“This is the Armoury. All of our handheld weapons are stored in here, it is very well guarded.” Commander Orion glared down at us in warning.

My eye roamed the metal wall covered in guns, laser pulses and countless things I didn’t recognise but knew could definitely kill me. Some of them I knew from the Guardians who roamed Shora and the caretakers at the orphanage but most were a mystery to me. Cameras pointed down at us from every direction, tracking our every move and making sure we weren’t doing anything we shouldn’t.

“You will be trained in how to safely use all of these but for now, do not touch anything I do not tell you to touch. Young man!” She snapped causing one of the kids, clearly a volunteer and not a draft, who was reaching for a scary-looking gun to jump and look at her guiltily.

“Now, as I was saying,” she continued, her eyes still fixed on him “you will be using low impact shock weapons today. They will hurt you if they hit you but they will not do any lasting damage. The weapons on these walls however have not been set to shock and if they hit you, they can kill you.”

Commander Orion gestured for us to move through the door on the right side of the room and we emerged into a much longer room with a selection of guns laid out on a big table. Beyond that, the room was split into four long passages with a person-shaped mannequin waiting motionlessly towards the back. Even from where we were standing I could see holes riddling the back wall where people had clearly missed the targets with their weapons.

“Ohh” Gemini breathed under her breath, stepping towards the table of guns.

I stepped forwards slightly too to get a better look at them but Peggy grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back, a fearful expression on her face.

“What?” I asked, looking away from the guns.

“Be careful with those. I’ve seen them used before.” She whispered, not taking her eyes off the weapons.

“Yeah but these are low impact ones, not proper ones!” Gemini edged even closer.

Peggy shook her head, still refusing to look away from the table, and opened her mouth to say something more but was cut off by Commander Orion.

“I will first show you all how to load and unload these weapons, then I want you to come up here in groups of four. Choose a weapon, it doesn't matter which one, and take some time to get used to it before firing at the target. The target will go red where you have hit. Once you’re finished, unload the weapon and step back from the lane. Never point the weapon at something or someone you do not want to shoot. That includes me and the other trainees. Is everyone clear?”

A concerned murmur of agreement sounded throughout the room.

“Great! First four, up to the firing lanes then I’ll show you all how to load and unload the guns.”

Gemini stepped forwards enthusiastically but Peggy grabbed her arm and pulled her back, shaking her head anxiously.

“Peggy, it’ll be fine!” I whispered to her but she grabbed my arm anyway, her bony fingers digging in tightly.

“Come on, we’ll go next time!” Gemini said, bouncing forwards slightly in anticipation.

We watched in silence as Commander Orion finished demonstrating how to load the guns, aim and unload them. Gem leant around the kids in front of us to watch carefully as the first four kids lined up to shoot. Two of them missed completely on all their attempts, one hit the target but just the edge of its arm and the final girl managed to hit the targets head once but miss the other shots. She grinned in triumph and turned back to Commander Orion still holding her gun.

“Did you see?” She asked excitedly.

“Only a volunteer would be so loud.” Gemini whispered with a smirk.

“Yes, however, you seem to have forgotten to put your gun down before facing us. Do you plan on shooting myself or your fellow trainees?”

The girl’s face dropped. She hastily unloaded the gun and put it down on the table before turning back to the Commander.

“Good. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. It was most likely your first time handling a weapon so you aren’t used to it. Everyone should take note of this because I will not be as lenient next time.” She smiled slightly at the girl before calling, “Next four!”

Gemini walked forwards quickly, dragging Peggy and me with her. One of the boys who was already standing at the table stepped back to let us go together.

I watched Gemini pick up a gun and walk towards the target with a determined look on her face before realising that I needed to choose a weapon too. Luckily, there were only two weapons remaining so I picked up the one closest to me and gestured at Peggy to do the same. She bit her lip before doing so, holding the weapon out in front of her like she was scared it might explode and kill us all.

I walked towards one of the vacant lanes, the gun feeling strangely heavy in my hands. I had expected it to be lighter.

Load it. I commanded myself.

I picked up the bullets and tried to remember how the Commander had done it. It took me three attempts but they finally slid into place with a satisfying clunk.

My hands shook as I held the gun up, pointing it towards the target and trying to copy how the Commander had been standing with my legs apart. I squeezed the trigger and stumbled, not expecting it to push me backwards so much. My eyes immediately darted around to see if anyone else had noticed and locked onto the Commander who had been watching me. Looking back at the target, I realised there was no red on it anywhere. I had missed it completely. I stepped forwards again, eager to try again and not make a fool out of myself after messing up the first shot so badly.

I stared down the sight of the gun, breathing heavily to try and stop my hands from shaking and squeezed the trigger again. This time, I knew what to expect and didn’t let myself stumble. A red splatter had appeared on the leg of the target showing me that I had hit it. I smiled and lined the gun up to shoot again, aiming higher this time. I hit the target in the stomach and, with the next shot, I got it in the chest. I lowered the gun, unloaded and returned it to the table with a slight smile. I hadn’t done as badly as I thought I would.

“How did you do?” Gemini whispered loudly to me as we returned to the back of the armoury.

“Okay, I think. I hit it every time apart from the first time. You?”

“Same! The last time I got it in the head! I mean I was aiming for the chest but I got the head so that’s got to be better right?”

“I think so! How did you do, Peggy?” I asked, turning to look at her.

She was staring at her visibly shaking hands, her face pale.

“Are you okay?” Gemini asked in a hushed voice.

She nodded without looking up.

“Well, how did you do?”

“I missed every time.”

Gemini laughed quietly, causing other kids to look around at us.

“You can’t be good at everything I guess!” She teased gently, throwing an arm around her and hugging her tightly.

Peggy smiled slightly without looking up. I wanted to hug her or do something to help but had no idea what to do so I just awkwardly stood close to her, my arm almost touching hers.

“Hush!” Commander Orion demanded, glaring at some of the other kids who were talking loudly and pushing each other about.

“We’ve been here forever.” One of them grumbled loudly, scuffing the worn metal floor with his shoe.

“Idiots.” Gemini whispered at us, moving in front of us slightly to watch the complaining kids.

Peg shushed her, glancing anxiously back at the Commander who was advising one of the children on their stance and pointedly ignoring the others.

“We have been here a while in all fairness but I think we’re almost done, right? What do you think the physical fitness—”

I felt something rush past me a split second before Gem fell silent, her face frozen in a grimace. Before I realised what was happening she crumpled backwards, her hands grabbing desperately at her leg where an oozing rip had opened.

I looked around in fear and saw another kid, a volunteer, holding a lightly smoking weapon pointed at us, his face colourless with fear.

Commander Orion turned back towards us, worry on her face but it was another voice that spoke up first.

“Grab the first aid kit.” A small dark-haired kid shouted, diving towards Gemini.

Commander Orion stepped towards the medkit on her desk but someone else reached it first. It was that boy from before, the one who had done really well in the flight testing. He pulled it open with practised ease and lay it on the floor next to the other boy.

“What do you need?” He asked, his voice even but his eyes were fixed on Gemini’s leg.

“It’s fine!” The smaller kid shouted pulled the kit towards him, flipping through it and pulling some gloves on.

I was frozen in fear, watching the colour slowly drain out of her face as blood rushed from the hole in her leg.

“It’s okay, you’ll be okay.” He said quietly, his voice soothing as he injected a clear liquid into Gemini’s arm.

I looked up helplessly at Commander Orion who was watching the boys with a strange look on her face before staring back down at Gemini.

“How can I help?” Peggy asked, kneeling down too.

“Hold her hand and make sure she’s okay.” The boy said, rifling through the first aid kit again and pulling things out.

I knelt and grabbed Gemini’s hand, squeezing it tightly. She squeezed back weakly.

“Can I do anything?” I asked, pushing my rising panic aside.

“Put some gloves on and help me with this?” He asked, gently cutting the jumpsuit away from the wound on her leg which was partially red and shiny and partially oozing blood.

I took a deep breath and did as he asked, my eyes flicking up to Gemini’s face.

“I’ve given her a pain killer but it should knock her out in a minute.” The boy muttered to me, whilst unscrewing a strong-smelling cream.

“What’s that?” I asked, anxiously.

“Antiseptic. It should be enough until we get her to the medBay and then they can regrow the tissue and muscle easily.”

The doors open with a hiss and two bots I didn’t recognise glided into the room.

“Great, the medBots are here.” The boy said, moving aside and directing them to lift her.

The medBots sped out of the room, carrying Gemini on a stretcher between them and we stepped forwards to follow her but Commander Orion held her arm out to stop us.

“You lot stay here. She will be safe with the medBots and back with you this evening. We need to finish testing. And you.” She turned to look at the boy who had shot Gemini.

He was visibly shaking, his face pallid and tears in his eyes.

“I didn’t mean to-” He began in a quivering voice.

“Enough. I warned you not to touch any weapons and not to point them at anything or anyone you do not want to shoot. If you did not unload a weapon yourself, you do not know if there is a live round in it or not. Do you understand?” She thundered.

The boy nodded, tears now dripping down his face.

“There is a servBot outside. Follow it to Commander Gaddon’s office. Now, the next four. Line up!” She turned back to the firing lanes, her face furious.

The boy slunk through the door, sniffling loudly as he continued to sob. I watched numbly, my mind still focused on what had happened with Gem.

I realised my hands were shaking and looked down at them blankly.

Gemini was just shot. Right in front of us. Like, it was a mistake but that could happen to any of us next.

I took a deep breath and bit down hard on my lip, trying to use the pain to stop myself from panicking but instead just tasted blood. My heartbeat pounded in my ears and I started feeling dizzy and light-headed. Sweat beaded up on my upper lip and my knees began trembling.

Do not puke in front of everyone. I told myself firmly but it didn’t change anything.

A hand grabbed my shoulder and started leading me out of the room. I was vaguely aware of Peggy following behind us.

“Sit.”

Peggy dropped to the floor in the corridor and I sat down next to her, still struggling to process everything. A bottle of water appeared in my hands as I stared blankly at the wall in front of us.

“Sip it slowly.”

I did as the voice commanded, my breathing starting to come back under control as my head began to feel less frantic. I blinked a few times and looked around. The same boy who’d helped Gemini was sitting against the wall opposite us, watching us cautiously and holding another bottle of water.

“Will she be okay?” I asked, my voice sounding strange.

“She should be. I’ve seen worse burns than that and I’m guessing the machines here will be better than the ones back at the orphanage so she might not even have a scar.”

“Really?” Peggy asked.

The boy nodded in response.

“How did you know what to do?” I said shakily, bringing the bottle to my lips again.

He looked down, turning the bottle over in his hands.

“I was at an extra care orphanage before… I used to hide in the medBay and, after a while, a doctor noticed and started showing me some stuff. I always wanted to be an assistant but I was sent here instead.”

“You could always be a ships doctor now though?” I suggested with a slight smile.

He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. “Maybe.”

I leant my head back against the wall, breathing deeply until my hands stopped shaking.

“Wait, where’s that other boy?” I said, realising he wasn’t in the corridor with us.

“I said he should come out but he refused. Said he was fine.” The boy said with a shrug.

My eyes narrowed slightly. He was trying to look stronger than us. We had to go back in.

“We should go back.” Peggy said quietly.

I nodded in agreement and stood up, my legs feeling more solid now.

What if I messed up by helping with Gemini? Maybe we should have just let the tutor do it… But that boy seemed to know what he was doing and he said Gemini would be okay. Surely the Commander would have stopped us if we were doing something wrong… Maybe I just messed up my chances of becoming a flyer by doing that…

I bit my lip.

Stop being so selfish. Gemini just got really badly hurt. You should be worrying about her, not about yourself.

“Everything alright?” Commander Orion asked looking over at us, her face looking calmer now.

I nodded anxiously and tried to smile to prove it but she had already looked back at the people who were firing. My eyes found the tired-looking boy with the scar on his arm who had helped us with Gemini. His eyes were focused on the people shooting, clearly trying to look unbothered and focused but his hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white.