes, Siobhan totally wanted both of the twins. However, she managed to tear her thoughts away from her amorous desire and watch with a broad grin on her face as Galina unleashed the awesome power of a hypervelocity firearm. "Great, dear. Nice work. You can consider it yours then!" she said brightly, feeling genuinely proud of her daughter and the progress she was making.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

"Well, if it's true ..." She protested slightly at her mother's words, but let it drop quickly enough. "Still not sure I can live up to that woman's standards. They are incredibly high." Her attention turned back to the weapon just a quickly, not commenting on her mother's comment about the Eldorai's toosh. Such thoughts rarely crossed her mind, and Galina had never asked about girls or boys, in such a context. Still a little oblivious to the birds and the bees herself.

"Really mum? I can have it?" That seemed to excite the young woman a fair bit. It wasn't what she expected from Siobhan. But it was fair to say that Galina needed a weapon of some kind considering the threats in the galaxy. A bow and arrow just wasn't going to stand against most threats these days. "Thank you."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


It occured to Siobhan that she really needed to have the birds and bees talk with Galina. But...it felt so awkward to her. Maybe she could ask Tegaea or [member="Tempest"] to help her with it! Or even Mirien. That said, it would be important for her to make sure that her daughter had a healthy relationship to her sexuality and understood that for instance masturbation was completely natural!


"You're welcome, dear. Of course you can have it. We can engrave your initials into the gun," Siobhan said happily, smiling brightly. "I hope you never have to use it in your life, but it'll serve you well. You've made me proud today," she added.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina smiled brightly, as she hugged her mother with a single arm. All to keep the firearm away from her beloved mum. "Thank you, that would be lovely." She nodded, "I hope not as well. Aww, I did?" She hadn't realized that in all of this, that she possibly had made her mother proud. That part made her smile all the wider.

That was until she felt the sense of danger well up again within her. Turning weapon in hand, she heard the creature before she saw it. Shatterpoint suddenly became a most valuable tool as she took aim at the creature with lightning reflexes and fired her shot. The feline creature as it leaped met with the mighty force of the shatter gun and was brutally blown apart. Clearly even here one really couldn't let their guard down for long. At least she still carried great instincts from the island and fantastic hearing. All valuable tools for such matters. Her attention then turned to Siobhan, to make sure she was alright, "You okay?" She asked, clearly concerned.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


CRACK One dead feline creature, one badass Galina holding a smoking gun. Hyper-velocity firepower was such a beautiful thing. Siobhan felt a bit bad about the fact that the creature had been able to sneak up on them, but this feeling was blotted out by the sense of pride she felt at her daughter's accomplishment. Of course, she knew that to a large extent this was not due to her teaching, but due to the great instincts Galina had been forced to acquire whilst being marooned on that awful island.


It did not make her any less proud though. "Yeah, I'm good," she answered, giving her daughter a smile. "Nice work, dear. Very nice. You've got good instincts. Rely on them, trust them. Trust yourself. You make your Mum and me proud every day." Reaching out she gave the little firemane a hug. "Well, I guess you've had plenty of excitement today. Want to call it a day and head back home?"

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina couldn't help but feel relieved as her mother answered her. "Good, good ... am glad." She whispered, her heart still pounding within her ears, heard so clearly to her right then. Her eyes fell to the ground for a moment, the Firemane was entirely aware where those instincts came from. Instincts she had to rapidly develop just for sheer survival. Had she failed to so as she had done on the island, Galina would not now be alive and knew it. "Thanks, mum." She finally managed. "I'll try."

With a sigh of relief she wrapped her arms tightly around Siobhan and squeezed her tight. "Yes, let's go home. I'd rather not be here anymore." It had become too harsh a reminder of the pains suffered on the island for the time being. Galina did love being in the forest, in the outdoors. Just, some days were more bothersome and troubling for the young woman than others.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Siobhan felt just a bit guilty about reminding Galina of the awful time on the island, but that feeling soon passed. Fact was, the Galaxy was a dangerous place. The little wildling had been through a hell no child should ever have to experience, but at the same time the instincts she had acquired during that time would be invaluable.


That did not make what she had endured any better or give it a deeper meaning, but it was something her daughter had to face. "Ok, angel. Let's go. You can have an ice cream when we're home. Hopefully Grrbyrr and Chesna haven't eaten it all!" Somehow being a demigoddess meant that you did not have to watch your weight and thus could be firmly on the calorie side of the Force without worrying about your figure. Anyhow, Siobhan picked up the weapons and stuffed them into her rucksack, then firmly took Galina's hand. Within a few moments they would be up in the air again and flying back to the villa. The flight would be slow, giving Galina ample time to look upon the forest they were leaving, without having to worry about beasties trying to eat them.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina smiled softly, "I'd like that, a lot." It had been a long day. A long and good day for the both of them. It was training that the young redhead truly needed, and from here she could start to truly work on her skills with modern weapons. Most of her skills with the bow, did indeed transfer. It was up to her to keep the skills up and work on progress to proficiency with each one now.

Taking her mother's hand, she clung on tightly as they lifted from the forest floor. She only shifted just enough to wrap her arms around Siobhan, to clind to her more tightly. Though her attention was quite noticeably on the forest below, taking in every detail as they went.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


And so mother and daughter would soon find themselves landing inside the elegantly manicured garden of the villa they called home. Little Galina had certainly made lots of progress today and taken her first step into a larger world! Or something similarly dramatic like that.


Siobhan gave her daughter a pat on the shoulder once they had landed, releasing the little wildling from her grip, then led her into the villa and towards the kitchen. She rummaged inside the freezer for a bit, then finally found some ice cream, then used a spoon to give her daughter a good filling in a small bowl. "There you go, angel. You earned it," she said brightly.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina smiled as they came to land. Beaming at her mother as they headed into the kitchen where Siobhan fixed her up a lovely bowl of ice cream. "Thanks mummy," She said sweetly as she took a seat in front of her bowl.

"Was a long day." She said as she took her first bite. Savoring for it for a moment before she went on."But it was fun. Little scary at times but good. Glad we went."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]