Spotter:
Shortie by Lone Wolf
Starring: Ashley Williams

~I am the eye in the sky~

	Core has always been a pain in the ass to our cause. They have taken 
every possible path to try to cripple us. They've filed false Rhye callings, 
which usually sent me and Savannah on some while shoot out. They've tried 
straight out assaults on our orbiting space stations. However, I always seem 
to be on duty then. They've even sent spies in on us. They really don't fool 
any of us, especially me.

	I just noticed they seem to be after me.

	Core is like the Hunters in one way: they have many bases of operation. 
And those bases of operation are threats to, not only us, but the 
surrounding area. In the past, we used to take them out with well planned 
long range missile strikes. However, they have created sensor arrays that 
counteract the targeting computers on the missiles. The end result would be 
the missile careening out at the nearest civilian town.

	So we had to improvise.

	Michael, Tabitha, Melody ("Rose," as she likes to be called), and I 
were called into Jeshua's office one day. Core had recently made an attack, 
so we had a good idea what was going to happen.
	As usual, Jeshua welcomed us with the warmth he's known for. "Please," 
he said. "Sit. Relax." We did so, getting as comfortable as we were going to 
be able to. "I think you know why you were called here."
	"We're going off to assassinate some Core commander?" Melody asked.
	"Eh...something along those lines." He tapped at a small keypad on the 
table. A projection of a well known Core base appeared. "You all are 
familiar with this place, right?"
	"Yeah," Michael chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "We all went in 
there at one point or another." His tail swayed happily. I know that he 
enjoyed one of his missions to that base. I should know, I was his partner. 
And, to be honest, it was fun.
	"Good. Because you guys are going to be helping us level it."
	Tabitha quirked a brow. "Come again?"
	"That last attack we took the brunt of was traced from it's point of 
departure." He pointed at the base. "As a matter of fact, all the attacks 
originated from that area. High command has approved a Spotter strike."
	"Hell yeah!" Melody said, sitting straight up. She flicked her spine 
filled vulpine tail.
	I backed away a bit. "Hey, cool it Hedgevix." Hedgevix was my nickname 
for her, since she was a hedgevixen - a cross between fox and hedgehog. "We 
don't want those spines of your flying about."
	"Oh. Sorry."
	Jeshua chuckled. "I'm glad you all are excited about this." He shook 
his head. "You guys up to the challenge?"
	"Aye," I said without haste. "I've always wanted to do one of these 
missions."
	"I'm in," Michael added. "If Ashy does it, I want to be there to 
protect her."
	"That's two of us," Tabitha butted in. "She'll be in good hands."
	"I'm going along," Melody finished for us. "Can't let them have all 
the fun."
	Jeshua laughed harder. "Okay...okay...your supplies are in bay 3. Go!" 
He sat down in his seat and chuckled some more, shaking his head.
	"Uh...sir?"
	He looked at me, a smile on his face. "What is it?"
	"Is that all? Isn't there any strategic places we can set up to do 
this strike?"
	He calmed down. "Unfortunately, they've got some sort of anti-sensor 
in the area, so we can't see anything."
	"Then how are the missiles going to find the spot?"
	"Don't forget: the missiles lock onto the light, so they use cameras 
instead of sensors."
	"Ah. Okay." I stood up. "Shall we guys?"

	What complicated this mission more was the fact that this particular 
Core base was in the middle of nowhere - literally. This was merely a 
strategic base, with supplies brought in by airlift. There were no resources 
they could use - nothing to mine, no water for hydrogenerators, and, worst 
of all, no trees. We had absoultely NO cover. That meant if they just paid 
attention, the Core would rain hell on us.
	
	But that wouldn't be too much of a problem for us.

	The dropship dropped us off just outside of the sensor range of the 
base. We make a quick check of equipment - weapons, body armor, the 
targeting equipment - and sent the ship away to the dust-off site. "All 
right," Tabitha said, hoisting the laser array onto her back. "Shall we?"
	"Of course," Michael said, cocking his rifle. "Let's go annihilate 
something." We started to move.
	"Uh...guys..." Melody said.
	We turned to her.
	"Don't you feel even a little wrong about this?"
	We looked at each other for a few moments before I spoke up. "Why?"
	"I know they're the bad guys, but...isn't wiping out a whole bunch of 
people even slightly unsettling?"
	That hit me just right. "Yeah...I...I guess." I shook my head. "Listen, 
let's not let our hearts get in the way. This is a mission. Let's be 
professionals about this." I loaded my firearm. "We can worry about morals 
after we're done."
	"Yeah," Tabitha said, her voice a little shaky. "Let's get this done."

	We hiked for a little bit, ready to blow something into many small 
pieces if need be. We managed to get close enough to the base to get this 
done. By this time, Melody's words had gotten to us, even stone faced 
Michael, who seemed to be wrestling the question himself. "Okay guys," I 
said, pointing to the massive fortress ahead of us. "Let's get this done and 
get outta here."
	"Yeah," Tabitha said, taking the array off of her back. In silence, 
she set it up. "Finished Ashley. You know how to operate it."
	"All right. Michael, you radio it in for us. Melody, Tabitha, you 
watch for problem." There was a silent nod. I bent down at the control panel 
of the device while Michael radioed in the ready order. I quickly targeted 
the center tower and locked it in position.
	"Missile launched," Michael reported. We all knelt behind the device 
and watched the base. There was no resistance. They had no clue something 
was coming. We waited for a minute or two before we saw the missle. We 
shielded our eyes as it hit and released it's flash. We could feel the 
shockwave released from the explosion. And when we pulled our arms away from 
our eyes, all we could see was destruction.
	"No..." I heard Tabitha whisper. There was a long silence after that. 
Nobody dared say a word. Melody's words came back to haunt us. It did, for 
that brief moment, feel wrong. They were our enemies. But nobody deserved to 
go in that way.
	"HQ to Spotter team," we could heard Jeshua say. "Spotter team, 
recieve." We gave no response. "HQ to Spotter team, please recieve."
	I took my radio. "Spotter team here," I said.
	"What took so long for you to respond?"
	"There must have been some radio interference. You know how these 
radios are with missile blasts."
	"True. Return to the dust-off site for pickup."
	"Aye sir. Spotter team out." I turned to the others. They wore the 
same, sad expression I did. "Pack this up guys. We gotta go home."

	There was a knock at my door. I didn't bother to move from my seat 
beside my bed. I didn't even lift my head from my knee. "It's open," I 
shouted. The door slid open, remained open for a few seconds, and shut.
	"Ashy," I heard Tabitha say.
	I looked up at her. I was surprised to see Michael and Melody 
were with her. "You okay?"
	I shook my head. "What about you guys?"
	"Not very well," Melody said. "Well, at least that's what we think."
	"What do you mean?"
	"Michael hasn't said anything about it." I looked at him. He had his 
eyes shut. I could tell something was wrong.
	"Yeah." I shut my eyes and rested my head on my knee again. "You guys 
wanna stay? Maybe hang out until tomorrow morning?"
	Tabitha knelt beside me and smiled. "Yes. Thank you for the offer." 
She leaned her head on my shoulder. Melody layed down across from us, using 
Michael's lap as a pillow, while Michael rested his head on my bed. It made 
us feel a little more comfortable, although the atrocity we helped happen 
still lingered on our minds. We stayed just as we were through the night 
into the next morning. We refused to move the next morning. We deserved it.

End

Ashley Williams, Tabitha Evans, Michael D'Ketra, and Melody "Rose" Patterson 
are © Lone Wolf and <([ Lone Wolf Studios ])>

See you next time,
	-Ashley Williams