Scout Sergeant Codik quietly observed the guards from his vantage point. Dead men, he thought, Dead, dead men. He lowered his magnoculars and signaled for the rest of the squad to form up. As they silently fell into order, he unclipped the shotgun from his belt and made sure that it was loaded. His was the only one in the squad, as the other members had selected deadly silenced sniper rifles for the mission. "Bolt pistols," he whispered. "We're going in." Again, the scouts worked in total silence, strapping the rifles on their backs and unholstering their standard issue bolt pistols. "Silencers?" asked Warren, a veteran scout that was also Codik's closest friend. "Why not?" replied the sergeant. And for the third time, the scouts moved in silence, rummaging in their gear pouch for their tactical silencers and quietly attaching them to the barrels of their weapons. "All right. Let's get moving."

The squad sneaked through the woods, unseen and unheard. As they approached the edge of the thicket, Codik raised his hand, and the squad stopped. “Body count,” ordered Codik tersely. “I see eight,” came the reply. Turning to his squad, Codik briefed the squad on what they would do. “All right, this is it. We get in, plant the charge, and get out. We’ll be in an arrowhead formation with Warren on point and Jason in the rear. Remember, the destruction of this complex is absolutely vital to the victory of the campaign. That means no goofing off, and and NO heroics. Understood? Good.” With that, Codik turned to face their target. Waiting for just the right moment, the scouts crouched in cover. When that moment came, Codik gave one twitch of his hand and the scouts leaped into action. Eight muffled shots found their target, and the guards were dead. As the scouts repositioned themselves in the arrowhead that their sergeant had described, Codik himself quietly started to whisper “All right, let’s -- when suddenly, the ambush was sprung. 20 renegade Guardsmen had swiftly surrounded the scouts and were now standing in two circles around them, hellguns raised. An evil chuckle filled the air, and for the first time in their lives, the Scouts felt an unstoppable fear. They realized that their mission had been a whole lot more important than they had been told.

TO BE CONTINUED!! (I hope)