[Galaxy] [ND] 8 Oct 2161 :: ND Command Center :: Capt Michah Oliver & Major K Mason :: "I've Got Your Back, Part Two"

[Kate Nicholson]

~~~~~

// Command Center Corridors //

The pulse of phase rifle fire knocked the Klingon against the back wall of
the T-intersection.  Mason replaced the cartridge to his rifle as they
approached, then shifted his rifle behind him as he and Oliver stood over
the corpse.  Mason reached down and retrieved his MACO issue pistol from the
Klingon's clutches, checking and then replacing it's cartridge, as well.

Oliver was perhaps hyper-vigilant, but it served them well. They found no
other Klingons tracking them.  ³They had to have come from this direction,²
she observed, more to herself than as a great revelation to Mason.

"Is there anything to use as a barracks on that side of the colony?" he
asked.  "His one took my sidearm because it had no weapon of its own. Others
had only blades, some had no armor.  My guess is they were off-duty, maybe
sleeping, when some alarm might have been triggered. They grabbed what was
readily available, headed out the door, and ended up here."

Her mind was sifting through the various entries to this end of the building
and the areas outside those entries. All of them at this end of the Command
Center were in open sight except for those in the Courtyard outside the
suite of Command Offices. ³There is an enclosed courtyard on the back side
of this wing. All the offices in the Command Suite open into it. There is a
6 foot brick confining wall, and a metal gateway that is locked to outside
entry, but available for emergency exit. However, a healthy individual could
scale that wall, especially a 7 foot Klingon. Your ground team would not
have seen them if they were hiding in that courtyard.²

Mason nodded and pulled his communicator.  "This is Raven Niner to Raven
Team.  We had a breech in the command center.  Six strong, piecemeal small
arms.  White Queen suspects they're using the courtyard.  Give it a sweep at
next available.  We'll redouble security from here."

=Raven Two.  Copy, sweep the courtyard.  Any injuries to report, Major?=

Mason looked at Oliver and the bloodied leg.

She frowned, looking at the bloody slash through her cargo pants. She could
feel the blood down in the ankle of her boot. "It's still oozing a little.
There should be a med kit around here somewhere, down there by the fire
alarm box." She pointed down the cross corridor. "It'll have something I can
wrap around it. It'll be fine 'til we get done here."

Mason lifted the communicator again.  "Light injuries only.  Charlie Mike."

=Roger that.  Raven Two, Out.=

She limped to the left and became aware she /was/ favoring her leg, though
it felt more numb and tingly than actually painful, like it might not hold
her up if she didn't consciously tell it how to behave. The reminder of an
injury shook her up again, making this whole surreal experience more
tangible. She really had killed two Klingons.

She bit back a moment of rising anxiety. They were a little to close to that
courtyard for her comfort right now. "We better get out of the middle of
this hallway. If your guys flush more out of that courtyard, this is their
escape route." She backed up against the wall and jerked open a small locker
below the Alarm. Inside. /Medical Aid/. Red letters on a white plastic box.

"I'll seal the door to the Courtyard," Mason replied.  "Maybe see if Quinn
can rig some demo charges for good measure and a little deterrent when they
do their sweep.  Will you be alright until I return, Ma'am?"

"Yeah. I'll just clean this up a bit. I'll wait here till you come back,"
she assured him. He nodded once and headed down the corridor toward the
Command Suite.

Her veterinary training came in handy. She lost herself in the process of
gaining access to and cleaning the gash in her leg. The medic kit was very
complete, upto and including an autosuter, however, she selected a temporary
wound glue in this case. The slice was longer than she had imagined; a 5
inch horizontal cut across the fleshy outside of her thigh. Only the forward
inch of the wound was deep enough to warrant stitches, but she preferred to
wait and do a more thorough cleaning of the wound once she was safe...
somewhere.

After applying a gauze pad and tape the injury, she leaned back against the
wall and realized it hurt like hell. Getting up off the floor was gonna be a
bitch. But the Klingon who had in attacked her was dead in the room down the
hall.

She found herself wondering who would miss him. Did he have friends who'd
care, a mate, a child. She brushed though thoughts away by remembering his
war cry as he brought that wicked bow shaped weapon down toward her. She
would never look at office chairs with distain again; one had taken than
blow for her.

But did his savagery mean she could dismiss her own. She wanted to take the
moral view and say she was not like him. Did not have to lower herself to
his lowest level. But that response seemed like a clichéd moralistic
anachronism at this moment, suited perhaps to a time when humans were only
dealing with other humans. But how did that apply with aliens from another
world. Perhaps in the Darwinist survival of the fittest context there was
room for our own savagery to match that of the new threats to that survival.
For now, she didn't feel guilty, she didn't feel remorse. Maybe she'd ask
Mason about it. Maybe.

"I just got an update from Mission Ops," Mason said as he approached. "Snake
team has located Safe Site One and is making defensive arrangements, and
Wolf team is headed in to do a hostage extraction at your /old/ command
center.  Constitution and Aurora are taking fire. All resources are
committed, so there's no backup for Raven team if we have any more
surprises."  He looked back the way he came.  "And on that note, I've sealed
the door to the courtyard.  They definitely came in that way, but won't be
anymore.  Pathfinder and the rest of Raven are still clearing buildings."

"Defensive arrangements? At Safe Site 1? The Klingons found Safe Site 1?
What about 2 and 3?" Her voice was a little to shrill and she knew it. She
caught herself up in a deep breath. "Sorry."

Mason cocked his head as he looked at Oliver.  He didn't have to be able to
read people to know that something had gotten a little off with her.
"Captain?  I know this is a lot of pressure on you, for many reasons, but
between your people and mine, we'll pull though, Ma'am."

"I know we will. I know that without a doubt. I just don't wanna loose any
of my people. I've come to love these people. I've killed for them. I'll
kill again." Her voice was no longer shrill, but dark and growing in anger.
"I know what these monsters can do, have done to the Dali before, would do
again in a microsecond. I'm not giving them any chance." She paused and let
the intensity pass through the soles of her feet into the ground. "You know,
I'm a vet by training, basically a pacifist, trying to make the quality of
life for species other than my own more tolerable, to save lives, including
alien species. I've tended to more than one little vol'sha here, helped hand
raise one of the gik'lee monkeys. But I have no tolerance for these aliens,
these Klingons. It's hard to make that change, that paradigm shift...
overnight, basically. I don't quite recognize myself. It's like seeing a
new, stripped down me. To be that vulnerable in the midst of this crisis,
when I need to be strong and hard, it's very confusing." She held out her
hand to him. "Can you help me up?"

"It's not about being strong or hard," Mason said as he took Oliver's hand.
"It's about trust.  You care about your people, and they respond to that."
He pulled her up.  "Let the rest come naturally, don't force it.  Just do
what you think is right, and everything else will fall into place."

She held onto his hand perhaps a moment too long, but she didn't recognize
that fact. She looked into his eyes again, "I like you," she said frankly.
"You make it all simple, when my head is all rattling around with
complicated crap. Thanks." She pulled her hand back and winced as she tested
a little weight on her leg. "Mmmm. Never used that super glue on myself
before. Kinda pulls." She gathered her curly blonde hair into her hands and
pulled it back from her face. "Oh well. Let's go. I still got your back."

~~~ 
Capt Michah Oliver 
Starfleet Commanding Officer
New Darwin Colony 
&
Major Mason, K.
2nd Expeditionary Team, MACO
ESS Constitution
(apb Robert)