Master Phoenix sat before his team, Cero holding up large pieces of paper that Zwei was certain was entirely impractical and unnecessary given the existence of hologramatic projection. The group consisted of Hepta, Shi, Garm, the Sargent and herself. He sighed, “The underground fighting ring is run by Heais Tun. He is a warlord powerful enough to keep most people from knowing he exists. So medium scale with influence in a few systems and a network of contacts. We don’t want to irritate him. So, we have a few factors to this operation. First, Lady Unicorn. She fancies herself the nemesis of Zora, so we can expect her full focus and attention to be on her. But the problem becomes that she will ignore the mission, actively get in our way, and doesn’t care about damaging the image or reputation of the empire.” Cero changed the cards out, revealing a crudely drawn caricature of the white haired woman laughing while various stick figures ran around covered in purple fire.
Garm spoke up, “She usually restrains herself around me, usually trying to vie for additional power and influence. So I will be going as an observer to these underground fights, looking for valuable new lieutenants. That should be enough to contain her.”
“And I will be waiting in the wings to restrain her actual violence if she gets moody and tries to lash out when we don’t need her to.” He motioned and Cero changed out the cards. The next one showed a figure in orange armor, “Second factor is Zora herself. We need to figure out why she is here and what she is after. Illegal underground fights goes against her heroic warrior of Hope thing. Pair that with that laser on her ship above the planet and we have to be very careful investigating that. I’ll leave that to Zwei, Shi, and Hepta as fellow fighters. Get close to her and her team and find out what they are after.”
Hepta punched her palm and smirked. Shi asked patiently, “You expect us to socialize with her through the Outlier on her crew?”
“No, I expect you to socialize with their whole team as fellow fighters. Expect them to be cagey and dodgy because that’s what people do on missions to people they don’t know.” He motioned and Cero changed the card again. This time it revealed a rough picture of a badge of CPD. “The Sargent will be on standby with Cero while we investigate and giving them information. When we have properly assessed the situation, they will call for CPD backup when we need it. Because I promise you having an officer ANYWHERE NEAR this operation will end in bloodshed and tears.”
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The Sargent was about to protest but hesitated when they saw Phoenix’s eyes. Readjusting their tone, they stated, “I understand that if I were directly involved and my cover was blown then it could complicate matters but-“
“But nothing. I already have one loose cannon on scene that I’m putting two of our most valuable assets on to contain. I want this efficient and by the book. Once we know what Zora is after we can revisit everyone’s roles but until we know what is happening, everyone will be on their best behavior and will put each of their covers first. No heroics or going rogue. People could die if we are not careful.”
The Sargent spluttered, “I would never risk your lives!”
Garm clarified, “He isn’t talking about ours. Criminals are well known for not caring about who is caught in the crossfire and I am not convinced Zora properly fears the use of The Light of Dawn.”
Hepta laughed, “So, Sarge stays put with Cero. We get to break some people’s bones. Garm gets to sit on his but while a lady dotes on him, and we are all doing this so no one dies.”
Phoenix laughed, before muttering, “I like your spirit.” He clarified, “But your mission isn’t just to beat people up. If it was, I would have called Kuntaret back from her mission instead of using Zwei. The goal is to befriend Zora and her people and figure out what they are up to. Once you have their intended target, report it back to Cero and Cero will make sure that I am informed.”
The Sargent silently fumed at his words and he motioned them to speak. “Allow me to be candid, sir, but this is ludicrous! You can’t just cut me out of my own operation! This is my case and I will not be sidelined while the Falos run ramshod! I will investigate Zora and I will bring her in!”
After letting the Sargent settle, Phoenix spoke reassuringly, “Sargent, if more experienced agents have vouched for your competence, then I will trust them. But I have lead many operations like this for decades. Gathering information and mitigating risk is the first stage of every good operation. I have no intention of robbing you of your quarry. And whether it is Zora or the criminals running this fighting ring, I will make sure you have a victory to march in front of your superiors.”