Practical Marksmanship | Session 2 | Period 4 | 7/16/10

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

Again, the class met in the Danger Shop. This time, when the students stepped in they found themselves on the desolate floor of a long deserted building, several stories up. At one end, there is a large open window and a Barrett M82 sniper rifle with gillie netting around it. The only other furniture in the room are another set of padded benches, and a single table. Price and Ashley stand behind that table.

"Today's class activity is two-fold. First, a brief discussion about assassination. Not being a killer for hire, that is not what we're on about. I personally am a soldier, and it seems many of you are as well. The exercise today, which is entirely optional if you wish to morally object, is based off a real event. A shot I myself took."

He held up a picture of a man, wrinkle-faced and bearded. "This is Imran Zakhaev. In 1996, he is an arms dealer, selling Uranium on the black market. Nuclear material, weapons-grade. A leftenant Price and a Captain Macmillan are given the first assassination order issued by the SAS since the end of World War II. Nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists and mercenaries cannot be allowed. Or... so the government thought."

"What about you, students? Do you think a government has a right to execute a man based solely on what he's about to do?"

After the discussion, Price lifted a picture of a mushroom cloud. "This doesn't discount any of your moral arguments, but I want to show you what happens when Zakhaev survives this assassination attempt. This is what happens in 2011. 30,000 American soldiers dead in the blink of an eye."

He sets the picture down. "But now you're asking yourselves, did your teacher refuse to take the shot?" Price shook his head. "I took it. Took his arm clean off. But the stubborn bastard survived and Macmillan and I had to bug out the instant after I took the one shot. We hoped the blood loss would get him, but we weren't so lucky. Now none of you will have to do the daring escape from the various armed bastards in the area that Macmillan and I had to deal with. This is a one-shot, one-hopeful-kill situation. Everybody gets one shot from the sniper rifle. And you'll see that it's not as easy as it seems in the movies. There's a few little things, like wind speed and the Coriolis effect to take into account. If you don't know that is, well, Google it after class. You'll learn something else. If you don't want to take the shot, all you have to do is say why, and you can sit back down."

He then pointed to a student at random.

"You, you get to start."

[ooc: OCD coming up. OCD up, class open!]

Comments

Sign In

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

Like a deadly assassin

Re: Sign In

[gorka-wolf.livejournal.com]

Makita

Re: Sign In

[notagoose]

Shane Gooseman

Listen to the Brief Lecture

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

And do what you will.

Discussion: Assassination

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

What does your student think. Speak up, the teachers want to hear.

Re: Discussion: Assassination

[gorka-wolf.livejournal.com]

"Assassinations aren't generally ordered just for fun and giggles," Makita pointed out. "And if you don't trust your superiors to know the line, than you're working for the wrong people."

Re: Discussion: Assassination

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

"Very smart, if I may say so," Price said. He had very specifically not mentioned most of the Russian aspects in deference to Makita, even if she seemed from a different world. "So you agree with the idea that some individuals are too dangerous to await a trial."

Re: Discussion: Assassination

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wesley cleared his throat. "There are, ah, certain cases in which a carefully-planned assassination attempt can spare hundreds or thousands of lives. As desirable as it may be to try to force rehabilitation, that can be - more dangerous. And a shoddy assassination attempt can be vastly more dangerous than not having made the attempt. Meaning no disrespect to you, of course, Professor," he added quickly. "I meant my comment in regard to - er - someone else."

Re: Discussion: Assassination

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

"Captain," he said. "Not professor. And I'm actually rather intrigued that you think along those lines. What was it again you said you'd been through all that training for?"

Re: Discussion: Assassination

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Assassinations are a highly effective method for securing peace." Duh.

Re: Discussion: Assassination

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

Price just smiled and nodded. "I suppose you lot would all agree on that, wouldn't you?"

Meaning the class at large.

Re: Discussion: Assassination

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"What he's about to do?" Katniss asked, thinking of Seneca Crane. "Or what he has done? If there's a precedent -- a reason he can't be stopped peaceably...."

She trailed off, and paused, looking around quickly. She didn't want to say what she was thinking -- that President Snow's assassination would change her entire country, and likely for the better, because she didn't know if she was being recorded, still. She couldn't risk it, and instead, she added, "Aren't assassinations against the law?"

They called them executions where she was from, when the Capitol thought it was necessary, anyway.

Re: Discussion: Assassination

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

"Depends on whose law," Price said. "Assassinations often violate other country's laws, of course. They don't take kindly to foreign powers killing their citizens."

Re: Discussion: Assassination

[likethestore.livejournal.com]

Thinky question made her thinky.

"There are some people that just need to be assassinated," K-Mart decided. "Because there's a guy from my world that, if someone had taken him out, well, my world probably wouldn't have ended up a zombie infested apocalyptic wasteland."

Take the Shot [or Don't]

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

When the student looks down the sniper scope, he'll see Zakhaev down by a vehicle. There are no other personnel or even the helicopter about that he had to deal with. He didn't want the students to have issues in case they hit the wrong target. There is some wind, as indicated by the little flag mounted on the car by Zakhaev.

He's 800 meters away, so the Coriolis effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect) will affect a bullet's trajectory, making it seem to curve a bit even if the wind dies down.

Or, if you object to the exercise, just state your reasons and sit back down.

[ooc: I'm not about to mod your character's precision, so feel free to mod if/where your character's shot hits. This is a very difficult shot, even Price didn't get a killing blow. The funny thing about the game version of these events is that no matter where you aim, you hit his arm. Magic bullets!]

Re: Take the Shot

[gorka-wolf.livejournal.com]

Makita had been trained as a sniper, as all the wolves were, it just wasn't how she was normally utilized.

Still, she watched the flag, waiting until Zakhaev sat down for a moment before taking her shot. Unfortunately for her, the moment she squeezed the trigger, he stood, taking the shot in the gut instead of the torso as she'd planned.

"Dammit. I wanted his lungs."

Re: Take the Shot

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

"Hitting him at all is pretty impressive," Price said. He had a pair of high-powered binoculars to see himself. "And it's still potentially lethal. Though knowing that old bastard it probably wouldn't be."

Re: Take the Shot [or Don't]

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wesley was most definitely not trained to be a sniper, but he had no objections to the exercise. It seemed like a useful skill, at any rate. Not expecting much, he stepped up and lined up the shot carefully, squinting down several times to double-check. Finally he fired, and was surprised when it hit Zakhaev's shoulder.

Re: Take the Shot [or Don't]

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela frowned slightly as she settled her slight frame against the rifle. "Don't you think .50-cal is a bit heavy for the range? You'd be better off with something chambered for .338." You know, in her opinion, anyway.

Sniping wasn't really her primary role. That was usually Rico's job. But Triela had both training and lots of experience.

Though mostly at the 500 meter mark. Still, she sighted, stopped breathing for a couple of seconds, and squeezed the trigger. The bullet drifted farther than she'd planned and impacted the target's hip.

She was already pulling the bolt back to load another round.

Re: Take the Shot [or Don't]

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss reasoned that this was only a simulation, and she couldn't be viewed as treasonous for assassinating someone not even from Panem.

That didn't stop her from picturing, for a second, that it was someone she knew.

She longed for her bow and arrow, though, holding the rifle awkwardly. She stared into the scope for a long moment, aiming for the man's eye. Unfortunately, the combination of the wind, the distance, and the unfamiliar weapon threw her aim. It whizzed past his head, a good six inches off, and Katniss exhaled sharply in frustration.

Re: Take the Shot [or Don't]

[likethestore.livejournal.com]

K-Mart knew her way around guns, so she didn't have a problem with that part of it.

And it sounded like the guy fell into her category of people who deserved it, so... nope, no problems there, either.

Taking her time, K-Mart took the shot and managed to put a bullet in the man's chest... in a lung, from the look of it.

"Holy crap!" Because she kind of hadn't expected to make that good a shot at all.

Talk to the Teachers

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

Ashley is there, even if she was letting Price run the show today.

[Ping the appropriate thread for the instructor you wish to speak with!]

Talk to the Price

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

He'd be happy to tell you about the time that Zakhaev finally met his end.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[lovethenubbins.livejournal.com]

Ashley was there but definitely staying in the background since this was Price's deal.


[Ashley's player, on the other hand, is having a busy day at work and then spending 6 hours in the car for a roadtrip so will be hit or miss!]

OOC

[stayingfrosty.livejournal.com]

A YouTube of the game mission being replicated, at least the first part (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfcQvdDPHhs).

I promise, next week we'll start having more heavy interaction classes :D