Star Wars Fanon:FW/Iron Maiden

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Iron Maiden
Nominated by: -- Josh Bender Talk 06:05, October 18, 2009 (UTC)

Nomination comments: Another great short story from Atarumaster88.-- Josh Bender Talk 06:05, October 18, 2009 (UTC)

Excerpt
''The rifle is familiar in my hands. It’s smooth and comfortable, fits in my hands like a well-worn glove. I know the feel of its stock against my shoulder, the worn composite of the grip, my eyes lining up along the sights as if by instinct. I hear the rasp as the magazine slides into place and just the sound tells me that it’s in place properly. Even the weight of the weapon feels just as it should. Everything’s just the way it should be.

I’m not even using a helmet-I don’t need its gadgetry to do this job, and even without the AI loaded into it, it’s far too distracting sometimes. Right now, it’s just me, the weapon, and the target. The way it should be. I line the long muzzle up and squint down the scope. It’s a firing range, so there’s no crosswinds to foul up the shot, but I check the readings anyway. My finger tightens on the trigger, applying precisely .75 kilos of force on it. It takes a full kilogram of force to squeeze the trigger. The rifle moves with the rhythm of my breathing, up and down, up and down. I synchronize my shot with that timing, and the 10 X 90 mm tungsten-durasteel alloy round cracks forward from the rifle at about five times the speed of sound to impact into the target with a satisfying thwack, just like it should. The butt of the rifle kicks against my lightly armored vest and shoulder, but it’s nothing new. I don’t check to see if I shot well-no professional does. I just prepare to fire again, timing it, one-two-three-BLAM! And then again. And again. Eight times, I repeat that routine, until the clip is empty. Now, I check the targeting.''