Read Online Citadel (Book 1): Training in Necessity by J. Clevenger - Free Book Online Page A

yards to familiarize himself with the weapon.  Good thing, too.  His second shot went wide.  He'd overcompensated for the gun's weight. 
    Turns out, it doesn't matter if your weapon is a little light when it doesn't have any recoil.  None.  He hadn't thought that was possible.  Not without some kind of stabilizer, and he didn't see anything like that.  Guess that meant this thing was built by a Stark or a Richards type, or at least designed by one.
    The practice shots were done.  He changed magazines and set himself for the real thing.  It started out the same.  Targets popped up at each range and he fired at them.  The only difference was, this time he only had three, five and seven seconds to hit each one, five times. 
    After that, a target appeared, farther back.  Maybe thirty yards?  Outside his range.  At least, if he wanted to control where his shots went.  It rushed towards him and, when he thought it was close enough, he started firing as rapidly as he could.  The slide locked, meaning he was out of ammo, just before it passed the five yard mark and disappeared. 
    He reloaded as quickly as he could.  Three magazines left.  Targets began popping up and then withdrawing rapidly at random intervals and locations.  He had to 'disable' as many as possible.  Hector stuck to center of mass, headshots were for video games, and tried to get each one twice.  Eventually, dummy targets began appearing. 
    Red silhouettes popped up at the same time as the black.  Sometimes, one would swing up to block the other and sometimes one would appear by itself.  Hector was careful to hit only the black, even passing on shots when he wasn't sure he could hit the right one.  He was down to three rounds in his last magazine when he heard the tone announcing the test was over. 
    He safed his weapon, removing the magazine as well as the round in the chamber, then set them both down as he waited for the Citadel Support guy to return.  The gun's barrel was pointed down range.  The last step was always safety.
    "Not bad, kid."  John Soans was a big man in his forties. 
    He had the kind of bulk that meant he used to have a lot of muscle and had let it turn to fat.  He also had the air of no-nonsense competence that meant he'd been a range master for some time and hadn't let any stupid teenagers hurt themselves or others.  Hector appreciated the latter quality a great deal. 
    "You passed, barely.  Most people don't do so well on their first time."
    "Great!  So that means I can check out a weapon for duty use?  Including training matches?" Hector asked, smiling.
    "Yep.  That includes training matches.  Same rules for lethal force as shooting lasers out of your toenails or whatever.
    "Is there a limit to how many I can have out?"
    "Just what you can use, son."
    Wax on.  Wax off.  Heh.  He never got tired of that.
    Hector's smile got bigger.
----
    Instruction Area, Citadel Hub
    Hector had to fight to keep the smile off his faces.  He was pretty sure Instructor Catherine wouldn't appreciate it.  He sat in the chair, next to Mom's bed.  They were watching TV together.   Given what she was describing, it might bug the other guys, too.
    "'After practicing on animals and the homeless enough to master my powers, I would join the Citadel.'"  No one was laughing at this one.  "'Once I was accepted, I would act like a regular trainee or operative.  During the first Class One or higher event for which I am at the Citadel proper, I would murder the assembled personnel.  After that, I would make my way to the Battlegrounds.’"
    He let the outside door shut and went looking for the phone.  The restaurant's manager, Rick, was not going to be happy about this.
    "’The confusion caused by the unchecked event should provide enough distraction to let me get away.  Killing any Citadel Operatives or law enforcement that I encounter on the way makes sense, but I would not go out of my way to do