Chapter 8 Target Practice

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The next star date, mostly everyone was not feeling their best due to the alcohol from the party. You only had a shot, so you felt fine. Although when it came to your mentality about what you learned about your parents, maybe you weren't so fine after all. It was a lot of information to take in. You couldn't stop thinking about it. You had so many questions, but none of them could be answered and there was nothing you could do about it. Might as well just put it aside and accept it.

To keep your mind focused on the upcoming mission, you decided to practice your phaser skills as the shooting range. It wasn't as big like the one at the academy, but it would do. Just a few officers lingered on the inside in one of the rooms. Passing by you could see they were chatting and not paying attention to their shots. "I advise that you take this practice seriously", someone told them. The men wiped the carelessness off their faces, "Yes, Commander. Sorry sir" they apologized. What were the odds Commander Spock was in this room? Not very good, yet there he is. You obtained your phaser from the nearby weapons locker and set up your practice target in a spate room. It wasn't a real phaser. The way they set up the practice was more like a video game, though you might as well be using a real one because it was so realistic. There were multiple modes to practice with, but you went with the basic target practice. Targets show up and you shoot them. You put on the googles and tried to stay focus due to the fact that the Commander might be watching. You weren't the best shooter, but you were decent. Though brushing up on your skills would prove to be beneficial. You closed the door behind you and started the simulation. The lights dimmed slightly and targets appeared on the wall in front of you. You took your time and shot each target with precision. As each set of targets were shot, the pace started to speed up. Targets appeared at a faster pace and you had to shoot them before they disappeared. The faster it got, the clumsier your shots became. You started to miss the bull's eyes. Yet again, this was just practice. After missing a set amount, the game ended. You went to check your score on the computer. It wasn't the best, your accuracy was decent. Though, you could consider that just a warm up. Let's try that again, you told yourself.

You repeated the course a few times, until you got your score to improve. It wasn't the biggest improvement, but you were making progress. You stepped outside of the room to take a break and was approached by the Commander. "I see you are making improvements Miss (Y\N)" he told you. So he has been watching you. "Yes, Sir. I thought I would brush up on my shooting just in case I have to arm myself in the future" you said. He nodded, "Then if you don't mind I would like to practice with you for a few rounds" he asked. Practice with you? He was totally going to put your scores to shame. Though you could say you did mind, but maybe you could learn something from him that would make you better. "I'd be honored Commander", you replied. The Commander set up the game and explained the rules to you. It was pretty simple. You shoot the red targets and the Commander would shoot the blue ones. A straight on versus battle. Targets would appear on any of the walls in the room, so you'd have to be vigilant. You hoped you wouldn't make a total fool of yourself in front of Commander Spock. "Ready?" the Commander asked. You nodded. Ready as you'll ever be. Commander Spock started the game.

It wasn't too bad at first, until the targets started to pop up in weird random spots. In corners, on the ceiling and even behind you. You couldn't stand still for one second. ON the other hand, the Commander was complete calm. He kept his eyes alert waiting for targets to appear and with accuracy he hit them spot on. This kind of training made you panic a bit. The targets would appear out of nowhere and quickly fade away if you didn't shoot it right away. It felt like the targets were going to ambush you. Eventually, all you saw were spots of red and blue and refused to shoot anymore. The game ended after you missed a set amount. The lights came back on, leaving you a bit dazed. "Miss (Y\N) are you alright?", Commander Spock asked. You allowed yourself to take a few deep breaths, "I'm sorry sir. I couldn't handle it" you apologized. It was just training, but somehow you felt ashamed. "I should apologize Miss (Y\N). I shouldn't have put the game on such a high difficulty without asking" he told you. Well no wonder things went crazy real fast. But if that's the level Commander Spock trains at, then you got a long way to go or perhaps shooting just isn't your thing. The Commander let you set up the next round, you went back to the game you were training with. Targets just on one wall. You set the game on versus and put it on normal difficulty. This time around was sooo much easier to handle. Although the Commander still kicked your butt when it came to the scores.

Commander Spock urged you to try some of the other game settings, saying that each had a specific way of teaching you certain skills. So you tried them with him, on normal setting of course. It was a bit scary at first, but you got the hang of it. You started to play with more confidence. A bit too much confidence when you accidentally hit the Commander with your weapon while switching directions. "Sorry, sir", you apologized. Commander Spock wasn't offended, "It's alright. I'd rather see you playing confidently. Just remember to focus as well" he told you. Right. Focusing is important.

After the game, the Commander was called back onto the bridge. "I'll return your weapon for you Commander", you offered him. Commander Spock nodded and gave you his phaser, before he left. Finally you were alone again. Should you do another round or go do something else? You thought about it while using your psychic abilities to twirl your weapon around. The idea suddenly hit you. You weren't exactly good with your abilities, perhaps you could practice that somehow. Though, it's not like there are any record of what you could do. Might as well experiment a bit. As far as you knew, you could handle one item at a time. It could be possible to handle two or more at once. You weren't going to get too carried away. Another idea hit you. If you were decent at using a weapon with your actually hands, would you be better if you used your psychic abilities to handle weapons? It was worth a shot. You started another game, but on easy this time. Before pressing START, you fiddled around with the fake phaser. Making sure you could use your abilities to move it around and squeeze the trigger. You were more than capable of doing it, but this would be the first you did something like this. Usually you would use your abilities to pick up objects or move them. Not really much complexity there. Though there could be a time where you would need to do something you're not used to. Better safe to experiment now than be sorry later. Once you felt ready, you started the game. Playing on easy would be a nice start for you, using this method. You were able to hit the targets easily, but you wonder just what more you could do. You could possibly use your ability to use weapons quickly and efficiently. It would take a lot of practice to sync your mind with your actions, though. There must be a method to doing that. Until then, the more your get used to it, the more your brain will be familiar with it.

The more you practices, the easier it became. You got a better feeling for it and had a sudden realization. If your mind can think it, you could do it. It's similar to how you move your body without struggle. All you think about is walking forward and you do it without trouble. The brain sure is amazing. You thought for a fraction of a second 'swing the weapon to right in an uppercut like motion' and it happened. The only problem was to make sure your physical body didn't get in the way of anything. But as long as you don't think of you getting hit, you should be ok. Hopefully.

This was surely interesting. You'll make sure to practice more often.


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