[font=Georgia]Imperials... It was as if the whole galaxy wanted to give Lance a major headache. Indeed, it did, in a sense, for as he pulled up to what was supposed to be the target site for their sting operation against the Imperials, he noticed a pair of Coalition soldiers crawling out of their speeder, quite warmer than usual from the fire that it had become. Law enforcement was nowhere to be seen, perhaps bought off by the Imperials earlier that evening to ignore the incident. That left one shop in shambles and burning embers, two speeders damaged to levels of disrepair, and several injured--and possibly worse, depending on circumstances--as a result of an Imperial trap.[/font]
[font=Georgia]But Lance wasn't really interested in that at the time, and his DeeCee was already up as they rounded the corner, the sniper attachment aimed behind the building. He'd seen--perhaps even felt--someone else in the area. Someone who wasn't friendly to himself or his comrades. Someone he had to kill. The aiming system on this 'relic' wasn't the greatest, admittedly, but it was still more than enough for any decent marksman to be able to hit a good shot from a great distance. In fact, it was enough that, were it lighter out, he would have gotten a good shot on the target from his current position. Instead, the system was unable to get a lock...but he did have an image stored in the holo-sights. "Hack, take a look at this."[/font]
[font=Georgia]When he handed the scope over to Hack, it was immediately put into a computer scanner system that took the image and tried, of all things, to resolve it into a simple facial impression, followed by filling out the symmetrical details of the visage. Since the subject was a human and the human form was symmetrical by design, this was extremely helpful. The processor needed only a few seconds to complete the analysis.[/font]
[font=Georgia]"Damn."[/font]
[font=Georgia]Lance's curse was, indeed, short; so was his patience for this kind of answer. He had to deal with one of the last people he really wanted to put up with in the entire galaxy. "Colonel Wesley Vos. Just our luck, boys and girls... The Imperial Rottweiler."[/font]
[font=Georgia]Hal would have responded to that, but Dalston caught him by just a split second. "You know him, sir?"[/font]
[font=Georgia]"Yes. When I was back in the Corellian military, before my wife died, I had always wanted to serve in the Imperial Special Forces proper...not some regional downgrade of it. Shortly before I left the Diktat, this man took over the ISF, making it perhaps even more dangerous than it was before his rise up the ranks. We are dealing with perhaps the meanest S.O.B. in the entire Imperial Army." Dark blue eyes stared out at the two men gathered near the computer readout with him, as if digging into their souls. "You heard me right, gentlemen; if this guy can find a way to do it, he will...and you'll be hard-pressed to stop him. We are in deep shit now."[/font]
[font=Georgia]It was safe to say, and probably more accurate as well, that they were compromised. With an Imperial military presence on the planet, they now had an official 'politico-military cluster****' waiting for them. Play this wrong, and they could openly start a war with the Empire. As far as Lance was concerned, initiating a war over this planet was not on his top ten priority list. Failing his mission wasn't, either, but in all honesty, he'd rather fail the mission than fail the peace. "Get everyone gathered up and move back to temporary headquarters; we need to get a plan going, NOW." Letting loose a sigh, Lance turned his attention back to where he'd seen the running figure of Colonel Vos disappear from his sight. It was going to be a long campaign...[/font]
[font=Georgia]But Lance wasn't really interested in that at the time, and his DeeCee was already up as they rounded the corner, the sniper attachment aimed behind the building. He'd seen--perhaps even felt--someone else in the area. Someone who wasn't friendly to himself or his comrades. Someone he had to kill. The aiming system on this 'relic' wasn't the greatest, admittedly, but it was still more than enough for any decent marksman to be able to hit a good shot from a great distance. In fact, it was enough that, were it lighter out, he would have gotten a good shot on the target from his current position. Instead, the system was unable to get a lock...but he did have an image stored in the holo-sights. "Hack, take a look at this."[/font]
[font=Georgia]When he handed the scope over to Hack, it was immediately put into a computer scanner system that took the image and tried, of all things, to resolve it into a simple facial impression, followed by filling out the symmetrical details of the visage. Since the subject was a human and the human form was symmetrical by design, this was extremely helpful. The processor needed only a few seconds to complete the analysis.[/font]
[font=Georgia]"Damn."[/font]
[font=Georgia]Lance's curse was, indeed, short; so was his patience for this kind of answer. He had to deal with one of the last people he really wanted to put up with in the entire galaxy. "Colonel Wesley Vos. Just our luck, boys and girls... The Imperial Rottweiler."[/font]
[font=Georgia]Hal would have responded to that, but Dalston caught him by just a split second. "You know him, sir?"[/font]
[font=Georgia]"Yes. When I was back in the Corellian military, before my wife died, I had always wanted to serve in the Imperial Special Forces proper...not some regional downgrade of it. Shortly before I left the Diktat, this man took over the ISF, making it perhaps even more dangerous than it was before his rise up the ranks. We are dealing with perhaps the meanest S.O.B. in the entire Imperial Army." Dark blue eyes stared out at the two men gathered near the computer readout with him, as if digging into their souls. "You heard me right, gentlemen; if this guy can find a way to do it, he will...and you'll be hard-pressed to stop him. We are in deep shit now."[/font]
[font=Georgia]It was safe to say, and probably more accurate as well, that they were compromised. With an Imperial military presence on the planet, they now had an official 'politico-military cluster****' waiting for them. Play this wrong, and they could openly start a war with the Empire. As far as Lance was concerned, initiating a war over this planet was not on his top ten priority list. Failing his mission wasn't, either, but in all honesty, he'd rather fail the mission than fail the peace. "Get everyone gathered up and move back to temporary headquarters; we need to get a plan going, NOW." Letting loose a sigh, Lance turned his attention back to where he'd seen the running figure of Colonel Vos disappear from his sight. It was going to be a long campaign...[/font]