Asaca's Story

The sound of an arrow slamming home into a target rang across the range. It was quickly followed by grumblings, then again the snap of a bowstring rang out, a slightly louder thud was heard, this time followed by muttered curses in a string of words untranslatable because if they were translated then well, the person translating would get executed for certain words used in the translation.

Returning to the workbench the black haired woman laid the seemingly gold plated bow onto the bench surface and got to work on one of the springs. the bow looked as if it were selfbuilt, which it kind of was as Asaca had dound the weapon and kept modifiying it to make it better.

At this point with the constant modifying the draw weight of the weapon only someone with unnatural strength, or being a bodybuild could use, adn yet she drew the bowstring back perfect, launched a shot 500 meters, and nailed her target, which was to be hoped actually thankfully so.

Her ears perked up however at the sudden chime of the door bell going off. She then remembered where she was. She finished tighting a spring then set the tool aside and picked up her bow. Hitting the release slide the thing sprang tight as she had hoped. Now she just needed more arrows!

So she went into the main shop area wondering why the ringing bell driving her sensitive hearing over the edge with its endless dinging. Asaca's red eyes took in the show, thankfully they had archery stuff there, she headed for the archery gear, mostly for more arrows to shoot at really distant targets.

She halted however at sight of who was in the show, something felt off. Yet the owner seemed calm and goodnaturedm, hell he left her work on her bow there at no cost, the guy seemed downright facinated about the technology she used, mostly just spare parts, infact the last four CO3 canisters she had used she had scavanged off a smashed Wing City Public Bus! She just needed one more, which the shop had, and now she was testing the bow out with the CO3 keeping the springs coiled with their sheer pressure.

She felt nervous, not because of the weapons, but because of what she was, Pretahumans rarely lasted in most cities, the fact she was accepted on that world after finding a transport from Astria to the planet known as Terra, she seemed better off. For most part at least.

She stepped up to the counter, holding her bow in her left hand she tapped on the counter with her right knuckles holding out four fingers twice, meaning she was asking for eight more shots. 44" arrows werent cheap, yet this place had seemingly a countless number of the same arrows she required

Duty called. Issac apologized to Elanna as he went back inside.

The cyborg moved smoothly behiend his counter, taking the young man's image in as he recited his greeting.
" Welcome to On target, where we can get you on target---" He paused as the tall woman strode up the the counter next to the new comer.

Understanding what she had been asking for he reached under the counter to the stash of Carbon Steel shafts and counted out eight, then wrote down the price on a piece of scrap paper and slid it to her , but waved her off instead of exchanging currency, He wasn't worried about the lass. She had paid up for the one's she used already and was pleasant enough.

"--Sorry 'bout that. " He said turning back to the young man, not seeing his differences that the man had worried about. He instead focus on the man's weapon.

Rust, disrepair, nicks on the muzzle and god knows what else. He had seen hi-point's thrown in a dumpster after being used as door stops in better shape... But he wasn't one to outwardly judge, instead he took the weapon gingerly as if it were one of the most expensive pistols' he'd ever touched. He quickly found the magazine release and dropped the mag, and then racked the slide a few times to make sure the weapon was clear before inspecting the roller marks on the weapon.

9x19mm

" We've got a bunch in stock, are you looking for defensive ammo or just stuff for plinkin?" He asked offering the weapon back to it's owner by holding the muzzle towards himself.

Gerrit took his pistol back nervously, honestly surprised the man handed it over so casually. Then again, it was unloaded so he figured it didn't matter. "I dunno, I guess. Looking for any old ammo, and some range time if possible..", He paused, internally debating whether or not to just admit everything here and now, or wait. He decided to fess up pretty quick though. No point in hiding the truth, or being any more ashamed than he already was. Besides, this Issac guy would probably know he'd never actually used a gun before the second he stepped onto the range. "Truth be told this old thing is the only gun I've ever held. Only fired it hand full of times, don't have a single clue as to what I'm doing, either."

He slid the thing back into it's rag of a holster, grimacing as he did.

"Probably makin' one hell of a fool out of myself, but I got a dream, you know?" He looked Issac dead on, locking his eye's with the man's. Gerrit's nervous, shaggy face was now both grim, and hard as stone. He honestly looked like a man with more determination than worry Which was probably true, for the moment. "I'm gettin' off this world, some day. Gunna be a bounty hunter, or merc, or a soldier or somethin'. Gunna see places, but bullets in bad guys. All that good shit..", his grim stare broke for a minute as he chuckled, finally relaxing enough to poke fun at himself. "Except, you know. Can't even load the damn thing, hah!"

Asaca nodded her thanks, not speaking a word, in truth she was scared to do so around other people that werent people she had grown to trust like Issac, the guy had his own shop, and it included a machine shop as well where she could work on her bow and other stuff as need arose, it was like she had pretty much moved in, She even took time at times to help out around the store too, but sdhe didnt live there no, at the moment she had rented a room in the Azure District of Astira city.

Easily holding the eight 44" long carbon steel arrows in one hand Asaca quietly took her leave to the range behind the counter. She went for the furthest targets with some closer. Eight different targets.... no, she figured four would do, two shots apiece.

She set up for some target practise, by time she was done however there'd be dozens if not hundreds of 44" long arrows sticking through the backwall needed replacement or better yet perfectly find and still usible. With her bow in her left hand she used her right hand to set up an arrow against the bowstring, the wirelike string was actually steel cable at a 1/8th inch thick. the pressure was insane as she drew back, the 44" arrow just barely extended past her wrist.

She took aim with one arrow, let it fly, then swiftly took another shot before moving to the next target.

Eight solid THUDs were heard clearly inside the shop as each shot hit home perfectly, this time with no strange words said, other then a satisfied grunt. However hearing the man inside clearly made the woman wonder just why the guy was there ? Was he seeking a weapon ? Help in caring for one ? A job ?

She went back to the workbench and picked up a grag. She noted how many shots she'd fired off. for that day, she actually countred exactly two dozen. She'd collect the arrows after Issac closed for the day and make sure they could still be used before putting them back. It was liek she was putting toys away when one thought it.

Issac's tight jawed face highlighted the dead seriousness of his stare as he locked eyes with the man. He didn't even seem to breath.

Put bullets in bad guys...

For what seemed like a moment caught on a trip wire he stared at the young man with stone cold grey eyes.
Then a smirk crept across his face and a laugh erupted from him.

" Well, you wouldn't make it very far if you can't do that now could ya? Nah you did a smart thing commin' here." He said picking a couple of boxes of 115 grain 9x19 up from the shelf. Low recoiling stuff that was great for teachin' folks on.

" Tell ya what, We'll go over the basics, and then I'll show you a thing or two. I've got enough surplus 9mm I could afford to lose a box or two." He said with a wink.

He turned on a heel and went over to a table that faced the range, A thick bullet proof , tinted ,window separated the two, This way Issac could keep an eye on everyone at the range while teachin' the lad the basics.

" So, where'd you come from? " Issac asked, taking his sidearm from the concealed holster at the small of his back and went about emptying it.

The mk32 Dedicated Combat Pistol was boxy, silver, and in near predestine condition.
The pistol wasn't all the much different from the one the man carried. Most pistol's weren't much different if you thought about it. As Issac listened he went about breaking the pistol down into it's largest parts, then smaller, setting the down in a way that made sense if you wanted to put it back together.



*** The mk32 DCP was A semi automatic, roller delayed blow back action weapon. It held 16 .40 H&R ( .40x25 mm) rounds per magazine. The slide was anodized black , and it had a full steel frame with a grip made of some rubber that seemed to stick to the users hand, but then formed neatly against the users hand after a firm squeeze. It was heavy, weighing in at 3 pounds 1 oz.

The sights were actually duel-action. If the user looked down the iron sights they would see the standard 3 dot system, but if they moved their eye out of alignment a red dot would appear above the front and rear post. These were a one way hologram and could only be seen from the shooters line of sight.

There was no safety on this model as it was a modified double single action. The first round fired from de-cocked would be around 8 pounds of force to pull while every following shot was a scant 2 lbs with only 2.5mm of travel for the trigger reset.
Isaac had actually made this one himself.

More than surprised at the man's laugh, and apparent kindness, all of the tension drained out of Gerrit's body. He followed the man to the table, excitement welling up in his chest. He was about to sit down opposite Issac when the man asked his question. Funny thing, Gerrit thought, since both he and Issac sounded fairly Terran. "Terran, mate. Wing City, all my life. First time leaving it in fact."

Sad but true, at 32 he'd never left home. Never been able to afford to, or had a good reason. Always someone in his life to tell him not to.

He watched intently as Issac dismantled his pistol, amazed at how deft and flawlessly the man did it. He pulled his own side-arm out and tried to match what his "instructor" had done, getting a fair amount of the large pieces out without too much trouble. "You know, someday I hope to be a marksmen, a real one. In fact I do hope to buy some sort'a rifle before I leave. Just figured best to learn with what I got first, right?" He chuckled a little while fumbling with the smaller pieces, his large, rough hands not wanting to work delicately. "I'll be payin' for ammo too. ain't never taken charity in my life, no need to start, eh? Although I appreciate the kindness."

The gun was..Mostly dissembled by the time he stopped talking. Some pieces Gerrit simply couldn't get out right, others seemed to be..Missing. The poor thing was in horrible shape, the spring alone was pure rust, but was likely able to get back into place properly. Gerrit just smiled though, happy with his "handy-work", and happy to be around the first person who didn't call him an idiot for wanting to pump assholes full of lead, and make a difference in the universe.

"I'm quick enough learner with my hands, I've been told. But..Damn if this thing ain't missin' a bunch'a part."

Red eyes watched impassively and seemingly unphased by the weapons others used, her ears rang with each shot but then the moments of hearing loss werent long, maybe lasting a minute to a minute and a half or so before hearing ability returned to full strength antyhow thanksto what she was. Rapid healing was on e of the perks of being the daughter of a famed killer.

But then so too were threats to one self, which was why she constantly worked on her bow, hell her apartment was a security nightmare alone with dozens of traps everywhere to begin with. But with the sheer amount of firepower she apparently was alowwed to be near or work with given the fact she prefered a bow as quiet as her own...

So she watched from behind a bullet proof andwhatever proof actually, glass at the other people at the range for the time being. She had been away that morning, post office to send something important, hopefully it was where she had hoped it to be, in the hands of who tried to contact her during her nightly sleep... what others might call meditation.

But now she watched the woman firing the energy pistol, well this seemed interesting. The woman was short, shorter then any she had met or come across in her lifetime. Most of the women she had met were about her height. or two meters or thereabouts. Nevertheless her attention went from the woman to the counter where Issac was somehow teaching an older man how to use a weapon ?

Didnt make too much sense yet the woman seemed curious about the man, both men were short compared to her yes, but still. Both men were examining a weapon, she watched, her arms crossed, this was interesting to see. then again Asaca by then was bored, her hand held the grag she asked to drink, a very strange mix of eggnog and moscato wine

The one man who was there seeking help apparently, seemed nervous, wanting to save others ? She heard everything, put bullets in bad guys. I hope he means vampires or other Supernaturals Asaca thought, naturally all pretahumans had the innate hate for supernatural creatures, yet sometimes there was also kindess towards those who provide aid over hate.

But Issac was kind to her and let her use his machine shop to work on her bow; the bow in one hand she went over things, mnentally calculating how many arrows she had fired over the course of that day; and also making a note to speak to the man wanting to put down a baddie or two. So she stepped from behind the safe area she had picked out and moved to where issac and Gerrit were at and simply observed what was going on.

The next few hours of instruction were fairly simple, most explaining how weapons worked. Miss photu had actually joined , and gave Issac a chance to touch on the subject of Auto loading pistols vs revolvers , their pros and cons, and the various situations where one might trump the other. Shooting stance was covered, as well as sight picture and trigger squeeze. All in all Issac thought these two could do with some range time. Range time was pretty simple, a six foot ( 1.8 M) target standing 21 (6.4m) feet away.
He gave both of them 5 target shoot for score, the last target was a full sized photo of someone holding a weapon instead of a plain target, the target looked shockingly real. While they shot, Issac gatherd up his Rifle and case, and simply slung the whole heavy kit across his back.

"Asaca , excellent shooting today, I look forward to making some suggestions for that bow of yours later." he said in passing with a smile.

He turned back to his students.

" Next targets we will be working on defensive drill shooting. I will demonstrate after we finish these rounds. I will score your targets, if you obtain at least a 75% kill rate we will progress, if not, well there are still a good number of hours in the day." He boomed over the gunfire, his voice being easily heard.


After a moment he turned back to his friend Elanna. " Anyhow, I'm glad you've got her working again, what brings you back to this part of the world? " He asked, not bothering to hide his curiosity today.

Gerrit took his stance, blocking out the world around him. Not even Issac's booming voice couldn't reach him in his focus. The target wasn't too far away, but it felt like an impossible golf for Gerrit. The old rustbucket of a gun shook a little in his unsteady hands, the roughed up grips irritating the skin. He took a deep, deep breath and pointed the barely at the first, nearest target.

This would be the sixth time in his life he fired a gun.

Bang

The bullet sailed past the target, ending up gods know where. He'd missed by a damn mile. He thought about giving up right then and there, his nerves returning, but in the end he couldn't. Instead he paused, and did his best to gather himself. This was his dream, this was what he wanted, this was how he became a a war-machine. He raised the pistol again, this time closing one eye and lining the sights up with the target's center of mass.

He knew better than to aim for the head, that's what all rookies did on videos.

His hands still shook, but he inhaled, closing his other eye for a second. When they opened up again, his hands found stability. He was picturing the target as something other than paper. An Aschen, one with a gun, charging right for him. The one that gunned Rex down in cold bold, back in the invasion.

Bang, bang, bang, bang.

He squeezed the trigger four times, steady hands, and in time with his breath. Each round hit the target, although barely at first. The first shot clipped the bottom of the paper, the second a bit higher. The third shot fell where the liver would be on complete accident, and the final just below the heart. He blinked and examined his work. Not bad, he thought, for a total novice anyway.

He really wanted to look over at the other person's aim, but he didn't need the depression. He focused on the task at hand, guiding the sights onto the next target.

Let's do it..Bang...Bang...Bang..

Asaca smiled and nodded to Issac; she remembered when they first met and how things worked out in the long run, the range and store gave her a brief buit of income to pay rent, and also allowed her to work on her bow when she required it, but she could carry her bow in public and nobody dared tell her otherwise. There were a few small problems with her working on it at home which caused her to seek out a place she could work on the bow and not have to pay for it when she barely could pay rent.

At least until she found Issac's gun range and store. The man was nice, and when he saw the conditiomn her bow was in {at the time it was in several dozen peieces and was trying to get it working again} he offered her to use his machine shop for as long as she needed, including a job with just enough pay to pay her rent every month. Asaca agreed to the terms. Anything damaged by her she'd pay for, but any arrows fired she'd try and make sure they could be reused.

Of course carbon steel arrows were not cheap, costing 88R to fire just one of them {that's 12cents american} so whatever she had fired she could find again and checjk their condition to ensure safe usablity for longer periods. Each set of eight the price was put down and whatever she could not reuse she paid for out of her paycheck,

It worked in the short term, it gave her a means tpo pay her rent.

But there was the matter of why she was gone that mornuing and hadnt come into the shop until later that afternoon. Thankfully Issac didnt ask what kept her, normally it was traffic but she had a odd perk to her step as she seemed to be lighter on her feet.

"Shore leave, but tomorrow I have to head to Wing City back to my ship, and then I get another year long deployment in the ass end of Aschen space." Elanna replied, running her finger across Winona's smooth finish, while her eyes passively drifted over to Gerrit. "Looks like you have your handful with that one." Elanna commented, twitching slightly at each pop of his weapon.

"I'm no expert, but he's too nervous, his accuracy is all over the place." She said, before she held Winona out, grip facing Isaac. "Play with Winona for awhile, I'm going to take a crack at our friend here, if you don't mind?" She said, offering a soft smile. "I've trained my fair share of recruits in my time." She said.

Elanna smiled and placed a hand on Isaac's shoulder before she moved over to the firing line, watching as Garrit fired round after round into the targets, she waited for a pause, for him to reload before her soft voice crept into his ear.

"You're flinching, and you're leaning too far back." She said, placing a hand on his back to ease him forward. "Your accuracy is all over the place, you have to hit your enemy before he hits you." She said calmly.

To the casual observer, the woman in the floral sundress looked somewhat out of place, but her toned body betrayed some kind of military background. Her service barcode was tattooed on the inside of her forearm, near her wrist, but otherwise her smooth olive skin lacked much if any indicator of outside exposure.

The slight reddening of her hands were also indicating of extensive energy weapons use, afterall she had been firing Winona not long ago.

"Here." She said, running her arms down his, correcting his grip on the handgun, as she moved the barcode on her wrist was obvious.

"Stop shaking, it'll throw your aim, just focus on your target, and open fire." She said.

He had emptied the mag a little faster than he should've. You watch enough holo-vids, and action movies, and you kind of forget that ammunition is a real, finite thing. He paused for a moment, sliding the magazine out of his ratty 9mm, before scooping up a handful of bullets. The were heavy, well not heavy, but heavier than he expected something so tiny to be. He stared down at them for a moment, realizing just how real it all ways.

Rounds might be finite things, but the people deserving of them in the chest weren't.

He'd just filled the mag, loaded the gun, and had it cocked and ready when the strange woman approached him. He honestly jumped a bit when she touched his back, having been off in his own world it surprised him. His instinct was to whirl around to face who it was, but the sudden helpful advice, and delicate fingers correcting his grip, told him he wasn't in any danger. Of course, he was now five times as nervous.

He wasn't shy around women or anything, it'd just been a long time since he'd been in contact with one. Even on Terra, who wants to date am angry, faceless construction worker? So the whole touching thing just felt out of place, even if she was only trying to help.

"Sorry for jumpin' ma'm," he spoke quickly as her arms met with his, growing all the more uncomfortable. The tattoo caught his attention though. Who gets a bar-code? "Not used to any stranger just comin' up, and puttin' a hand on me. Especially not when I'm holdin' a gun." He carefully aimed at the target, doing his best to focus. "Might wanna cover your ears, ma'm, not a quiet thing, but you know that."

With that he squeezed off four quick shots. The first two of which were sloppy, barely hitting the target at all, while the other two hit just about the waist of the little paper man. A marked improvement.

"Well I'll be fucked, that's a start!", he went tense again for a moment, shaking his head. "Sorry ma'm, for the swearin'. Not polite around a lady, and all. Even on a gun-range."

"You're still flinching." She said, stepping back to allow him to shoot. Noting that his aim was getting better, but she was still making a face, four shots, two barely hitting the target, the other two hitting the man's torso.

Elanna held out her hand and smiled. "Here, watch me closely." She said. "Let me show you what I mean." She said, gesturing for him to hand her the gun. Should he hand her the gun, she would contemplate it for a moment.

She made a face, a slight frown marked by furrowed eyebrows as she tried to recall how Isaac taught her how to wield the weapon. It was no disruptor, but many of the foundations were the same.

"You have to relax, and focus on your target." Elanna said, moving her feet into a stance that was seemingly a mix of both the isosceles and weaver stances. This particular shooting stance was drilled into the soldiers of the Aschen Military, feet shoulder width apart, left foot forward, right foot back, the body bladed slightly, while the arms were forward with the elbows unlocked. A stance that was ideal for the cumbersome Aschen energy weapons, but somewhat awkward with conventional firearms.

She fired once, the round hit dead center mass, she fired again, and again, the second and third round was off by a few inches, by no means was it a tight group, she fired again and again, correcting her aim and catching center mass.

She relaxed slightly, and racked the weapon, ensuring it was empty before passing it back.

"I'm new at this." She admitted. "Not my kind of weapon." She added, placing the cleared pistol on the table. "Try the stance I demonstrated, squeeze the trigger, don't flinch."

He handed the pistol over without hesitation, it was clear she knew what she was doing. He only hoped it didn't break. He watched her closely, noting that she looked almost as lost with it as he did, which made him feel a little better. He also couldn't help but catch just how muscular she was, and the distinct lack of tanning. He wondered about it for a moment, deciding maybe she was some kind of military woman, or a gym instructor, or..Something.

Her stance broke his train of thought though, it was odd, and it reminded him of something. He just couldn't place what.

Still, her grouping was way the hell better than his, so maybe he'd just seen marksmen use it or something. When she was all done he scooped his pistol up, chuckling a bit. "You're new? You can at least hit the target, me on the other hand.." He took the mag out, and began refilling it. "First damn time shooting, really. You know what you're doing, I think I've even seen that stance somewhere before.." Once the gun was all loaded, and racked he went over and attempted the position himself.

His was a poor, clumsy imitation of it, but it still resembled it. Mostly.

He had the target in his sight when he paused, swiveling his head to look at the lady. "You know..If you don't mind me askin' that is, ma'm..I can't help but notice that a sundress is out of place for a shooting range, and I've never seen a proper lady like yourself with an arm tattoo. Much less a bar-code. Where you from?"

"Well.. I'm new to these kinds of weapons." She replied. "I've had extensive training in various energy and magnetic induction weapons, but not conventional chemical firearms. They're somewhat awkward to me." Elanna replied, looking to the rusty gun on the table, while Garrit picked it up.

"Feet shoulder width apart, right foot behind, left foot forward. The recoil will be absorbed much easier that way, your stance will be more stable." She said.

Then the question as to where she was from came about. She had to think on the answer, she knew that there were a lot of people with bad tastes left in their mouths from the previous occupations. Occupations that occurred when Elanna was a commander, serving somewhere in the ass end of the Empire.

She looked down at the bar-code and frowned, the olive skin contrasting against the black ink. Garrit was right in thinking she lacked a tan, especially for a complexion as hers, which could be described as Mediterranean, or even Spanish. If one were to use earth allegories.

"I'm from Langara." She replied simply, staring down at the barcode, but in a way she could keep one eye on the man with the weapon. "More specifically Queenstown, it's a city in the Imperial Province of Picon, very pretty, very warm."

She purposefully omitted the fact she was associated with the Military.

Gerrt's entire being went rigid in an instant. Langara. Now it made sense, now it all made sense. She..It...Was Aschen, and not just. She didn't have to say it, but he knew. He knew she was military. You don't get muscle like that, or weapons training being a merchant, or a janitor. Not even the batshit Aschen could be that militaristic in his mind. The pistol went off, the hand gripping it had reflexively clenched into a fist, ignoring that his finger was on the trigger.

The round harmlessly discharged, hitting the target just below the torso. His best shot of the day.

He was silent, and radiating tension for a moment, but a low, almost rumbling whisper escaped him. "How do you sleep at night..?", the question was soft spoken, almost timid, neither quality common for the large man. It was a fleeting thing though, the calm before the maelstrom. In an instant he whirled around, dropping the gun, and standing up as straight as he could.

He was quite a bit larger than the woman, and easily at least twice her size. No doubt her military training could take him out easily, but he didn't care. He wasn't rational, he wasn't thinking clear.

"What the fuck is a monster like you doing on Terra?", his question was a demanding shout as he took a step closer, rage seething from his voice, fire in his eyes. "What exactly gave you murdering bastards the impression you were welcome here?", another angry growl, another threat. "Are you scumbags so fucking arrogant you think you can just murder, and torture, and burn away a planet, then stroll back in with a smile?" His large, powerful fists unballed, his empty hands reaching out for the wooden table beside the two.

He had to hold something, or else he'd go for her neck. He was always taught not to ever hit a woman no matter what, but this. Thing. Was no woman. It was just a monster with a feminine skin-suit.

His grip on the solid wood tightened to such an extreme it started to splinter under his strength. He may have been just a dumb construction worker, but he was stronger than an oxen. Rage was swallowing him whole. "You killed everyone!", he bellowed, furious glare locking with Elanna's eyes. "You killed Tim, and Rex, and Clane, and Hank.." His body was actually quivering with anger.

"You tortured, and humiliated Dianne, you thugs raped Claire. You burned my best friend alive!" He couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't keep it in. With one swift, violent motion he jerked the incredibly heavy table off the ground, flipping it end over end as he threw it about five feet away. Spare ammo tumbled everywhere. There was now nothing between him, and it. Not lunging was a struggle, but he stayed still.

"You are the exact kind of..Monster..", he spat the last word, literally. "That I'm doing all this to learn how to kill.", It was just too much for him. The Aschen..Thing. Touched him. It smiled, and laughed, like it was a person, but it wasn't. It tried to help him, but now that just felt like a mockery. His skin crawled, he felt like he was covered in muck from her touch.

Something in him changed, his glare shifting from pure hatred, to a sort of cold detachment. The kind somebody has when they truly are about to something awful. The stare of a killer."I'm going to put a fucking bullet in ever last one of you genocidal maniacs.", he spoke cooly now, his voice almost monotone, but the raw malice behind it was obvious, and imminence. "You might want to leave, unless you'd like to be my first."

Stepping back into the gun range after sneaking out to run up to the post office in the city not far off Asaca had missed most of the screaming nd yelling however whe nshe returned she saw the man, Gerrit, going against a smaller woman, much smaller woman at that. Oh brother. She knew of the past on this world being so upsetting t omany, lost friends, ruins everywhere. Yet in some areas it was much different. Yet some people held grudges that tend to extend forever.

And she could tell as well that even though the woman was most likely well trained; but even with issac between them Asaca knew trhat things just might not end up the right way. So thinking quckly she called out. "Madam, Do you need some aid ?" Anything to get Elanna out of the crosshairs, perhaps a drink or someone to talk to ? Her voice was soothing, almost like silk. though ith ad a very strange almost supernatural tone to it, like an accent that felt from a different realm entirely.

Asaca only knew the planets history, not its enemies, and honestly for her, if she could make more friends in that area, then by all means she'd so just that! even if it meant sticking her neck out for another and quite possibly unarming another man to do so. But with her two meter height Asaca herself towered over the other woman, hell over the other men too. But she was also scared, mostly because of others finding out what she was and sending word to one who wanted her family dead.

But of course two of that family survived, seven brothers, two daughters. Onhly the daughters survived. But Asaca didnt know that.... yet

though Issac could see an odd almost firelike spark in Asaca's normally dull grayred eyes

Something made her happy

Rage. Despite what people want to believe, what they tell themselves to excuse their actions, and understand others, is actual a very complex emotion. It has a certain duality to it, like a roaring inferno on one hand, violent, and loud, fast, and large, and cold as the sea on the other. The latter is the far more deadly, and frightening, of the two. It doesn't cloud your vision, blind your judgement, or make you rash, and impulsive.

It slows the world around you, provides shocking clarity as your veins turn to ice. It's what can change a man from humble, and honest, to a sociopath.

It was that frightening latter that had swallowed Gerrit up whole. His body was rigid, his posture almost in-humanly perfect, all the fire died out of his eyes. An absolute emotionless void replaced it. He looked like someone in a trance, or someone without a soul. Whatever the case, to humans at least, his appearance would be unnatural, the kind of unnatural that was just wrong. That made people around him uncomfortable.

Hell, maybe the Devil himself had gotten a foothold, who knows. That's what's Gerrit's mom would have said, if she was still alive.

His eyes remained locked on Elanna, narrowing as she adjusted her stance. He was right, military, plain as day. He ignored her empty apologizes, and while he didn't break eye contact he began to pay more attention to Issac. The man must've thought he was rather graceful, but Gerrit could hear him easily. Hard steps, the creaks of joints, his breath. Right now the simple human that was Gerrit was in sensory-overdrive.

"Easy now,"

Gerrit's face, though still hard as stone, creased into a hollow smirk. He let Issac finish his little rant, barely listening. That man, while obviously a soldier, and great marksmen, was wrong. When Issac finally shut up, Gerrit exhaled. "You don't know what you're talking about, Issac." His eyes stayed locked with Elanna. "Cruel? I'm in no rush to do anything cruel. I refuse to do anything cruel. Vampires, demons, bandits, slavers, Aschen..", he spoke the last word with an intense venom. "Those are my targets. Creatures, monsters. Not people. And if you really think being a soldier pardons you for the things you've done..It doesn't."

He finally broke his stare with the Aschen woman, his empty eyes locking with Issac's.

"Soldiers do as soldiers do"? He laughed. "It must be nice, to able to justify doing horrible things by blaming someone else. It must help you sleep at night, to have put yourself in a position where somebody else could decide your morals for you. Tell you what was right, and what wasn't. I had heard great things about you," he turned, walking over to his gun on the ground, and snatching it up, shoving it directly into the holster. He wasn't dumb, he made it obvious he wasn't going to use it. He was outmatched by leagues. "But if that's something you truly believe in, you're a weak coward, who admits to being unable to think for himself."

That was when Asaca spoke up. Her voice was sweet, but her attempts to aid an Aschen just made her sound repulsive to Gerrit.

It was beyond time to leave. He'd learn somewhere else, buy somewhere else. This was a mistake, Terra was the last spot he thought he'd find Aschen apologists, but here they were. He fished in his back pocket, icy eyes once again fixed on Elanna. He produced a credit slip for 2k in Terran, and placed it on the overturned table, mumbling that it was for the damages, ammo, and lesson.

"All three of you can relax. I'm not a smart person, but I'm not suicidal." He walked past the three of them, desiring a shower to get their filth off. "I wouldn't be so thoughtless as to attack someone at a gun range."

Issac simply stared at the flipped table for a moment and set it right with little effort.
"...Range is closed, please take your gear and head out... Thank you all for comming out today, Next time is free of charge. " He said with a lethargic tone before disappearing the same direction as Gerrit. He watched the boy until he left, no sense letting him get the drop on Someone on their way out for what ever misguided reason. Who killed who during what conflict was a petty thing unless you actually saw a person doing it... just blaming it on a group of people didn't accomplish much.. Issac knew this first hand.

After Gerrit left Issac when to the far edge of the shop and unlocked a door leading to a stair case, and then wandered down stairs to his home.

The sound of a hoverboard approaching the exterior gun shop was the only warning on that particular morning. The front door opens to admit the first customer of the day, a young man in his mid-teens with medium length golden hair, a boyish regal face and simple glasses. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white hoodie, with a hoverboard folded up under his arm.

The boy, who seemed to be looking around expectantly, made his way around the room to look at the many different fire arms and ammunition types. He didn't seem to know what he was looking at as an expression of confusion followed him wherever he went.

Stopping in front of the hand guns the kid yawns from the early morning hour before leaning in to inspect them further. He takes a holo-pad out of his pocket and holds his board in his armpit while he swiped the screen to find a picture of a handgun. He had no idea what the gun was called, but soon enough he found the same one in front of him in the shop.

Comparing the two guns the kid begins reaching for the real one while closing his holo-pad and putting it away in his pocket.