As Sally tends to Danny's needs, Rob is out on the city streets, assault rifle in hand; he had selected a compact lightweight model fitted with the optional sniper scope. In the hour or so he'd been on the ground, he'd disabled three separate Jade vehicles, slowing down the advance along those corridors. But it's not enough. The Jades are rolling through Shang Tu with ease; at their current pace, they'll be at the Palace by sundown.
Rob leaves the third disabled vehicle to smoulder in peace, working his way through the narrow alleys of the inner city. Why did I choose this? This is urban warfare; not exactly my strong point. So far, I've stayed out of trouble, but when there's the possibility of a rogue shell or rocket taking you out without a moment's notice… Dying of thirst and compression, buried in a pile of rubble… it's not a dignified way to go.
Rob reaches one of the main arterial roads leading from the outskirts right to the Palace itself. Peeking out from the alleyway, he spies the Jade command vehicle half a mile away; through his rifle's scope, he sees the familiar form of Aquila in the cupola. Cut off the head, and the body will die…
Rob ducks back into the alleyway to look for a way up to the rooftops; he finds a dilapidated fire escape that stops short by a single storey. It'll have to do. Rob slings the rifle on his back and scales the fire escape as quickly as he can; pieces fall off as he climbs, clattering loudly in the alleyway. At least the sound of that is drowned out by the rockets and gunfire… not that that's a comfort…
At the top of the fire escape, Rob uses his sai to climb the final storey onto the roof; once up, he unslings the rifle and looks for a suitable sniping point. There's a good spot. Rob settles in his chosen spot, laying as low and flat as possible; lacking a bipod, he tries to seat the barrel of the rifle in a convenient cut in the masonry.
Rob switches the rifle to single-shot mode, loads a high-velocity AP round, and lines up his target through the scope. Have to do this without my spotter… my partner… once this is over, I'm coming to rescue you my love. Rob breathes in, holds for a moment, slowly breathes out, and squeezes the trigger. The mechanism clicks; the bullet is propelled from the barrel with a supersonic crack.
The bullet ricochets harmlessly off the cupola.
Rob curses violently under his breath; he loads a second AP round, and lines up a second shot through the scope-
The rocket strikes the top of the building, just feet from where Rob had rolled away at the last second. With the structure weakened, the roof edge collapses, taking Rob with it; as the dust settles, Rob finds his left leg pinned by a heavy slab of masonry, his smashed rifle just out of reach.
First rule of sniping; never shoot from the same place twice. Rob twists awkwardly to free his leg; it takes four attempts to lift the masonry enough to free his leg completely. Standing, he limps towards the door of the room he landed in. Got to get out of the building before it's-
A second rocket strikes the building; the top storey collapses completely.
Several minutes later, Rob wakes to find himself interred in broken timber and masonry; the only light he can see is a tiny sliver of cloudy blue sky. He tries to move; his limbs are pinned in place. Realising his only hope is rescue, he concedes defeat.
I have failed. Again. I had to go after Aquila. I had to let my emotions get the better of me. I should have remembered my training. And I definitely should have taken the general's advice.
It's all down to Maria and Xander now… Ancients, I beg of you, see them safe on their mission, and guide them to success.
Hanna…