Shoot Me Now

[Ares Stone]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Target Practice​

With: [member="Penny deWinter"]​

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Two weeks had passed since Ares Stone first met Dr. Penelope deWinter. The job had been normal, but the encounter Ares had as a result of the job had been anything but. What was supposed to have been a simple snatch and grab of some antique statue had turned into a massive firefight with an army of ugly science experiments and the angry ghost of a madman. To say Ares introduction to Project Overmind had been sudden and abrupt would be the understatement of a century. He had gone from knowing nothing about any such organization and all the supernatural and paranormal activity in the galaxy to diving head first into a world that still made no sense to him and kept his head spinning.

Ares was certain he had been given no choice in the job offer when Penny finally gave it to him, as abruptly as their meeting had been. For some odd reason he never once doubted if following her onto the Vergesso was the right thing to do. The teams of people that worked for her, or with her, were a committed group of men and women, sold out for a cause that Ares was just learning about. There was a lot of darkness in the galaxy which could not be explained simply by Jedi or Sith, the force, or whatever mystical being one believed in. Still, there was a lot for Ares to wrap his mind around, so he did the one thing he knew would always help clear his mind. Ares went to the shooting range aboard the Vergesso.

The ship was constantly moving from one job to the next from what Ares had gathered from the crew. Occasionally they would make immediate delivery to the main base of operations which was where they were headed now. They were still a full day out which gave Ares plenty of time to kill at the range. The Vergesso itself was impressive, but the shooting range especially so. Ares found that he admired the engineering which allowed them to fire all manner of weapons aboard the ship and remain contained to the area it was meant to remain. It was nothing short of the same level of technology that Ares had come to expect with this organization. They were well funded and had a deeper reach than Ares even knew by their first meeting.

A vast array of weapons were available for use, but Ares stuck to his personal side arm. The design was simple, it fit his hand well, and it was the one weapon he trusted to get him out of a bind. His one side arm alone had saved his life several times over, and Ares did not trust a single weapon more than he trusted the one he was using. With the sights of the weapon aimed at the target, Ares drew in a breath, placed his finger near the trigger, and exhaled. The moment his breath left him the trigger was pulled, and another bullseye was marked on the target. The range offered easy shooting, and the quiet environment of being alone gave him the focus he needed to punch the shot through the bullseye each and every time. If only he could get Penny to spend a few afternoons in the range with him, he could have her handling a weapon in no time.

She had told him it was not possible. Ares took that as a challenge. Penny was not the first to tell him they were an impossible student, and so far there was no one who told him this and could not learn. In truth, Ares was a good teacher, and he wanted the opportunity to prove Penny wrong. First, he didn't think she was as impossible as she said, and second, Ares loved the twisted sense of enjoyment which came from it. Ares liked proving Penny wrong. Even though they had only known each other for two weeks, Ares and Penny had an interesting dynamic which was mostly driven by a tension neither would admit or act upon.

Ares set the pistol down muzzle facing down range, and looked down at his datapad. The room had a slight chill which Ares had not noticed with the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He looked down to his datapad, no messages. That was the hard part of this new job, Ares only knew Penny, and it wasn't like they were friends. Ares knew he needed to get to know others, but right now his focus was on trying to orient himself. Sighing, Ares reached down and typed out a message to Penny, hoping to goad her into finding him.

**** At the shooting range. I can teach anyone to shoot. Care to prove me wrong?!?

All that was left was to wait for Penny to show up. Ares was confident she would. Until then, he picked his pistol back up and went back to clearing his head.

 

[Nimue]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Try Not To Kill Ares​

With: [member="Ares Stone"]​

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Paper shuffled noisy across the massive wooden desk Penny had in her office on 'Vergesso'. Tidying it was a never ending task because there was a constant stream of paperwork flying through the office on a daily basis. Important things were spread about, so thick in some parts it was a wonder she remembered where anything was. The chair under neath her creaked softly as Penny relaxed her weight back into the cushioned leather. It had been two weeks since their discovery of the laboratory and the runes that were carved into its old stone walls. Penny had been working none stop since then. It had almost taken her the entire two weeks to translate half of one wall. Her fingers dipped under the bottom of her thick rimmed glasses to wearily rub away the sleep that had gathered there. Almost as if her mind was being read a loud chirp cut through the silent room, shocking Penny to the point of a small squeak following after.

She didn't even need to see the name to know that whatever it was she was being called to was going to be a waste of time, but at least it would get her out of the office for a while. Even if a while was only five minutes. Penny peaked under a pile of papers in search of her commlink. It took her a good few minutes to finally find it under a heavy text book containing alien scripts. When she did find it a heavy groan forced its way out of her mouth. It was Ares. The two hadn't exactly hit it off to a fantastic start, they were still slightly at odds even now. He was a little arrogant and, from what Penny could tell, he liked to be in charge. This wouldn't have been a problem if Penny wasn't exactly the same. Recently he had been annoying her for entirely different reasons.

The man was absolutely determined to teach her how to shoot a blaster. Penny had never had the desire to even touch one, never mind fire one off with any amount of skill. Her violent green eyes glanced from the message to the rems of paper and back again. Guilt would not allow her to leave all the unfinished work without a solid reason, so if she really wanted to escape for a little while Ares was her only choice. With a halfhearted grumble she lifted herself off the chair and turned to leave through the sliding automatic doors. Her blood red heels clicked delightfully off the metal floors as she walked, a sound she had always secretly loved. Ordinarily Penny would have been wearing her lab coat, but they weren't on any official mission yet so she had chosen to stick with her regular attire.

Fortunately the shooting range wasn't too far from her office, part of the reason the sound dampeners had been put in almost immediately. Penny's eyes narrowed as she neared the door. There was rarely an excuse for her to go through these doors, nor did she ever look for one. She had always been a learner, not a fighter. Before walking through Penny pushed the thick rimmed glasses up onto the top of hair and straightened up the skirt that matched her shoes. The doors hissed as they slid open, Penny walked through without any hesitation. 'Where do you get off messaging me like that in the middle of the working day?' The lack of introduction spoke volumes to the pairs current relationship. The dynamic between the two had always been filled with tension and refusal to meet the other in the middle, but considering their close working relationship there was an uneasy truce between the two. After all, Penny didn't exactly hate Ares, she just really disliked him.

 

[Ares Stone]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Target Practice​

With: [member="Penny deWinter"]​

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Ares was confident his message would get through to Penny, but he was not exactly sure how soon it would be before she decided to show up. Their relationship was an interesting sort which ranged from full on trolling each other to completely ignoring each other in the span of minutes. In all honesty, Ares was mostly confused by the woman, and at the same time understood her perfectly. Her drive, ambition, and need to be in control, were all the same qualities that had made Ares so successful in his military career, and why he was going to do well in this job also. Penny had at least placed a high level of confidence in him. No one walked into the job she handed him just like he had. The talk around the ship was interesting considering there were those who worked hard to just get assigned to a strike team. Ares sighed just thinking about it all.

There were many reasons for him to be clearing his head, and not just the job. Two weeks had passed, and Ares had just left everything else behind. He didn't even contact his boss from the job he was supposed to have been on. It was likely the man assumed the job had been a failure, or he knew exactly what Ares was going to walk into and was now dead. The thought had occurred to Ares he should likely tell Penny of that assumption in case the dealer tried sending someone else. What Ares understood of the man was he had a highly valued customer referred to as "The Collector." Considering the job Ares now had, that was likely not a good thing.

Ares had his sight lined perfectly and ready for his shot when the doors to the range opened. Normally it would not distract him, but as Ares prepared to pull the trigger, Penny stated in on how he called her for a meeting in the middle of a workday. The startle made him squeeze the trigger harder than usual, pulling the shot to the right. It was his first miss all afternoon.

"Dammit woman, you made me miss."

It was the only answer she was going to get to the question she asked. It was a working day, and Ares had called her to meet with him to learn how to shoot. That was work. He did not need to justify his reasons to her just like she was not about to admit the only reason she showed up was because she needed a distraction. What Ares would have given to know that. The fact she needed a distraction, and Ares' message was the one she responded to, it would have been gold for the way they treated each other.

His eyes noticed her glasses pushed into her hair, and after setting the balster back on the rest, pointed down range, he pointed to the glasses.

"You're still working on those runes then, huh? How is it going?"

Ares was genuinely interested. It was the first impression of the job he had, and archeology was a hobby of his when he had the time. Penny did not need to know how much of a nerd he was at times, but Ares interests would eventually give him away. There was more to him than some military brute that killed things and shot blasters for a living. With the right education, he likely could have been able to help Penny translate the runes. Ares never had gotten the right education though, and learning languages was hard for him. Translating was definitely out of the question.

"Take a load off and put your mind into something else then? C'mon... prove me wrong. You might actually enjoy it."

Ares smirked. He was definitely goading her.

 

[Nimue]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Try Not To Kill Ares​

With: [member="Ares Stone"]​

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Painted lips curled up into a mildly irritated snarl when Ares spoke. The irritation on her face didn't seem to shift as she replied in a snappy tone. 'I didn't make you miss anything. If it's that simple to distract you while you're shooting a blaster perhaps I should have left you on Ankorat Prison.' There was no truth to her words, she was simply annoyed with him. Ares had proved his worth for the job a million times over during their first mission together. He had saved both her life and the teams life on more than one occasion in the space of a few hours. A few people had something to say about it, of course. You couldn't do anything in Project Overmind without someone questioning it. Penny had actually gone to incredible lengths to see Ares got the position she promised him. It had actually taken her the better part of a day to fill in the relevant paperwork and testimonies, but she'd be dammed if he ever knew that. 'Progress is slow. There are more complexities too it than the ones we found on the pillar. Almost as if those runes were slang. It's a complicated process. But I do know his name is Alsaahir. I couldn't find a damn thing on that name though.'

Neon green eyes rolled up toward the ceiling, coupled with an extremely obvious shake of her head. 'Fine...' Penny said as she bent down to pull the heels off her feet. When she spoke next she brandished the right one at Ares, the tip waving dangerous close to his face. '...but if only to prove to you that it's a futile exercise and a massive waste both my time and yours.' Huffing, she let the expensive looking shoes slip from her hands and land with loud clunks on the metal floor. Her feet made soft patting sounds as she grumbled her way over to stand next to Ares. 'Well, give it here then.' Penny outstretched her hand, palm open and facing upward, waiting for Ares' gun.

 

[Ares Stone]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Target Practice​

With: [member="Penny deWinter"]​

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"We both know you weren't going to do that. Not when you freeze up," Ares chirped back practically calling her on the bantha poodoo that was spilling out of her mouth. He knew it was not his place to talk to her like that, but it was how they worked. Ares was always respectful in front of others, but when they were alone Ares committed to being no one but himself. He smirked at the thought. Ares refused to pretend to be someone else just to impress Penny, partly because he did not want to impress her. What she thought about him did not matter at all.

His question about the runes did soften the tone for a bit. Ares' curiosity was generous, and the emotion and drain in Penny's voice was just a true. He nodded at her answer. For some reason Ares imagined things like this were always slow and this was a glimpse into the world Penny lived in. To a degree he pitied how much of her life seemed devoted to having her nose in books behind closed doors. Then again, Ares never found enough time with his nose in books behind closed doors. There was a small cause for jealousy because of it.

"Well fresh eyes will be helpful," he sighed out an answer.

Everything swung right back to the easy tension that killed whatever soft moment they could have shared. Ares was glad for it in a way. He hated to be vulnerable in front of others, and he could only imagine with the image Penny projected that she was as adverse to it herself. His brows waggled as the tip of her heel came dangerously close to hitting him just under the eye.

"Foreplay already," he teased. "We haven't even started yet."

It was likely a bad idea to get Penny riled up before putting a blaster in her hands, but since she claimed to not be able to shoot, Ares was pretty sure he was safe. Penny would just miss. That was when a thought occurred to him. A small smirk appeared on his cheek as he walked over to collect his datapad.

*** 3 bring me a printed copy of my holo on file... need it to win a bet.

-- Ares

Ares sat the datapad down and picked up the pistol and motioned for Penny to join him at the range.

"Just because we are alone does not mean we are ignoring range rules. Keep the muzzle pointed down range at all times. Now... whenever you're ready, show me what I'm working with here..."

Fifteen meters was punched into the keypad, and the target moved to that distance. The sound of the gear whirring overhead as the target took its place was music to Ares ears. He loved the environment of a shooting range. This was his happy place.

"It's all you now, Penny."

 

[Nimue]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Try Not To Kill Ares​

With: [member="Ares Stone"]​

Penny very nearly found herself hissing at him. His cheek was bordering on insubordination. Without thinking her mouth opened to bark a reply back at him. 'I can fire a kriffing blaster, okay? You would freeze up too if some half-rotting corpse jumped out at you all teeth bared. In fact, you would probably know considering someone using the door scares you to the point of missing.' Arms folded across her chest and cheeks mildly flushed from the irritation Penny could only grunt at Ares' teasing tone. With her shoes off Penny felt a little more stable, though that would likely do nothing for her terrible aim at least now the floor wasn't four inches further than it should be. An expression that could have soured milk still remained on her face as she stomped her way over to the edge of the shooting range. 'I'm aware of the rules, thank you very much. Do you just assume I didn't go through training like everyone else?'


A slim eyebrow raised up as she inspected the blaster Ares had chosen for her to use. There was little reason for her to own one and this was perhaps her third encounter with a blaster all together. Penny couldn't help but feel a little frightened of them. Not wanting to let Ares know that, her fingers wrapped confidently around the clip. The cool metal felt strange against her skin and she had always loathed the way the weight of it dragged her arms down. Ignoring how uncomfortable she felt Penny nodded at Ares' words and lifted the blaster up to make some attempt at aiming. Without any warning it fired and zipped through the air wildly off target. It grazed the edge of the target and filled the shooting range with the distinct smell of burning paper. Penny clicked the safety lock and slammed the blasted thing down onto the top of the counter. 'There. Are we finished here?'

 

[Ares Stone]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Target Practice​

With: [member="Penny deWinter"]​

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Firing a blaster and shooting someone trying to kill you were two different things. Ares opted to ignore what she was saying for now, but mostly because the display of her temper was enough to make him back down for now. There was no way he wanted her made enough to turn the blaster on him. She could slap him if she wanted to, Ares would actually enjoy it slightly, but shooting him was out of the question. The cheap shot at being startled closing door was not going unanswered though.

"I didn't jump at the door, it was your loud voice yelling at me the moment you walked in through the kriffing door."

It was fair to say she knew how to engage his temper as well. Most of their interpersonal interactions were a dance from hot to cold and back again, and yet they still agreed to meet alone like this. Ares was never going to understand it. They were too alike to be well suited, and yet he'd rather put up with the arguing than let a decent amount of time go by without seeing her.

Ares rolled his eyes at her once her head was turned. For someone so smart, she also wasn't sometimes. Explaining the range rules were standard when working with anyone knew, and that was not his rule. Then again, how was she supposed to know these things if she never spent her time among the others and practicing.

The first shot was a disaster from the start. First, Penny needed to correct her stance. She was not holding her body correctly to be much good at any kind of target shooting. Secondly, she needed to take her time. Granted he had her riled up, but she seemed more eager to have this done than angry at him. Even so, she managed to clip the end of the page. That was when T3 came in. Ares took his own holo and called the target back.

"No, we are not done... I said prove me wrong that I can't teach you to shoot, not fire one shot and leave."

Ares nodded to T3 and shooed him out.

"Right, so you're posture is rotten for one thing, secondly, if you use those glasses for reading, you likely need them for shooting. Finally," ​Ares called the target back and pasted his photo onto it. He pulled out a black marker and drew a circle right between the eyes. "What is at stake her... If I can help you pull this off... I'm thinking you owe me dinner?"

Ares winked. He wasn't exactly asking her out. This was more a way to get under her skin, but the thought about it being a legitimate date did not exactly turn his stomach upside down. For as much as they fought, it should have.

"Here is your chance... shoot me..."

 

[Nimue]

Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Learn to Shoot!​

With: [member="Ares Stone"]​

T3 entering the room provided her with the chance to rant at his protest. 'You're just picking apart words. I don't see why this is of any use! I'm not even officially part of entry missions. I'm secondary team only. The only danger I'll ever be in is if you don't do your job properly.' Penny loved to learn. During her education there was nothing she would turn her nose up at. Much like a black hole absorbing all the stars in its vicinity there was no knowledge safe from Penny's hungry mind. The only difference between school and shooting a blaster that Penny could actually find was the fact that she simply didn't want to know how to use a blaster. Ares could argue till he was blue in the face about her carrying one with her on missions but Penny would stand firm. There were too many other things to worry about, things that were much heavier than a blaster and often required her full strength to carry. A blaster would only get in the way. 'Can I re-...'

Ares cut her off with a torrent of 'corrections' on her performance with the wretched thing. The instant he mentioned dinner her nose crinkled and her pruned brows furrowed softly. For a moment she was a little taken aback. So taken aback in fact that she didn't register his picture on the target at first. The tone and expression on his face suggested he was trying to mess with her, but if he was why would he risk the chance of having to spend an evening with her? It's not exactly like they were strawberries and cream. More like chalk and cheese. 'Who ever said there was anything at stake here? Besides, if this wild idea of you teaching me were actually true, you should be buying me dinner for learning how to shoot a blaster.' Though the words 'yes' didn't physically come from Penny's mouth, she moved toward the blaster and picked it up again.

When her eyes drew up from the cool metal grip they finally fell onto the picture of Ares smack in the centre of the target. A giggle formed on the tip of her tongue and she tried to fight back the smile that forced its way onto her face. It wasn't long before a full blown laugh filled the firing range. Turning to Ares with tears in her emerald eyes, she nodded her head. 'You have yourself a deal.'

 

[Ares Stone]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Target Practice​

With: [member="Penny deWinter"]​

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3 gave Ares a weird look when Penny got after him about doing his job right. Ares just smirked and gave the agent a knowing smile. This was their dynamic, and the other agents were going to catch on quick. Ares knew what some of them might be thinking, but for the most part he ignored it. There was nothing left to be said until 3 left the room anyway, so he waited until it was all clear again.

"No one said there was a wager, until now..." Ares chuckled as he replied.

Why had he suggested dinner, because it was the first thing that came to his mind. That lone fact should have told him there was an attraction to the woman that he wanted to explore, but Ares was stubborn enough to convince himself otherwise. Penny was right though, he should be buying her dinner just for going along with his crazy idea. It wasn't a crazy idea, but she was treating it this way. Ares knew it came down to the fact that she didn't want to learn. Why else would her heels be dug in so much. He smiled when she agreed.

"Fine, if I pull this off, you're buying. If you prove me wrong, then I buy. Either way you get dinner out of the deal."

Ares looked her over, his eyes wandered up and down looking at her posture and form. He wanted to see if she hated him enough to hit the target, or if she really could not shoot. This was the best way to do it.

"One more shot... and if I have to, I'll step in and help you figure out what you're missing."

 

[Nimue]

Location: Classified
Aboard: Vergesso
Objective: Learn to Shoot!
With: [member="Ares Stone"]


'Alright then, you're on.' The concentration dominated her face the minute the words left her lips. Wracking her brain for a few moments she tried to drag up every dull hour of blaster training she could remember. When she finally came round to lifting the gun up she took a little more care with her stance, her arms locked out in front of her and she actually looked where she was aiming. Once again the sound of a blaster rang through the rectangle room. The second shot was just as abysmal, if not worse, than the first. It missed entirely and headed straight for the wall behind the target. Almost instantly Penny lowered the gun and let out a frustrated sigh as the wall absorbed the blaster energy and fizzled away into nothing. 'Now you know why we have those things installed...' It was meant to be heard, but the statement came out as more of a whisper. The whole ordeal was a rather sensitive subject for Penny. She knew telling Ares would probably earn her a harsh comment or an irritating taunt, but he would find out sooner or later as most of the crew aboard Vergesso were rather fond of the story.

Releasing the blaster once again onto the top of the counter Penny turned to Ares and raised a brow. She was loathed to say it. In fact, she already hated this entire thing, but a bet was a bet. Allowing Ares to prove himself right would only mean weeks of maddening gloating on his part. Penny simply couldn't be allow that to happen. She just had to hope that Ares had massively underestimated his ability as a tutor. 'So, Ares the all wise, teach me how to shoot a blaster.'

 

[Ares Stone]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Target Practice​

With: [member="Penny deWinter"]​

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Ares watched as Penny took extra care to adjust her stance, grip, and follow through. Everything seemed as though it was going to go well, until Penny actually fired the weapon. He smirked finally having an idea of what the issue might be. Most of the weapons Overmind provided to their agents were designed for military personnel because a majority of their agents had military training. Penny had none. Sure The Project had seen to making sure she would receive the proper training in other areas, but this was one area that had been neglected.

A deep breath was drawn though Ares nostrils and released in a quick sigh as Penny turned around clearly frustrated but snarky as ever.

"They really didn't help you figure this out at all did they," Ares asked rhetorically before walking off to the gun locker. He knew exactly what he was looking for, a smaller, more compact blaster. She could handle his, but maybe it was not the best to learn with. Ares returned with it in hand, grinning at her mocking retort.

"Here, use this," he said as he set the blaster on the rest. This time he came up behind her, close. "Take your stance again."

Once she complied, Ares came in even closer, bringing his hand around her arms and lifting them a tad higher, then helped to cant her head slightly. Ares paused. He was close enough that he could smell the perfume she wore when she was not on the field, and he could almost hear her heart beating inside her chest. His own heartbeat quickened at their proximity, and the sensation threw him off guard.

"Did they ever check to see if you are cross eye dominant?"

That was the last question one would expect in that situation, but it was the one Ares asked. He was going to win his bet after all. Ares wanted that damn dinner.

 

[Nimue]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Learn To Shoot​

With: [member="Ares Stone"]​

Rhetorical or not, Penny shot Ares a rather condescending look, it didn't matter that he had missed it. Two weeks was long enough to know by now that if Project Mind wanted something done, it would get done. It didn't matter if it was removing a whole room from an ancient prison or forcing someone to take blaster training. 'They didn't help me figure it out because I didn't want to figure it out. Like I've said countless times over the past, what, ten minutes? I don't ever get into danger unless you screw up your job. In fact that was part of the reason I was on that mission two weeks ago. The last guy dropped the ball.' Penny's expression softened slightly as her curious nature peaked and her eyes caught him carefully select a weapon. She was ready and waiting for Ares when he placed the blaster on the stand, it sat there for less than a second before she swept it up.

Almost immediately she felt a difference. The grip fit her hand a little snugger, the weight felt a little more even across her arm. Despite what she thought of him otherwise, Ares was at least trying to make a decent attempt to teach her. She could appreciate that. With one hand on the grip the other knocked her glasses off the top of her head and pushed them up her nose. Since he was genuinely trying, so would she. When asked about the brief action she was about to take next, Penny would always remember the utter lack of thought that went behind it. Ares came up behind her and, naturally, she settled back into him. The warmth coming from him was comforting, it almost felt safe. Almost. At that specific moment in time though Penny wasn't thinking about that. She was using him as an anchor for her feet and a steadying weight behind for whatever recoil she might experience.

His question caused her head to turn a fraction to hear him better, the tip of her ear grazing his lips gently. 'What in the kriff is cross eye dominant?'

 

[Ares Stone]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Target Practice​

With: [member="Penny deWinter"]​

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"And that is what I am concerned about okay,"​ he finally said with a bit of a gruff shout in his voice. There was real and raw emotion behind it that was indicative of the type of man Ares was behind the rough and violent exterior. "Everyone comes home on my watch, whether it is because I bring them home, or I have trained them to survive. I cannot be there, with you, everytime crap goes flying in every direction. Someone dropped the ball, fine. It is not supposed to happen, great. My job is to keep you safe in every situation, and teaching you to shoot is part of doing my fracking job."

At least the mood changed when he turned his back and selected the weapon he thought would be a better fit for her. On the other hand, what he did introduced an entirely new level of tension Ares knew was there, but had never explored. The only saving grace was all of this was meant to teach her to shoot, and his mind was focused on the task at hand. Ares did not have to give place to how natural this felt, or that as Penny leaned into him she just seemed to fit.

When Penny looked up at her, his eyes were dangerously close to hers. For the first time since they had met he got a chance to know just how green they were. The emerald gaze did not seem natural, but by the force they were mesmerizing. Ares cursed inside knowing that one look alone would give her power over him. He hated not being in control. He was going to have to be sure Penny never discovered this weakness of his.

"Cross eye dominant is when you are say, right handed, but your dominant eye is your left. If they never checked for which of your eyes is dominant, they didn't teach you anything. The fact you are asking tells me they didn't. Right, so. Line up the sights with both eyes open, then, close your left eye, and close your left. whichever eye shows the sight on the bullseye, that is your dominant eye. Granted, if I do my job none of this matters, but you know... for the sake knowing, let's find out."

 

[Nimue]

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Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Learn to Shoot!​

With: [member="Ares Stone"]​

Slightly taken by surprise by the gruff undertones of his voice, Penny drew herself back a little. It had always been her job to have the snappy tone, she had always been the one with the short temper. Ares was the one who smiled, the one who laughed even when her cheeks turned red with the anger. That stupid grin of his taunted her at night. All put together his sudden turn of mood made her slightly more cautious about what she was going to say next. For the first time in the entire two weeks they had known each other, Penny kept her mouth shut.

The tension in the room broke when the technical words came out. Penny was actually interested, for once. As Ares spoke she lifted the gun up to face level, lined it up with the target and glanced down the cross eye with one eye closed. Every few seconds she would switch eyes, lingering only moments on one or the other. 'I think it's left.' Her eyes winked a couple more times just to be sure, but Penny nodded her head. 'Definitely left.' The silk stockings covering her feet were slipping so, without thinking, she readjusted her position. 'Am I standing right? How do I hold my arms?' To demonstrate her meaning she bend her arms at the elbow a couple of times. She knew she was supposed to do something with them, but was it lock them or not lock them? Once again she turned her head a little to face Ares when he answered.

 

[Ares Stone]

Location: Classified
Aboard: Vergesso
Objective: Target Practice
With: [member="Penny deWinter"]

---

The sudden outburst had caused Penny to go quiet, and that resulted in an entirely new tension between them. While they could easily get on each other's nerves, Ares took his job seriously, and the repeated insinuation that doing his job right was all that needed to happen here had triggered something he did not know was there. Damn him for making things between them awkward in a way that was not comfortable. He pushed the event aside with a few deep breaths and returned to instructor mode easy enough, but the scene did linger in the back of his mind.

He waited for Penny to do as instructed, and watched with interest as she suddenly seemed to care. Ares found her incentive. Knew information had presented, something she had never learned before, and suddenly this had become something she needed to know. The information was tucked into the back of his mind for future reference. It would be good to not have to repeat the frustration of the past several minutes to get this point. Ares would much rather spend the time up front figuring out how to present the idea in a way that appealed to her desire for knowledge.

"And you are shooting with your right hand... no wonder you're missing. Aiming with the wrong eye."

Ares chuckled a bit as the discovery made him forget about his outburst just a moment ago. He could feel Penny slipping, and as she readjusted herself, he prepared to help if needed. It was an involuntary reaction for some odd reason. A small grin pulled at his lips when she started to pepper him with questions about her stance. She seemed as though she was actually enjoying this.

"Well first, you have to decide if you want to try and shoot left handed here... or invest the time to train your right eye to work for you. Then you can either take the isosceles stance... both feet about shoulder width apart, butt out slightly, or you can take the weaver stance, dominant foot back. Whether you lock your elbows or not depends on what is more comfortable for you, but," Ares stepped back in and wrapped his arms around her once more, and lifted her elbows until they were just about even with her shoulders. He almost gulped with how close they were once more. "You want your elbows about right here..."

Ares licked his lips a little and took a couple of breaths.

"Go on, take a shot... you'll be much closer this time, I promise."

 

[Nimue]

​

Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Lose a Bet​

With: [member="Ares Stone"]​

The notion that Penny had been shooting wrong this whole time caused her to chuckle gently. It was a comical thought. Just switching eyes likely wouldn't make it any better but at least she understood it would help. The events of the past ten minutes seemed to slowly melt away into the background. As far as she was concerned it was forgotten, like most of their other fights were almost instantly after they occurred. That was the dynamic between the duo. Fight, passively make up, fight again. Sometimes the fights lasted longer, sometimes the passive acceptance of the others presence did. Penny wasn't sure which one she enjoyed more but both had their merits. Listening intently, Penny corrected her body just as Ares was describing. Her feet shuffled underneath her to shoulder-width and her elbows straightened to hold the blaster out properly.

Granted, he was right, it did feel a little better having her feet steady on the floor and using her left eye instead of her right. There was the question of which hand she should use though. 'Which one would you do?' The blaster flipped back and forth from her left to her right hand a few times. Each time her finger slipped over the trigger and Penny took a moment to see how the adjusted grip felt. 'It feels strange shooting with my left hand, but weirder trying to close my left eye when it's in my right.' She finally settled on giving her left hand a shot at firing, just after she had rolled her eyes at how complicated holding and firing a blaster seemed to be. Ares made one small adjustment to the position of her elbow and bid her to shoot.

After a steady stream of air released itself from her lungs, the tip of her finger squeezed the trigger gently. The blaster fired off, zipping through the air at incredible speeds toward the picture of Ares with his annoying grin. Penny dropped her arms to watch the shot with bemusement and intrigue. An undeniably pleased smile broke across her face when she realised the bolt had actually landed in the target. Granted it was still way off and she hadn't come close to hitting anything of worth, but it still hit the kriffing thing! Penny let off a squeak of delight, turning her head to face Ares with the grin that seemed to have a permanent home on her face now. 'I did it!' Without warning, her expression fell. Penny came to the sudden realisation that she would end up buying this smug kriff dinner. Dammit.

 

[Ares Stone]

Location: Classified
Aboard: Vergesso
Objective: Target Practice
With: [member="Penny deWinter"]

---

Ares let Penny sort out which eye she was going to shoot with. The truth was shooting a baster was as much about what felt right as it was about technique. The reason Ares turned out to be such a good instructor was because he was more concerned about the end result than he was about the method. As long as Penny could demonstrate safety and common sense, then everything else was negotiable. He had a feeling the other instructors were not as flexible as Ares was in this matter. Naturally he would be more rigid about the performance of the teams he oversaw, but there was flexibility with those outside his scope of direct responsibility.

The events of the next few seconds were exactly the progress he was hoping for. All he had to do was get Penny to realize that she could do it. She was right. If he did his job she did not need to hit the bullseye or fire the weapon at all. If things went south, however, she needed to hit what she was aiming at without freezing. The mission they met on was a prime example of why Ares wanted her to learn how to shoot.

That was why Ares suddenly decided to change the deal on her, that, and it was going to upset her slightly.

"Well, we can either keep going, and I get you hitting the bullseye, or I just buy you dinner and let you off the hook since you demonstrated I don't have to teach you how to shoot after all. The choice is yours... oh and since I put you through all of this, if you need help cataloguing or anything while you're translating those runes... I'm free."

Okay so he was being nice for once. It was hard not to do when she was literally inches from his face, and looking up at him. His eyes looked to hers, then down toward her painted red lips, then back to her eyes again. She needed to say something mean, or he needed to insert his foot in his mouth soon, because the tension was rising.

 

[Nimue]

​

​

Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Go to Dinner?​

With: [member="Ares Stone"]​

​

Clearly Penny rather enjoyed the satisfaction of learning how to do something properly, even if she had originally been opposed to it. The smile plastered on her face was big enough to be considered a wonder of the Galaxy. She was just considering whether or not to shoot again when Ares piped up. He was switching the deal up. She snapped her whole body round in his direction, all ready to be angry and upset that he was changing up their terms after one shot, but what followed actually took her by surprise. He was asking her out to dinner and offering to pay, even though neither had won just yet. Penny looked confused. Her head cocked a little and one side of her lip came up slightly. She could feel the awkwardness overtaking the room quickly, she needed to say something and soon.

'Uh... Dinner.' Well that was clever. Her head shook a little, sending wisps of brown hair across her face. 'I mean, sure, I don't see why not...' She still didn't seem to think this was enough. It didn't feel right without a snappy or sarcastic response. It wasn't that it felt wrong either, it just felt different. Different for the two of them. 'As long as you promise not to make me do all this again.' She brandished the blaster in her hand a little, careful to keep the aim to the floor. Despite her agreement she still felt a little confused. Up to now Ares had seemed to tolerate her at best, as she had done him. Why did he all of a sudden want to spend an evening with her? He seemed to be rather keen about it as well, considering he was willing to give up his win that could have garnered him gloating rights for life.

 

[Ares Stone]

​

Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Send Mixed Signals​

With: @Penny deWinter​

---

---

​

---

​

Ares enjoyed the fact there were a bit of mixed signals going on. Of course he had changed his tune because keeping Penny off balance was fun. Listening as she tried figuring out whether she was going to agree or make him stick to the original agreement was entertaining for him. Without any ceremony, Ares reached and took the blaster from her. She was already breaking the range rules, a fact he could point out, but refrained. At this rate he liked the fact she was trying to figure out the sudden mood switch to change it back so quickly.

He smirked at her final request that would make her agreeable to dinner.

"Fine... besides you proved your point. I didn't need to teach you, just figure out you are cross dominant."

Ares started to put the blasters away, and holstered his personal carry weapon. While most of the agents were not permitted to carry their weapons outside of the armory or range, Ares was granted an exception. Penny's personal safety was part of his job description after all, and that meant from any threat. His head turned over his shoulder to look back at Penny as he put the other weapon away.

"To be fair, I really just wanted to know if you could actually shoot. You just were so against it... You're right, my job is to keep you alive, and if I do it right you will never have to fire a weapon. I'm just concerned about things like when we met. I'm a good soldier and I always have a contingency plan. You being able to kill what comes after you is on the list of plans whether you like it or not."

Once the weapon was secure, Ares turned around to face Penny with a smug look on his face.

"Dinner is my way of trying to apologize for pushing your buttons enough that you actually came down here and gave me exactly what I wanted."

 

[Nimue]

​

​

Location: Classified​

Aboard: Vergesso​

Objective: Go to Dinner​

With: [member="Ares Stone"]​

​

Ares taking the blaster from her hand was neither here nor there, she was done with the thing anyway, and glad for it. Besides, she was still half trying to figure out what he meant by asking her to dinner, so her fingers released it with little convincing. 'Well, good. And yet still I will never be in a situation where I require the use of a blaster. At least I get dinner out of it.' She raised her brow to his turned back, unable to resist the chance to roll her eyes heavily at him. It felt like an automatic reaction now. However true her statement was, she was still marginally grateful for the opportunity to learn. At least now she could walk planet side with a blaster and be confident enough to use it. 'I'm still against it. I just agreed to do it so you would shut up about it.'

Penny nodded at Ares, at least he was trying to be apologetic about it. She did enjoy the fact that he acknowledged that her buttons were regularly pushed, but it didn't last very long. Almost as quickly as he had redeemed himself, he put his foot back into his mouth. 'I-...' You could visibly see the frustration on Penny's face. In fact, if you looked close enough, she was shaking a little. How could he be so unbelievably smug as to think she did anything to satisfy him. 'Hurry up and take me to dinner before I change my mind!' Was all she could manage to snap out as she forced the blood red heels back onto her feet. If this were any different setting, a bar or even just the surface of a planet, she would have thrown one of her shoes at his head and hoped the heel found its way into something squishy.