[Galaxy] [New-Darwin] Sept 17, 2161 DL Shepard "Attack of Ravens"

[Kate Nicholson]

Earlier.... // Colony Command Center //


"Go! Go! Go!"

Raven Team swept into the building like their namesake would hit a field of
grain.  Rebekah's back hit the door jam to stop her momentum.  Another of
the MACO's skidded into position beside her.  Shepard made a quick glance
over her shoulder and the other trooper replied by holding up small
cylinder.  Reb nodded grimly and moved a hand from her weapon to the door's
knob.

"Fire in the hole," she called out.  In a flash, Reb twisted and knob and
spun, pulling the door open as she moved.  The trooper behind her twisted
the cap on the photon grenade and lofted it into the room beyond.  Both
averted their eyes as the device detonated within the room.  The blast of
light and intense sound stunned those within.

Reb spun in, her weapon tracking.  Guttural curses sounds as the Klingons
within fought to stay on their feet.  A silhouette framed the front sight of
her weapon and Shepard squeezed the trigger.  The beam connected and a blue
glow enveloped the alien target.  Shifting, she looked for another target.

Other Ravens swept in behind her, fanning out along the perimeter of the
room.  Energy bolts and beams fired back and forth.  Blues.  Reds.  The
yellow of sparks as stray shots hit equipment around the room.

Reb ducked, shifting aim.  Two more shots and she dodged through an opening
to the left.  Silhouettes.  Fire.  Shift, aim.  Fire.  She moved again.
Another turn and Reb found herself in a familiar lobby.

A sound like a charging bull made her spin.  She turned to see one of the
Klingons looming large, a crescent of silver in one fist.  The light caught
it as it descended toward her head.  Reb twisted and ducked under the swing.

The alien readjusted and took another swipe.  Shepard dove to her left,
sliding under a table.  Above her head, a loud thunk sounded as the blade
stuck her ersatz cover.  She was scrambling to her feet when the warrior
flipped the furniture away, howling curses.  Rebekah knew she wouldn't have
the advantage of surprise with this one.

>From the entrance way, Reb caught movement.  The trooper that had paired off
with her.  He fired, the shot just missing the Klingon as the warrior
whirled.  A flash of silver.  Reb saw the alien's fist pile drive into the
MACO's chest.  The half circle shaped blade hit with a crushing force that
folded the trooper like a sheet in the wind.  The human's lungs emptied with
a loud grunt.

"No," Reb yelled, snapping up her rifle as she rose from the floor, legs
pushing her up and forward.  Her finger clamped back on the trigger stud,
sweeping the weapon in an arc.  A continuous beam shot from the muzzle,
tracking.  The energy spike sliced through the wall material like paper,
cutting a picture in half as it tracked.  The Klingon followed through with
his stoke on the Raven trooper, his spine bending forward.  Reb's shot
grazed just above the spine plating of his armor.  Several of the alien's
dreadlocks separated from his scalp as the beam passed the head, marking the
shot's only score.

The alien whirled again.  God, Reb had an instant to think, this bastard was
quick.  His momentum was slowed, slightly, only by the resistance of the
limp trooper weighing down his arm.  His free arm shot out, batting
Shepard's weapon.  She barely managed to retain her grip, the shock numbing
her arm.  Reb rolled with the blow, twisting.  Her rifle turned and she
shifted, a quick jerk.

The metal shod butt of the stock connected with the warrior's jaw, crack.
More shock travelled into the human woman's arm.  The Klingon's head snapped
back, tendrils of smoke whipped from singed hair.  A spray of purple froth
and yellowish chip came from the alien's mouth.  Reb was close enough to
follow the blow with a knee to the abdomen before she was whipped off her
feet.

She crashed to the carpet a couple of meters away, her vision blurring.  She
saw enough to make out the Klingon free his weapon arm by finally letting go
of the MACO.  The trooper flopped to the floor, the blade still imbedded his
the chest plate of his body armor.  A sound escaped the human's lips,
indicating his was still alive.

Now in full blood rage, the Klingon roared again, shouting more curses in
his language.  What was barely intelligible before was now a complete mash.
Broken teeth and a mouthful of blood assured that.  Black eyes gleaming, his
attention was focused on Shepard.

Reb tasted copper in her own mouth as she rolled, pushing away from the
monster.  A hand scrambled for her holstered sidearm.  She raked the weapon
clear in a quickdraw, thumb finding the selector by instinct.  She snap
aimed, firing a beam right into the creature's center of mass as it loomed
over her.

A second beam lanced into the Klingon from below and behind.  The fallen
MACO had his own pistol out, his shot catching the alien in the base of the
armored spine.  The energy imparted by the twin assaults spun the warrior.
His heavy form crashed to the carpeted floor with a thud.

The wounded trooper flashed a thumbs up to Shepard before flopping back.
Forcing herself to her feet, Reb gave the alien's head a kick to test the
reaction.  Nothing.  The expand puddle of of purple-pink blood added further
confirmation.  

She hopped over the Klingon and skidded to a halt by the Constitution's
trooper.  The man's head lulled side to side and his breathing was ragged,
wheezing.  But there was no blood.  The alien weapon, she now saw it was her
own Andorian urshan, had hit his chest edge on.  That part of the weapon was
designed for sweeping slashes, not deep penetration.  A quirk of design, and
the Fleet issue armor vest, had saved the man's life.  The force of the blow
had knocked the wind from his lungs and likely fractured several ribs, but
he would survival.

Shepard whipped a sedative patch from the man's aid pouch and stuck it to
his neck.  That should ease some of the discomfort.  In her earpiece, she
heard the rest of Raven team reporting in.  The Colony headquarters was
theirs.  She added her own acknowledgements, adding a call for the corpsman.

The fight to retake Darwin had only started.


-----

Rebekah Shepard
Lt, Starfleet
Chief of Colony Security
New Darwin Colony