Swamped

You're Sergeant Ash. Captain Long has temporarily entrusted you with command, and he picked a hell of a time to do it. You've got vague reports of a large attack force, lead by the Rider, and confirmed reports of at least one Marshguard near the base.

On top of that, one of your prisoners has escaped. It doesn't strike you as a coincidence that it's the prisoner who asked to speak with Captain Long directly. But that's a matter you'll have to deal with after the current crisis.

Right now, you're trying to come up with a plan to take out the Rider.

With his fearsome reputation, his mere presence on the battlefield hurts your side's morale. If he were defeated, though, not only would that offer a confidence boost to the Bogknights, but the Marshguards would be terrified. Many of them would retreat immediately.

There are just two problems - first, the Rider is one of the most skilled warriors in the whole swamp. Second, your temporary authority has its limits, and one of those limits is that you aren't allowed to order a kill unilaterally.

You're willing to risk a demotion for this, of course. It's what Captain Burgundy would have done. But you'd be a fool to pass up a perfectly good plan to incapacitate the Rider if you could devise one.

There's another reason a non-lethal approach would be helpful - you might be able to convince Captain Long to take part. Concerned as you are about his behavior, there's no one else on base who could stand up to the Rider like he can. But if you told him to kill the Rider, he'd surely revoke your authority on the spot.

Still. You'll do what you have to do. You're a practical man, and you know what's important.

The first things to decide on are the members of the strike team that will confront Rider directly, and the overall strategy you'll recommend for them. Then you can begin planning who you'll send on any additional teams you want supporting the main group.

So, what's your plan?