fulfilling a promised lesson on the fine art of blasting things ...

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Walking back to the Millennium Falcon through the Nexus has gotten a little bit easier each time.  The first time, it took him more than an hour to get back despite the fact that his ship has always been parked about a thousand yards away from a path that leads to the forum.  The shiftable nature of this place makes no walk to and from anywhere as straightforward as it seems, but you can get used to it.

 

For a while, he cleans up the areas that he thinks both he and Verity are likely to be in for a while - the cockpit and the lounge especially, but also near the entry ramp and the living quarters.

 

He did promise lessons on how to fly and in due course, he will get her into the sky with him ... but he's still doesn't have a ton of fuel yet and the priority was always teaching her how to use the blasters.  So he's pulled four weapons out of the storage lockers, completely disassembled them and cleaned them.  He also discharges all, but one, of the plasma magazines.

 

They get placed them on top of the holochess board, which, sadly, is among one of the biggest flat surfaces available to him on the YT-1300 and then, he takes a shower and slips into a light weight pair of pants.  It seems to take a long time for him to drift off in the small bunk that he's claimed for himself.  The sound of the winter wind skips across the surface of his ship and makes a low howling sort of sound.

 

This is one of the reasons it's always preferable to put your ship in a proper hanger, but, when you're Han Solo, you work with what you got.  After a few hours he wakes up, not knowing what time it is, until he opens the entry ramp and looks outside.

 

It seems too early for her to arrive.  The sun hasn't even reached the apex of it's path yet, so he decides to lay back down.  Leaving the ramp down for her to facilitate her letting herself in. 

Comments

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Fair enough." He says with a nod of the head and a slight smile. "So me your stance and I'll tell you what I think then."

I feel like there needs to be a Charlie's Angels reference here.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Straight to the criticism? And here I thought you liked me," she teases. But she'll also oblige, taking a step away from him before settling into a decent stance for firing 21st-century guns. Solid, steady, and expecting a fair bit of recoil--and yes, she knows how to hold a gun so it doesn't end up smacking her in the face. The safety is still on, but she's still being careful to not actually aim at anything.

Bwhahaha. Han's Angels.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"I am criticizing because I like you."

Which is the truth, because he has extended kindness to her that he wouldn't have shown to others. Wouldn't have told anyone else around here how to get on his ship if he wasn't there, for sure. Probably wouldn't offer up his gun to anyone else, either. The offer of a trip to see his universe.

"So, the natural instinct that everyone has is to tense up your shoulders." He murmurs, pressing against them lightly with his ungloved hands. "Keep them down and relaxed. I think it's something pretty much everybody has to train themselves not to do.

You know Chewie's going to be the one in the middle.

[brave_heart_verity]

The reassurance gets a smile and a pleased little hum. She's aware of how kind he's been, and hopes she's been able to do a little to repay him.

She gives a little nod, takes a deep breath, and relaxes when she lets it out again. Her shoulders drop and relax, not as much as they might, but it's improvement. The touch is making her very aware of that place, which always makes it harder to relax. "How do you relax when people are trying to kill you?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han doesn't linger on her shoulders for too long. Just enough to make the emphasis. On some level he seems to realize his touch puts her on edge, which is decidedly counterproductive to relaxing.

"You practice all the time." He says from behind her back, looking over her form still. "Then you hope that muscle memory is on your side when you're in a real gunfight."

"The blaster wont kick hardly at all, so, that makes it a little easier than firing something like a bowcaster."

[brave_heart_verity]

It's like muscle memory: she's spent so long not wanting to be touched or looked at by anyone, she doesn't know how to properly enjoy it from people she likes without practice.

"Practice makes perfect?" Why not? Sometimes it's true. She takes another breath and lowers her shoulders further. "Less of a kick is a decided improvement over the guns back home. Is it loud?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Loud enough to let someone know they've been fired." He says with a shrug of noncommitment. He's not really sure what he can equate it to. "We have silencers for some jobs, so, to a degree."

He purses his lips in a thoughtful line, looking down the length of her arms and trying to see where she's going to fire. "What are you aiming at?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"But I don't need to worry about it deafening me? Another improvement." Being from a world where the weapons average people had access to never really got beyond 'throw shit at each other really hard', it's maybe not hard to impress her with these things.

"Nothing. Just a blank space. I suppose we could go use that horrid sign as a target, but that would require looking at it."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

He comes from a land of refined ways to kill each other and space ships. What's there not to be impressed by?

"You don't have to fire at anything." Though that makes this less of a lesson and more of a stress relief exercise, because he can't really critique if she's shooting at 'nothing'.

Then again, she's already learning with someone else. At this point, practice firing a blaster is probably all she needs. "It's a hair trigger on my weapon." He warns her.

For this space outlaw? Of course it is.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Is there something I should aim at?" She's not opposed to having a target and a proper lesson, but they seem to be out of tin cans. "I don't want to start a fire or anything."

Of course it is. "I'll be careful." It's getting harder to not turn and look at him while they talk. Maybe the distraction is part of the lesson.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Shoot at the sign."

If she's not got anything in particular in mind, Captain Solo will tell her what to do. It is his role on this ship after all, (and they are on his ship, both literally and figuratively) though he's not really used to ordering anyone around but Chewbacca.

[brave_heart_verity]

Enjoy the chance to boss her around while it lasts, Han. She's not usually much for taking orders from anyone.

Finding the sign isn't hard because good god is that thing bright. She squints at it, turns to face it, and aims carefully. It's been proven before that nothing's going to really hurt the sign, but that doesn't mean she won't enjoy shooting at it anyway.

Pew pew.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Is there a better sound in the world than, pew pew? If there are, there aren't very many.

Watching someone shoot is actually something of a challenge, because the eye is naturally drawn toward the bright red lazer bolt sizzling through the air. So, he adopts veiw where he can watch her from the side and he only looks back to see where the blasts have land afterward.

Though, after a moment he realizes he can't tell where she hit the sign because it leaves no carbon scorching behind. Han rolls his eyes. This kriffing place.

"How'd it feel to fire it?"

[brave_heart_verity]

Very few things are as satisfying as the sound of a blaster firing. She didn't grow up with these things the way other people did, and she still gets a thrilling little shiver down her spine.

She's reasonably sure she hit the sign, but, with no visible damage... it's slightly disappointing. Oh well.

"Really good. It's much easier to handle than the firearms I've been training with. Much less kick and quieter." She puts the safety on before letting her gaze shift over to him. "I can see why you like them so much."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"No better blaster in all the world."

Is that the truth? Depends on your point of view. It's the truth as far as Han's concerned.

"Do you time your breath with your shots?" He asks her. "Far as I could tell you were hitting your mark, but I spent more time watching your form then I did seeing where the blasts ended up."

[brave_heart_verity]

It's his truth, and for now, that's enough for her. (He has no idea how much progress that is for her.)

"I tried to. I um. May have gotten a little... excited, toward the end." She rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "Sorry."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han can be amused at that answer, right?

"That happens to everyone handling my weapon." He says ruefully, then gets back to the serious part.

"It's not as important for this kind of shooting, but if you we're taking long distance shots, the breathing becomes very important. You want to exhale before shooting, ideally"

[brave_heart_verity]

Yes. He's allowed to be amused. She won't even be mad at him for it.

"Oh, does it?" She can't reply without giggling, but she made a valiant effort.

Wait, this part is serious, she should pay attention. "Exhale before shooting. Okay. Should I try again?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Sure, if you want." That she seems genuinely amused by him makes him feel like he accomplished something, even if he doesn't end up teaching her a damn thing.

"I'm gonna go behind you now and see where you're hitting." He says as he starts walking around behind her. "Remember, keep your shoulders down and try to keep your posture somewhat relaxed. Take your breath first and then, squeeze the trigger."

[brave_heart_verity]

Making her laugh is a great accomplishment. He should cherish it.

"Shoulders down, relaxed, breath, then shoot. But no pressure." She waits until she hears him behind her before firing off a few more shots. These are timed more evenly. Her aim isn't bad, but it tends to wander; the target is large and distracting.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

She does pretty well. Better than he would have thought yesterday, but at that point, he didn't realize she was otherwise practicing with Samus. When they have a chance to go to a range or set up proper targets, then they'll see what she can really do.

"Looking good, Ver."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Thank you." She sets the safety again before turning and offering the blaster back to him. "Will you show me how you do it?"

She learns as much from studying as from doing. And it's not like the view won't be fun.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han accepts the blaster and nods his assent. Yes, he'll take a few shots so she can watch him.

What she'll see when he takes his place, more than anything else, is that he's completely at ease. It's not as if taking pot shots at a giant sign is high stress shooting by his definition, but you just get the feeling that when it's time for Han to blast something, he gets in a comfort zone that not everyone has.

He takes about half a dozen shots in a stance that has him facing square to the target. Then another six shots just so that she can watch him again. His shots make a pretty tight cone, but without seeing the marks on the sign, it's hard to say for certain that he's hitting in the same place every time.

He takes an equally relaxed side stance and seems to have a similar amount of success. Six shots. For the hell of it, he'll even draw for speed at the end, manipulating the gun in and out of the holster while snapping off a few shots.

[brave_heart_verity]

Ver takes a step back and folds her arms, watching him with her head tilted slightly to the side. The showing off at the end doesn't surprise her; she had a feeling he needed that. He's good at what he does and wants to be seen to be good at it. Everyone needs their ego stroked sometimes.

When he finishes, the smile and the applause she offers are both genuine. "That is amazing."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Thanks."

He certainly does like having his ego stroked and it's been a goal of his to impress her while she was here with him. On some level, he apprecates that he accomplished both things.

Captain Solo flips the safety over on the gun. He suspects he's either going to be handing off the gun or putting it away.

"Wanna keep going or maybe head back inside?"