5-076: Legion Cast – Target Range

He had an electrolaser pistol before he joined the Vizierate, didn’t he?  So that’s probably the pistol that’s currently in his room, and not a weapon issued by the Vizierate.  Which means it’s probably the weapon he acquired as a result of his mother ‘encouraging’ him to undertake firearms training.  As such, I imagine it’s the civilian equivalent of the Legion’s standard-issue weapon.  That basically means it’s a different colour and has an extra character on the serial number.  

Note that each point in a skill represents approximately 200 hours (80 Jobs) of practice and/or instruction [B292], so Oliver’s Beam Pistol skill of 1 is not a short course in firearms safety and an afternoon at the range, but represents regular training or practice over a long period of time.  In contemporary terms, skill 1 is what you have after practising something two nights a week for a year under instruction from someone who knows what they’re doing.  In my imagination, Oliver’s experience is similar to how some kids complain about being forced to have piano lessons…

He did well with the beam weapons, but his kinetic (Guns skill) performance was poor, particularly with the rifle.  He just couldn’t get comfortable with it and focus on the task, rather than on being watched.  

Wales collects the weapons back from Oliver, says, “Well, we definitely have a beamer, not a banger here.”