Chapter 2 - NO RANK TO REPORT
The wind swept a thin veil of desert dust across the cleaning cloth, but Claire didn't pause. She raised a small air duster, blowing the particles clean off the bolt face before setting the component down beside the lower receiver.
Lieutenant Brooks, an athletic thirty-something officer in a fitted field uniform standing directly at Kane’s right elbow, took a step closer to the kneeling woman. Brooks folded his arms across his chest, leaning in with a mocking, patronizing grin.
"Maybe she's maintenance, sir," Brooks chimed in, winking at the officer beside him. "You know, the detail they send down from supply when the armorers take a afternoon break."
Another round of sharp, dismissive chuckles rippled through the group of officers. Several shooters standing near the primary bench line turned their heads, amused by the spectacle of an unranked woman being publicly ribbed by the Admiral’s staff.
Claire carefully laid the bolt carrier group down on the center of the green lint-free cloth. She picked up a micro-fiber towel, wiped the black grease from her fingertips, and slowly lifted her chin.
She looked directly into Admiral Kane’s eyes.
Her gaze was devoid of anger, sarcasm, or nervousness. It was a look of pure, unadulterated neutrality—the cold, level gaze of an individual who operated in a world far removed from rank slides, uniform ribbons, and administrative hierarchy.
"No rank to report, sir," Claire said smoothly. Her voice was low, steady, and remarkably calm, carrying an effortless resonance that cut right through the whistling wind.
Kane raised a dark, skeptical eyebrow, adjusting his sunglasses. "No rank?"
Claire offered a faint, imperceptible tilt of her head toward the distant target line stretching across the desert floor.
"I'm just here to shoot," she added simply.
May you like
The surrounding officers burst into an even louder, hysterical roar of laughter. Brooks shook his head, slapping his knee as he turned to the officer beside him.
"She's here to shoot, gentlemen!" Brooks announced loudly to the gallery. "Listen to that! The supply clerk wants to take a turn on the big range!"
