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An exasperated sigh left Panzer’s throat as she stared at the mirror, mussing with her choppy bangs for what felt like the hundredth time. No matter how hard she tried, the angle her bangs were crudely chopped allowed the bandage on her forehead to peek through.
Ugh, embarrassing.
It wasn’t even the first time she had slammed her forehead into a doorframe. At least no one else saw the incident, as she was alone on yet another riveting night guard shift.
The issue was that this time, she ran into the metal frame so hard it had cut her forehead open in a clean, horizontal line. The medical Eule that treated her emphasized that the bandage will stay on until the medical resin cured, which was… two additional cycles. Now everyone would know what a klutz the rookie starling was.
(They already knew - this would only reinforce it.)
She reached up to rearrange her hair again, blowing out another sigh. The bandage still showed through.
Her internal clock showed it was nearly her time at the range. Panzer had extra assignments there to train, since she was new and far less experienced than the other Starlings at Sierpinski. While others needed only to maintain their aim, she needed to develop it.
A frustrated grunt. It’ll be fine, I guess, she thought. As long as her cadre didn’t look to close and Officer Jäger wasn’t there.
Right, Officer Jäger. The heartthrob of Sierpinski. They may have the exact same body, face, and neural template, but Jäger was somehow a level above every Starling in the facility. She was attractive, suave, confident, and a perfect shot.
Jäger was everything Panzer wished she was. Perhaps some day the younger Starling would be like her, but she was sure that her officer wasn’t hitting her head on doorframes and tripping over nothing early in her deployment.
Her next sigh was less frustrated and more dreamy as thoughts of her officer took over her mind. Any other day at the range would be ideal to oh so subtly try to show off to Jäger, but she has this stupid bandage – Shit, the range!
Panzer muttered a curse word under her breath. She would be late if she didn’t leave, and the Great Nation didn’t tolerate tardiness. She ran a hand through her hair one more time, clipped on her mask (that thankfully hid another scratch on her cheek), and quickly checked her armor to make sure it was at least within regulation. It would do.
She threw the door open and let it slam closed as she ran into the hallway. Metal hoofsteps clunked on concrete as she hurriedly made her way to the range, apologizing to a few Eules she nearly ran into.
As she approached the door to the shooting range, her internal clock read 13:58. Thank the Revolutionary, two minutes to spare. She quietly opened the door and ducked in, taking extra care not to slam her forehead.
She stood back up at her full height, then took a moment to survey her surroundings. Striker’s voice echoed in her mind - remain calm and observe before taking action. Rushing only gets you hurt.
Her eyes panned over to a Storch preparing to leave, a Starling duo quietly chatting while diligently cleaning their firearms, and a group of Eules crowded around a Star. What were Eules doing in the firing range?
Panzer shook her head briefly before taking a few steps in. If there was a gaggle of owls ooohing and ahhhing over a fellow Starling, it was probably Jäger. One look from her new vantage point confirmed this.
Her officer had just completed a round, and she was inspecting the paper while the Eules crowded around her. “Hah - 60/60 again!” Her grin was concealed by her mask, but it was audible across the range. She could see a finger flick the cap of a pen and use it to sign the target sheet. “Which little bird wants this one?”
The commotion grew as the Eules argued amongst themselves over the target paper. One of the other Stars rolled her eyes at the whole scene.
Panzer wishes it was her. Oh, to have anyone clamoring for a signed perfect target from STAR-S2333. Instead, she had to contend with being mediocre at best.
She turned her gaze away and walked to the armory to perform her usual firearm checks and load up on ammo.
As her hands worked, her gaze drifted back to Jäger. She was about to begin another round, and her crowd had stepped back with hands over their ears. Red lined eyes squinted slightly, focused on the target before her. Her form and stance was perfect down to the millimeter, and her pointer finger gently teased the trigger. Before taking her first shot, she shot a playful wink at one of the Eules, causing her to gasp and giggle gleefully.
Thank Falke Panzer’s mask covered up what she knew was oxidant tinting her cheeks red.
Jäger fired off her shots in quick succession, barely moving a synthetic muscle. It didn’t take long for her to finish and call the target paper back, sign it, and show it to a Eule.
The pattern in the paper was two small hearts. A pang of jealousy hit Panzer’s chest, and her face flushed more. She didn’t know if she was jealous of her officer or the many Eules that surrounded her. Perhaps it was both.
She forced her eyes back down at her gun and loaded the last bullet in. It was fine. Totally fine. She’d go to the farthest target and do her best to focus despite the warmth in her face, fluttering in her heart, and perceived weakness in her mechanical knees. Jäger was busy with the Eules anyways, too busy to notice a nobody like Panzer.
She slowly walked to take her place at the last slot in the range, glancing once more at her occupied superior. C’mon, Panzer, focus.
Her mind still lingered on Jäger and her handsome face as she prepared a target paper and loaded it in. She willed the visions of the other Starling away as she went through her mental checklist. Build in ear protection activated, finger off the trigger, stand straight, focus…
BANG. BANG. BANG.
The first three shots rang out, and she checked her aim. All three shots were on the target, at least, and one was nearing the center. Better than her previous starts, but not up to par.
She shot the rest of her rounds, missing the target entirely when she thought too hard about Officer Jäger’s eyes, running a hand through her hair, pressing her lips against hers…
Her target paper returning snapped Panzer out of her daze, and she plucked it from the mechanism before staring at her score. 22 out of 60… not great for Starling standards, but better than her previous session that peaked at a pitiful 19/60.
She examined the paper briefly, setting it aside to be signed off on later. Her complex feelings about her first score had managed to take over her thoughts about her officer until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Panzer jumped from surprise, her eyes shooting open as she turned in the direction of the hand. It was Jäger, her smile visible in her eyes. Shit. Shit shit shit shit-
She fumbled her way into a salute, eyes still wide in shock. “Officer Jäger! Sir! Uh, Glory to the Revolution!” She stood perfectly still as her oxidant pump raced with anxiety.
Jäger leaned against the wall casually, oozing confidence.
“Heyyy, 33 - shit, what was your callsign again?”
Panzer’s face was warm. “Panzer, sir!”
“Right, yeah! Panzer.”
She remained silent, still holding the salute.
“Okay, relax.” Jäger chuckled, and Panzer let her arms fall. “You’re doing better, keep it up and you’ll pass the accuracy exam in no time. Just make sure to squeeze the trigger smoothly and consistently, you get jerky with it. Practice makes perfect, or whatever the Gestalts say.”
“Uh- okay! Yes sir!”
Her superior’s eyes squinted for a moment, and her hand reached towards Panzer’s face. Panzer braced for the worst. Admonishment, yelling, a punch-
Instead, her hand gently brushed away her bangs to reveal the bandage on her forehead. The officer’s look seemed… concerned. Dammit. Her joints tensed up, and she opened her mouth to explain herself, but Jäger spoke first.
“You okay?”
“Yes, sir, it was… uh… an incident in the Kolibri’s office.” A half truth.
“Okay, good.” Her hand pulled away from her bangs, and Panzer felt herself yearning for that gentle touch. It was barely a moment before the officer’s confident demeanor returned.
“Y-yeah…”
“Cool, see ya around!” Jäger punctuated her sentence with a lazy, two fingered salute and a cheeky wink before turning to leave.
Panzer’s mouth was agape as her officer left. She stood there for a moment, thoughts racing through her brain.
Officer Jäger talked to me. And she complimented me. And she didn’t say anything mean or hit her. She was even concerned for me. Does that mean she cares? She complimented me! Does this mean she likes me?
It took a moment for her to regain control of her body, and she shook her head gently as if to shake the thoughts out. She had to practice, of course, to pass her upcoming marksmanship trial. Jäger even said so. Jäger complimented her-
She shook her head again, trying feverishly to focus her mind back on aim and posture and accuracy. She took her stance again, focusing on steadying her hooves, good posture, and consistently squeezing the trigger.
Her officer’s helpful advice mixed with desperate yearning in her mind as she unloaded her ammo into the target. A particularly scandalous thought distracted her a few times, causing her to miss the target entirely.
23/60, one better than previously. Officer Jäger’s advice was helpful - of course it was helpful, it came from Jäger.
She turned back to the armory to reload, giddiness present in her walk and mannerisms. Perhaps this practice wouldn’t be so disappointing after all.