Eos, four years earlier
He slowly lowered the binoculars from his face, not wanting to alert the quarry to his presence. Republic Ranger Dotun Amagawe had been tracking this band of smugglers for almost three weeks. They were good, Dotun had to give them that. Stealing weapons from the Eos Defense Force wasn’t a task for amateurs.
There were three core members of the gang, though they subcontracted out for muscle when they needed it. They stole military hardware from any depot they could get into, and stashed it in the wilderness somewhere. When they met with contacts from the faction-camps, that’s when they usually hired additional help. The biggest client was Roger’s Point, not surprising, but other camps bought from time to time. Dotun had finally found out where their stash was located.
Lying prone, hidden by a large patch of tall prairie grass and camouflaged by the light-colored duster he wore, Dotun weighed his options. The smugglers were likely heavily armed, but he had the element of surprise. If he didn’t act now, he wasn’t sure if he’d get another chance at both the smugglers and their contraband. The paranoid group had a tendency of moving their drop-point without warning.
The thought of Dawning Star residents, civilians, injured or killed by these weapons flowing to the faction-camps compelled Dotun to action. These smugglers had to be stopped, and if they were a little banged up because of it, then that was the price of breaking the law.
Dotun sighted down the scope of his EDF SPR, the finest sniper rifle ever crafted. He looked at the now-familiar forms of the three smugglers. He had been trying to bring them to justice for months now. The irony was that he still didn’t know who they were; the three hid behind numerous layers of false identification. Once again he thought to himself, definitely not amateurs.
Adjusting the laser range finder slightly, the Ranger targeted the smaller male of the party. He talked the most, and Dotun had him pegged to be the leader. Exhaling slowly, he pulled the trigger. The grass around him parted as the silencer displaced the air of the rifle barrel. Small Man’s right shoulder, his shooting arm, disappeared in a mist of blood and he crumpled to the ground. The female and larger man whipped their heads around in panic, not understanding what had just happened.
“Republic Ranger, surrender in the name of the law!” Dotun boomed from concealment. Upon hearing this, Big Man turned and ran back towards the all-terrain vehicle the trio had used to reach their stash. The woman picked up an automatic weapon from the ground and began spraying the general vicinity with bullets. She was concentrating her fire about fifty feet to Dotun’s right, so he took the time to shoot Big Man in the left thigh. It was an intentional flesh wound, but served the purpose of slowing the man down. He then calmly adjusted his aim and shot the woman in the collarbone. With her smaller, lighter frame she was blown backwards by the force of the shot and lost her grip on her weapon.
Dotun stood and jogged to where the three lay, covering them with his SPR the entire way. He had all three roll to their stomach so he could search them for weapons, and then allowed them to apply whatever limited first-aid they could manage. He had already called for medivac and additional law enforcement support.
Small Man stood shakily from his kneeling position, “Do you have any idea who I am, cop?” He sneered, wobbling side to side from blood loss and shock.
“You’re a criminal,” the Ranger calmly replied, “and you’re going to pay for your crimes.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” and with that, Small Man lunged.
Dotun was caught off-guard, lulled by the man’s show of weakness. It was clear he had been faking. Small Man crashed into the officer’s chest, throwing him slightly off balance. When Dotun had regained his balance a second later, Small Man was pointing Dotun’s sidearm at him with his uninjured arm. Dang but the little weasel was fast!
“I ain’t going to jail,” and with that, the smuggler pulled the trigger, putting two rounds into Dotun’s chest, center of mass.
He rocked with the impact, but the combat armor he wore beneath his duster prevented any real damage. He lifted his rifle and pointed it at the surprised fugitive, “Combat armor. Nice try though. Now, put down the weapon and get back on the ground.”
Small Man looked panicked for a brief moment, then an evil grin crossed his face. “Frak you,” he lowered his head, put the gun to the back of his skull and pulled the trigger. The medivac helicopter could be heard approaching as the lifeless body fell to the ground and Dotun looked on, stunned.
-
The dead smuggler turned out to be Danny Armstrong, son of Alex Armstrong and a member of the Colonial Congress. Danny had been accessing his father’s computer to learn of vulnerable weapons caches. A thorough investigation implicated Danny and his co-conspirators while clearing Congressman Armstrong of any wrongdoing. The Congressman spoke loudly of a conspiracy to frame his son as a political ploy to smear the Congressman’s name. He blatantly accused the Republic Rangers of murdering his son, pointing to his “execution style killing”.
Ranger Dotun Amagawe was cleared of any wrongdoing, though was publicly reprimanded for using excessive force in capturing the smugglers. The inquiry board accepted his story of Danny’s suicide using the officer’s weapon, though Congressman Armstrong made it his personal mission to harass Officer Amagawe at every possible turn.
When Percival Dagos began his quest to acquire Anomaly X19, Dotun viewed it as a chance for a fresh start and resigned his commission in the Republic Rangers. Due to his experience with firearms and his cool demeanor under fire, Mr. Dagos gave him command of one of the mission’s security details.
He slowly lowered the binoculars from his face, not wanting to alert the quarry to his presence. Republic Ranger Dotun Amagawe had been tracking this band of smugglers for almost three weeks. They were good, Dotun had to give them that. Stealing weapons from the Eos Defense Force wasn’t a task for amateurs.
There were three core members of the gang, though they subcontracted out for muscle when they needed it. They stole military hardware from any depot they could get into, and stashed it in the wilderness somewhere. When they met with contacts from the faction-camps, that’s when they usually hired additional help. The biggest client was Roger’s Point, not surprising, but other camps bought from time to time. Dotun had finally found out where their stash was located.
Lying prone, hidden by a large patch of tall prairie grass and camouflaged by the light-colored duster he wore, Dotun weighed his options. The smugglers were likely heavily armed, but he had the element of surprise. If he didn’t act now, he wasn’t sure if he’d get another chance at both the smugglers and their contraband. The paranoid group had a tendency of moving their drop-point without warning.
The thought of Dawning Star residents, civilians, injured or killed by these weapons flowing to the faction-camps compelled Dotun to action. These smugglers had to be stopped, and if they were a little banged up because of it, then that was the price of breaking the law.
Dotun sighted down the scope of his EDF SPR, the finest sniper rifle ever crafted. He looked at the now-familiar forms of the three smugglers. He had been trying to bring them to justice for months now. The irony was that he still didn’t know who they were; the three hid behind numerous layers of false identification. Once again he thought to himself, definitely not amateurs.
Adjusting the laser range finder slightly, the Ranger targeted the smaller male of the party. He talked the most, and Dotun had him pegged to be the leader. Exhaling slowly, he pulled the trigger. The grass around him parted as the silencer displaced the air of the rifle barrel. Small Man’s right shoulder, his shooting arm, disappeared in a mist of blood and he crumpled to the ground. The female and larger man whipped their heads around in panic, not understanding what had just happened.
“Republic Ranger, surrender in the name of the law!” Dotun boomed from concealment. Upon hearing this, Big Man turned and ran back towards the all-terrain vehicle the trio had used to reach their stash. The woman picked up an automatic weapon from the ground and began spraying the general vicinity with bullets. She was concentrating her fire about fifty feet to Dotun’s right, so he took the time to shoot Big Man in the left thigh. It was an intentional flesh wound, but served the purpose of slowing the man down. He then calmly adjusted his aim and shot the woman in the collarbone. With her smaller, lighter frame she was blown backwards by the force of the shot and lost her grip on her weapon.
Dotun stood and jogged to where the three lay, covering them with his SPR the entire way. He had all three roll to their stomach so he could search them for weapons, and then allowed them to apply whatever limited first-aid they could manage. He had already called for medivac and additional law enforcement support.
Small Man stood shakily from his kneeling position, “Do you have any idea who I am, cop?” He sneered, wobbling side to side from blood loss and shock.
“You’re a criminal,” the Ranger calmly replied, “and you’re going to pay for your crimes.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” and with that, Small Man lunged.
Dotun was caught off-guard, lulled by the man’s show of weakness. It was clear he had been faking. Small Man crashed into the officer’s chest, throwing him slightly off balance. When Dotun had regained his balance a second later, Small Man was pointing Dotun’s sidearm at him with his uninjured arm. Dang but the little weasel was fast!
“I ain’t going to jail,” and with that, the smuggler pulled the trigger, putting two rounds into Dotun’s chest, center of mass.
He rocked with the impact, but the combat armor he wore beneath his duster prevented any real damage. He lifted his rifle and pointed it at the surprised fugitive, “Combat armor. Nice try though. Now, put down the weapon and get back on the ground.”
Small Man looked panicked for a brief moment, then an evil grin crossed his face. “Frak you,” he lowered his head, put the gun to the back of his skull and pulled the trigger. The medivac helicopter could be heard approaching as the lifeless body fell to the ground and Dotun looked on, stunned.
-
The dead smuggler turned out to be Danny Armstrong, son of Alex Armstrong and a member of the Colonial Congress. Danny had been accessing his father’s computer to learn of vulnerable weapons caches. A thorough investigation implicated Danny and his co-conspirators while clearing Congressman Armstrong of any wrongdoing. The Congressman spoke loudly of a conspiracy to frame his son as a political ploy to smear the Congressman’s name. He blatantly accused the Republic Rangers of murdering his son, pointing to his “execution style killing”.
Ranger Dotun Amagawe was cleared of any wrongdoing, though was publicly reprimanded for using excessive force in capturing the smugglers. The inquiry board accepted his story of Danny’s suicide using the officer’s weapon, though Congressman Armstrong made it his personal mission to harass Officer Amagawe at every possible turn.
When Percival Dagos began his quest to acquire Anomaly X19, Dotun viewed it as a chance for a fresh start and resigned his commission in the Republic Rangers. Due to his experience with firearms and his cool demeanor under fire, Mr. Dagos gave him command of one of the mission’s security details.
