Star Wars - Empire of the Innocents

10 - BlasTech E-11 Blaster Rifle

Two months had passed since the encounter in space with Helzaah, but so far Akdron had made no progress in obtaining any information about his sister's whereabouts, despite his efforts. He had even reached out to some colleagues who had attended the academy with him and who currently held strategic positions in the Imperial fleet, but none of them were able to provide any information that could help him, as they couldn't identify the YT-1000 freighter on which the girl was traveling.

For weeks, he had felt a strong desire to return to Tatooine. He wanted to go back to his old home, something he hadn't had the courage to do before. He had even requested his commander to assign him to some detachment in Ven Looh, but the scheduling for stormtroopers was quite rigid.

And there they were. Akdron and Yohn would be the last ones to leave the training stand. They wouldn't be satisfied until they pushed the new equipment to its limits, exploring all its features.

Akdron's friend came from a wealthy family from Yastroo-VII, a planet located in a similarly named system. Born into a society mostly composed of intellectuals and businessmen, the boy, with his Nordic appearance, was attending university when he, in contrast to most of his peers, became convinced that he would contribute better to the galaxy by volunteering to join the Imperial fleet. However, Akdron had come to realize, through their companionship, that the presence of an adventurous touch in his personality had probably influenced his friend's decision.

"I've never felt so comfortable with a blaster rifle!" exclaimed Akdron, showing satisfaction as he reloaded the weapon. "It's perfect!" He then started a new sequence of shots.

Yohn said something, forcing him to interrupt the shots. From what Akdron could hear, he realized it was yet another complaint from his friend about the fact that the new rifles were more suitable for left-handed troopers.

"There must have been a mistake in the execution of the design!" Yohn exclaimed, struggling to reload the weapon with his left hand. "Why else would they have made an 'inverted' rifle, knowing that only ten percent of the humans in the galaxy are left-handed?"

Left-handers have better concentration. - Akdron replied, with a forced sense of superiority. Then he pretended to laugh behind his friend's back. - Maybe they are finally willing to attribute the value we left-handers deserve!

"Very funny..." the friend retorted, expressing disappointment. "It makes no sense, Aki. Why make this weapon the standard for stormtroopers? I'm even struggling to draw it from the holster. This is ridiculous!"

"What you need to do is whine less and train more," Akdron said, enjoying Yohn's situation, who had never stopped to think about his own difficulties when the situation was reversed.

Akdron then made further adjustments to the equipment, utilizing the interactivity of the microprocessor in his stormtrooper helmet with the systems of his new rifle.

Yohn aimed his rifle at one of the targets and fired three shots. None of them hit the intended target. Frustrated, he turned to Akdron seeking an explanation.

"Did you see that?! It's still malfunctioning!"

Akdron made an effort to guide his friend.

"Try reading the instructions for the weapon again. It's an extremely sensitive equipment. The manufacturer guarantees accuracy in the rifle's shots when the shooter is up to two hundred meters away from the target. However, the aiming system of the weapon must be correctly configured; otherwise, its precision will be compromised. Fine adjustments are very important as they properly position the plasma holographic lens, providing maximum accuracy in the shots. If the configuration is not correct, the shots won't be precise."

With evident satisfaction, Akdron admired the new weapon. He had never experienced such ease in handling a blaster rifle. He skillfully drew it from the holster, reloaded it with precision, hit the target accurately, alternating between the "lethal," "stun," and "sting" modes, the latter being used for training. Then he adjusted the "three-position" stock to convert it into sniper mode, further improving his accuracy when hitting the target. The "E-11" manufactured by "BlasTech" seemed to have been tailor-made for him. Not to mention that with just one original power cell, he could unleash two hundred shots in "lethal" mode. Another advantage was its efficient cooling system through heat exhaust. In the past, there were cases of some weapon models that had ineffective cooling systems, often leading to overheating and automatic shutdown for safety reasons. This usually happened when used in automatic firing mode.

The new weapon brought together the best features of its predecessors, combined with innovations that would become essential from then on.

Time passed, but both of them refused to abandon the training, which would continue for a few more hours.