When it was done, I pressed the Unlock button and lifted the phone from the Manipulator's field. It immediately powered on in my palm, juice flowing through the skin contact. The phone logo appeared as it booted up.
"That was really something," Theo said.
Theo could walk pretty quietly when he wanted to, it turned out. He was standing in the doorway, in a perfect position to have seen the whole process.
"Hey, Theo," I said.
My phone finished booting, and showed me a ton of notifications. It was fully charged from the time it had spent in my palm. Most of them were messages from my sister, Meredith. I resolved to read through the messages as soon as I could before I locked the phone and stowed it.
"I'm not sure what I just saw there, but I can forget it easily enough," Theo offered, his voice subdued.
I sighed. "It's fine, Theo. Everyone on Earth is going to have to know soon enough, I think."
"To know what? You some kind of alien, Jake?" he asked. He stepped into the living room and leaned on the back of the couch, glancing at the unimpressive-looking metal boxes I'd left on the table.
"No, but he knows one!" Marty piped up.
Theo raised an eyebrow at that, but waited for me to reply.
"Alright, story time."
Chapter Twelve: Telling Theo and Playing with the GN-75
I TOLD THEO THE SAME story I'd told Marty: the trip through the gate, the station, all of it. He asked good questions, and when it was done, he leaned back.
"That's quite the story. I'm not sure I believe it. I saw some black mist come out of your hand and into that phone, but that could have been lots of things."
"Really, Theo?" Marty said. "What? Magic?"
"You and I differ here, Smoker. I know you want to believe, but I'll need some more evidence."
"You can do that thing you did with the jail door again, can't you, Jake?" Marty asked.
"Salvaging? Yeah, I could but I've got something else in mind that won't cost me any Nanite Clusters."
As I had suspected he might have, behind his house Theo had set up a small shooting range. Two hundred yards away at the base of the wall of crushed cars, a twenty-foot berm had been built. In front of that was a selection of wood and steel targets. The three of us stood at a group of tables under a wooden shelter. The roof above had kept the tables clean of snow, mostly. I set a duffel bag down on the table in front of me.
"Nice range, Theo," I said.
"Thanks. What are you going to show me, Jake? Is that Glock actually some kind of blaster?"
"Nah, it's just a nine mil. I'm going to show you the Gale Needler, the GN-75."
I unzipped the bag and pulled the GN-75 free. It felt great in my hands, as usual—an old friend. The Interface showed me its stats.
╠═╦╬╧╪
Mangonel Arms GN-75 Gale Needler CAW
Ammunition: 100/100
100% Charge, External power connected
Safe, Controlled Fire
Control(s) Available: Release Safety, Fully Automatic
╠═╦╬╧╪
It was full of ammo and I had five more full magazines in the bag. With that and the FERA (Field Expedient Reloading Aperture), I could afford to show it off.
"Damn that's pretty," Marty said.
I couldn't help but agree. With a flick of my will I released the safety and activated the targeting link. The orange targeting cone blossomed in my vision and I narrowed it, slightly.
"Are we going to need hearing protect—" Theo started to ask as I raised the weapon. I answered him by pressing the firing stud.
A storm of needle flights hissed down-range. The first target was a round steel plate, pocked with dents. It virtually disintegrated, the sound of tortured metal ringing through the yard as several flights impacted it. I moved the muzzle quickly from right to left, firing in short bursts. Wood exploded into splinters and pieces of metal flew as the high-velocity flechettes pulverized everything I aimed at.
Thirty-five flights and three seconds later, I ceased fire. Pieces of targets were still tumbling across the berm or settling where they'd fallen, and everything was quiet and still again.
I safed the GN-75 and looked over my shoulder at Theo and Marty. Both of their mouths were hanging wide open.
Marty was the first one to break the silence.
"That was fucking awesome! Hell yeah! Woo!"
Theo walked to the end of the range and picked up one of the mangled pieces of steel that used to be a target. The needles had turned it into a piece of abstract art, a thin, twisted strip of metal.
Honestly, I had been a bit surprised by how effective the GN-75 was. The difference between tier 1 metals, like the steel of the targets, and the tier 2 and 3 metals of the Union was huge. Having spent all of the last couple of weeks in the station, I had gotten used to Union materials. The station's structure was mostly tier 2 metal, which would shrug off the needles of the GN-75. It was primarily a weapon for relatively soft targets. Here on Earth though, it made for an extremely effective demonstration.
"This shouldn't be possible," Theo said as he squatted and sifted through the debris.
"You're convinced then, Theo?" I asked.
"I guess I am. I have one question, though."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Can I shoot that?"
I had demolished most, but not quite all of the targets on the range. When you lived in a scrap yard, however, you had no shortage of things to shoot at. The three of us dragged new pieces of scrap onto the range. The enormous hood of a car from the late 70s. A rear axle and differential, which we stood upright. Various pieces of scrap lumber and even some old lawn furniture Theo assured us he was happy to lose.
Marty and Theo took turns with the GN-75 while I hovered nearby. I was
