C96 Steel And Sweat

"Keep it up."

Next came Morgana, her brow furrowed in concentration.

She approached the firing line with a calm, focused energy.

Her hands gripped the grenade, and she followed the same routine, pin, throw, cover.

The grenade arced through the air, landing perfectly at the target zone before erupting in a thunderous blast.

"Solid hit, Morgana!"

Darius barked.

"Back in line."

Catherine stepped up last, her expression determined.

She had been waiting for this moment, and there was no way she was going to screw it up now.

She pulled the pin, tossed the grenade, and dropped behind cover in one fluid motion. The explosion that followed was deafening, the sound echoing across the range.

Darius stepped forward, his arms crossed, a scowl on his face but a glint of approval in his eyes.

"Well, well, looks like some of you can actually throw worth a damn. Maybe there's hope for you after all."

The four women returned to the line, standing shoulder to shoulder with the other recruits.

Their hearts were still racing, but the adrenaline rush was accompanied by a surge of pride.

"Now,"

Darius continued, raising his voice so everyone could hear,

"we're going to do this again, but faster this time. I want to see you throw, take cover, and then reload within ten seconds. No f*cking around! You're not on a damn vacation here!"

The recruits groaned inwardly, knowing full well what was coming.

The pressure was on, and Darius wasn't going to let them leave until they had mastered this drill.

As the next round of grenades was distributed, Yin, Yang, Morgana, and Catherine exchanged another glance, their hands already twitching in anticipation.

Despite the exhaustion, despite the grueling training, they were ready.

"Alright, ladies,"

Catherine said with a smirk, adjusting her grip on the grenade.

"Let's show them how it's done."

Yin grinned back.

"Born ready."

And with that, they prepared for the next round of throws, their muscles tensed, their minds sharp.

There was no room for error in the Iron Fenrirs only room to get stronger, faster, and more dangerous.

"Go!"

Darius shouted, and the grenades flew through the air once more, followed by the thunderous sound of explosions as the recruits put everything they had into the task ahead.

...

After the grueling grenade drills, Yin, Yang, Morgana, and Catherine dragged themselves to the mess hall, their bodies aching from the day's intensity.

The mess hall was buzzing with the usual mix of exhausted recruits, the air thick with the smell of reheated MREs.

The women sat at their usual table, opening the dull silver packets that they had grown all too familiar with over the past few months.

Yin poked at her meal with her fork, her face contorted in disgust.

"I swear, if I see another MRE after this, I might throw it out the airlock."

Catherine grimaced as she took a bite of the bland, over-processed food.

"I think I'm already halfway there. Why can't we get real food for once? They're training us to be killers, and this is what they feed us?"

Morgana sighed, staring at the unappetizing meal in front of her.

"I'm not even sure what this is supposed to be anymore. Chicken? Beef? Just... mush."

Yang, despite her own exhaustion, managed to force down another bite, giving a sarcastic grin.

"Could be worse. At least it's not another protein bar."

Yin groaned, shoving another forkful into her mouth.

"I don't know if that's a consolation."

They ate in silence for a while, each bite feeling like more of a chore than the last. Around them, the mess hall hummed with the quiet clatter of plasticware, the occasional laugh or groan of tired recruits. 

"We still have chain weapons live firing after this,"

Morgana said, wiping her mouth and tossing her MRE packet aside.

"I hope my arms hold up."

Catherine leaned back in her seat, pushing her half-eaten meal away.

"Same. I don't know how much more we can take today, but at least the weapons training is fun."

Yang grinned.

"Fun? I can barely lift my arm to aim after those grenade drills. But yeah, blowing stuff up does have its perks."

Yin finished her last bite, grimacing as she swallowed.

"Alright, let's just get through it. At least it'll be over soon."

With their MREs hastily finished, they rose from the table, their stomachs full but unsatisfied.

The thought of more training weighed on them, but it was what they had signed up for. There was no complaining in the Iron Fenrirs, not if you wanted to survive.

As they made their way back to the firing range with the rest of the female recruits from room 341, the adrenaline from the grenade exercises still buzzed faintly in their veins.

When they arrived, Julian stood waiting for them, his posture straight and imposing as always.

He had a collection of weapons laid out on the nearby racks, each gleaming under the fluorescent lights.

"Alright, listen up,"

Julian barked, his sharp gaze moving over the group as they assembled in formation.

"Today's live firing exercise is focused on chain weapons. You'll be handling smart rifles, laser LMGs, RPGs, and mass accelerator rifles. You all know how they work since you fired them already so don't even try to do a safety check with the mag still attached"

He pointed to the first weapon, a smart rifle with an under-barrel grenade launcher attached.

"We'll start with this beauty, point and shoot. The under-barrel grenade launcher is for taking out heavier targets or clusters of enemies. Make sure you know how to switch between modes."

Julian then moved to the laser light machine gun, its sleek design glinting in the light.

"This is your suppressive fire. High rate of fire, heavy output. You won't need to reload as often, but keep an eye on the heat indicators. Overheat it, and it'll take longer to cool down or you'll just meltdown the barrel"

Next, he gestured to the RPG and the mass accelerator rifle.

"RPG for when you need to blow something to hell. Don't aim it too close, safe distance 60 meters minimum. The mass accelerator rifle? Basically a sniper on steroids. Long-range, high power. Perfect for taking out targets before they even know what hit them."

Yin, Yang, Morgana, and Catherine exchanged glances, their earlier fatigue momentarily forgotten in the face of the weapons laid out before them.

Julian pointed to the racks.

"Grab your ear protection, get into groups, and start firing. Rotate between the weapons until you've fired all of them. I expect precision and discipline. Screw this up, and you'll be cleaning the entire range with a toothbrush."

The recruits grabbed their ear protection, slipping on the heavy-duty headphones that would block out the deafening roar of the weapons.

They split into groups, Yin and Yang pairing up while Morgana and Catherine joined another.

Yin picked up the smart rifle first, its weight solid and reassuring in her hands.

She toggled the grenade launcher mode, checking the switch button, the target dummies downrange stood at attention, waiting to be torn apart by live rounds.

"Ready?"

Yin called out to Yang, who was setting up next to her with the laser LMG.

"Let's light 'em up,"

Yang grinned, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

At Julian's command, the firing range erupted into chaos.

Yin squeezed the trigger, and the smart rifle hummed to life, spitting out high-velocity rounds with pinpoint accuracy.

The dummies downrange crumbled under the assault, bits of jolly rigged waste flying In all directins.

Next to her, Yang opened up with the LMG, the weapon roaring like a beast as it laid down suppressive fire.

The heat indicator rose quickly, but she managed it well, short bursts to avoid overheating too fast.