my queen got machine gun hips

[monomachy]

Who: Diana & Tex.
When: 12 July.
Where: Shooting Range, Kauto R1.
What: Diana learns how to use yet another weapon.
Warnings: N/A

The journey to the first region of this planet had been more harrowing than Diana had expected--she's never experienced public transport before. The rail system had been crowded with panicked people, and though Diana had been able to speak with and calm a few of them, the sheer number of refugees had been overwhelming. By the time she departs the EN-Line, she is eager to distract herself from the chaos around her.

Or at least enter a new kind of chaos.

She checks the location that Tex had sent her on the strange little TAB, and finds her way there with little delay. She stops, of course, to aid where she can--lifting boxes of supplies, fending off potential thieves from a small grocer, breaking up a fight or two--but she knows it is not enough. If the strange mimic creatures are allowed to run amok, the situation will only become worse. She's changed into her training clothing, knowing that she will be in a better condition to learn by doing so. The garb makes her feel closer to home, where she had first learned how to use weapons in the Amazonian way. Though she is about to learn man's way of fighting, she still feels it is appropriate to dress for a traditional training session. She hesitates only briefly before entering the building, and scans the area for her soon-to-be teacher.

Comments

[a_shadow]

Tex has arrived slightly ahead of schedule, two rifles slung over her back and a handgun on each hip—a .22 and a .45. As promised, she has stripped off her helmet and arranged for them to use two lanes in the shooting gallery.

When Diana enters the shop, Tex indicates that is the person they're waiting on to the clerk with an incline of her head. The armor she's wearing is much more bulky than what Diana has chosen to wear. This doesn't bother her, though—with current event she sees no reason to take risks when headed out and about.

"Diana," she calls, and prepares to lead the way into the shooting range.

[monomachy]

The armor is indeed strange, but reminds her of the armor she'd seen Natasha wear when they had broken up a fight together during her first days on Thisavrou. She wonders, not for the first time, how someone could fight in something that looks so cumbersome. How can they move quickly to defend, or run and jump when necessary? Perhaps it is built more for defense than offense. She decides not to ask immediately, preferring to focus on what she'd come here to do for the time being.

Diana nods in greeting. "Tex." Her eyes fall on the weapons the other woman carries, and she tries not to let her distaste show. She remembers how easily the bullets from these machines had killed her Amazon sisters, and how carelessly they'd been used in man's war. But, she thinks, it would be an insult to Antiope's memory to refuse an opportunity to learn of another culture's tactics. "Thank you again for your invitation. It is greatly appreciated."

[a_shadow]

"You don't need to trip over yourself thanking me, I'm not going to renege."

She goes in to the head of the first lane she's renting for this and pulls the .22 off her hip.

"First thing I'm going to show you is how to load it," she explains. "Once you're done firing, you'll pull out the clip and disassemble it."

[monomachy]

She tilts her head at Tex's words, but doesn't comment further. It's simply good manners to thank someone for helping you acquire a new skill. But it seems their session has begun, and Diana is no slacker when it comes to learning. She follows closely, wondering why the space is so cramped. How could one learn to move with the weapon in this environment? But they are just beginning, so she decides to simply trust the instruction. She takes a stance, feet shoulder-width apart and arms ready at her sides. "I am ready." She is resolute and prepared to learn.

[a_shadow]

"Okay, good," she says. "The bullets go in the clip like this. Each clip holds 14 bullets. I try to keep a few clips on me at any given time." She hands Diana a clip and allows her to have access to the box of bullets. "It's a little fiddly until you learn to do it fast. The clip slides in the gun like this—you release the clip when it's empty with this lever." She demonstrates dropping the clip a few times. "Let's load all these clips and then you can fire them all at once."

[monomachy]

Dark eyes follow Tex's hands, watching how she loads the clip with bullets and then the clip into the gun. It doesn't seem too terribly difficult, so Diana is confident when she's handed the clip. She studies the mechanism for a few moments before taking a bullet between her fingers, trying not to frown at it too much. This is a learning experience, and she knows she shouldn't bring a bias into it. She exhales slowly through her nostrils before slowly fiddling with the bullet and clip, attempting to to load it. "Have you taught many people about guns?"

[a_shadow]

"A few," she says hanging back now, watching. "Back when we first started arriving, in this universe we were on a ship. I was given the position of teacher there. I taught a couple people back then. Kids."

[monomachy]

Diana keeps her face stoic at the mention of children. She had been the only child on Themyscira, and had wanted so badly to learn to fight like her fellow Amazons. Her views have changed, but that doesn't mean she should judge children who would want to learn. "They offered me a similar position when I arrived here," she says, concentrating on her work. "Combat trainer, is what they called it."

[a_shadow]

"Yeah, they've got lots more work here on the planet than we had on the ship. I was more of a schoolteacher, back there. It's just that...well, that's not really my field of expertise."

Tex is feeling a little restless, just standing here watching Diana load the clips with bullets, but part of learning is doing, so she continues to wait for the job to be finished. Once it is, she'll be prepared to show Diana the proper stance and hand grip for holding the gun, and to explain to her how to aim.

[monomachy]

The clip is loaded soon enough, and inserted into the gun. The Amazon looks to Tex, awaiting further instruction--but she does have a question.

"What ship is that?" Having only just arrived, she doesn't know about the ship or the trials many had gone through to arrive on Thisavrou.

[a_shadow]

"The Moira. The closest thing we had to a home for a long time, traveling here. It had the universe's only mobile Ingress."

Tex lifts the other handgun, the .45, to demonstrate proper grip and stance. She had given Diana a .22, the better to get a feel for the sensitivity of the trigger of a gun.

"Now, trigger discipline," Tex says. "You don't put your finger on the trigger until you're absolutely ready to shoot." She grips the gun with her right hand, wraps the fingers of her other around it. Her index finger is straight. "Like this."

[monomachy]

After watching carefully, Diana copies Tex's grip. She nods, careful to keep her finger in the right position. She knows what pulling the trigger will do, and the harm a bullet flying from a gun can do. "What happened to it?" She has an inkling, but this is easier when she can make small talk and not entirely think about the pain such a small weapon can cause.

[a_shadow]

Tex pauses, loading her weapon, before responding.

"We experienced a series of holes in the universe when we approached the Midway Hub, which was where the Ingress was supposed to be able to be repaired. When we got there...we just crashed into it."

The targeting system is set up; Tex nods down Diana's lane.

"To aim, you line the sights on the front and back of the gun up with whatever you want to hit. I'm sure you know what the vulnerable spots are to hit on that target."

[monomachy]

Diana has no immediate response to such tragic news. She cannot imagine how hard it must have been for all those people to lose their hope in one fell swoop. Instead, she focuses on figuring out how to aim. The crosshairs are minuscule, but she finds her target and holds her arms steady. "Some other time, I will have to have you explain holes in the universe to me," she muses.

[a_shadow]

"If I understood it, I might have been able to help fix it. Keep it from happening."

She shakes her head a little, then takes this opportunity to do some practice shooting with the .45.

"But I think," she adds, "it might have something to do with us being here in the first place."

[monomachy]

Diana winces at the gunshots, remembering the first time she'd ever heard the terrible sound. More of her Amazonian sisters had fallen that day than any other time after the War of the Gods. It hurts to think about, and she tries not to let the feeling overwhelm her.

Evening out her breath, as if she were wielding a bow, Diana's eyes do not waver from her target. Her finger hesitates at the trigger, but after finding her resolve she pulls it. The gun seems to scream in her hand, though she knows the sound of it is no louder than Tex's had been a moment ago. The recoil startles her, but she holds tight to the weapon. Her aim had been a little off due to her hesitation, but it isn't bad for a first try.

She takes a deep breath, collecting herself. "What do you mean?"

[a_shadow]

"The same malfunctions of the Ingress that brought us here caused the holes," she says, continuing to shoot in a measured way. "Or so it seems. Maybe if we'd been able to interpret the data better, we would have figured out what to do to prevent it."

[monomachy]

After another deep breath, she raises the gun and fires again. Prepared for the recoil, her aim is markedly better the second time. But she doesn't continue as Tex does, instead lost in thought for a moment. "So the same machine that was on the ship is here, and both are causing these holes. After all this time, don't you think someone should have figured out why it was happening and how to stop it?"

[a_shadow]

"It would be nice to think so, wouldn't it?" she says, a bitter mutter. She sniffs in sharply, and casts her eyes to one side to view Diana. "There were these journals...but we may never know if we found the key to translate them or not." She has shot all the bullets from the clip she was using, so she drops it out of the gun and loads another.

[monomachy]

Slowly but surely, Diana follows suit. But instead of reloading, she turns to Tex. "What kind of key? Is it a cipher, or something more complex?" The men on the war council in London had thought Dr. Maru's notes needed a key, but they had simply been ancient texts. If these journals are similar, Diana thinks she might be able to help.

[a_shadow]

"It wasn't code. It was a whole other alphabet and language. We managed to make out a few things, but that's all."

She fires another shot at the target.

"It hardly matters now, since the Moira crashed when we reached the Midway Hub."