Quoted By:
“Pilot Sophie. I have some reservations behind putting you back in the seat. Your ability is not in question, as with some, but I find myself short on options.”
Her sightless, unsettling eyes blinked at him slowly.
“I am sorry, sir, I don’t understand.”
“If you want out of this war, out of this cause, say something.”
Please
Yet she is silent.
“This machine has already cost you your sight.”
A statement of fact.
“And it may cost even more by the end of this conflict.”
Say something. Anything.
A snapped salute, as sharp as any other soldier he’s commanded is his only response.
A little part of himself dies, then.
“Very well, then. The mission.”
“General Marik intends to bring the Loyalist forces to battle on the plains outside of Victoria, our capital. They are expecting reinforcements from the Tsang Tsun Military Academy, whose leadership have sided with the Empress in the last week. A surgical strike to remove their leadership would paralyze them for the critical days while the decisive battle is fought.
Your orders are to head around the capital, avoiding contact, and eliminate their leadership who are having a social event. Resistance is expected to be limited to response forces from the nearest StateSec base consisting of light or medium mechs, but early detection could result in heavier units being vectored to intercept.
Support will be limited, but we do have a single flight-capable fast response unit, codename Headhunter, to assist you in escaping. Contact will be limited to specific point to point signals. Command will not be keeping you company, so listen to the airwaves for the old codes, and if the mission is aborted the signal is ‘Buzzkill’.
The odds facing down the Patriot cause are steep enough without the Empress throwing academy members into training mechs to face veterans down. You are preventing that, though this. Outstanding questions?”
There is no hesitation.
“No sir.”
“Catch a few hours of rack time, then depart at 2300 hours.”
He watched the child depart, nodding at Kitamura to follow her out.
And tried to stop the hypocrisy from choking him.
Mission Briefing delivered. Equipment Selection to follow.
