In this short story an Alliance sniper is sent into the field to help recover two operatives who were compromised while going undercover.

"Remove the clip, unscrew the suppressor… piece by piece I take the rifle apart, sip my coffee, and begin the automatic process of cleaning the weapons. It’s been over a week since I was in the field. The safehouse is quiet; I’ve been at the weapons locker all morning keeping them polished and calibrating the sights, across from me is a round table with playing cards and poker chips scattered across it, and an ashtray, the room still smells like cigarettes and coffee. Charlie sits on the far side of the room with her feet up on the desk, reading a book smothered in the blue glow of a large computer screen. We’re both waiting. A red light bleeps on the computer. Our operatives have been compromised. We prepare for emergency extraction."

Enjoy!