42 The Reaper

Shortly after Mirage departed from the bar, Erich received an encrypted message which informed him of the details of his mission. The methods which he used to eliminate the target whose alias appeared to be "Specter" were entirely left up to him, but it was recommended that he at least bring a decent set of armor, due to the highly fortified nature of his target's location.

What was this location you might ask? Well, surprisingly, it was not some hidden moon based on the fringes of imperial space. On the contrary, according to this encrypted message, Specter was hiding in plain sight in the middle of the Empire's capital. Much to Erich's surprise, the target was located at the Imperial Naval Academy on Germania.

Though Erich did not know how this was possible, as only cadets and military personnel were permitted to enter the academy, let alone live on campus, there was no mistaking it. After all, he had spent two years in the facility, and as a result, he knew everything about the institution of higher learning. And judging by the file he had received from Mirage, the target was living within officer housing at the Naval Academy.

With a heavy sigh, Erich realized that he was being blackmailed to commit a murder on the grounds of a military facility. It was impossible to stress just how dangerous and foolish such a thing was. He could forget about smuggling a weapon through the tight security of the Academy, as he would instantly be caught if he dared attempt something so stupid. Nor could he possibly storm the facility and eliminate the target in a coordinated shootout. If he even tried, security would gun him down before he could get past the academy's gates.

No, there were only two ways to assassinate his target that Erich could think of, which were remotely likely to succeed. The first option was simply ridiculous, but if pulled off would very well achieve his goal of killing the target, as well as everyone else in a 25km radium. This plan required Erich to steal a heavy bomber that was armed with a tactical nuclear device, where he would then drop the damn thing on the academy from the atmosphere of the planet. Needless to say, there were way too many problems to list with why this plan would almost certainly result in his immediate demise.

The only other option Erich could think of that would allow him to complete the task he was given was the most likely to succeed, but also had its own risks. And this was to rent out an apartment building which was normally used to house students off campus. If he did this, then he might be able to snipe the target through his window. Of course, this entirely relied on a matter of chance. I mean, what were the odds that a unit with a balcony and direct line of sight of Specter's house was even available for rent?

Still, this was his most likely chance of not only completing the job but also surviving the aftermath. If Erich did this, then he would first need to acquire a sniper rifle, one that was capable of piercing through the transparent metal which the Empire used as windows in most of its military and civilian structures. Which would mean he would need to get his hands on a long range handheld rail gun. And while he knew exactly where to purchase one of these weapons, it would take him a full month just to get there and back to Germania.

His second obstacle would be that he would need to either rent a unit via the use of false information that had a direct line of sight to his target, or commit another felony in the form of breaking and entering, where he might be able to use someone else's apartment to pull off the assassination. Both of these options came with their own risks.

For now, Erich decided to first get his rail gun, along with the specialty munitions he would need to punch through his target's windows, and kill him with absolute certainty. Thus, he immediately set out for the outlaw outpost where he had initially acquired his armor and rail gun pistol in the first place.

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Two weeks passed before Erich finally arrived at the facility. This time, his landing was much smoother as his ship's information was registered in the outlaw database. Erich landed in the facility, while dressed in his makeshift power armor, before making his way to the weapons store, where he began examining different sniper rifles.

The price tags on these things were insane. He was easily going to spend a minimum of fifty thousand credits on one of these things, but that was a drop in the hat compared to what he would be making from the job. The store clerk could immediately tell that Erich was not exactly the most experienced man when it came to handling firearms, and was quick to approach him with an offer of assistance.

"Tell me what you're looking for, and what kind of firepower you need, and I will get you hooked up with the right gun for the job."

Erich's face was concealed by his power armor's helmet, and thus, he did not bother hiding his intentions while he revealed what he needed and why.

"Assassination job… I have a high value target in need of elimination, one who is protected in a military facility, within officer housing to be precise. I need something which can be fired from a distance of under one thousand meters and can punch a hole through whatever the hell it is that they make their windows out of."

Erich could hear the man suck on his teeth as he heard the kind of job that Erich was trying to pull off and was quick to comment on the situation.

"That, my friend, is a tough one… Military housing is designed to be robust, and immune to most forms of attack. But… I might just have what you are looking for. I'm not going to lie, this weapon will cost you a pretty penny, as will the ammo that it fires, but I'm telling you it'll do the job just fine, and then some. Hold on, let me look in the back to see if I still have the damn thing in stock. After all, it is not every day that some cunt comes in here trying to assassinate a military officer!

A few minutes later, the store clerk came back with a giant container in his hands. Erich seriously believed that the only way he was able to carry such a thing was with the exoskeleton which the store clerk wore. However, it took no effort for the man to unlatch the locks on the container before revealing a large bullpup rail gun sniper.

Unlike the revolver which Erich carried with him, this thing was clearly designed from the ground up to be a rail gun, which meant it was highly illegal to possess as it was a military weapon from a more primitive era, one that should have been demilitarized decades ago.

The man handed the sniper rifle to Erich, as if it weighed no more than a stick of cotton candy, to which Erich was surprised to see how light it was, and while Erich looked down its scope, he could hear the store clerk speaking to him about its features.

"We call this thing the Reaper. It fires an 8mm depleted uranium projectile at a velocity of roughly five kilometers a second. So, unless your target is in a fucking tank, sayonara, baby! Now this bad boy is equipped with a MK 262 auto-correcting optic, which means all you got to do is lock onto your target and pull the trigger. The gun will do the rest. Oh and I should warn you that thing has a fucking hair trigger on it, it will go off even after receiving the slightest bit of pressure, so be careful!

Considering you said your target is under a thousand meters away, I'm assuming you're going to be shooting this thing in an urban environment. So I should warn you in advance, when this thing goes off, everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY in a five kilometer radius, is going to hear it. So, my first bit of advice is to wear some proper ear protection, and second, the moment you confirm your kill, abandon this piece of hardware, and flee from the scene of your crime. Because after you shoot this thing just once, the authorities will be on your ass with a kill team in a matter of minutes. And in case you haven't noticed, this weapon is hardly what I would call concealable."

Erich nodded his head in understanding as he posed the immediate question he had about the weapon.

"How much does this thing cost?"

The store clerk then chuckled before commenting on the high price tag that such a powerful, and rare piece of military hardware commanded.

"These things don't exactly grow on trees, if you know what I mean. In fact, this is the last Reaper I've got in stock, and once it's gone, I won't be getting another. Like I said before, it is going to cost you a pretty penny…."

Erich shifted his gaze towards the store clerk and lowered his voice in a stern tone as he posed his question again.

"How much?"

The store clerk did not seem the slightest bit offended. In fact, he seemed rather happy that somebody was finally interested in this relic of a forgotten age, and finally voiced the price.

"For the weapon, the optic, and a magazine's worth of ammo, you are looking at 250k. And no, I am not going any lower than that. The trouble I had to go through to get my hands on one of these is worth at least that much. If I didn't have such a hard time selling this fucking beast, I would be charging you a premium! Are you interested or not?"

Erich was utterly astonished by the price tag of the weapon and immediately lashed out at the clerk over the idea of abandoning such an expensive piece of hardware.

"You're telling me, I have to pay you 250k for one shot of this thing, and then abandon it to the authorities?"

The fact that Erich had even asked this question proved to the clerk that he was indeed a novice when it came to jobs like this, and thus the man was quick to voice the consequences of not discarding the weapon after its use.

"Listen kid, I can tell you are new to this sort of thing, so allow me to inform you of what exactly will happen if the government's goons take you out. You do not get the sweet freedom of death like you might think. Oh no! You will wake up in the body of a clone within in a fucking prison colony on some god forsaken asteroid, where you will spend the rest of your miserable life doing nothing but mining. So if you value your freedom like I do, I highly recommend you discard this weapon, or else you will find out just how painful a life of confinement really is!"

It physically pained Erich to spend such a vast amount of money on a weapon he would only be able to use once. And such a powerful one at that. But he had no choice. The man was right. Freedom was far more important than the 250k he would spend on this beast of a weapon. Thus, he begrudgingly paid the price for the weapon, optic, magazine, and a box of ammo, before stashing the weapon away in his ship's armory, where he then immediately headed for Germania.

At this point in time, Erich was severely regretting ever accepting that damn smuggling job from Splinter, because now that they knew everything there was to know about him, he could no longer escape dangerous and highly illegal jobs like this. Rather, once he proved his worth by completing this mission, Splinter would continue to blackmail him into making use of his services.

The very idea that he had gone from a special forces pilot to a drug smuggler, and finally a hitman for the mob, filled Erich with dread. After all, what would his beloved mother think if she were to find out that he was engaging in such horrendous crimes, and at such a young age too?

Well, Erich immediately put these thoughts to the back of the mind, because they instantly made him bitter towards his father, who had at least from his perspective, forced him onto this path of crime, which ultimately led to murdering a fellow military officer, even if the man really was a gangster behind the scenes.