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 Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 4:25 pm
It used to be that Vyn felt bad for Aliez during combat training.
Most of their people weren’t built for combat; they weren’t a warfaring society, so perhaps it was to be expected that Aliez would have some difficulties when it came to defending himself or mounting a suitable offensive. Even Vyn wasn’t a natural at it right away. It took hours of practice, hours of study, and then hours more of the same repeated ad nauseum before he began to feel comfortable with the idea, let alone honed any sort of skill in the area.
So, when it came to training, Vyn tried to be understanding. He paired up with Aliez and went easy on him, because Aliez was useful in other areas, and surely if he kept trying, he’d eventually get the hang of his blaster.
Then the battle on the hill happened, and Vyn could no longer make excuses for him. Their mission was too important, the danger of this world too grave.
“You realize you can dodge, don’t you?”
Vyn shot at Aliez, again.
His shot hit Aliez, again.
When Aliez didn’t immediately retaliate, Vyn wondered if Aliez forgot to turn the safety off.
Again.
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Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 6:53 pm
Aliez knew he needed to be better with his blaster. He really did. He was trying and even as he got shot again by Vyn, he fumbled with his weapon and tried to ignore the tears in his eyes from the sting of the blasts.
“I know!” he gasped in distress as he quickly tried to move himself out of the way of another shot. He’d tried shooting at Vyn already, but in the heat of the moment he just… forgot what he was doing. He knew it was for safety, but if he could never remember how to turn it off, then what was the point?
So Aliez did the next best thing, and he threw the blaster at Vyn. And his throw was probably worse than his shooting. He winced as it landed near Vyn’s feet, and shuffled awkwardly in place as he tried to decide if he wanted to go and pick it up or if he wanted to find something else to keep himself from getting shot again.
“Wait, just… I can try again,” he suggested, cautiously making his way forward so he could try to pick up his blaster, but cringed the entire time, waiting for Vyn to show him no mercy.
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 5:08 pm
Indeed, Vyn showed him no mercy.
He let Aliez cross half the distance between them, then shot him before he could draw any closer.
“If this were a real battle, you’d be dead ten times over,” Vyn said. “The only reason you didn’t die that night on the field is because you didn’t do anything worth their attention. If it wasn’t for the fact that everyone around us was focused on the Commodore…”
Vyn scowled and kicked Aliez’s blaster off to the side.
It frustrated him to remember how helpless and pathetic the both of them had been. Aliez being that way was understandable; he was in the Vanguard more for his medical training than his physical prowess, but Vyn tended to excel where Aliez didn’t (and vice versa, but Vyn’s shortcomings weren’t as important at the moment).
Yet he’d made no difference in the battle. If he’d not been there, nothing about that night would have changed. His presence there was utterly meaningless, just a warm body among other warm bodies…
Covered in someone else’s warm blood.
Vyn swallowed and shook the thought from his head, frowning at his friend.
“I can’t keep covering for you all the time,” he said. “This isn’t like training. This is real, Aliez.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 7:25 pm
Aliez let out a yelp of pain when he was shot again, and he whimpered and stumbled backwards, trying to shake the stinging sensation from his arm by rubbing it. And then sputtered when Vyn kicked his blaster off to the side.
Vyn was right though. If this had been a real battle, he would have been dead. Just like their Commanders and fellow Cadets. He hung his head in sorrow, still not over the despair that ate at him from not being able to do anything. He knew now that there had been no way for him to save any of them-- they’d already been dead by the time he tried using his Source Stone on them. But as a healer, what good was he if he couldn’t even help anyone?
“I’m trying,” he promised, ignoring the tears in his eyes. He knew that Vyn was probably frustrated with him. Aliez was frustrated with himself. And he was afraid that the Commodore would see just how useless he was to their efforts and decide to send him back to Velencya.
He didn’t want to leave.
With determination, Aliez grit his teeth together and dove for his blaster, grabbed it and--
The safety was still on as he tried to shoot at Vyn, and his hands were too shaky to try and turn it off.
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:49 am
Vyn stood there. He didn’t stop Aliez from going for the blaster. He didn’t step out of the way when Aliez aimed at him. He didn’t make any move to dodge or retaliate when Aliez pulled the trigger.
Because he knew the safety was still on. Because it was always on. Because Aliez never remembered to turn it off.
Or didn’t want to turn it off. Or something. Vyn didn’t know. He didn’t really care at the moment either. One possibility was just as bad as the other. Both were liable to get Aliez or someone else killed.
Vyn scoffed and lowered his weapon.
“That’s it,” he said. “I’m telling the Commodore you’re useless with a blaster.”
For all their sakes, Aliez needed something more suited to his skillset, and a blaster wasn’t it.
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 6:14 pm
He didn’t know what to do. He just stared at Vyn as he lowered his weapon and said he would tell the Commodore that he was useless--
“W-wait!” he sputtered, but didn’t get up from where he dove to the ground to grab his blaster in the first place. “I’m trying.”
He was! He didn’t want there to be a reason for the Commodore to decide that he wasn’t good enough and to send him home. He wanted to be useful there.
But as much as Aliez wanted to get up and stop his friend, all he could do was sit and stare at the blaster in his hands. What use would he be if he couldn’t even try to defend those he cared for?
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