Feeling on top of the world, Braxton started to look around. The top of the vat he had been resting in was covered. A sensor detected he was awake. "Subject status awake. Tank purge initialed." A message played out said the tank.
The bottom of the tank opened up and the liquid started cascading out of the bottom like a flood valve opening on a dam. Braxton swam to the surface in a pointless effort to escape. The thought of being flushed like a turd flashed though his mind. The bottom opened completely and he fell through the opening. The fall wasn't too far and he landed on a semi soft slick surface. He landed hard and the liquid spewed out of his lungs violently. The experience wasn't pleasant. It wasn't excessive in length but he remained winded for almost an hour.
He had entered another room. This room was wall to wall tiled. There was another shower with a towel. Clean clothing was placed on a bench beside the towel. It wasn't the run of the mill clothing it was a combat suit. Metal plating was built into the leather. The plates protected the major muscle groups. The colors of the suit were all black and gray camouflage. Alpha's voice played in his head. "Basic combat armor acquired. Upgrades available. Protection minimal. Nanites initializing, establishing connection."
Braxton went and took a shower. The shower cleaned off all the gluey material. He dried off then put on the combat armor. "Connection acquired downloading upgrade. The update requires two days. Combat camouflage basic skill programming."
"What doesn't that skill do Alpha?" Braxton asked.
"It will make the armor blend into the surrounding area. It's a scout armor skill that makes it nearly impossible to detect the wearer from long distances. Over fifty feet away, while motionless most creatures and life forms cannot see the wearer with their eyes. If the armor is damaged, the effectiveness is reduced in the damaged locations. It will remain that way until the armor is repaired. The nanites will be able to repair the armor also." Alpha responded.
The next instant the armor connected physically to Braxton. It felt like pins pricking into his flesh all over his body. Then hooking into place. The armor became one with him, fitting like a glove, but it hurt like hell at first. "Holy shit, can't any part of this be pleasant. At the rate this is going I'm likely to die a virgin."
"I still have to collect a sperm sample. I need a DNA and blood sample too." The young doctor from the day before said as she walked into the room. She was wearing her lab coat, but he couldn't see any other clothing covering her body. Nothing was falling out but, the coat barely covered her bottom. The creamy white flesh of her toned legs beckoned to his inner desires.
"Follow me." She walked into a small bedroom on the side wall. Braxton followed quickly.
She collected her samples. Then she left him in front of another room. "The range is inside." She said as she walked away.
Braxton watched her walk away. Then he proceeded into the doorway. This room was much longer than any previous room he had seen. It was a mile long but only about one hundred feet wide. There were many of targets at various ranges. On the walls were many different weapons. Bows, crossbows, handguns and rifles he recognized. There were a couple others he didn't. He didn't see anyone inside waiting for him. He walked around the room inspecting all the weapons. Thinking he would be allowed to pick three again and not wanting to miss out on making the most of his opportunities.
He walked around for an hour and made his selections mentally. He had picked a pair of handguns and a sniper rifle. The sniper rifle he figured would work well with his armor benefits. He found a combat manual on basic aiming techniques sitting on top of on of the cases. Knowing the last time a door opened and allowed him to start training, he stopped looking around. He read the manual. Then he waited for a message from Alpha but no message played. "What am I missing here?" He said aloud.
There was a bow and a quiver of arrows in front of the range. He approached the weapons and picked it up. "Bow and arrows acquired. You can store up to one hundred arrows it the slot with your bow. Effective range on this bow is two hundred yards. Would you like to the place arrows into storage?" Alpha inquired.
"Yes." The arrows were absorbed into the storage space. When he looked down range, he noticed his helmet's UI had a built in rangefinder. Braxton located a target two hundred yards away. Then he placed his hand on the string. He envisioned an arrow knocked and ready to fire. One appeared, he drew the string back and took aim. The monitor gave him wind speed and calculated where exactly he needed to place the tip of his arrow to hit the target. The process seemed simple, but it took him a dozen attempts to hit the target.
He reviewed the book again on archery specifically then practiced again. After another dozen shots he was hitting the bullseye regularly. He finished firing the one hundred arrows and the bullseye was more like a pin cushion than a target. "Not bad." A voice from the intercom boomed in the room, breaking the silence.
"Leave the arrows there, they are only target tips. Collect the broad head arrows." The voice ordered.
Braxton had not noticed a new batch of arrows had appeared. They were in the same place where he had retrieved the others. He placed his hand on the new arrows. "Broad head arrows acquired." Alpha stated and the arrows vanished into storage. He put the bow back in storage.
"What's next?" Braxton questioned.
"Handgun training." The intercom sounded again. Then two of the handguns he wanted appeared. On the stand with them, was a harness with a dozen loaded clips of ammo.
Braxton put the harness on himself. Then put the pistols into the holsters on the harness. They rested in the small of his back comfortably. The clips were resting on his thighs and were positioned for quick reloading. "9mm handguns acquired two each, 12 clips acquired with fifteen rounds of ammo each. Effective range one hundred yards. Combat harness detected, integrating harness to combat suit. Integration complete." The harness attached to the combat suit much the same way the armor tore into his flesh but, this caused him no pain.
Braxton located targets at the effective range and began practicing. He began firing a little too quickly and the shots were all over the place. The first three sets of clips were almost completely wasted before he slowed down and took his time. He focused and began peppering the targets properly. As the clips were emptied they automatically ejected and fell. They were placed into the storage compartment in the watch.
"Ammo insufficient for auto reload and return to combat harness." Alpha stated as each clip entered storage.
"Once is sufficient notification Alpha. Thank you." Braxton stated.
"System settings adjusted." Alpha responded.
After he had emptied the weapons and all the clips, the intercom sounded again. "Return the handguns to the stand and we will proceed to the next weapon."
"Shit, I was hoping to keep these." Braxton said as he returned the handguns.
"You will be a mule for ammo going into the gate. We are providing training. We have many different weapon systems to cover please do as instructed. The weapons you will find on the other side of the gate require training. This is a basic course." The man informed over the intercom.
He completed the process with a sniper rifle and a crossbow. Then one of the weapons platforms he was unfamiliar with popped up. He picked it up and Alpha said "Pulse rifle acquired. Three rounds remaining."
The voice on the intercom said "Be careful and take care when aiming this weapon. There are no more rounds remaining so only one shot is yours."
Braxton took aim and asked "Alpha, what is the weapons maximum effective range?"
"This weapon is a line of sight weapon. It will continue until it contacts a target. Then it will expend the energy. The wind will effect it." Alpha informed him.
He checked the helmet interface. The wind was constantly being changed in the room for each shot. He had noticed that prior. It increased the difficulty of the training. It also forced him to really pay attention to his UI and enhanced the training.
Once he made all his preparations, he gently squeezed the trigger. There was no recoil. He had anticipated it and jumped slightly to compensate. It effected his aim slightly and caused him to miss he target. "Lesson learned." He thought to himself. Then he returned the weapon to the stand. He was disappointed he had missed. The energy trail of the projectile was pretty unique though and he made note of it. It looked like a sonic baseball soaring through the room flat and level the whole way. When it hit the back wall it blew up the back wall from the energy release.
The next weapon looked much the same except it was a much larger shoulder fired version. He touched it and Alpha said "Pulse rocket. No ammo would you like to acquire his weapon?"
"No." Braxton replied.
"If you find any of these collect them. It's better to remove them from the enemies hands than leave them laying around. They can blow up an area the size of a large truck including bunker walls. I've added a picture of the ammo that goes with them and loading procedures for your review." The intercom voice cracked to life once more.
The last thing that appeared was a book listing all known enemy weapons. It also showed how to operate and reload them. Braxton reviewed the book and Alpha chimed in again. "Combat details acquired for alien weapons platforms."
Braxton had no idea how long he had been in the range. Once he finished with the training he was tired again. He walked back to the bedroom across the hall. There he found another MRE and a fresh canteen of water.