October 17th, 2173 CE
"Are you serious?" Jasper stares at Leng with a serious frown, creasing thin blonde brows around disbelieving stony eyes.
"Come on, Shepard. When have I ever been wrong?" Leng smirks at him, dark eyes brimming with confidence, raven brows rising smugly.
They are crouching near the edge of a clearing containing a small Blue Suns encampment. The two were out to scout the area, and neither was expecting the dozen or so mercs in the area.
"So let me see if I get this right, Leng. You want us, just the two of us, to squat in a merc camp, without backup, and 'handle it ourselves.' Why?" Jasper doesn't understand Leng almost any given day of the week, but he's never known the man to be suicidal. Leng sneers, his eyes full of wounded pride.
"Yes, Shepard. That is exactly what I said two minutes ago, keep up." Leng creeps fluidly through the shadows, into the camp proper, and Jasper groans under his breath as he follows.
He's not indulging Leng, he tells himself. He's just a poor innocent 2nd lieutenant making sure his gunnery chief doesn't get his head blown off while in the line of duty. The captain would've sent them with a small fire team to do this anyways, he thinks.
They each pick a tent on opposite sides of the camp. The plan is for Jasper to use his technical abilities to drop any shields or barriers the mercs might possess while picking his famous headshots with his Phalanx.
Leng, in the meantime, will use his biotics and his favorite Katana to pepper the mercs from afar, or simply blow them apart up close, all while employing his acrobatics to evade and drive them to distraction.
They wait in position for an hour before the first merc comes back, a heavily armoured fellow. Leng throws a warp at the man, shredding his helmet, and Jasper neatly pops his head clean off with a single shot. He doesn't even have time to scream. The two soldiers smile conspiratorially.
The next mercs number in the half dozen. That takes a few minutes. Jasper overloads the leader, a fellow engineer's shield, and pops his head a moment later. Leng throws his headless carcass at the other mercs, who scream in horror. Jasper feels a pang of guilt, they look too young to be anything but fresh blood. But when they choose to shoot instead of surrender, he soldiers on with the endeavor.
The group fights like rookies, in the end. They only drop Leng's barrier by fifteen percent, and Jasper's shield by twenty. Leng crows at the difference, and Jasper neatly says it's only because he doesn't get to do practice laps back on the Tannenberg.
Leng merely rolls his eyes. "Just admit it, Shepard. You're too slow."
Leng sing-songs the last three words in an impression of his favorite game mascot that is equal parts annoying and irritatingly amusing. Jasper scowls good naturedly, trying not to chuckle at how ridiculous the other man sounds.
The next mercs to arrive are a trio of snipers. Jasper and Leng have no issues with them. Jasper dashes around to stay out of their sights, their weapons less effective at close range. Leng is a near blur, as usual. Together, they manage to get the mercs herded into a tight back-to-back position. Jasper throws an overload, Leng a warp, then in unison, they strike. Jasper pops the head of one while running past them in a circle. Leng rolls forward, and blows out the opposite facing one's ribcage, then levels his Katana. It rings out in perfect sync with Jasper's Phalanx, and the merc is bereft of their heart and brain before either can further process the grief or horror of their terrible situation.
The final two mercs are no challenge at all. A pair of soldiers with Mattocks. Their weapons might be powerful, but they simply spray and pray. Against two very mobile targets, a death sentence. Leng tosses one about like a ragdoll, while Jasper wreaks havoc on the other one's equipment. They both take this opportunity to test new power combinations, seeing as they have adequate numbers without risk of another combatant surprising them. The encounter, and their experiments end in moments, but the experience is rewarding, despite the small window of time.
With the encampment clear of hostiles, Jasper comms the Tannenberg to give her the all clear. Leng nudges one of the dead mercs with a foot before lifting his carcass up and slamming it down as hard as he can, splattering both he and Jasper with gore.
Jasper sputters, glaring through the crimson mask he's been oh so graciously gifted, before glaring at Leng harshly. "Are you serious?"
Leng shrugs.
