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Hunter’s eyes were open as soon as he heard the shot.
“I heard it too,” said Crosshair. The Marauder was open with Echo not far away, with no danger in sight. Hunter and Crosshair took a simultaneous deep breath, looked at each other, and stepped off the ship.
“Trouble sleeping?” Hunter asked, as Echo turned around.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Echo sighed. It started to snow heavily and although it was cold outside, he couldn’t calm his mind enough to sleep. “We all learned how to shoot with both hands, but, well, I’ve always been right-handed. Going straight for a blaster with my left still takes a moment to process. I don’t want to let anyone down.”
“Your aim seemed fine on Skako Minor,” replied Crosshair, brushing away some snowflakes that tried to land on his eyelashes.
Echo smiled slightly and replied, “I think most of that was adrenaline.” He took aim at a distant rock and hit it precisely.
“See,” said Hunter, “You’re doing just fine.”
Echo nodded while Crosshair pensively chewed on his toothpick. “Guess it’s getting too cold for this tonight,” Echo said as he made his way back inside the Marauder. Hunter glanced at Crosshair before they both followed.
Echo woke up to Wrecker trying to find something to eat. Everyone else was up.
“Mornin’!” Wrecker greeted, tossing Echo some food.
“Morning.”
Tech approached. “I would like to help you in adjusting your cybernetics,” he said. “That is, if you are still looking for a more comfortable alignment.”
“That would be great,” Echo replied. “My lower back still hurts if I’m on my feet too long. It feels like pinching. I think I know how to fix it, but I can’t reach it very well.”
“I believe I can assist with that. It is brighter outside with the new snow reflecting the light.” Without missing a beat, Tech handed him a blanket and gathered some tools. They headed outside. It was cold, but sunny, with a layer of snow covering everything.
Echo sat down with the blanket over his shoulders in an attempt to keep warm while also leaving his lower back exposed. He pointed out where he was uncomfortable. “I think there’s a piece that is supposed to move with me, but it seems stuck.”
“I see it.”
While Tech got to work, Wrecker and Hunter came outside. “We’re ah, gonna go for a walk. Before, uh, we leave for home later.” said Wrecker.
Hunter let out an amused sigh. “We won’t be long.”
“Okay,” replied Echo with a quizzical look. He saw them walk away but could hear them running after they were out of sight.
After a few minutes of work, Tech finished. “I believe this will work better.”
Echo got up and twisted his torso around. He stretched as he put his blacks on and took some steps. “Feels better,” he smiled. “Thanks Tech!”
“The true test will be how you feel after exercise,” replied Tech.
“We can test it now.” Crosshair walked toward them. “You may want to put all your armor on.” Tech tossed Echo his helmet.
“Should I be worried?” Echo asked, looking between them.
“No,” said Tech. “We want it to be as authentic as possible.”
Crosshair let half his face smile. “Let’s get going.”
They walked for about ten minutes. Echo had no idea where they were headed since the footprints in the snow from the boys led in all kinds of directions. Once they got there, it was clear. There was a path through a forest up ahead. He could see Wrecker poking out behind a tree at the edge of the forest and waving a stick with a red flag.
Tech smiled proudly. They had pulled off a surprise. “Crosshair decided to set up a course for you to help your aim. We have no doubts about your skills, but we would like you to feel that way as well. Best to set your blaster to stun. Just in case.”
“There are twenty targets. Flags and snowballs,” added Crosshair. “Good luck.” He and Tech ran into the woods.
Echo took several deep breaths and ran toward the start of the course. Just as he hit Wrecker’s flag, Wrecker took off in a different direction. “Stay on the course!” Wrecker laughed as he ran.
Echo took aim at two flags that appeared after he jumped a log. As soon as he hit them, Tech popped up and threw two snowballs across the path. Echo hit them and then another flag on a tree. As he headed further down the path, he heard something coming up from somewhere behind him on his right side. Echo was unsure for the briefest moment but turned and hit both snowballs thrown by Hunter before pivoting left to shoot a snowball Crosshair threw from a tree.
“Almost got you,” Crosshair teased. Echo started running again, but he didn’t see anything for at least a minute. What was going on? Suddenly Wrecker jumped on a boulder and threw five large snowballs in his direction. Echo hit all of them all.
As he reached the end of the forest path, he saw five flags in the distance. As he hit the fifth flag, four snowballs came in his direction seemingly out of nowhere. He dodged, then hit them all in quick succession before they could land.
“That was more than 20 targets!”
“Surprises happen,” replied Crosshair, jumping out of a tree with a smirk on his face.
“You did great!” Wrecker appeared and lifted Echo into a hug. “That was fun. Let’s go again!”
Hunter and Tech came out from behind some shrubs. “We need to get back to the Marauder and head home,” Hunter said. “Good job, Echo.”
“Thanks,” Echo said, recovering from his hug. “That was fun, I have to admit. And I feel good since that adjustment, Tech.”
“I am glad. I am ready to assist in any way I can.”
Hunter added, “We are all ready. You’re one of us."
“Thank you, boys.”