A Hunter's Pride

Twenty-one

Training day - 2 days until the raid

Two hundred three, two hundred four, two hundred five, I have to keep going.
I counted each push up in my head, my muscles starting to heat up. "One hundred more! Then acrobatics training!" I shouted to my trainees, Cayde had put me in charge of the Hunter battalion last minute, so I had to send off the rest of my team to scout alone. Boy I wish i was with them.

"Three hundred!" I breathed out, and pushed myself up to my feet. "On your feet Hunters. I won't ask again." they all slowly, rose to their feet groaning from the workout.
"Three hundred is nothing. Someday maybe you'll beat my record. But that day isn't today. Today, you're getting the best training possible. And trust me. You will not like it. But, it may save yours, and your friends lives in the coming battle. So when you're knee deep in bullet casings, with a raging shit storm of explosions rocking your world, and you're huddled behind a tiny piece of cover and surrounded on all sides by the enemy, you'll be thinking, wow, I'm sure glad captain Miller gave me all that training. And you will kick their asses, and come out victorious!" I crossed my arms, looking out over the silent crowd of Hunters. Just be glad I didn't take you all to Venus to do this. It's way hotter there. Enjoy the cold. Now, A through G squads, line up against the cave wall. H through J, line up parallel to them, weapons ready. Stun rounds only." The squads shuffled around, and after a few minutes on shouting orders and straightening lines, they were ready.

I jumped down from my rock, and walked between the two lines like a drill sergeant. "Now, on the Battlefield, you may come into a situation like this. Open area, clear shot on your enemy, but, he also has a clear shot on you. Now, you tell me what you're going to do when you're staring down the barrel of a hostile, that's hell-bent on sending you to meet the Traveler? Mason, what would you do?"

The cadet stood at attention and spoke clearly. "Sir, be first to the trigger sir!"

"Okay, but what if you're too slow?"

"Sir! I don't know sir!"

"And that's where you go wrong! All of you are full of yourselves. Sure, there's not many Hunter's. We aren't that common. That doesn't give us a right to be cocky. Now, just because you may be fast, does not mean the enemy is not faster. Jackson, what would you do?"

"Sir! I would engage in evasive maneuvers before direct engagement!" His green armor glinted brightly in the morning sun and I clapped. "Good! Now that, is the difference between life and death for one of us out there. Speed, reflexes, and creative thinking. Jackson here, is correct in his methods. As a hunter, you must always be vigilant. Be tactful, and quick. It is much easier to move, than to take a chance trying to shoot first. Understood!?" I shouted, they all replied in unison
"Sir yes sir!"

"Now , practice. Take turns drawing weapons, and figure out what works for you. If you get hit by your opponent, you lose, and you're eliminated. The last man standing gets to face me. Now get to it."
And they did. It was a sight. So many warriors dedicated to a single goal. Bettering themselves. I double jumped to a rock, and sat on the edge watching attentively. Jackson's method works. And he's gotten through three opponents already. Mason, must've took my advice. He was doing well too. But one specifically caught my eye. A female, dark armor, a helmet I've never seen before. She was fast. Faster than the others. After a half hour of watching, as I expected, she was last one standing.
I pushed myself from the rock, dropping into a crouch as I hit the snow. I stood slowly to face my opponent. I held my hand out, and she took it. "May the best shot win."
"Indeed."

We stepped back, a few feet from each other. My hand hovered over a throwing knife. She made a move for her hand cannon. I swing my shoulder to the side, dodging the first shot. I spun, throwing the knife, but she kicked it out of the air and fired again. I dodged two more bullets, boosted into the air, and used the wall behind me as a launch pad. I flew over my opponent, flipping into a roll. I pulled The Last Word from my belt firing off three shots in rapid succession. She dodged two, and cut the third right down the middle. Damn she's good. I don't even think I could've done that. I ran towards her, jumping up and disarming her with a spinning back kick. I dropped my handgun, and engaged close quarters. She dodged jab after jab with relative ease, and swept at my leg. I flipped backwards, landing low to the ground. She stared at me coldly through her crimson visor. And I did the same through my gold one. There's no way she's just an initiate. I thought to myself, standing slowly. "you'reY good. Who trained you?"

"you would know. Don't you recognize the moves? After all, I am the one who taught you yours." She cracked her neck summoning another gun.
I scooped mine off the ground and loaded another mag into it.
Now that she mentions it, it does seem familiar. Suddenly, A grin broke across my face and I holstered my gun. She did the same, pulling off her helmet. A face I haven't seen in years. "Amara!" I laughed cheerfully and took her forearm. "It's been years. Where have you been?"

"Around. I mostly do bounty hunting now. You look like you're doing well for yourself David. I heard about the formal wedding. It's about time you two got one. How long have you been married now, without one?"

"Three years to the wedding day."

"I also heard about the raid. That's the main reason I stopped by. To give you the best of luck, and offer my congratulations to you and Alessia. Now I feel it's unfair to not let the real winner fight you." She waved to a hunter and he fist pumped, jogging over.

"What's your name soldier?" I asked as he removed his helmet. He couldn't have been more than 19.
"Nichols, sir. Jack Nichols"

"Pleasure to meet you Nichols. Now show me what you can do."

He grinned and out his helmet back on stepping backwards and readying his gun. Amara stepped off to the side, to watch the conflict. I spun my hand cannon on my finger, and in a flash, he had already emptied his mag. I flipped back, the bullets barely missing me. "Impressive!"

He jumped into the air, spinning and throwing two knives. I deflected them both, and he kicked me in the chest. I grabbed his leg, throwing him down and pinning him. "Never get that close unless you're positive you can handle it." I let him go and he stood up, brushing the snow off his armor. "Understood sir. Thank you."

"No, thank you. Your skills are impressive. Maybe you can give a few pointers to private Mason over there." I said jokingly and everyone laughed, Mason's face turning red. "Alright guys. Good session. Break time. Go nuts." They all cheered and I laughed, rejoining Amara on the sidelines.

"Good to see you in such high standing. Cayde is proud. As am I." Amara smiled as she watched the Hunters wrestle and play soccer with a metal ball.

"Thank you. I'm happy, and I'm ready to face Crota."

"If you do this successfully, you'll be a hero! Your name will be written in the history books as the destroyer of Crota himself. You'll be a Legend. And I know you can do it. Anyway, give Alessia my regards. As do Mr Vask. Farewell David. If you need me, reach me here." She handed me a note, with an address and coordinates on the sheet.

"I will. Thank you again." I gave her one last hug before we said our goodbyes and she disappeared into her ship, flying off.

Shade, take note. We may need her someday.