Olivia fished a small projector out of her pocket and placed it on the deck. At the press of a button, a holographic image appeared in midair for everyone to examine. It was a detailed schematic of a Cretan landscape, at its center a large homestead. Pedro's mansion. A few miles east lay a village and not too far from it one could make out the entrance to a mine of some sort. The terrain was uneven, hills and ravines dominating the geography.
"The plan is relatively simple," Olivia explained.
Pedro's estate was too heavily guarded and too well fortified for a frontal assault by the small company of mercenaries Olivia had assembled. Even if they committed to a raid, their target could easily escape via the manor's own landing pad. Instead, they would need to approach the mission from two angles.
Olivia knew two things for certain about the man she was after. Firstly, he loved few things more than his source of income - artifacts. Secondly, he had a daughter, who lived in the mansion. Olivia would strike at both.
Preliminary reconnaissance had revealed that the village and its adjoining mining operation were only lightly guarded at most times. On his home turf and believing to be the dominating power in his little corner of Crete, Pedro likely didn't believe anyone would attempt to interfere with it. Ever since their last encounter in Liberty, however, he had increased his personal security considerably. A host of local Corsairs and hired guards now garrisoned his personal estate at all times. These troops would have to be drawn away before Olivia could make a move on it.
"Cyan," Olivia pointed at the short but muscular woman, "you, Ocher, and Violet lead the assault on the mines. Teal and Sage join you with heavy weaponry to punch through their defenses."
"You all," she glanced around the crew of hired guns, "are the assault team. Listen to the Colors."
"Turquoise," she nodded at the combat medic, "you go with them, too. Resistance should start off light but, if Pedro reacts the way I expect he will, it'll get messy quickly. Remember, you only have to keep him and his men busy. Don't worry about destroying anything or even trying to win the battle. Just pin them down."
The village attack would be the easy part of the operation. At least from a strategic standpoint. The second prong of the assault, however, would require greater finesse.
"Blue, Maroon, Amber,... and Beige," Olivia nodded at each of them in turn, "you're with me. Once the assault team is engaged at the village and Pedro takes his men out to reinforce it, we infiltrate the estate. Take out whatever left-behind garrison gets in our way. I need to get to his living quarters. Your job will be to get me there and make sure the alarm is raised."
Blue looked at her quizzically.
"You want the alarm to be raised?"
Olivia nodded.
"I need Pedro to come back. When he does, you take care of his bodyguards but let him pass."
She glanced around the circle of accomplices. Many of them would get injured. Some would die. They all knew the risk and yet they were here, willing to join her, either for revenge, money, or personal glory. The reason mattered not, only their willingness to help.
Olivia took a deep breath and sighed. This was the best plan she could come up with. She didn't know whether it would work. And yet, it had to.
"This mission will be dangerous. I can't guarantee all of us will make it out alive."
There was silence. The hired mercenaries exchanged uncertain glances with each other. Most of the Colors just stared either at her or the deck. Olivia could sense the uncertainty. For a brief moment, she considered calling it all off. Was it worth it? Worth risking all these lives just to get revenge on one man?
Beige stepped forward, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah," he muttered in an unusually somber tone, "this scheme of yours sure sounds a little crazy. Suicidal, even." He looked around the group, mustering each mercenary up and down. Then he spun around again to face Olivia.
"But I know you and I've done so for a long time. All the Colors have. And we know Pedro." The venom in his voice as he spat out the name was tangible. "That bastard needs to be stopped. I've tried. You've tried. But neither of us could do it alone. All of us together, however...," his face cracked into his trademark grin as he turned back to face his old comrades. "Well, there's no force on Crete that could stop us."
The Colors murmured excitedly, some nodding their approval, some patting each other on the shoulders for reassurance. Blue caught Olivia's eyes and nodded. Beige turned to face her, a warm smile on his face.
