[Galaxy] [ND] 9 Oct 2161 :: Battle for the Shuttle Bay, Part 1 :: Shepard, Kovalenko, Walker, Rud'iskren, Sestra, Klingons

[Kate Nicholson]

~~~~~

// Shuttle Bay, New Darwin Colony //

The Shuttle Bay hanger, repair facility, and related cargo and department
storage area had been hollowed out of the cave system within the hillside,
north-east of the Colony. Four landing pads and a wide area of outdoor
tie-down space had been constructed beyond the hanger complex. On a regular
basis, shuttles from visiting ships, as well as from the Aurora, came and
went. Operations at the Shuttle Bay were completely at a standstill. No one
arriving or departing, no vessels being transported by repair vehicles to or
from the hangers.

Instead, seven Klingon warriors were dispersed around the hanger complex,
each watching the tree line, waiting for either orders to depart or an enemy
to fight. Seventy-three people, Human and Dali, made up the prisoner count
hidden in a totally dark, securely locked, cargo/storage hold within the
Shuttle Bay. The door had been locked behind them after they were roughly
herded into the room, and it had not been opened since.

Shepard eased forward, keeping as much of her body in the shadows as she
could.  From her vantage, she counted the Klingons she could see and noted
the spacing.  The small fire team with her was spread out to her left, each
trooper concealed as she was.

The immediate problems before her were, firstly, numbers.  She had three of
the Constitution's MACOs with her.  The aliens out numbered them almost two
to one so shooting from here wouldn't neutralize all at the same time.
Someone would still be active to either sound the alarm or initiate some
form of action against the hostages.  Secondly, distance.  Her force
couldn't sneak past them without being spotted.  Back to same problem...the
hostages.

Reb chewed her lip in thought.  The light was starting to come up as dawn
approached.  She knew they were running out of time.  Before long, the
Klingons would stop focusing on the ship they'd lost and begin retaliations
against the hostages.  Time was running out.

=^=El-tee,=^= whispered a voice in her ear bud.

"Go," she sub-voxed into her pickup.  Her eyes were roaming, looking for
anything that can be used to tip the odds in their favor.

=^=Sentry, far left, just...vanished, Ma'am,=^= said one of the Raven Team
members.

Reb shifted her gaze in the indicated direction.  Most of the aliens on her
side were standing still, scanning the areas before them.  "Say again," she
said softly as she tried to crane her neck for a better look.

=^=He was starting to check around a corner when there was a blur,=^= the
trooper explained.  =^=No visual since, Ma'am.=^=

"Acknowledged," Reb said, her mind racing.  Someone was on the prowl and it
wasn't her little team.  Now, how best could she use this development?

Kalk stood shifting from one foot to the other, impatient but very wary. He
did not trust these Humans. Their Daliwakan slaves were not so
unpredictable. He had worked at the Sla¹pohk Mines on Durges II, overseeing
the slaves, many of who were Daliwakan. They were generally a peaceful
bunch, unlikely to rally much opposition. The females were sort of pretty in
a weak kind of way. Actually, it was the women who seemed to have the most
fight in them, but then perhaps that was just true of the females of all
species, he thought. That was his last thought. He never realized his neck
was broken in a split second. He made no death noises, no roar of defiance.
He merely collapsed and his killer stole back into the shadows.

Two sets of shimmering shadows slowly moved along the perimeter, separately
probing the Klingon disposition.  The two hybrids had no need of aural
communication, each knowing where the other would be from one moment to the
next.  Spaced apart, they could do far more damage than if they separated.
Only a direct, careful glance would recognize something odd in the air that
night.

Kovalenko watched over his 'children' from a short distance away, through
the passive light-sensing scope mounted to his phase rifle.  Any energy
detection at this point would completely ruin the possibility of a sneak
attack.  He had already decided that if any of the invaders made an
aggressive move towards either of them, he would open fire and spring the
trap.

>From the woodline. Reb caught sight of a shadow slinking along the edge of
the hanger's roof.  Below, one of the Klingons paused, cocking his head.
She saw the alien draw in a breath just as some kind of loop landed around
the warrior's neck.  Before a cry could be let out, the noose tightened and
the alien was jerked upward with a whoosh.

Tightening the grip on her weapon, Shepard recognized an opening and acted.
"Hit 'em," she called into her headset.  The rifle's sights were coming in
line with her eye as her legs pushed her forward.  She aimed just to the
right of the Klingon shooting toward the roof.  One of his companions had
turned toward the noise, his flank exposed.

Her shot hit the alien in that flank, the energy transfer slamming him
against the wall.  To her left, she heard the rest of the team opening fire
on the warriors to her left.  She shifted aim as her original target slumped
to the ground.  A form touched down, melding into the shadows, one hand
connected to a line of cordage from the roof.  A gleam of steel in the other
hand.

Noise to the right, she started to shift aim just as she saw another Klingon
round the corner.  Reb saw his disruptor tracking her with an adrenalin
clarity.  A whoosh sounded followed by a wet thunk.  As she watched, the
Klingon's eyes rolled back in his head.  The alien dropped, the shape of a
steel-headed hatchet now embedded in the side of his skull.

Reb skidded to a halt just before slamming into the hanger's wall.  She
turned, facing the shadowy figure.  One arm still raised, fist wrapped
around the cord, the face of Dylan Walker become visible with a shift of the
light.  The Phoenix Survivor released his clenched hand, turning with the
hint of a smile.  With a blur of his boosted reflexes, the man caught the
descending Klingon as the cord he'd been hanging by went slack and draped
the unconscious form over his shoulder.

"I'm glad your friendly," Shepard whispered to the man.  In her earbud, the
rest of Raven Team called out their shots as they joined her at the hanger.
She was still looking at Walker but the other man wasn't looking at her.
Instead, his attention was focused just over her shoulder.

"I am," he said, softly, "but what about them?"  As Shepard turned, her eyes
just registered a vague shimmering in the air.

------

Lt Rebekah Shepard
Chief of Colony Security
New Darwin Colony

Dylan Walker
Phoenix Survivor
NPC apb Smith

Lt Cmdr Kovalenko
Colony Development Officer
New Darwin Colony

Rud'iskren (NPC)
Human/Daliwakan/Adan'vaca Hybrid
New Darwin Colony

Sestra (NPC)
Human/Daliwakan/Adan'vaca Hybrid
New Darwin Colony 
 
Various npc apb Kate