11 June 2037
03:45
Shooting Range 14, New Eden
Jacob entered the range with his students and made his way to the weapons racks. He picked up an AK12 from the rack and inspected it as he said, "Russian AK12 assault rifle, attached with 2 times to 4 times variable scope, 40-round 5.45mm magazine, and a standard muzzle brake. This is the standard rifle of the SNA and will be yours too. Remember these things:
1. Your rifle is an extension of your body, a part of your soul. Never lose it.
2. Be sure that the rifle safety catch is on when not in combat. Turn it off when expecting tangos, but keep your fingers off of the trigger till the last moment before you fire.
3. Never aim your rifle towards a friendly, even as a joke.
4. Never let the barrel of your rifle touch the ground. Letting dust, mud or rocks in the barrel is the most common way to get your weapon jammed.
5. The standard way is to fire in semi-auto. Be precise and deadly. You only need 1 bullet to take down an enemy, not the whole mag.
6. If the enemy gets too close, it's better to loose the rifle and go in for a melee kill, as the long rifle will make it hard for you to aim at a fast-moving enemy.
And lastly, switching to your pistol is faster than reloading."
Jacob looked at the students and then smirked as he looked at one female student and said, "Hmm. Cadet Choudhury, come forward."
A British girl in her late teens came forward. She had long golden hair and black eyes.
"Introduce yourself to your fellow cadets."
The girl turned around towards the students and said, "Hello everyone. My name is Luna Choudhury. I'm currently nineteen years old, and I plan to join the Espionage class next year. Nice meeting you all."
Everyone clapped. Jacob said, "Perfect. Cadet Choudhury here will demonstrate us her shooting skills."
Jacob handed the rifle to Luna as he whispered, "Make your dad proud, kid."
Luna looked at Jacob for a second with pure disgust in her eyes and whispered, "Uncle Jacob. I have a lot of stories in my arsenal. You want me to unleash them?"
Jacob whispered, "That'd be a problem. So please, don't."
Luna smiled contently and made her way to the range. Jacob said, "ARIA, deploy targets S1 through 15 and M1 through 7. Cadet, fire as soon as you hear the beep."
22 targets appeared on the empty field in front of Luna, and a few seconds later, a small beep sound came from the range speakers. Just as Luna heard the sound, she quickly started firing. The direction of her barrel changing was fast yet precise. She fired 22 bullets, creating a hole in each of the 22 human-shaped metal sheets.
Luna took a few steps back and looked at the screen up top. A second later, the following writing came up on the screen.
"Shooter: Cadet Luna Choudhury
Targets: Stationary: 15
Moving: 7
Shots fired: 22
Accuracy: 100%
Closest Target: 15 meters
Furthest Target: 150 meters"
Everyone clapped as Luna turned back towards the students. A smug smile appeared on Luna's face as Jacob said, "Woah. Good job, Cadet. You... exceed my expectations."
Luna handed the rifle back to Jacob as she whispered, "How's that for making my dad proud?"
"Pretty good." Jacob then said out loud, "Alright everyone. It's time for practice. Anyone with an accuracy of less than 75% would run a mile for every percent decrease."
05:30
The door to the range opened, and a small group of 12 students and a DI got inside the range. Jacob saw them coming and clapped his hands to get the attention of his students. Once all the students looked at him, he said, "Alright, Cadets. That's enough for today. Kelly, 14 miles. Abdullah, 8 miles. Alex, 3 miles. Everyone else, dismissed for the day. Everyone, handover your rifles to the range operators before you leave. Make sure to have a good night's rest, and I'll see you tomorrow."
Jacob walked first, and just as he would cross the new group, a British girl detached from the group and blocked Jacob's path. The girl had long blonde hair tied in a braid and pulled to the front over her right shoulder and emerald green eyes. The girl bowed and put her hand forward. Jacob smiled and shook her hand. The girl's eyes sparkled as she did that, and a huge smile appeared on her face. She said, "Good work today too, sir."
Jacob smiled back and asked, "How's your training going?"
"Very good. Graduation is just a walk away now... Sir, would you please watch me during my shooting practice today? I'm positive that I'll do a lot better if the legendary Blast watches over me."
Jacon chuckled as she shushed her and said, "Shh. I'm not Blast. Not anymore. Also, I'm going to have to say no for today. I'm pretty tired."
The girl looked down for a moment but then suddenly looked up at him again and said, "Please?"
Before Jacob could reply, a male voice from behind him said, "Come on, Elina. You're troubling him."
The man came forward and grabbed her arm. Jacob looked at the Argentinian man. He had Black medium sized hair and black eyes. A dog was following him closely. It had brown fur all over its body. The man said, "Sorry, serge. I'll take her from here. Have a good day."
Jacob chuckled and said, "It's fine, don't worry, Luca. Have fun at the range."
Both of them saluted him before Jacob passed them. Luna catched up to him and asked, "Who are those two?"
"Specialist candidates. That girl is Elina Parker, graduated from Infantry class but has a good brain, could be a good strategist.
And that boy is Tiziano Joaquin DE Luca, a K-9 handler with exceptional martial arts skills."
Luna looked back at them while walking forward and said, "Ohh? They're training your replacement, huh?"
"Hmm. They have what it takes to become the new Bravo Squad. We need them to be."