War Child--Rogue One

XXXII

There's an incessant knocking at my door.

"Go away!"

"Get up, Cass! We've got a mission!" Linami sounds too happy for this early in the morning.

"Come in," I groan, rolling off my bed onto my feet.

"Get dressed for the cold.  We're going to Hoth.  Quick in-and-out.  You're shooting an officer, Perl is extracting a file for a new walking fighter.  It's fast.  Get dressed, be at the Ghost in ten."  And with that, she's gone.

I can't help but chuckle as the door closes.

I've got a warm blue coat with fur, much warmer that the one I had on Fest, and I grab that on my way out of the room, as well as my sniper rifle.

When I get to the Ghost, Linami's bustling around, adjusting valves, and Tinred is nowhere to be found.

"Where's the infantryman?" I ask gruffly. Without him, we're weakened. He's the one going in there in the first place.

"I thought you would wake him up," she says, opening the hatch with a grunt.

I sigh. "I'll be right back."

I storm down the hall to Tinred's room, and jam the button in to open the door. He sits up with a start.

"We are leaving in five. Be there. You can watch the briefing on the way." I turn and leave.

I take my seat down below, where the gunner's position is, and push it back and forth to get a feel for it.  Through the glass, I see Tinred duck under the hull and climb up into the Ghost.

He closes it, but I make Linami wait while I go and double check it.  I give her a thumb's up once I've tightened the hatch and drop down into my seat.

There's a buckle, but I ignore it, instead pulling out my holopad and tapping it.

A woman I haven't seen before is projected into the air.  She has short hair and a regal posture.

"I am Mon Mothma, a newly elected leader in the Rebellion against the Empire."  That's funny.  I don't remember electing her.  "Please pay extremely close attention to this message.  After it concludes, it will entirely delete itself and will no longer be able to be retrieved.  Do not write anything down."

The engines fire up and I see the ground disappear beneath me.  I turn my attention back to the hologram so I don't get sick.

"You, and your team, are to fly to the Imperial Base on Hoth.  There, you are to assassinate Imperial Commander Lee Marlantes."  A hologram of a man's head floats in front of me.  "Ensure that you do not shoot the wrong man.  Your infantryman will then, in the chaos, slip into the base and attempt to steal the plans for an All-Terrain tactical fighter.  The pilot has your coordinates, and your infantryman has the code name.  The less information each member has, the better.  May the Force be with you, Sniper 510."

The image flickered out.  When I tap the holopad again, nothing happens.  I stash it beside my seat and put on my earpiece.

"-ssian!" Linami's voice clips.

"Here."

"Why weren't you responding?"

"I was watching the hologram."

"Watch it before next time."

"Copy.  I'll try."

"Don't try.  Do."

"Alright then."

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bunk," she mutters.

"You're the one snapping at me and bossing me around."