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Kessel, 27 ABY.
"Fireteam Omega" said a voice in the shuttle intercom.
Lieutenant Cira Barell looked up to face the hologram, having just finished cleaning her sniper rifle. It was a dark silhouette of a human male. A male Duro in tactical gear stepped forward in the dark cabin to get a better view.
"Fleet command believes that the Black Sun compound on this planet contains incriminating intel that could strike a critical blow to the organized crime syndicates in this sector. Your mission is to seize everything on the compound's computer mainframe from a terminal in the local boss's private quarters. Captain Zione will brief you on the plan. May the Force be with you."
The Duro pressed a few buttons on a remote, which transformed the man's hologram into a map of what appeared to be an upside down tower.
"Team, this is a map of the complex," he said in a liquidy, authoritative voice, "We will enter through the satellite entrance, take the lift down to the executive suite, retrieve the intel, and go out the way we came, silently dispatching any witnesses we come across. We will maintain stealth at all times. No explosives."
"Aw come on!" a voice piped in from the back. A loud gurgling grunt followed. Zione frowned at the sources of the interruption: a Rodian and a large gray Wookiee.
"Staff Sergeant Vekarr, Sergeant Fahraark, we will need your slicing skills to get through locked doors without drawing attention. Bombs tend to do the opposite."
The pair nodded in acknowledgement. The captain went on.
"Lieutenant Barell will keep the perimeter clear for exfil. Corporal Lee, you're watching my six. We will be landing two klicks out from the target and approach on foot. Is everything clear?"
Cira adjusted her beret and nodded, as did everyone else. The Pantoran then went back to inspecting her rifle. The cabin vibrated as the shuttle descended to the ground. When the vibrating stopped, the five-man team stood up single file and carefully stepped forward as the ramp lowered to the ground, with Captain Zione taking point.
Cira took a deep breath once her boot made contact with the hard, dusty ground. The air was musty and saturated with orange smog from Kessel's infamous spice mines, which made it hard to make out the planet's yellowish, rocky terrain. She scanned the bare horizon for movement, and then did it again with her scope for a closer look. She heard a soft grunt from Fahraark, and Vekarr comforting the Wookiee.
"Yeah, I know. This place musta been terrible."
The team marched on until they reached a hill overlooking the compound entrance, a large boxy durasteel bunker surrounded by a massive, lush, garden full of grasses, bushes, and small trees. Well, it's probably way too disorganized to be considered a garden. More like a man-made biome. Captain Zione turned to Cira.
"Set up a sniping position here."
She nodded. "I'll keep you covered. May the Force be with you."
"And you. Squad, on me! Keep comms open."
Cira smiled as she watched the others carefully venture down the side of the hill. She then positioned her rifle, attached a flash suppressor, and laid down on her stomach to observe the complex through her scope. Nine guards on the ground and balcony, two snipers on the rooftop. Should be simple. She turned her gaze over to her team, hiding behind a large rock, out of view of the enemy. Well, time to say hello.
She turned her attention back to the snipers. They were positioned right next to each other. She'd have to be quick. She hovered her sights on the head of her first target, a Weequay with a patch over his left eye. Warm, musty air slowly flowed down her throat into her lungs as she slowed her breathing to almost two per minute to reduce her heart rate. You better hold onto your head, buddy. She squeezed the trigger. The orange bolt found its mark, burning a dark, searing hole through the first sniper's forehead. Within a second, she shifted her sight left and popped off another shot at the Weequay's human companion, which shattered his scope and burned off much of the top half of his head. He clearly had Cira in his sights, and she would've died the same way were she to pull the trigger two seconds later. Huh, maybe I should've started off with him.
She then moved her sight down to the balcony. A guard stood on either corner, which overlooked some non-native bushes. She took her shot. The heavily armored Nikto fell over the barrier into the bushes, which concealed his body. She took another shot. The overweight Falleen met the same fate on the other corner. The remaining seven guards paced about at ground level, none the wiser. She watched Zione and Fahraark quickly grab and subdue two of them when they wondered too close to their rock. Cira's comlink crackled. It was Lee.
"Lieutenant. Get the guards to come over to us. We'll handle 'em."
Cira calmly surveyed the five remaining guards. Five is a crowd. Crowds can be manipulated. She took aim at the guard furthest from the rock and opened fire. The Falleen dropped dead as the remaining guards scrambled towards the rock for cover, only to be silently taken down by the rest of Cira's team. Zione's voice crackled on the comms.
"Coast is clear. Start slicing."
Vekarr stepped up to the compound blast door. He broke open the console and plugged in some of the wires from his datapad.
"So is it red red green, or red green red?"
Fahraark growled in feigned annoyance.
Cira continued to survey the perimeter through her scope, her sight inching slowly left to right. A brief flash of white caught her eye as the sight passed the corner of the bunker. Movement. She immediately aimed her rifle, but the mysterious object disappeared almost instantly.
"Heads up. I don't think we're alone out here."
"Noted. Door's open. Watch our six."
"Roger that."
The commandos cautiously entered the bunker as the blast doors opened. Cira watched them disappear into the dark hallway, one after another. The door closed behind them, and her attention turned once again to the corner where she spotted mysterious white figure.
Cira took her eye off her scope and continued observing the compound with her macrobinoculars. Her comm crackled again.
"Hostile up ahead."
A low growl and a soft crack followed a couple seconds later as Fahraark snapped someone's neck.
"Hostile down."
Cira continued to scan the perimeter. She noticed movement in some shrubs next to the left wall of the bunker, and took aim. Come out and you're dead. The shrubs rustled some more. Cira rested her finger on the trigger, and pointed her sight at the front of the shrub column. Come on. Just a little bit closer.
The rustling stopped as a scrawny lizard casually leaped out of the shrub, munching on a branch. Cira relaxed her trigger finger. Her sight followed the lizard as it skittered away towards the hill behind the bunker, until she caught a brief white flash from the top. A scope! In a split second, she aimed and fired. When her thoughts caught up with her actions, she saw her opponent's face. No wait. Face mask.
The left eye was a dark, smoking hole with its edges still glowing from the heat. The helmet visor still sparked due to its damaged HUD. Cira recognized the black helmet and armor the man was wearing. She didn't hesitate, and immediately tapped into her comm.
"Cap, be advised! First Order Special Forces have been spotted near the compound!"
"Copy that, don't engage unless attacked."
"Negative, sir! I just killed a sniper. I think they're part of the compound's security detail."
"Contact!" shouted Lee over the comm, "They ain't your average mercs!"
"Lieutenant, new orders. You are free to engage with extreme prejudice."
Cira scanned the horizon and the rocky hills for more snipers. She spotted a line of First Order stormtroopers double-time marching down the hill towards the bunker. She flipped the magazine release and inserted a new powerpack into her rifle. Easy pickings, I just need to - shit!
In the exact moment she saw the glint of a sniper scope on the hill behind the stormtroopers, a dark red blaster bolt emerged from the same location, and it was bearing straight towards her.
Part 2 coming soon! Don't forget to follow and leave a review!