| FAN FICTION First Solo Mission - Written By Kansas Jones (Darkwatch Fiction - Takes place between "The Wrong Train" and "The Citadel") Regulator M''rrett "Kansas" Jones knelt behind a boulder located on an outcropping overlooking the small town of Ricochet, scanning for any sign of movement down below through the scope of the Carson rifle. The town mayor had sent a messenger to the Darkwatch Citadel asking for some help with an infestation of Reapers and ''Slingers. The details were sketchy, but Kansas had pretty much concluded that Ricochets problems had started when Lazarus had escaped. She snickered and shook her head in sympathy. Now wasn''t that a mess. A ''Watch war train gets ambushed by Reapers looking to free their master, and during the chaos some outlaw boards the train looking for loot and ends up freeing the vampire lord instead. Rumor at the Citadel had it that senior Regulator Yates had been killed and that outlaw may be joining the Darkwatch. Anyway, it wasn''t her problem; Kansas had this cleanup mission to deal with. Thankfully, the mayor and Ricochets town council had managed to evacuate the 80 or so citizens with minimal casualties. It was now Kansas'' responsibility to clear out the various undead. Her orders from Cartwright had been simple; Go in, clear the town, and get out. It was a small enough job for any Regulator to take on and handle, but Kansas suspected that Cartwright had chosen her on purpose. She had served with Darkwatch for almost a year, and was long overdue for that first solo mission. Lowering the rifle, she shifted and moved slightly from behind the cover of the boulder to glance down in the little gulley where she had left her horse tied. The little buckskin was munching some grass scrub... Zing...Zing...Zing...Thup...Thup... Shots rang out, peppering the ground around her feet and the boulder. Dirt and bits of rock flew as Kansas backpedaled. She ended up flat on her back, again under cover behind the boulder. Panting a bit, she was glad that Cartwright hadn''t been around to see that rookie mistake of not staying under cover. He would have had her hide and then put what was left of her on stable patrol duties at the outpost for two weeks. Repositioning and again scanning with the scope, she searched the direction where the bullets came from. Sure enough, she spotted two Gunslingers on the upper floor of a hardware store. They were using a grouping of storage barrels as cover; she needed to get a clear shot. Kansas sighted down on one of the storage barrels and fired a shot, intending to nail whatever poked its head out first at the impact. Well, yes, that would have been the ideal thing to happen. The bullet perforated the barrel, which was apparently full of Chinese fireworks. It took twenty seconds for the entire upper floor, along with the ''Slingers, to blow apart in a hail of rockets, spinners, sparklers and general red, white, blue, yellow and green gloriousness. "Cartwright ain''t gonna be happy about this... maybe the town won''t notice the loss of their hardware store..." Kansas whispered to herself. A chorus of howls and ungodly shrieks reverberated throughout the town. The undead knew she was here now. So much for the element of surprise. The Regulator shifted to another position, reloaded, and waited. The Reapers and ''Slingers appeared in groupings of three and four. Kansas picked them off as she got the clear shots. Once certain that all targets had been eliminated, she slid down the slope toward her horse. Cochise'' ears perked up but he did not whinny at her approach. ''Watch horses were well trained and bred from good stock; they knew when a mission was going on. She patted him on the neck. Now that she had done the distance cleanup with the Carson, it was time to sweep the town for the remaining undead. She would use the carbine and the Redeemer revolver for this portion of the mission. She tied the range rifle securely to the saddle holder and proceeded into the town. Kansas moved methodically through the town... Back to Fan Fiction |