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This message was last updated by the GM at 17:35, Thu 31 Jan 2013.

Chantry scene?  Self-Defense (Firearms) class at the indoor range.  Thoughts?  I know it's what Jack is good at, and it's an area where other apprentices are lacking.

Who is Jack and Evelyn?

let's play? :-)

Taki was one the younger ancillae Tremere.  Her area of expertise was "fixing" things.  By "fixing" things, Taki often killed them.  Taki's purpose for clan Tremere was to remove supernatural threats.  She was quite good at it actually.  She was an expert with a variety of weapons, knew a ton about modern security, and knew what to look for with regards to other supernatural entities.  Taki's biggest claim to clan importance though came by being a confidant of Tyler Crown, an archon on permanent assignment in Charlotte.  Anyone who knew where Taki's skills came from or what she did as a mortal prior to her embrace wasn't speaking.

That chantry's range was three levels underground.  It has room to shoot at a variety of targets, including a "killhouse" setup just for this sort of thing.  The range was used quite often by the younger members of the clan who needed to brush up on their skills, qualify with certain weapons, and to test certain thaumaturgic effects on the environment (train without breaking the Masquerade).  Tonight was no different.  There place was setup for training, but tonight there would be no rituals, no robes, no delving into occult mysteries.  Tonight was about the basics - firearms instruction.

Taki had arrived early without her childe.  She had brought a variety of weapons; a pair of Benelli shotguns, a pair of MP5s, and enough 1911s for anyone to pick up and fire them.  There was also three different types of ammunition, one locked in a box, the other two already loaded into the clips.  Taki waited in the empty but clean basement room.  The place was lit up and she was clearly in the mood to handle business.

Evelyn arrives shortly after Taki and her childe. Dressed in casual chic she paints the picture of a lady who is all business. The choice of low heeled, leather boots, plain black pants, plain white blouse and sweater emanate a masculine efficiency and serves to veil the femininity of its wearer. Her dark hair is tied back in a bun, resting low in her neck, and she has forgone the use of make-up for this session. A pair of supple leather gloves are tucked into her belt within easy reach.

A friendly nod greets first Taki and then Jack. "Good evening Madame, Sir." she says. Her tone is polite and friendly, much as one would greet a welcome client. "How are you tonight?" While they speak her eyes remain upon the other two kindred, but once the initial greetings are past, Evelyn devotes some attention to the weaponry Taki provided. While she doesn't recognize each specific brand she is glad to have done some research beforehand.

When she had heard of this training Evelyn had booted up her computer and searched the internet for information on firearms and in particular those weapons that were easy to carry. She now knew what kind the police favored and what a semi-automatic was, but book knowledge could carry one only so far. "This will be a new experience for me," Evelyn confided. "I thank you, both of you, for giving me that opportunity."

The old building held mixed emotions for Jack, it was his escape and his tormentor. His world consisted of mixed emotions on many things but it was cold hard facts that was his centre of gravity. He came back often for training and classes, if there was any excuse not to be at the chantry he would find it even though it was his haven.He would have said that he was too old to study or learn anything but that would have been the limitations that he put on himself when he was mortal and if anything the Tremere had shown him was that the limitations of his existence could be expanded if you knew how and were willing to open yourself to the possibilities.

Quietly he helped his Sire, the weight of the duffel bags digging into his shoulders as he followed in her  footsteps the sound of their shoes clicking as they walked through the Chantry. Where most of the Tremere that he knew felt comfortable in library he preferred the gun range. Not that he was a gun nut, far from it, it was the only reminder that he held from his days as a mortal. The weight in your hands, the control of where it was pointed and when it would fire, control was what he craved for, control of self, situation and the occult. At the moment he would be content with two out of the three.

They laid out the weapon, the Benelli shotgun would not have been first choice,  even with the unique inertia operating system he still preferred Beretta, that because he was also preferable to the  Beretta 92FS. Good weighted sidearm with decent accuracy with the 10 to 25 meter rang. The MP5’s were always a fan favorite no matter where you went. Heckler & Koch 9mm sub machine gun and also maker of the 1911 variant pistol, sturdy and could take a knock, and last but not least 1911 patent Pistols. There were a few favorites in the mix. The CZ was always a favorite, the Duty being a 40 cal with decent weight to help with muzzle control and minimize shift of aim was what he like to carry. Berretta’s and the new Smith and Wesson were also good and he had been surprise to see no revolvers there not even the iconic S&W 686, which handled better in the 50 meters stakes but he was guessing that his sire did not want encourage that kind of shooting.

When Evelyn  approached, and he tried to sum her up instantly, a bad habit from his living days. Never make a first assumption of a person. It was a rookie mistake and a throw back to his days on the job when it meant survival to be able to read someone quickly and correctly. He looked her over, her dress, her hair, the way she spoke. She was a socialite and would most likely go far in the clan. He was willing to guess that she excelled well in occult studies and was most likely the darling of the bal.  When she asked all he could say was. ”Well, thank you." his tone passive and controlled. Not returning the question for fear of her actually going into details and trying to use it as a platform to starting a long winded conversation and draw information out of him.

He turned to Suzuki his face serious as it usually was”Before we start should I check the loading and slides of the weapons to make sure there are no jams. It should only take about 5 minutes” he asked always one to make sure that the firearms where in a ready condition for use, that are stripped, cleaned and stored properly.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:43, Fri 08 Feb 2013.

Natalya wandered down the stairs to the basement, five minutes after she was supposed to arrive. Dressed in a knee length flower patterned red dress, cut low enough to draw glances and make the imagination work. Her shoes a pair of workman like doc Martens. She looked disdainfully over the weapons on offer. "I appreciate the effort Atsutaki and thank you for the offer of instruction, but really....the Colt M1911 has been around for longer than I have. I go for Glocks by preference."

"Mind if I watch?" The question was a mere courtesy as Evelyn stepped up to Jack and kept a keen eye on his hands while they worked the slides. She noticed how the different guns had different ways to load and offered a faint nod as she stored the knowledge away for future use. "The Glocks seem to be a popular choice," she replied to Natalya's comment. "I'm glad for the opportunity to broaden my horizon and try out various kinds before deciding on a weapon of my own. Of course the Glocks, by being so popular and widely available have the additional perk of being difficult to trace. A lesser known gun might be a good choice for an assassin wishing to leave 'a calling card', so to speak."

Evelyn turned towards Atsutaki, smiling that same professional smile as she waited for the ancillae to share her expertise.

Natalya smiled "If disposable is what you are looking for, there are many more M1911's around than Glocks. I just like Glocks as they make a pistol which fits into my hand more comfortably. The M1911 is a bulky for my taste."

OOC:It is sometimes VERY handy to have a brother in law who is a gun nut.

He stood listening and kept his mouth shut, talking guns was like talking religion and sex. Everyone had an opinion and they were all right. While some liked Glocks, other 1911 Colts and there were even CZ , there were people that swore the accuracy of a revolver could not be beaten, in the end it come down to personal taste. He could not convince them of his view or nor could they convert him to theirs, not until you actually sat down and tried to handle them all it was all about was always best about what you preferred. It was all semantics at the end of the day and reverted back to things like grip size, weight and the ever important look, but to Jack there were other things, like how easy was it to break down, haw many moving parts and how accurate between the ranges 07 meters, 8 – 25 and god forbid at 50 meters

He moved closer to the table, with each of the pistol he performed the same routines. He picked up the firearm making sure the he had muzzle control and that it was pointed in the safe direction down the range and his trigger finger was no where the trigger at all time. His finger pointed out to the right like it was afraid of the trigger.  He next pressed the magazine release. For safety precautions it was empty but it was a ingrained into him. With the pistol still in his hand he made sure the muzzle control was still down range and positioned himself on the side of the firearm and pulled the slide back in a pinching grip with his free hand and locking it into place by flicking the slide lock with his thumb. He lifted the gun to eye height and checked the chamber to make sure it was clear and still the muzzle was down range at all time. There was no way there was a chance that his sire would have left it loaded, but his eyes were looking for excess  residue which would stick in the strike plate or near the trigger spring which would impact on the sweet spot, Meaning after you fire you do not need to let the trigger go all the way back to pull it again, instead only reducing the pressure enough to squeeze again. When he was happy that they were good to go he took off the slide lock and let the pistol slide back into place with a metallic click, he did it one last time enjoying the sound the slide made as it slid back into place. He did the three finger releases of the hammer, the thumb of the hand that was holding the pistol rested on the Hammer and with his free hand he pinched the hammer making sure all three fingers were safely on the fire arm before he put his finger on the trigger. He squeezed the trigger and slowly guided the hammer back to the face place. As soon as that was done he moved onto the next one.

Atsutaki Suzuki was an apprentice of the 5th circle.  That made her the highest ranking kindred present for the training exercises tonight.  Even the experienced Natalya was only an apprentice of the third circle.  She was the prince's childe too.

"Apprentice." was how Taki had addressed everyone.  Taki was short and broad shouldered for a woman.  She had traditional Japanese features but her eyes had a darker then usual edge to them.  Taki's eyes darted about as they took in every meticulous detail of what her childe was doing with the weapons. The look on her face suggested every little thing was being filed away.  Taki's hair was pulled back into a utilitarian ponytail.  Even her skin seemed a little more bronzed, then usual.  Taki was dressed in a pair of snug fitting blue jeans, Adidas running shoes, and a black hooded L.A. Raiders sweatshirt.  She had her sleeves were pulled halfway up her wrists.

When Natalya showed up late, Taki checked the time by glancing at a clock on the wall.  She didn't say anything.  Even if she was five minutes late, Natalya was still ten minutes early.  Taki knew how to manipulate the childe.  It wasn't that difficult.  "You bring up an valid opinion Apprentice Shrevchenko.  The Colt 1911 is a heavy pistol that fires a heavy bullet, more accurately, at a greater distance and with more punch then the nine millimeter or forty caliber ammunition in your Glock.  It is an uncommon but not difficult weapon to acquire, that's tried and true, rugged design has weathered more then a century of use, abuse, and criticism.  At the end of the night it is still a flawless pistol that is the basis for all modern handguns tonight.  That is precisely why we are using it." Okay, so maybe she was a little irritated.

She turned to Evelyn.  "Because Glocks are so commonly used and fire such standardized ammunition, we purposefully are using the forty-fives.  If something does happen where bullets are exchanged, we want to be able to quickly and efficiently neutralize the scene by removing evidence of our own presence.  It's easier if we can identify what's ours and what's not.  Does that make sense to you?

Then, as her childe continued to move through the guns, Taki picked up one of the MP5s.  Then she opened the locked ammunition case with the wave of her hand.  She pulled out a clip for the weapon that glowed a soft blue color for about three seconds before stopping.  When she popped the clip in and released the slide, chambering the first round the clip glowed blue again.  This time when the glow stopped, the symbol of clan Tremere appeared on the side of the clip.  She set the weapon off to the side and repeated the process for one of the colt pistols with a similar result.  Then Taki went back to watching until something else happened.

She checked the time on the wall.  10:59:54...55...56...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:14, Fri 08 Feb 2013.

Evelyn watched Jack's movements probably as closely as his Sire had. Her eyes that followed his every move went slightly out of focus when she rehearsed his actions in her mind. From the third gun onward she tried to recall his next action before he came to it.

When Atsutaki spoke, Evelyn courteously turned her full attention to the more experienced apprentice. The corners of her mouth tugged upwards at the oriental woman's explanation. Yes, that made perfect sense to one who was used to dealing with testimonies, witnesses and police reports. "A very good sense, indeed," she agreed. She could think of various situations where that distinction would make all the difference in the world. As she guessed Atsutaki could think of a couple more, she didn't bother naming them.

With her attention focused upon their teacher Evelyn could not help but notice the odd glow on the ammunition, and their clan symbol appearing. "Does that mark serve the same purpose, madame?" she inquired with keen interest, indicating the newly charged weapon with a gentle sweep of her hand.

At precisely 11:00 PM The door to the Firing Range opened one more time and another person walked in. He had heavy boots, scuffed on the toes, down the sides, and well broken in. He had khaki colored cargo pants. The pants were in good condition, but not new. They had scuffs on the knees and were well broken in. These, like the boots, were for putting in work. Across his broad chest was a black, snug fitting, v-neck shirt. This guy was big. Large pectoral muscles and shoulders, the hint of a taut, flat stomach, and massive arms. Muscles rippled in them like flexible steel bands. An under the shoulder holster in brown leather carried a big, silver revolver. A pen was clipped to the collar of the shirt inside of it so that only the aluminum clip of a pen was visible at the collar of the shirt and he had a leather wrist band strapping a watch to his wrist. The man had crossly cropped hair, a strong jaw and a perpetual, but well trimmed beard of stubble on his face. In his left hand was a pipe that he had just taken from his mouth and as he looked over everyone he exhaled a cloud of aromatic smoke.

Archon. Lord. Tyler Crown, while not a common sight around the chantry, was an unmistakable figure. The large man observed the assembled Apprentices for a moment, looking at each of them in turn. Everyone knew Tyler Crown was never, ever late for an appointment, and he expected the same promptness out of those who had to meet with him. If Tyler Crown walked through the door at 11PM, well after he would normally have been here, it only meant that he had been somewhere observing for some time now.

Tyler started speaking with a faded Welsh accent, not incredibly prominent, but it was there, "Glock. M1911. Sig Sauer..." He reached up and hauled the large revolver out of the holster. It was big and intricately engraved. "London Armoury Company." He held the gun, barrel pointed down, finger through the trigger socket and showed it to everyone before putting it back in the holster. "These are tools. The means to an end. Do not get it in your heads that we are here to teach you to be assassins or masters at covering up murders." Tyler walked further into the room, and stood next to Taki. The two were complete opposites. Taki was a scalpel. Tyler was a bludgeon, or so he seemed at first glance.

"Disposable is secondary to what you are doing. We have people, like Taki, who are extremely skilled in cleaning up a crime scene. Rest assured, Apprentices, that if you are staring down a foe with a gun," He looked to everyone again. "You. Have. Failed." He pulled on the pipe again and released another cloud of that strangely aromatic smoke then continued, "But, this is an interesting age we are living in. I can assure all of you, that sooner or later, you will fail. You will need to defend yourselves, and for whatever reasons your abilities as Tremere will be either be inappropriate or unavailable. These weapons have been selected for very specific reasons. We are not here to debate those reasons." His eyes lingered on Natalya as he spoke. "Charlotte has an international airport, is a rail hub, and is less than a night's drive from other major cities or transportation hubs, even during the summer." He grasped the bowl of the pipe, and put both hands low behind his back and looked at everyone. "Sooner or later, you will have to defend yourselves from Sabbat, Anarchs, or Lupines. All of which are viable threats in this city. So, pay attention, perform well, and there are rewards for mastering these tasks. The right word from a Lord and Archon can get you very far in life. Very far indeed."

Tyler retreated to the back of the room, scraped a chair away from a small metal table that was usually used for reloading or cleaning guns and sat down, pulled out his tobacco and matches along with his ever present notepad and began watching. It became clear that not only was he taking notes on what he saw, but that he was interested in the material of the class as well, or perhaps, he was watching to see how Taki conducted it.

He stood watching, he was a keen observer. To him the guns were unimpressive. For one who had used multiple types they were something he respected but was not in awe of. Magic on the other hand was all new to him and it was amazing to watch. When he saw the ammunition illuminate he quietly tried to figure what the spell was. His eyes resting on the ammunitions as he tried to think of the components that would be used, the words that would have needed to be spoken and energy that would have been needed   to combine it all together. It was beyond him but it did not stop him trying

He did not speak up, there was no need. His sire would instruct them what they needed to know anything else would be fruitless and waste of time both his and hers. He noted that she was watching the clock and looked up too, she was waiting for something and when the door opened he saw what it was, the Archon Crown, and now he understood what this was, lesson and tests under the watchful eye of the Archon. Taki was in a tough spot, training three apprentices all with different learning abilities in front of the Archon was a test for her as much as it was for him and as her child any failure on his part would impact heavily on her. He had a lot more to lose here than the rest of them and it became apparent that he would have to watch himself.

He listened to the Crown’s words, looking at the Sig then back to the man’s eyes. Jack’s  own features were the usual stoic that he usually was, his attention unwavering and precise. When Crown headed to the back of the room he did not turn to watch, instead he waited for his Sires command on what she wanted to next. He stood still waiting for her to address them. He did not look at the others but through his peripheral vision he took note of the others reaction. This night just got a lot more interesting and dangerous.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:37, Tue 12 Feb 2013.

Evelyn turned towards the door when it opened and her eyes widened. Without a word she went down on one knee and bowed her head to their elder. Check. Not just any elder, Archon Tyler Crown. She had seen him only once before but his was a presence no kindred would easily forget. If and when she was bid to rise she complied. Her eyes shone with excitement and she listened to the Archon's words with an almost holy zeal. His advice was taken as if it had come straight from the Holy Bible and Evelyn filed the most importants away in her mind. Later, she would transfer her memories to actual files but now was the time to focus at their current task.

Once Crown retreated Evelyn returned her full attention to Atsutaki. I'd say the stakes just went up, she thought to herself. From their earlier conversation Evelyn was aware the kindred here outplayed her concerning their knowledge of firearms, but she dared to hazard Crown knew all this and more. If she were to impress the Archon it had to be through different means. Do the best you can, she reminded herself. Now and forever.

Natalya wasn't overly surprised by Tyler making an appearance. She looked attentive when Tyler made his speech and she did listen. Not anything she hadn't heard before from Dragon, and Tyler was right. This town was a nexus for so many supernatural beings. She'd always wondered why the Kindred has chosen this place and more particularly why out of everywhere they'd ever been, Draogn had chosen to be Prince of this place, instead of somewhere more exciting.

Guns had always been part of Natalya's unlife, though she'd always preferred the artistry of the blade. Natalya glanced at Taki, waiting for her to begin the lesson.

Taki smiled at Tyler when he arrived right on time.  Like usual.  If there was anyone in this chantry that knew him better then he knew himself, it was her.  Taki had long been Tyler's assistant, traveling from chantry to chantry with him.  As he aged, so did she.  As he grew in ability, so did she.  With Tyler as her mentor, it was little wonder how Taki got so good at what she did.  According to the local chantry gossip, Taki was onsidered as a Tremere Archon, but her youth held her back.

"Jack."  She waited until she had his attention.  "Make sure Eve is squared away.  Explain it to her again if you have too.  Get yourselves equipped with one of the Colts and have her load an extra clip or two.  Then join Natalya on the line."

From there, Taki nodded at Natalya.  "Natalya, I know you already know what you're doing, so go arm up with one of the Colts and a couple extra clips.  Take a spot on the line and pick a few targets.  Since I have to give Evelyn a proficiency test and you're due to recertafy in three weeks, I might as well test you too while you are here."  Taki spoke evenly.  Controlled.  Direct.  Like an instructor accustomed to speaking once and having the command understood.

"I'll be back in a minute."  From there Taki promptly dismissed herself and walked over to Tyler.  She stood off to the side of him so she could continue observing while still talking to him.  "Lord Crown."

He heard his name then looked up receiving his instructions  "Will do" His voice was deep and had a gruff air to it, like his words were made of stone.

Picking up a colt he turned  to Evelyn and even though his attention was on her the muzzle of the gun was pointed down field. "Okay Evelyn the Five basic rules of handling a firearm. The first is always treat it if it is loaded. You do not know how many deaths are caused while some Jack ass is cleaning his gun and thinks its unloaded but thats natural selcetion for you he said then  held the gun for her to see.

"Never put you finger near the trigger unless you are ready to pull it. he said holding the grip and his finger resting on the side. "The design of the weapon is so that the finger easily fits so it is natural for you to want to rest it in there but it can lead to sympathetic pulling of the trigger meaning when you pull the gun back or away from the target your finger squeezes the trigger without you meaning too. Nice way to accidentally shoot someone and stsrt a fire fight."

He turned the gun on it side and moved his hand so she could see the safety and mag release. "The third is look for the safety, if it's not on then put it on. he pointed to a lever at the back of the pistol, a read dot indicating that  it was not on. He flicked the switch and the red dot was off. "Not all pistol have a safeties but always check, if it does then use it and don't mistake the slide lock for one" and pointed a little further down the gun.

His finger than move to the button on the grip. With his free hand he picked up a empty clip and slid it in with enough force that it clicked in but not enough that he would break it. "Always know where the magazine release is." he pressed the small button and the empty magazine slid into his hand. "If you are in the middle of a gunfight the last thing you want to do is stop and try and figure out how to reload. Take some time and get use to it because sometimes it can comes down to who can reload the quickest."

He put down the empty clip and picked up a loaded one. "And the final rule, always pull the slide back after you put in a fresh mag. " and slid the slide back letting it  go and it sliding back into place. "That puts a round in the chamber and clocks the hammer on your pistol meaning you do not have to pull so heavily on the trigger reducing the drift and movement of the muzzel."

He looked up at her to see if she got it. He pressed the mag release, letting it drop into his hand and placed it on the table, pulled back the slide letting the round fall to the floor and the slid  theslid back into place. Took off the safety and dry fired to decock it and put it on the table. He picked up the round and fed it back into the magazine then looked back to Eve. "Now's it's your turn" he said with a smile, it was almost charming.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:42, Mon 25 Feb 2013.

"You really do know this inside out, don't you?" Evelyn said as she attentively studied the movement of Jack's hands upon the gun. Aside from that observation, mostly made for her own benefit she remained silent, focused entirely upon the instruction. At each of his seperate actions she tagged the basic rule with a reminder that enabled her to replay the scene in her mind at any given time.

At his first rule she imagined a huge bullet with five donkey ears and tail, the letters EEEH-AAAH written in toxic green lettering upon the missile. The second image was a portrait of four Dr Evil's pinkies to mouth to remind her of the finger placement. She assigned mental images to each of Jack's instructions, which enabled her to issue him a confident nod once he was done.

Still, excellent learning skills could not replace years of practice and Evelyn's fingers lacked the surety of Jack's. While she remembered the order of handling the weapon she fumbled with the safety and slides. It took her a bit of testing to find the right amount of pressure to put on the mag before it clicked in place. It didn't help that she eyed the weapon with the same suspicion one would give a live snake. "Check." she murmured after finishing each of Jack's basic rules; the numbers used in her reminders aiding her to keep track of the amount of steps to come.

"I've seen movies where people take a gun apart and reassemble it, blindfolded. Showmanship, exaggeration or purposeful?" she inquired as she pulled the slide back.

Natalya was very aware she was asked to use the Colt because it wasn't a weapon she liked. It was huge, almost too big to get into her hands. She lifted a pistol from the bench making sure it was unloaded and had no bullet remaining in the chamber before moving to the firing range. the goggles and ear protection were also a little overkill for the situation, but she put them on.

Placing the gun and the magazines before her, Natalya looked downrange to see how far the target was. Loading a clip into the pistol, she fired one shot after another taking time to pause and re-aim. She understood firearms and the need for them and they were more versatile than blades, but they seemed crude to her. No artistry or elegance. After the first clip was cleared, and she'd changed the target she tried to do a full clip against one target without pausing between shots. She suspected Taki might try a surprise at some point in her shooting, it was the Tremere creed. Adapt.

She glanced quickly to see how the newcomer was doing, Jack seemed very comfortable around firearms and seemed to be a capable instructor.

He left the first question go, there was no response that would not sound cocky or condescending. They all had strength and weakness, his was not firearms or self-defence it was the magical arts and he was not about to advertise that. He came from a different world then the other trainees. He was a world of violence and blood. Now that he thought about it sounded very much the same type of world just different side of the same coin.

”Mostly Hollywood BS” He said answering her question. ”There are people that can do it but there is very little use of it. If your gun comes apart in the dark you’re pretty much screwed as it is. What you are talking about mostly is muscle memory.  Repeat those actions and it will become second nature but I would not suggest doing it blind folded no matter how good you are. Each part of the pistol is prone to wear and tear, you need to inspect the gun to make sure that the striking plate is residue free or that the striking pin is not clogged up.

He heard the first of the shot and turned to look and Natya and took note of her stance, was it the typical The Isosceles Stance or the more fantasised weaver stance or a modified version and the distance she was shooting, 7,10,25, or 50 meters? Each had a degree of difficulty and the shots would show her level of skill.

He picked up a Colt, fingers outside of the trigger. Put the safety on and slid in a Magazine and slid the slide back loading the chamber. He picked up two loaded clips and blacked them into his left pock because that would be his feeding hand then  turned back to Evelyn ”You ready to try and see how it handles.”

"Such a shame, that's one illusion gone," Evelyn's smile was the same professional curving of the corners of her mouth she always wore in public. "I guess some part of me still associates guns with TV-series; Miami Vice, Starsky & Hutch, to name a few." Her voice was pleasant and unobtrusive; it veiled the calculated measuring of the other two apprentices while they were busy. By the time Jack's gaze returned to her Evelyn had lowered her eyes to the weaponry once more. "I guess we won't know till I try," she replied. She took notice of him taking two clips and mimicked his movements. "One thing I do know, I won't be able to reload as fast as you do. Not for a long, long time." Some day, she promised herself. Some day I will.

"Unless Madame Suzuki has other plans I'm more than willing to... eh... waste some ammunition." She turned towards the corner where Atsutaki conferred with Crown for quick confirmation. Unless some objection was raised she'd indicate for Jack to lead the way. "By all means, Mr Gallows, show me how it's done?"

He looked at his sire who was in talks with Crown. He had not intended to be instructor for this course on firearm use but his sire was busy and getting Evelyn to a stage where she could at least pull a trigger would speed things up. He knew his sire did not like it when students took tom any liberties but she also hated ones that needed to be spoon fed. They were adults here and needed to act as such

”Well get you set up at the bench, show you some stances, and how to use the sights.” He said leading her to the bench. Turning to a dial on the side he put it  10 and pressed the button that was marked forward and the target wished away from them down the range with a metallic whir. He placed his Colt on the bench that was at stomach height and then put his two magazines next to it.

”Show me how you would stand aiming the Colt down range, what feels comfortable for you.” he asked moving over so she had room to set herself up and be comfortable. His eyes scanning her as she set up with the scrutiny of a Range Officer.

OOC: When y'all are ready, choose which targets you want to shoot at, easy, normal, and hard difficulties.  Difficulty 4, 6, and 8, respectively.  You have 8 shots per clip.  You can post your summary of shots as part of an OOC at the bottom of your next post.  You'll need 4 successful shots on each set of targets to qualify.  Only choose one set of targets per post.  Right now though, we're kinda waiting on Tyler to respond to Taki before completely advancing forward.

Natalya in a bid to get herself out of the remainder of the lesson, set the range for the most difficult settings. With the target at the far end of the range, she picked the pistol from the table loaded it and fired one shot after another down the range. A vile curse sounded from her lips twice as she shot at the paper targets at the end. One didn't need to be able to speak Ukrainian in order to understand that Natalya was more than a little upset.

"The handle is too wide in order to use it effectively. May I use my 45 Glock? It makes the same diameter holes." she glared at the target at the end, tempted to ignite it in a fit of pique, though the last time she did it she was forced to remainin the chantry for a week. She had no wish to live through that again.


22:16, Today: Natalya Shrevchenko rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 5,6,3,7,8. shot 8.
22:16, Today: Natalya Shrevchenko botched using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 7,7,5,7,1. shot 7.
22:16, Today: Natalya Shrevchenko rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 9,2,7,3,5. Shot 6.
22:15, Today: Natalya Shrevchenko rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 6,5,8,5,5. Shot 5.
22:15, Today: Natalya Shrevchenko botched using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 5,2,2,1,3. Shot 4.
22:15, Today: Natalya Shrevchenko rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 4,7,1,9,10. Shot 3.
22:15, Today: Natalya Shrevchenko rolled 2 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 10,8,2,4,5. Shot Two.
22:14, Today: Natalya Shrevchenko rolled 2 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 10,2,10,4,4. Shot One

He was looking over Evelyn when he heard Nata spoke. He looked down rang to the target, six of the eighthad hit the target, two had likly been close."The gun is not the problem, you're over reaching."he said knowing this was not going to be taken well. Her ambition had given her no real chance to succeed."You are using a gun that you are not use to, the sights are new to you and you do not know how they are calabrated. Glocks are lighter so the throw back force is different than you are use too and you are shooting at a distance that is going to fail you even when you are using your own gun.".
This message was last edited by the player at 06:29, Fri 01 Mar 2013.

He turned to look back at Evelyn, his face stoic as it usually was. He looked her over again trying to adjust to the role of instructor. He was a not the most talkative of people at the best of times, maybe this was his part of the test, to see how he would take to teaching the others and how he handled the social interactions. He was not overly suspicious person, bull shit he was extremely suspicious and if he had to bet blood on it then this was a test for him.

“We will keep this simple and give you a couple of the basics. None of this written in stone and only use what you feel comfortable with. If it feels wrong, it most likely is.” He moved next to her looking down the Range.” First thing he will look at is your stance, there are two main ones, I’ll give you both and see which one you are comfortable with. The first is called the Isosceles Stance. Your feet, shoulder length apart, fully extends both arms towards the target. The shoulders are kept perpendicular to the target and both elbows are locked. The only problem with this stance is that in a firefight you are opening yourself up and if you were alive you are opening most of your body mass up to be shot at. I use this when shooting up to 10 meters only because at that that range it won’t matter what angle my body it if they shoot at me I can’t dodge bullets and they are too close to miss.” He showed holding the pistol out in front of himself his body made an Isosceles. He bent is knees slightly for support

” The next is the weaver stance, mostly shown in cop movies but it is a very effective stance.  Turned your body on a forty five degree to the target and the dominant side foot is back. I am right handed so it is my right foot I put back as support. My dominant right hand holds the pistol pushes forward while the support hand wraps around the pistol and pulls back. Both elbows are bent close to the body with the dominant arm bent less than my support arm. This helps with muzzle control from 25 up to 50 meters. Positioning my body at 45 degrees makes me harder to hit and I can control my balance better.” Again showing the stance his pistol pointing down range.

” The next we will look at his pistol grip. Now you’re screwed because your hands are smaller, but you will need to learn to use larger guns because you can’t always guarantee to use smaller pistol like the Glock so make sure to feel comfortable even if you can’t hold it properly. First take your dominate hand and grab the pistol handle without putting your finger in the trigger and make sure your hand is tight against the grip safety under the dove tail near the hammer. Make sure your grip is strong and that you are holding it enough to control it but not enough that you feel like you’re strangling it. Place your trigger finger on the side of the pistol but close enough that if you need to get to the trigger you can do it quickly and your thumb on the other side also down the slide but under the actual slide because when it moves you do not want it digging into your flesh.” He said demonstrating the technique, his right hand griping the handle and handle safety. His thumb resting on the the slide lock and is finger resting on the slide.

”My other hand, I place my palm on the grip on the handle and wrap my finger under the trigger guard and wrap them over my fingers, my thumb slides in under my other thumb.” He moved his other hand into place and his large hands cover the pistol.” As you can see I have complete control of the pistol. Even with smaller hands you will have greater control, you will find that it may kick more but you will figure out a way to compensate with that over time and experience”

He raised the pistol and looked at the sight. ” The next is the sight, the Colts have raised dots. Some shooters like them some don’t, I personally don’t but they are easy to use. When you look down the Pistol forget the target and look at the back sight this is the ones you need to be aiming with. With pistol you use the rear sight with shot guns you use the front sight. The rear sight consists of two dots with a void in the middle to align the front single dot into. When all three dots are in alignment you are going to shoot as straight as you are going to. Swap your gaze back and forwards from your sight to the target and you can change where you are targeting, but before pulling the trigger look at the rear sights and pull the trigger softly, do not jerk it because even the smallest movement can cause your aim to shift and you can miss your target.”

”The last bit I have for you is some free advice.” His tone was a take it or leave it kind of a way. He was blunt like that. He would have made a great teacher of he just had a bit of social grace. ”When picking up a new fire arm for the first time, one you have never fired or used before, test the aim on it. Do not be tempted to see how you could go at a longer distance, because you do not know how it is collaborated. What works for me is going to suck for you and vise a versa.” He put his pistol down and reaches over and brought the target closer to the 10 meter mark.

”Pull the trigger and see where the bullets land, see if you or it are pulling to the left or fight, high or low. At this close you will be able to see the target clearly and there is no drop in the arc of the projectile. When you feel that you are comfortable and have adjusted to fix your aim then take it to 25 meter, reassess again, it will be easier for you to fix your aim if you already know what you are having problem with. When you are comfortable with that then try the 50. The reason I say this is because it’s exactly what I will be doing. I have used firearms for over 30 years and each time I use a new firearm I do a quick aim test to see if there is a flaw with the sight or the rounds or if I’m just having a shit day.”

He moved out of her way, his eyes watching for any infringement that needed to be stopped. He watched her stance and looked for anything that would make her aim worse. ” Good luck” He offered.

"Thank you." Evelyn replied. This time she didn't bother with smiles, courteous or otherwise. Her attention was full focus on Jack's instructions, her gaze following his movements closely. She tried the Isosceles stance but abandoned it almost as soon as she had it. "You're right," she commented. "Too exposed. It's nice to practise for show, I suppose. It does emanate a certain threat, a warning to the opposition that you know what you're doing, but it is highly demanding on the space you're occupying. I would wager that when packed with a lot of body armor it could be effective. Or when you're strong enough to eat a couple of bullets, but by then I guess stance won't matter at all. For now, however, I believe I shall stick to the second option."

The appropriate action followed her intent and she shifted stances, pushing her right foot back. "Interesting, it will also tell me if my opponent is left or right handed if they use the same stance, and I shall give that information as well to an observant enemy. Still, that's of minor concern once the shooting starts." She weighed the colt in her hand, holding it sideways before raising it in her right hand. Her left hand comes up to support her right, fingers closing around the grip.

She sights over the weapon, looking first for the dots Jack indicated before adjusting the Colt's angle towards the target. "At this time I will be loathe to blame the weapon for my mishaps," she commented drily. "Still, testing equipment before using it in the field is a good habit to settle into. I would do the same for my tools of the trade."

Jack's presence felt like a security blanket; Evelyn knew that as soon as her stance would be offe, he'd speak up. When he voiced no protest when she moved her finger to the trigger she was pretty damn sure she had her stance and aim under control. The first shot had her reel back from the force of the weapon jumping in her grip. A low hiss of frustration escaped her and she took her time to readjust her balance. Again, she took her time to get a good feel for the weight and grip of the colt before aligning the dots with the target. Once again, the weapon jolted in her hands and her fingers tightened around the grip. It cost her her aim however and she found it hard to find the same amount focus and determination for each and every shot. Evelyn turned to Jack. "Should I let it do that or should I try to compensate for the knockback?"

He watched in silence and was not surprised that her grip was a problem but it was not as bad as she thought. "Lets take a look." he said pushing the button and the target rattled to them. He looked over the target. Two shot had been centre and two had gone wide but still hit.

His hand went to the two centre shot."These where your first two shot, good grouping and centre of mass. Even though the gun rocked in your hands a bit you still had good control, a little bit tighter on the grip and lean into the stance a bit more to take more of the recoil. his hands now going to the other misses. "It's not the grip here that's the problem, you're anticipating the shot, you think the gun is going to jerk around so you are already over compensating and the shots are going to go wide. More practice and more faith in your shooting will fix that, for your first time shooting you've done well."

He pressed the button and the target went back to its place. "When your comfortable and had a bit more practice feel free to put it back a bit further."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:02, Fri 01 Mar 2013.

He nodded at Evelyn politely, leaving her to get the experience that she was so far needing. Jack picked up his pistol and 2 mags and left her to it. As he moved to the next bay he made a mental note that while she was not strong with firearms he was willing to bet that she more of a social Tremere and more use to the arcane art. While he might be doing well here he knew for a fact that if this was back in the class it would be him requesting help from her.

Getting to the bay he placed the mags on the bench and set the target at the short distance.  Years of raining and muscle memory took in as the target was reasonably close that it should not be much of a problem as he took to the weaver stance just for this shoot. His gripping perfect from memory and experience while the weight of the pistol was good and comforting, his preference of Colts over Glocks was for this very reason. He looked down the sight and the white dots lines up perfectly. There was no need to drop his aim at this distance for there would be no arc in the projectile and he could clearly see the target circles she he knew that he was right on target.

He pulled the trigger and his body took the impact from the recoils. The shot was dead to centre, as it should be at this close. He released the trigger just a fraction and felt the click of release the weapon was ready to fire again and proceed to pull the trigger. Another shot dead centre and the grouping were good. There was a slight rise but that could have been him just looking over the sight which he someone did. He released the trigger again to the same spot, the metallic click felt through the handle as he pulled the trigger twice more as both shot were dead on target. The grouping could have been a bit better but it was not like he was using his own firearm.

He leant over and sent the Target further down range. Sure these shot would be harder but at least he had calibrated in his sight to his eye.  Raising the Pistol he could make out the Target but no the circles on it. He lowered the Pistol a bit knowing he was shooting high and cover the additional arc for reduction of velocity then pulled the trigger. While the round hit it dug in low. He had over compensated and raised his sights a bit more. He fired again the shot was a bit higher butstill  he needed to raise it a bit more and fired the next shot. While they may not have been dead centre, they were better grouped and closer to the centre of the targets. If he was to guess he had gotten all 10’s at the short distance and two  6’s and two 9’s at the average distance. He was not feeling all that confident at next distance, but he should be able to at least get 4 hits on the target or at least hoped so, even his experience only helped so much.

Dropping the empty mag he placed the empty one on the counter and loaded the new one in, pulled back the slide and put the safety on. He placed the fire arm back on the table and headed back around to see how Evelyn and Natalya were doing.


OOC - Time to put my money where my mouth is. :)

09:01, Today: Jack Gallows rolled 3 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 4,10,9,4,2,6,4. Shot 8.
09:00, Today: Jack Gallows rolled 3 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 4,10,6,6,5,3,5. Shot 7.
08:59, Today: Jack Gallows rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 5,1,3,5,9,2,10. Shot 6.
08:58, Today: Jack Gallows rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 10,2,3,10,3,2,1. Shot 5.
08:57, Today: Jack Gallows rolled 5 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 with rolls of 5,5,2,5,6,4,2. Shot 4.
 08:56, Today: Jack Gallows rolled 5 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,10,6,3,4,8,6. Shot 3.
 08:54, Today: Jack Gallows rolled 5 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 with rolls of 3,4,5,3,9,6,4. Shot 2.
 08:53, Today: Jack Gallows rolled 5 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 with rolls of 3,4,3,4,6,10,6. Shot 1.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:07, Tue 05 Mar 2013.

"I believe that's enough for now, Apprentice Gallows. Very well done." Tyler closed his notepad. He stood up, waved his hand and the chairs scraped and moved across the floor until they were facing him. "Sit."

He looked at Taki and offered her a smile. He really liked her for a lot of reasons. So he doted on her. His favoritism wasn't always very subtle. He never really bothered to hide it. They weren't in some corporation where that kind of thing was frowned on. Taki was an exemplary Tremere, and earned every bit of Tyler's favoritism.

He turned to face the Apprentices, "You all know how to shoot a gun. Excellent." He reached over onto the table, picked up his pipe and packed it while he spoke, "Those magazines that are glowing. They're enchanted. That's a ritual. It's rather basic, but time consuming. Like all rituals it's following a recipe. So I'm confident you'll figure out how to do it when you need to, and if not..." Tyler shrugged.

"Let me be clear. These skills are incredibly important, but they should not replace your mind and your ability to look at things analytically." Tyler puffed on his pipe and rocked back on his heels. "Now. We're going to work on another exercise. You're both to work together... Or not." He shrugged again and exhaled. "I would probably work together."

He gave both of you a proud smile. He was pleased with himself for some reason. "I have created a homunculus. It's stolen something embarrassing from both of your rooms and has them. I've also hidden some things the two of you want along the route you should take to find him. You'll have follow the clues to find him. I've already given you the first clue. You have two hours. Starting..."

Tyler lifted his wrist and looked at a nylon and plastic Timex Ironman watch. "Now." He looked back up at the two of you with raised eyebrows and an expectant expression.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:57, Sat 09 Mar 2013.

Natalya glanced at Mr Gallows and Evelyn. "I'd prefer to work with you both, your choice, though I have to wonder what Tyler means by embarrassing, especially in my case." Natalya brushed off the front of her dress. "Well, evidently we are to examine ammunition clips, or perhaps perform the ritual?" Natalya suggested.

Jack listened as Crown spoke. First a glimmer of pride of the recognition of what he had done but then his jaw tightening for the briefest of seconds when he heard that something of his had been taken. It matter if it was something that could embrace him or if it was something important to him. He had very little that was his and under the regime of the Tremere and now they had even taken away his privacy. They had invaded it to teach them a lesson. He knew there was nothing that was not off limits and it only strengthened the feeling that he needed to get presented and get the hell of this place and their mind games.

As he listened his started to break it down to what he know and what he was capable of doing. He was out of his depth when he heard the words homunculus. His mind searching quickly for the Knowledge and all he seem to know was that it was a high level ritual that created a small servant like creature made from the creator. The rounds were magical and the ritual time consuming but they had not been told what they were for or what they had been magically empowered to achieve or even if they could take them, but why make them only to show them what they could not use was this another mind game. Screw this.

He turned to face Natayla as she spoke. He agreed that they needed to work together but he was unsure if she was on the right tract. He was not in his element for the moment with talks of rituals. "I agree we should work together on this Ms Shrevchenko. It is a good call." He said agreeing with her but left it at that, they needed to both utilise their strength and delving into the cocktail that made the magazines  glow was not a strong point. "We have a few clues at the moment, and I suggest that we start moving as quick as we can especially if we only have 2 hours to solve this. We have a starting point our rooms, for we know that something was taken and what took it. There might be clues as to where the homoncullieus went and what we are missing." he said getting the name wrong his pronunciation was a bit off. He mentally corrected himself homunculus so the next time he would get it right.  He looked at her letting her weight his suggestion to see what she thought.

Natalya paused, handing one of the glowing magazines to Jack. "Tell me everything you know about this magazine and the ammunition it contains." she smirked. "We would not be told about these unless he intends us to use them. I'll examine the magic on the bullets and then we'll see what to do to progress." she raised a finger to hold Jack's attention for a moment longer. "My portion of this might take longer than yours, please search your room after examining the physical characteristics of the bullets. It is most unfortunate that we cannot trace the homunculus from its master."

Immediately, as soon as Natalya touched one of the glowing magazines, it lit up into a bluish light that shifted red and caught her hands on fire.  She dropped the magazine and it clattered on the table and then fell to the floor, back to it's original glow.  The flames in Natalya's hands went out as soon as she dropped the magazine again.

Warded from misuse and mishandling.

Duh.

Taki leaned down and picked the clip back up, holding it in her hands.  "Incorrect.  But thank you for being the one foolish enough to pick up something you seen came out of a locked and sealed case that I specifically requested another to handle."  She shrugged apathetically.  "However, since the two of you seem stumped, I'll give you a hint.  I, and this class, was a distraction.  There are several options available to you.  Go research a Homunculus, and figure out what it's restrictions are.  Jump right to the end and work backwards, which would imply starting with Tyler Crown - this is a smarter tactic then starting from the beginning and following the trail of bread crumbs, so to speak, since you are on a time limit.  Or," Taki paused.  "You work together by splitting up and working both angles at the same time.  If you want to make it as a Warlock, you are going to have to be able to think and act on more then one level.  Multi-tasking is part of it.  Thinking outside of the box is another part of it.  Using any and every resource at your disposal is a larger part of it."

OOC: Natalya, soak 4 lethal
This message was last edited by the player at 06:00, Wed 13 Mar 2013.

Natalya sighed as the wards hurt her. Having been forced to rush the examination, she pushed things a little too quickly and was hurt for it. She used blood to heal the wounds quickly. She couldn't afford to let the wounds slow her down for this. She placed her hands in her lap taking a few moments to compose herself, there was a reason she didn't like Taki. "I believe working independently without consultation will lead to duplicated effort, however, if you're willing to coordinate with me, then perhaps we can work apart. I may try my hand at talking to Tyler, though he's not overly keen on me."

Tyler smiled when Natalya got zapped but didn't otherwise say anything. He smiled while Taki spoke. He had always found the hint of accent in her voice interesting, and the pitch of her voice was nice. He liked hearing her talk. It pleased him. So few things did anymore.

"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock." Tylers voice was slow, and the Welsh in his accent was thick. He sat back down, lit his pipe and looked at the two apprentices expectantly. "If you're going to interrogate me I suggest you get started."

Natalya smiled moving towards Tyler. "To begin with, are you going to lie during the course of our conversation?" Natlaya watched Tyler carefully for his response. "So you used a humunculous. A being made from yourself, but not of yourself, so if we find any trace of your servant, it will not lead back to you or you to it. Yet a link must exist. So, my question is, is this link traceable?"

Tyler shrugged his answer to Natalya's first question then added, "Lying is pretty par for the course, you had better get used to hearing them and seeing through them."

The Archon never actually answered the question though. He did answer Natalya's next question though, although in a not too useful of a fashion. "I used the same ritual anyone creating a homunculus would use. Yes, I suppose the link is in fact traceable, but you would need a sample of my Blood or something from the homunculus to do so, and you have neither."

He looked at Natalya flatly, "You're welcome to try." Taking a sample of Blood from Tyler Crown was not only out of the question, but an awful idea. Even without resorting to his notorious mastery over Blood Magic, Tyler was a large  powerful man quite capable of defending himself. "Or, perhaps, you should follow my first clue, and head to your rooms."

He listened to his sire and was slightly surprised at her suggestion. Integrating Crown was a bad idea, interrogation or questionings come from a place of power and position intertwined with information gained. They had neither to corner him into telling them anything of use, the only other option was to try and appeal to his vanity, cull him into telling them something useful. He had seen that used in interrogations but it was a hard trick, play dumb and let his superiority get the better of him. It does not matter that if they think you are dumb and useless if you are getting what you need, but in saying that Crown knew those tricks as well. Any approached he tried Crown would see it coming a mile wild.

He nodded as Natalya made her suggestion about him doing the research, it matter very little which approach he took as he was sure that he counterpart was more skilful in the arts of research but at the moment it made the perfect excuse for him to leave the room and start his own search.

Quietly he left the gun range, while he had every intention of going to the Chantry library he would check his room first. His instincts and training told him that he needed to follow the clues. Jumping all over the place would mean that something would or could get missed.  It was what he knew, what he was good at. Follow the leads to where the creature was. Crown was a seasoned investigator meaning he knew the same processes that he did. So he would either fail or be lead on a fool’s errand. This was meant to test them and train them so he was expecting a few curve balls to be thrown.

Getting to his room, Jack stopped to listen and make sure that no one was in the room. He checked the door to see if the lock was broken and that no traps had been laid for him. He knew something had broken in but he had no clue as to what the little thief had done or taken.