Matt headed out early the next morning. He was told to met the Sector Government Official's mission contact in the city center during the morning rush. This contact would have all the details about a private mission that the official needed dealt with discreetly.
Making his way into the busy morning rush of Jacob's Reach, Matt found himself in front of a small cafe. He walked inside and went over to the barista.
"I'd like the house special" Matt said as he approached the counter. The barista nodded over to a booth in the corner and Matt made his way to sit at the booth.
A short while later, a tall middle-aged man with blonde hair came by and sat at the table and slide a coffee over to Matt. attached to the side of the cup was a data rod.
"So you're the specialist?" inquired the new arrival. Matt nodded. "You can call me Lucas. I'll be your handler for the operation."
Matt took the rod and slipped it into a palm device. The screen began to display the blue prints for a corporate headquarters of a company named Extra-solar Implementations. It also listed a couple of the members of the security forces for the installation.
"Wet-work?" Matt asked.
"Yep." replied Lucas. "This is a quick burn op. A small team needs to infiltrate the grounds, eliminate the target and pick-up a few data rods. Opposition should be light, but will include the target."
Matt nodded then stood up to depart. "My team will meet you at the requested rendezvous." He then left the cafe and made his way back to the Bug-out.
Once Matt arrived back at the ship, he had a quick meeting with the crew. He explained the mission and it's parameters. A small team would work with Lucas and infiltrate the company grounds, eliminate the target and grab the data rods. There was a limited window of opportunity as the regional VP would be out for an off-site meeting and most of the security detail would be with him. The reason that ESI was the target of this mission was that the sector government was confident that the company was involved in many illegal activities including smuggling, trafficking and extortion.
Matt suggested Linda, Tyris and Jeb would handle the mission. He wanted A-113 and Sebastian to begin making preparations for departure and also doing some research on Extra-solar Implementations. It sounded like they might have a broad network in the sector and if there were opportunities to disrupt their activities, Matt wanted to be sure they could.
To that end, Linda and Tyris began to do some combat training in preparation for the mission. Sebastian, A-113, and Jeb went into town. Sebastian reached out to a contact at the local Unity outpost and was able to secure a military grade fuel cell for the ship. A-113 and Jeb reached out to their contacts for information about ESI and their operations. It turned out that ESI had a bunch of operations on-going in the sector, but neither of A-113 or Jeb's contacts had any more specific information.
As the suns set and night began to fall, the small team of Linda, Tyris, and Jeb made for the rendezvous where Lucas was there waiting with a small shuttle craft. They boarded and took off for the ESI compound. The local haze offered some extra cover as they were inserted just inside the perimeter. The group scouted up towards a security check point where the target was suppose to be. Sure enough, he was there with a Lieutenant and a handful of grunts.
Linda quickly drew up a plan. Jeb would move over to a flank position where he could get the jump on the target. Meanwhile, the rest of the team would cause a distraction by engaging the guards at the check point. With the plan now hatched, they made their way over to their respective places. On Linda's signal, Tyris, Lucas and her opened fire at the guards. Several of them dropped to the ground. The Lieutenant rallied his men while the target beat a retreat back towards the main compound.
Jeb was ready and waiting as the target came into view. A quick shot from his pistol knocked the target to the ground and then a swift blade strike silenced him permanently. The Lieutenant advanced on Linda's position pinning her in place as the rest of the group was busy holding their own. As he drew closer, he called out to Linda;
"Corporal Hodgeon! I don't think you realize that you're out of your depth!"
Linda had a moment of panic. How did he know who she was? She didn't know him and she wasn't wearing anything that would readily identify her. Her momentary loss in thought allowed the lieutenant to get close enough to engage in hand to hand combat and Linda found herself on the defensive. Blocking a few blows, she delivered a couple of haymakers back and knocked the lieutenant to the ground.
"We know who you are Hodgeon! Don't think silencing me will make you disappear!"
Linda drew her pistol and put a round through his head. Suddenly the idea of getting fame from doing this kind work didn't sit well with her. If large organizations like the Extra-solar Implementations already knew who she was, who else might be tracking her.
Lucas rallied the crew to him and lead them through the check point and into the storage area. They quickly grabbed some ship parts and a data stick containing a shipping ledge. While packing up the gear, they were startled when a laborer approached them. He explained he'd heard about what the crew of the bug-out had been doing and admired them for it. He politely asked to join the crew.
Linda, having recently been spooked by what the lieutenant had said, politely declined the offer explaining that it was a very dangerous line of work, and she wouldn't want anything to happen to a civilian. Feeling a little dejected, but understanding the sentiment, the laborer wandered off. Linda felt it was for the best, after all, even she wanted to disappear now and escape it all.
With their mission complete, they meet up with the shuttle and were brought back to the Bug-out. Matt, A-113, and Sebastian nearly had the ship ready to go. Tomorrow would be a fresh new day.