» Holiday

~ by

What are they so happy about? It's just a fireplace. Nothing special. All that's unique are those stupid decorations on walls. These people must be crazy or something.


The four us gathered around the holoprojector, emitting the now familiar image of a clone officer. Snow drifted gracefully around us. The sun was just barely coming up.

"Delta Squad, your mission is to eliminate Oka Berdo, weapons dealer to the CIS. Killing him will weaken the Confederacy considerably for an upcoming campaign. However, the Berdo family blood line has always been rival to the Duden family, a local Twi-Lek merchant business."

"Roger that, Advisor."

"So, here are your orders, Deltas. You cannot, under any circumstances, be identified. The blood of Oka Berdo will be on the Dudens' hands. So, your presence cannot be realized or it will have extreme consequences."

"Understood, sir."

"Three-Eight, you and Scorch will provide a distraction by drawing the attention of the guards' barracks. Don't get carried away, though. You just need to buy your two other squadmates enough time to get to Berdo's manor."

"Just my luck. I wanted to make snow angels and I get stuck with that." Scorch said.

"Fixer, once you and Oh-Seven are through the perimeter, you will slice the security systems and shut down the cameras and alarm systems. This will allow Sev to get into a proper firing position."

"Proper firing position?" my team leader asked.

"He's going to snipe Oka Berdo."


I was in complete comfort. 'In the zone' some say. Lying on my armored stomach, staring down the sniper attachment secured on my DC-17. This is where I belonged.

It was a powerful feeling, to sight on an enemy, knowing that his life was in my hands, that from then on, every second he lived was a second I gave him.

This is who I was. The sniper. The soldier who can make entire teams of infantry scatter for cover, for fear of a sniper's markmenship. The one who could turn the tide of a battle. But this wasn't a fight.

This was an assassination.

Luminescent blue crosshairs were focused on Berdo's grinning face. He was with his family, laughing and smiling.

Threat assessment: two adults: one male, one female; one child, male. The boy was sitting on her father's lap, hugging him. I don't see what the big deal wass: he's just his father. All he did was impregnate his mother. Nine monthes later, he is the product. What was so special about it?

Oka's wife walked over and gave him a tender kiss. Pressing one's lips to another's is so overrated.

And what about marriage? All the two really did was exchange bodily fluids. Why's that so important?

Fierfek, I'm getting distracted. I expelled all my breath and slightly squeezed the trigger.

Blood splattered all over the shattered window. As it did the boy. He sat there, motionless in his dead father's lap. His mother on the other hand was wailing her head off.

Calm down, lady, it's not like I slit his throat or something.

"Sir, target eliminated."

"Nice work, Sev. Alright, Deltas, let's head for the extraction point."

Damn, the boy's screaming was audible even from here. Good. Oughta toughen the kid up. Make him learn to stand his two feet. I felt proud, knowing I helped this boy.

Then I noticed something I hadn't seen before. I looked once again through my rifle's scope and into the room they were in.

There was a tree inside. Who puts a tree inside their house? Then decorates it? A bunch of odd packages were arranged under it. What was so great about a decorated tree with a bunch of boxes under it?

What a waste of space.