After over an hour of live-fire exercises, the African soldiers had each fired five to six hundred rounds and had finally gotten used to their new weapons.
Semler spoke with seven or eight of them for about twenty minutes, then reported their feedback to Deng Shiyang and Keith. “Most of them feel that this rifle has less recoil, is more accurate with the scope attached, and is easier to operate than the AK and G3.”
Deng Shiyang nodded. “Any difficulties they’re experiencing?”
“There are two main issues so far—magazine changes and the fire selector operation,” Semler replied. “The magazine catches on the AK and G3 are located in front of the trigger guard, and they’re used to releasing the mag by pressing the catch with their support hand. With this rifle, which has a release button on the receiver, they’re finding it tricky to adapt.”
“That’s no big deal—they just need more practice.”
“I thought so too,” Semler continued. “The other issue is the fire selector. They feel the FNC’s selector has a wide rotation angle, making it hard for those with shorter fingers to operate. Also, the addition of the three-round burst setting confuses them—they’re not always sure which setting to choose. And to switch between fully automatic and semi-automatic, you always have to dial two gears,which they find inconvenient.”
“That can’t be helped. I’m not a fan of burst mode myself.” Deng Shiyang shrugged, then instructed Semler, “For the next few days, have them carry their rifles everywhere except when sleeping or in the bathroom. They should spend their spare time familiarizing themselves with the weapon’s handling and maintenance.” He paused, then added, “Teach them to use hang up with short positions, and make sure they get into the habit of checking the ejection port between shots. I don’t want anyone dying because they’re firing a rifle with an empty chamber.”
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“Understood.”
After covering everything, Deng Shiyang waved Semler off to his duties, then turned to Keith. “What’s your assessment of these guys?”
“They’re passable,” Keith replied. “For Afican soldiers, that’s pretty good.”
After clearing up the bullet casings and bullet chains scattered from the deck,, the *Cristo* stayed in place for another three hours. During that time, Du Preez contacted the fuel company by satellite phone, confirmed the name and call sign of the refueling ship, and then had Sernechevich set course for the rendezvous point.
At 8 a.m. the next morning, the *Cristo* met the refueling ship, the *Toscana*, in international waters.
The *Toscana*, a modified 20,000-ton tanker, was much larger than the 5,000-ton *Cristo*. Its starboard side was equipped with a row of large, orange floating fenders, making it easily distinguishable from a regular tanker.
After establishing contact with the refueling ship via VHF radio, Sernechevich communicated the course, then reduced the speed to three knots as the *Toscana* slowly approached from the left. As the two ships came alongside, the *Cristo* further slowed to two knots, and the refueling operation began.
The crew of the *Toscana* tossed over a dozen mooring lines, which the *Cristo*’s crew secured. Once the lines were fastened, both ships shut down their engines and dropped anchor.
The refueling crew demonstrated their expertise; the *Toscana* first used a davit to transfer a fuel hose, which was promptly connected by five or six deckhands under the first mate and chief engineer’s guidance.
The refueling process took only a short while—after the time it took to smoke a cigarette, 3,000 gallons of aviation kerosene had been pumped into the *Cristo*’s ballast tanks. A radio message from the refueling ship requested clearance to detach.
After the sailors released the lines, the *Toscana* quickly departed the area. Sernechevich kept an eye on the AIS until the *Toscana* was a safe distance away, then ordered the anchor raised.