"You want to capture him?" Harken's eyebrows rose.
"Did you not just hear the casualty figures?"
"I want samples. Blood, tissue, genetic material. If he's operating openly in the desert, there may be opportunities to acquire such samples through less direct means. Medical facilities he's visited, battlefields where he's bled: there are options beyond direct confrontation."
"That's a research proposal, not an immediate operational concern," Elena said.
"We can table that for future consideration."
Kristoff looked around the chamber, reading the consensus forming among the Mantarons.
They were leaning toward disengagement, toward cutting losses rather than escalating. It went against his military instincts, you don't leave enemies undefeated, and you don't show weakness, but he was experienced enough to recognize when he was outvoted.
"Very well," he said finally.
