Earning Our Wings, Pt. 2b - Crashing the Party

Posted on Tue Dec 15th, 2020 @ 10:55pm by Sublieutenant Miles Lynn & Lieutenant Mila Lynn & Colonel Sehan t'Varis & Taryn Stephenson & Lieutenant Xia Idris

953 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Chapter II: Spreading our Wings
Location: The Raven's Claw
Timeline: 238701.12

"Transport completed," Mila's quiet voice reported over the intercom.

On the bridge, Raven acknowledged the message before turning her attention back to the events unfolding in space. Once the Klingons had disabled one of the two birds-of-prey, things had become suddenly quiet. It was obvious that they were scanning for more ships; hopefully, they were only scanning for Klingon-type cloaks.

"Stay close to the Ourainavassa," Raven finally ordered. "And reduce all power as much as possible. Silent running, folks. With some luck, they will not find us."

"I'd recommend we stay still and shut down all non-essential systems, as that will make it harder for either of them to see us. I would also recommend telling the away team to hurry up because one of the pirates' ships is starting to take heavy damage. I give it ten minutes before the Klingons have destroyed both of them," Taryn responded, keeping an eye on her console.

Raven chuckled. "Yes, Taryn, thank you for explaining what I meant by silent running. As for contacting the away team, unfortunately that would mean dropping our cloak again, no matter how briefly. The Klingons haven't spotted the other pirate ship yet, so hopefully they will spend a little time looking for it first."

"To be pedantic, silent running usually involves moving. However, the Klingons have got their eyes on the prize, and they won't waste time looking for a ship they don't know is there. However, I can give the Klingons some more cannon fodder whenever you desire. Just give the word," Taryn responded.

Xia shut down most of her comms panel, keeping up only a passive listening connection with the away team and her decrypting feed of the chatter between the Klingons and the pirates.

And just like that, the Claw fell silent. Even the main lights on the ship were switched off, plunging everything into a dim haze of red light coming from the alert indicator next to the door, pierced only by the vista outside on the main viewer, and the lights of the consoles that were still in use.

The away team had been gone for around five minutes when Miles spoke up. "Reading some transport signatures from the Ourainavassa. Looks like... looks like quite a few people being spaced."

Raven chuckled. "Rogers always had a practicable approach. That should make things a lot easier for them. Keep an eye on the warbird's power output. Once her systems come back online, we know our people have finished their mission."

"Aye, aye." Suddenly, the young man frowned. "Transport signatures from the Klingons, boss. They're sending a boarding party over to the Ourainavassa."

Miles, however, was not the only person to notice, as the other pirate bird-of-prey decloaked and opened fire on the battlecruiser.

Raven smiled faintly. "Good. Let them fight each other. Gives us more time."

Taryn simply watched and waited for instructions. There was nothing else for her to do at this time, although once the mission was complete she'd be packing up her shuttle and preparing to leave, after she'd decided to start working independently instead. That way, Taryn would only have to rely on herself and not untrustworthy associates.

"Boss, the Ourainavassa has raised shields." Miles hardly contained a grin when he reported the new change in their situation. It would seem that the boarding party had successfully taken control of the warbird.

"Excellent," Raven replied. "Continue monitoring the situation. Everyone, stand by to re-engage all systems and prepare for combat. Once we get the signal from the boarding crew, I want us to be ready to shoot our way out of here."

"I would advise against going toe-to-toe with a Klingon battlecruiser, especially with a warbird that is almost certainly not ready for combat. Instead, if we fire a tachyon pulse at their shields, that would force them to reset their shield harmonics, so one well-placed torpedo hit will be enough to blow them up to Sto-Vo-Kor," Taryn offered, fully expecting her idea to be rejected.

Raven nodded. "Sneaky. I like it. Once our boarding crew has secured the Ourainavassa, we'll have them assess if she is in any way combat ready. If she isn't, we'll go with your plan."

Taryn merely nodded, and made the necessary preparations. Her relationship with the crew was poor, yet she was glad that her tactical opinions were still listened to. The warbird looked impressive. However, Taryn knew that once it was secure and up and running, she would be on her way.

“What about the Klingons that beamed over?” Xia asked. “Should we warn the boarding party?”

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I'm sure the away team will manage just fine," Taryn commented.

As if to emphasize Taryn's words, the warbird's shields flickered. "They... they beamed the Klingons into the shields." Miles' voice was one of shock.

Raven chuckled. "That was probably Ash's idea. Ruthless and effective is her style."

Out in space, the Klingons had made quick work of the second pirate ship, which exploded in a cloud of debris. The colonel smirked. "Well, they did not last as long as they thought they might."

She sighed. "Standby propulsion and tactical systems. Something tells me those Klingons know we're here. They might not know exactly where, but they must be aware that there is another party involved."

Xia nodded. She sat on the edge of her seat, tense, waiting for the action, ready to open communications with the Ourainavassa.

"Preparing tachyon pulse, torpedoes loaded and ready to fire on your command," Taryn responded.

Before Raven could say anything, the Klingon cruiser opened fire on the Ourainavassa.

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