Chapter Text
The moon glowed a brilliant purple in the endless night sky, casting the planet below in ever changing shades of lilac, lavender, and violet, the stars scattered across the dark surface of space blinking and shining cheerfully alongside the celestial giant.A faint rim of blue peeked out from the side of the purple, a subtle reminder of the secondary moon that lay hidden behind, one usually out on full display for the entire planet to see, but tucked away for this brief period of time as their nightly cycles had finally coincided for this beautiful nocturnal display.
Below, festivals were in full swing.
Strings of multi coloured flowers glowing with a soft internal light adorned rooftops and doorways, weaving and looping around each other, creating spiderwebs of illumination that hung across the streets, filling the air with a distinctly sweet fragrance. Swaths of purple fabric flew from poles tipped with torches, the cool breeze making them and the fire dance occasionally. Loud notes of music could just be heard over the sound of the crowds, a live band striking up a beat on their instruments, providing a melody for the multiple spectators to dance to, which many did, grabbing a partner or swaying by themselves, spinning around a large square with copious amounts of laughter and singing.
Around the legs of the festival goers ran swarms of painted-faced children, purple ribbons tied around their small horns, playing with each other and enjoying their newfound freedom of the night. The festival only came around every five years, whenever the two moons eclipsed, sharing and doubling their glow in the sky, so the children enjoyed their time as much as they could, knowing that the fun and excitement it brought would be over in just a few short days.
Vendors and stalls had set themselves up around the square, selling their diverse wares to whoever was interested, ranging from trinkets to clothing to food. The few benches that lined the edges were filled with people needing a rest from dancing or a break from the heat of the planet, which even the cool evening breeze couldn't fully chase away.
Leant up against the wall of a building a figure was stood, watching the dance and eating a pastry. Cloaked in loose orange fabrics, moss green skin stood out immensely from their garb, the bright collection of colours mirrored in every person in the square. Shades from teal to a deep forest green could be seen, along with ribbons of purple tied around arms and great curling horns that framed their heads.
Tied around the green skinned aliens left horn was a purple ribbon of their own, which swayed as they ate, and bounced even more when they nodded their head to the beat of the music, clapping their hands and smiling as each song and subsequent dance came to its end.
After the pastry had been completely consumed, and all crums had either been brushed to the floor or eaten, another song began to play, the live band striking up a fast tempoed jig on complex looking instruments, evidently enjoying their night as much as the festival goers if their wide smiles were anything to go by.
Slipping into the crowd with ease, the alien twisted and turned with the flow of the crowd, stomping their feet and clapping their hands as they went, occasionally pairing up with someone for a brief spin before breaking apart and weaving away.
After a good few minutes of dancing, the figure made it to the opposite side of the crowd, slipping out of the masses and heading down into a side street just off the square, wiping their brow with their scarf and humming along with the music as they went. They nodded their head to any others they saw, the polite greeting easily reciprocated due to the good nature the festival had brought around. They continued walking down the streets, heading deeper into the low built city.
Slowing their pace, they looked around the streets, and upon seeing no one in sight, quickly slipped into a darkened alleyway between two brick buildings just off the side of the street they were on. Crates were stacked haphazardly in the alleyway, dark block like symbols stamped onto the exterior of their wooden surface, listing their contents, or what they used to be.
The alien ducked behind a crate deep into the alley, crouching down low, head cocked to the side as they listened intently for any sign that they had been followed. They remained like that for some time, body coiled as tight as a wire, stretching their senses to the limit to detect any sign of pursuit, but when they heard none they relaxed, reaching down and unwrapping the red cloth from their arm. A smooth dark surface was revealed, the material seeming to absorb the faint light from the torches out in the street, gulping it in hungrily.
With a tap of a finger, a glowing hologram materialised itself above the arm, the picture unwavering and solid. The alien quickly read the lines of text on the projection and scanned the photograph next to it, reminding themself of the task at hand. When they were satisfied, they tapped the surface with their finger again and the hologram quicky blinked out of existence, leaving no trace that it was ever there in the first place.
After wrapping up their arm, they paused a second time, resuming the same position as they checked that they weren’t being followed, before quickly making their way behind another crate further into the alley, keeping as low down and quiet as they could.
They crouched close to the box and faced the side of the building they were positioned against before digging their fingers into the wall. With a few wiggles and a strong pull, the brick they had their hands around scraped it’s way free, revealing a long hole dug into the side of the house.
Reaching in, their fingers wrapped around something small but rectangular, and they quickly tucked it into a pouch at their side before reaching in a second time. They had to feel around for a few moments before they found it, tucked against the side of the hole, and withdrew a thin metallic pipe, setting it beside them carefully.
A few moments later found the brick wedged back into place, and the alien rose from their crouch, tucking the pole safely away behind their back as they did so. They turned and faced away from the mouth of the alley, instead staring deeper inwards, where the small passage was abruptly ended by a tall brick wall, about 10 foot in height.
Stepping into the center of the alleyway where no crates restricted their movement, they took a few steps backwards, sizing up the wall, before running forward and launching themselves up, angling themself so they kicked off the side of the house to grant themself an extra boost, before landing in a balanced crouch atop the wall.
The evening breeze was stronger up here as it danced through the air, shifting the loose orange scarf the alien wore around their neck ever so slightly.
They waited, remaining balanced and unmoving at the top of the wall for about a minute, head cocked as they made sure that no one had saw their jump, before suddenly turning and scaling up the building to their right, using almost invisible handholds to propel themself up the surface of the wall.
Moving with a sense of determination, they didn’t stop, pulling themself up over the lip of the building and onto the roof with ease. Keeping low down to avoid being seen by anyone on the roads below, they made their way easily across the flat surface of the roof, stopping only when they reached a low built chimney that protruded out through the center of the roof. No smoke drifted out from it’s mouth tonight, the inhabitants of the home below their feet more than likely attending the festival they had just left, enjoying a frivolous night of song, dance and music.
With swift hands, the alien pulled out the two items they had acquired in the alley, as well as a few more strangely shaped objects from deep inside the folds of it’s robes, and began to assemble them. The entire process took less than a minute, the incredibly practiced hands assembling the numerous parts with deft movements, never faltering in their continuous work.
A soft click sounded as they finished twisting the pipe onto the contraption, and symmetrical lights began to glow a soft blue as it powered on with a faint hum.
Flicking out the stand with a nonchalaunt motion, the assassin rested the rifle on the chimney, rising up onto one knee as they peered down the sights, adjusting their direction ever so slightly.
They scanned the skyline, eyes searching for the building they needed. After a few moments of adjusting the scope, they found it, a tall high rise made out of a sleek green metal, large windows lining the outside. Similar buildings of different colours stretched out beside it, filling the skyline with tall illuminated shapes, reaching into the sky like fingers straining to touch the stars. It was quite a contrast from the low built stone buildings that made up the district they were currently situated in.
Near the top floor of the green building a party was taking place. The city's rich and powerful wandered around in expensive looking orange robes, adorned with strips of shimmering purple fabric and intricate embroidery, conversing among themselves and drinking out of tall stemmed glasses.
They quickly found their target lingering near the bar, an individual with seafoam green skin and fashionable purple makeup that swooped across his face in dramatic lines. He was talking to another, who looked as if they had painted the entirety of their horns purple for the celebrations, swirling a drink around in one hand as he spoke.
The target laughed at something the other had said and threw his head back in laughter, his free hand coming to rest delicately on his chest, the green contrasting with the orange and purple fabrics.
The assassin was faintly aware that the band in the square had just changed the song, going from a light and fast paced tune, to one much slower, accompanied by harsh repetitive drum beats.
Perfect.
Lining up the scope, they mentally timed the song, memorising the beat and the melody, humming along to the tune as they went.
As crosshairs of the scope rested neatly between the target’s silver eyes, the assassin released a breath - and pulled the trigger.
The crack from the bullet leaving the rifle was smothered by a cacophony of drum beats from the band in the square, and barely a second later the glass window shattered and the target’s head snapped backwards, blood spraying from the bullet wound.
No emotion crossed the assassins face when the target hit the floor, and the party erupted into madness, people fleeing from the twitching body, diving behind furniture and pushing past others in the panic to escape.
If they felt any remorse about the death they had just caused, they showed no sign of it, only staying a moment more before beginning to disassemble the rifle, shoving parts into their robe, and dropping back down into the alleyway when they had finished.
Landing silently, the assassin rose and began readjusted the scarf around their neck, as it had become unwrapped during the fall, and felt their knuckles brush against a chain around their neck. They hesitated and placed their fingers on the thin chain, running their forefinger over the small links and shut their eyes briefly, collecting themself as a dull ache began to throb at the base of their skull.
After a few moments, they opened their eyes and looked around, making sure no one saw them before their hand dropped from their neck and they returned to the side street, heading back towards the hustle and bustle of the square, the people they passed blissfully unaware of the panic spreading through the green high rise behind them.
They took a different route this time, swerving around the festival and taking paths that lead out of the district and towards the pale red forest to the east, slipping past any people they encountered with ease.
It was a different story when they reached the treeline.
As soon as they were under the cover of the towering branches, they broke out into a run, sprinting forward with unnatural speed and agility, leaping through the pale underbrush.
The hologram surrounding them flickered before blinking off, the green skinned alien disappearing, revealing a dark helmet and hints of armour underneath the robes, simple but sleek in its design, the only colour on its surface being the glow of two blue symbols on the face plate that activated in the darkness.
No one on the planet noticed a streamlined galra fighter ship rise into the night sky moments later, shooting out into the atmosphere and flying away deeper into space, leaving behind the efficient assassination of a rebel weapons manufacturer and a beautiful moonlight festival.
_________________________________________
-NO.5-
MISSION REPORT-
TARGET NEUTRALISED
MISSION SUCCESS
NO INJURIES SUSTAINED
NO WITNESSES
KILL COUNT NOW 41
RETURNING TO BASE