SENJO<br/><br/>As the<em>targets</em>advanced I aimed, squeezed off a burst, aimed again, squeezed, aimed... I mentally recorded them just as targets, to be concerned about what these animals actually were, right then, was a distraction.<br/><br/>The large echoing space of the Hab block was filled with intense raucous sound. The screeching of the targets was loud enough. Added to that the maniacal buzz-saw blasting of the sentries made the place hard to bear. I kept my mouth open to equalize the air pressure. I would not feel pain if my ear drums punctured but it would hamper my efficiency to operate in the platoon. I therefore aimed, fired and aimed again with my mouth open.<br/><br/>Even over the wall of pulsing sounds I could hear shouts. I detected both Platoon Sergeant O'Shay's and Lance Corporal Beneke's voices, raised in that ranting repetitive masculine way some human males do. It was a primitive thing, as much to suppress fear as to instil it.<br/><br/>I made no sound. Calling out required thought and at this tactical juncture all of my combat processors were fully engaged.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Senj, here!"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>With a small delay that in a human physiology could be construed as irritation I glanced at Private Sakuraba. She was holding out her M41. I understood the gesture and had we been fighting human opponents I would have accepted the extra rifle and used it. I was fully capable but at a 37.6% degraded targeting ratio. My mind had accepted that in this circumstance, spraying the room with bullets was less efficient than firing fewer shots that were well aimed.<br/><br/>I nodded and gestured, 'there', indicating a broken chair between us. I returned to the primary task of stopping these... targets.