Two Words: Nine Letters

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

"Okay, I just wanted to be ready for it, if it was as bad as a slugthrower. Scared me a little with the rifle. Been a long time since I've really handled anything more than a bow or knife." Something she was grateful for. She'd somehow managed to survive through the hellish childhood. And had plenty of years without the need for constantly looking over her shoulder for the next person that would aim to murder her.

Reaching out, she took the weapon from her mother. For a moment she just shifted it between her hands, getting a feel for it's weight. It felt lighter to her than what the other weapons so far had. Definitely different in her hands.

After a moment or two of further study, Galina took in a deep breath and shifted into the stance her mum had shown her. Breathing out slowly she took aim, and squeezed the trigger. This time, the recoil to her was barely there. It certainly was a strange weapon. So much power without the sheer backwards force that more traditional weapons held. "Different." She said softly. "Just a bit odd to me, compared to the others." Certainly not what she was used to by any means.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"You'll get used to it in time. You're doing well," Siobhan said confidently, patting her daughter on the shoulder. "Some idiot Jedi would say that a blaster is 'crude' compared to a 'civilised' lightsabre. Except, newsflash, sabres kill as well and having space magic and glowsticks didn't save them from getting slaughtered by clone troopers back in the day. And they didn't have bolters back then, just blasters and grenades."


There, some anti-Jedi snark. Always good! Excluding all the cool Jedi. Like Coryth! Just look at all that beautiful red hair. "Keep at it and try out the blaster a couple more times. You'll get a feel for it as you become more experienced." Who knew, maybe a wild beast would oblige them by stepping into view and trying to pounce them! That would give Galina a live target to shoot at.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina nodded as she glanced to Siobhan for a moment. A bright smile spread across her lips, at her mum's touch against her shoulder. "Don't really see how a dinky glowstick could outdo blasters. Especially when the blasters are in greater numbers than the glowstick guys."

The little redhead nodded again before she shifted back into the same stance. One more deep breath in, and she aimed. Then breathing out, she squeezed the trigger. Dropping her arms slightly she looked down to the target, seeing she was a little off center, to the right. Oddly enough, Shatterpoint hadn't come back to her yet. It had been strangely absent this round.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Siobhan smiled slightly. "Your mum would agree! Thing is, with the right training you can use a glowstick to deflect blaster bolts. Even reflect them back at the guy who's shooting at you. Of course, it sucks for you if there's several people shooting at you with repeating blasters on full auto," she said very dryly.


Somehow many battles ended up being decided by one-on-one duels between sorcerers, while armies were just background noise. "Hence why if you want to take down a glowstick guy without using Force powers, your best bet are bolters, shatterguns or sonic projectors. Scatterguns are good at very close range because you cannot deflect a load of buckshot with a sabre."

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina lofted an eyebrow, "Really? I mean ... the physics behind that is crazy. Deflecting something so tiny, with such a small surface. The odds are firmly stacked against it." The young woman then nodded, "I can imagine it would."

Her mind drifted to the other weapons Siobhan spoke of. "I guess that makes plenty of sense. Not easy go against weapons like that, in first place."

With a sigh, she lifted the blaster once more. This time the fracture lines quickly formed across her vision. Again she had to crush the urge to push them away, and shake them off. Galina hated seeing them, knowing they were part of the force. Her hands trembled slightly as nerves got the best of her. A part of her wondered if she'd ever really get past the apprehension and fears that she felt when her mind touched the force, and attempted to use it.

With a deep breath in, she tried to relax into the situation and just let Shatterpoint do it's thing. Right now, she had little control over it. She just simply needed to accept that it was there and part of her. A part of her she'd never be able to get rid of. The sooner she could do so, the better off her life as a whole would be. Shifting into her stance again, she took aim and let the Force play its part. Squeezing the trigger, she took her shot. Lowering the weapon, her gaze fell upon the target, and this time she'd hit dead center.

With a bit of an anxious expression, she glanced to her mum. "I don't like the force." She whispered, "Not sure I can ever get used to it, mummy. Just feels strange, I never expect it. And ... I don't know .... I worry." The young woman said as she bit at her lip. "Worry that I won't ever control it. Worry that I'll hurt you or mum ... or .. ... Or someone else."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"Fear is human. So is being anxious. But don't let it rule you, dear. I mean, Tempest and I have the Force and you trust us. And no one can tell me that you're somehow 'weaker' than us and thus destined to go bad. If you were weak, you wouldn't have survived on that island," Siobhan pointed out reasonably, patting her daughter on the shoulder.


She reflected that perhaps she should be stricter with her daughter, more insistent. But she had already been awfully insistent on her training with Tempest in the first place. Perhaps it was a character flaw, but, as surprising as it might sound to those who did not know her, Siobhan preferred raising her daughter with a gentle hand unless she was being really obstinate. "It's not power itself that turns you bad. It's about how you use it and how you view yourself. You don't want to rely on it, which is good, and you don't think having 'magical powers' makes you better than 'normal' people. Which is more insight that most force-users possess."

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina nodded slowly, a sigh falling from her lips. "There wasn't time to be afraid on the island." The redhead said softly, "Couldn't be afraid when every day there were so many things I needed to do to keep alive." Another sigh came and went, "And yes, I trust you and Tempest. I'm just worried that I won't live up to your expectations of me. I don't want to let you down mummy. You saved me, made me family. I can't let you down."

The young woman then nodded, "You are right. I know you are." Another sigh came and went, "And you are correct, I don't want to rely on it at all. I want to be able to take care of myself, with or without the force. To know what to do either way."

Though, truth be told Galina had little idea of how exactly the force could be stolen from her. Since Siobhan had not told her about how one could be severed from the force. "And honestly, mummy I just don't want to fail you. Or make some terrible mistake that I can't come back from. That is what worries me more than anything. I can't bear the idea of failing you." An option she likely would have leaped on instantly had she known it existed. But it was the easy way out. It would have let her avoid her fears completely and push the problem aside, to never face it again. It was not a good lesson for the Wildling.

"Can we try a different weapon now?" She asked, feeling a little more confident with the blaster. She did wonder what else there was to learn.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"Galina, sweetie. You've never disappointed or failed me," Siobhan said firmly. "When I get angry or frustrated, that's not because I'm disappointed or you've let me down. You're my daughter, I'll always love you. And I've never stopped believing in you," Siobhan said softly.


"If you fall, I'll catch you. Always. I'm your mother. Family is about never giving up on someone," she promised and meant it. Absolutely. A part of Siobhan felt bad about telling Galina that she could be severed from the Force and be freed of this 'curse', for she knew how much it scared her. But...she could not bring herself to tell her. She could not stand the idea of Galina being ruled by her fears. Given time and patience, her daughter would succeed. And so she kept her silence about it.


But when Galina brought up guns again Siobhan gave her a bright smile. "You like your guns, huh? You're a real Kerrigan-Alcori," she said cheerfully, then rummaged in her apparently very big rucksack a bit before getting out a bolter, passing it to Galina to have a look. Obviously the gun was not loaded. "MK2 boltgun. The smaller, more compact version of the bolter you see me use on the shooting range a lot."

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

She nodded slowly, still clearly worried that she might possibly one day fail her mother. "You were upset at me, when I didn't want to train. When I wanted to run away." She said softly. "Thought I let you down. I was just so afraid. Didn't want to risk hurting you, or anyone else. I mean, I can freeze water. What was to stop me from freezing blood? And ... I had no control. Was so afraid. Still afraid. What I can do, seems unnatural, and frightens me. I'm not sure how to manage any of it mum." She admitted quietly. Her voice barely above a whisper. "Don't want to hurt anyone. Especially not you or mum. I love you both. Don't want to hurt you. But you seemed so upset with me." It was clear, she still thought about that fight and those moments with her mother, worrying that she'd hurt her mother's feelings then. And still that whole tiff had upset her deeply.

A nod came, "Promise?" She asked quietly. Those were words she needed to hear. Reassurance that no matter what, her mother would be there to help catch her, or pick her back up should she ever fall.

Then a small smile formed upon her lips, "Yes, mummy I do. Weapons are interesting, and different. And I like knowing the physics and math behind them." As Siobhan pulled out the boltgun, curiously she stepped forward to take it from her mother. Slowly she rolled it over in her hands, taking in every detail of it. The weight alone threw her off a bit, much heavier than any weapon she'd handled. "It heavy." She said flatly, stating the obvious. "What's the recoil like? And this shoots a type of slug?" So many questions for the ever curious redhead. At least she seemed to have moved on from the rather sensitive topic of the small fight between herself and Siobhan over training in the force. She then offered the weapon back to Siobhan, to let her mother demonstrate the weapon for her. Galina did prefer to see it used a couple times before she actually attempted such a weapon herself.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"Angel, I'll be honest, I was upset, annoyed and a bit irritated. But not angry or disappointed in you. I'll openly admit I'm not a very patient woman, but I want what's best for you. Sometimes we'll just disagree about things. That's part of my life. It won't change the fact that I love you and you're my daughter," Siobhan said very firmly.


"Promise," she nodded. But then they could turn to guns again. Sometimes Siobhan forgot that not everyone was so crazy to dual-wield bolters and for a few moments she looked a bit guilty when Galina pointed out how heavy the damn thing was. She walked over to steady Galina, helping her hold the boltgun at an angle that would demand less energy from her.


"Heavy it is, and that's the lighter version, sweetie. Recoil is quite sucky, but it gets better with training and experience. The weapon is essentially a cross between a shotgun and a semiautomatic grenade launcher, firing 25mm x 4mm explosive bolts and buckshot. The bolts are armed at launch and any significant pressure on the warhead will cause it to detonate. This includes shields, Force powers, glass etc. Bolt has a one metre ‘danger zone’ on impact against most humanoids. Up to three metres can be injured by either shrapnel or blast wave. This is handy because pesky forcers cannot use telekinesis to toss the explosives back at you. If they try, it blows up in their face. Range is : 100m for specific aimed shot, 500m for area suppression/bombardment. Minimum range 5 metres. 25 bolts per magazine, firing rate of 120 rounds per minute," she would pay for a moment to show Galina a mag of explosive bolts.


"Just make sure you're far enough from the blast radius or things get nasty! Buckshot is like with a shotgun. Each cartridge contains 60 durasteel pellets which expand like a traditional shotgun buckshot spray. This is designed for close range firing against unarmoured targets. 16 rounds. 300 rounds per minute fire rates. 5 metres range, max 15 meters."

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina listened carefully as her mother spoke. She then nodded, understanding. "You just seemed really upset. Didn't want to upset you. I was just afraid." A sigh followed and she nodded again. "I understand though. I guess disagreements happen. I just don't want to upset or anger you mummy. I love you." Spoken softly, as she ran a hand through her hair to brush it back from her eyes.

She then nodded, hearing Siobhan promise made her feel a bit better about that. Though she did wonder, if there was a line out there that she could cross that would be so far gone that even Sio would not try and safe her from. A small thought that she soon pushed from her mind. It helped as her mother stepped over to her, helping to alter her stance and position to better handle the weapon, given it's size.

"This is lighter?" She asked, seeming quick shocked at that. The bolter just seemed to bit of a strain on her little arms. Definitely not something she was used to. A nod of understanding followed as she listened to her mum further explain the weapon. "I see." She said, taking in every last word her mother had spoken on the weapon, and trying to commit to memory the most important parts about it's range and the danger zone.

"Could you demonstrate it for me, mum? I'm a little nervous to fire it, without seeing you do it first." Just a simple test fire would have done well enough for the firemane. "I just want to see it in action before I attempt shot. It's just different from what I used. So, would like to see first, if that's okay mummy?"

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"It's 6.5 kg, sweetie. The MKI is 8 kg. I usually dual wield that one," Siobhan said deadpan. It did not occur to her that trying to go all guns akimbo with two semiautomatic grenade launchers might be a bit insane. "But no worries, I'll show you. I love you too." Wasting no time she took out a magazine of explosive bolts and loaded the gun.


Having done this she assumed proper firing position and took aim. "As you can see the gun is still fairly bulky. Posture is key, try to distribute its weight around your whole body. Its ideal for fire suppression, clearing out buildings and even against light vehicles. It is very loud, so..." as she said these words and her finger moved to the trigger, seemingly out of nowhere a big cat suddenly sprang out of the bush and pounced towards them. Wasting no time, Siobhan fired.


BAAAM The bolter roared and an explosive bolt leapt out of the muzzle of the gun. The aforementioned cat was caught right in the blast and ceased to exist as it was blown up and sprayed with shards of shrapnel, with its limbs and innards being spread across the ground before them. Likewise some of the vegetation had been blown up as well.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

A look of shock crossed the young Firemane's features as it sank in that her mother dual wielded these monstrous weapons. "I don't see how you manage it, mummy. So heavy to do what you do with them." She said softly.

Then her focus was drawn back to the weapon as her mum loaded the bolter. For a moment, she just observed as Siobhan demonstrated how best to hold the weapon, and to use her body to support the things weight.

While she didn't understand it entirely, what could be considered Galina's danger sense flared up seconds before the creature pounced towards them. She still didn't quite understand or know that those feelings, those warnings were the Force trying to protect her. Without her bow, without anything easily in reach the Firemane seemed at a bit of a loss of how to manage the situation but her mother seemed to pick up where the redhead failed to. Within half a heartbeat the creature had been there, ready to eat them, to gone ... little more than a pink mist remained of what had once been a feline creature.

Breathing out a heavy sigh of relief, she glanced to Siobhan. For a while, she had forgotten where they were. That they were in Kaeshana forests and there was always something out there ready to make a meal of out you. Something she had learned the hard way upon the island. Stepping forward, without a word she wrapped both arms around Sio and pulled her into a tight embrace as adrenaline started to wear off, and the young lady's racing heart began to slow. She was just extremely grateful for her mother in that moment. "Thank you, mummy..." She whispered into the woman's shoulder.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Siobhan found herself abruptly being pulled into a tight embrace and quickly returned it, hugging Galina tightly against her body. The Mk2 bolter was put down on the ground for now. "It's ok, angel. Just doing my job. Remember, this is the forest. There can be danger everywhere. But you can sense it coming. That's the Force trying to comunicate with you," she said gently while one of her hands ran soothing circles across her daughter's back.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina sighed heavily, still keeping her mother close to her for that feeling of safety and comfort. "I forgot for a moment, where we were. Seemed safe. But, I felt something .... like something was wrong before it attacked." She said softly. Taking another deep breath, the tension she held in her body started to fade and once more the young woman was starting to feel safe again.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"That's good, dear. It was the Force telling you something was up. Think of it as a sixth sense, an enhancement of your instincts," Siobhan responded, patting Galina on the shoulder. "Don't doubt yourself. There's nothing in this forest you can't handle. You're a tough girl." She deliberately did not say 'I will keep you safe'. Firstly because that should be obvious and she had just demonstrated that again and secondly because she wanted Galina to learn to be more self-reliant.


She held her daughter for a moment longer before pulling away and picking up the boltgun. "Wanna give the bolter a shot?" she asked. Siobhan had also brought a shattergun with her, which she believed Galina would like more. But the little wildling should get the chance to blow stuff up!

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

"It's creepy. Like a feeling of hair raising on back of neck, for no reason." Galina still hadn't gotten comfortable with the Force or the fact that she could use it. "Just ... a little unnerving, I didn't do that. It did it." It was mildly disconcerting to her, truthfully. At the same time, she could see the benefit. "I guess, will get used to it ... in time."

A nod followed, "Yes. I can. Just, more used to my bow to handle such things. Still not comfortable with new weapons." For her part, experience told her she could handle most things the forest threw at her, as long as it wasn't a pack of hungry feline creatures she'd be fine. And well, modern weapons still followed a few of the principles that she understood with her bow.

"I would, yes." The redhead spoke as she reached to take the weapon from her mother. "Not sure I'll like it, but I'll try." For a moment she held it, adjusting to the weight. "Just heavier than I like." And incredibly destructive as she just learned. Certainly there were advantages to that. Just handling the weapon honestly made her a little nervous, and uncertain about it. Her worries drifted to how rough the recoil might be. And for a moment she just hesitated, allowing herself to get entirely too wrapped up thinking about the results, rather than just giving it a shot.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Siobhan watched her daughter for a while then decided to step in. "Don't overthink it, act. You're in the middle of a forest. If a wild animal shows, it won't give you a second chance. Take the gun and give it a shot," she said. Not once did she raise her voice as she spoke. As a rule she never did that when talking to her daughter. Not even when she was getting angry and irritated like when Galina had tried to run away.


So she was calm but firm. "You're a master shot with a bow, a modern gun is just a couple steps up." She stepped up behind Galina and put a firm hand on the shoulder, both making sure she was holding the gun a bit better and stabilising her more against the recoil so that it would be less of a shock when it came.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

She glanced back to Siobhan for a moment, and sighed softly. Her mother knew what she was talking about. "Right." Galina knew too well she was thinking too much about what was going to happen, wondering about the what ifs. Things that generally were not good for her to be thinking about anyway.

With her mum now behind her, giving her more support Galina finally managed to reign in her mind and focus back on the task at hand. Breathing in deeply, she lifted the bolter and took aim.

Though she tensed as she once more saw the fracture lines spread across her vision. Something she didn't entirely control, would come upon her of it's own will, not an idea she liked at all. One more breath in, and out and Galina finally pulled the trigger. The recoil, took her by suprise, straining her arms more than she had imagined it would. And was incredibly grateful for her mother's support. "Nope. Nope. Don't like this one." She said firmly.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Firing the bolter produced a loud bang and an explosion that...exploded magnificiently. Bushes and stuff were blown up. This line is truly the height of literacy. Unfortunately for Galina, her mother was feeling less gentle at this hour. "You can't always have things your own way, Galina. You don't want to learn the Force, you don't want to try out the modern weapons you'll need to protect yourself. That's not flying. If you want to get ahead and protect yourself, you must step out of your comfort zone. Try again."


Not once did she raise her voice whilst she said these words, but her tone remained firm and resolute.