Pursuit of Valor by Tripp Ellis

Author:Tripp Ellis [Ellis, Tripp]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: military, SF
Publisher: self-published
Published: 2017-06-03T06:00:00+00:00

28

The components of the M7 plasma rifle floated in the air—pins, coils, covers, assemblies. They were hovering mostly in one place, though some were drifting in various directions. Zack had to constantly reposition them to keep them from escaping his grasp.

A milky haze still hung in the air. Recruits were coughing. Some had to lift their masks to retch, which only exposed them to more residual CN-X 40.

Zack managed to reassemble his weapon and have it in working order before anyone else. He finished somewhere around the three minute mark. He floated in the antigravity chamber, relaxing as he watched the other recruits’ frenzied attempts to assemble their weapons. Machined parts drifted across the chamber in all directions. Milby and Garner were never going to get their rifles back together.

“Time's up, dirtbags!” Stone's voice crackled over the loudspeaker.

The antigravity switched off, and everyone and everything in the chamber crashed to the ground. Parts of plasma weapons pinged off the deck. Recruits scrambled to find all of the components of their weapons.

Zack pulled himself from the ground, grabbed his rifle, and rushed out of the chamber. As soon as he was outside, he pulled the mask off for a breath of fresh air. His lungs were so raw, it still burned to take a deep breath. His eyes were red, puffy, and brimming with tears. Snot was dripping down his nose. He felt miserable, but elated to be out of the gas chamber.

Stone was waiting to inspect their rifles. “Private Salvator, present arms."

Zack glanced down to the receiver to make sure it was set on safety and that the plasma rifle wasn't armed. Then he handed the weapon to Sergeant Stone.

The drill instructor’s steely eyes surveyed the weapon with sharp aggressive movements. Then he thrust it back to the beleaguered private. "Outstanding, Private Salvator."

After the evolution, the recruits were checked by corpsmen to make sure they weren’t experiencing any serious reactions to the chemical gas.

Henderson’s airways had narrowed so much, that he passed out. His body was covered in hives. The corpsman could barely get him breathing again. He was dropped from the program and ordered to the Recruit Separation Platoon. He was going home.

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