[i][b][color=ed1c24]No Survivors.[/color][/b][/i]

That phrase brought Aura to a screeching halt as memories flashed through the veteran's mind. Countless times, UNF and OS infantry had spared the wounded and infirm, avoided chases into civilian areas, refused to raid military parades where civilians would definitely be caught in the crossfire, and never once intentionally assaulted anywhere serving as a medbay. There was a certain respect expected in war, a respect the Commander was asking her to forego. Aura felt the urge to grab her gun, to eliminate the evil words she'd just heard with a bullet, but that wasn't an option both for her own survival or to salvage how she'd felt about this op mere seconds earlier. Aware she may very well be visibly distraught, as she was boiling with anger on the inside, Aura carefully responded "[color=0072bc]Commander, I don't believe I heard you right. I believe you just ordered me to eliminate wounded and unarmed UNF personnel, in the event either should cross my gun lines. If that is the case, ma'am, then I'm sure you know that I want nothing to do with it. You're asking me to go out and gun down kids, when they're shooting at me that's fine, but anywhere the UNF is developing a weapon there WILL be unarmed, possibly civilian, personnel as well as armed guards. What the hell can we be doing thats worth stooping that low, Hale?[/color]"

Somewhere in the back of Aura's mind, she could feel herself running the numbers. The PHP-21 Heavy Pistol contains twelve .44 Magnum steel-tipped rounds, rated as armor piercing. Aura could empty that magazine in four seconds with acceptable accuracy, each shot hitting its mark most likely. Commander Hale was an easy shot, the guards would be expecting this from Yaz more than Aura so they would likely go down before they could kill her. Once they were down, it was elementary to get to Longshot and scramble. The issue became, of course, then what? The Ordo would be on the lookout for her and it was even money whether or not the UNF knew her face. Her home would be the first place the guerrillas would search, they'd ride her family to try and get intel out of them, maybe kill them though Aura still wanted to expect better of the others. It was then that a stray thought struck Aura, why hadn't she included Neil and Yaz in those very calculations? The answer was easy, obvious even, they were [b]HER[/b] pilots, and she was their squadron leader. That was a sacred trust, one she couldn't betray, not even if it meant risking her life. 

She shook herself loose of those thoughts, but now she could never escape the cold awareness that seeped into her mind. She could get out of this, kill the one in charge of this even, and get away alive, of that Aura was sure. Hale maybe didn't deserve it, she took care of her own after all, but giving that order made her a target if Aura were to snap her weapon up. This meant that, if Aura went along with this, she had no excuses to make. Of course, every life she took on every mission she'd ever been on weighed on her, but it was easier to accept what had happened when they were shooting at you. She may not be able to divorce the UNF into that vacuous category of 'enemy', inhuman and monstrous, that the rest of the infantry had but she still slept at night, honestly easier than the rest of them. However, this mission, this time, Aura couldn't help but wish she had done just that, turn the enemy into an inhuman monster, then this mission wouldn't have raised the red lights it did.

However, Aura never had, and she knew if she had to kill some wounded, terrified trooper crying for his mother, she'd never live it down. If she had to gun down some unarmed scientist running for cover, she'd see his face every night. Two things kept Aura's hands where they were, however. First, she could swear she distantly heard the sound of her dead comrades urging her forward, to win the fight at all costs, and let them rest in peace. Second, she was becoming acutely aware of what would happen to her pilots if she left. For sure they'd have to take the field without her, and if they died without her to protect them then it was on her. Out of combat, Neil would be fine without her, scatterbrained as ever no doubt but he'd live, probably move on before the day was out. What about Yazmin, however, Aura couldn't help but wonder. Sure, the younger pilot would doubtless be emotionally unhampered by Aura's leaving, after all they hadn't known each other long, but what about the men at the base? Would they leave her be, accept her? Or, without Aura to protect her, would they go after and eliminate the former-UNF pilot? Would they pursue her even more determinedly, perhaps to spite the Captain after she deserted, or perhaps they would believe the pilot had corrupted the Captain, killing her in revenge? Aura had no way of knowing, and that got to her more than she thought it would.

All this happened in Aura's mind alone, while on the outside she fixed Hale with a dead stare. Everyone who knew Aura would know the look currently fixed on Hale's eyes was Aura's war face. She was told she had a certain face on when she went into battle, when she was about to fight and take another's life. Cool, calculating, yet completely free of tension, the veteran's cold eyes and steely expression were fixed on the Commander, awaiting an answer.