An old friend's revenge

[Lanakov]

The Man sounded worried and furious.

"Now YOU listen to me. Even if you offered me a billion credits, I wouldn't throw my men back there in a frontal confrontation with the Colonial fleets. That would be suicide, and I've not signed for a suicide contract. We're not going back there until YOU bring in some help on your own. Maybe hearing your voice will have our target...well, reason a bit. Yes... Yes, I understand. We've got a few men on the planet already. Yes, they're trained to do just that, they have their orders already. Good, I'm glad you're seeing reason in this. We'll stay hidden for the time being, report to me when you're ready... The Tide, over."

He sighed, and gestured to his radio man to shut off the communication.
"What did she say, boss ? What's our next move ? When are we going in ?"
"Not much, nothing, and I don't know. For now, we'll just wait. I don't want this to turn into a system-wide battle, we're not equipped for this. Let's just hope our men on the ground are doing well... Tell the mechanics I want a complete check of the stealth systems, let's not draw any attention on us till it's the time."

The radio man nodded and repeated the orders down the chain of command.


______________________________________________________________

On the planet's surface.

Three shadowy figures emerged from a small spaceship, which they camouflaged with a homemade net as soon as they got out. After walking a few kilometers away from it, they stopped and went prone directly on the ground.

Two of the men took their binoculars and the last one aimed down the scope of his rifle. No sound was emitted during this quick preparation. A few minutes passed, then the man in the middle touched his ear and whispered.

"Team November ready and in position. Observing the crash site. It's the liner. No sign of the gunship. A lot of activity around it, they're moving some sort of stuff, I can't see what it is...Over."

Some minutes passed before the man heard the answer.

"Copy that, November. Team Sierra also in position. We have a visual on the liner, and on you, November. Good cover. We're getting into position and waiting for the last two, over."

It took only a few seconds until new voices appeared in the radio channel.
Team Echo and Whisky were also in position. Everything was set.

Team November's leader was the last one to speak.
"Everyone, get ready. Remember the clockwise engagement rules : don't fire all at once. First shot is us, then Echo, then Sierra, then Whisky, and so on. Three shots per shooter, no more. Then withdraw as fast as you can. Target whoever you can, no priority. Don't kill if you can. And avoid firing on the target. To my signal..."


The first bullet, muffled by a silencer, whizzed towards the crash site.

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Feedback, insults, marriage proposals and declarations of fealty

If everyone was a bit more like Lanakov, the entire world would be more positive. Including pregnancy tests.