[04]
"Right, right," Wrynn said as he replaced his helmet and turned his gaze back toward the objective. His voice choked once more with metallic unlife. "Don't kill, observe caution, all that happy Jedi crap." He scanned the area again at a glance and stopped dead when he noticed several new dots in the distance. As his HUD zoomed, he recognized them as armored guards, and their weapons checked out as blaster grade. There were four of them at initial count, and his voice sounded over the comm to the two others who had already started off without him. "I have eyes on multiple hostiles, Eddie," Wrynn reported. "We need to tag them, but do it quiet. No body count."
"We can't kill 'em?" the commando hissed back. "Are you kidding me? Those blasters look like they're of Czerka origin. Not exactly stun pistols, Wrynn."
"Jedi wants them left alive," the mercenary replied simply. "they're the ones giving orders on this op. You're going to have to improvise." A string of obscenities graced the comm for several seconds, and Wrynn heaved a long sigh. "It's not like I don't agree with you, Ed, but there are other ways to do this-"
"Every time," Draco cut in, "every time we get deployed on a mission, we end up playing Peace Corps. It's like Galactic Alliance Marines aren't supposed to kill people."
"Maybe you should have joined a Sith army instead," Wrynn joked drily.
"Don't give him any ideas," Eddie warned. There was awkward laughter over the comm as Tobias strode into the brush and drew his combat knife. The best option he had was to impair movement at close range by striking at nerve endings, and while that was far less efficient than a shot, it was also far less lethal. "Wrynn, are you going to be able to close with them? You're armored for Recon, not Stealth Ops. If they lay into you, you're gonna get vaped."
Wrynn smirked inside his helmet. The sound of a blaster firing off and a bolt peeling skyward caused alarm in the village, and the sounds of several voices back and forth dispelled the stagnant silence. "Don't worry about me," Wrynn whispered. "They'll never see me coming."
"Did you just-" Draco started to blurt out in disbelief, but stopped when Eddie grabbed him by the face and covered his mouth. The bulkier marine shook his head gravely, then pointed toward the alerted guardsmen, who were looking around for the source of enemy gunfire. When Eddie let him go, Draco lowered his voice. "Are you nuts?" he hissed.
One of the guards wandered into the brush just ahead of Wrynn, kicking around flora. "On my signal," Wrynn muttered, "rush the encampment and neutralize the rear guard. When I drop this one, that will leave only one of the elites and the three sentries. We can handle those numbers."
"Acknowledged," Eddie responded.
"Three," Wrynn whispered, "two, one. Mark."
The tribal warrior let out a cry of surprise as he was grappled from behind and dragged down into the brush. Wrynn applied pressure around the carotid in the crease of his elbow and reinforced the lock with his forearm to the back of the neck. He held tightly until the struggle ceased, as the surprise had been more than enough to prevent any sort of reprisal.
Faintly, he heard the sounds of struggle over his comm as Draco and Eddie made their marks, and Wrynn glanced from cover toward the last guard. "Alright," he called, "move in. Remember, non-lethal pacification
only."
"Okay,
mom." Draco spat loudly and Wrynn snorted. "When we get to the extraction point, I'm going to sock you in the nose."
"Take it up with little miss lightsaber," was all Tobias had to say.
They charged into the hot zone and blaster fire went wild. A haze of crimson and green rocketed skyward as Alliance Forces and local insurgents engaged in close quarters, and Wrynn managed to clip one of the normal guards in the shoulder. A cry of pain heralded the drop of a blaster, and Wrynn closed the distance to kick the weapon away. "On your knees," he commanded, "hands behind your head. No sudden movements, or I'll fire."
The dark skinned man whined pitifully as he complied, and Wrynn heard Draco make the same speech. Blaster fire continued. "Eddie, what's your status?" the mercenary asked. "Eddie?"
"Cut it close," Eddie finally replied, "but I clipped the elite in the leg. He's down, and the other guard dropped his weapon when he saw the damage. We have compliance on this end."
"You heard the man," Wrynn told Draco, "file these fellas into the command tent and lets have us a negotiation."
With his weapon leveled to the man's back, Wrynn ordered the guard to his feet and marched him toward the large establishment at the far end of the compound. "Jedi Imperieuse, the floor is yours," he opened the comm channel and called to the young Master. "Bring this one home."
He closed the main channel and spoke directly to the woman. "And no body count," he reassured her. It was as close to kindness as Wrynn got.
[member="Lilin Imperieuse"] | [member="Isha"]
