"Stay within my line of sight," came the monotone order over his earpiece. "And move two steps to the right – you're blocking Ensign Braus's view of the target." Suppressing his sigh at the instructions issued by Lieutenant Ackerman over the com, Ensign Jean Kirstein casually moved over as instructed, and shifted his weight in just the right way to keep himself from accidentally falling in to Sasha's line of fire if he was knocked over by the large crowd.
The target just up ahead – a powerful and well-respected member of the Rebellion's Assembly – had been carefully selected by Grand Admiral Thrawn and Commander Smith for this mission. She was young, that much was easy enough to see despite the differences in their races. She was too naive, too honest, and well-loved by the tentacle-covered natives of her world. She was a good person, and Jean didn't particularly want to see her killed, but orders were orders and the lives of the many had to come above the life of the individual. This Assembly Representative was decidedly more neutral in her opinions of the war, and had argued for trade with nearby Imperial systems. The idea was popular with the people, but not her fellow politicians – here or on Coruscant.
Her assassination and the framing of one of her chronically less-honest political rivals who frequently argued for more loyalty to the Rebellion government and who was much less idealistic would be enough to jump start the civil war here that those of Lieutenant Ackerman's destabilization squad had been carefully building the population toward for months now. This world was the most strategic foothold the Rebellion had near Imperial territory, and it was essential that the Rebellion's hold over it became less stable while also serving to distract their Inner Council at the moment when Thrawn intended to launch another campaign. This particular planet also had a large military, and supplemented Rebellion forces nearby. Starting a civil war here would make it easier to conquer this planet due to the distraction or destruction of that army by the people, or for Thrawn to use diplomacy and the quiet threat of force to step in and end it, and make the Empire appear heroic in the eyes of the common citizens. It was a good plan, but Jean didn't understand why they couldn't just take the damn planet by storm instead of stirring up the proverbial mynock and watching the chaos unfold.
The only thing they were waiting for was the green light from operations to take her out. Commander Smith was certainly taking his damn time about transmitting the signal. If they didn't move on this soon, they risked her moving out of the location they had so carefully maneuvered her to with traffic problems and a loving crowd wanting all of her attention. She would have to be tailed, the shot would have to be set up again, and the risk of getting caught would be higher with every moment they had to follow her around. Not only did they have to worry about that, but if this dragged out much longer, it could throw off the Fleet's campaign schedule. Then they ran the risk of inciting the Grand Admiral's ire over this, and he'd been monitoring Intelligence closer than usual lately thanks to the sloppiness of the agents on Poderis after their failure to capture Skywalker.
Jean's thoughts were interrupted by Lieutenant Ackerman's voice finally coming over his earpiece. "We've been given the green light. All units be ready to fall back to your assigned extraction points on my mark. Acknowledge."
He checked in with his code name, and listened to the others confirming their understanding of the order, listened to Ackerman give Sasha the order to fire when ready, and shifted just a little further back as he waited on her so he could do his part of the mission. Knowing it could be awhile before she had a clear shot, Jean tried to get comfortable.
Fortunately, Sasha didn't make them wait long.
The weapon she was using was a seriously old piece of junk generously called a 'rifle' that the commanders of the Chimaera's Intelligence section – hell, even the Grand Admiral and Captain Pellaeon – had all fondly referred to as a beautiful antique, as though it wasn't a piece of ancient shit dug up from a pre-space period of some obscure backwater planet nobody cared about anymore. Jean certainly couldn't remember the name of it. Sasha was a natural with a blaster though, good enough to shame any stormtrooper, and was therefore their squad's designated sniper. The only reason she was using this instead of a stealthier blaster was that the rival they intended to frame also collected weapons like these and knew how to use them effectively. The bullets were difficult to come by and harder still to trace, as was the rifle.
Ackerman reminded him briefly not to even move an inch, and Sasha fired as she quickly got a clear shot. Jean felt more than heard the bullet go whizzing passed him and turned to watch the reaction to it. Nobody else seemed to have heard it over the noise of the incredibly crowded marketplace.
There were other benefits to using something this ancient, he recalled as he moved forward to observe and confirm her death once she had fallen to the ground and the bystanders were screaming and fleeing. Bullets didn't cauterize wounds like blasters did. Bullets had a tendency to fragment and go for the heart, and could easily cause someone to bleed out. Just to be certain, however, this bullet had been formed with a metal that this completely unpronounceable species was allergic to.
There was no way she was surviving this.
The screams that erupted from the Assembly Representative's companions silenced the marketplace enough that the lieutenant's voice was softer to avoid his own detection as he gave the order to begin pulling back. Jean had to confirm first before he followed, so he pushed his way toward the front. Out of the corner of his eye Jean saw Marco doing the same, though they were careful not to look at each other. A medic pushed through, finally drawn by the cry for one, and turned the rep's head to get a better look at where the bullet had entered her brain.
Sasha's shot had been right on target. The bullet had hit her right in the middle of her forehead. The medic was one of their permanent Intelligence contacts here, and his job was to discreetly finish her off if Sasha's shot hadn't managed to kill her. After running a medical scanner over her body to check her vitals and brain activity, the doctor pronounced her dead at the scene to the crowd gathered around. The news was satisfactory.
Pretending to be more horror-stricken than he really was, Jean turned away to head to his assigned extraction point at a nearby docking bay facility. He reported in quietly as he walked to report the mission successful via codewords. Their work here was done for now, and if the Commander and the Grand Admiral were correct, this planet was about to dissolve into civil war
and anarchy. While the citizens were busy pointing fingers, Intel's top destabilization unit would watch from afar to nudge it as necessary, safe and sound on the Chimaera away from the inevitable destruction.
– – – – –
The door to the bridge ready room closed behind Ensigns Bodt, Kirstein, and Braus, as Commander Erwin Smith, leader of the Chimaera's Intelligence section and Fleet Chief of the Bureau of Operations, and Lieutenant Levi Ackerman, Commander of the Bureau of Operation's Destabilization Squad exchanged a mutually satisfied look. This operation had gone relatively smoothly, despite the blow the Empire's recent major losses had had on troop morale and efficiency. Losing the Ubiqtorate base that was loyal to the Grand Admiral had reduced the resources Erwin and his subordinates needed to do their jobs, but they had adjusted well and pulled through despite the fact that most of Levi's incredibly talented squad were fresh out of the Academy. That this operation had been a success was as much a testament to that adaptive ability as it was to the raw skill of the young men and women Levi had selected after his previous unit had been decimated at the Battle of Bilbringi.
"They're performing much better than anticipated," Thrawn observed into the silence. "Particularly given their lack of experience." If Erwin hadn't known any better, he would think the Grand Admiral fully capable of mind reading: the man always seemed to know what any of his officers – and even his enemies – were thinking, sometimes even before they did. It was something that had thrown him off balance at first when Thrawn had taken the Chimaera as his flagship over a year ago. With time, he had adjusted to it, and didn't become nearly as exasperated with it as their captain still sometimes could be.
The compliment drew the slightest of smiles from Erwin's lips. "Thank you, Admiral," he replied. "Though I'm afraid Lieutenant Ackerman deserves all the credit for their improvement. He's been working with them one-on-one for the past few months to develop a better idea of their strengths and weaknesses and improve on them. It seems to be working better than the lessons they were taught in the Academy."
Thrawn arched one blue-black eyebrow and turned his head to give Levi an approving look. "I'm inclined to agree. Well done," he praised. "Your results are particularly impressive, given their ages."
Levi wasn't used to being the center of attention, and he snuck a dirty look at Erwin for it because now both Grand Admiral Thrawn and Captain Pellaeon were looking at him. "Thank you, Admiral," Levi replied. His monotone voice was military crisp and precise, as it only ever was in front of specific superior officers or when dealing with his unit. Erwin honestly didn't think he would ever be used to hearing Levi speak like that.
Thrawn favored Levi with a tight smile that gave Erwin the impression the blue-skinned alien knew exactly how uncomfortable Levi was in this situation. If Thrawn was aware of that, then he also could likely see how much conscious effort it still took Levi to behave as an Imperial Intelligence officer ought to behave in front of the highest ranking authority in the whole of the remaining Galactic Empire. "Keep up the good work," Thrawn said, and stood. The other three men stood as well, the military etiquette having long-since been drilled into their heads. "I expect to have everyone's written reports on file within the next four hours."
"Yes, sir," Erwin and Levi replied together and watched their leader and the Captain exit the room.
Levi dropped the proper officer act as soon as the door slid shut behind their superiors. "Are you going to give the order to those brats to get started or do you want me to do it?" he asked, arms folded over the chest of the civilian clothes he'd worn on the surface.
Erwin gave him a fond smile. "If you insist on phrasing it that way then I should definitely make you do it, no matter how badly you want to shower before you get started on your written report."
Levi scowled at him. Though he had lived in the underbelly of Coruscant most of his life amongst the dirt and dregs of the planet-wide city – or perhaps because of it – Levi hated messes and preferred the sterile nature of shipboard life to having to go planet-side to do the Empire's dirty work. It wasn't necessarily that Levi was a germophobe: Erwin's current theory was that dirt and grime reminded Levi of the life he never wanted to live or think of again. Life on an Imperial Star Destroyer was probably the cleanest life Levi would ever find outside of a sick bay.
"You can give the order then," Levi replied, adding what Erwin suspected was a glare.
"All right," Erwin agreed nonchalantly, as though that was what he had been planning all along. They were alone now, so he rested a gentle hand on Levi's shoulder. He had worked hard, and Erwin was inclined to reward him for it, as fond as he was of picking on him. "You're dismissed. Go get cleaned up and file your report."
The acerbic look Levi gave him didn't fool Erwin in the slightest. Levi wasn't mad at all. "Yes, sir," he said, and didn't even bother saluting or waiting for Erwin before he was on his way out the door and into the turbolift to go get a shower. Erwin shook his head and finished gathering up the datacards he'd brought with him before following Levi from the room.