Elsewhere...
The figure's boss stood in silence. Whether it was a solemn silence or an angry silence, they couldn't tell yet. They assumed it was anger - after all, those mercenaries had been very expensive to hire.
"There's only one way this could have been any worse," the boss said. They turned to face the underling. "Did you fulfill your task."
Out of habit, the figure opened their mouth before remembering. They closed their mouth and nodded.
"Good." The boss turned back to the monitors. "At least this wasn't a total failure."