fandomhigh | Alternative Tactics, Wednesday Period 1, 05/09

Sarah Kerrigan stood in the middle of an empty Danger Shop, wearing a simplified version of the Ghost armor. She had a serious expression on her face.

"Hey, kids," she said, "Welcome to Alternative Tactics, which is a pretty poor grouping name for a bundle of skills and knowledge you're going to need on the battlefield when you don't have a large army at your back and the bad guys seem to be holding most of the cards. Situations where ingenuity, resource management, stealth and superior maneuvering can save the day."

"I'm Lieutenant Kerrigan; I'll be your instructor for the duration. We'll be working in the environment I'm most familiar with. You'll find, however, that a lot of these concepts and skills will be of use no matter where or how you're fighting."

The Shoppe environment gave way when Kerrigan activated the program. It reconfigured into the dry asphalt tundra of the Badlands. She was standing on the rooftop of some burned out shops, holding her weapon gently.

"For the time being, though... You'll need some Marine armor for the course, so pick whatever color you're feeling," she grinned, "And have a look around. Get a feel for the sim. I'll see you at the end."

She turned around to leave, but then paused. "Oh, and you've got guns," she noted, "Point and click. Don't be an idiot and shoot someone. It won't kill you, but I'd rather not waste your time and mine reactivating frozen suits." Smirking, she hopped onto the ground.

[ ~~wait for~~ ocd up! ]

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Molly dropped her gun and pulled both Zerglings off of her. She tossed the one in her left hand as far as possible and drop kicked the last one.

The Zerglings liked this a whole lot better when the marines were just shooting at them. Bruised, battered and now several feet away from their original target, they would have shot eachother confused glances if they had the minds for it.

Instead, they began charging again.

Four at once was a problem, Molly decided. She couldn't focus on one long enough to punch it down. Glancing around, she found where she'd dropped the gun and picked it up again, hopefully she could get at least one shot off before they got to her again.

It would only be a matter of seconds before they reached Molly again: Zerglings were fast, and now a little bit more prepared, blades stretching out towards her.

Molly aimed as best she could and pulled the trigger, hoping to take at least one out.

Bullet to the face was still somewhat of a painful thing - if by painful you meant 'lethal'. The Zergling crashed to the ground, blood seeping into the ground. Its remaining brothers, however, weren't stopped, and they lunged at Molly, blades out.

Molly went back to punching again, keeping hold of the gun this time. If she could keep tossing them away at a distance, maybe she'd be able to take them out one by one each time they charged.

Two Zerglings went flying; a third, however, had gotten the hang of this trick and tried to forcibly stab a foothold in Molly's armor. Unfortunately for it, it couldn't get through far enough and ended up being waved around instead.

"Eww!" Get off me, you creepy thing!" Molly tried to grab the stabby bit and break it off.

You'd think the Zerg had gotten used to the unusual blunt assault by now, but no: one of the Zergling's blades snapped off, leaving it portruding from the armor. The crippled Zergling crashed onto the ground.

Its brothers attacked again.

Molly attempted to stomp on the one on the ground before firing a hastily aimed shot at one of the other two.

And now the crippled Zergling no longer had a head. It slumped to the ground, a steaming pile of entrails.

Losing its brother suddenly to a volley of bullets, the last remaining Zergling leapt at Molly's helmet, scrambling with its claws.

"EEP!" Molly dropped her gun again and grabbed the Zergling on her helmet with both hands and pulled to get it off.

A shot rang out through the area; the Zergling dropped dead, slipping off Molly's armor.

Kerrigan lowered her rifle.

Molly sighed in relief and turned toward Kerrigan. "Was hitting them okay?" she asked. "I'm not used to using a gun and I didn't think to ask before I started."

"It's a little... unorthodox," Kerrigan said, stalking over to where Molly was, "But looks to me like you did okay." She smiled.

Molly smiled back, relieved. "Good. If I'm supposed to be using the gun more, I'll try to remember to do that, but hitting is what I'm most comfortable with."

She nodded. "In the future, use your weapon," Kerrigan went on, "Zerglings only do damage at close range. Facing off that many 'lings on your own is usually tantamount to suicide, but three's not a bad score."

Molly smiled again at the praise. "Thank you. I will do my best to use the gun."

"Don't let it go to your head," Kerrigan smirked, "Without teamwork you'd be dead." She reached up at Molly's armor and snapped the Zergling blade off where it portruded from the metal. "But that's what we're here to learn. Catch you at the end!"

She winked, then stalked off.

Molly smiled after her and then wiped her hand across her visor to remove some dirt. When she pulled her hand away, she realized it was blood and she shuddered.

Alternative Tactics, Wednesday Period 1, 05/09

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