Even in the dead of night, the pair of Thrysrian commandos was still careful with their steps as they crept slowly up the mountain path from cover to cover. It was a good habit to maintain, even if they didn’t expect patrols so far out from the Capital.
The moons were high, but with their reflec coated armor, the soft moonlight was absorbed and warped, allowing them to melt into their surroundings. While the path was rocky, the commandos didn’t make a single crunch.
“We’re here,” Archlay called out as they neared the peak of the small mountain. He took a knee, unbuckling his pack mounted launcher and gingerly setting it to his side. Ulon did the same, then stood at the edge of the cliff with electrobinoculars out.
“Scanning for the compound at 39.76661 degrees by -86.159044 degrees...I have a house that matches the description. Check it out to confirm.”
Archlay stood up and joined Ulon at the cliff, taking the electrobinoculars when handed to him. He first looked down at the image of house on his wrist computer, then through the electrobinoculars, centering on the provided coordinates.
He saw a house on the other side in the middle of an outlying suburb of the capital, matching the intelligence perfectly.
“We have our mark. Now let’s set up.”
He handed the electrobinoculars back to Ulon and returned to his pack. He detached the launcher from the pack, then snapped on the targeting system on the naked tube. The sensitive computerized sensors were even better than the military grade electrobinoculars and offered full spectrum viewing options.
He trained his sights on the house kilometers away, tweaking the sensor settings until he could pick out bodies from beyond the walls, about two dozen humanoid shaped blobs in total.
“Full house,” Archlay noted aloud. “Probably her entourage.”
“All the better, we need her off her game for this to work.”
Archlay rumbled his throat in agreement while he adjusted his stance and slowed his breathing. The homing missile needed no special aiming - it was already adjusting it course by reading the targeting readouts even before being launched - but out of habit he still treated it like he was handling his long gun.
Only a few seconds went past, but it seemed like an eternity, golden eyes tunneled in on that house behind his visor.
Finally, he squeezed the trigger, and the missile launched.
There was no loud bright backblast, only a low whoosh and a whine as the repulsor motors kicked in an propelled the missile. Right after clearing the mountain, it made a dead drop for the treeline, then skimmed right above the canopies on its way to its target.
Arclay didn’t bother following the path of the missile, already halfway to its target by the time he depressed his finger. He just kept his sight on the house.
A few moments later, and he saw a blip shoot through a window, then the house shred apart as shrapnel and antigravity waves ripped through the very foundations of the house. Debris and shockwaves exploded outward as the whole structure was pulverized to existence.
“By the Sun, look at that,” Ulon exclaimed. “I would have thought you just fired off a proton warhead.”
“Nope, worse. Much worse. Has to be - proton bombs would just be a snack for her.”
Archlay focused in on the large crater where the house used to exist, scanning for survivors. For the first time, the Thyrsian’s heart started pounding. Every assurance had been made that the specially developed fragmentation warhead would work, but that brought him small comfort.
He had fired the first shot against Spencer Varanin, and now he was expecting all hell to break loose, for him and Ulon to be vaporized right on the spot.
The aim hadn’t been to kill her, but he hoped he did.
[member="Spencer"]
The moons were high, but with their reflec coated armor, the soft moonlight was absorbed and warped, allowing them to melt into their surroundings. While the path was rocky, the commandos didn’t make a single crunch.
“We’re here,” Archlay called out as they neared the peak of the small mountain. He took a knee, unbuckling his pack mounted launcher and gingerly setting it to his side. Ulon did the same, then stood at the edge of the cliff with electrobinoculars out.
“Scanning for the compound at 39.76661 degrees by -86.159044 degrees...I have a house that matches the description. Check it out to confirm.”
Archlay stood up and joined Ulon at the cliff, taking the electrobinoculars when handed to him. He first looked down at the image of house on his wrist computer, then through the electrobinoculars, centering on the provided coordinates.
He saw a house on the other side in the middle of an outlying suburb of the capital, matching the intelligence perfectly.
“We have our mark. Now let’s set up.”
He handed the electrobinoculars back to Ulon and returned to his pack. He detached the launcher from the pack, then snapped on the targeting system on the naked tube. The sensitive computerized sensors were even better than the military grade electrobinoculars and offered full spectrum viewing options.
He trained his sights on the house kilometers away, tweaking the sensor settings until he could pick out bodies from beyond the walls, about two dozen humanoid shaped blobs in total.
“Full house,” Archlay noted aloud. “Probably her entourage.”
“All the better, we need her off her game for this to work.”
Archlay rumbled his throat in agreement while he adjusted his stance and slowed his breathing. The homing missile needed no special aiming - it was already adjusting it course by reading the targeting readouts even before being launched - but out of habit he still treated it like he was handling his long gun.
Only a few seconds went past, but it seemed like an eternity, golden eyes tunneled in on that house behind his visor.
Finally, he squeezed the trigger, and the missile launched.
There was no loud bright backblast, only a low whoosh and a whine as the repulsor motors kicked in an propelled the missile. Right after clearing the mountain, it made a dead drop for the treeline, then skimmed right above the canopies on its way to its target.
Arclay didn’t bother following the path of the missile, already halfway to its target by the time he depressed his finger. He just kept his sight on the house.
A few moments later, and he saw a blip shoot through a window, then the house shred apart as shrapnel and antigravity waves ripped through the very foundations of the house. Debris and shockwaves exploded outward as the whole structure was pulverized to existence.
“By the Sun, look at that,” Ulon exclaimed. “I would have thought you just fired off a proton warhead.”
“Nope, worse. Much worse. Has to be - proton bombs would just be a snack for her.”
Archlay focused in on the large crater where the house used to exist, scanning for survivors. For the first time, the Thyrsian’s heart started pounding. Every assurance had been made that the specially developed fragmentation warhead would work, but that brought him small comfort.
He had fired the first shot against Spencer Varanin, and now he was expecting all hell to break loose, for him and Ulon to be vaporized right on the spot.
The aim hadn’t been to kill her, but he hoped he did.
[member="Spencer"]