Prologue
Marcus waited impatiently in the escalator, trying to work his way to the 37th floor as quickly as possible. There, he would find the window from which he would operate. This window, the only vantage point in the entire building, provided him with a clear view of his target- the important but unknown Richard Astlek, owner of Astlek Arms, one of the single most important weapons manufacturers in the galaxy. Marcus did not know why Astlek was to be killed, but that was unimportant. He was trained to follow orders, and that he did-- without question.
He worked his way around the corridors of the office building, passing countless numbers of unsuspecting civilians, focusing on only one thing- precision. Working alone, he could rely on no one else for backup if he failed or made a mistake. So he never failed. Everything was about timing. With proper timing and coordination, any mission could easily be completed. Everything relied on the small details: the way he walked, the way he made eye contact. By now, he had become accustomed to working in civilian areas, but it still took all his concentration to give nothing away. When the elevator arrived at his designated floor, he had precisely two minutes to reach his vantage point at the window, and it would take him under a minute to set up his weapons, which he carried concealed in a briefcase. He would be early.
He smirked when he reached the window. His target would be flying through the streets over three miles away, and he had only several seconds of time in which to fire. It would be mildly difficult, certainly not the hardest thing he’d ever done, but to most people, outlandish enough so that anyone who got involved would never even consider his position. An almost perfect setup. However, it had a minor drawback. His target would cross a major traffic intersection, at which people suddenly became crazed and flew in seemingly no order whatsoever until finally managing to merge again into their proper routes. It was in this intersection that he had his view of Astlek. But after all, that was Parcreal. An entire planet that was built into a city. As planets went, it was fairly small, but it was a planet nonetheless, especially considering the fact that it had proportionately more inhabitants than almost anywhere else. Marcus despised it as it contained little life other than its civilians and some out-of-place shrubbery that was a failed attempt to make it look better.
He pulled out his rifle, assembled it, and waited, picking out the spot where he assuming his target would pass through. The MS-M517. A long range weapon, it was capable of eliminating targets with ease, and although it lacked the range of high-end sniper rifles, it’s lack of weight and low recoil made it an incredible close range weapon. Marcus loved it and used it whenever possible. He owned a custom government issued rifle that he stole from one of his previous targets. It collapsed in four different ways, one of which was a small, waterproof stock that could hold the rest of the rifle. For its size, it was incredibly accurate, as well. Marcus had not yet had the time to figure out what made it like this, but he had not missed once with this rifle. Of course, he never missed a target, but he pushed himself to great limits in the range.
He began looking at the possible distractions might occur. Primarily were the civilians. Marcus never hurt civilians. Unless he needed to, in which case his mission would likely be aborted. In addition to this, he would have very little time in which to make his shot, and he could not let this affect his precision. He must be careful. By this point, Marcus had less than a minute before his target would be in range, according to his intel. His intel had never been wrong before. Most likely because he had gathered most of it. Marcus excelled at silence and deception. He could walk down a street in broad daylight without being seen. However, few people used streets anymore.
With little time left, Marcus peered down his scope. It had three different setting, each one increasing its power. Marcus used the highest setting. He waited. soon after, his target came into view. Astlek was like most wealthy snobs who wasted his money on frivolous items. In this particular case, he had spent a fortune on a luxury vehicle. Marcus did not understand why one would want such a vehicle. However, in this case, he was grateful, as it only made his target stand out more. He focused his crosshairs on Astlek, keeping his aim steady with the movements of his speeder. After about a second of this, he put his rifle down. He could not make this shot here. But he was not finished.
Marcus hastily disassembled his rifle and packed it into the briefcase, being careful to put everything exactly where it belonged. He then proceeded to race out of the building as fast as he could without being suspicious to the other people inside. He then raced to his vehicle. It appeared to be a normal speeder, but in truth, it only had one seat and was heavily armored, so much that it could likely survive a tank blast. Marcus did not plan on testing this. In addition, it had one of the most powerful engines in its class and was also remarkably quiet. He leaped inside and closed the door, which was really the roof and windshield.
Based on his intel, Marcus was fairly certain he knew where Astlek was going. One of his major production plants where something had gone wrong. Marcus almost could not believe the coincidence. Almost. Marcus decided on a route that would position him several hundred yards ahead of Astlek, enabling him to properly examine his vehicle for armor, weapons, and most importantly, weak spots. Marcus felt certain he outgunned him, but would rather make it seem to be an accident, such as a leak in the fuel lines. Or a thrust failure. Something similar to that.
It occurred to Marcus that he was flying against the general flow of traffic. He didn’t care overly much, but not wanting to attract the police, he soared above most of the traffic to an altitude of around 1200 feet above the general flow of vehicles. He quickly spotted his target and gradually merged into the flow of traffic in front of him. Marcus was surprised to find that Astlek’s vehicle had practically no armor, although he was fairly certain that it contained several hidden weapons. He slowed his pace until he was directly beneath him.
He pulled out a taser. If he shot properly, he would hit some of the exposed wires, causing a surge of electricity that would completely shut off the drive systems. If not, Marcus was sure that Astlek would feel a small shock and be alerted to his presence. It was also possible that they were fuel lines, which would cause a fire and most likely an explosion. Either way, Marcus could not miss. He decided on something better. He opened his hatch and removed the taser cartridge. being careful not to electrocute himself, he removed the electrical wire that a taser would normally fire. Clipping the weapon on his belt, and putting on non-conductive gloves, he grabbed one wire in each hand. He then jumped up and touched the two ends to the wires on his target’s speeder, completing the high voltage circuit. As he had properly guessed, the wires were electrical, and Astlek’s entire drive system was fried. Marcus returned to his own vehicle as Astlek’s lost speed and altitude, and several seconds later, crashed to the ground. Marcus checked to make sure there were no survivors. Mission accomplished.
