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Trial By Fire:


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#1 Guest_Serena_*

Posted 27 July 2006 - 02:37 AM

Note: Tau names are given for achievements and recognition, not at birth.

“Trial by Fire.”

“Y’he!” The leader of the pathfinder team snapped. The young T’au warrior turned to see a hoard of bugs, each no higher then her knee, scuttling down the path. The numbers made the narrow mountain pass look covered in chitinous, moving, leaves.

“Open Fire!” Shas’ui M’gal’eath snapped. She brought the carbine up, but the hoard moved too fast. . . We were told this was just a precaution, Uash’o had expected this pass to need only a minimal guard . . . The young warrior gritted her teeth. This was going to be ugly.

It became clear that ‘ugly’ was putting it mildly. Or possibly literally, the youngling thought. More of the creatures swarmed over the pass, and despite constant fire, the pathfinders couldn’t stop them. For every one that was cut down by burst of energy, two, three more seem to take its place. And then the bigger things came, Great insects that simply charged down the path through the hoard. Aun . . protect us. . The young warrior thought, as she slid another grenade into the underslung grenade launcher. The photon grenades seemed to stun the little ones for a few seconds, it was worth a try. . . She could hear the Shas’ui yelling into the comms.


The small creatures started crawling over the pathfinders, she shot one off her leg as it tried to gnaw through the shin-guard. “Ti’she! Get off!” She heard the rest of the team swearing as the bugs tried to gnaw through armour. The sheer numbers of them began to bog her down, -- there was one clinging to her arm, which she flung off. The boom of the railguns opening up shook her back to the battle, as the larger creatures barrelled into the T’au lines, claws ripping and shredding through armour. One of them was bearing down on her, as she shot another of the small bugs that was trying to scuttle up her leg. Something bit into her back, one of the little ones was gnawing through her back armour plate. Her HUD showed her armour as already compromised. “Ti’she! Get it off!”

“Hold still!” She froze as a carbine shot took it cleanly from her back. “All clear, Len’ai!” She growled at the name, and snapped off a shot at the larger creature, catching it right in a multi-facteted eye. It staggered back, roaring as the Photon grenade went off, and then dropped and scuttled towards her. Oh, shit, I just made it mad. . .

She ducked the first blow and rolled with the second. The little bugs were everywhere now, gnawing their way through her armour. There were screams and shouts from the La’rua, -- the squadron was being decimated before her eyes. There was blood everywhere, some of it likely hers. She ducked under another blow, and tried to bring her carbine up for a shot.

The claws caught her arm, and she bit back a scream. Training and instinct made her clench her hand closed around a grip she could no longer feel. Her free hand closed upon the flattened shape of a photon grenade. Behind her faceplate, she grinned. You may think I’m tasty, Y’he, but you’re eating a photon grenade as well . . . There was just one problem with this – its mouth wasn’t open. She rolled with the next blow, which scored deep gashes along her side – the little bugs were everywhere now, biting and nipping. I’m being nibbled to death . . .

And now it struck, mouth opening wide to try and bite the young pathfinder in two. She grinned, and brought the grenade up. . . only to have it knocked from her hand by a set of sharp claws. With a yelp, she jerked her hand back, blood was already flowing from gashes in the black glove.

Fine. You don’t want to eat a photon grenade? She grinned and shoved the carbine down its throat. She didn’t get a chance to let go before it bit down, detonating the grenades in the launcher, as well as the energy clip of the carbine. A little too effective. . .


--

Something was buzzing. It was right in her ear, and it was very annoying. “Shas’ui! Report!” It was the Shas’el. “Shas’ui M’gal’eath! Report!”

No answer.

“Shas’ui M’gal’eth! Report!”

Still nothing. Wait. . . that buzzing’s my comm.. . . hey, where’d the bugs go? And next question seemed to be: where was ‘up?’ Her legs didn’t want to respond, and the displays on her HUD were all fuzzy.

“Shas’ui! Report!”

“This is Shas’la Fal’shia Len’ai.” It was hard to talk. “We. . . I think everything’s secure. . . “her brain felt like she had drunk far too much Ky’hussa. “Send a medical team, I’m not sure of survivors.”

“Rodger that, Shas’la Len’ai . . correction, Shas’la Mon’tyr.”

And the young Shas’la leaned back against the dirt and blood, grateful to know that she had earned a new name. Battle-blooded. . .I suppose that fits. . . Her eyes drifted closed.




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