Riaz grinned, shaking his head and wincing, ‘Now Jack Daniels is what I would have liked last night…that wine was strong, I feel a bit rough…’
Shino prodded him again as they neared the desk issuing firearms, the surface highly lit from above as rifles were handed forward from racks behind, ‘Lightweight…I feel fine. I had one more than you too…’
Debra grasped the short rifle handed to her, slipping the energy belt over her shoulder armour and staring down at the sleek silver surface, her fingers running along the barrel and muzzle, Tregan smiling as he collected four pulse grenades placed in front of him, ‘It’s just like the one on the fitness deck?’
Debra grinned, rolling the weapon over in her hands, ‘Yes…but lighter…and real.’ They stepped forward towards the engineers, a couple of shorter Fahimian observers with the Trevakians to answer questions, Tregan slipping the belt around him with the rifle strap over his shoulder, a loud click as the automated energy holsters adjusted to his waist, the platoon leader placing the grenades into the slots between the energy power packs.
An engineer in blue overalls and a cap gestured them forward, raising a specimen rifle in his hands, Riaz and Shino stepping in behind the other two, the young demonstrator indicating to the lower side of the weapon and pulling a small box from its mounting, ‘You thrust the energy power pack in here…place the used battery back into the empty slot in your belt…it will slowly recharge from your movement.’ He glanced up, winking at Shino as her head slipped round the side of Tregan, pointing to a large silver box on the surface between him and the next engineer, ‘In a prolonged firefight, additional high energy canisters will be dropped by each platoon’s squad leader…’ He pointed to a red slot on the top of the canister, then the green one at the opposite end, ‘You drop your spent cell in here and a fully charged one will rise from the green channel. This box will recharge the cells as quickly as possible.’ The young engineer blushed slightly as he looked up into Shino’s inquisitive brown eyes once more, ‘In heavy fighting, you can open the canister and retrieve as many cells as you like from their slots, but this reduces the recharge capability considerably.’ Exhaling, his eyes strained as he felt Shino staring provocatively at his features, ‘There are five canisters per platoon…two or three platoons per dropship, the canisters designed to fit in the overhead racks.’ He grinned in satisfaction as his thoughts moved to the additional designs of the boxes, ‘They have magnetic capabilities, so they will resist any movement other than those by the squad leader or soldier…grasp one side handle to release the resistance. They also will gain additional recharge from any planet’s gravitational field…we estimate on human earth that this will be a significant boost.’
Looking up, he grinned at Debra, blushing as Shino winked mischievously at him, the more robust female squad leader deliberately stepping in front of the Philippine as she smiled politely, ‘Fantastic…when did your division design all this?’
The young engineer beamed in pride, continuing as Tregan nodded his appreciation, ‘All during the voyage from Zaxon B…we worked in shifts, round the clock…’ He coughed nervously, ‘The gravitational recharge was my section…we are all very proud.’
Tregan’s eyes widened in admiration as the young man raised an engineering tablet, flicking his fingers expertly across the screen, the platoon leader speaking softly, ‘That’s an excellent job…limited time and quite an achievement…what will you work on next?’
The engineer glanced up at him, grinning sheepishly, ‘Sorry sir…that is classified.’ He drew breath, nodding as lights pulsed briefly across the barrels of the rifles, ‘Now your weapons are synchronised to you individually…if you lose your rifle you can pick up one from one of the fallen as long as they are in the same company…the weapon should re-synchronise relatively quickly, but don’t try and fire it immediately…that will interrupt the sequence.’ He indicated to the next doorway, glancing down at Riaz’s belt, ‘Through there to get your blaster pistols and more grenades if you don’t have them.’ He averted his eyes as Shino winked once more, Riaz pushing her as they passed, the engineer speaking as they departed, ‘We will have an observer with Zulu company…making sure the weapons are all functioning at maximum efficiency…’
Shino giggled playfully as they passed into a smaller room, Riaz depositing grenades from the dispensary surface into the slots on his belt as she reached for them, ‘He spoke very good English…’
Debra turned as she was handed a black pistol with a short snubbed barrel, nodding her thanks to the armourer before her before looking towards the Philippine, ‘Shino…behave! He was very young and has probably not experienced much female company…you made him blush.’
Riaz forced an innocent expression, picking up his own pistol and observing Tregan slip his into a side slot in his combat trousers, the Trevakian then retrieving a jagged black polymer knife and placing it in the opposite slot, ‘Are you insinuating Shino and I have experienced considerable female company in the past?’
Tregan grinned, shaking his head in exasperation, ‘I will soon understand this human humour I think…you play with words, it is quite appealing.’
Debra grunted in mock irritation, ‘They will be playing at press-ups and squat thrusts in a minute…I am their squad leader!’
She smiled as Tregan chuckled innocently, ‘Now that I found amusing…’ He turned, expression suddenly becoming more serious, ‘These pistols fire a wide blast over short distance…used for close combat
